The sudden development alarmed Qi Fengyun and he hastily backed away, searching for the best hiding spot. He’d been slightly self-congratulatory just moments ago because he’d calculated something that Lu Yun hadn’t. Though he hadn’t exceeded his master, he was showing many signs of the pupil surpassing the teacher.
In this moment, he fully understood how ridiculously wrong he’d been. These phenomena were occurring because Lu Yun had inferred some taboo topics. These were the consequences.
……
“Don’t move.” Lu Yun darted to his disciple’s side the second he shifted and pressed down on his shoulder. “It’s all fake.” A cold leer played at Lu Yun’s lips. “Trying to use a layout of absolute death against me?”
Layouts of absolute death were a creation of the akasha ghosts, which happened to be a creation of Lu Yun’s future self. His own resentment was encompassed within the layouts. Now that he understood the cause and effect, his mind was clear and he would never be affected by them again.
However, it was very mystifying why this layout had appeared here.
“No, no, the layout of absolute death doesn’t originate from the akasha ghosts, per se. They got it from a fragment of a combat art they intercepted in the void. That thing, or that art, is the true source of the layouts.” Inspiration flashed through Lu Yun’s eyes as he definitively plumbed the depths of the layout of absolute death with the new formula dao.
The layout of absolute death used falsehoods to conceal truth. Death was a foregone conclusion after one was caught in such a layout. It was both an illusory art of the mind and a feng shui killing formation. The interaction between the two culminated in an almost tangible world.
When Lu Yun recreated formula dao, he also incorporated the way to defeat these layouts into the dao. From his perspective, layouts of absolute death could temper the mind and enhance a cultivator’s alertness, toughening the heart. Subconsciously speaking, one of the most terrifying existences out there was no longer a concern once formula dao could counter it.
What the altar projected now was a similarly frightening concept, one even more challenging than the layout of absolute death.
Being a formula dao genius, Qi Fengyun had unknowingly practiced the way to dismantle such layouts. Though he’d never seen one before, he immediately composed himself and struggled free of the terrifying illusion after his master’s reminder.
“Have you learned it well, my disciple?” Lu Yun winked at Qi Fengyun.
“Eh?” The man blinked.
“Arts like the layout of absolute death are ancient arts. They’ve remained unchanging and eternal from the moment they appeared,” Lu Yun chuckled. His disciple didn’t know what to make of the sudden bizarre declaration.
“Though this art is incomparably strong and has tricked many senior powerhouses, it doesn’t know how to change. It can’t adapt to the times and was instantly suppressed by the new formula dao. You and I are as insignificant as ants to it, but it’s unable to kill us. Instead, we’re able to see right through it.”
Ah, understanding dawned on Qi Fengyun.
“The times are always changing—they never stop. Combat arts, cultivation methods, great daos, and orders progress at every minute and second. Elimination by the times is on the horizon as soon as one stops with self satisfaction.”
Qi Fengyun quite agreed with this viewpoint; it’d been fully illustrated with immortal dao. The version in Myriadsea World was undeniably powerful, but it’d fallen behind immortal dao in the outside world because it’d never changed from its roots.
Lu Yun was using a dangerous situation as a teaching moment, changing his disciple’s views bit by bit. Whether it was the world of immortals, fourth realm, or original Hongmeng, to Lu Yun, the most advanced thinking was found on ancestral planet Earth.
Fuxi had always been on Earth—the three-eyed man that’d taken his place in the chaos was his evil self. Everything had been part of his plan so that Earth would evolve into his ideal world. Although Lu Yun was part of the vast fourth realm now, his mentality was still that of an Earthling’s. His gaze was always fixed to the distance and he never stopped to beam with pride at any accomplishment. Time progressed and life advanced. Never stopping, never ending.
“How do we defeat it, master?” While Qi Fengyun was no longer affected by the mental realm, he was still trapped inside. A foggy mist met his eye in all directions—he couldn’t see the outside world. It was a world the color of blood.
“What do we want to defeat it for?” Lu Yun shook his head. “This kind of layout of absolute death is purely mental. It doesn’t exist as long as it doesn’t have a foothold in your heart.”
“It doesn’t exist as long as it doesn’t have a foothold in my heart?” Spontaneous enlightenment occurred to Qi Fengyun. The blood-red color faded before him and the altar returned to its aged azure color.
“Perverse genius,” Lu Yun grumbled and continued operating formula dao again.
The altar began to tremble. It seemed to be alive and flared with a mote of tangible bloody light, attempting to stop Lu Yun’s calculations.
“It would’ve taken a bit of effort to discover your existence if you hadn’t given yourself away.” Lu Yun suddenly paused. “Since you have, I can guess what you are without having to analyze you.
“When I wielded the power of the Six Royals, I derived the core essence of Myriadsea World, of the Sea Lord, Curse King, and another incredibly strong existence. The last one is you, isn’t it?”
Lu Yun narrowed his eyes at the altar beneath his feet while Qi Fengyun shuddered.
“That poor Sea Lord. He thought he’d be the one to manifest a world of sequence after he devoured all the other great daos. He’s been unknowingly working for the benefit of someone else all this time. There’s no world of sequence here, it’s a trap from beginning to end!
“This so-called world of sequence is a simulation by a realm monster!”
A realm monster!
Worlds destroyed by the chaos ultimately transformed into realm monsters, setting their sights on newly born worlds to turn them into more realm monsters out of bitterness that they were still alive. The world they stood on, Myriadsea World, was a creation of a realm monster!
Lu Yun might not have been able to determine the truth of the world if he hadn’t seen a realm monster before. But since he had, and had personally killed one, he was very familiar with their presence. Akasha ghosts had once allied with realm monsters as well.
What he didn’t know was what kind of world had given rise to such an enormous and terrifying realm monster. It’d hoodwinked all powerhouses, including the original emperor, making them think this was a world of pure sequence that could be molded for their use.
“This altar… and the realm monster…” Lu Yun’s expression turned unnatural as he considered the altar beneath his feet.
