Star Odyssey

Chapter 3482: Free of Care, Sorrowless

Lu Yin turned to face the Worryless Elder and threw a punch at the old man from a distance.

All techniques were overcome with pure strength. There was no time to waste. It was not worth it to waste any more time.

The Worryless Elder’s eyes narrowed sharply, and the half-ruined Worryless Valley immediately moved to shield him.

There was a loud boom, and the Worryless Valley completely shattered. Fragments brushed past the Worryless Elder’s face, leaving behind lines of blood.

As the valley shattered, the Worryless Elder's expression turned venomous, and his eyes grew frenzied and ruthless. He slowly rose up, glaring at Lu Yin the whole time, and uttered, "Free of Care, Sorrowless."

Countless eyes turned to look at Lu Yin. There was no way to tell where the eyes were from. The gazes were all numb and indifferent, and yet they all carried sinister, emotionless smiles.

These eyes seemed capable of piercing through a person’s soul, and they instantly filled Lu Yin’s vision.

Those gazes merged with Lu Yin, and as his arms fell, his memories became chaotic. Who am I? Lu Yin? Lu Xiaoxuan? Who is Ming Yan? Jiang Qingyue? Whiteless God? Long Xi? No, I’m Jiang Chen—aren’t I? Yes, Jiang Chen. No, I’m Lu Yin. Who killed my father? Was that Jiang Chen? Ku Wei? Who’s Ku Wei? Is he my master? Who is Mister Mu? Is True God my master...?

The countless chaotic memories left Lu Yin’s mind blank. He stood there, frozen like an empty shell.

The Worryless Elder coughed up blood. He had remained hidden in the Worryless Valley for countless years, and he had even avoided the Seraph competition that Bao Qi had participated in. All of that waiting had been for Free of Care, Sorrowless. This was the grand culmination of a comprehension technique that the old man had spent years developing, building upon the foundations of the comprehension technique that he had used against Lu Yin earlier.

From the moment the Worryless Elder had first developed Free of Care, Sorrowless, he had known that, once he mastered the technique, the title of Seraph would be his for the taking. Not a single one of his peers would be able to compete with him for it. Only Dukkhans might pose a threat, and yet even they might find their Dukkha grow unstable if they were attacked with Free of Care, Sorrowless.

No Dukkhan would risk a life-and-death battle with the Worryless Elder then.

This was why he was so confident in his accumulated comprehension technique, so long as he fully mastered it. It was why he had stayed in the Worryless Valley for so long.

However, he had yet to truly master the technique. He had taken shortcuts, such as depriving people of their human nature and then observing how they lived after losing essential parts of themselves. It had all been an effort to refine and quickly master Free of Care, Sorrowless.

As long as he had a bit more time, he was certain that he would have successfully mastered the technique.

Unfortunately, this unknown young man had arrived at the worst possible moment, and his terrifying strength had left the Worryless Elder with no choice but to forcibly use Free of Care, Sorrowless.

While the comprehension technique had been developed enough to affect the target, triggering chaotic memories and emotions, the Worryless Elder would also suffer a backlash from using it.

Blood dripped onto the ground as the Worryless Elder stared over at the motionless Lu Yin. The young man’s head was bowed, and he was muttering to himself. This was the price of suffering from chaotic memories and emotions; the man had started to deny his own identity.

The Worryless Elder slowly walked closer to Lu Yin. As long as he seized this opportunity, he could kill the young man. This would be his only chance.

The old man moved slowly, as each step was arduous. After all, his own memories had started to break down as well.

He had also lost aspects of his own human nature. He had slaughtered his own lover and watched children kill their fathers. Emotions threatened to overwhelm the Worryless Elder, and he nearly suffocated from the misery he was enduring.

Strand by strand, his hair and beard fell out.

His emotionless expression morphed into one of agony. He took one more step, and then his body was no longer able to endure it any longer. He collapsed to his knees while releasing a wail. "I didn’t mean to! Hahaha! I didn’t mean to! Why is this so painful? Father, I wish you would have killed me...

"Little Ling, where are you?

"So this is the scent of blood. It’s terrifying! Did I do this? Why? Why was I so happy then, and am now in so much pain? Hahaha..."

The Worryless Elder crumpled to the ground while raving like a madman, simultaneously laughing and crying while suffering from extreme torture.

A shadow fell upon him.

Lu Yin stood in front of the old man, watching as the Worryless Elder reaped what he had sown.

He had deprived people of their human nature with his comprehension technique in order to master his Free of Care, Sorrowless technique. But once it was used, it had harmed even the man himself. The man had not been aware that, by stripping others of their human nature, those things had been transferred to him. Little by little, they had accumulated within himself, causing his own emotions to become far heavier.

The actions taken by those whose human nature he had stolen had an associated karma, and that karma had been transferred to the old man. Now, he was forced to suffer again and again.

Nothing mattered to an emotionally indifferent person. However, if that indifference was transformed into true feeling, and then that sensitivity was amplified many times over, a person would not be able to avoid suffering for their former actions.

The Worryless Elder’s hair fell out even as it turned white. His entire head of hair had turned white in a few brief moments.

The agony of the old man was something that Lu Yin never wished to endure.

The greatest pain in existence was not the pain of the body, but the pain of emotions.

This was humanity’s weakness, as well as its greatest strength.

Lu Yin captured the Worryless Elder and imprisoned him in the Champions' Stage Purgatory before letting out a heavy breath.

As he looked around, Lu Yin saw that the people who had lost their human nature could not recover. They had died when the Worryless Valley was destroyed, but at least they were finally able to rest in peace.

At that moment, Lu Yin remembered how, in the previous timeline, Bao Qi had commented on the mad dogs before he died. The man had been right—those who vied for the title of Seraph were indeed mad dogs.

Qian had Matron’s Flame, which was powerful enough to melt even Lu Yin’s body.

The Worryless Elder had his Free of Care, Sorrowless comprehension technique, which had thrown Lu Yin’s emotions and memories into chaos.

Each of the old monsters had their own trump cards and could not be underestimated.

It was no wonder why the Phantom Reach wanted to use Lu Yin to eliminate such experts. If the Phantom Hand Domain were to directly confront these old directly, the cost they would need to be pay would be unimaginable.

If all of these individuals appeared and attacked the Tianyuan Megaverse as they competed for the title of Seraph, Lu Yin could not even imagine what would happen to them.

Regardless of the outcome, Lu Yin was convinced that his megaverse would not be able to endure. Even if the mad dogs were eventually dealt with, his megaverse would be left in ruins.

Lu Yin was finally starting to see the depths of the Spirit Nidus’s foundation.

Countless years of a unified cultivation system had led to the existence of a number of hidden ancient monsters.

Lu Yin’s hand clenched into fists. He felt an even greater pressure to deal with the megaverse’s old monsters, regardless of whether they were hiding or part of the seven major powers. He needed to eliminate as many of them as possible.

Before the Grandverse Manor was besieged, Lu Yin needed to neutralize as many threats as possible.

The High Seraph had not ordered an open attack on the Grandverse Manor, which made it clear that the man had his own plans. His deep and inscrutable schemes made Lu Yin wary, but he could only continue down his own path. That meant strengthening his Karmic Dao while also eliminating as many threats to the Tianyuan Megaverse as he could.

That was his responsibility as the ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse.

No one could take Lu Yin’s place and copy his actions, not even the Origin Progenitor.

The battle in the Worryless Valley might have seemed intense, but it had not produced much of a commotion.

Only after Lu Yin left did others arrive and discover the battlefield.

Zhan Qianguhou and those with him were still surrounded by Debaters, but not all of Lu Yin’s observers had been trapped. Some had stayed back, focused on the Revelation Sect.

Only after the fight in the Worryless Valley started did the observers move over, but by the time they arrived, it was already too late. Lu Yin was already back in the Revelation Sect.

The three Revelation Elders looked at Lu Yin with open anticipation as he wearily collapsed into a chair. "It's done. It was the Worryless Elder."

The three old men exchanged glances, and then they knelt as one. "Thank you, Third Boss."

Lu Yin waved their thanks away with a hand. "We’ll just call this even."

The elder at the center responded with a wry smile. "Third Boss, your words go too far. How can this be considered even? The kindness you’ve shown our Revelation Domain will never be forgotten. We will go through fire and water for you, without any hesitation."

Lu Yin stood up. "Alright, I’m leaving."

One step took him out of the Revelation Sect, and he sat back on the sedan chair. "Let’s go."

From within the Revelation Sect, the three Revelation Elders watched the young man leave, and they bowed to him yet again.

The people around them were all dumbfounded. Had the Third Boss been visiting the Revelation Sect? Then who had created the recent commotion and fought that battle?

Some people hurried over to the Worryless Valley, while others stayed outside of the Revelation Sect to keep watch. Still others, including Zhan Qianguhou, remained surrounded by the Debaters, who were impossible to escape from. Those people started to feel a bit hopeless because Zhan Qianguhou was still arguing with the debaters. He simply refused to accept the idea that the universe was a living organism, and he seemed determined to deny it, even if doing so killed him.

More and more Debaters arrived and joined the fray.

"Come on! You think I’m scared? You can try to drown me in your spit, or if you can’t do that, I’ll fight you all!"

"We’re trying to reason with you."

"You’re all a bunch of liars!"

"You have an argumentative spirit."

"No, you have an argumentative spirit! Your whole family is argumentative!"

The bystanders all felt helpless. All of you are argumentative!

As the sedan passed by the crowd, Lu Yin looked at the gathering with a strange expression. "Young people are so full of energy."

...

The battle in the Worryless Valley had created a rather small disturbance, which was unlike Lu Yin’s typical manner of doing things in the Spirit Nidus. Some said that he had nothing to do with the destruction, while others claimed that he was the root cause.

As for Lu Yin’s visit to the Revelation Sect, no one paid much attention to that matter. People knew that he could have gone to the Worryless Valley without anyone noticing.

Time passed, and some older powerhouses traveled to the Worryless Valley. They found traces of the Worryless Elder’s comprehension technique, and they concluded that the old man was still alive and that he had fought in this battle.

This news shocked countless people.

While the Worryless Elder was not a widely known figure, many older cultivators had heard of him. The stories that they shared were more than enough to astonish countless people.

The Worryless Elder was an ancient powerhouse who had once fought for the title of Seraph against Meng Sang. Even before, the old man had earned a reputation across the megaverse. There was no denying his strength, and he was someone from an even earlier generation than Qian.

Everyone had assumed that the Worryless Elder was dead, but now, they were learning that he still lived.

However, no one knew what had happened to him.

Attention returned to Lu Yin. With the incident with Qian, it was possible to connect the dots, and many people suspected that Lu Yin had attacked the Worryless Elder.

At the moment, Lu Yin was casually eating fruit while teasing Palace Master Yao. Some people took this as evidence that the Worryless Elder had met an unfortunate fate.

How had the Third Boss even known that the Worryless Elder was still alive? On top of that, why had the old man been targeted? Countless questions arose in people’s minds.

If the Third Boss really had attacked the Worryless Elder, then clearly, that had been his goal for going to the Revelation Domain. If the Grandverse Manor had learned that the Worryless Elder was hiding in the Revelation Domain, then just like when they had purged the rulers of five domains, it was clear that they had spent a great deal of time preparing to move against the Spirit Nidus. Such suspicions made the major powers increasingly wary of the Grandverse Manor.

Abruptly, a certain rumor started to spread: the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss was aiming for the title of Seraph.

While this rumor first seemed like a joke, when people considered all of Lu Yin’s actions as a whole, the rumor started to seem increasingly possible.

Did rebelling against the High Seraph conflict with the goal of becoming one of the Seven Seraphs?

The High Seraph had ruled over the Spirit Nidus for eons. It had been so long that there was a faint impression that the High Seraph was the sole ruler of the megaverse. However, the reality was that the High Seraph governed along with the Seven Seraphs.

The Seven Seraphs could influence the High Seraph’s decisions.

While Seraph Yuan Qi had rebelled against the Spirit Nidus, his actions represented himself, and possibly the Grandverse Manor as well. However, that might not mean that the Seraph’s actions also represented the Third Boss.

If the Third Boss severed his ties with the Grandverse Manor and joined the Ascendant Hall, even if he continued to offend the High Seraph and demonstrated no respect for the Apex Palace, that did not necessarily mean that the Third Boss could not become a Seraph.

All he needed to do was eliminate all other competitors for the title.

That was exactly what he appeared to be doing.

...