Chapter 2656 – Astral Pathfinders
The reason why Lu Yin needed to enter the stone tower was to look into Gu Yue"s past. There was no way that Lu Yin could ask the people of the Three Monarchs Universe about Gu Yue, as that would simply expose his true ident.i.ty. The only option was to investigate on his own.
Fortunately, the stone tower lived up to its reputation. It really did have records of the universe’s entire history, and that included Gu Yue.
After spending half a day in the tower, Lu Yin stood at the top and looked out. A cold light could be seen glinting in the depths of his eyes.
Just as he had expected, the actual events of the past were not far from what he had guessed. Retainer Wu had also shared a bit of that history.
Gu Yue had entered the Three Monarchs Universe through a pa.s.sage that connected the universe to Shenwu Continent. He had then roamed about the universe for a hundred years, during which time he had made several friends. One of Gu Yue’s close friends had been a man named Bo, who was known as Old Bo. He had been the person whom Gu Yue had trusted most. Unfortunately, Gu Yue’s problems had also stemmed from Old Bo.
Old Bo had deliberately approached Gu Yue because Gu Yue had not cultivated monarch essence. The man had not dared to demonstrate any form of power that was not native to the Three Monarchs universe, but his physical strength could not be hidden.
How could a non-cultivator possess the physical might of a peak Envoy? It made it very clear that something was wrong with Gu Yue.
Old Bo"s investigations had exposed Gu Yue as someone from a parallel universe. That was around the same time that Gu Yue had learned that Old Bo was actually a member of the Astral Pathfinders.
The Astral Pathfinders were a group in the Three Monarchs Universe that had been tasked with searching out parallel universes and a.s.sessing the power of those universes. The members of the group delighted in capturing people and treating them as subhumans. Any time a habitable universe was discovered, it would be reported to the three Monarchs, who would reward the Astral Pathfinders richly. Unfortunately, the fate of those newly discovered universes invariably proved to be exceedingly grim.
As soon as Gu Yue learned that Old Bo was a member of the Astral Pathfinders, the man had raced back to the Fifth Mainland. He had been relentlessly pursued by a group of powerful Astral Pathfinders, among which included Old Bo. Gu Yue had narrowly escaped back to the Fifth Mainland, though he had been gravely injured. To prevent an invasion from the Three Monarchs Universe, the man had used the last of his strength to set up a sourcebox array to seal the connection between the two universes, as well as the Tower of Resonating Light. Regrettably, Gu Yue’s efforts had taken his life.
The incident with Gu Yue had been recorded in the stone tower simply because it involved a parallel universe. Any matter connected to a parallel universe had to be recorded in the stone tower.
If that were all there was to the matter, it would be fine. Every parallel universe had its own way of handling things, and the way that the Three Monarchs Universe had dealt with Gu Yue was quite normal.
What concerned Lu Yin was the fact that Old Bo had enslaved Gu Yue"s descendants.
Gu Yue had spent a hundred years in the Three Monarchs Universe, and during that time, he had not only made friends, but had also found love and had children. His hasty return to the Fifth Mainland meant that he had not had any time to take his loved ones with him, and he had even died shortly after setting up the sourcebox array in the Fifth Mainland. Gu Yue’s descendants had been left to struggle on their own.
In his anger at Gu Yue"s escape, Old Bo had sought vengeance by forcing all of Gu Yue"s descendants into an eternity of servitude as slaves to the Astral Pathfinders. The slavery had endured for multiple generations so that Old Bo could sate his anger.
Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Before much more time pa.s.sed, he left the stone tower.
In the following days, Cang Bi led Lu Yin around the Emperor Domain, as Lu Yin visited almost every location that was off limits to ordinary people.
On the fifth day, Boss Guan came looking for Lu Yin. "Acting Bureau Director, Cheng Feng has given us another name: Bo."
Lu Yin asked in surprise, "Bo? Is that actually a name?"
From behind Lu Yin, Cang Bi’s ears p.r.i.c.ked up. Bo? That sounds familiar.
Boss Guan continued, "Yes, it is a name, and it’s the name of a man from the Three Monarchs Universe. According to Cheng Feng, they met before at the Broken Cliff, and Cheng Feng pa.s.sed a message to Bo through a song. The man is a spy."
"I remember now! Bo! The Astral Pathfinder?" Cang Bi exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Yin and Boss Guan both turned to look at the man. "Do you know him?"
Cang Bi nodded. "He’s an Astral Pathfinder. I never expected him to be a spy."
"Since you know him, we’ll go together," Lu Yin commented before taking a step forward and moving towards the Astral Pathfinders’ headquarters.
The Astral Pathfinders were based in the Upper King Domain. They had many members, most of whom were highly skilled experts. Among them, Bo was regarded as an exceptional expert, as he was second only to the Semi-Monarch in charge of the group. After all, Old Bo was someone from Gu Yue’s time, and he had been alive even before that.
…
This was the day when the Astral Pathfinders held their decennial meeting. It was a ma.s.sive gathering for all of their members to report their discoveries.
"Over the past ten years, I’ve ventured into seven parallel universes. None of them showed any signs of human life, and most didn’t have any signs of intelligent life at all," one old man reported.
"I found a universe that does contain intelligent life, and I nearly lost my life there. There was a monster devouring stars! It was terrifying," another explorer shared.
"I’ve managed to visit three parallel universes."
"I’ve explored two."
Voices filled the meeting hall.
"Where’s Old Bo?"
"Old Bo has never been late for any of our decennial meetings. I heard that there"s been some activity in that place, so he might have gone there."
"Are you talking about the spatial tunnel that Gu Yue fled into?"
"Hush! We can’t speak Gu Yue’s name! Old Bo doesn’t like it."
At that moment, an old man arrived at the front of the meeting room, a smile on his face. He looked out at everyone who was gathered. This man was none other than Old Bo, the Astral Pathfinders’ number two in command. Old Bo only answered to the overseer of the Astral Pathfinders, who was a Semi-Monarch who stayed in the Mo Courtyard. This meant that Old Bo was effectively the one in charge of the group.
Everyone quickly suppressed their auras, and the hall settled down.
"You all seem to have been having quite the lively discussion. Has your hard work these last ten years borne any fruit?" Old Bo asked.
One by one, everyone reported their recent accomplishments.
Old Bo looked pleased as he listened to the reports and slowly savored his tea while occasionally offering a bit or two of advice. The overall atmosphere of the meeting was quite harmonious.
"Your dedication and efforts of this past decade are commendable. Exploring parallel universes is perilous, and we mourn the loss of twenty six comrades during this recent decade. We have paid a substantial sacrifice for our cause. Nevertheless, you all need to understand the unending nature of our quest to discover more parallel universes. Discovering one that satisfies Monarch Luo and the other Monarchs could be enough to propel our Three Monarchs Universe to greater heights. It would also elevate your own statuses quite significantly. I hope that all of you will take good care of yourselves," Old Bo conveyed.
Everyone quickly agreed.
"Aside from exploring parallel universes, it is also important to travel to our own universe extensively. You might just happen to meet people from other universes, just like Gu Yue."
The people in the meeting hall were all astonished, as even mentioning the name “Gu Yue” in front of Old Bo had been forbidden, so why was the man personally bringing that name up now? Especially when he seemed to be in such a good mood.
At the same time, one of the many servants serving tea and water to the explorers paused briefly before continuing his duties.
Old Bo gave a small smile as he looked out at the crowd. “How would I have discovered Gu Yue, someone from a foreign universe, if not for my travels in our own Three Monarchs Universe?”
As the old man spoke, he turned to the servant serving tea who had frozen for a moment. “You, come over here.”
The servant"s heart trembled as he cautiously approached Old Bo. The servant kept his head bowed and did not dare to meet the other man’s gaze.
Old Bo spoke calmly. “All of you should recognize this man, as he is one of Gu Yue’s descendants who’s been condemned to slavery. This serves as a perfect example of what will happen to anyone from a parallel universe who dares to try to escape. This is the only fate awaiting them.”
The old man then looked back at the servant. “Tell me, do you hate Gu Yue?”
The servant dropped to his knees. “Lord, I hate him!”
“How much do you hate him?”
“I would devour his flesh and crush his bones!”
Old Bo laughed heartily. “Which generation of Gu Yue’s are you from?”
“I am part of the thirty-first generation.”
Old Bo sighed in amazement. “The thirty-first generation… Has it really been so long already?”
Everyone silently waited for Old Bo to continue. No one dared to interrupt him.
“Do you really hate Gu Yue?” Old Bo asked again.
The servant"s eyes grew heated. “I do! I hate him for abandoning us and escaping on his own! I hate him for offending you, Lord! I hate him for only caring about his home! I’m not the only one, as my entire clan hates him as well. We hate him to the bone!”
Old Bo laughed again. “Thirty-one generations of Gu Yue"s descendants… 245 people, and yet of them all, you are the most clever. Only you managed to find a way to hide your child.”
The servant"s face instantly turned ashen as he stared at Old Bo in disbelief.
The others in the hall turned to look at the servant in surprise. Had this man actually managed to hide his children?
Old Bo beckoned with a hand, and a maid entered, carrying a baby.
The moment the servant saw the infant, he recoiled in horror and his strength fled. His secret had been discovered.
The man had gone to great lengths to have a child and hide him away, for the sole purpose of freeing his bloodline from an eternity of slavery. Of course, to keep up appearances, he needed to have a “son” in slavery, but in secret, he had kept his true child hidden. Unfortunately, that secret had been exposed.
The infant was brought over to Old Bo, who took the child and chuckled as he looked down at the sleeping newborn. "He’s quite adorable. It’s too bad that he"s another one of Gu Yue’s descendants. What should I do with him?"
The servant"s eyes darted about, but he did not dare to utter a word or even move a single muscle. His face was as white as chalk as he stared at the baby in Old Bo"s arms.
No one else in the meeting hall was surprised. They had all seen their own fair share of subhumans and had long since lost any feelings of compa.s.sion for them.
"You hid him away, hoping that he would be able to live as an ordinary person free from slavery. It’s possible that you’ve even been harboring thoughts of revenge for the future," Old Bo mused. He looked relaxed and sounded perfectly calm.
The servant"s fingers twitched in terror as he stared at Old Bo. "I would never dare! I"ve never even thought about revenge! If I were to pursue revenge, I would take it out on Gu Yue. I would never dare to disturb you, Lord."
Old Bo chuckled coldly. "I have observed every single generation of Gu Yue’s descendants, including yours. Thirty one generations altogether. I once told Gu Yue that, if he dared to flee, I would make sure that his descendants would forever be slaves. Since I said it, I need to see it done."
There was no trace of color in the servant"s face as he collapsed to the ground. There was no point in saying anything further at this point in time. All he could do was accept his fate.
His life had been long enough, and death would be a merciful release. However, Old Bo would not let the servant off so easily. His desire was to torment Gu Yue’s descendants, and if this servant died, it would free him from that torment.
"I’ll give you a chance to free your son from slavery," Old Bo suddenly announced.
The servant stared up at Old Bo in shock, unable to comprehend what he had just heard.
Most of the others in the room were similarly taken aback, though there were a few who were not surprised. It seemed that they were privy to some secret.
Old Bo continued, "You might soon encounter Gu Yue himself. Well, if he’s still alive, that is."
The servant rose to his feet, still staring at Old Bo with a stunned expression.
With a sinister chuckle, Old Bo finished, "When you see him, don"t hesitate to give him all of your grievances from these many years. I"d love to see his reaction."
With that, the old man callously tossed the baby into the air.
The servant was horrified, and though he lunged forward, he had no special abilities or strength. He was a perfectly ordinary human.
Everyone else remained where they were and merely watched as the baby fell in the distance.
Suddenly, someone shot out of the void and caught the baby.
Old Bo raised a brow, and displeasure quickly covered his face.
Someone called out in a stern voice, "Who dares to behave so brazenly in the headquarters of the Astral Pathfinders?"
Everyone turned to look outside where the person had caught the infant.
"You people are animals, torturing an infant!" Lu Yin glared at the crowd. He had caught the baby.
The people in the room shouted back, "Impudent!"
Old Bo’s eyes narrowed as he silently stared at Lu Yin.
Behind Lu Yin, Boss Guan, Skinner, Xu Ji, and Cang Bi all appeared and started to move forward.
When the people in the meeting hall saw Cang Bi, they gasped and quickly bowed to the Demi-Monarch.
Old Bo rose from his seat as well. "Greetings, Senior Cang Bi."
Lu Yin entered the hall, still cradling the baby in his arms. With steady steps, he walked over to the servant. The man stared in a daze as his child was handed back to him. "This should be your child."
The servant accepted the baby, swallowing hard. Only then did any color return to his face. He was drenched to the point where he looked as though he had just been pulled from a river. "Thank- thank you…"