Lu Yun floated in the air, his figure illuminated by flares of black lightning. Those at the scene inhaled sharply, their eyes betraying unease. The Dao Flower projection was right next to him—their truest target—but no one dared approach him in the end.
“Lu Yun!” Sword Divine Dongfang Hao’s voice suddenly sounded again. “I wonder how much lightning you have left after killing all those fur seals. You may look strong right now, but you’re completely empty on the inside.”
The man was spot on.
Lu Yun had expended almost all of the lightning he’d absorbed, and what little was left could be seen crackling around his figure. While he could continue absorbing divine lightning from the highest reaches of the sky, tribulation lightning was on a different level altogether.
Many felt the lure of Sword Divine’s words. The sudden arrival of the demon god and his fur seals had inflicted heavy casualties. If they failed to obtain the Dao Flower projection after all that and had to watch Lu Yun establish his sacred land… all of those losses would be meaningless, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop there.
They were also quite willing to believe Dongfang Hao. He’d been the one to spread the news that Lu Yun’s tribulation would take place on this day! As for him taking the demon god’s side… Well, what did they care about that? Sword Divine wasn’t a good man to begin with.
“Are you people that eager to die?” A cold glint in his eyes, Lu Yun quirked a brow at the immortals advancing on him.
“The Dao Flower concerns us all. Your insignificant Dusk Province doesn’t deserve such a treasure!” An arcane dao immortal narrowed his eyes, his tone cold.
The Divine Glory was no longer anywhere in sight; it’d returned to the kingdom in hell. Meanwhile, millions of Dusk Phalanx soldiers sailed their lord-grade fortress ships behind Lu Yun and spread out in a straight battle line.
However, they were matched by celestial legions from different majors positioning themselves into battle formations and facing the Dusk Phalanx from afar. Bloodshed crept into the air, and war could erupt at any moment.
Bang!
Blinding lightning suddenly flashed beside Lu Yun as a giant beast surrounded by purple-golden bolts of lightning slowly walked out of the emptiness.
Kui!
The creature unleashed the full power of an ancient origin dao immortal for all to see. Dark, heavy clouds materialized in the sky, the deafening clap of thunder roaring amidst them.
Everyone looked on aghast, especially the two scarlet apes. Silverlight had slain Kui, but here it was, safe and sound! Moreover, standing at Lu Yun’s side, it exuded an awe-inspiring presence and overwhelming power even greater than before. While Kui’s strength hadn’t yet reached peak origin dao realm, it wasn’t far from it.
“So that’s why!” The dao immortal that’d spoken earlier suddenly added, “This old man will bid one hundred ten trillion immortal crystals to buy your Dao Flower projection!”
Lu Yun: “…”
The gathered immortals: “…”
……
“One hundred twenty trillion!” someone else soon followed suit.
Lu Yun: “…”
“One hundred thirty!” Bids rose and fell in quick succession.
Everyone desired the Dao Flower projection. As long as they could engrave their own dao runes on the projection, they would be connected to the immortal dao itself. Even if they weren’t interested in establishing a sacred land, it’d still benefit them in a multitude of ways.
“At long last, you’ve exposed your full hand.” Dongfang Hao’s proud voice arose once again. “You’ve exposed your last trump card on this day, so I wonder what you’ll be able to do for Qing Yu when she faces her tribulation three months from today!”
An invisible sword light flashed through the sky as a sudden stillness descended upon the crowd.
Qing Yu’s tribulation!
Qing Yu was Qing Han, Dao Sovereign appointed by the immortal dao. If she were to ascend to immortality… what would happen then?
Even if Lu Yun didn’t want the Dao Flower projection, with Qing Yu’s backing, Dusk Province would become a sacred land all the same, one fully deserving of the title sacred land of immortal dao.
In the world of immortals, many had begun to speculate about the date of Qing Yu’s tribulation, going so far as plotting to eliminate her in advance.
Inside the kingdom of thell, the Karmic Tree rustled as it relayed its senses to Lu Yun through his nascent spirit, letting him sense the malevolence pervading the air. In fact, at this moment, he could see strands of ill will and other negative emotions even from those who’d protected him moments ago.
The entire world had turned against him.
“Forget it, it’s no longer up for auction.” He suddenly collected the projection into the netherworld with a flip of his hand, then conjured a small jade bottle.
“Starting now, I’m offering a bounty for the nascent spirits of any immortal and void-realm cultivator belonging to the Dongfang Clan. One nascent spirit can be exchanged for one drop of tribulation essence, and if anyone can obtain the dao fruits and nascent spirits of all twenty-seven Dongfang dao immortals, this Dao Flower projection will be theirs.”
His proclamation complete, he turned back, strode into the distance, and vanished beyond the horizon.
Pure vindictiveness!
Dongfang Hao had always plotted against Qing Yu, and now he’d implicated Dusk Province as a whole in his insane quest to kill all those living there… There was no reason for Lu Yun to stay his hand any longer, so why not take out his anger on the man’s entire clan?!
He wanted Dongfang Hao to regret his decision! To rue the day he chose to make an enemy out of Lu Yun!
Lu Yun wasn’t one who strived to stay in everyone’s good graces. Since Dongfang Hao was threatening his woman, he wouldn’t stop until he wiped out the man’s entire clan to the ninth generation!
The crowd stared in sheer confusion. At best, the Dongfangs were a clan more powerful than most, but it wasn’t one of the truly major ones. According to speculation, there were indeed twenty-seven dao immortals in the clan. And now, the Dao Flower projection would be theirs for the taking as long as they could collect the nascent spirits and dao fruits from all twenty-seven…
It didn’t sound all that difficult. The only thing they worried about was whether Dongfang Hao still had some cards left to play.
“Hmmph!” a dao immortal from Exalted Major snorted coldly. “This Lu Yun’s crossed the line. Is he going to buy off the destruction of an entire clan any time he feels offended? First was House Donglin, and now the Dongfang Clan. Who knows when it’ll be your turn or mine.”
With Exalted Major now in Dongfang Hao’s grasp, it was no surprise that some immortals from Exalted Major had come as well.
True, the Exalted Immortal Sect had been almost entirely wiped out, and the Exalted Celestial Emperor gone alongside his Exalted Palace. Even so, the major’s foundations lived on and few dared set their sights on it, at least for the time being.
Currently, Witherdew Major was everyone’s main objective.
“House Donglin and the Dongfang Clan… it must be because both of them plotted against his dao partner,” a young lady from the Lin Clan suddenly interjected. “I wonder if my future dao partner will be so dauntless as to destroy two clans for my sake…”
The voices of most of the female immortals present soon rose to echo her sentiment. A gallant suitor ought to go to war to protect his sweetheart!
The immortal from Exalted Major closed his mouth, then opened it, and closed it again. What was he supposed to say to that?
“Very well, let us discuss this matter at another date. For now, we’re leaving.” Waving his hand, a celestial emperor departed with his men.
Everyone blinked in surprise.
“The lightning rod! And the Closesky Formation!”
The crowd suddenly understood. The lightning rod was an outstanding instrument against tribulations, while the Closesky Formation could defuse attacks from weapons of war and crystal cannons. Indeed, now wasn’t the time to discuss the bounty or Qing Yu’s upcoming tribulation… Self-interest trumped everything else!
