The Hongmeng Tower couldn’t detect the black wraith-like entity, just like the Bridge of Forgetfulness couldn’t see it. The Scroll of Shepherding Immortals still orbited the little fox, infusing her with endless energy. However, she now had to face the terrifying entity by herself.
It’d locked onto her primary body and nine dao rules, ruling out the possibility of employing the same method twice. She wouldn’t confuse the other if she did, since this was no ordinary being.
Despair crept into her heart as she gazed upon a growing shadow.
“Do I really have to destroy one of my dao rules?” She didn’t want to succumb to this fate!
The little fox glanced back at Lu Yun and surprisingly, met his eyes at the same time.
“Fuse your dao rules!” Lu Yun and Qing Yu said at the same time. “Miao, try combining two dao rules as one! The method is…”
Lu Yun transmitted the method that he’d just deduced with Qing Yu.
Her eyes lighting up, the little fox rapidly formed her fingers into the hand seals required by the method, but she had a lot to digest before fully understanding this new knowledge.
The void trembled as the Hongmeng Tower blasted a beam of purple-golden radiance into the little fox’s body. So overwhelming was the surge of power that even the black entity involuntarily shrank backward.
The obscure and complex fusion method abruptly unrolled with full clarity in Miao’s mind. Her hands flickered with increasing speed through hand seals until finally, her nine purple-golden dao rules shuddered violently.
Hummm!
Nine dao rules combined into three!
What was curious about the three was that they were thicker than the previous nine, and the little fox demoted from a ninth step king to a third step king. However, she possessed the battle strength of a ninth step king!
This was a ninth step king draped in the armor of a third step king!
The Hongmeng Tower swayed gently when Miao completed her ascension, seemingly nodding in approval. It then vanished into thin air.
The black shadow enveloping the area paused; it hesitated.
Gurgle!
The void shook and an enormous black eyeball suddenly appeared in the air. It scanned the little fox up and down, confusion tinging what were supposed to be emotionless eyes.
After a careful round of scrutiny, the black entity slowly faded away.
“It didn’t mean you any harm, it just wanted you to destroy your dao rules!” Lu Yun frowned as he looked at where the entity had disappeared.
Strength from the Karmic Tree had infused him throughout the fight, so he could clearly sense that all of the pressure was just to force the little fox into destroying one of her dao rules.
It’d never really moved to kill her; there hadn’t been a hint of killing intent.
“Mmhmm.” Qing Yu nodded. “I wouldn’t have lived if it’d wanted to kill me. It immediately retreated after I destroyed one of my dao rules. It’s not the bad luck of the ninth step kings.”
“So what am I right now?” asked a baffled little fox. “A ninth step or third step king? Is that bad luck going to come for me again?”
“It won’t, and you’re a third step king.” Lu Yun ruffled her hair. “The standard of kinghood through cultivation strength is dao rules. Since you’ve fused nine of them into three, you’re a third step king!”
He chuckled ruefully. “Both of you are now titled kings through cultivation strength, I’ve fallen behind.”
He hadn’t needed to roll his sleeves up since arriving in the Hongmeng. He was in the superior realm and very close to becoming a titled king through cultivation, but he’d yet to touch the threshold of that level after all this time.
While it looked like he’d accumulated a lot, none of it amounted to much from start to finish.
“Come on, let’s go to the Origin World!” Qing Yu snickered. “We may not be able to destroy them, but we’re going to make them bleed!”
“That’s right, to Origin World!” cackled the little fox. “Didn’t they want the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals? We’ll give it to them and empty their vaults!”
She’d become a titled king through cultivation not only through the vast reserves that the scroll had given her, but also because Lu Yun had smoothed her way with various resources from Hopeless Major.
If it wasn’t for this, she wouldn’t have ascended straight into ninth step kinghood. Therefore, her thoughts immediately turned to the infinite treasury of Origin World.
Hopeless Major had suffered great losses due to its last ruler and forfeited many of its treasures. The same didn’t hold true for Origin World. Its vaults were completely intact and it’d obtained many Hopeless treasures as well; they were a veritable land of milk and honey.
“There are rumors that they have a treasure called the Army Pagoda. It’s not a treasure of the fourth realm, but it’s an ultimate treasure of the Hongmeng that’s beyond king grade! Perhaps getting that will help Lu Yun ascend to kinghood!” Qing Yu had been eying that treasure despite it having neither offensive nor defensive capabilities. It was a rare training treasure.
Useless for kings, it could be used to instruct cultivators below titled king—inferior, common, and superior realm cultivators!
Superiors could even use it to peer into the frame of mind and battle strength of kings. However, activating the Army Pagoda required enormous quantities of purple crystal veins. Origin World didn’t have that many, so they didn’t often use it.
Lu Yun lacked this limitation. With the Redbud King’s support, he could access millions of crystal veins at a time.
The Ten Valleys of Evil and Immortal Region had naturally set their sights on Redbud Mountain several times, but the dragon of Redbud Mountain was too ferocious. Even if they could take the mountain, they’d have to suffer so many casualties and expend so many resources that it wasn’t worth the price.
Thus, the Army Pagoda was set aside in a corner of their vaults.
Unfortunately, the Immortal Region had conquered the second biggest dragon in the realm. That supplied an endless stream of purple crystal veins for the faction—a primary reason why they were stronger than the valleys.
Of course, the founders of the valleys were no ordinary characters either. Each of the ten factions were equipped with ultimate treasures that the Immortal Region couldn’t hope to measure up to.
The Ten Valleys of Evil lacked purple crystals and the Immortal Region lacked treasures. That’d kept the two sides on a relatively even keel until modern times.
But with the Supplemental Dao Alliance’s monopoly, Hopeless Major was a microcosm of how the ten valleys were on the wane.
……
On this day, the eminent ruler of Hopeless Major—the Empyrean King—brought the Yin Yang King, Profound King, and a pair of children with her to Origin World.
She traveled with the Turtledove King and Windcall King, and another ninth step king suddenly appeared when they entered Origin territory. Named the Autumn King, he unlocked the restrictions and formations along the way, allowing the group to proceed unobstructed to the heart of the domain.
When the upper echelons of Origin World realized what had happened, the Empyrean King was already at their main palace—the Nineworld Origin Palace.
