Star Odyssey

Chapter 3158: One Breath

In the First Scourge, Ancient God looked up. "First Blood, it's been a long time. I thought that you were dead."

Opposing the man, Lu Yuan grew excited. "First Blood, how does it feel to regain your strength? Hahaha."

Hongyan Mavis's eyes blazed. "Loam, let’s crush Aeternus today!"

"Alright!" Lu Yuan shouted back.

Lu Yin felt invigorated. With two of the Three Realm and Six Daos going all out, as well as the Lord of Lightning, the rulers of the Sixverse Association’s universes, and their allied civilizations, it did not seem like a far-fetched possibility to crush Aeternus.

What strength did Aeternus have left? They had already lost two of the Three Pillars and Six Skies, Xu Jin and Corpse God. With Lu Yuan facing off against Ancient God, there was only Progenitor Xi, Blackless God, Di Qiong, and Arrow God remaining. The others at that level of power, such as Shao Yin and Ji Luo, were mostly already dead.

Whiteless God and ??Forgotten Ruins God had not shown themselves yet, but neither was enough to turn the tide. The only real concern was one of the Three Pillars who had not yet appeared.

As for the Six Skies, one of them also remained a mystery and had never appeared. Lu Yin was aware that Feng Bo had been one of the Six Skies, as True God had promised the man that position. Despite staying in the Mirari Realm for so long, the title of one of the Six Skies had always been reserved for Feng Bo.

This meant that Lu Yin had already worn down and killed one of the Six Skies in the Mirari Realm.

Aeternus's foundation was no longer as unfathomable as it had once been.

Ancient God sighed. "You are going to be disappointed. Meetings between old friends shouldn't lead to a clash with weapons, but if you want a decisive battle, we will give you the opportunity."

With that, Wielder - Indestructible covered the man’s body. The purplish-black substance created patterns all across Ancient God and then extended out from his body to form a weapon that resembled a long spear. An overwhelming aura blasted out, focused entirely on Lu Yuan. "Master once warned us that, if not absolutely necessary, to not enter the Origin realm. Today, I'll show you what it means to step into the Origin realm."

Lu Yuan's pupils instantly shrank. "Everyone, retreat!"

All of the humans retreated as one, and even the Aeternals pulled back.

They were not in the Origin Universe, so breaking through to the Origin realm should not be associated with any sort of stellular tribulation, but everyone still instinctively retreated. They did not know how Ancient God would enter the Origin realm.

The Origin realm was above the Progenitor realm, and like any cultivation realm, it involved a transformation. How many Ortusers were still alive in the megaverse? They could be counted on one’s fingers.

Lu Yin had always assumed that Lu Yuan was an Ortuser, given that he had the courage to challenge the Great Sovereign.

Later, Lu Yin had realized that Lu Yuan was not an Ortuser and that it had all been just a bluff. Out of all the powerhouses that Lu Yin knew, the only Ortuser was Qingluo Jiantian. The others who had surpassed the Progenitor realm, such as True God, the Great Sovereign, and Astral Anura, were all Dukkhans.

Not even the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng, had entered the Origin realm.

Not a single one of the Three Realm and Six Daos had ever become an Ortuser.

This was also why the Three Pillars and Six Skies dared to compare themselves to the Three Realm and Six Daos. If the Three Realm and Six Daos were Ortusers, then how could humanity hope to attack and kill any of the Three Pillars and Six Skies?

The Seven Sky Gods, the Three Pillars and Six Skies, and Three Realm and Six Daos were all still in the Progenitor Realm. None of them had surpassed it.

Each one of them was undeniably powerful, and some were even capable of fighting against Ortusers as Realmbreakers, given their various techniques, but a gap still existed.

The Lord of Lightning had challenged True God twice by relying on his three treasures, but Jiang Feng had also been injured each time, while True God had not ever revealed his full power.

Lu Yuan had never mentioned trying to take down True God.

When the Lu family had returned from exile, Lu Yuan had stated that he would settle the score with the Great Sovereign. While he did possess the strength to fight her, his chances of winning were remote.

Lu Yin had discussed this matter with Hongyan Mavis while in the Mirari Realm. He had asked her what the Origin realm truly was.

Hongyan Mavis had answered with just a few words. "The laws cannot reach them."

Ortusers were transcendent beings, but this transcendence did not reflect sheer power. It was more of a personal transformation, and it marked an individual’s eligibility to attempt to overcome Dukkha and seek Immortality.

If Ortusers were truly invincible, it would be impossible for anyone in the Progenitor realm to challenge such powerhouses, and the Three Realms and Six Daos would have never considered attacking the Great Sovereign. The Lord of Lightning also would not have repeatedly challenged True God, and Lu Yuan would not have had the courage to provoke the Great Sovereign.

Ortusers were unquestionably powerful, and they were definitely above those in the Progenitor realm, but they did not have the strength to render peak powerhouses helpless.

The most important aspect when contending with Ortusers or Dukkhans was an individual’s physical strength.

Astral Anura was a Dukkhan, and his attacks were extremely powerful, but Mu Shen had still been able to block them.

If Mu Shen had instead faced Progenitor Xi, he would not have been able to endure even a single attack from the woman’s sword.

If he had faced the Great Sovereign, a single slap would have sent Mu Shen flying.

There was an incredible difference between those at the same level.

This was precisely why Lu Yin and his allies had dared to attack Aeternus, even with Progenitor Xi in the First Scourge.

Ortusers were not invincible, but no one knew what would happen if Ancient God’s breakthrough succeeded and he became an Ortuser.

He was already one of the Three Realm and Six Daos and was incredibly powerful. With this...

One’s strength in the Origin realm depended on the individual themselves.

In the First Scourge, Lu Yuan stared at Ancient God. "Do you really want to enter the Origin realm? Master warned us so many times that there are unpredictable consequences to becoming an Ortuser. Gu Yizhi, do you really want to sacrifice everything for Aeternus?"

Ancient God raised his purplish-black spear that he had formed from his battle force. "I've already betrayed humanity. There’s no need to say anything more."

High above in the sky, the Ancient Lightning Locust let out a roar. Jiang Feng was staring at Ancient God. While they both used similar powers, Ancient God felt more formidable to him. His current form might be something to learn from...

"Why did you betray us?" Lu Yuan roared.

Ancient God held his spear and then thrust it into the sky. As he did so, everyone felt as though everything before them had vanished. Only the purplish-black spear seemed to exist. It was as though there was nothing else in the entire universe. At this moment, Ancient God revealed his true strength. Even Lu Yin, who was far away in the Sixth Scourge, felt a chill run down his spine.

This was the same level of power that Lu Yin had sensed when he had witnessed Ancient God’s battle while fishing in the River of Time. This was the man’s true strength.

To break into the Origin realm, one had to break through the megaverse itself with overwhelming power. The attack needed to pierce through all of the sequence particles that were spread across reality and touch what cultivators recognized as the True Void. This True Void was not the same as the Hollow. There were no sequence particles in the Hollow, and anything that entered it would disintegrate. The Hollow could not nurture any sort of life.

To reach the Origin realm, one needed to inhale a single breath of that True Void.

One needed to breathe in that which belonged to the primordial purity of the megaverse’s origin.

There were people who could tear open the Hollow, but they would never be able to pierce through the fabric of the megaverse and reach that primordial realm to inhale that one breath. This was what was needed to become an Ortuser.

Out of a hundred sequence powerhouses, it would be lucky if just one of them could achieve the necessary level of power. This was what Lu Yin had learned from Hongyan Mavis.

There was also no doubt that Ancient God possessed the requisite strength.

The man’s strength was completely overwhelming. Even though he had never reached the Origin realm, he was more than capable of fighting against an Ortuser. In Lu Yin's view, Ancient God was capable of standing equal to even Dukkhans like Astral Anura.

Given the man’s strength, he could have attempted a breakthrough long ago. This was not only true of Ancient God, but also true of Lu Yuan, the Lord of Lightning, and Hongyan Mavis. All of them possessed the necessary strength to become Ortusers, but none of them had ever attempted the breakthrough. Lu Yin could not understand their hesitation.

Ancient God’s breakthrough attempt might finally reveal the answer to this mystery.

The spear pierced through the void, sending out ripples that tore space apart. It was not the Hollow that appeared. In fact, the spatial tears did not seem to expose anything particularly special, though the ripples that radiated from the tip of the spear seemed to open up a region that was somehow different from the nearby void.

The ripples only extended to Ancient God's shoulders before they quickly disappeared. The ripples’ disappearance signified that the tear in space had already disappeared.

Everyone stared at Ancient God, puzzled by what he had done.

Not everyone present knew how to break through to the Ortuser realm. In fact, without his time in the Mirari Realm, Lu Yin would have never learned about the process.

Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Progenitor Xi, True God, and even the Great Sovereign were all focused on Ancient God.

The man took in a deep breath, and his figure grew a bit blurry. If anyone looked into his eyes at this moment, they would see that his gaze was completely unfocused. It looked as though his mind was utterly empty. This moment was known as the Origin, and it was the essence of becoming an Ortuser. This was the single most crucial step in the breakthrough process.

The birth of the megaverse was the origin of all things in existence, and those who could breathe in that primordial air would return to the source of everything.

Every individual who broke through to the Origin realm experienced something different at that critical moment, and no one ever spoke of it.

For the moment, Ancient God’s thoughts were absent. His state had already transcended the normal fabric of the universe, and it was said that laws no longer applied. But how could the laws of the universe not apply in a universe that is governed by them? Whether flying, walking, breathing, moving forward or backward, every action was dictated by the laws of the universe. Simply existing within the universe meant being subjected to the laws of the universe.

Upon entering the Origin realm, a cultivator would enter a state where the laws of the universe no longer applied to them. However, this defiance of the natural order of things invoked resistance from the laws of the universe.

This was not a stellular tribulation, but it was very similar.

When Lu Yin learned about this process from Hongyan Mavis in the Mirari Realm, he had understood just how farsighted the Origin Progenitor had been.

For a sequence powerhouse to enter the Origin realm, they had to suffer backlash from the laws of the universe. This process was very similar to how cultivators in the Origin Universe faced stellular tribulations. Facing the backlash from the laws of the universe was a step that would be very familiar to anyone from the Origin Universe, but for all those from other parallel universes, it would be a new and unique experience, and that would greatly reduce their chances of success.

If the Origin Universe could give rise to two Ortusers, it would enjoy a significant advantage over the other universes, even if they had fewer peak powerhouses.

The Origin Progenitor's foresight had been focused on this step, and it was the reason why there were stellular tribulations.

Additionally, surviving repeated stellular tribulations honed a person’s survival skills and combat ability, which was why the Origin Universe’s cultivators far surpassed their peers in other universes.

Lu Yin found it hard to imagine how the chatty Origin Progenitor had conceived of such a plan.

In the First Scourge, Ancient God’s surroundings appeared calm, but only the sequence powerhouses present could see the truth. The man was surrounded by countless sequence particles. Anyone who approached him would have to survive a barrage from endless sequence particles right along with Ancient God.

While this was not a stellular tribulation, it was no different from one. No one was willing to suffer the tribulation alongside the one challenging it.

Ancient God's thoughts quickly returned, and his eyes regained clarity. He looked up, and with a single step, the sky trembled. At that moment, the weather changed dramatically in the sky around the man. A unique force surrounded him, creating a storm that shredded the void and exposed the Hollow, which blocked everyone's vision.

Even in the Sixth Scourge, Lu Yin could sense the unparalleled, terrifying power. It was a sensation that reminded him of the Immemorial Citadel’s battlefield.

He turned to Hongyan Mavis. "Senior, what is that?"

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