Blood streaked down from the corner of the golden scarlet ape’s mouth as well—the full power of the Black Emperor was just too horrifying. Caught off guard, grievous wounds instantly visited themselves upon Scarlet Ape.
Lu Yun’s condition was no better. Although Xing Chen had borne the brunt of the backlash, Lu Yun’s internal organs were a compact ball of gore as well. He would’ve died, if not for the Tome of Life and Death.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he activated the three hundred weapons of war. Pillars of white light blazed at the two scarlet apes in terrifying ferocious unison.
When they were all fired at full power, the three hundred weapons of war would critically injure even the former nine celestial emperors if those august personages took the blows to the face.
Hum.
However, a resonant hum sounded in the air as silver radiance spread across the area. Three hundred rays of light rammed into a silver barrier, shattering it upon impact. Blowing past that line of resistance, the pillars of light then rammed into another barrier of white light.
Silver and white rippled and intertwined in the air, finally offsetting each other and eventually dissipating.
Taking a firm stance before the golden scarlet ape, the silver one had brought up a giant silver shield to protect its dao partner. The shield had blocked the concerted blows of three hundred weapons of war, yet remained completely free of damage.
“Kekeke—” The silver scarlet ape let out a peal of strange and grating laughter. “Lu Yun, isn’t it? I knew it must be you!”
“Heh, the maximum power of three hundred war treasures, hmm? I, too, would’ve been decimated if I’d faced it head on!” The golden scarlet ape glared at Lu Yun with bloodthirst in its fiery eyes, cutting its partner short. “Now, die—”
It raised its iron rod and swung it at Lu Yun, but before it could complete the move, silver flashed across the scene as its partner bashed it in the back of its head with the shield.
Thud!
The golden scarlet ape was smacked straight to the ground, its short legs twitching from the impact.
“I don’t know how, but I know you resurrected me, Lu Yun.” The silver scarlet ape flicked a glance at Lu Yun with its pale blue eyes. “In return, I’ll spare your life this time.”
It grabbed the legs of the golden scarlet ape and slowly dragged it out of the area, while Scarlet Ape clung to its iron rod like its life depended on it.
“Of course, there wasn’t much bad blood between us to begin with,” the silver scarlet ape called back faintly. “If you return the piece of the iron rod that you took from my Goldie, I won’t kill you the next time we meet, either.”
Lu Yun didn’t dignify the proposal with an answer.
Peace returned to the premises after the two scarlet apes left. A weak ray of light from an unknown source cast upon the clearing, providing faint illumination.
Thud!
Lu Yun plopped down on the ground, breathing heavily and drenched in cold sweat.
“Shit, I thought I’d built enough of a foundation to gain a foothold in the world of immortals… but those two monsters just up and proved me wrong.” Lu Yun smiled wryly at his wrecked arsenal of three hundred damaged weapons of war.
The silver scarlet ape’s shield was too powerful. What level of treasure must it be that three hundred weapons didn’t even leave a scratch on it?
“It’s not enough, it’s far from enough! It was just two scarlet apes today, who knows what I’ll encounter on the morrow?
“Lord of the Ingress Island, head of the Dark North Sword Sect, Ghost Dragon and the nine-headed phoenix from the North Sea dragon nest… They’re all at least as powerful as the golden scarlet ape…” Lu Yun shook his head rapidly to clear his mind.
“A void-realm immortal replica is far from unrivaled even after incorporating the world’s lungs! Two chimps were enough to crush me!” he sighed ruefully.
“With how things stand in the world, the void realm has been restored and completed. Soon, an era of immortals who’ve ascended from the void realm will arrive… More importantly, once my formation of heaven and earth and Qing Yu’s deduction method for combat arts spreads, many more powerhouses will emerge in the world of immortals!
“But that’s what makes life interesting, right?” A faint smile tugged at his lips. “I wasn’t the strongest in the world to begin with, so creating countless more elites doesn’t bother me. Besides, my interests lie in tomb raiding. I don’t care about fighting others to the death over things.” Lu Yun slowly relaxed along this train of thought. “Alright, let’s go check out what’s so special about the ancient tomb outside.”
Taking a few pills to heal his injuries, he sauntered out of the void while humming a casual ditty.
“Oh?” He screeched to a sudden halt once he stepped out of the area. “It’s the abyss of divine burial! …I almost fell in again.”
He sighed with relief at the close call.
“There’s a space-restriction layout here. The two apes couldn’t have leapt over the abyss with no knowledge of feng shui.” Lu Yun cast his gaze toward the other side of the abyss and saw nothing but an endless ocean of darkness.
The abyss was immense in both breadth and depth; it was next to impossible to cross. Moreover, there existed a great traction power within the abyss. He would be sucked in as soon as he took flight.
“There must be something connecting the two sides of the abyss. …ah, the Path of Ingress!” The only possible answer struck Lu Yun. It had to be the treasure that was connecting the two sides of the abyss!
However, he hadn’t sensed the Path of Ingress even after the yin and yang tombs merged, although the branch of the path was still with him.
The Path of Ingress had left, it seemed.
Or is there another treasure that can do the same thing? Lu Yun frowned.
“Oho? It’s the Scaled-Dragon King and Beigong Yu!” He cracked a smile. He sensed the two monster spirit kings moving toward him at great speed. They were currently right above the abyss. “There!”
Swoosh!
Lu Yun flashed to where his two followers were along the edge of the abyss.
“Hm? The Path of Ingress really is here!” Lu Yun stopped in his tracks when he encountered the white path, surprise flashing through his gaze. “But the branch within me doesn’t sense its existence at all. What’s going on here?”