This was the great master from the third realm who appeared in the Blood Sea in the Tomb of Heaven and Earth—and also the originator of the sea in Life Province.
He hadn’t appeared when the demon of the immortal dao devoured Di Ling, but couldn’t sit still when Lu Yun activated the Gates of the Abyss and wanted to take both Di Ling and the Blood Sea away. He petrified all thirty thousand meters of the scarlet waters, turning it into a piece of bloody amber.
Lu Yun and Qing Yu looked up at the huge face.
“You ran away with your tail between your legs last time, so you want seconds this time?” Lu Yun snorted and stepped in front of Di Ling.
“I admit there’s something odd about that bridge.” The face slowly faded away to reveal a tall, limber man with a head full of crimson hair. His facial features were unearthly and his brows and pupils were bright red. An uncanny air wrapped around him—this wasn’t his true body, just a projection.
“But dare you let that bridge out here?” It was his turn to laugh. “This world can’t contain it.”
Dark red stairs appeared in the void and the man walked down them, alighting in front of Lu Yun. He was very tall, roughly six meters, and looked down loftily as he towered over the human.
“Di Ling,” he commanded frostily. “Get back over here.”
Di Ling shook and trembled, but she still felt very safe beside Lu Yun. Her true essence was an immortal ghost, one plagued by resentment and violence. Lu Yun contained the presence of hell and the Gates of the Abyss were open at the moment, so Di Ling didn’t fall under the man’s control while she stood by Lu Yun.
“Alright, enough of the swagger and bluster.” Qing Yu frowned. “You would’ve done something a long time ago if you could. Speak, what do you want?”
The crimson-haired man’s lips curved when he refocused on Qing Yu. “It’s so nice dealing with another smart person. You can have the Blood Sea, you can also have Di Ling.” The man wiped all expression off his face. “When the immortal dao traverses the fourth realm, I will have this world of immortals.”
“You want the world of immortals?” Lu Yun frowned slightly; he wasn’t surprised either that the man mentioned the fourth realm.
Di Ling’s clan hailed from the third realm and had fallen to the world of immortals to protect the immortal dao. She’d mentioned before that the immortal dao possessed the power to traverse all four realms, so experts of the third realm naturally knew of the existence of the fourth.
“That’s right, I want the world of immortals.” Twin lights brightened in the man’s bloody eyes “When the immortal dao runs through all four realms, the creatures of this world will depart from it and the entire world will be mine. If we strike this deal, then I will refrain from creating trouble for you today and you can have the Blood Sea. Di Ling can remain as well.”
“In that case,” Lu Yun nodded after thinking it over. “I agree.”
Qing Yu looked at her dao partner and added her voice, “I agree too.”
“No!” Di Ling panicked at seeing Lu Yun and Qing Yu agree so easily.
Beside her, Carmine Eternal squeezed her hand and sent a flow of peaceful energy into her body, calming her emotions.
“The world of immortals is too important—” Di Ling was suddenly unable to speak after the crimson-haired man swept her a glance.
“Don’t you want to think it over some more?” The man looked at the couple, equally surprised by the ease of negotiations. “You need to realize what the consequences of lying to me are. Even that bridge may not be able to protect you if it appears again.”
“There’s nothing to think about. When the immortal dao traverses the fourth realm, we will give you the world of immortals if you want it.” Qing Yu chuckled, “Our only concern is that you won’t dare want it then.”
“Hahahaha!!” The man threw his head back in laughter. “Good, good, very good! Since even the dao sovereign has spoken thus, it would be contemptible of me if I continued to drag things out.
“Dao Sovereign, you must know that your every word and gesture represents the immortal dao. You making this decision means the same of the immortal dao. Then, I shall return to this place once the immortal dao reaches the ends of the fourth realm.”
He took a meaningful look at Di Ling before turning to leave.
Di Ling trembled as some sort of restriction seemed to shatter within her body, releasing her from the crimson-haired man’s clutches. He was a great master of the third realm, one known by all. Since he’d reached an agreement with Lu Yun and Qing Yu, he wouldn’t play any other tricks.
“How could you agree to that??” Di Ling frowned tightly with dismay. “This Blood Sea is only the weakest one out of all the ones he has. There are countless other Blood Seas in other worlds and they can all be used to capture the true Blood Sea!
“The world of immortals is too important and has something to do with the secrets of the fourth realm. There are more than him in the third realm who want the world of immortals! He also holds some terrifying karmic relationship in the third realm, making it so that no one dares interact with him, much less a promise!”
In her unease, she fired off her words at a rapid clip. She’d originally fallen into the chaos from the third realm, then reincarnated into a being beneath the immortal dao. Now that she was free from the cycle of rebirth, she remembered everything she’d ever come across.
“Don’t worry, he can have it if he wants it.” Unbidden, Qing Yu caressed Di Ling’s head. The Blood Sea was flowing into hell under Carmine Eternal’s direction.
“Since there are so many in the third realm who want the world of immortals, then they can fight over it themselves. Perhaps none of them will dare want the world when the time comes,” Qing Yu chuckled again.
Both Lu Yun and Qing Yu now fully understood what the world of immortals was. This was an enormous game of chess and the players weren’t the masters of the great wilderness. They, too, were just pawns. If Leize and the others came to this world, they would also fall under someone else’s control.
All the signs pointed to various setups designed not to destroy the world, but to destroy all life in the world and sweep away some sort of obstacle.
“The Di Clan should have some lingering wills in the Blood Sea. Collect them and take them to the Hell Flowers. Your clan might have a chance to be reborn then.” Lu Yun smiled to see Di Ling still staring off in a daze. She trembled like a leaf when his words registered.
“Do you mean… they can come back to life?!” She stared incredulously at Lu Yun.
“We’ll know if we try.” Carmine Eternal took Di Ling’s hand and set foot into the Gates of the Abyss.
“I’ve been short on someone I can haul out as a convenient patron. That guy delivered himself on a silver platter.” A relaxed Lu Yun raised an eyebrow at Qing Yu. “This gives us enough time to strengthen ourselves.”
“That may be the case, but if he knows that we want to combine the Hadal Hell with the world of immortals…” Qing Yu paused.
“No worries, he won’t find out.” Lu Yun grinned confidently.
