Star Odyssey

Chapter 1334: Aid Requested From The Hidden Earth Society

 

Lu Yin had already wanted to return to Jupiter to investigate the place.
After all, there was a mysterious organization hidden in his own backyard, and he had to gain some understanding of it.
This was an organization that was related to primeval surnames, and he might be able to find out information about his past.

However, Lu Yin had never imagined that he would hear of Hidden Earth Society far away from home in Little Millennium Flowzone, let alone from Starsibyl.

“What are you talking about?” Lu Yin asked as he stared closely at Starsibyl, trying to see something in her eyes.

Starsibyl invited Lu Yin to accompany her.
“Brother Lu, let me show you someone.”

Lu Yin's eyes flashed.
Thoughts raced through his mind as he followed Starsibyl.

Before long, he saw a house, and there was a man inside sipping a cup of tea, and it was obvious that the man was in a rush, and there was also an unexplainable bit of panic deep in the man’s eyes.

Starsibyl led Lu Yin into the house.

When the man saw the two youths, and especially Lu Yin, his eyes lit up.
“Are you Lu Yin?”

Lu Yin stared back at the man.
“Who are you?”

The man swallowed, and his voice was hoarse when he replied, “My name is Chiting, Zhang Chiting, and I’m a member of the Hidden Earth Society.”

Lu Yin raised his eyebrows.
He briefly glanced at Starsibyl, but then continued to focus on the man.
“Why should I trust you?”

“Huo Qingshan, extinction cycle,” Zhang Chiting said.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Even though he was seeing Lu Yin right in front of him, Zhang Chiting still did not believe it.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Lu Yin raised a hand to interrupt.
He looked at Starsibyl.
“Is the Starsibyl Sect somehow related to the Hidden Earth Society?”

Starsibyl said, “That’s not really important, as I just happened to stumble across it.
You two should take your time talking.”

With that, she left the house.

Lu Yin looked back at Zhang Chiting.
“How much does the Starsibyl Sect know about the Hidden Earth Society?”

Zhang Chiting shook his head.
“Not much.
Earth has been wiped out numerous times over the years, but each time a few elites would be taken away to Jupiter or some distant part of the universe.
I’ve been trying to find a way to get in touch with the Starsibyl Sect, as I wanted to have them divinate the true reason to why Earth periodically gets wiped out, but I don’t dare share all of the information.”

“So you’re part of the reason I'm here?” Lu Yin asked.

Zhang Chiting nodded.
“The Starsibyl Sect is really powerful, and they figured out that I have a connection to you, so I arranged a meeting for us.”

Lu Yin did not understand the Starsibyl Sect’s plan.
In the end, the Hidden Earth Society was only something that concerned Earth, so why would the Starsibyl Sect even care? They might not, and it was possible that they were actually concerned with the Primeval Surnames Alliance.

“Does the Starsibyl Sect know about Jupiter?” Lu Yin asked.

Zhang Chiting shook his head.
“I never said anything.
Jupiter is the greatest secret of our Hidden Earth Society, so unless it’s someone from Earth or with a primeval surname, we won’t say anything at all about it.”

At this time, Lu Yin finally believed that Zhang Chiting really was from the Hidden Earth Society, though there was no guarantee the man was still a member.
After all, the society had existed for countless years, so who knew if there were any traitors.

However, even if there were traitors, what could they betray? What was there that could be coveted? What could other powers use to lure out members of the Hidden Earth Society into betraying their organization?

The seemingly mysterious Hidden Earth Society was nothing but an empty shell.

Despite the passing of so many years, Jupiter had not been explored.
This alone was enough to prove that the outside universe was not concerned with the Hidden Earth Society, and maybe Starsibyl only let Zhang Chiting speak with Lu Yin in order to help foster a good relationship.
Maybe things were not as complicated as Lu Yin was assuming, and there was nothing of value to the Hidden Earth Society for major powers.

It was likely that only Lu Yin and the people from the Hidden Earth Society actually paid any attention to the organizations.

“Why did you ask to see me? I'm not a member of the Hidden Earth Society,” Lu Yin asked.

Zhang Chiting replied, “I know, but I didn’t have a choice.
There’s no one other than you who can help Earth.” He hesitated a moment before continuing in a more somber tone, “It won't be long before Earth is wiped out again.”

Lu Yin's eyes went wide.
Huo Qingshan had explained that Earth was periodically wiped out, and then civilization would start from the beginning.

“Why do you say that? It hasn't been that long since the last time Earth’s civilization was wiped,” Lu Yin wondered.

Zhang Chiting showed a bitter smile.
“The amount of time for Earth to be wiped out varies each time, as it’s not the amount of time that matters, but how far Earth develops.
Your appearance has brought about a civilization of cultivation on Earth, and many geniuses have appeared, which means that Earth is about to be exterminated again.”

Huo Qingshan had also told Lu Yin this.
He had remembered, but Huo Qingshan had also mentioned that Earth was not the only place that would be affected.
“Besides Earth, Huo Qingshan told me that other places with primeval surnames will also be wiped out.”

Zhang Chiting shook his head and shared something that truly surprised Lu Yin, “What happens to those other primeval surnames is different from what happens to Earth, because those places are dealt with by the Hidden Earth Society.”

Zhang Chiting's words stunned Lu Yin.
“You’re the ones who eliminate them?”

Zhang Chiting nodded and explained in a lower tone, “Because of what happens to Earth every so often, the Hidden Earth Society takes talented youths away from Earth to cultivate.
You should already be aware of how many geniuses appear n Earth; every time that there are resources and opportunities, the chances of a powerhouse rising from Earth is much greater than other places.”

Lu Yin was already aware of this.
Zhang Dingtian possessed a comparable level of strength to Liu Shaoqiu.
The first true Earthling to leave Earth, Bai Qian, had already become a Cruiser and had participated in ZENITH.
As for Bai Xua and Xu San, they were both quite talented as well.
Lu Yin had no idea where Seruzen had gone, but he should also be quite strong, unless he had already died.
Lu Yin honestly felt that given Seruzen’s determination, he would likely not perform any worse than Zhang Dingtian.

As for the second group of cultivators to leave Earth, Fu Xiaoshu and the others who had already left Earth had been improving very rapidly, and they were already at the same level as the Yu Academy’s Hall Masters, and some of them had already traveled beyond Frostwave Weave in order to train.
Lu Yin had also recently received a report that another group of cultivators had joined the Yu Academy from Earth, and the number matched the first group.

Any cultivator with an innate gift was automatically qualified to join the Universe Youth Council.
Innate gifts were regarded as incredibly important throughout the universe, and having one immediately put a cultivator ahead of their peers.

All of Frostwave did not have as many cultivators with innate gifts as Earth did on its own.

Earth was a very strange place.

“Every member of the Hidden Earth Society who leaves Earth to cultivate easily becomes a Hunter, and even if resources are scarce, all they need is time.
I, Zhang Chiting, have cultivated for 327 years and have become a Hunter, and I also have an innate gift.
Many other experts in the Hidden Earth Society have also become Hunters, and we even have some who are Enlighters,” Zhang Chiting said.

Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the man from continuing.
If it was back when Lu Yin had first left Earth, he would have been eager to get in touch with this hidden organization in order to take advantage of their power, but Lu Yin no longer needed to do so.
If he did, there was no way that the Hidden Earth Society would have reached out to Lu Yin for help.
“There’s no need to explain too much to me.”

Zhang Chiting felt Lu Yin's distance, and helplessly said, “Earth’s civilization is periodically eradicated, which is far too strange.
Although we hope for a powerhouse to step up to save Earth, we are also well aware that the universe is a cruel place where even Earth’s tragedy of a cyclical annihilation is not worth pitying.
Even if we receive help, Earth might just end up as a greater power’s slave, and the Hidden Earth Society doesn’t dare take such a risk.”

“So you slaughtered other primeval surnames in order to hide what happens to Earth?” Lu Yin spoke his guess.

Zhang Chiting replied, “There’s no way.
Earth’s situation cannot be exposed, and the only way to muddy the water is to drag in other primeval surnames to form the impression that there is a group who hate and target people with primeval surnames.”

Lu Yin was amazed.
This was completely ruthless, but no wonder the Hidden Earth Society had not been exposed despite so many years.
They had the strength and skill, and were also ruthless and incredibly cautious.

“Everything had been going very smoothly.
We were intending to slowly accumulate resources and raise up talented cultivators so that we would one day give rise to a powerhouse who surpasses the Envoy realm with a power level of more than a million.
Since Earthlings have exceptional talent and comprehension, this was not a mere dream.
However, we never expected you to appear and completely disrupt our rhythm.” Zhang Chiting smiled bitterly.

“Your appearance has accelerated when Earth’s cultivation civilization appeared, which in turn speeds up its destruction.”

Lu Yin suddenly remembered something.
“You really didn't reveal the matter of Earth?”

Zhang Chiting looked confused.
“Why are you asking that?”

Lu Yin looked at the other man.
“If details regarding Earth weren’t exposed, then why were people from top powers like the Mavis family, the Seven Courts’ Xia family, the Neohuman Alliance, and Specter Clan, and Starsibyl on Earth?”

Zhang Chiting frowned.
“That’s actually something that we’ve been trying to investigate.
To outsiders, Earth looks like nothing more than a very ordinary planet, and it is incredible that it managed to rouse the attention of the Great Yu Empire, not to mention someone from the Mavis family.
We still haven’t found out why anyone from the Seven Courts showed up, and though Earth first drew attention because of someone from the Daynight clan, that should not have been enough to attract the attention of anyone from the Mavis family.”

Lu Yin stared at Zhang Chiting, but was unable to see if the man was lying.

“What in the world is on Jupiter?” Lu Yin asked.

Zhang Chiting shook his head.
“I don't know.
Anyone who goes in, never comes out.
All of us who are active in the universe never went there.”

This was the same as what Huo Qingshan had told Lu Yin.
It seemed that if Lu Yin wanted to learn more about Jupiter, he would have to investigate himself.

Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had both been sucked into Jupiter.

“What are you hoping to get from me?” Lu Yin asked.

Zhang Chiting answered, “Earth’s entered its countdown towards extermination.
According to our speculation, the current civilization will be completely wiped out in about a hundred years.
We want to use you to ask Yuan Shi to step forward and find out the truth regarding Earth’s periodic exterminations.”

Lu Yin knew that Yuan Shi was well known.
He was an expert who had a power level of over a million, and he had disciples spread all across the universe.
The Hidden Earth Society had no fear that such a powerhouse would want to do anything to them at all.

Zhang Chiting looked at Lu Yin with an anxious and eager expression.
He knew that Lu Yin was not originally from Earth, but Lu Yin had still spent a couple of years on the planet, and had also been the reason that Earth had entered an age of cultivation sooner than expected.
Lu Yin had shown great kindness to the planet.
The Hidden Earth Society had no fear of revealing things to Lu Yin.
For starters, Starsibyl had done a divination, and second, with Lu Yin present, there was no need to worry about anyone enslaving Earth.

However, Zhang Chiting also felt somewhat bitter.
His organization had worked for countless years, and yet their accomplishments could not compare with what Lu Yin had done in just over a decade of cultivating.
It was really true that a single genius could completely change the game.

Lu Yin said, “I can ask Yuan Shi to visit Earth and check things, and if he is unable to do so, I can ask other experts of similar strength.
However, I will only do so after I investigate myself.”

“Investigate what?” Zhang Chiting asked, taken aback.

Lu Yin’s gaze grew sharp, and he replied with one word: Jupiter.