Lu Yun didn’t know where the Curse King or Poison King came from, nor did he know what kind of faction supported them. In the thirty-three loops, his future self had seen only what he was capable of seeing. Anything that was too great to be comprehended was a blank void in his eyes—such as the Curse King’s background and his primary body.
By now, he’d dismissed many of the things he’d witnessed in the cycles. A lot of what he’d previously believed without a doubt were false.
The original Hongmeng had been an unequivocal titan as it’d ruled over all of the known expanses. Many personages alive during that period had exceeded sequence and entered another level entirely. Though it’d ultimately perished in the hands of its own people, that meant the Curse King and Poison King’s faction would’ve also suffered devastating blows.
Otherwise, they would be able to easily crush the tiny Central Hongmeng with domineering strength. What need was there for such complicated plots and schemes?
Lu Yun shook his head and put all thought out of his mind. Right now, his primary focus was on how to grow stronger, not intangible and potential enemies. Without sufficient strength, he would be a mantis trying to stop a chariot when the enemy came.
Countless pairs of eyes would set themselves upon the now empty Eastern Cluster. It’d once been a barren locale because order was sealed away here and supplemental dao forbidden from disseminating. The cluster’s combat arts and cultivation methods were far weaker than any other planes.
With all of its denizens gone, it was a massive slice of cake. And after setting the fugitive Jian Juexian here, even sequence experts would think twice before moving in on the cluster.
There were also certain unknown guardians in the Central Hongmeng.
Lu Yun took a deep look at it, but didn’t plan on paying a visit. The struggle for the Hongmeng Tower had reached its peak and it was up to the little fox whether she triumphed in the end. Not even Qing Yu could help her.
“But the Luminaries want to destroy the Sword Clan…” Lu Yun turned to a new problem.
If everything had been as before, he would’ve immediately taken Quiet to the Sword Clan. Though the Quiet Sovereign King had died, his will still lingered in his sword form. Taking the sword back would incite some changes—it might extrapolate the strength of a sequence expert from the sword so that the clan could defy the Luminaries.
But after meeting Yueyi and learning of her faction’s ideals, Lu Yun’s mindset had changed. A vaunted Nihil World Sovereign had been executed because he’d slaughtered three billion innocents!
Perhaps… the Luminaries’ path wasn’t incorrect.
“What say you?” Lu Yun looked down at the sword in his hand. He’d left the Eastern Cluster and returned to the Star Sect.
Qing Yu was still in the sect and the assembly’s derivation of formula dao marched on in full force. Lu Yun’s own comprehension of formula dao improved at every second as well.
“Although you’re dead, a trace of your will still remains…” He suddenly called upon the Tome of Life and Death and fully released its power, shoving it into Quiet.
A hazy white glow blossomed from Lu Yun’s body; he was as if a blazing sun—endlessly irradiating the boundless fourth realm with his radiance. The luminescence quickly faded away, leaving behind a young man in white robes standing in front of him.
His white hair ruffled by persistent sword qi around him, the young man was just an image. He didn’t have a corporeal body, and a melancholic look peered out of his eyes.
The Quiet Sovereign King.
“You’ve resurrected me.” The sovereign king’s hesitant gaze landed on Lu Yun after a long moment.
“I didn’t—I only awoke your will.” Lu Yun shook his head. “You weren’t completely dead in the first place. What do you have to say about the Luminaries?”
“The Luminaries?” The sovereign king’s eyes shone brightly when he heard the name, he then sighed dejectedly. “The Sky Sovereign is the greatest powerhouse of the era. He’s accessed nine levels of sequence—there is no one in the known expanses who is his opponent.
“If he wants my sword dao, just give it to him.”
“Nine levels of sequence?” Lu Yun jumped with shock. By now, he knew that there were further delineations when it came to sequence experts. There were nine levels in total, with the ninth being the highest level.
Such a heavyweight would stand among the apex even in the original Hongmeng. Lu Yun had never thought that the main leader of the Luminaries would be at such heights! Even Yun Zhongzi had only accessed seven levels in his peak.
“Yes, nine levels of sequence,” the sovereign king smiled ruefully. “I am just an insignificant character who’s accessed one level of sequence. How can I fight him? If he wants sword dao to complete his ideals, let him have it.”
Lu Yun nodded silently. “It wasn’t the Sky Sovereign King who killed you, was it?”
“Only the Sun Sovereign King fought me. Just him alone was enough to erase me down to a trace of my will.” The Quiet Sovereign King nodded, weariness coloring his thoughts. Since he hadn’t fully resurrected, conversing with Lu Yun for long periods of time was difficult and taxing on the mind.
The sovereign king’s condition improved after Lu Yun sent a karmic fruit into his image.
“It took a great deal of effort and fortune for us connate divine swords to manifest tangible forms and become a complete faction. We cannot be razed on a whim. If they want sword dao, give it to them.” Anxiety appeared on the sovereign king’s face. “But for as long as we exist, the sword dao of the Boundless Regions will concentrate on us in an unnatural manner. Other beings won’t be able to train in it even if they want to.”
“There’s a solution to everything, don’t panic.” Lu Yun nodded reassuringly. “Return to Quiet for now. I’ll take you back to the Star Sect and see if we can find a way to resolve this.”
The Quiet Sovereign King faded out of sight and Lu Yun vanished with a shake of his body. Another figure slowly coalesced where he’d just been.
It was a man in white robes with an enormous sun depicted between his brows—the Sun Sovereign King.
“So this is your little martial forefather, the Immortal King of the Central Hongmeng?” the sovereign king asked with surprise.
“Yes. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve probably died to the Poison King.” Yueyi appeared as well. She’d sent the big-headed doll and overlord of Ice to the Luminaries. Only there could their safety be assured.
The overlord was the greatest genius of their time. He’d invented the method of nothing and accessed sequence despite being a Nihil World Sovereign. To some powerhouses, these kinds of shortcuts were worthy of only a sneer. But to Yueyi, it was a miracle.
“Then, let us postpone the plan to exterminate the Sword Clan. Let’s see what this Immortal King has up his sleeve to release sword dao from the faction,” the Sun Sovereign King pronounced.
etvolare's Thoughts
Quick aside after reading through one of the future chapters — I've always insisted on writing "the death arts" instead of "my death arts" when Lu Yun refers to them. I encountered some resistance for this from former staff, but I insisted because I had a feeling that the distinction would come into play one day. Remember how Lu Yun's gradually become concerned with developing his own dao and cultivation levels? I think my concern is being fully illustrated there.
