Star Odyssey

Chapter 3436: The Battle Of The Aqua Rift

“This entire time, our Yuan family has faced hostility from all directions. Even when Ancestor Yuan Qi was here, things were not any different. That’s because of the relationship between our ancestor and the High Seraph. When our ancestor left for the Tianyuan Megaverse, more and more people turned against us, coveting his position as Seraph.

“This time, our ancestor returned, but he has blatantly violated the rules and established the Grandverse Manor. In doing so, he has firmly placed our Yuan family against the Ascendant Hall. Listen carefully and remember all that I am about to say.”

Yuan Hong’s expression grew frigid. “The Yuan family has never been favored by the Ascendant Hall. Since our ancestor has now broken the rules of the megaverse, we will follow him. If anyone does not wish to join our ancestor, you may leave now. The Yuan family will not stop you.”

No one left.

Everyone understood what their Yuan family had suffered over the years. Even if they abandoned the Yuan family and pledged their loyalty to the Ascendant Hall, there was no guarantee that they would be accepted. And even if they were, what next? They would be nothing more than homeless dogs who would forever carry the stigma of betraying their own. Not merely betraying the Spirit Nidus, but their own family.

Staying with the family was the only viable path forward.

Yuan Hong was satisfied. “No one left. Good. In that case, remember this: from this moment forward, we will remain in this Lushan Domain, waiting for our ancestor. The Yuan family will seal ourselves off. No one will be allowed to enter or exit. Unless someone breaks in, we will not move.”

The fact that the Yuan family had sealed themselves off further enraged the crowd that surrounded them. People wanted to attack the Lushan Domain, but they were hesitant to do so.

It was clear that Yuan Qi’s blatant rebellion against the Spirit Nidus had been pre-planned. No one knew how many experts were aboard Boundless, which was why no one wanted to be the first to take action.

All they could reasonably do was keep the Yuan family surrounded as a demonstration to the Ascendant Hall that they were taking action. If Yuan Qi fell, the Yuan family would immediately be stormed and all of their resources seized. However, if Yuan Qi proved himself to be beyond the Ascendant Hall’s control, people would reconsider their stance. As long as no one acted rashly, everything could still be negotiated.

The Yuan family was clueless to the fact that Yuan Qi’s actions were not entirely voluntary, but that also no longer mattered.

Yuan Qi had already accepted his fate.

The Yuan family’s formal position did not reach Yuan Qi’s ears, and he was also not particularly concerned about his family.

Cultivators not only trained their strength, but also their hearts. Many people regarded emotions as obstacles to their cultivation, with the Aeternals being the most extreme example. Yuan Qi was no different from them.

Such people believed that becoming indifferent to familial bonds would allow them to progress further.

In contrast, there were others who believed that emotions formed the ladder for humanity’s ascension. Lu Yin was one of those people.

It was unclear who was right or wrong. The example of Lu Yin was not enough to be a definitive answer. He simply had not cultivated for long enough, and regardless of his choices, it was too soon for him to sever his emotional connections.

Yuan Qi had left the Spirit Nidus eons ago, and his familial bonds had long since faded to nothing.

...

After boarding Boundless, Cai Keqing did not meet Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had no intention of meeting the woman either. Her presence on Boundless was the only thing about her that mattered.

Days passed, and Boundless entered the Alin Domain, which was close to the Baicao Domain.

Lu Yin was staring off into the distance, impressed by what he saw. “Is that Aqua Rift?”

Old Tao sighed. “Yes, that’s the Aqua Rift. The most famous sight in the entire Alin Domain.”

The Aqua Rift was a massive arch-like structure that had water cascading over its entire span. The water split the universe, while the arch connected the two sides. The arch resembled the Perennial World’s Bifrost.

The difference was that, while the Bifrost rose up vertically, the Aqua Rift spanned a horizontal distance. Anyone who wanted to cross the Alin Domain needed to pass beneath the Aqua Rift.

“In the Alin Domain, there is a special kind of soil that is exclusively drawn to the Alin Universe. The pull is strongest at the place where the Alin Universe connects with the Spirit Transformation Universe, and it grows weaker the further you move from that point. The Alin Domain moved this soil horizontally, and over time, it was slowly drawn upwards by the universe itself. That eventually formed this arch.

“After countless years, that soil petrified, becoming incredibly hard. The people of the Alin Domain redirected the water to flow over it, making it cascade down the full length of the arch to form the Alin Domain’s greatest wonder: the Aqua Rift.”

Lu Yin continued to peer into the distance. “This Aqua Rift must be very important to the Alin Domain.”

Old Tao replied, “That’s right. The Aqua Rift has become the symbol of the entire Alin Domain. The domain is split into two dominant factions, which are separated by the Aqua Rift. Each is protected by a sequence powerhouse.”

Lu Yin laughed. “Two sequence powerhouses? Their presence is very obvious. A bit too obvious.

“Take Boundless up higher.”

Old Tao was puzzled. Raise the ship? Their altitude was already perfect for passing beneath the Aqua Rift. Rising further...

The man’s expression dropped. No way...

Boundless slowly ascended, even as it continued straight towards the Aqua Rift.

At that moment, countless eyes from along the Aqua Rift became glued to Boundless. “Why is it ascending? What does this mean? At this rate, it’s going to crash into the Aqua Rift!”

“This is bad! Boundless is going to slam into the Aqua Rift!”

In the shadows, a man grew anxious. “It can’t crash! The dream realm relies on reality, and the dream realm needs Boundless to pass under the Aqua Rift! If it crashes, my dreamscape will fail.”

“Can’t you alter things to fit reality? Just change things so that the crash is part of your dreamscape.”

“From the looks of it, Boundless is definitely going to crash into the Aqua Rift.”

“I can’t account for that!”

“But you’re Seraph Meng Sang’s disciple!”

“I’m not a Seraph!”

Eyes blazed fiercely or were full of dread as they stared at Boundless from every direction.

The truth was that an ambush had been laid for Boundless.

The chaos created by the Grandverse Manor—the mess in the Cai Domain, taking Cai Keqing, and the Yuan family sealing themselves off—had all sparked a great deal of hatred towards Boundless. A great number of sects and families had gathered together in record time in order to attack the ship at the Aqua Rift. Meng Sang’s disciple was leading the charge, and they had been tasked with dragging everyone aboard Boundless

However, that attempt had already failed.

Boundless continued straight towards the Aqua Rift.

Two figures raced out to block the battleship’s path. “Senior Yuan Qi, the Alin Domain has done nothing to offend your Grandverse Manor. Please descend so that you can pass beneath the Aqua Rift.”

Lu Yin stepped forward so that he was standing at the bow of Boundless. There was an arrogant smirk on his face as he retorted. “No one can force Boundless to bow! You are underestimating this ship.”

The two figures grew exasperated. “It’s just a arch! This isn’t about trying to force Boundless to lower itself!”

“Descending is bowing one’s head! Are you looking down on my Grandverse Manor?” Lu Yin challenged.

The two people’s mouths opened, but they found nothing to say in reply. It was evident that the man was trying to be unreasonable, and yet his sheer arrogance made them want to kill him on the spot.

Lu Yin grew impatient. “Get out of the way! If not, then don’t blame us when you’re crushed to death.”

“Who are you? Give us your name!” a man demanded, his expression fierce.

Lu Yin sneered. “I’m the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss. You can call me Seventh Bro.”

Boundless was still moving closer to the Aqua Rift, and the two men were forced to move aside, though their eyes remained fixed on Lu Yin. The young man boldly remained standing on the bow of Boundless.

Boom!

There was a thunderous crash that caused countless people across the Alin Domain to look up. What met their eyes was a shocking sight.

The Aqua Rift, which had stood for countless years, had been ripped in two after being struck by Boundless. Its fragments were drawn upwards by the pull of the Alin Universe, which prevented them from falling, but the water that had once cascaded over the Aqua Rift now scattered, and the entire Alin Domain was showered with torrential rain.

Despite being drenched by the downpour, Boundless inexorably plowed through the fragments of the Aqua Rift. Through the rain, countless eyes glared at Lu Yin.

He turned around and returned to the depths of Boundless, completely ignoring the bloodlust directed at him.

“Kill him!”

One person was no longer able to restrain themselves, and they attacked. A sequence powerhouse released their sequence particles, and they spread toward Boundless.

Powerful cultivators attacked from all directions, but the most fearsome attacks came from three enormous and powerful auras. Massive beasts simultaneously appeared in three different directions, all of them attacking Boundless.

They were not simply targeting the people aboard Boundless, but rather attacking with the intention of destroying the battleship itself.

Within Boundless, Bai Liu and Yi Yao grew pale. They stared blankly at the massive claws that fell from the sky. The attackers were cultivators who had undergone beast-form Spirit Rebirths, and they were all terrifyingly powerful.

Cai Jun froze in fear. He had never encountered such horrifying creatures in his entire life.

Cai Keqing watched the claws descend, her expression disturbingly calm.

Old Tao looked up and sighed. “Another group of hidden experts from the Primal Beastland. It’s true that they are one of the select few among the thirty-six domains that can rival Heavenspire or the Gate of Laws. They have countless hidden experts.”

Of the three beasts, two were sequence powerhouses, while one was actually an Ortuser. The most powerful of the three had also cultivated sixth-ranked sequence technique: Divine Projection.

With Divine Projection, the massive beast grew even larger, and a human figure took form behind it.

While the creature was clearly a beast, the Divine Projection had created a human figure. That figure was unmistakable, as it was one of the Seven Seraphs, the Emperor Wu.

Few individuals were aware of what kind of beast the Emperor Wu had become with his beast-form Spirit Rebirth, as he usually appeared in human form. However, while he might look the same as before his Spirit Rebirth, everyone knew that the Emperor Wu was a true beast.

The Emperor Wu ruled the Primal Beastland, though he was currently in the Consciousness Megaverse.

For powerhouses from the Primal Beastland, cultivating Divine Projection, which allowed them to manifest a projection the Emperor Wu, was quite normal.

The Divine Projection of the Emperor Wu raised a hand and pointed it at Boundless before unleashing the Emperor Wu’s ultimate technique: Limitless Destruction.

The battleship was completely locked down and unable to move as the three enormous beasts attacked in unison with the Divine Projection of the Emperor Wu. There were also more sequence powerhouses attacking from the shadows, and countless eyes watched the ambush, all of them eagerly looking forward to seeing Boundless’s destruction.

Yuan Qi was a Seraph and was correspondingly powerful, but could he really endure such an assault? Just the three experts from the Primal Beastland were already enough to give a Seraph a hard time.

This attack would at least reveal the true strength of Boundless.

Lu Yin slowly walked out of the Rain Observatory, step by step.

Before him, three figures shot out towards each of the enormous beasts. They were the Megalith, the Pridebeast, and Astral Anura.

Astral Anura felt humiliated, but he had no choice. Lu Yin had ordered the toad to fight, and he needed to comply.

As those three shot away from Boundless, the Megalith swung its massive tail, smashing at the beast attacking from Boundless’s port side. At the same time, the Pridebeast threw a devastating punch at the beast on the starboard side, while Astral Anura targeted the beast that was using Divine Projection and coordinating with the copy of the Emperor Wu's Limitless Destruction.

Since he was forced to fight, Astral Anura had naturally chosen the strongest opponent. Doing so would allow him to demonstrate his value. Besides that, the toad was the only one of the three who could deal with an Ortuser.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Three deafening collisions rang out, and blood mixed with the rain from where the Aqua Rift had once stood, showering the Alin Domain.

Countless people in the Alin Domain stared upwards in a daze. What had just happened? Why was the sky turning red?

The three massive bodies fell, shattering mountain ranges and overturning seas. The impacts shook the entire Alin Domain.

Lu Yin returned to his seat and looked ahead again. His expression had turned cold and determined.