“I’m sure.” Over Azure capital’s battlements, Lu Yun nodded.
“Why should we believe you?!” The golden immortal official who’d been sent flying reappeared again. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were in tatters. He cast a baleful glare at Lu Yun. A golden immortal—a right and proper official of the Nephrite court—had been smacked aside with a single blow. How deeply humiliating!
Despite his elevated status, the golden immortal was the first to prove to the world that a void realm cultivator really could beat them that handily. He’d probably be famous for it one day, his name found on everyone’s lips.
Already imagining what was in store for him, the official grew even angrier.
“Speak! Who are you? Why did you come to Azure Province?!” However, the man didn’t dare make any aggressive moves. Lu Yun had clearly shown mercy just now. Otherwise, he’d probably already be dead.
“The reason why the governor’s seal can warn you in the first place is because of its connection to the ancient tomb at the heart of the province. The tomb is intricately fused with the province, such that trouble in the former will reflect in the seal of the latter.” Lu Yun ignored the golden immortal. “However, the ancient tomb has died recently. Its tomb qi has all spilled out, and its master is gone. Even if it exploded, nothing would happen to the seal.
“It’s up to you whether you believe me or not. I’ve spoken my piece. Whatever comes after… well, I shall have a clear conscience,” he said softly.
“A clear conscience, eh? Then… I see no reason not to believe you.” The governor of Azure Province finally showed himself. He swatted aside the golden immortal official that’d been about to erupt in fury again, then produced a deep blue seal with his right hand.
Kabooom!!
Heaven and earth quaked at the commotion. Every population center in Azure Province was covered by a blue light.
“Gather the million soldiers of the Azure Legion. We march on the ancient immortal tomb!” The governor burned with azure radiance; he was as brilliant as a small sun!
“Understood, Your Excellency!”
The comparatively quiet capital suddenly became alive. Figure after figure emerged from who knew where, arraying themselves in the city’s airspace.
The Azure Legion!
It was a heavenly army as famous as the Dusk Phalanx, but stronger than any past version of it. This was an army of golden immortals with an ancient heritage, the most stalwart line of defense Azure Province had against any undead tide.
At the governor’s command, a million soldiers formed a dragon and soared toward the central tomb. The governor himself stayed put and glanced at Lu Yun.
“Who are you? Why do you know the secret of the governor’s seal?” the man messaged.
“I am the former Dusk Province Governor, Lu Yun.” Despite his disguise, Lu Yun didn’t hide his identity.
The moment he’d arrived at the Azure capital, he’d noticed that the Azure governor was under just as many restrictions from Nephrite Major as he had been. Just like himself, many immortals were covetous of the Azure governor’s position.
“As I thought,” nodded the Azure Governor. “Don’t worry. The million strong Azure Legion will be more than enough to stop the tide.”
“You… should send more people than that.” Lu Yun pressed his lips together. “A million soldiers are barely enough to present the smallest bit of resistance to the oncoming onslaught of evil. If you can, ask for help from the origin dao immortal secluded here. Alternatively, seek reinforcements from the Nephrite court.”
The Azure governor’s expression froze.
“Now that the ancient tomb is dead, it cannot restrain the dead inside it any longer. This undead tide will be the last one for Azure Province. If you survive it, this place will become more prosperous than even Life Province. If not… a desolate waste awaits.”
Lu Yun looked toward the east. There was such a desolate waste deep in the East Sea, a zone forbidden to all life.
The Azure governor looked somewhat uncomfortable, as he still had a hard time believing the full magnitude of Lu Yun’s words. The young man was a miracle who’d done tremendous things. He was also a thorn in the side for many, many people in the world.
The governor could understand all these things. Besides coming from humble origins, Lu Yun himself was fairly weak. He didn’t have the strength sufficient to own what he possessed, which was why he attracted undue attention.
If some great faction owned Dusk Province, the inheritance tower, and everything else, things would be very different. It was also because of his weakness that the governor had trouble accepting the gravity painted by the youth’s words.
The final undead tide? One that could turn Azure Province into a desolate wasteland? That sounded as credible as a fairy tale.
“Dusk Province’s tomb is already broken,” said Lu Yun. “Azure Province isn’t alone in its plight. Very soon, Crimson Province to the south and Argent Province in the west will undergo something similar.”
The Azure Governor became as white as a ghost.
“I understand! O ancestor, I beseech you!” He shook his governor’s seal once more, as if calling on someone.
The Azure, Crimson, and Argent Provinces were different from Dusk.
Five thousand years ago, Dusk Province had sustained a serious blow that saw the annihilation of its then-governor’s clan. Later governors were natives of the province, but they didn’t belong to the old governing bloodline.
The other three provinces boasted eighty thousand years of heritage, and their governors’ clans were some of the oldest in the world. In terms of strength, they were more than a match for the likes of the Fengs and Qings.
Due to the three provinces’ exceptionalism, and the fact that they experienced regular calamities, the Nephrite emperor restricted the clans’ origin dao immortals, rather than wiping them out.
The simplicity of Lu Yun’s words helped the Azure Governor understand the gravity of the situation and he immediately woke up his clan’s sleeping origin dao immortal. Two more spirit seals appeared in the governor’s hands, to which he flicked into the wind, sending them speeding toward Argent and Crimson Provinces.
The imperial court?
After Zhao Fengyang’s abdication, the three provincial clans couldn’t be bothered with Zhao Changkong’s affairs.
……
Boom!
The tomb at the heart of Azure Province split open with a deafening sound. Countless spirits and undead dispersed like smoke in every direction. Although the troops of Azure Province were already in place, they were nevertheless flustered by the sheer volume of their opposition.
In the span of a few seconds, the million soldiers of the Azure Legion went up in smoke. Nothing of their bodies, souls, or spirits remained.
It was an absolute disaster.
Ordinary immortals were powerless before the undead tide, and innumerable defensive formations were broken, their wards consumed.
“Die!” The Azure Governor wept tears of blood to see so many of his people gone within seconds. Bringing the entire province’s power to bear with his governing seal, he charged into the torrent of evil spirits.
……
“The four ancient tombs are four openings to the outer worlds. Now that one’s been opened, the world of immortals is one step closer to destruction. That person cut off his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears to seal the openings, but he failed in the end…”
High above the earth, Mo Yi quietly stood in a plane of her own. She sighed wistfully at the sight of countless spirits and undead surrounding Azure Province.
“Dusk Province is where the human emperor fell. The human demon and immortal restriction are there to protect it. But Azure Province benefits from no such luck.
“The prelude of this world’s destruction begins here. Soon, the last sanctuary in all the universe will disappear.”
