Humm—
Two rays of purple light blossomed from Lu Yun’s eyes. The power of time didn’t exist in the Hongmeng, but it suddenly materialized into being with the purple radiance.
And with that, time began to operate in this part of the land.
When the demon of the immortal dao possessed Di Ling, Lu Yun used the inversion portion of the Spacetime Reincarnation combat art to separate the two. It was even more effortless for him to deploy Inversion of Spacetime in a world that lacked the delineation of time, particularly when he was stronger than before.
Thus, under the Redbud King’s shocked gaze, purple light exploded out of the Hongmeng Treasurehunter Rat and rushed into the Redbud Butterfly chrysalis. Lu Yun wasn’t just reversing time, but both space and time!
Everything within three meters was fully reversed, traveling back to where Jian Wenhe stole the chrysalis and then… time itself also hurtled backward!
Jian Wenhe’s cultivation rapidly devolved from the superior realm to the common realm, then stabilized in the initial common realm. The vitality that’d been stripped away from the chrysalis fully made it back inside.
This wasn’t just a return of what had been lost, but turning back the clock so that what had happened was undone!
“You’re an heir of the Spacetime King!” exclaimed the Redbud King.
Lu Yun wasn’t fazed by the unexpected title. Though the power of time didn’t encompass the Hongmeng and force the passage of the years in it, there were still powerhouses in the third realm that specialized in this field of study. This so-called Spacetime King was likely one of them.
However, time within the Hongmeng was different from that of the world of immortals. In the third realm, time was a tiny creek that occasionally flowed past a spot and brought the movement of intervals to it.
Meanwhile, time in the world of immortals was a fathomless sea that drowned all of the worlds. It integrated the power of time into the land and dictated that everything have a preset lifespan. Those of the fourth realm didn’t see the Hongmeng as a true realm because, at the heart of it all, time held no sway here.
It was precisely due to this lack of an ocean of time that Lu Yun could easily reverse its flow, resetting a certain part of the land back to a previous moment. The caveat was that this only applied to certain weak entities or those that’d already been subdued. If his subject violently resisted, then Lu Yun would also be subject to the backlash of space and time.
In addition, he wouldn’t be able to use Spacetime Reincarnation if a life form had truly died. That would be a blatant violation of Hongmeng laws and he’d be subject to arrest from the Enforcer Alliance.
The flip side to that was that he could employ the death arts instead, since they adhered to the rules of the Tome of Life and Death. The laws of the Hongmeng held no jurisdiction over it.
……
The Redbud Butterfly chrysalis had returned to its previous condition and a tiny life form pulsed gently inside it.
The Redbud King stretched her hand out and gently cupped it around the chrysalis. She shook uncontrollably, completely beside herself. Tenderly extending her consciousness, she closely observed the tiny chrysalis in her hand.
“It’s there, the tiny seed of a true spirit is still there. It hasn’t been damaged!” An enormous burden lifting off her shoulders, the hint of a smile finally appeared on her face.
She waved a hand and dismissed the boundless tide of beasts inside and outside of the city. The forcefield enveloping the Redbud Plains also vanished and the transportation formation was restored.
“Many thanks to this little friend for saving my race’s bloodline. Please visit me at Redbud Mountain so that I may properly thank you.” The king was stunningly beautiful once she was in a good mood. When she smiled, the entire void exulted in an inexplicable delight.
She waved her hand again before either Lu Yun or the little fox could respond, shifting the scene in front of their eyes and bringing them to an unfamiliar place. All was crystalline purple and abundant purple qi filled the air here. It wasn’t the Hongmeng qi commonly found in the realm, but a type of energy at an even higher level.
“This is the power of purple crystal!” Lu Yun blurted out.
“That’s right, purple crystal,” the Redbud King agreed with a smile.
Purple crystal was the ingredient of choice in Hongmeng cultivation, as well as the generally accepted currency. Purple crystal veins were scattered throughout the realm, but Redbud Mountain within the plains happened to be one of the largest mines.
As its liege lord, the Redbud King was the richest king in the realm.
She could lay claim to the Redbud Region and own the mountain because of her strength. As the only Redbud Spirit Butterfly in the Hongmeng, she was also one of the most preeminent kings. How else would she have dared issue a warning to everyone in the land when the chrysalis appeared? Even the Enforcer Alliance had to curry favor with her and announce their support.
It’d been most unfortunate that a rare Treasurehunter Rat had happened upon the scene. They were normally fearful and scared of their own shadow, but became invincibly bold when they sniffed out treasure.
The rat that had been the Redbud city lord was still dangling from Lu Yun’s hand. He was now in the common realm and playing dead.
“I don’t know how to thank you for saving my clansman… Hmm, I have quite some purple crystals here. How about I gift you some crystal veins?” The Redbud King cocked her head in thought, very perplexed by the conundrum.
There were only all sorts of arcane beasts by her side, each dumber than the next. Sometimes, they were so dumb that she wondered if they possessed any intelligence at all, so they would be of no help here. She was also very inexperienced in dealing with cultivators.
“That’s alright, we did that only to save ourselves.” Lu Yun chuckled ruefully. He did indeed want those veins, but he’d only be inviting fatal trouble if he accepted them. They were just two inferiors and had no business possessing such incredible wealth. It would result in unpleasant attention.
He wouldn’t be able to conceal the dense qi of purple crystal even if he sent the crystal veins into the abyss. The qi would follow his every step and wrap around his body. The power of purple crystal could pierce through the void, so not even an ultimate treasure could seal away its presence.
“That’s true, I’d be putting you in harm’s way if I gifted you the crystal veins.” The Redbud King realized the problem as well. “But the two of you have really got some nerve… You have the cultivation of an inferior realm, yet your skill in the supplemental paths and illusions have reached grandmaster. Walking the Hongmeng out in the open like this will elicit regard from those with other intentions.
“While you have the Spacetime King behind you, there are many in the realm who are audacious to the extreme. Plenty are those who would dare provoke a king.” She shot a meaningful look at the rat in Lu Yun’s hand.
The rat tensed, then turned stiff like it was dead.
The little fox pouted. Would they have so easily exposed themselves if not for running into the tide of beasts? This was all the fault of the Treasurehunter Rat in Lu Yun’s hand!
The Redbud King had really mistaken Lu Yun and the little fox as disciples of the Spacetime King. What would her expression be if she found out that it was the infamous Purple King behind her two saviors instead?
“Here are two Redbud tokens that contain a replica of my will. Activate the token when you meet with danger and my replica will arrive. Don’t worry,” the smiling king seemed to read Lu Yun’s mind, “they’re empty replicas without my thoughts in them. They will not pry into your secrets.” She offered them two command tokens carved from premium purple crystal.
“Our thanks to the Redbud King!” Lu Yun heaved a long sigh of relief when he received the two tokens. He finally had a real patron in the Hongmeng!
He didn’t want to bother with explaining about the Spacetime King. He would admit or refute nothing. Let the Redbud King think as she would.
“I’ve gifted many people with these Redbud tokens, so that’s not enough in the way of thanks. How about this, I’ll give you another hundred and eight veins of premium purple crystal. Their presence won’t leak out when my power seals them, unless you disturb them somehow.
“Supplemental and illusion grandmasters need a great deal of purple crystal for cultivation after all!” she chuckled. She’d brought them back to her home not out of consideration for the absent Spacetime King, but for their own identities of grandmasters!
