Chapter 3803: Wager

Lu Sizhan shook his head helplessly. “I haven’t changed. I’ve just seen a few things.”

“What kind of things?”

Lu Sizhan’s expression grew solemn. “Is it supposed to be so easy to help someone enter Dukkha?”

“Of course it’s not easy! That’s Dukkha, not some other realm. Forget helping others to enter Dukkha—most people can’t even enter on their own. Like you, Old Lu.”

“Exactly. So... how was Lu Yin able to help me?”

Lu Siyu was curious about that as well. “I’d like to know as well.”

Lu Sizhan looked at Lu Siyu. “Doesn’t Greater Sancte Green Lotus regard him highly?”

Lu Siyu nodded.

“How highly?”

Lu Siyu pursed her lips. How highly? Enough that he offered to marry all of us Seven Fairies to that little thief!

That simply could not be said aloud.

“Very highly. Extremely.”

“Why?”

“How would I know?” Lu Siyu rolled her eyes. Suddenly her expression changed, and she turned back to stare at Lu Sizhan, who met her gaze. Each saw astonishment and disbelief in the other’s eyes.

“N- no. That can’t be,” Lu Siyu stammered.

Lu Sizhan drew a deep breath. “Nothing is impossible. I may not know just how highly Greater Sancte Green Lotus values Lu Yin, but the more highly, the greater the chances.”

Then isn’t it practically certain? Lu Siyu felt powerless. That little thief... Has he comprehended karma?

It should be impossible. Since ancient times, only Greater Sancte Green Lotus alone had ever managed to comprehend the mighty power of karma at a young age. It had to be impossible.

Despite her unwillingness to believe it, Lu Siyu instinctively found herself feeling that the chances were more than merely plausible. She was aware that Lu Yin was from the one of the three megaverses, so why had he suddenly appeared in the Sea of Karma? Why did her master value the man so highly, showing both eagerness to accept him as a disciple and even to marry the Seven Fairies to him? Why did their master not get upset with Lu Yin, despite the fact that he had refused to marry any of the Seven Fairies? Was it really all because of “fate”?

Lu Siyu knew that her master treasured that word, but it was impossible for him to take things to such an extreme in normal situations.

Green Lotus had actually left the decision of whether to marry the Seven Fairies to that little thief.

If word of this got out, it would shake the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

However, the little thief did not care about the seven sisters. While Lu Siyu hated to admit it, both she and her sisters could not help but admire Lu Yin’s determination and resolve.

It did not seem impossible for such a person to have comprehended the mighty power of karma.

At that moment, Lu Siyu once again saw the image of Lu Yin standing atop the Sword Altar, utterly confident that he could help Lu Sizhan enter Dukkha. As Lu Siyu visualized that image and remembered what had happened in the Sea of Karma, she felt a chill run down her spine.

If the man truly had comprehended the power of karma, then the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was destined to change.

Lu Sizhan patted Lu Siyu’s head. “Girl, your father cannot protect you forever. While that man certainly behaves recklessly, he still has principles and lines that he refuses to cross. He may not be a saint, but he is certainly no villain. If I can entrust you to him, I can be at ease.”

Lu Siyu bit her lip. “I don’t want that.”

Lu Sizhan chuckled. “Just think it over. If you agree, your father will find a way to make it happen.”

With that, Lu Sizhan left.

Lu Siyu looked in the direction of Lu Yin’s courtyard. Of course she was not willing. No matter how she looked at him, the little thief was absolutely infuriating! She would be the one to decide her own life. Why should she marry him? Just because he was strong? Even if she agreed, her master could do nothing. Hmph! At least that thief had enough sense to refuse Master.

Elsewhere, Lu Yin’s die landed on four pips: Timestop. He entered his Timestop Space and stared at the karmic bud in his hand as a spiral of karma appeared and twined around it.

As the karmic bud shattered, waves of karma shot upwards, merging with Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao.

He let out a long breath. “Good stuff.”

If a karmic brick contained roughly as much karma as an ordinary human could gather over the course of a hundred years, then a single karmic bud was equal to almost 10 million karmic bricks. Given Lu Yin’s average speed of harvesting bricks, just a single karmic bud saved him about a year of effort.

It was absolutely amazing. As long as he could obtain karmic buds, why should he bother prying out karmic bricks? It was exhausting to gather the bricks, and this made doing so a waste of time.

Unfortunately, there were most likely not very many karmic buds.

While saying that a single karmic bud was equal to 10 million bricks sounded very impressive, each brick contained a miniscule amount of karma. When Lu Yin compared the karmic buds to the amount of karma that he had consumed while facing the Immortal monster, it was far, far too little.

To compensate for such a loss, Lu Yin would need an absurd number of karmic buds. If he tried to compensate with karmic bricks, it would be nearly impossible for him to harvest that many.

He had considered other methods, but after entering the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, he could not use any of those alternatives. It would be no different from stealing power from right beneath Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s nose. It was a guaranteed death sentence.

Including the two karmic buds that Lu Yin had received from Lu Sizhan, he had acquired four of them in total. But despite absorbing all four of them, Lu Yin had not even recovered the amount of karma that he had spent on Lu Sizhan.

Ultimately, the fastest way for him to gather karma was to imprison powerful cultivators in his Champions’ Stage Purgatory.

If Lu Yin imprisoned every expert in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, he could not even imagine how much karma he would gain.

Still, what was the reason that Lu Sizhan had given Lu Yin the two karmic buds? It seemed possible that the man had guessed something.

Lu Yin had left the Sea of Karma after being given a trial by Greater Sancte Green Lotus, which meant that Lu Yin did not need karmic buds to return to that place. Clearly, Lu Sizhan had gifted the karmic buds to test Lu Yin. Had the man already guessed that Lu Yin had comprehended the power of karma? That was not really important. There were already a number of people in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse who already knew about that.

Yue Ya, Chao Yi, and Ming Zhuo were all aware, as was Jiu Xian, though no one knew her current whereabouts. If that woman did return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, then Lesser Sancte Dan Jin would also learn that Lu Yin had mastered karma. It was only a matter of time before the entire megaverse learned the truth.

It would be best if he could finish the Seven Fairies’ requests before that happened. Otherwise, someone might come looking for trouble.

...

The next day, a maid reported that Lu Yin had a visitor.

Lu Yin received the visitor: Elder Le. When the man arrived, he was accompanied by Lu Siyu.

Seeing Lu Siyu in tow, Lu Yin assumed that he was about to receive the terms of the second request.

“Greetings from this old servant, Senior.” Elder Le greeted Lu Yin in a very respectful manner.

Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the man. “There’s no need for such courtesy, Senior. What brings you here?”

Elder Le brought out a scented pouch. “My young lady asked me to deliver this to you, sir.”

Lu Yin glanced at Lu Siyu, but she just rolled her eyes. Even if Lu Yin had comprehended the power of karma, that would not change her attitude towards him. She would always act however she pleased.

“Is your young lady one of the Seven Fairies?”

“That’s exactly right,” Elder Le replied.

Lu Yin understood. “When you noticed my connection to the East Command, you said nothing and instead went straight to that tavern.”

Elder Le smiled. “That was not the only reason. The Four Commands Sword Sect invited this old man specifically to find you. As for the connection between you and the East Command, I don’t dare to make any guesses and will say nothing more. That is a rule of my Everchange Valley.”

As Lu Yin accepted the sachet, he looked over at Lu Siyu. “And to think that you acted so flustered back then.”

Lu Siyu pouted. “I really was afraid that you’d be found and that you’d drag the East Command into trouble. The Everchange Valley follows extremely harsh rules, and not even Fourth Sister can break them. If Elder Le had exposed your connection to us, she wouldn’t have been able to help.”

Lu Yin nodded. When he opened the pouch, he found a slip of paper inside. There were just two words written on it: Ming Xiaochou.

“Ming Xiaochou?” Lu Yin murmured in confusion.

Lu Siyu’s expression changed the moment she saw the paper.

Elder Le’s expression also changed, and he stared blankly at the name.

“This sounds like it will be a problem,” Lu Yin said. “Give me the details. Just this name isn’t enough for me to know anything at all.”

Elder Le muttered, “My lady still hasn’t let go... But why would she entrust this matter to you? You have no connection to my Everchange Valley. This...”

Lu Siyu interjected, “Senior, Fourth Sister must have her reasons.”

Elder Le glanced at Lu Siyu and then back at Lu Yin. When the old man remembered how Ming Zhou had mentioned that Lu Yin had emerged from the Sea of Karma, Elder Le felt like he understood. He took a step back and solemnly bowed to Lu Yin. “If you can aid my Everchange Valley, this old man will repay you with his life.”

Lu Yin was startled. “Lu Sizhan vowed to repent with his life, and now you’re offering your life to me. Do you people of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse all have such a fondness for death?”

Elder Le was taken aback. “Us people of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse? Are you not from this megaverse?”

“Did I ever say I was?” Lu Yin retorted.

Elder Le had no idea how to answer that. If he’s not from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, then where is he from? A foreign megaverse, or one of the three megaverses? Why doesn’t he have the aura of a foreigner?

Still, it was no concern of Elder Le’s where Lu Yin was from. The younger man had emerged from the Sea of Karma, and that was enough.

The name Ming Xiaochou weighed even on Lu Siyu, and she started to quietly offer an explanation. “Ming Xiaochou is Fourth Sister’s older brother. It all began with an old wager...”

Lu Siyu slowly recounted the story, sharing a great deal of details. Lu Yin listened with increasing focus, as it was a matter that involved the Autumnspring Slip.

The fourth of the Seven Fairies, Ming Xiaolong, was from the Everchange Valley, and her older brother was Ming Xiaochou. The siblings had been born in the valley, the children of a deceased disciple.

Both possessed startling talent, especially Ming Xiaochou. He was hailed as a prodigy the likes of which the Everchange Valley had not seen in a hundred generations.

When the valley’s senior disciples succeeded in reaching the Ten Changes realm, Ming Xiaochou had already reached the Hundred Changes realm, and then he leaped into the Thousand Changes realm soon after. His rate of progress had startled the entire megaverse.

It had been around that time that the Autumnspring Slip had passed through the valley, and they had borne witness to Ming Xiaochou’s brilliance. A wager had been arranged, and the proud Ming Xiaochou had lost. Because of that, he was confined within the Autumnspring Slip for 10,000 years.

While that might be a short amount of time for many cultivators, for one so young, it might very well be considered endless. It was also enough time for the Autumnspring Slip, who were masters of mental manipulation, to transform the young man’s entire perspective on reality.

Everchange Valley had repeatedly tried to negotiate Ming Xiaochou’s release, but the Autumnspring Slip had refused every single time, clinging to the wager.

Ming Xiaochou’s talent was so tempting to the Autumnspring Slip that no price that the valley offered could ever convince them to relent.

Because of that stubbornness, the matter had remained unresolved.

The Autumnspring Slip, huh? Lu Yin slowly smiled. He had already wanted to pay that sect a visit for some time. When he had tried to pass through the Skyward Gate and escape from the Immortal monster, he had been struck down by someone from the Autumnspring Slip. Despite there being no enmity or conflict between them, that old hag had still attacked Lu Yin. It was time to pay them a visit.

“Is Ming Xiaochou alone really worth that much? Is he worth the Autumnspring Slip offending the Everchange Valley?” Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

Elder Le answered gravely, “Ming Xiaochou’s talent for cultivating the Heaven and Earth Aura doesn’t reveal itself in other techniques or arts, so he offers the Autumnspring Slip very little direct value. Releasing him would earn them our valley’s gratitude and also display their magnanimity, which is why everyone assumed that they would do so. It is also why our Valley Master did not interfere when he learned of the wager. Ming Xiaochou was too arrogant at that time, and the Valley Master hoped that the lesson would temper him.

“However, the Autumnspring Slip has simply refused to allow him to go. It was only later that we learned why.”

The old man gave Lu Yin a solemn stare. “The Autumnspring Slip wants to create a second Everchange Valley.”

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