Star Odyssey

Chapter 3253: Heart Refinement With The Mortal World

"I can’t say if my guess is correct, but where there are gains, there are also losses. For every good, there is also a bad. Breaking through with the Wordless Heavenly Book may not trigger the most powerful tribulation, but it might also be the one that threatens to take the most. Everything depends on how he sees it."

The group started discussing the breakthrough among themselves.

Gradually, shadows started to appear outside True God's Heaven-Transforming Technique.

Lu Yin saw the shadows. Was it a parallel universe? Could this tribulation be similar to what he had faced when breaking through with Dust World? That should be impossible. The two inner worlds were completely different, so how could they trigger the same tribulation?

The truth was that, aside from the Origin Universe, most parallel universes did not cast down tribulations when creatures became peak powerhouses. Lu Yin was not following the path of stellular energy, which meant that there was no guaranteed chance that he would trigger a tribulation, even in the Origin Universe. However, he was creating his own path, and any who attempted to do that would trigger a tribulation.

The more unique one’s path, the more difficult the tribulation they would trigger.

Lu Yin looked at the shadows outside of the barrier sealing off the Scourges. "Come! The greater my tribulation, the better! Hopefully, this will be able to break this Heaven-Transforming Technique."

Gradually, the shadows grew clearer.

Lu Yin's eyes went wide. Was that… the Fifth Mainland?

Lu Yin was not alone, as Lu Yuan and the others were able to see the same thing. It was not just a parallel universe that had appeared, but rather the Fifth Mainland itself. As it drew closer, it disappeared, and instead, the images of countless people living their lives played out, unaware of Lu Yin and the others observing them.

The images were just illusions. They were images, though it was possible that these scenes were actually playing out somewhere in the Fifth Mainland right now.

Golden light was still shining down upon Lu Yin’s face, but as the images grew clearer, he saw something different.

He saw scenes demonstrating the worst aspects of humanity. These were things that only happened in the darkest corners of existence.

"Child, do it now! Kill him! We’ll get his cultivation method."

"But, father, he’s a good man! He saved me."

"There are no good people. Do it now! Kill him! Kill him!"

…

"My lord, I am innocent! I did not kill this family. Please, my lord, look into this matter carefully."

"Heh, if I say you’re guilty, then you are. There are no other possibilities. Begging won’t help you, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you can afford to buy your life."

"My lord, I have an eighty-year-old mother, as well as children I need to feed. Where would I get so much money?"

"Then you’re guilty. Drag him out and behead him."

"My lord, please! I beg you! Investigate further, my lord!"

"Master Hui, well done."

"Don’t worry, young master. Only heaven, earth, you, and I know of this matter."

"Heh, I won’t mistreat you. Looking back, that young lady was really tempting. We killed her too soon."

"Young master, I know of another family with an even more enticing young lady."

"Really? In that case, show me quickly. Rest assured, I won't treat you unfairly."

"Please, my lord."

…

"Welcome back from seclusion, Master."

"I’ve been in seclusion for thirteen years. This must have been hard on you, my disciples."

"In order to serve you, Master, we would gladly die a thousand deaths."

"Hmm, since that’s the case, I have one final task for you to complete."

"Please tell us, Master."

"Give yourselves to me as a blood sacrifice."

"Master! Master, spare my life! I don't want to die!"

"Master, it's me, Hong'er! Master-"

"I don’t have a choice. My cultivation deviated while in seclusion, and only by sacrificing your blood can I hope to restore my strength. Rest in peace, as 99,999 of you should be enough. Sigh, now I need to recruit more disciples. Such a hassle."

…

Voices echoed in Lu Yin's ears. He heard all of them as he witnessed the worst of humanity’s ugliness. Gradually, the golden light that shone on his face started to dim.

Lu Yuan and the others were all watching intently. How could this be happening?

Wu Tian's expression grew grave. "As expected, this is a Heart Refinement. The mortal world is full of both good and evil. Being acknowledged by a universe means that the desires of all creatures can serve as his strength, but there is also a dark side to this. It is necessary to carry both the good and the evil."

Lu Yuan and the others only saw shadows, but Lu Yin was witnessing brutal, evil scenes. He saw the full extent of human nature’s corruption, complete immorality. Darkness flooded his mind, replacing his thoughts. The golden light that had once warmly shone on him grew dim and dark. It looked cold and lonely.

Worse and worse scenes filled Lu Yin’s vision, blocking out all of the light. He could only see eyes that were filled with resentment and hatred. He seemed to see arms covered with blood that reached out for him. He struggled to breathe.

"I hate this! Why kill me? I saved him. People shouldn't be like this! They shouldn't be like this!"

"I have an elderly mother, a wife, and children. How can I die? I didn’t kill that family. How can I bear this guilt? How will my mother and wife handle this?"

"Master, we treated you as our father and mother. Why do this?"

"I hate this! Is this what human nature truly is?"

"If there is another life, I don't want to return as a human. Human hearts are treacherous. If I must live again as a human, then I will become the most wicked person, so no one can ever betray me."

"If there is another life, I will become that young master! What harm is there in killing people?"

"If there is another life, I will slaughter everything for thousands of miles…"

"In my next life…"

The golden light had almost completely disappeared from Lu Yin. Countless voices and images filled his mind as he was forced to experience the worst torture produced by human evil. He clutched his head while muttering to himself, "If there is another life, I will become that young master. If there is another next life, I will become that official. If there is another life, I will become that master. I will be that father and son who repay kindness with evil. I…"

Lu Yin suddenly flung back his head and howled at the sky.

Lu Yuan immediately wanted to rush over, but Wu Tian stopped him. "Don't. Right now, he can only overcome this on his own. Since he has received the support and desires of countless creatures, he needs to endure this karma now. This is not something that you or I can help him with. Even if you manage to save him now, he will simply fall the next time."

Lu Yuan's face grew pale and he gritted his teeth. "Little Seven, endure! Get through this!"

There was nothing darker than human nature. The Aeternals clearly saw human emotions and thought of them as a weakness, which is why they were able to defeat humanity. Lu Yin had survived one disaster after another. Even when multiple universes had overlapped in order to destroy him, or when he had suffered a seemingly endless tribulation, he had been able to endure it all because he had not been alone. There had always been many people supporting him. Even if parallel universes tried to crush him, Lu Yin would always have countless people supporting him, and that had caused the Origin Universe to push those various parallel universes back.

Lu Yin had already reaped the rewards, and now he needed to pay the price.

He was down on one knee, sweat streaming from his body. His pupils were constantly fluctuating. What he was experiencing was not anything that could be overcome with mere strength. As long as one was human, as long as they had a sense of morality, the pain would only grow worse. The better the person, the more twisted they were capable of becoming after crossing their bottom line.

Lu Yin had always held firm to his bottom line, but what he was seeing and hearing during his tribulation shattered that line entirely.

It was as though he became that father and son, that young master, that official, that master. If he fell into this oblivion, he would become even more evil than any of them, and he would no longer be Lu Yin.

This was the true test of Heart Refinement.

In the Origin Universe, a Progenitor’s tribulation involved questioning the heart. Lu Yin had already broken through with his Dust World and Infinity, but neither tribulation had included questioning the heart. That had led him to believe that that specific tribulation was unique to the Origin Universe. The reality was that this heart-refinement tribulation had always been waiting for him.

He became countless villains from across the entire universe and committed countless evil deeds. This tribulation was more infernal than any other, as Lu Yin was unable to pull himself out of the abyss. That bottom line that he had always adhered to acted like a noose that tightened around his throat.

More and more voices rang out, louder and louder each time.

Lu Yin closed his eyes. Suddenly, they snapped wide open. He smashed a fist into the ground, breaking the Scourge open.

“Good or evil, both are part of human nature. I can enjoy the good side of humanity, which means that I can also confront the evil side.

“So what if there’s evil? What does it matter if there is darkness in human nature? I have always believed that humanity’s goodness outweighs our evil. I have seen too many beautiful things: family love, romantic love, friendship. I have seen fathers and sons die for humanity, couples face death without regret, and heroes die on the battlefield with smiles on their faces.

“You think these evil scenes can replace the goodness in human nature? Ridiculous! Be gone!” With a roar, Lu Yin shot to his feet, waving his right hand. The darkness scattered, and he was once again enveloped by light. However, it was not enough. The deep darkness formed pairs of sinister and laughing eyes that closed in, attempting to drown him.

Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked up at the Wordless Heavenly Book. Slowly, he spoke. “Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil. Disperse for me.”

The Wordless Heavenly Book suddenly erupted with golden light that pierced both the sky and True God’s Heaven-Transforming Technique. The light shot towards the Fifth Mainland and the Origin Universe as a whole. It even targeted the Sixverse Association.

In the Origin Universe, everyone looked up at a golden light that blossomed in the depths of space. They could see Lu Yin, and one by one, everyone bowed in excitement. “Greetings, Dao Monarch.”

“Greetings, Dao Monarch.”

…

‘Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil.’

‘Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil.’

…

Lu Yin’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears. People trembled and fell to their knees as they faced Lu Yin. “Thank you, Dao Monarch.”

“Thank you, Dao Monarch.”

…

At the bottom of the Heavens Sect’s Stairway to Heaven, the cauldron grew even more solid, and it glowed brightly. It had become different from before.

Humanity as a whole could feel Lu Yin’s intent. The Wordless Heavenly Book had delivered the evil of all creatures to him, but evil was just another aspect of human nature. However, goodness was greater. Lu Yin was willing to bear the evil and resolve it while guiding people toward goodness.

All along, Lu Yin had never been the type of person to care about such things. Most of the time, he preferred to focus on himself, which meant that guiding others toward goodness had nothing to do with him. He had never even considered doing it.

However, given the heights that he had reached, the things that he saw, and the experiences that he had felt, everything was completely different from in the past.

In the past, he had been able to say that he owed nothing to the masses. At most, he had been willing to protect humanity, when it was within his power. He had considered that as his responsibility as a human being.

However, Lu Yin had since been protected by humanity, and they would continue to do so even more so in the future. He needed to accept this responsibility.

At this moment, Lu Yin seemed inviable. His light spread across the entire Sixverse Association, and everyone could feel it. Even the Immemorial Citadel’s battlefield could feel the warmth of Lu Yin’s light.

Star Odyssey

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