Lu Yun had regained control over Dusk Province, but in a way that could only be considered treason.
The nine celestial emperors had abdicated, and a new era was coming. No one had expected Lu Yun, who made it a habit of clapping accusations of high crime on others, to commit treason himself a mere year after the Nephrite emperor had taken his leave.
It was a time of great turbulence in the world of immortals, and all eyes were on Dusk Province. Nephrite Court wasn’t the only concerned party; many geniuses and immortals from major factions all over the world yet remained in Dusk as well.
The heavenly army of the Nephrite Court marched to the border between Outré and Dusk, posturing threateningly at the rebellious province. North of Dusk Province, the weapon of war set up in the seaside stronghold was aimed at Dusk City, ready to raze it to the ground. However, no one dared make a move without careful consideration. If war were to break out, Nephrite Major would fall into chaos and opportunists would gather to exploit the situation.
“The emperor emeritus personally saved Lu Yun from the emperor of the North Sea, but he commits treason as soon as the throne was handed over. Is that how he repays the old emperor’s support?!” The Feng Clan wasted no time in levying dire accusations against Lu Yun.
“He’s a textbook example of an ingrate that doesn’t know how to write the characters for filial piety! Though he’s a Lu, he made use of his official authority to kill his own kin. He’s a snake who eats his own kind!”
The Yue, Zhu, and Qing Clans loudly raised their voices in public censure as well.
“We Qings gave our fullest support to Lu Yun before the Dusk tournament, enabling him to become what he is today. But he turned on us and sent his servant to blockade our paradise entrance!”
“And that bastard Qing Han! Born with an accursed spirit root that’d bring calamity to his family, he would’ve been smothered in the crib in any other clan, but we fostered him to adulthood! Not only does he not express gratitude, the ungrateful brat allies with Lu Yun against us! Even animals are more loyal than him!”
“Lu Yun is a serial murderer who slaughtered many dao immortals outside Xiankan. He has undermined the foundations of the world itself! This is a sin he cannot make amends for!”
“Lu Yun is colluding with the fiends of the Skandha Range to plague the world….”
In a few short days, many major clans in Nephrite Major voiced their grievances of the young governor. The province stank of fear, and cultivators and mortals alike were eager to flee. Then, the Jin Clan stoked the fires with an even more serious accusation.
“That so-called inheritance tower is nothing but a hoax! There was such a tower in the Mauve Peace Paradise of our clan, but Lu Yun detonated it and killed many of our clansmen!”
“He deserves death a thousand times over for committing homicide with such a lure!”
The entire world erupted into an uproar as the last accusation made many major factions turn on Lu Yun. So he could not only manipulate the tower, but also detonate it?
Horror traveled down their spines with pinpricks of frost. Although an inheritance tower presented many opportunities to enhance one’s strength, it was an awful feeling to have someone else control your fate.
Meanwhile, Dusk City remained peaceful and Lu Yun didn’t respond at all. It was as if he couldn’t hear any of the clamor from the outside world. The rumors could be heard all over the cities, streets, and alleyways of Dusk Province. He wasn’t oblivious to the mutterings, but didn’t deem them worthy of a response.
He also didn’t stop cultivators and immortals from entering the province. Foreigners still entered the province via ways other than the transportation formation. Dusk bordered Outré Province, and thus the latter was a way into Dusk.
At the same time, there were still reasonable people in the world.
“Didn’t Mauve Peace Paradise belong to the Lu Clan in the first place? The tower was theirs as well, wasn’t it?”
“Apparently the Jin ancestor attacked the Lu patriarch and almost killed him to take over the paradise.”
“Then it’s only natural that Lu Yun wouldn’t let his enemies benefit from the tower after he returned.”
“How foolish of the Jin Clan to use a tower that Lu Yun left behind!”
The criticism quite enraged the Jin Clan. Not long thereafter, their troops marched into Outré Province as well, in preparation of an invasion of Dusk Province. The number of soldiers gathered at the border totaled ten million, and an enormous stronghold was under construction. Patently, the Nephrite court was setting up another weapon of war.
……
“It’s time.” It was the seventh day since Lu Yun’s return.
Qing Han, Wu Tulong, Zi Chen, and Mo Qitian smiled at Lu Yun’s words. The Dao Flower was ready to bloom fully.
“Do we need to wait a little longer?” Qing Han knew Lu Yun wanted to set people up.
“There’s no need.” The young man shook his head. “The Dao Flower is too important to do anything else with it. The sooner it blooms, the sooner cultivators may return to the rightful dao.”
The current path of cultivation was missing a realm. All previously-ascended immortals would have a difficult future ahead of them, due to their poor foundation. Many geniuses who would’ve been talented enough to ascend to dao immortal realm would have their cultivation stopped short, unable to become one with the world and pluck their dao fruit.
Such was the result of not experiencing the void realm.
“Let us begin.” A smile tugged at Qing Han’s lips.
“Alright!” Excitement rippled through Wu Tulong and the others. Finally, the Dao Flower would bloom in the outside world. They formed a triangle around Qing Han, while Lu Yun stood near them as their guardian.
Hum.
An enormous beam of light shot into the sky, and the entire world seemed to shift.
The time had come.
In every world, be it night or day, cultivators of all races opened their eyes and looked up at the sky; even those who were awoken from their slumber did the same. A snow-white flower was blooming overhead in the skies. Heavenly melodies wreathed around it, and the great dao of the world resonated with it.
“What’s that?” murmured many cultivators.
“It’s a Dao Flower! The fabled Dao Flower said to embody the great dao has blossomed! What’s going on?” Ancient beings from ancient worlds shot to their feet.
Being the center of the blooming flower, the world of immortals felt the ripples most keenly.
“The path of cultivation is severed in the middle. Once the flower blooms, the path will be whole again!” Cultivators and immortals alike looked on in shock.
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“The void realm! That’s the name of the missing realm!”
“How… how is that possible?!” Many were skeptical, but the flower had imprinted an undeniable truth into everyone’s mind. Numerous cultivators sensed the insertion of a realm after the spirit realm.
“Wait, there’s more coming from the flower!”
“Lu Shenhou of the Lu Clan from Nephrite Major discovered the missing realm. He risked his life to guide Qing Han, Wu Tulong, Zi Chen, Mo Qitian, Lu Yun, and Dongfang Hao into a land of great danger to repair the path of cultivation, resurrecting the Dao Flower.”
“Lu Shenhou and Dongfang Hao sacrificed themselves for the great dao.”
“Qing Han, Wu Tulong, Zi Chen, and Mo Qitian worked together to repair the path and restore the void realm, while Lu Yun protected them with his life….”
“The Jin Clan attacked with a weapon of war to stop the Dao Flower from blooming….”
“The Feng Clan attempted to destroy the flower with ten thousand formations….”
“It’s coming from Dusk Province!”
“The Dao Flower is blooming in Dusk Province!!” a few people shouted in disbelief.
