Star Odyssey Chapter 3312: Concealment

Chapter 3312: Concealment

"Stop! Listen to me! I found a Nest! I want to give it to Lord Lu! I want to give it to Lord Lu!" the woman screamed as terror filled her eyes. Even with the jade b.u.t.terflies surrounding her, it was impossible for her to hide her fear. She had no chance of putting up any sort of resistance against the Heavens Corps.

Any member of the Heavens Corps, when using their tools and equipment, could easily take on an Envoy with a power level of over 600,000. The gap between them and the woman was just too big.

The beam pa.s.sed through the area, and the woman was obliterated. She was not given any chance to explain herself. If she had not attacked with her b.u.t.terflies, she would have been simply taken to the Heavens Sect.

A Nest was a Nest, but not all cultivators who found them were evil. Some merely viewed the jade-colored orbs as a tool. So, when the Heavens Sect released the announcements about the Nests, those people willingly turned their Nests in and received generous rewards. However, there were always some who believed that they could deceive the Heavens Sect, evade pursuit, and then rise to power by using a Nest.

People were not fools. The Heavens Sect was a behemoth, and they were also clearly quite concerned about the Nests. That meant that the Nests had to be of immense value.

How could ordinary cultivators resist such temptation?

Most of the people who found a Nest were unwilling to hand them over.

Nests were being discovered in various parallel universes, and in far greater numbers than Lu Yin had antic.i.p.ated. Fortunately, with the Heavens Sect’s announcement, many universes cooperated, and many people worked together to eliminate the Nests.

…

"Huo Xiu, why are you so pale? You just defeated your older brother, successfully gaining the family inheritance. You should be happy! Your mother is happy for you."

"I'm just exhausted from training."

"Then take some time to rest. Don't worry about your older brother. It was a fair fight, and the family won't favor him."

"Thank you, Mother."

"Big Brother? Why are you here?"

"Brother, during our match, why did my strength suddenly drain away so quickly?"

"That’s my battle technique. What? Do you want to try to steal it, Big Brother?"

"A battle technique? I don't think so. That was a Jade Warden, wasn't it?"

"Don’t be ridiculous, Big Brother! Father, why are all of you here?"

"You unfilial son! Hand over the Nest! Now!"

"Huo Xiu, do you really have a Nest? Quickly, hand it over! That’s an order from the Heavens Sect! No one can defy it!"

"Mother, didn't you say that the family won’t favor big brother?"

"That was a.s.suming that you didn’t have a Nest. Let the family examine what you have. If it's really just a battle technique, no one will harm you."

"We promise you, as long as you don’t have a Nest, you’ll remain the family’s heir."

"You lied to me! All of you lied! Family? I don't need something like that! Remember this! One day, I’ll make you all regret this!"

"Grab him!"

"It really is a Nest! Contact the Heavens Sect immediately! You unfilial child! You actually tried to hide this thing? Do you want to condemn the entire family?"

"Master, please spare Huo Xiu! He was just briefly confused. Tell them that he voluntarily turned it in. That way, not only will we save his life, but we will also receive rewards from the Heavens Sect. Please, I beg you."

"Ugh, fine."

"Huo Xiu concealed a Nest, which is an unforgivable crime. Kill him without mercy."

"What? I voluntarily turned it in! Father, Mother, you lied to me again!"

"Sirs from the Heavens Sect, our Huo Xiu voluntarily turned his Nest in. He hid nothing."

"Hmph! He hid nothing? We have solid information that he hid this Nest. Such a crime is unforgivable."

"It was you, Big Brother! You betrayed me!"

"This whole thing is ridiculous! Turning in the Nest would give you ma.s.sive rewards from the Heavens Sect. You’d instantly soar to the top, and then the family would be yours. Why? You're the one who was wrong, and yet Father and Mother still wanted to protect you. Why? The family is mine!"

"You unfilial son! You've doomed our family. This was our chance to rise, and you’ve ruined it!"

"I won’t accept this! I won’t accept this…"

…

"Disciples, today is the day when we determine whether our sect lives or dies. Are you afraid?"

"Master, we fear nothing! We are willing to live and die with the sect."

"We fear nothing!"

"Hahaha, good! You truly are my disciples."

"Old man, what are you still going on about? You're doomed. This mountain range will be your grave."

"Grave? You despicable, shameless traitor! You betrayed our sect, poisoned Master, and violated your junior sister! Now, you think that you can destroy our sect? Impossible! Did you really think that I would believe that you came here alone? Have those behind you reveal themselves. You could have never done all this on your own."

"Heh, clever. In that case, we’ll show ourselves to you, just so that you can see just how big the gap is."

"So, it’s you. I thought there were too many experts. Still, if you wanted to destroy our sect, there was no reason to use this traitor."

"He might be a traitor to you, but to us, he's a valuable talent. We consider this his practice run. Enough of this. It’s time to end things."

"Good to know it’s you. Still, you won’t win today."

"The Heavens Corps has arrived. Who dares to act recklessly?"

"The Heavens Corps? Why are they here?"

"Why would the Heavens Corps come to such a small place like this? That’s a monstrous sect! Just laying eyes on them could be considered desecrating them! Why would they get involved in our affairs?"

"Hahaha, did you really think that our sect would be destroyed? I’ll tell you now, I found a Nest! I turned it in to the Heavens Sect days ago and was rewarded. Lord Lu personally praised me! You're doomed!"

"How could this happen? How could this be?"

"Old friend, are you having trouble with anything? We are willing to help you with such matters."

"So are these the people bullying your sect, old friend? Isn't that the traitor you mentioned? We will help you settle this matter now. I hope that, in the future, when you join the Heavens Sect, you can leave a good word for us to Lord Lu."

"We're also here to help. These people are nothing but ants."

…

Similar scenes played out all across the megaverse. There were simply too many Nests. Some people used them to gain rewards and instantly rise to prominence, while others tried to hide their Nest, hoping to eventually build up a force that would rival the Heavens Sect.

"If someone with a Nest manages to escape to a parallel universe where not even our Heavens Sect can find them, we’ll be in big trouble," Arch-Elder Zen said, worried.

Wei Rong replied, "That’s not very likely. People haven’t fully comprehended the power of the Nests, so they’ll only consider things through their own limited perspective. How many people will have the courage to tear through the void to escape? We're not worried about a million, but rather a one in a million chance."

"True. If someone does manage to escape with a Nest and returns after raising powerful insects, it would be a disaster for multiple parallel universes."

Wei Rong shook his head. "There's nothing we can do about that. We can only do our best to deal with this situation."

The moment the Nests appeared in the Tianyuan Megaverse, there was bound to be war. The only question was the scale of that war.

One by one, Nests were being destroyed across various parallel universes.

However, destroying a Nest did not mean that its insects were destroyed as well.

Occasionally, jade-colored insects would fly through a universe, purposefully moving in specific directions.

Whenever a Nest was destroyed, its insects were not left homeless. Any Nest could become their new home.

Within a ma.s.sive asteroid field, on a giant asteroid that was the size of a planet, Yu Leng gritted his teeth as he tore off his peeling skin. New skin appeared underneath.

His battle with Hu Liu had been incredibly difficult, and Yu Leng had only barely survived. He was determined to settle that score with the Lost Clan.

Even so, it was better to stay hidden for the time being.

He had only recently heard about how Nests were being destroyed throughout the entire megaverse. That was when he learned that he was not the only one to have found a Nest. There were many more across the various parallel universes.

Let them be destroyed. It will be better that way. In the end, I’ll be the only one controlling a Nest, and eventually, I’ll raise up enough power to rival the Heavens Sect itself!

Yu Leng decided not to go out anymore. He would continue hiding in the asteroid field.

A few days later, his asteroid suddenly trembled. Yu Leng shot to his feet, his jade b.u.t.terflies forming a protective sphere around him.

In the distance, he saw a ma.s.sive form approaching. Was that… an insect?

There was a giant beetle with enormous antennae approaching Yu Leng. It was a Lithic Drake.

Yu Leng had only managed to draw out Thousand Shards from his Nest so far, and he had never even seen a Lithic Drake. Still, the moment he laid eyes on the bug, he instinctively knew that it was a creature from a Nest.

The Lithic Drake slowly approached Yu Leng while producing a sound that induced a sense of kinship in the man. The insect was searching for a home. It needed a Nest.

Greed illuminated Yu Leng’s eyes. This Lithic Drake was clearly very powerful. If he had managed to draw out such an insect before fighting against Hu Liu, the man would have stood no chance. Yu Leng would have easily annihilated his opponent.

Wait… it found me because of my Nest. Doesn’t that mean…?

Yu Leng did not hesitate for even a moment as he tore the void apart and pa.s.sed through the spatial tear. He did not spare the Lithic Drake another glance.

The moment Yu Leng vanished, a beam of light streaked through outer s.p.a.ce, destroying the asteroid. Shockwaves from the attacks warped the nearby void, and the distortions spread out a great distance. The Heavens Corps had attacked.

"We were just a moment too late! That guy wasn’t tempted by the Lithic Drake and immediately ran away. He’s cautious."

"Did anyone get a good look at him?"

"No."

"No."

"Then just forget it. We’ll keep tracking this Lithic Drake. It can help us locate other Nests."

This was something that the Heavens Sect had discovered. Insects from Nests were capable of pinpointing other Nests, which saved the Heavens Sect a lot of time searching.

In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was staring at a star chart, which showed the locations of where  Nests had been found in multiple parallel universes. There were far too many.

His head throbbed. Just how many Nests had entered their megaverse?

"To date, the strongest insect we’ve encountered is a Septastar Blade. There’s been no trace of any Sky Orchids just yet," Wei Rong reported.

Lu Yin let out a breath. "Sky Orchids can live and multiply in the Hollow. Notify all peak powerhouses that they need to expose the Hollow from time to time in specific areas. We can’t allow any Sky Orchids to hide or breed. If they are allowed to do so, we’ll face an enormous challenge. Also, send out Boundless now."

"Yes, Dao Monarch."

"Is there still no sign of Yu Leng?"

"Not so far. He’s completely disappeared. We searched the planet where he fought Hu Liu, but there was no sign of him going back there."

"The smarter the person, the more they can exploit human nature. He might think that we won’t return to that planet again, so don’t let your guard down there."

"Yes."

Lu Yin continued to stare at the star chart, worry filling his eyes.

Nests had only appeared a bit more than seven years ago, but Septastar Blades had already emerged. With just a few more years, or even a decade, Sky Orchids, Ghost Orchids, and Scrollbane Centipedes would start appearing. After that, they would have to worry about the Verdant Sages and other even more bizarre, mutated insects.

Things were developing much too quickly.

For the time being, no one was training in seclusion. Everyone was out searching for insects. The number of Nests was quickly dropping, and more than half of those that had been discovered or reported had already been destroyed.

Everything that the Heavens Sect had not found was  undoubtedly being purposely hidden, and those were the ones that actually needed to be found.

It was just a few months later when the first Sky Orchid appeared.

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA