Star Odyssey Chapter 2710 – The Shangsan Festival

Chapter 2710 – The Shangsan Festival

It was no wonder that Zhu Ye had acted so arrogant after joining the Merchant Exchange. It had been a ma.s.sive leap upwards for the Zhu Mercantile Company, as no one would dare touch the company. On top of that, the Merchant Exchange would also cover up any of Zhu Yi’s indiscretions

As for whoever led the Merchant Exchange, there was no information to be found whatsoever. There were rumors that the person was someone from the Lost Clan, or else the Cyclic Universe. There were even some rumors that said that the Merchant Exchange was led by someone with no connection to any power in the Sixverse a.s.sociation, but rather a powerful independent cultivator. There are too many various rumors, and they only served to increase the mystery surrounding the Merchant Exchange.

The power vessel that Zhu Ye had been given by the Merchant Exchange that looked like an eye had been destroyed by Lu Yin. He had found that no matter what he did, it was impossible for him to contain the power vessel. Even when he had put it in his cosmic ring, it would slip out if he was not careful.

He did not want any trouble with the Merchant Exchange, so his only choice had been to destroy the power vessel.

As for the Merchant Exchange itself, he was very interested in the company. After all, each of their members was a walking wallet, and Lu Yin was always short of funds.

After Lu Yin left the bell tower, he was approached by Ning Ran. "Acting Bureau Director, I heard you were looking for me."

"Has Cheng Feng said anything?" Lu Yin asked.

Ning Ran shook her head. "No. We haven’t continued his interrogation at all recently."

"Don't worry about pressing him with interrogations. The worst torture he can suffer is just time. He won’t be able to endure."

Ning Ran frowned. While this made sense to her, she had not even started any physical torture on Cheng Feng, and she felt that it was important to at least go through the standard procedures at least once. However, since she had been given orders by the acting Bureau Director, she did not dare act counter to those orders without proper authorization.

"Tell me, how big is the omniverse?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

The question was unexpected for Ning Ran, and she thought about it for a bit. "It’s infinitely large."

"Aside from the Sixverse a.s.sociation, are there other such organizations?" Lu Yin continued his questions. While he seemed to be addressing Ning Ran, he also appeared to be speaking to himself.

Ning Ran still answered, "There must be. There are constantly more parallel universes being discovered, so maybe there’ll be a day when we find another group comparable to the Sixverse a.s.sociation."

Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was true, they might one day discover another monstrous organization on the same scale as the Sixverse a.s.sociation. There was no way to know for sure. At the very least, Jiang Qingyue and Jiang Chen's father, who was known as the Lord of Lightning, was a terrifying powerhouse. Progenitor level creatures such as Dragonturtle referred to the man as master, so who could say how many other powerhouses might still be out there?

"Alright, you can head on back." Lu Yin smiled as he spoke. "I was just musing on things."

Ning Ran nodded and stepped back.

In the following time, Lu Yin rarely became quiet, and he would not approach Chen Le. At this time, the closer he got, the easier it would be to be targeted by Lord Wei. Now that Lord Wei suspected Cloudflow was the secret agent, he had achieved his goal. What he wants is to buy time.

The day would come when Lu Yin would learn the truth, and he hoped that it would come after the Origin Universe was able to become a member of the Sixverse a.s.sociation.

On that same day, Xu Wuji visited the Red Zone and went to find Xuan Qi. "The Lost Clan’s Shangsan Festival will be held soon. Are you interested in attending?"

Lu Yin had spent some time in the Red Zone and had rarely had any contact with the outside world. He had been focused on the Cosmic Art and trying to break through to the next and final level. Because of this, he had not heard of the Shangsan Festival before. "What’s the Shangsan Festival?"

"You don't know?" Xu Wuji was surprised. "Everyone’s talking about it right now. Well, you did just recently join the Sixverse a.s.sociation, so it makes sense for you not to know.

"The Shangsan Festival is a very important occasion for the Lost Clan. Legends claim that whenever a Shangsan Festival is held, their gates are opened wide. It’s one of the rare occasions when you can change your card, provided you are willing to do so."

This stunned Lu Yin. "The Lost Clan only allows a person to get a new card if their previous card was destroyed. You’re saying it’s also possible to replace them?"

Xu Wuji raised two fingers. "There are only two chances to change a card; one is to have a breakthrough in your cultivation. Think about it, a card is not a person and it cannot be cultivated. Each one has its own limits. For example, the a Primordial Card can only hold a Void Morphora, so if someone has a breakthrough and becomes a Void Suprema, their card will become worthless in any of their battles. In that sort of a situation, you can apply to the Lost Clan to replace your card.

"The second chance is the Shangsan Festival. According to the Lost Clan itself, it’s a celebration of a day their ancestors gave out gifts. Every single one of the Lost Clan’s cards will have something strange happen to it, and as long as you have the ability and the opportunity, you will receive favor from a card and can trade for it.”

This was all a surprise to Lu Yin. It was true that celebrations were important for morale and people’s spirits, and this was true of both ordinary humans and cultivators. As long as people had emotions, there would undoubtedly be celebrations.

"If I remember correctly, you have a seven-star card known as the Hidden Mountain. I heard someone mention that you picked it up during a compet.i.tion with Jiang Xiaodao while you were in the Sixverse Academy. Unfortunately, it’s only an Ancient card, so what do you think? You want to replace it with a Primordial card?" Xu Wuji asked with open interest.

Lu Yin shook his head. "It matches my current cultivation. With my strength, a seven-star Ancient card like Hidden Mountain is already the best I can do. There is no reason to change it."

Xu Wuji said, "While that would normally be the case, you need to think about this carefully. You are not a member of the Lost Clan yourself, which means that you have very few chances to ever trade your card. Even if you become a Void Suprema, it will be difficult for you to get the Lost Clan to agree to trade your Ancient card. Replacing a card as your cultivation improves s something that is typically reserved for members of the Lost Clan, so if you miss the Shangsan Festival, you’ll need to either convince them to let you trade your card, which is extremely difficult to accomplish, or you’ll need to wait for the next Shangsan Festival to be held."

"How long would I have to wait for the next Shangsan Festival?" Lu Yin asked.

Xu Wuji replied, "That all depends on when the Lost Clan holds it again. I don’t understand their scheduling, but at least a thousand years pa.s.s between each one."

A thousand years was not a long time for a cultivator, but how long has it been since Lu Yin had first started cultivating? Given his speed, if things continued in the same manner, a thousand years might be enough time for him to become a Progenitor.

Xu Wuji saw Xuan Qi considering the matter carefully, and added, "I do mean at least a thousand years. Sometimes, if things don’t go as expected, it might be 10,000 years before the next Shangsan Festival is held. There’s no saying for sure.

"If you feel that there’s any chance that the Hidden Mountain card won’t be enough for you, I suggest that you trade it for a different card. Given the strength of your current opponents, even now a seven-star Ancient card like Hidden Mountain can't be of much help to you. Just the fact that it’s a seven-star card is worthless, and who knows, maybe you can replace it with a seven-star Primordial card, or even a seven-star Immemorial card.

"The reason why so many people try to trade their cards during a Shangsan Festival is because there’s no telling what kind of card you might receive. Supposedly, one time someone traded a Seasonal card for an Immemorial card, which was a big deal everywhere in the Sixverse a.s.sociation. From that point forward, the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation has paid attention to every single Shangsan Festival that is held. There should be a lot of people attending, both older people who are waiting for the Shangsan Festival, as well as younger people like you. There will even be people younger than you. Basically, it’s a ma.s.sive gathering."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Bureau Director, it seems that you are quite eager for me to replace my card."

Xu Wuji rolled his eyes. "What does it matter what I want? It’s your business. However, if yo udo go, do me a favor and deliver something to a member of the Lost Clan for me."

"What is it?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

Xu Wuji pushed his sungla.s.ses up. "Are you going or not?"

"If you want my help, I’ll go." Lu Yin said.

Xu Wuji had nothing to say. "I was just offering you a bit of advise and suggesting that you replace your card to help yourself out. Why are you trying to turn this into doing a favor for me?"

Lu Yin smiled. "It's a good idea."

He was actually a bit worried that some powerhouse from the Lost Clan would see through his Mask of Death if he went to the Shangsan Festival, but given how long Lu Yin had spent in the Voidforce Universe and the fact that Xu Wuwei was his cultivation guide, even if someone from the Lost Clan saw through the Mask of Death, they would probably not care, as they would already know that Xu Wuwei had seen through everything. If Xu Wuwei was unbothered by Xuan Qi’s disguise, no one from the Lost Clan would be concerned at all.

There were too many people wandering about while hiding their ident.i.ties.

Xu Wuji sneered before reaching out and patting Xuan Qi on the shoulder. "Young man, you're pretty shrewd."

"Haha, Senior, just tell me what you need me to take and who you need me to deliver it to."

"So, you want to go?"

"I’ll go. After all, my Hidden Mountain card really isn’t good enough, and I should improve my abilities as best I can."

"That's right." Xu Wuji pulled a box out from his cosmic ring and solemnly handed it to Xuan Qi. "Don't open it. This also needs to be given directly to Xiao Fang."

Lu Yin took the box in a daze. This was not because the box was heavy, but because of the name that Xu Wuji had given. "Xiao- Xiao Fang?"

Xu Wuji nodded. "Xiao Fang. Just ask for her when you get to the Lost Clan. Make sure you give it to her directly, and don't let anyone give it to her for you. If you aren’t able to see Xiao Fang, just bring the box back to me intact. Don’t let anyone touch it, or even see it. Understand? Make sure you remember.”

Lu Yin groaned, suddenly a bit uncertain. "Bureau Director, the Lost Clan isn’t easy to mess with. You aren’t trying to make trouble for me, right?"

Xu Wuji instantly shouted, "What kind of bulls.h.i.+t is that? How would I try to make trouble for you?"

Lu Yin retorted, "Then let me see what's in the box."

Xu Wuji s.n.a.t.c.hed the box back and glared at Xuan Qi. "No! You can't see!"

Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was becoming more and more hesitant about agreeing to run this errand. Could the box hold some lost treasure that belonged to the Lost Clan? Surely nothing would happen to him if he delivered the box.

Xu Wuji's eyes flashed. "Forget it, I don't need your help. I’ll take it myself. I don't know what you’re so worried about. Why would I need you to take something if it were actually important? I’d just take it myself!"

Despite his arguments, it was clear that Xu Wuji had no intention of going and was reluctant to not send the box with Xuan Qi.

Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, give me the box. I’ll give it to Xiao Fang for you."

Xu Wuji looked at Xuan Qi suspiciously. "You can't open it."

Lu Yin nodded. "I won’t open it."

"Swear."

Lu Yin's face twitched, but helpless, he swore as ordered. "Senior, you need to also swear that this won’t harm me at all."

Xu Wuji happily swore an oath as well. "Feel better now?"

Lu Yin put the box away. "Senior, who is Xiao Fang?"

Xu Wuji replied, "You'll know when you get there."

Suddenly, the man looked a bit nervous, but after taking a moment to think about things, he looked to be more at ease, and he said nothing more about the matter. "When you’re visiting the Lost Clan, make sure you don’t miss the Shangsan Festival. Use whatever you can to draw a card, and make sure you remember, you don’t find a card, but it finds you. If you search for one, you won’t find anything. That’s not how it works at all.”

Lu Yin grew curious. "Attract them?"

Xu Wuji somberly replied, "According to the Lost Clan, every card is a reflection of a person’s heart, and because the cards are traps that are used to kill, they are able to witness the human heart. Because of that, each person will attract a different card, and it depends on the person, not their strength. If it were determined by power, that person with the Seasonal card would never have obtained an Immemorial card.

“You need to…” The man trailed off, seemingly uncertain on what to say.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Wuji looked back at Lu Yin. "Show your unrestrained self!"

Lu Yin blinked. "Yes?"

Xu Wuji nodded. "If you want to attract a suitable card, you need to allow the cards to see the real you, so just let yourself go. Only then will you be able to attract the card that suits you best. This is something that most people can’t do, and they end up walking away with nothing at all. At every Shangsan Festival, most people are unable to trade their cards. In fact, only about one in every hundred people are able to trade their cards. I’m hoping you’re one of those one-in-a-hundred."