Lu Yun heaved a long sigh after Chu Xingran and Ao Qin left. The zombie’s fists had pierced through the world barrier and continued to punch their way in from the yang tomb. A spiderweb of cracks snaked through the barrier as it underwent collapse.
Energy from the yang tomb flooded the world of sequence, but since its core essence was gone, the world didn’t react in the slightest.
Meng Wang raised his head to glance at the massive arm flailing through the sky. He suddenly cocked back his hand and tossed the jumbo-sized donkey hoof upward.
KABOOM!
The donkey hoof exploded in midair, prompting an agonized shriek from the zombie as it yanked its arm back. And then, the zombie moved no more.
Neither the Corpse Refiners nor representatives from other factions cared about its condition. They streamed into the world of sequence, but Lu Yun and Meng Wang were long gone.
……
A few days in a cave, a thousand years in the world.
Time in the Abyssal Tomb flowed differently compared to the outside world. It’d been a thousand years since Lu Yun set foot into the tomb, but it didn’t feel that way to the master of hell.
A thousand years of development saw the Formula Academy flourish with astonishing speed. It’d taken the fourth realm by storm and even though who once looked down their nose at formula dao had to treat it with respect.
The academy showed no signs of ambition during this time; it was so indifferent to the affairs of the realm that those who were wary of it eventually relaxed. Everything proceeded according to Qing Yu’s plans—the academy established elementary, middle, and high schools like those of Earth. The hierarchy of knowledge was clearly defined and levels of mastery in formula dao were also distinctly delineated.
Just as they’d originally announced, disciples who didn’t leave after finishing their studies were expelled from the Formula Academy.
And there were indeed many who didn’t wish to leave, but they were all literally thrown out in the end. Such actions caused quite a wave of discomposure through the mighty factions of the fourth realm.
The Ghost Bat King had suddenly withdrawn a thousand years ago, alleviating the pressure on Mount Astronomia. An even more frightening wave of endarkened descended, however, throwing themselves at the mountain.
This was the true level of horror that the Luminaries had historically faced.
These endarkened were weaker than the ghost bats, but the latter felt fear and knew dread. The new attackers were mindless killing drones. Advancing forward was the only thing they knew and they fought without stopping once deployed.
The Formula Academy at Mount Astronomia was more than just a school; it was a massive fortress.
A picture of thriving prosperity greeted Lu Yun and Meng Wang when they returned to the fourth realm. They also came back with a delicately-featured young man—the youngster who Lu Yun had hailed as the next Sea Emperor.
He was the only hope of the World of Sea now.
Disaster had come upon the Sea Emperor and Haidong Lin; there was no hope to be seen within the secondary world itself. It would have no future without the orders of a primary world repairing and enveloping it.
Lu Yun didn’t know what the young man had been called before, but his name was now Hope. He was not only the hope of the World of Sea, but the hope of this Land of Reincarnation. Just as the demon of immortal dao had said, the meeting of the three anomalies could potentially end the boundless loops—potentially.
Lu Yun had to constantly forge ahead and transform the impossible into the possible. He had to make it impossible for those who would die!
Such was defying the heavens and changing fate.
He’d never once believed in destiny, even when he learned that he was doing the same thing over and over again in the Land of Reincarnation. Though he didn’t believe it, this time, he would destroy it.
The world of sequence had once been an extraordinarily strong world. Everything within it had been destroyed at some point, leaving only an empty shell behind to store the core essence of the world of sequence.
That world wasn’t important—the core essence was everything! And now, it quietly rested within the world of the Tome of Life and Death.
……
“I think you’ve done a wonderful job of dumping your work on others,” Meng Wang sighed with appreciation as he gazed upon the Formula Academies that flourished in the fourth realm.
As per his usual inclination, Lu Yun had gotten the ball rolling and refrained from intervening since. Formula dao had grown sturdily nonetheless and replaced supplemental dao as a great dao that could support the latter.
There were even shoots of immortal dao poking out of it, as well as some select beings that’d started cultivating it. Those pioneers had discovered that immortal dao complemented formula dao and to cultivate both resulted in unexpected synergies.
“The development of all things follows their own rhythm. It would run counter to my wishes if I interfered with them.” Lu Yun stood side by side with Meng Wang at the highest point of the Central Hongmeng in the Easter Cluster. They looked ahead to the distance. “I sowed a handful of seeds and just needed to make sure that I watered and fertilized them at regular intervals. The most I needed to do was to pull up an occasional weed. There was no need to overly survey how they would grow.”
“The key thing is… you didn’t seem to water or fertilize at regular intervals. Nor did you pull out any weeds,” Meng Wang raised an eyebrow at the young man.
Lu Yun grinned awkwardly and didn’t respond.
“The Corpse Refiners probably know that I have the core essence of sequence. Where will they strike? Truespirit Major in the world of immortals?” he asked instead.
The ruler of Truespirit Major was the sect master of the Corpse Refiners and the dao of corpse refinement reigned in that facet. Jiang Chen, the forefather of the sect, had personally established the branch in the world of immortals.
“No, they lack sufficient courage. I’ve observed them closely and find that they’ve completely become the Corpse Refiners of immortal dao,” Meng Wang shook his head. “Mount Astronomia and the other cracks that lead to the darkness are passages for the Corpse Refiners or other outside realm heavyweights to our home.
“They’re most likely the ones who drove the current group of endarkened to the mountain. I came in contact with them when I ruled the original Hongmeng. They treat us as uncivilized savages and loftily consider us from above. They are civilized beings, but they will destroy us with the most primitive and brutal methods.” Meng Wang looked at Lu Yun. “The evolution of civilization on the ancestral planet illustrates this concept at every moment.”
“I see,” Lu Yun nodded. “But the land of darkness is also full of danger to them. They can influence events there, but they can’t dictate what takes place. That means I have some time to prepare.”
There were only two possible ways if peace was desired when two civilizations collided. One was predicated by the fact that they were evenly matched and neither side could gain the upper hand. The second was complete domination and assimilation of one side.
The powerhouses of the outside realm were here for the core essence of the world of sequence. They brought only destruction, not peace.
This was the Land of Reincarnation, the Disintegrated Land.
The three anomalies were gathered together and slowly ending the endless loops—an invasion from outside realm experts for the core essence of sequence was the clearest evidence of that trend. Additionally, the Land of Reincarnation was so old that perhaps the one who’d created it no longer existed.
etvolare’s Thoughts
This is what happens when first contact occurs and they find humans to be primitive amoeba sitting on mountains of precious resources, isn’t it?
