“You can drop the act.” Lu Yun shook his head when he met the plotter’s cowering eyes. “It’s only one of your replicas here.”
The strained expression on the plotter’s face shifted when he heard the young man’s words.
“So you saw right through me.” The man shed the pretense of being terrified out of his wits and stood up to face Lu Yun. “That’s right, this is just one of my replicas.”
He no longer displayed the same fear that he’d shown moments ago, but wariness still gleamed out of his eyes when he looked at the withered wood. The flash of emotion wasn’t fake, he really was cautious, or even afraid of, the wood.
His interactions with Lu Yun had been playing for time so that his other replicas could rush to the scene. There was more than the Roastwave World King who’d fallen into his trap; some of his victims were even stronger.
“You didn’t show any flaws, just that your acting was over the top. How would someone who schemed against the Hallowed Emperor and Cloud Sovereign, one who stole the existence of this tomb, be afraid of a newly budded Nihil World Sovereign?” Lu Yun gestured welcomingly at the plotter.
“When you hit me… were you trying to get me to lose my temper so I’d make mistakes?” A new thought occurred to the plotter.
“What do you think?” Lu Yun smiled. “Sit.”
His consciousness abruptly shifted into a world that was a magnificent palace tower. A large table groaning with fine wine and delicacies appeared to ply its wares, replete with chairs for both of them.
“Refining illusion into reality… Return to Origin! The ultimate peak for formation dao.” The plotter raised an eyebrow. “You’re not only a Nihil World Sovereign, but a powerful supplemental grandmaster as well.”
“Oh no no, I’m not a grandmaster yet. My soul force is only ninth level,” Lu Yun hastily corrected.
“Hahahaha!!” the plotter threw his head back with laughter. “When did soul force become the barometer for grandmaster? Is one a grandmaster just because one’s soul force exceeds ninth level?”
He snorted with laughter. “That Xing Wuliang outside possesses a grandmaster-level soul force, but can he utilize the methods befitting his level? Can he deploy his connate divine weapon and draw out the true strength of the Horizon’s Edge?
“You’re a grandmaster even if your soul force is still ninth level. You can use the Horizon’s Edge and summon its second form.”
Lu Yun started. He didn’t know too much about the supplemental dao of the fourth realm. Xing Wuliang had once been an ant gazing up at the world of dragons when he hadn’t been a grandmaster. He’d used the perspective of an ant to derive the domain of dragons.
But in this moment, a grandmaster who’d reached the peak of his craft discussed his cultivation level with Lu Yun—the real perspective of dragons.
“Please grace me with your instruction!” Lu Yun regarded his trespasser with great respect.
“And why should I teach you? I’m your prisoner at the moment,” the plotter scoffed. “My other replicas have all been reborn through possession, it’ll be your doom when they get here. So what if you’re a Nihil World Sovereign? I control more than half of the rules in this tomb.”
Lu Yun shook his head. “You can’t kill me, and your replicas will end up the same as you if they dare come.”
“Oh?” The plotter looked at Lu Yun with a supercilious smile.
“I’ve learned the tricks that the overlord of Ice commands. Though I can’t truly access sequence, I can open its doors. Specifically, the sequence of time.” Lu Yun grinned radiantly. “Have your replicas try me if you don’t believe me.”
The plotter’s expression froze.
“The overlord taught me this method so I could banish the withered wood into time. If even the wood can be exiled, do you think your replicas will be any challenge whatsoever? If I want to, I can exile this entire tomb.” Lu Yun bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin, eliciting a shudder from his audience.
The plotter absolutely believed Lu Yun because the young man had already banished the huge face in the world of treasures. That face had been another one of his poisonous tumors—one to devour souls instead of leading people into a trap.
Lu Yun had completely dismantled it.
“Alrighty then, let’s sit down and have a nice chat. I don’t care if you want to draw things out, I have nothing else to do. I’ve got nothing but time.”
The plotter took a deep breath and picked a chair. “What do you want to know? I didn’t lie about the withered wood, that is all I know.”
“What’s your name?” Lu Yun asked.
The plotter rolled his eyes. “Is that important?”
“It’s important to be honest with each other if we’re to converse. My name is Feng Feifan,” Lu Yun said without skipping a beat.
“Yun Zhongzi.” The plotter flicked a glare at Lu Yun.
“Huh?!” Lu Yun blinked. “Yun Zhongzi?!”
The plotter nodded solemnly.
“Disciple of the Jade Pure One, the foremost, the golden immortal of the Chan Sect??” Lu Yun asked again while taking a close look at his guest. [1]
“One of my replicas did take the Jade Pure One for his master and followed him into the Central Hongmeng,” Yun Zhongzi responded with a frown. “So you’re from the Central Hongmeng… No, the worlds?”
Lu Yun had once met the Jade Pure One in the great wilderness and collected a strand of soul force from him and the Grand Pure One, ensuring their rebirth in the sea of Hell Flowers. He’d also met Yun Zhongzi and all twelve immortals of the Chan Sect, but never had he thought that the plotter scheming against the Hallowed Emperor and Cloud Sovereign would be this august figure!
Now that he took a closer look at the man, he could indeed see traces of the mythical figure in him. But how could one called the foremost of a most benevolent sect, magnanimous and untouched by karma, be a plotter that schemed for the deaths of thousands of souls?
“Who are you?!” Yun Zhongzi erupted. “If you recognize me, then we must know each other!”
“Do you know who Jian Juexian outside is?” Lu Yun asked. “He has the Immortal’s End sword now.”
“The heir of Daoist Ingress,” the man answered nonchalantly. “If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve entrapped him long ago and had his shadow kill him.”
With Jian Juexian’s skill, it was easy for him to eradicate the troubles in the tomb. But when even the Roastwave World King had managed the deed several times, he’d failed to eliminate a single one. The only time he’d fallen into the trap was because of his shadow.
He couldn’t defeat his shadow, but neither did his shadow come for his head.
Lu Yun sank into deep contemplation at this response.
1. Yun Zhongzi is a powerful character in the Chinese classic Creation of the Gods. The classic depicts the struggles between the benevolent Chan Sect and the malevolent Jie Sect, set in a backdrop of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. ☜
