Star Odyssey - Chapter 2991: Wrestling Of Consciousness
Lu Yin let out a long breath. Had Progenitor Ku seen the other Scourges? Of course he had. In addition, he had also withstood attacks from the other Scourges. Did he give up? No, his willpower was unimaginable to ordinary people. His belief represented the belief of mankind, that one day, mankind would kill True God. And for that belief, he was willing to become a stone, an ordinary stone on a bloody road. This was Progenitor Ku.
Knowing that he would die, Progenitor Ku had still invaded the Scourge.
Progenitor Chen had sat alone in Burial Garden for countless years, contemplating a battle technique that could defeat True God.
The Rune Progenitor had created runes and saved the Fifth Mainland.
Progenitor Hui had set plans in motion that spanned eras, plotting against both humans and Aeternus in order to obtain a chance for mankind to seize victory.
And yet, those men merely represented the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era. Long before their time, Burial Garden and Boundless had already lit the fires of humanity’s inheritances. From the Heavens Sect era, how many of the Three Realms and Six Daos had died? How many still lived? What were they doing? It was possible that they were also doing their best to help humanity find a chance at victory. The Immemorial Citadel was locked in a fierce battle against the Aeternals, but who even knew about that fight at the forefront of humanity?
Lu Yin was not alone, and he had never been.
Humans were very complex creatures. They could scheme against each other, but they could also unite. They could be greedy, angry, delusional, and even evil. Even so, there would also be those who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, serving all of humanity. All of these people represented different aspects of humanity, as they were all creatures of flesh and blood.
Lu Yin slowly took a seat, closed his eyes, and ended the Possession.
Once Lu Yin returned to his own body, the Chiliagonist opened his eyes. He felt terribly confused. What had just happened to him? He felt like he had lost control.
On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin tore through the void, headed straight for Aeternus Nation. Once there, he descended beneath the ground and confronted the Chiliagonist.
The man stared at Lu Yin, confused by his sudden arrival and wondering what Lu Yin was about to do.
Lu Yin sat down cross-legged, facing the Chiliagonist. “I’m going to give you a chance to kill me.”
The Chiliagonist felt confused. “What did you just say?”
Lu Yin calmly repeated, “I’m going to give you a chance to kill me, though this will be restricted to a duel of consciousness.”
The Chiliagonist stared at Lu Yin. “You want to compete against me in consciousness?”
“That’s right.”
The Chiliagonist’s confusion mounted. He did not understand what was happening. Lu Yin wanted to duel him with his consciousness? Where had the man found such confidence?
In the Umbral Universe, the Chiliagonist had once attempted to seize control of Lu Yin and make him attack Old Mo, but that attempt had failed. At the time, the Chiliagonist had realized that Lu Yin’s consciousness was decently strong, though it was not nearly at the level of the Chiliagonist’s. Lu Yin’s consciousness was like a rock, and while the Chiliagonist might not be able to crush that rock, the rock was also inert and unable to move on its own.
“Are you even capable of fighting with your consciousness?”
A smile spread across Lu Yin’s face. “No, but I want to see if your consciousness can crack mine.”
The Chiliagonist’s eyes flickered. He did not move, but his mind was racing. Is this a trap? If so, where’s the catch?
“What? Scared?” Lu Yin waved a hand, dispersing the death energy to reveal Dual Bladeform, Chong Gui, and a false Ye Bo disguised by death energy. Everyone had been eroded by death energy and were thus unable to perceive things clearly.
“Three True God Guard Captains are watching you right now, and I’ll give you this opportunity to kill me. Killing me will eliminate a powerful enemy for Aeternus, and I’ll even promise to only fight you with consciousness. Do you still not dare?” Lu Yin casually asked.
Chong Gui shouted, “A duel with consciousness? Chiliagonist, if you actually fight him normally, you’ll just die, so go ahead and give this a try! This is a collision of love!”
The pink-haired woman clenched a fist. “Don’t be afraid, Chiliagonist!”
The blue-haired man frowned. “He clearly knows that the Chiliagonist cultivates consciousness, so why is he giving him this chance? There’s something wrong with this Dao Monarch Lu.”
“If you don’t betray Aeternus, he’s going to kill you, so there’s no reason not to take this chance,” Ye Bo stated coldly. This Ye Bo had been formed by Lu Yin, but Dual Bladeform and the others were unable to see through the death energy construct.
The Chiliagonist heard everything that they said. It was important to consider many matters, as it was true that the Heavens Sect would kill all the True God Guard Captains unless they betrayed Aeternus, and such betrayal was impossible. Given the fact that they had all cultivated divine energy, betrayal was also a death sentence. It would be better to fight.
“Very well, since you are seeking death, I will show you the way.” The Chiliagonist instantly attacked, his consciousness surging out and invading Lu Yin’s body. The man refused to give Lu Yin any time to prepare, and he attacked as soon as possible.
Lu Yin’s eyes focused as his mind was bombarded. His consciousness remained as solid as a rock, and the Chiliagonst could not gain the slightest bit of leverage.
The Chiliagonist constantly increased the intensity of his assault.
However, Lu Yin had already Possessed the Chiliagonist, and in addition to seeing memories, Lu Yin’s greatest gain was learning the secret to how the Chiliagonist cultivated consciousness.
The man’s consciousness was neither an innate gift nor a cultivation art, but rather a combination of the two. It resulted from a cultivation art that allowed the Chiliagonist to cultivate his innate gift. His innate gift was known as the Thespian, and it allowed him to control others to an extent, and it also allowed him to strengthen his consciousness. However, that growth was quite slow, and it had stalled until the man was recruited by the Aeternals. They had taught him a cultivation art called Thousand Leaves, and this cultivation art allowed the Chiliagonist to steal others’ consciousness and add it to his own innate gift. With this, he quickly improved his consciousness to the level where he became one of the True God Guard Captains. This was the secret to his strength.
However, there were both advantages and disadvantages to the Thousand Leaves. The main advantage was that a person could use it to quickly improve the strength of their consciousness, but the disadvantage was that it did not matter who activated the cultivation art, only who had the greater level of control.
The Thousand Leaves was not so much a cultivation art as it was theft. The Chiliagonist’s innate gift brought out his opponent’s consciousness, and then the Thousand Leaves allowed him to drag it over and make it his own. When things went well, this method would strengthen his consciousness, but what if someone competed against the Chiliagonist for the consciousness? The Thousand Leaves was like a rope, and whoever was stronger would take all the consciousness involved.
Thus, Lu Yin wanted to use the Thousand Leaves to rip the Chiliagonist’s consciousness away from him. If things went well, Lu Yin would be able to strengthen his own consciousness. If the attempt failed, Lu Yin would move on. After all, his own consciousness was as stable as a rock, so no matter how strong the rope might be, it would never move this rock.
The Chiliagonist poured more and more of his consciousness into Lu Yin as the man frenziedly attacked with his full strength. Lu Yin could feel his own consciousness being pulled at.
He was not able to perceive consciousness, but the Chiliagonist could do so with his innate gift.
He gritted his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin. It was clear to the Chiliagonist that Lu Yin’s consciousness was terrifyingly tenacious. It really was like a rock. No matter how hard the Chiliagonist pulled with his Thousand Leaves, his efforts were all useless. It was impossible to move no matter what.
Without warning, Lu Yin abruptly took action, and he started to pull on the Thousand Leaves with his consciousness, using what he felt when using Possession.
The sudden shift startled the Chiliagonist, horrifying him. “You!”
Lu Yin calmly stared back at the Chiliagonist. “It’s about time to settle this. Let’s compare.”
The Chiliagonist gritted his teeth. “Is this why you asked me to duel you? Do you want to steal my consciousness?”
Lu Yin did not hide a thing. “Pretty good.”
“How do you know the Thousand Leaves?” The Chiliagonist could not believe what was happening, mostly because Lu Yin had directly targeted the cultivation art without any hesitation when he took action. This was something that only someone who already knew the cultivation art would do.
Lu Yin answered with open disdain, “It’s just a technique. I was able to figure it out with just a glance. Haven’t you heard anything about me?”
The Chiliagonist suddenly started remembering Lu Yin’s legends. The young man was extremely talented, and he had quickly learned many battle techniques and cultivation arts after encountering them. He never spent very long in seclusion, which indicated that he did not need long to cultivate. He was acknowledged as the most talented individual throughout all of history. Could Lu Yin be telling the truth? Had he really pinpointed the weakness in the Thousand Leaves with just a single glance?
“No matter how you learned the Thousand Leaves, consciousness is not something that you can develop overnight. If you want to steal my consciousness, then go ahead and try! If you lose, you will end up an idiot.” The Chiliagonist calmed himself and stopped his wandering thoughts to focus entirely on his consciousness.
Lu Yin closed his eyes and did the same.
He was not confident that he could win this duel, but he was certain that he would at least not lose. Thus, why not at least try?
Chong Gui shouted, “This is amazing! The Chiliagonist has finally met an opponent, and this Dao Monarch Lu is somehow able to steal consciousness. This is a terrifying man! Very scary!”
The blue-haired man looked rather upset. Lu Yin was indeed as unpredictable as the rumors claimed. Things that were regarded as impossible by others were done quite casually by Lu Yin. At this moment, he was trying to steal the Chiliagonist’s consciousness, and it was clear to everyone watching that the Chiliagonist was struggling.
This was a very dangerous battle.
Since Lu Yin had gone ahead and provoked this battle, he had to be confident.
“Brother, will the Chiliagonist win?” the pink-haired woman murmured. She was not concerned about the Chiliagonist, as there was no friendship between any of the True God Guard Captains. Rather, she was worried about what would happen afterwards for herself and her brother.
The blue-haired man smiled. “I think so. Consciousness is a very rare power in the entire megaverse.”
The pink-haired woman suddenly grew anxious as she watched the fight between Lu Yin and the Chiliagonist play out.
The Chiliagonist was extremely confident in his own strength. After all, it was rare for anyone in the megaverse to even be capable of cultivating consciousness.
A flood of consciousness streamed into Lu Yin’s mind. His face color rapidly vacillated between blue and white. He was assaulted by waves of vertigo, which was exactly what the Chiliagonist anticipated. Regardless of how strong Lu Yin’s consciousness might be, it was impossible for him to control it like the Chiliagonist, as Lu Yin had not used the Thousand Leaves, but rather his own innate gift. The Chiliagonist had only attained his current strength with the combination of his own innate gift and the Thousand Leaves. What was Lu Yin relying on?
The Chiliagonist might have no idea how Lu Yin had cultivated his consciousness to be so tough, but it did not matter. Given enough time, a drop of water would eventually wear through a stone.
Lu Yin was essentially riding a small boat through a storm, and the boat could capsize at any moment.
The Chiliagonist never stopped attacking, always seeking to eliminate Lu Yin with one strong push. However, while Lu Yin’s boat was small, it was able to always stay atop the waves and ride the wind, and in that manner, he withstood the Chiliagonist’s attacks.
No one at their level was stupid, and the Chiliagonist clearly understood that Lu Yin had the courage to duel the Chiliagonist in consciousness, and the young man had even set his sights on stealing the Chiliagonist’s consciousness. The Chiliagonist was similarly confident in himself. While Lu Yin had played a few tricks and was not revealing any sign of weakness, a mere tough mind could not compare to the Chiliagonist’s overwhelming might.
All he needed was a single moment.
The Chiliagonist blasted the full force of his consciousness at Lu Yin. The man did not want to simply control Lu Yin, but rather to steal Lu Yin’s consciousness and reduce him to an idiot.
Lu Yin’s eyes suddenly flared, and his vision grew increasingly blurry. A tremor ran through his body, and he felt like he was about to faint.
The Chiliagonist resumed his attack, gritting his teeth as he pressed on.
Boom, boom, boom.
The Thousand Leaves pulled at Lu Yin’s consciousness. The Chiliagonist could feel it. He felt that Lu Yin was too arrogant. The youth might be talented, but when it came to cultivating consciousness, even within Aeternus, there was no one but that one freak who surpassed the Chiliagonist.
The attacks continued.
Lu Yin was growing weaker and weaker. It was clear by looking at him that he might faint at any moment.
Nearby, the woman with the long pink hair clenched her fist tighter. “Come on! End him!”
Chong Gui shouted, “Get him! Get him!”
OMA’s Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC’ed By: OMA