Lu Yun was naturally better equipped to teach his fellow cultivators than titled kings were.
Immense strength and high cultivation levels didn’t automatically make for qualified instructors or teachers who could tailor their instruction methods for their pupils. It was one thing if a junior wished to follow in the king’s footsteps, but that only meant that the king would turn out someone exactly the same as them, or even less than them.
Lu Yun was different.
He’d ascertained the true path of cultivation in the Army Pagoda. Not only did he use the soldiers to identify his own flaws and weaknesses, but he also sought out their weaknesses to defeat them in turn.
Having established the Dao Academy in the world of immortals and often holding lectures for his disciples, he was just returning to his old trade.
……
The cultivators naturally possessed a deep understanding of Lu Yun’s capabilities after all of them had been beaten into submission. Of course they wouldn’t refuse his offer to teach them. Meanwhile, the herd of arcane beasts in front of them looked askance at each other, not knowing what the cultivators were doing.
“Forget the cultivators, this is the seventh floor of Dragonhollow Mountain and a place filled with dragon qi! Those of the mountain put us here so we can absorb the energy!” rumbled Golden Armor. “The dragon qi here isn’t the energy of the dragon race, but the most fundamental life force of the Hongmeng and pure creation itself! The more we absorb now, the more likely that we’ll be able to defeat that Champion Duke at the end of all of this!”
The other one thousand and six arcane beasts trembled before hastily shrinking themselves, crouching down, and swallowing large mouthfuls of energy from the surroundings. Since they couldn’t cultivate, arcane beasts had to absorb the various energies of the Hongmeng if they wished to evolve and reach another level of existence.
No one knew how long they would remain on this floor, so they had to make the most of their time and absorb as much as they possibly could. This dragon qi was incredibly valuable to them.
So had the half step kings discovered this. After some internal debate, they also began absorbing dragon qi since Lu Yun couldn’t teach two thousand cultivators at the same time. He could at most manage three or four dozen.
Since Qing Ting had found her own way, she didn’t need Lu Yun’s pointers or to teach others. Instead, she sat down cross-legged next to him and cultivated quietly.
……
“The Champion Duke is done for.” The kings that’d reached the peak of Dragonhollow Mountain sighed and shook their heads when they looked at the beings on the seventh floor.
“The dragon qi around the seventh level is filled with creation,” the Dragonsea city lord explained. “It’s an enormous present from the mountain to those who have made it thus far.
“Instead of absorbing it, he’s wasting time instructing others. What appears to be a selfless act is one of utter foolishness. After seven days, many of the beings around him will be superior to him.”
People were beginning to pick up on something different about this time’s Dragonling Assembly.
“What’s happened in the Hongmeng for Dragonhollow Mountain to open up the gathering to the entire realm and offer up the azure dragon’s power?” Crippled Dragon couldn’t help but ask.
“The immortal dao has flowered and borne fruit, and the world of immortal dao is nearing maturation. It won’t be long before the world of immortal dao collides with the Hongmeng. The intersection of the two realms will certainly result in mayhem and even war.
“Dragonhollow Mountain does this for self preservation. We sow the seeds of good karma today and will absolutely demand repayment another day. The three thousand beings beneath us and the other one hundred powerhouses who’ve already entered a secret realm must show us gratitude when they grow into their own.
“Dragonhollow Mountain possesses the greatest dragon in the realm and it reincarnated into the ancestor azure dragon. Once the immortals of the immortal dao enter our realm, they will most assuredly seek to conquer the mountain. Whoever owns it will rule the Hongmeng, so this is also an act of prevention.”
The Dragonsea city lord didn’t hold anything back. The kings who were in attendance were all key figures in their factions; they knew of the realm’s many secrets and were no frogs in a well.
“So did the mythological realm of that ancient era expand and swallow the chaos, then stretch out toward us. But the Immortal Region made their move and easily destroyed that realm. They can just do so again.” Dragonfeather considered their future with an unpleasant expression.
Many in the realm were scheming after the immortal dao and wanted a share of the spoils when the immortal dao descended. They had set up many plots in the chaos and worlds for this goal.
But once the immortal dao truly arrived, it would herald the change of an era. Countless beings would perish and the layout of the Hongmeng would be forever altered. Even most of the lofty high level kings would die.
At the heart of things, all of their schemes were to increase chances of survival for themselves and those around them.
Lu Yun had also discovered this after establishing the immortal dao, so he didn’t view Hongmeng denizens as enemies. Just like Shenyu had said, they were all birds in a cage. Everything they did was to break out of the cage and soar into the skies.
“There’s some things you might not know.” The city lord shook her head. “The mythological realm is still only that. Though the immortal dao is growing, it’s still called the mythological realm! What is devouring and assimilating the chaos isn’t ‘the’ worlds, it’s ‘a’ world. The world of immortals.”
The world of immortal dao.
“The ancestor dragon has awoken for this and the Hongmeng must make our preparations.”
Miao and Qing Yu looked at each other, both reading resignation in each other’s eyes. When two worlds and two different philosophies met, there would certainly be a collision and conflict. A new whole would form from the wreckage—it was a foregone conclusion that no one was able to alter.
Qing Yu was the dao sovereign and Lu Yun the headmaster of immortal dao, but their status in the world of immortals was as what Lu Yun had once said. Those to be worshiped by the people are not saints, but idols in a temple. Anything that is worshiped by the people cannot be alive!
Mount Xuanhuang had sealed itself off and the Dao Academy was just a symbol these days. The dao sovereign and headmaster no longer concerned themselves with worldly affairs; they were no different from being dead.
As a result, more and more voices rose to question them.
The world of immortals now was the thirty-three layers that completed the world. They were the greatest rulers of the world and the immortal emperor had returned to being a ceremonial position.
This was the proper path of the world of immortals.
The inevitable collision of the two realms and philosophies wasn’t something that Lu Yun and Qing Yu could prevent. The chaos had established a sacred land of immortal dao long ago and voluntarily joined the world of immortals by cultivating the immortal dao. Repeated chaos tribulations destroying civilization and creating it anew had headed off a collision between the two.
The Hongmeng, however, was too big. This kind of conflict was unavoidable. Everything that Dragonhollow Mountain did now was in anticipation of the world of immortals’ arrival.
