“That’s right, it was you!” Killing intent flared in Dongfang Mo’s eyes. Though he didn’t think that the Curse King and motley crew of powerhouses from other worlds alone could destroy the Hongmeng, it was indisputable that his home’s destruction was tied to the Curse King.
“If it wasn’t for you inciting conflict between those worlds and the Hongmeng, how would the divine tree have perished and turned into this wood…” Dongfang Mo ground out through gnashed teeth.
The Curse King narrowed his eyes and scanned everyone present, abruptly opening his arms to release two gusts of black smoke. They flanked Lu Yun and dove at the young man.
It happened too suddenly for anyone to react; the two gusts of smoke burrowed into Lu Yun’s body almost as soon as they appeared. His skin turned gray and a lifeless look appeared in his eyes as the hint of death floated up in them.
“Hahahaha!!” the Curse King roared with manic laughter. “Lu Yun, no matter what kind of heaven-defying methods you may possess or opportunities you were lucky enough to encounter, death is the only thing in store for you after you’ve been struck with my All-Encompassing Curse!”
“Bastard!!” snarled the Soldier King. His Purple Sunrise whistled forward with a river of sword light and slashed at the Curse King.
Still roaring with laughter, the Curse King abruptly dispersed into dense smoke and about-faced, charging the Sea Lord.
“Pfft, I knew your actual target was me!” The Sea Lord was unruffled by the new threat. The broken halves of his bident flew back to his hand, waving Myriad Sea into existence and directing countless waves at the Curse King.
“You were on guard against me all this time even though I was attacking Lu Yun?!” The Curse King hadn’t expected that not only would his target not panic or show any openings, but that the lord would also perfectly block the ambush. This was completely different from what he’d displayed in the world of immortal dao!
The Sea Lord was calm and decisive, a far cry from his previous image of a sinister being devoid of a conscience. His Myriad Sea now imitated seventy percent of Ruina’s profound meaning.
Baaaam.
The Curse King rebounded off the waves and smashed into the barrier around the world of immortal dao. The opening that’d been there for the Sea Lord had closed. A trap that’d been meant for the Sea Lord had smoothly shifted to one for the Curse King!
He ominously regarded the change. “So all of you put on this show together just so you could lure me in!”
“No, it really was meant for me. But since you’re here, it can be yours.” The Sea Lord brandished his bident and fashioned two legs out of his fish tail. His sea dao was still assimilating into immortal dao—he didn’t plan on separating it back out. Thus, human form was most optimal for his new path.
Lu Yun and the others had originally planned to subdue the Sea Lord. But in Lu Yun’s eyes, the Sea Lord was just an immensely strong powerhouse who’d occupied this world of sequence. The true enemy was still the Curse King. He was infinite times more terrifying than the Sea Lord!
Thus, after a series of surreptitious negotiations while tensions seemed to brim on the surface, the group struck a temporary alliance and shifted their focus to the Curse King. For that, the Sea Lord played his earlier conniving part to the hilt.
This alliance was based on mutual profit. As soon as an opportunity presented itself, they would turn on each other again.
“All this effort just for one of my replicas?” the Curse King sneered. “But a replica in exchange for Lu Yun’s life? Worth it.”
“What a pity that I’ll have to disappoint you.” The gray air of decay receded from Lu Yun’s body like the tidewaters; milky-white radiance of immortal light rose in its stead. The terrifying All-Encompassing Curse vanished without a trace, leaving the Curse King floundering for answers.
The All-Encompassing Curse had killed many a brilliant heavyweight in its time. Only someone stronger than the Curse King would be able to dispel it once it took effect. Yet Lu Yun had managed to do so in a dozen breaths??
“Formula dao!” He struck upon the right answer. Lu Yun must’ve used formula dao to determine how to break the curse. However, his speed was still incredible.
“I can bring even the king soldier back to life, to say nothing of a mere curse,” Lu Yun threw down and darted behind the Soldier King, not attempting to put on a brave front.
He’d barely resolved the curse with the Tome of Life and Death, six hellfires, and the power of the Six Royals that was beginning to fade away. There would be no hope for him if he was cursed again.
One hundred and eight soldiers, the Sea Lord, Jian Bu’er, Dongfang Mo, and the Demonic Vine surrounded the Curse King. As domineering as he was, he would not be escaping today.
Despite imminent doom, the Curse King remained cool and collected. Black smoke covered his body; when it receded, he’d become a dust particle that integrated itself with the world of immortal dao.
“You might’ve forgotten, Lu Yun, that I once entered the world of immortals and cursed immortal dao. Naturally, that means I’ve learned it as well,” the Curse King chuckled. “Although this is a replica—meaningless in the grand scheme of things—none of you are allowed to desecrate it. You’ll have to pay a price to kill me.”
The color suddenly drained from the Sea King’s face and he spat out a mouthful of black blood. “He’s devouring my sea dao!! How is that possible?! I integrated it with immortal dao, but he’s consuming it from immortal dao!”
No one paid attention to the Sea Lord’s twisted expression. The Soldier King took a guarding stance next to Lu Yun while his one hundred and eight soldiers assembled into one hundred and eight Formations of Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Demons. They projected heaven and earth, which was dao, order, and truth.
It could be said that the most fundamental order of life was superior to the six orders of the highest degree. Only heaven and earth could give rise to life, so all lands of order that life existed in formed heaven and earth.
Such was the case for the core of the Hongmeng; Hongmeng’s strength had etched tangible lifeforms out of the nebulous worlds. It was why the original Hongmeng had once been the heart of the Boundless Planes and a place that all yearned to be.
Because there was heaven, earth, and the worlds there.
The power of a world could restrain dead and yin spirits because it represented the final order. Those spirits were existences outside the scope of order, so they could be suppressed by heaven and earth.
The formations created by the soldiers manifested the power of heaven and earth, sending it roiling outward and transforming the world of immortal dao into a bonafide world. It violently expelled the body that the Curse King had melded into immortal dao.
etvolare’s Thoughts
I’d like to see how the alliance turns on each other, actually. The second the Curse King’s replica dies?
