Chapter 3712: Deathmound

Realistically, the only factions in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that deserved Lu Yin’s attention were those that were at least as strong as the Spirit Nidus’s seven major powers. Inevitably, that meant that an organization had to be led by a Dukkhan. Still, that was not enough strength to pose a threat to Lu Yin, and it was also completely inadequate to know the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s secrets.

He moved on to the next person.

And then the next.

And the next.

Much to the relief of the young people, Lu Yin refrained from killing anyone he interrogated, unlike Old Chief and the conscients. Blood stained the ground above the cliff, showing where people had been forced to give answers. Lu Yin did not resort to such tactics.

He was not a killer, provided that people did not cross his bottom line.

One after another, Lu Yin captured the young people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and imprisoned them on a Zenith Mountain. There was a chance that they would eventually prove useful.

So many young elites gathered together might carry a bit of weight.

“Master, is that you? Master!” A short man ran over to Lu Yin while shouting.

Lu Yin was speechless. It was the young man whom he had taught the saber technique. Lu Yin had created a new technique, and after learning it, the young man had succeeded in defeating several opponents, which had prompted others into sharing information about the cliff top with Lu Yin.

“Master, you’ve finally made it up here! I’ve been waiting for you for so long!” the short man sobbed shamelessly, sniffling.

How could shameful behavior compare to survival? Had the young man been concerned with his reputation, he would not have been the first person to offer information to Lu Yin.

The other people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse watched the young man with a mixture of contempt and envy.

There was a trace of envy even in Lian Shuang’s eyes.

Lu Yin immediately grabbed the man. “That’s a good attitude. Stay put.”

His primary target was still Luo Ning from the Skyward Gate’s Luo family. He was the only person present who had managed to draw the High Seraph into speaking, and he had also been one of the young geniuses frozen in the Scion Spire. While Lu Yin did not know anything about that tower, that did not diminish the young man’s importance.

The guardians of the Skyward Gate? This might be someone who could provide a bit of real information.

Luo Ning looked back, only to see that Lu Yin was almost within reach of him. Only a few people remained between them.

He shot a glare at Lian Shuang and barked, “Stop him!”

Lian Shuang was miserable. She knew that she was no match for the man going after Luo Ning, and yet she was still forced to take action. While anyone else could be harmed, Luo Ning could not.

Lu Yin captured another man, but unlike everyone else, this man’s eyes remained cold and dangerous. He looked ready to lash out at any moment. Lu Yin recognized that look: it was the gaze of an assassin.

“You’re a special little brat,” Lu Yin commented while studying the man.

He was the shortest person present among those from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and yet his bones and muscles were remarkably strong.

The young man lowered his eyes, even as they constantly darted about. He looked at Lu Yin’s waist, his legs, and even his vital points.

There was a loud smack as Lu Yin struck the man’s head, nearly rendering him unconscious.

The young man crumpled to the ground. He shook his head and tried to stand, only to fall back down again.

“Do you think that I won’t kill you?”

The young man’s eyes narrowed. When he replied, his voice was dry. “No one from Deathmound fears death.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. Deathmound?

He had heard that name before. It was one of the very few organizations that Ru Guo had made a point to mention.

Cultivation in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was unique. People there also cultivated with spirit seeds, but in a completely different manner than the Spirit Nidus.

In the Spirit Nidus, cultivators started by absorbing a spirit seed into their body. As their realm rose, that spirit seed would eventually form a spirit weapon or innate gift. The stronger the cultivator, the more potent their spirit seed’s metamorphosis would be. It was a rather normal cultivation method. However, when spirit seeds were cultivated according to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s method, things became decidedly abnormal.

This was because, in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the spirit seed left the body.

For Nine Odysseys cultivators, spirit seeds were items that would eventually be infused into their body with the purpose of enhancing their strength. There were no beast-form or human-form Spirit Rebirths; people were people and were unable to become beasts. Spirit seeds also did not grant any innate gifts or become a spirit weapon. If any such thing existed, it was an individual’s innate ability.

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, cultivation focused on a human’s own body, just like in the Tianyuan Megaverse. However, the spirit seed served as a medium: it could serve as a second life and accelerate a person’s cultivation speed. This was the complete opposite of the Spirit Nidus’s approach.

Only after learning these details from Ru Guo had Lu Yin truly understood the Nine Odysseys Megaverse for the first time.

This had also explained to Lu Yin the purpose of the inverted funnels and the liquified spirit seeds.

In the Spirit Nidus, cultivators continuously refined their spirit seeds to grow stronger. When a cultivator died, their seed would fall into one of the great funnels, where it would liquefy and then drain into the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. There, practitioners cultivated by projecting their own seeds and immersing themselves in a mist of liquefied spirit seeds, drawing upon that power to advance.

This was the grim truth regarding cultivation in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus: the Spirit Nidus had been sacrificing its people to nurture the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

It was a brutal reality, and if it was ever revealed, every cultivator in the Spirit Nidus would suffer a mental breakdown. Their lives were entirely in the hands of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, which was able to grant life or death at will.

In the past, only after a person died would their spirit seeds liquify in a funnel. However, if the Nine Odysseys Megaverse ever chose to do so, they could forcibly expel the spirit seeds from Spirit Nidus cultivators, killing them.

The people of the Spirit Nidus were nothing more than vessels to facilitate cultivation in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, nothing more.

Tragedies like what had happened to the River Domain could repeat throughout the entire Spirit Nidus.

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, their cultivators’ spirit seeds would leave their bodies to be trained as a second life. When their spirit seed returned, it marked a complete cultivation cycle. However, if their spirit seed was destroyed, they would be forced to start over.

Additionally, there was an alternate path: acquire a spirit seed that someone else had cultivated. Doing so would allow a person to instantly acquire tremendous power.

In a sense, this was like the Transcendent Universe’s energy converters, but unlike the energy converters that purely released destructive energy, spirit seeds embodied cultivation itself, and acquiring one would grant a cultivator personal strength.

This had led to the advent of individuals who preyed upon others’ cultivated spirit seeds. They would sell them to those who were unwilling to cultivate, which would enable a buyer to instantly become powerful.

Such practices were expressly forbidden in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and that law was enforced by the four Greater Sancti and the five Lesser Sancti. Anyone who was discovered violating that taboo was killed without mercy. It was the gravest sin that one could commit in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Still, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was vast, and the Sancti also needed to cultivate, which meant that they were unable to keep constant watch.

This had led to the rise of a faction that watched the Nine Odysseys Megaverse on behalf of the Greater and Lesser Sancti: Deathmound.

Deathmound’s purpose was to stop all who would steal cultivated spirit seeds. If a criminal was discovered, Deathmound was authorized to take direct action.

Within the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Deathmound held an extremely high status.

There was a saying that said it all: Deathmound can kill anyone, but no one dares strike back at Deathmound.

Killing a member of Deathmound was a crime that would cause one to be hunted down by the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

None of the people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had expected someone from Deathmound to be among them.

It was common knowledge in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that the presence of someone from Deathmound was alway a dark omen.

The common people treated them like ravens, bearers of omen.

Even the High Seraph and Yong Heng could not stop themselves from looking over.

“What is someone from Deathmound doing here?” someone on the opposite side of the cliff top could not hold back their question. His voice made it clear that he was unhappy. After all, his own family had been killed by Deathmound.

The young man from Deathmound continued to stare at Lu Yin. “If you want to kill me, then kill me.”

Lu Yin laughed. “While I don’t know what this ‘Deathmound’ is, it seems that it’s not simple. You’re coming with me.”

With that, the young man was imprisoned in a Zenith Mountain.

“Congratulations, you’ve just caught a big fish,” Yong Heng remarked as he smiled at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin looked over. “A big fish? He’s just a brat.”

Yong Heng shook his head. “Deathmound is like a hornets’ nest. Do not kick it, or else you’ll bring calamity down upon yourself. Lord Lu, your specialty seems to be diverting disasters onto others. I am quite eager to see your visit to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

The High Seraph looked away and continued walking towards the palace.

Yong Heng smiled and also resumed walking forward.

Old Chief and the other conscients quickly asked their latest captive, “What is Deathmound?”

The captive hesitated briefly. “It’s a terrifying group that’s qualified to petition the Greater Sancti.”

“Petition the Greater Sancti?”

“That’s right, petition the Greater Sancti.”

“It means that they can talk to an Immortal,” another captive interjected.

Old Chief’s eyes flickered as he looked over at Lu Yin again. The conscient was surprised that such a person was present. They were qualified to speak directly to an Immortal. Such a person was invaluable, regardless of their personal strength.

Sadly, Lu Yin had captured that man.

Lu Yin continued moving. There were only a few more steps between him and Luo Ning.

As Lu Yin continued to endure the pressure of the memories, his string of memories was put under more and more tension, though it was still well within Lu Yin’s tolerance.

He did not know just how much he could endure. While he could sense the growing tension, his die’s Possession ability had subjected him to countless years of memories. It was possible that his string of memories was much tougher than others’.

He captured another person.

At that same moment, Lian Shuang attacked. Sequence particles enveloped the entire area, and an ethereal tower materialized around Lu Yin.

His hand flicked out, instantly scattering the sequence particles. His palm strike then sent ripples through the air, distorting the illusory tower.

The woman was an Ortuser. While that was an impressive level of strength in the Tianyuan and even the Spirit Nidus megaverses, she was still too weak, at least when compared to Lu Yin.

The attack reached Lian Shuang but passed through her. She twisted in the air with uncanny agility, moving around Lu Yin and streaking past him. The ethereal tower grew solid as she tried to trap Lu Yin.

At that moment, a terrifying power shattered the tower, which left Lian Shuang coughing up blood and staggering backwards. Horrified, she could not help but ask, “What kind of power is that?”

Not only had she been blasted back, but her illusory tower had also dissipated entirely.

Lu Yin stretched out a hand to grab Lian Shuang. An average Ortuser stood no chance against him. Just his physical strength alone utterly dominated the woman.

Lian Shuang clenched her jaw, and a figure abruptly appeared behind her. It rose high into the sky while radiating a strange, terrifying aura. “Greater Sancti of the Nine Odysseys!”

A blinding light erupted from the figure’s hand, and the illusory tower that had dissipated after being struck by Lu Yin reformed into a sharp sword that slashed at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin frowned. This was an attack that he had seen before.

During his first fight with Feng Bo, the man had used the same attack: Greater Sancti of the Nine Odysseys. The tower‑shaped sword edge had looked identical to what Lian Shuang had just used. Previously, Feng Bo’s sword had overwhelmed Lu Yin. He had been badly injured and even trapped until just barely managing to break free.

Lian Shuang might be stronger than Feng Bo when Lu Yin had faced the man, but Lian Shuang was completely incapable of threatening Lu Yin in any way.

Despite the tower‑shaped sword’s horrifying aura, she was unable to unleash its full power.

Bang!

The sword shattered as Lu Yin’s hand shot through the broken fragments to hit Lian Shuang’s shoulder. She was sent flying backwards, spitting up blood as she collapsed.

Right as Lu Yin moved to capture the woman, a massive gate slammed down from up above. “Five Fingers: Skyward Gate!”

Luo Ning had attacked.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.