Star Odyssey-Chatper 3581: The Cause

Above Boundless, Lu Yin was staring at a ledger, quite surprised by what he had found. Even cultivators would occasionally use these primitive record keeping methods.

This was usually done to deceive those with ulterior motives.

Many cultivators used jade slips or other similar materials to maintain their records. These methods were quite convenient as they could instantly record the user’s thoughts. However, they were also easily discoverable to someone with ill intentions. In contrast, Lu Yin was staring at a paper ledger that contained no trace of cultivation energy. As long as one did not carry the ledger with them, it would be very hard to detect.

The ledger was a record of transactions between Yue Cheng and someone named Wu Ji. Wu Ji occasionally sent people to intercept the goods being transported by the Sima Chamber of Commerce. Each attack was loud and disruptive, but they caused little actual damage. However, Yue Cheng would always claim that the goods being transported had been damaged, hide some of them away, and then later share them with Wu Ji.

Not only that, but Yue Cheng had also belonged to the Sima Chamber of Commerce, which had the authority to send out people to search for the materials needed to create sequence bases. While the Sima Chamber of Commerce competed with Yi Shang’s company, Yue Cheng knew exactly which companies possessed which materials. He had shared this information with Wu Ji, who had then taken action. Lists of resources, routes, and even the strength of the escorts protecting the goods would all be shared. This allowed Wu Ji to frequently succeed at stealing the resources. Every successful raid had been extremely profitable.

Thanks to their interactions, the two had amassed quite the fortune.

However, there was one particular sentence at the end of the ledger: "If I one day die mysteriously, it will be Wu Ji’s doing."

"Is this why you were being chased?" Lu Yin asked as he looked up at Yue Shu. "Who is this Wu Ji?"

Yue Shu did not dare to actually look at Lu Yin. He remained prostrated on the ground as he respectfully replied, "Wu Ji... Wu Ji is from the Primal Beastland."

"‘Wu’? Only descendants of Emperor Wu are allowed to use that surname," Old Tao interjected, his expression solemn.

Ru Mu and Qing Yun were both stunned by that comment. Could this matter be connected to Emperor Wu?

"Are you telling me that Wu Ji is the one who killed Yue Cheng?" Lu Yin asked.

Old Tao said nothing.

Lu Yin looked down at Yue Shu. "Look up."

Yue Shu slowly raised his eyes, his fear readily seen as he said, "I... I don’t know."

Lu Yin stared at the man and calmly asked, "Then, how were you discovered?"

Yue Shu looked confused. "I really don’t know. When I found this ledger, I suddenly had a premonition of approaching disaster. I stayed in my home and refused to meet with anyone."

"How do you know who Wu Ji is?"

"Yue Cheng mentioned him before, but I only ever knew that Wu Ji was from the Primal Beastland. Yue Cheng grew very excited at the time, saying that he had gained the support of the Primal Beastland."

Palace Master Yao interjected in a cold voice, "Wu Ji was able to determine the approximate location of Yue Cheng’s hidden resources. At that time, anyone who behaved unusually or was simply unlucky could have been discovered. If it weren’t for that, he would have never made it to us."

Old Tao nodded. "If he had acted normally, he might not have raised any suspicions."

Yue Shu let out a bitter sigh. Their comments made everything sound so easy, but he was just an ant in the current situation. How could he have thought of such things? The only reason why he had been able to escape at all was pure luck.

Old Tao examined the ledger, and he hesitantly asked, "Third Boss, how do you plan to handle this?"

Yue Shu dropped his head again, not daring to look up. Such matters were for the powerful to decide. He had made this journey simply hoping to be able to survive. He would sacrifice everything for that.

Lu Yin looked down at the ledger. "How much do you know about Wu Ji?"

Old Tao replied, "Not much, but we’ll look into him."

"Do that now."

"Understood."

Old Tao returned one day later with an update. "Third Boss, Wu Ji is one of Emperor Wu’s countless descendants. Originally, he was not outstanding, but after he started working with Yue Cheng, he gained access to substantially more resources, and his cultivation rose from the Spirit Warrior realm to the Spirit Ancestor realm, at which time he started to receive resources to support his cultivation from the Primal Beastland.

"That said, he only ranks among the top five of Emperor Wu’s descendants. Emperor Wu doesn't really care much about most of his descendants.

"The competition in the Primal Beastland is fierce, which is why Wu Ji wanted to collaborate with Yue Cheng. There's nothing more to this matter. It’s all quite clear."

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Did Emperor Wu not care about Wu Ji? Maybe not in the past, but that might not be true any longer. A finger tapped on the void, creating faint ripples. "Send a message to the Primal Beastland. Demand that they turn Wu Ji over to us."

Old Tao nodded. "Yes."

Ba Liu and Yi Yao’s death could not be simply ignored. Already, Lu Yin had gone to the Daquan Domain and made trouble for the Sima Chamber of Commerce because of this matter. After learning that the Primal Beastland was the responsible party, Lu Yin had to go the rest of the way.

As for the fast-approaching Day of Offering, the most important celebration for the Spirit Nidus, what did that have to do with Boundless? If they could participate, they would. If they ruined the celebration, so be it.

The Grandverse Manor quickly sent a message to the Primal Beastland, demanding that Wu Ji be turned over. They also provided evidence that Wu Ji had been the one to kill Yue Cheng.

When this matter was made public, the Spirit Nidus’s half a year of peace was abruptly shattered.

All of the megaverse’s major powers felt numb. Ever since Boundless had arrived in the megaverse, the Spirit Nidus had experienced constant turmoil. Once again, something was happening, and there had barely been any time to relax since the last major incident.

This was no small matter. Both the Grandverse Manor and the Primal Beastland were involved, and this matter involved both sides’ reputations. If things went wrong, war could break out. The two sides were already hostile towards each other.

The Primal Beastland was where all of the Spirit Nidus’s beast-form Spirit Rebirths gathered, which meant that it was one of the largest domains. Originally, it had not been that vast, but an unspoken rule had resulted in the domain continually expanding.

Beast-form Spirit Rebirths walked a difficult path. Transforming from a human to an astral beast often had the side effect of the individual losing control of their base instincts. Most beast-form Spirit Rebirths had short tempers, which meant that there were constant fights in the domain.

The best way for an individual to establish themselves in the Primal Beastland was to seize a mountain peak and become its owner. Typically, those who could claim a mountain peak were at least Spirit Ancestors, and they would only be able to obtain one of the smaller peaks. The larger mountains were ruled over by sequence powerhouses. For example, Threeheaded Fiend had been a mountain lord. As for the tallest mountains, only Ortusers could occupy them. They were known as the Grand Mountain Lords, and they were second only to Emperor Wu.

The Primal Beastland had seven Grand Mountain Lords, which seemed to reflect the Seven Seraphs of the Spirit Nidus.

Unlike the other mountain lords, the Grand Mountain Lords normally did not take control of a mountain inside of the Primal Beastland itself. Instead, they would bring a mountain from outside the domain into it.

There was no formal rule to this. It was simply a demonstration of power for the strong.

No one knew where this tradition originated, but it resulted in the continual expansion of the Primal Beastland. Each new Grand Mountain Lord would add a new region to the domain.

Old Salamander was one of the Grand Mountain Lords, as were Golden Roc and You Xia. At its peak, the Primal Beastland was unquestionably more powerful than the rest of the seven major powers. Despite the unknown number of dying powerhouses in the Gate of Laws, those individuals did not actually belong to the Gate of Laws. They were simply awaiting death. When it came to absolute strength, no group could compare to the Primal Beastland.

However, while the Primal Beastland had once boasted seven Grand Mountain Lords, that was at the domain’s peak. At present, only three Grand Mountain Lords remained. Golden Roc and You Xia had both been captured by Lu Yin, and two others had died. One had fallen in the Consciousness Megaverse, and the other had reportedly passed away in seated meditation, though that had never been confirmed.

Above the Grand Mountain Lords stood Emperor Wu, the absolute ruler of the Primal Beastland and the lord of the entire domain.

Naturally, the ruler of the domain had a residence at the very center of the Primal Beastland, and it was surrounded by the seven Grand Mountain Lords’ territories.

Wu Ji also lived at the center of the domain, given the fact that he was one of Emperor Wu’s direct descendants.

At the moment, Wu Ji was trembling as he knelt on the floor. He was quivering in terror.

Emperor Wu was giving off so much pressure that Wu Ji was about to be crushed into dust.

"Was it you?"

Wu Ji’s expression was dazed, his eyes were unfocused. "Ye- yes."

Emperor Wu’s eyes suddenly flared, and the sky above the Primal Beastland grew darker. The ground trembled, and far away, lava erupted, dying half of the sky red. Countless astral beasts hid, terrified to reveal themselves.

At this moment, Emperor Wu wished he could simply slaughter the beast before him.

He had a great number of descendants, so he did not particularly care about any specific individual. If one or two died, it simply did not matter. However, how could Emperor Wu allow any of his descendants to fall into the hands of the Grandverse Manor? Especially at the current moment, when there were countless rumors claiming that he wanted to avoid the fight against Seraph Lu. There were even rumors that claimed that Emperor Wu had preemptively found out when the Ascendant Hall would attack Boundless, which was why he had set the date for his fight with Seraph Lu for six months after the Day of Offering. Other rumors claimed that the rumors of the Ascendant Hall’s attack had been deliberately sown by Emperor Wu in an attempt to force the Ascendant Hall to take action, all so that the fight with Seraph Lu would never happen.

While Emperor Wu was not certain that he could defeat Seraph Lu, that did not mean that he was afraid of fighting. The fight had been delayed purely to avoid any unforeseen complications before the Day of Offering. Emperor Wu wanted to see the extraordinary scene.

Also, one of his techniques was just a little short of being fully mastered.

Emperor Wu’s personality meant that he had already been pushed to his limits simply by staying silent. He, the great Emperor Wu, had never been forced into such a passive position before. Only by perfecting his ability could he be certain of defeating everyone. His goal was not just Seraph Lu; Emperor Wu’s true goal was to challenge the High Seraph. This was also why the fight had been delayed to only take place after the Day of Offering.

He was so close, and he just needed a little more. No matter what, he had to endure.

He had never expected all of his restraint and patience to be ruined by some brat. While the bastard’s life or death did not matter, if he turned Wu Ji over to the Grandverse Manor, what would become of his reputation? What about the Primal Beastland? At the moment, he wanted to do nothing more than slap the bastard dead, but that was impossible. If Wu Ji was killed, the outside world would believe that he, Emperor Wu, feared the Grandverse Manor.

Emperor Wu had never been so humiliated before.

Wu Ji lost consciousness, unable to withstand Emperor Wu’s increasing pressure.

Killing intent flickered in Emperor Wu's eyes as he suppressed the entire Primal Beastland.

A woman then arrived. She was wearing a white veil, though her snow-white skin was still faintly visible. The shape of her face was particularly striking. She stepped onto the hard ground with a bare foot that possessed a strange softness and smiled. "Senior Emperor Wu, why are you so angry? This child doesn’t understand, so just a little teaching will suffice."

Emperor Wu looked up and stared at the woman. "What brings you here?"

She was one of the seven Grand Mountain Lords, an Ortuser powerful enough that even Emperor Wu had to show her a level of respect.

Her smile grew, causing her already captivating beauty to become truly hypnotizing. "This matter does not only concern you, Emperor Wu, but also the entire Primal Beastland. I would like to ask how you plan to handle this."

Emperor Wu coldly retorted, "How do you want to handle it?"

"Hehe, there’s no need to be angry, Senior. Whatever you decide, the Primal Beastland will follow," the woman said with a smile.

Only then did Emperor Wu's expression soften slightly, though it was still far from a pleasant expression. What could he do? Turning over Wu Ji was impossible. Emperor Wu would rather kill the bastard himself than turn him over. However, as long as Emperor Wu refused the Grandverse Manor’s demands, the people of the Tianyuan Megaverse would never stop pressuring them.

Delaying his fight with Lu Yin until after the Day of Offering was already antithetical to Emperor Wu’s nature. He had been as patient as possible, but it appeared that the battle really was inevitable.

The challenge that Emperor Slayer had sent, followed by the rumors regarding the Ascendant Hall’s attack, and this latest matter all pushed Emperor Wu forward. The situation had reached a point where he could not have even a little time for himself. Things had come to a head.

He looked in the direction of the Hundred Grasses Domain. "Wu Ji is here. I am the only one who can decide if he lives or dies, and no one can interfere in that. Whoever wants him can come and take him."

The woman was taken aback. "Senior, do you intend to fight Seraph Lu now?"

Emperor Wu splayed his fingers before contracting them into a tight fist. "It doesn’t matter."

...