Guided by the little fox’s illusions, the fur seal slowly set foot on the altar.
Hum.
The pentacolor light radiating from the altar trembled slightly, shattering the powerful seal into a bloody mist, giving it no time to even register its death.
Rumble.
A door opened up above the altar, opening wide to reveal a pitch black void. Ancient, desolate energy surged from the portal, forming an enormous storm expanding in all directions.
“Who’s there?!” Suddenly on the alert, Lu Yun’s eyes shone with sharp light. The Spectral Eye picked out a faint figure flickering into existence on one side of the altar, charging straight into the storm and darting into the giant doorway.
The abrupt turn of events caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected someone else would be lurking around the altar, waiting to claim the fruits of others!
Thankfully, the doorway didn’t close after that single figure entered. The Exalted celestial emperor had mentioned that up to five hundred people could enter at the same time. Since only one had entered thus far, there were plenty of slots left for them.
“Get inside!” exclaimed Lu Yun.
Rumble!
The doorway suddenly swung shut, and a tremor passed through the altar as the pentacolor lights winked out. The man was a lone wolf who hadn’t brought anyone to sacrifice and had pulled up the bridge behind him!
Lu Yun’s expression sank ominously; the interloper had shut down the portal from the inside.
“Dammit, we’ve been duped!” Lin Yu’s eyes blazed. As a genius of the Lin Clan, he’d always been the aggressor if there was any bullying to be found. This was the first time ever that the tables had turned on him!
“I know who he is!” said Qing Yu. “He’s from the Yin Clan of Exalted Major. Their natural combat art enables them to conceal themselves in the void. At its maximum, the combat art can even hide them from dao immortals.”
The Yin Clan wasn’t a large tribe in Exalted Major. Although they were masters of stealth, they were weak in all other aspects. Otherwise, that Yin immortal wouldn’t have searched for an opening to exploit, rather than hunting down other immortals to use as sacrifice.
Their weaknesses were clear, but so were their strengths, making it easy for Qing Yu to investigate beforehand and identify the full list of their combat arts and techniques. That Yin immortal was likely Yin Qingran, the oldest son of the Yin patriarch. He was a genius who’d already ascended to immortality from the void realm.
“The Yin Clan, hmm… I’ll remember this.” Lu Yun’s lips curled into a cold smile.
Yin Qingran’s action signified his clan’s hostility toward Lu Yun. If he’d come with friendly intentions, he would’ve shown himself and asked to enter the divine tomb with the rest of the group. With Lu Yun’s personality, he wouldn’t have declined.
The man’s goal was clear and singular: to prevent Lu Yun from entering the divine tomb. Even now, only a select few present at the beginning knew why the Exalted celestial emperor had opened up the divine tomb. The treasures within were what everyone else thought the main focus was.
The world of immortals was in chaotic disarray. Clans and factions focused only on fighting among themselves, scrabbling over resources, treasures, and face. Exalted Major was unstable as well—case in point, some factions had already openly rebelled.
If their celestial emperor then announced the existence of a demon fetus in the region, many Exalted factions would likely just move out entirely. Witherdew Major would be the best place for them to settle and start anew.
Likewise, most of the immortals present were kept in the dark as to what they were here for. In the eyes of the Exalted celestial emperor, these immortals were nothing but cannon fodder. Irritation floated to the fore when Lu Yun realized he’d been used as a pawn as well.
An akasha ghost arrived on schedule, followed by a giant foot that crushed the altar and left a giant footprint in its wake. This time, Lu Yun didn’t go after the ghost.
Akasha ghosts were sentient beings. They knew who Lu Yun was now and what he was capable of. They would be even more prepared this time, making him even less of a match for them if he tried again.
Fortunately, there was a plethora of altars all over the Last Repose. It was as if they’d sprouted out of the ground.
“Have you noticed something, sir?” Lin Xuan asked suddenly when Lu Yun found the third altar.
“What is it?” Lu Yun turned to his disciple.
The Lin brothers were now fully committed to Dusk Province and had become her resident experts. Though they’d sworn complete loyalty to Lu Yun, it’d be rather odd if they called him ‘milord’, so they called him ‘sir’ like the Envoys of Samsara.
“The layout of the footprints, and thus the altars, isn’t random. There’s a pattern to it!” Lin Xuan took out a jade slip from his storage ring—a map he’d been working on since entering the realm. It marked the locations of all the footprints and altars.
Although he couldn’t figure out what was the matter, he’d sensed something amiss all the same. Lu Yun took the jade slip and injected his consciousness into it. His brows drew close together after a moment’s perusal.
“Do you notice anything, sir?” Lin Xuan asked eagerly. Qing Yu, the little fox, Lin Yu, and Li Youcai all turned to Lu Yun.
“It seems that entry through the altars isn’t advised. We have to find another way!” Lu Yun sucked in a breath, his expression flickering through various changes. He even felt a little grateful that Yin Qingran had shut down the doorway earlier. “I believe the altars correspond to the locations of the burial chambers within.”
The collection of tombs, in fact, formed a large mausoleum. The footprints and altars all over the Last Repose corresponded to the burial chambers within the mausoleum, so it’d be suicide to enter via the altars.
No one who’d ever entered the tombs that way had survived their expedition, which meant that far from entrances… this was all a trap. The Exalted Divine Tombs were a trap!
“Get on the Path of Ingress!” Lu Yun stopped hesitating and activated the treasure.
By now, the branch was an independent treasure and had turned into a real Path of Ingress under his control. The Nephrite court wouldn’t be able to collect his branch even if they were to bring the main body of the treasure itself.
Everyone jumped on the white path without hesitation.
Previously, Lu Yun wouldn’t have been able to enter the divine tomb even with the Path of Ingress, since he didn’t know where it was. After using an altar, it had enabled him to pinpoint the tomb through the presence from the doorway, despite Yin Qingran’s intervention.
Boom!
The Path of Ingress transformed into a white dragon brandishing fangs and claws, pierced a hole in the air, and vanished without a trace.
