Lu Yun didn’t know how strong Dragonhollow Mountain was overall—the other eight dragons of the eighth floor were just the faction’s surface level strength. He also didn’t ask what kind of power the dragon lord wielded, but he knew that the dragon lord had suppressed a black dragon king that’d set foot onto the path of true kinghood.
Lu Yun was in no hurry and, in fact, couldn’t expose his relationship to the dragon lord. It would result in incredible trouble otherwise. He’d noticed a few particular words that the dragon lord had used earlier—“those who oversee the orders of the realm”.
……
The mountain formed from the azure dragon’s corpse towered into the heavens, becoming a small world within the separate world that was the ninth floor. It emanated hazy azure radiance, illuminating the ninth floor as its only source of light.
“Be careful,” Lu Yun suddenly warned. “There’s ghosts in that mountain.”
His projected body was also his true body; it was akin to a clone with the same strength and abilities as the original. He opened the Spectral Eye and read a variety of vicious ghosts, zombies, and wild souls within its green illumination.
“There are dragon ghosts… and…” his lips trembled. “Geniuses of Dragonling Assemblies past.”
“The azure dragon’s will created the Dragonling Assembly,” explained the dragon lord. “He wants to use it to collect the various instances of dragon bloodline scattered throughout the realm. He will resurrect himself in that way, and the final victor of historic Dragonling Assemblies have all died in ghastly fashion. None of them were met with a good end.
“Apart from that, he also killed previous dragon lords when they reached peak ninth step kinghood. You must be careful—the strongest existences here are all vicious ghosts of preceding dragon lords.
“They were infinitely close to being a true king in life, so they’ve certainly broken through after dying!”
Lu Yun paused when he looked at the foot of the azure mountain. He now possessed ninety-nine tendrils of order thanks to the support of endless ghost crystals. He was almost a third of the way to the requisite three hundred and sixty-five tendrils of flame.
He was unable to use the five great hellfires at the moment, but the hellfire of the hell of order was gradually beginning to materialize. Though it was very ineffective when it came to restraining ghosts, it was devastating to existences that violated order. It so happened that the ghosts in the Hongmeng violated order.
And of course, his Tome of Life and Death was the key to suppressing ghosts.
An azure figure appeared at the bottom of the mountain; its appearance seemed very natural. It was an uncommonly mild mannered man who was dressed very similar to the dragon lord. He smiled at Lu Yun’s group. “You should go back, this isn’t the time for you to be here.”
“Father,” the dragon lord said blankly when he saw the man.
“Mm.” The man in azure robes nodded. “Go back. It is not yet time for you to be involved with the dragon ancestor’s affairs.”
The dragon lord looked at Lu Yun instead of responding. The man in front of them was the previous dragon lord and the father of the current one.
“Let’s go back.” Lu Yun took a deep look and nodded at the previous dragon lord.
The man inclined his head in return and slowly faded away.
“The azure dragon’s will has awoken. Your father is dead without a doubt after we leave,” Lu Yun remarked meaningfully to the dragon lord.
The previous dragon lord had become a vicious ghost and thus “lived” on in the form of one. After the azure dragon’s awakening, he was certain to want to claim Dragon Butterfly and Long Batian for his own use. He would never forgive the previous dragon lord for sending them away at this time.
“It… is very painful to live in the form of a ghost,” the dragon lord sighed after a long moment. “This was his choice.”
The dragon lord hadn’t lived a peaceful life in the world of immortals. He’d latched onto the Sal Tree of Life and Death and become a zombie tree with it. That was also living in the form of a ghost, and it was far better to die than to suffer that kind of agony.
“Mmhmm.” Lu Yun nodded. “You should… try to keep your dragons in check. If they really piss me off, I’ll turn them all into soup.”
The dragon lord nodded ruefully.
……
Lu Yun slowly opened his eyes on the seventh floor of Dragonhollow Mountain. Dragon Butterfly and Long Batian slipped back through a passageway he’d created, refraining from drawing too much attention.
The situation was still tense.
Two ninth step kings stewed in big pots while Miao, Qing Yu, and a few other half step kings gorged themselves next to the pots.
The Yin Yang King scanned the other seven dragons with eyes as sharp as an eagle’s. He seemed to be waiting for Qing Yu’s command to grab another.
Shenyu and a host of Immortal Region kings had stepped forward to protect the old dragons. The Immortal Region seemed to have allied with Dragonhollow Mountain
“Alright, alright, none of this.” Lu Yun suddenly stood up with a lazy stretch. “The Dragonling Ranking battles are about to begin. What are all of you doing crowding around here instead of preparing for them?”
He waved a hand and gathered a hundred thousand formations, resealing the small residence. The gathered kings had been ready for a show, but were preempted by Lu Yun sealing off the area again.
“I cannot interfere in what’s to come, so you must be careful. There are three venerated dragon sovereigns in Dragonhollow Mountain that rival your Profound, Yin Yang, and Soulmask Kings. There’s also an ultimate treasure called the Myriad Dragon Sea that is essentially the ultimate treasure of a ten valley,” the dragon lord’s voice echoed ponderously in Lu Yun’s mind.
“What about you?” Lu Yun frowned. The azure dragon’s will wouldn’t permit the dragon lord to return like this.
“I took refuge in the world of immortals all those years ago to avoid the azure dragon’s pursuit. After becoming the Azure Dragon King, not only do I possess the azure dragon’s power, but I also have the foundations of immortal dao from the world of immortals. It won’t be that easy for the azure dragon to kill me.” Confidence crept into the dragon lord’s voice. “I need seven days to recover my strength. Once I am at my peak again, I can set foot onto the path of true kinghood and fuse my dao rules into one.”
“Fuse your dao rules?” Lu Yun’s brows furrowed deeper before nodding expressionlessly.
“I feel like there’s something strange about the dragon lord you grabbed from the world of immortals.” Dragon Butterfly stuck her head next to Lu Yun’s for a whispered conversation.
“I agree, no one would remain so unmoved at seeing their father die to protect him. That would hold true even if their father is now a ghost.” Lu Yun nodded. “There’s definitely something wrong with him.”
Is he actually a ghost like the Moon King? Or an old acquaintance like the Dao King? Or… or… guesses anyone?
Oh, he’s actually a girl. There we go, true NECRO fashion.
