If Lu Yun couldn’t find a way to release sword dao, the Luminaries would recommence their plan to eliminate the Sword Clan to take their dao.
The source of sword dao in the Hongmeng—Sword Ingress Island—had capitulated to the Luminaries. The Sword Clan, however, was different. Even if they surrendered, they would still be the masters of sword dao in the fourth realm.
……
When Lu Yun returned to the Star Sect, he was stunned by what he saw.
He’d been gone for less than a month, but an incredible amount of change had taken place in the sect since then. The mountains that’d belonged to the various Nihil World Sovereigns had been razed and replaced with structures that looked like schools.
Indeed, the schools of Earth.
In one short month, the Star Sect had opened its doors to the entire World Plane and recruited all of its denizens as disciples. The new disciples learned formula dao and all sorts of combat arts.
“So they’re using this kind of method to propagate formula dao… No wonder my command of it advanced so rapidly in one month. I could even use the Tome of Life and Death to awaken the Quiet Sovereign King’s will.” Lu Yun found it too incredible to believe.
The various Nihil World Sovereigns on Divine Alchemist Mountain were still deep in the midst of discussions and experimentation. Some had started refining various formula dao treasures—creating not supplemental dao products, but formula dao.
Though formula dao wasn’t mainstream in the fourth realm yet, it had at least taken root in the World Star.
These days, there were more than Star Sect Nihil World Sovereigns on the mountain. Some Nihil World Sovereigns close to the sect— the Cicada Sovereign of Abstruse Plane, for example—were also present. Qing Yu had returned to her real appearance and left Lu Yun’s abode, taking up residence in the center of Divine Alchemist Mountain and explaining the mysteries of formula dao to these august personages.
“Didn’t I want to propagate formula dao in the fourth realm so it could establish itself here? Meh…” Lu Yun grumbled.
In the world of immortals, Qing Yu had been the Dao Sovereign and made the immortal dao whole. She’d also completed formula dao so it would be a great dao unto itself. Lu Yun had always been the sort to start things off and then forget about it. But even if he’d seen things through, Qing Yu still would’ve done a better job than him. She was far more conscientious in these sorts of matters.
“Little Yu is the Dao Sovereign, alright!” A smile crossed Lu Yun’s face.
“What kind of great dao is this?” The Quiet Sovereign King manifested out of his sword and stared tongue-tied at the World Star. “This great dao encompasses all of supplemental dao, like an ocean incorporating a hundred rivers. This, this dao…”
“This was the formula dao I used to derive your existence. It enabled me to use other methods to awaken your will.” Lu Yun glanced at him. “It will require the use of formula dao to release sword dao from your clan.”
The sovereign king’s eyes brightened. “I’ve trained in supplemental dao as well—I was once number four on the Profound Pagoda Hero Ranking. I think I can contribute to the discussions and help them derive this ‘formula dao’.”
“That would be wonderful! Ah Zhi is too lazy and exerts herself only to the point of opening a door of sequence to protect Divine Alchemist Mountain. If a sequence expert like you joins them, that will surely promote double the results with half the effort.” Lu Yun brightened to hear the sovereign king’s words and quickly took out a few karmic fruits to fashion a body for him.
“Ah Zhi? The Star Sovereign King?” The Quiet Sovereign King shuddered when he heard Lu Yun mention Ah Zhi’s name. He glanced at the sleepy-eyed figure at the summit. “The Star Sovereign King practices the Dream Sutra and must cultivate in her dreams at every second, so as to capture that fleeting hint of destiny.
“If my guess is correct, her primary body should be in a dream. To her, dreams are reality.”
“You seem to hold her in high regard?” Lu Yun tilted his head at the sovereign king.
“The Star Sovereign King was one of the greatest geniuses of our time. Though she accessed sequence after me, she was many, many times stronger than me. A sequence expert enlightened me and helped me recover my memories and sense of self, but Ah Zhi didn’t have the benefit of help. She recovered her memories of sequence by herself.”
“She… recovered her memories by… herself?” Lu Yun’s eyes widened. His memories had been tampered with as well—anyone with the potential to access sequence had their memories and knowledge altered by a certain existence. He’d recovered the true version of events thanks to the Tome of Life and Death, but Ah Zhi had done it on her own?
Just how brilliant was she?
It wasn’t just any regular genius who could manage the feat. Jian Zhuxian, greatest of Ingress Sword Island, had jumbled memories and a despondent morale. He didn’t have any confidence in himself to access sequence.
“That’s right, the Star Sovereign King was the strongest genius of our time, so many people wanted to kill her,” the sovereign king nodded. “The Luminaries also asked her to join them. Though she’d yet to access sequence, she rejected them and relied only on her own strength. She was strong enough to open the door on her own and kill her would-be murderers in her dreams. With that complete, she then founded the Star Sect.”
No wonder Fuxi and the others look to her… Lu Yun nodded. If his guess was correct, Ah Zhi’s primary body was somewhere in the world of immortals instead of cultivating in a dream.
When the Quiet Sovereign King saw that the young man remained quiet, he leapt to Divine Alchemist Mountain with Quiet by his side and sat down to listen to Qing Yu. His primary purpose for this trip was to find a way to release sword dao and protect the Sword Clan.
“Where’s my mind wandered off to now?” Lu Yun cocked his head. The Tome of Life and Death would always project the cultivation level of a Nihil World Sovereign. He couldn’t take another step forward until he manifested all six hellfires at the same time.
At the same time, his true cultivation level needed to continuously improve so that his strength could do the same. He could now understand the existence of sequence, but he didn’t have a hope of accessing it.
“Do I need to give up the strength of a Nihil World Sovereign and re-cultivate?” Lu Yun sat down cross-legged and mused over his path while he watched Qing Yu at the mountain’s peak.
“That’s right, you need to relinquish the strength of a Nihil World Sovereign and retrain your true self.” A fragrant wind burrowed into Lu Yun’s nose before a soft body hugged him from behind.
Qing Yu had stopped lecturing at some point so she could greet her beloved.
“When your true cultivation level reaches World Manifest, you’ll have the right to stand on your own two feet in the fourth realm. You can give up the strength of a Nihil World Sovereign then and cultivate from scratch,” she whispered in his ear.
“Alright,” Lu Yun nodded. “Formula dao has taken root in the World Star and is slowly growing. I need to create a small offshoot of formula dao and connect it to the formula dao of the World Star.
“Eh? Little Yu, your strength has reached the fourth realm…” He suddenly brightened.
“Ah Zhi… took me into a dream and borrowed the dream’s strength to enhance my cultivation,” Qing Yu chuckled ruefully. “And then, she gave me the seat of the sect leader and went off to take a nap.”
Lu Yun: ……
etvolare's Thoughts
I think she wins for being laziest in the series lol.
