Chapter 1802: So It Begins
Lu Qing experienced death three hundred and twenty-six times throughout the course of one year in the time boundary. Without pause, he averaged a battle a day. Conclusion of one battle meant the start of the next. This set the various supremes at ease and their suspicions at rest.
Most importantly was that Lu Yun’s time boundary was incredibly marvelous. It only changed the flow of time between Mount Astronomia and the fourth realm; it didn’t touch the void at large compared to the chief worlds.
In other worlds, the boundary made use of a reverse force and accelerated the flow of time in the Land of Reincarnation. This feat consumed all of Lu Yun’s goodwill, virtue, and strength in the Tome of Life and Death. He was now nothing more than an empty bag flapping in the wind.
Chen Xiao and Moran Dongning were both spacetime travelers. They also wielded the power of time and were pivotal to setting up the time boundary. Lu Yun had never thought that Moran Dongning was also a spacetime traveler—no wonder she referred to Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi as dolts.
……
In the second year of the time boundary—the twenty thousandth year in the fourth realm, a supreme finally discovered the anomaly.
“You’re truly a bit too shameless, Qing Buyi!” remarked an elder in red robes. Though he stroked a mustache and bore white hair, his face was very youthful. “I looked the other way when that slippery kid set up a tiny time formation, but now you encompass this entire space with a time boundary? Do you really take us for fools?”
He stood up and gently waved a hand, revealing a curtain of pale purple light around the premises. All of the supremes regarded the revelation with shock and ugly expressions. They swept vicious glares over the Lu Qing in front of them and Qing Buyi on Mount Astronomia.
Meanwhile in the ring, Lu Qing defeated his opponent and swallowed a healing pill. He rested to recover from his grave injuries as he awaited the arrival of his next opponent.
Lu Qing lifted his head when he sensed the terrifying killing intent permeating the surroundings and smiled. “You are all highly regarded personages in the chief worlds. I am just a humble junior, how would I dare take you for fools? You speak in jest, senior. I would also like to know what that curtain of light is.” An innocent expression appeared on his face. One year within the boundary was ten thousand in the rest of the land. He would fight for every second he could and draw out anything that happened.
“Six hundred and eighty-six battles have occurred out of the one thousand. That happened to be my five hundredth victory. Has the senior lost his appetite for the competition and is creating something out of nothing?” Lu Qing released his aura in a baleful whoosh.
Five hundred battles!
The remaining battles wouldn’t need to take place if he won another one. The chief worlds could just admit their defeat right now and prepare to dig holes to enter the Land of Reincarnation. It would be a walk in the park for him to win once more out of the three hundred and some remaining battles.
But the red-robed supreme had discovered the time boundary at this time. This was indeed awkward timing.
The Myriad Spirit and Firstspirit Supremes remained silent as the atmosphere took a strange turn. Everyone scanned the time boundary—two years here meant at least twenty thousand in the Land of Reincarnation. That changed everything and gave the land enough time to soar ahead by leaps and bounds! Who knew what it looked like now, and Lu Qing happened to claim his five hundredth victory at this time!
“The Firstspirit Supreme already told you that the time formation is our final act of tolerance. We said that we would show no mercy if you employed further tricks,” the red-robed supreme said with a livid expression. “Since you’ve violated the prior agreement, the matter of five hundred victories doesn’t count either. We will give no quarter if you don’t get out of the way.”
Boom!
He released a crimson ripple from his body and looked at Qing Buyi.
Qing Buyi slowly rose to his feet and nodded at Lu Qing.
“Since you think we’ve violated the agreement, we have no choice but to concede since you’re stronger,” Lu Qing responded without backing down. “I am just a puny native of the Land of Reincarnation, I wholeheartedly accept my defeat.”
Though he yielded the way, he did so with extreme sarcasm.
“Mount Astronomia is under my protection!” Qing Buyi shouted. “The Nebula Supreme’s ending is an example of what will happen if anyone dares harm a single blade of grass or tree on the mountain!”
The mountain’s disciples had long since retreated to Fairylands as Lu Qing and Qing Buyi couldn’t truly hold off the supremes. They wouldn’t have dug holes for themselves even if Lu Qing did win more than five hundred battles.
While the powerhouses of the chief worlds didn’t wish to provoke Qing Buyi, neither were Qing Buyi and Chen Xiao invincible. There were so many heavyweights in the chief worlds that if the two wished to be mantises blocking a chariot, they would eventually be crushed by their opposition. They might inflict heavy damage on the supremes and even uproot the associated factions, but that would only call forth stronger titans from the chief worlds to hunt them down.
It was a precarious balance maintained by unspoken agreement. Everyone constantly probed for an excuse to break it, but once it was broken, both sides would be gravely injured. No one wanted that outcome.
Qing Buyi hadn’t ever planned on actually taking action. He was just here to provide Lu Qing with support and play for as much time as possible.
The moment had finally come.
……
“What a pity, I should’ve completed the time boundary before they came in, or just as they entered,” Lu Yun said helplessly.
According to their original plans, they would set up the boundary as soon as the supremes arrived. But when the situation actually developed, the supremes were abnormally alert and kept their attention on their surroundings at all times.
Even the slightest ripple didn’t evade their keen eyes.
Ready on the sidelines, Lu Yun was able to activate the boundary only when Jiang Kui and the others were dismissed from the scene. The departure of the Corpse Refiners set many people at ease and the chief world contingent could relax after eliminating a major enemy—it was this slight ease that gave Lu Yun and the others a chance to set up the boundary.
Twenty thousand years were the blink of an eye to even Nihil World Sovereigns, but to the newly born immortal dao, they were invaluable.
The time boundary dispersed with a rumble and the primary bodies of the supremes backed away. Mount Astronomia was like a fortress that cut off the Land of Reincarnation from the chief worlds. The land was accessible beyond it and while its orders had been made whole again, supremes were still forbidden from entering.
Only when supremes projected their wills in through their dao palaces could they enter the fourth realm. They would be limited by sequence if they did so, despite remaining supremes. Such was the effect of order returning to the age of the original Hongmeng.
The twentieth-level sequence zombie was a prime example. While it retained the strength of twenty levels, it didn’t possess sequence. It would be no match for sequence experts of the same level.
Supremes who projected their wills inside became those who were yet to exceed sequence. They would possess the strength of a supreme, but be limited by sequence. Accessing sequence was the result of growth in both cultivation level and strength—but also a constraint. Exceeding sequence enabled them to exercise control over their own great dao.
Though the supremes retreated, their disciples banded together and flew over Mount Astronomia in crowds of one thousand at a time.
……
“Let’s go, we’ve made sufficient preparations over the past twenty thousand years,” the Dao King smiled at Lu Yun. “Those from the chief worlds will be in for a harsh surprise if they think they have the run of the place.”
He was in light spirits as Lu Yun’s fate was no longer tied to Mo Yi’s. In the past, Mo Yi always died in Lu Yun’s place no matter what they did. But now that Lu Yun had changed the situation, everything that he was would become Mo Yi’s if he died. Mo Yi would guard everything that he’d accomplished.
Mo Yi would never die for Lu Yun again.
Thus, the Dao King wasn’t worried about anything anymore. He’d never shown a friendly face to Lu Yun before, but he was now willing to consume his core essence to set up the time boundary for the young man.
“Here, this is the world of the mind that I created from the eleven creation seeds.” The Dao King handed a tiny spot of light to Lu Yun. This was the mental Dao Academy that Lu Yun had once envisioned. Though they didn’t need it anymore, the Dao King hadn’t given up on crafting it.
“Mo Yi created the Soul Dominion. My mental world can assimilate into the Soul Dominion, making it part of immortal dao and even Fairylands,” he explained.
Soul Dominion was becoming part of the immortal dao, but the process was excruciatingly slow. If there was another mental world to act as a buffer, it would speed up the process to the point of instantaneous result.
Immortal dao would thus be strengthened and the outsiders rushing into the Land of Reincarnation wouldn’t be able to withstand this great dao. They’d be forced to become beings of immortal dao!
Lu Yun would dearly love to give them such an unforgettable welcome.
