“Lin Mo… Mazu? She’s alive again?” Haidong Lin’s eyes widened and he quickly shut his mouth, saying no more.
Mazu was the divine spirit of a realm greater than these planes. Her very existence was taboo in this part of the world. She was also the faith of Haidong Lin’s homeland—that vast World of Sea. Prior to him mastering his dao, he’d fervently believed in her.
“Is there a way to kill that big bat?” Lu Yun asked.
“You mean the Ghost Bat King? It’s a fifteenth level sequence expert, I’m only at twelve. I’m far, far beneath it.” Haidong Lin rapidly shook his head. Only three levels of sequence separated them, but that meant the bat king could crush him like swatting a stink bug. They wouldn’t have the chance to resist once it discovered them.
“Is there really no way?” Lu Yun’s brows furrowed deep. The Ghost Bat King towered at the edge of Mount Astronomia; he’d chosen to enter the darkness at a spot very far away to prevent discovery.
However, the giant bat remained an enormous threat.
Although Lu Qing used an unknown method to suppress the darkness and Ghost Bat King, that wasn’t a permanent solution. Lu Qing was an unparalleled genius and his cultivation remained stagnant when he corralled the dark. It was taking up too much of his time.
Ever since he returned to the chaos from the mythological realm, he’d spent his time suppressing the chaos sea. His cultivation likely would’ve already reached the fourth realm, and higher, if not for that.
Being Lu Yun’s son, Lu Yun had great hopes and expectations for him.
“I’m no match for the Ghost Bat King, but perhaps you can try!” the Sea Lord hummed in thought. “You can try to lure it to Fairylands and borrow the Dao King and mistress’ strength to kill it!”
“…forget it, let’s just go to a secondary world.” Lu Yun shook his head.
Haidong Lin chuckled ruefully and waved them forward.
The darkness seemed to be without end and was filled with life; they loved the dark and disorder. Lu Yun discovered through the Karmic Tree that they were full of violence. Barely any provocation was needed to incite a fight and they never spoke of reason.
Despite himself, Lu Yun was reminded of the fur seals that once existed in the world of immortals. That race had been able to cultivate and possessed their own culture, but they were completely uncivilized. They had no morals or ethics to speak of, and certainly no standards of behavior. The old bitch Ge Yanxia had copulated with her own children to use them as cannon fodder in order to break the Exalted Divine Tomb.
It appeared that Lu Yun had found their origins; they were likely the descendants of creatures in the dark. What seemed to be perfectly normal behavior to them was base and abhorrent to creatures in the light.
“Do we use our codes of conduct to judge those who live in the dark?” Lu Yun frowned and murmured to himself, “Perhaps our actions are equally inexplicable to them. It’s just a matter of perspective… there is no good or evil at the heart of things.”
Haidong Lin slightly curled his lip when he heard Lu Yun; he didn’t agree at all.
“We’re here!” he suddenly said softly. Lu Yun snapped to attention and saw a sliver of illumination ahead. It was like a sharp blade had cut through the gloom to create space for a hint of radiance to peek through.
Though it was a feeble ray of light, it was unlimited hope to Lu Yun and immediately raised his spirits.
“Are we at a secondary world?”
“Not yet,” Haidong Lin shook his head. “This is a world destroyed by the darkness. This light is all that’s left of it.”
Secondary worlds were also illuminated by the sun and moon of the primary worlds. Even if a world was destroyed, the illumination could still reach through the darkness. The sliver of light that Lu Yun had seen was reflected off of the last fragment of the world.
“But we’re very close to the secondary worlds now that world fragments are appearing. You need to be careful and stay quiet no matter what. The darkness has never given up on attacking the secondary worlds, so the battlefields here are much more grisly than Mount Astronomia of the primary worlds. There will be more than one existence on par with the Ghost Bat King,” Haidong Lin transmitted to Lu Yun. “Since the orders here are fractured due to that encroachment, there will be things here that are not possible in the primary worlds—such as experts beyond ninth level sequence.”
When he traveled to Ruina, the original Hongmeng had still existed. The primary worlds were even more prosperous than they were now and powerhouses abounded. Their strongest representative, emperor of the original Hongmeng, was an eighteenth level sequence expert. Everything had changed beyond recognition now. With the demise of the Hongmeng, order could no longer be kept under control. This changed the sequences of the primary worlds so that there were no longer any experts beyond ninth level.
In fact, anyone who displayed strength over ninth level would be attacked by sequence.
That wouldn’t happen in the secondary worlds, despite the orders being the same. Since they were splintered and incredibly weak, they couldn’t stop beings from accessing the tenth level of sequence. Neither could they eliminate beings above ninth level.
In other words, while the secondary worlds were under constant threat, they were also a sacred land of cultivation. There was no order to restrain them and they could constantly hone themselves in horrific battles. This was a paradise for the strong and hell for the weak.
Jian Bu’er also felt that the primary worlds were too safe.
Lu Yun nodded. That tiny flicker of light was the smallest fragment the size of a palm, but it was precisely this fragment that could capture light from the primary world. He moved over to the fragment and carefully put it away.
“What do you want it for?” Haidong Lin transmitted.
“To remain undestroyed in the darkness and emit light from the sun and moon means that this fragment should be the essence of a world. I can refine a world-level treasure from it.” Lu Yun looked to where a second flicker of light was.
Haidong Lin started. He was used to world fragments drifting in the darkness and had never thought of them that way.
“ROAR!!” came a howl as the dense scent of gore burrowed into Lu Yun’s nose. A massive maw opened in the gloom and bit down on him.
“Fuck off!” Lu Yun sent out a flare of hellfire with a casual backhand before Haidong Lin could respond.
The thing in the dark yelped and ran off.
etvolare’s Thoughts
I never thought we’d hear about the fur seals again. I swear, if we meet their ancestors or something… I’ll figure out how to rip up a digital book.
