Abject disbelief rocked the scene.
None of the dozen dao immortals present had reached origin dao realm, but most of them were arcane dao immortals, making them undisputed powerhouses in this world. However, none of them had seen what had happened! No one had sensed anyone approaching, either.
The Mo peerless immortal only managed to come to a bedraggled halt after flying out nearly ten kilometers. His left cheek was swollen and his teeth were knocked out. He spat out white teeth one after another, cutting a pitiful figure.
……
“Who was that?!” Scanning the surroundings with eagle eyes, the Donglin dao immortal’s consciousness swiftly spread out like mercury. When he caught sight of a faint figure in the sky, his pupils contracted violently.
“It’s you… How is this possible?!” he screamed.
Qing Yu’s Sidekick!
His presence, the ripples of his nascent spirit—everything about him was identical to the man with Qing Yu back in Destiny City, only he’d changed into black robes.
Jaws dropped and sharp gasps abounded. The real deal had shown up when the Mo immortal accused Lu Yun and Qing Han! Could it be that Lu Yun and Qing Han really weren’t the two shitstirrers?
However… the entire world of immortals was hunting down the pair. How dare Qing Yu’s Sidekick show his face here? Did he even know what death was?
All eyes were on him, and even Lu Shenhou’s expression turned grave. Qing Yu’s Sidekick had already entered Dusk Province, however, so the dao immortals didn’t dare follow him.
……
“Behold, for I am Xing Chen,” Xing Chen announced calmly from the sky. “Xing as in the character for Xing of the stars, Chen as in the character for Chen of the stars. I was just going to watch the show, but I didn’t expect there to be a traitor who’d forgotten his roots in the Mo Clan. Tsk tsk, that’s more than enough. I do have a bit of a relationship with the Mo Clan.”
The Mo peerless immortal turned pale, but thick confusion colored his gaze. He’d seen Qing Yu’s Sidekick call himself Lu Yun back in the Mo residence in Destiny City. Why would he show up at the same time as Lu Yun?
He was certain that the man before him was Qing Yu’s Sidekick, the very one he’d seen that day.
“Ha!” the Donglin dao immortal scoffed. “It’s just a trick with a replica… I’ll shatter your disguise!” He manifested a gleaming mirror as he spoke.
“No replica is perfect, and they’re never separate living beings. The flaw may be visible in the form of a damaged soul or a second nascent spirit! Do you think you can fool everyone with a fake, Lu Yun?!”
He lifted the mirror and aimed its iridescent light onto Xing Chen, making visible the young man’s nascent spirit, three ethereal soul-parts, and seven corporal soul-parts. Every curve of the soul’s grain and structure of his spirit was revealed for everyone to see.
This special treasure couldn’t remove disguises, but it could reveal nascent spirits and souls for what they were, fully piercing through replicas and foreign nascent spirits.
“Impossible!!” screamed the Donglin immortal. “This is completely impossible! You aren’t a replica, but a separate living entity?! Then… the Lu Yun in Dusk Province must be a replica!”
Upon shifting the mirror to Lu Yun, he stumbled backward and shot a look of disbelief at the Mo peerless immortal. Lu Yun was his own being, too, with a complete set of nascent spirit and soul-parts.
“No, that can’t be true! When I was in the Mo residence, I saw Xing Chen with my own eyes and heard him call himself Lu Yun!” The Mo peerless immortal couldn’t believe it either.
Lu Yun and Xing Chen were two different people! There was no connection between them. Each had their own nascent spirit and soul-parts, and neither was a fake.
Xing Chen ignored them and turned to face Lu Shenhou.
“In the Sovereign World, Sword Divine, you said you’d kill me for interfering with your plans. Today, I shall grant you a chance to do so.” With his hands behind his back, he manifested ten sword atlases that each contained a thousand and eighty immortal swords.
“You and I both suffered great injuries that cut our fight short in the Sovereign Arena. Today, we shall continue our fight in Dusk Province and determine the victor!”
Swoosh!
All ten sword atlases lit up and radiated sword energy that wrapped around Xing Chen. His cultivation as a returned void realm cultivator was fully on display.
“I was only at perceived void realm in our first battle, which allowed you to dominate the exchange. Now that I’ve ascended to returned void realm, we’ll see which of us is the stronger!”
“Sword atlases!” a cultivator called out. “He really is the shitstirrer… He swept the floor with his sword atlases back in the Sovereign Meet!”
They all had firsthand experience of the atlases’ abilities, having been killed by them. Involuntary shudders gripped many onlookers when Xing Chen conjured up the frightful weapons again.
Outside Dusk City, Lu Shenhou was confused as well. What was going on here? Could Lu Yun and Xing Chen really be two different people?
“Then let us fight.” Lu Shenhou wasn’t going to turn down the challenge, since Lu Yun had pulled away from their exchange a while ago. “Let me see what manner of monster you are.”
“Pfft.” Xing Chen snorted. “A dead man walking calling me a monster? That’s rich… We fight!”
He soared into the sky with Lu Shenhou close behind on his heels.
……
“Even if Lu Yun isn’t Xing Chen, Qing Han must be Qing Yu!” the Mo immortal exclaimed, refusing to let the matter go. “Xing Chen must be working with Lu Yun! Otherwise, why would he show up now?”
“I won’t mind cutting you down if you keep running your mouth.” Lu Yun flashed the Mo immortal a dark look. “All of you keep throwing baseless and unfounded accusations at Dusk Province. Do you really take us for pushovers?”
Rumble!
Forty-seven enormous fortress ships emerged over Dusk City, each of their bows topped with a giant weapon of war. These ships were modelled after the Divine Glory. Although their main cannons weren’t on par with the Black Emperor, they were still much more powerful than its auxiliary cannons.
Having fully utilized the resources and treasures from the North Sea Palace and House Donglin, along with the support of the Panorama Pavilion, Lu Yun was finally demonstrating what it meant for supplemental paths to be king.
“Even that great monkey from the North Sea slunk off with his tail between his legs after invading Dusk Province, and two origin dao immortals also died here… Who do you all think you are?” Lu Yun fiercely stood his ground.
“Weapons of war?” snickered a Nephrite dao immortal when he saw the fortress ships and their cannons. “The nine heavenly courts have such weapons as well!
“A thousand and eighty of them have surrounded Dusk Province! If you dare take a shot with yours, I promise the entire province will become a wasteland in a breath of time!”
