Star Odyssey - Chapter 3642: The Price

Chapter 3642: The Price

Yi Shang quickly gathered his thoughts. “Seraph Lu, now that the key is lost and the box is destroyed, this half of the secondary key is not enough to trade with Zhan Ming. On top of that, if Zhan Ming discovers that the key to the Gate of Laws has been lost, he might become your enemy.”

Lu Yin gave a small smile as he looked down at his hand. Was the key really lost? Of course not. He was merely using this incident to put more pressure onto Yi Shang.

It was impossible to control someone solely through their life or death. They needed to be repeatedly subjected to pressure and constantly beaten down until they broke.

No matter what, Yi Shang was a Dukkhan, as well as the ruler of the Daquan Domain and the president of the Chamber of Commerce. It would be a waste to simply kill such a person.

“You don’t need to worry about that. There’s a place that I think you might like,” Lu Yin commented. Then, with a flick of his hand, he imprisoned Yi Shang inside his Champions’ Stage Purgatory.

During the thirty-seven years that had passed in the branch stream of the River of Aeons, Yi Shang had led cultivators from the Spirit Nidus to wage war on the Tianyuan Megaverse. Intense battles had been fought in the Tianyuan Megaverse, and both sides had suffered severe casualties.

While right or wrong were undetermined, due to the fact that the two had been on opposing sides, hatred had still developed.

In a sense, imprisoning Yi Shang could be seen as a conclusion to the war that had been fought during those thirty-seven lost years.

Yi Shang was the first Seraph that Lu Yin had personally subdued.

Over time, Lu Yin had ended up imprisoning a number of powerful cultivators in his Champions’ Stage Purgatory, including multiple Dukkhans.

Not only did imprisoning such individuals strengthen his Karmic Dao and allow Lu Yin to ignore karmic backlash, but his prisoners would also serve an even greater purpose in the future.

His Karmic Dao had his Champions’ Stage serve as purgatory below and his Investiture of the Gods serve as heaven above.

The day would come when Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao would bring an unprecedented surprise to everyone. It would develop into something that far exceeded even the Nine Heavens Transformation.

Lu Yin took out the compass and waved a hand, tearing the void open. He then stepped forward and started searching for the key.

During his last attempt to retrieve the key, Lu Yin had succeeded in coating the key with Ethersand. Now, all he needed to do was find it, which would not take long.

After more than ten days, Lu Yin returned to the Hundred Grasses Domain, the third key to the Gate of Laws in his hand.

This key was the foundation of his current confidence. With this, he would be able to compete strategically with Yong Heng.

Yong Heng had avoided being rolled back when time had reverted thirty-seven years, and he had even kept Meng Sang with him. On top of that, the man had endured the karmic backlash created from keeping Tian Ci’s mirebound artifact spirit seed. There was no doubt that the man had paid for those actions.

Most recently, Lu Yin had learned that Yong Heng had also managed to retain Zhan Yan’s key to the Gate of Laws, though after the temporal reversion, Zhan Yan herself had ended up in Lu Yin’s hands.

This karmic debt would be settled.

Lu Yin wanted to see if Yong Heng truly had the ability to retain the key.

How much effort had True God expended to withstand the previous karmic backlash? It should have been impossible without at least comprehending karma; even the High Seraph found it inconceivable. After all, the man still did not know that it was possible to resist karmic backlash.

Just how had Yong Heng achieved such a thing?

Even if it was possible, Yong Heng must have paid a steep price. If he was forced to endure karmic backlash again, each incident would reduce the chance of Yong Heng being able to resist again.

Lu Yin wanted to bet on this opportunity and use it to probe the depths of Yong Heng’s capabilities.

Lu Yin had not forgotten that Yong Heng intended for the Spirit Nidus to be their third battleground. Since that was the case, it was time to let the contest begin.

Yi Shang’s key granted Lu Yin a bit of insurance. If Yong Heng was able to endure another bout of karmic backlash and wanted to retaliate against Lu Yin by announcing Lu Yin’s Possession ability, then turning over the third key should be enough to appease that fury. Even then, it would be worth the price.

If Yong Heng failed to endure the karmic backlash and Lu Yin ended up with Zhan Yan’s key, then he could simply give the key to Yong Heng, similarly quelling the man’s anger. After all, Lu Yin possessed an extra key to work with.

This was precisely why Lu Yin had made sure to get his hands on Yi Shang’s key. This key was the foundation that gave Lu Yin the confidence to incite Yong Heng’s wrath.

Even if both keys were given to Yong Heng, one key was still with the High Seraph. Lu Yin was happy to let those two fight over it. His strategy was clear, and at the very least, he would not suffer any losses.

At that moment, his spirit cloudstone trembled. Meng Sang was reaching out to give Lu Yin the time and place for trading Zhan Yan.

The Seraph had successfully shaken off Jiu Xian’s tail.

The timing was perfect.

Lu Yin called for Zhan Yan. “Give me your key.”

Zhan Yan could not make sense of Lu Yin. She had clearly been under his control for a long time, which meant that he could have taken the key from her at any point in time. Despite that, he had never even mentioned it.

Given the importance of the key, it was impossible for Lu Yin to be ignorant of its existence.

There was no hesitation as Zhan Yan pulled out the key and handed it to Lu Yin.

It was identical to the one that Yi Shang had hidden in the box.

As Lu Yin watched the key approaching him, his eyes narrowed. “Let’s go, Yong Heng.”

Far away, on a distant planet, streets were lit by neon lights as the city’s sounds of nightlife filled the air. Towering buildings soared into the clouds high above the streets, isolated from all of the noise. From above, those down below looked like insignificant ants.

Feng Bo stood respectfully at the side, his expression grim.

Yong Heng slowly said, “Jiu Xian hasn’t stopped looking for you. For now, don’t reveal yourself. As for Lu Yin and his people, they clearly know that you’ve already died, and yet they refuse to tell Jiu Xian that you’re dead. I’ll make sure to inform her of this.”

A cold light flickered in Feng Bo’s eyes when Jiu Xian’s name was mentioned.

Suddenly, Yong Heng’s expression changed drastically. The lights across the entire planet started to flicker, and his face paled as his expression grew unprecedentedly somber.

Feng Bo stared at Yong Heng in bewilderment. “What’s happening?”

His back still to Feng Bo, Yong Heng opened his hands. A petal in his palm withered away. “Are you inciting karmic backlash with Zhan Yan’s key? Do you not fear that I will reveal your secrets? Let’s see if you can withstand the wrath of the Spirit Nidus.”

He turned around to face Feng Bo. “Release the information.”

At that exact moment, Yong Heng’s spirit cloudstone trembled, as Meng Sang was trying to call him.

Yong Heng connected, and he heard Meng Sang’s voice. “I have it.”

Yong Heng was taken aback. “You have it?”

He took a key out from his cosmic ring. It was clear that he still had the key, even after Lu Yin had tried to take Zhan Yan’s key and force Yong Heng to suffer karmic backlash. That attempt had failed, and the key had not been taken from Yong Heng.

However, if his key had not been taken, then where had Lu Yin obtained another one?

Something suddenly occurred to Yong Heng. “Bring the key to me.”

“Understood.”

Yong Heng lowered his spirit cloudstone and then turned to stare off into the distance again. The lights across the planet flickered back to normal. The brief incident was regarded as nothing more than a brief power grid fluctuation to the residents of the planet.

“As expected of you. Did you obtain the third key? Is that why you were willing to push karmic backlash onto me?”

Feng Bo asked, “My lord, what information should I release?”

Yong Heng answered without even looking back, “That’s no longer needed. The price has already been paid.”

After a short pause, the man remembered something, and he took his spirit cloudstone back out.

Now, only one key remains, and it’s the one with the High Seraph. Is this also part of your plot? Do you intend to force me and the High Seraph to fight for the third key?

Competition arose from conflicting interests. As long as the stakes were high enough, disputes would naturally break out.

Yong Heng was happy to remain in hiding until the inevitable day when a conflict of interest arose between him and the High Seraph.

The key in High Seraph’s possession was that exact conflict of interest.

Lu Yin had greatly accelerated the timetable.

Lu Yin could not afford to have the full attention of the Spirit Nidus focused on him, which meant that he needed to create a bit of breathing room for himself.

As for Lu Yin, he felt a bit of regret as he left the place where he had met with Meng Sang. As expected, Yong Heng had been able to hold onto Zhan Yan’s key. That was precisely why Lu Yin had taken it from her earlier. More importantly, just how many more times could Yong Heng withstand karmic backlash?

Even the High Seraph had failed to avoid the temporal reversion, and he had been transported back to the Spirit Nidus. On the other hand, Yong Heng had resisted it entirely. That was the first instance.

Meng Sang had lost his memories of the Tianyuan Megaverse, but he had not returned to the Spirit Nidus. That was likely due to Yong Heng’s intervention. That had been the second instance.

Yong Hen had then ensured that he kept Tian Ci’s mirebound artifact spirit seed, which had been the third instance.

Keeping Zhan Yan’s key was the fourth.

Lu Yin did not believe that Yong Heng could continually resist karmic backlashes forever.

While Lu Yin was no longer able to personally inflict karmic backlash upon Yong Heng, Lu Yin cultivated karma. That meant that he could simply leverage others’ karma in the future.

The more times that Yong Heng endured karmic backlash, the fewer times he would be able to counter Lu Yin’s efforts in the future.

At that moment, his spirit cloudstone trembled, and Lu Yin answered the call. Zhan Ming was reaching out.

“Seraph Lu, is Zhan Yan able to return to us now?”

Lu Yin frowned. “What are you talking about?”

In a low voice, Zhan Ming explained, “Zhan Yan is no longer of any use to you. If you genuinely like her, I can leave her to you.”

Lu Yin immediately understood that Yong Heng had sold him out.

True God had total possession of Zhan Yan’s key, obtained after Lu Yin had targeted the man with karmic backlash. A steep price had been paid.

Yong Heng was not someone to toy with. He understood that the Gate of Laws had only ever cooperated with Lu Yin because of Zhan Yan; or rather, because of the key in her possession. Because of that, Yong Heng had told the Zhan family that he had received Zhan Yan’s key.

In fact, True God had not even suffered the slightest loss.

Lu Yin had never noticed Yong Heng’s scheming side. This was not actually due to Lu Yin’s failure, but rather because Yong Heng had never needed to be cautious of him before.

Anyone who could successfully plot the downfall of the once-glorious Heavens Sect was not someone to be trifled with.

“Who told you that I no longer have Zhan Yan’s key?” Lu Yin asked curiously.

Zhan Ming’s tone remained low. “There’s no need for you to worry about that, Seraph Lu.”

Lu Yin laughed. “I suggest that you be a bit more polite. Even if I no longer have Zhan Yan’s key, I’ve picked up half of a key.”

Zhan Ming was taken aback. “What do you mean by half of a key?”

“Stop playing dumb. You thought that Yi Shang wouldn’t say anything, didn’t you?”

Zhan Ming’s expression grew somber. So, it’s been exposed after all? Yi Shang really was captured because of that key.

The current call was not really for Zhan Yan’s sake. Yes, she was Zhan Ming’s daughter, and he wanted to save her, but the key to the Gate of Laws was far more important. After learning that Zhan Yan no longer had the key, not contacting Lu Yin meant that Zhan Yan would remain unharmed. However, as soon as contact was made, Lu Yin would be able to use Zhan Yan as leverage to continue blackmailing the Gate of Laws, which would put Zhan Ming at a disadvantage.

Despite that, he needed to reach out and ascertain some matters related to Yi Shang.

It was clear that Yi Shang had not been able to endure the pressure and that he had given his half of the key to Lu Yin.

“That old man, Yi Shang, certainly is clever. Even I can’t open the box on my own, so why don’t we work together?” Lu Yin suggested.

That left Zhan Ming certain that Lu Yin knew the truth regarding the third key. Only Zhan Ming and Yi Shang had been aware of that box’s existence. What Zhan Ming did not know was that the key from that box had already been used to appease Yong Heng’s anger. Zhan Ming could have never imagined that someone could open the box without relying on the two secondary keys.

“Do you want to open it, Seraph Lu?”

“Whenever you like.”

Zhan Ming refused. He did not dare to open the box together with Lu Yin. Doing so would not merely risk the key. Zhan Ming himself might not be able to escape.

Lu Yin had amply demonstrated his strength when fighting against Emperor Wu at the source of the Fu River. There truly was no one in the Spirit Nidus, aside from the High Seraph, who could stand up to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin felt rather frustrated. Exposing his strength had certainly come with a cost. “You don’t want to open it? Then why don’t I sell you my half of the key?”

“Terms?” Zhan Ming calmly asked.