Chapter 1801: There Is Only Need For Excuses, Not Truth
Three days pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye, but for some people, they seemed like years. Every minute and every second was as if sitting on pins and needles—someone like Jiang Kui, for instance.
Lu Yun appeared beside him at some point and chit chatted enthusiastically with him. Not only that, but he transmitted all manner of baffling nonsense that gave the impression they were close friends.
Jiang Kui hadn’t understood what Lu Yun was doing at first, but then he noticed killing intent gathering in his surroundings. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He’d been the architect of everything in the yin tomb of the Abyssal h.e.l.l. He’d led countless outsiders into the yin tomb against Lu Yun, but they, and even their primary bodies, had all died to curses.
Thus, it was very suspicious that Lu Yun was so friendly with Jiang Kui now.
The latter’s scalp ran with numbness. Oftentimes, hard evidence wasn’t the most sought after. Although Jiang Kui was supposedly here representing Rising Sunriver, it was no secret that he’d joined the Corpse Refiners. Many supremes wanted to take him to task for the events of the tomb, they just lacked a proper excuse to.
With Lu Yun and Jiang Kui being such good brothers and secretly transmitting who-knew-what, it was the perfect opportunity for them to do something.
“Hahaha, there’s no need for further talk, Brother Jiang,” Lu Yun suddenly roared with laughter. “It’s all thanks to you that I was able to take down the enemy last time. Thus, I’m not going to let you risk yourself this time, no matter what. How about this, come with me to the primary worlds of the Land of Reincarnation. I’d like to see who will dare touch you then!”
He spoke with righteous zeal and looked straight at the supremes on the other side of Mount Astronomia.
Jiang Kui gaped at Lu Yun—he had no idea what to say. Lu Yun’s turn was too sudden. He was still considering how to protest and save himself, but Lu Yun had up and issued an invitation into the land?
“Lu Yun, I am not your brother,” Jiang Kui immediately recovered his composure. “And I don’t understand anything you were talking about just now.”
“Oh, that’s just fine and dandy!” Instead of elaborating, Lu Yun snapped to awareness and quickly said, “Brother Jiang—no, no, you’re right, Jiang Kui. You and I are enemies unto death. We’re not brothers at all! One of us will die the next time we see each other. I was being too forward just now.”
He hastily scuttled away, as if to avoid suspicion.
Jiang Kui really wanted to cry now. Lu Yun’s exaggerated performance had pushed him straight into the abyss. Everyone knew that he was acting and that Jiang Kui wouldn’t possibly partner with him to kill chief world cultivators, but people didn’t want the truth. They wanted an excuse to justify their actions. Similar to Qing Buyi and Chen Xiao, they only needed the veneer of a reasonable excuse to kill.
Indeed, the Myriad Spirit Supreme spoke as soon as Lu Yun left.
“Come here, Jiang Kui. I have questions for you.”
Myriad Spirit and Firstspirit were brother and sister. They were premier supremes on par with the self-styled “Esteemed Nebula” and kept a much lower and humble profile than the late Nebula.
They spoke up on behalf of the rest because they’d been put up for the position. Those who’d speak for others needed to possess the sufficient strength to, but also needed to receive more benefits for their troubles.
Jiang Kui had caused the Myriad Spirit Supreme to lose face earlier, so the supreme naturally seized the opportunity to do the same. He didn’t need truth or reason, just an excuse. Jiang Kui’s face darkened and he scowled in the direction of the Land of Reincarnation, then dissipated as a cloud of dust.
The representatives from Rising Sunriver had quietly left at some point; the great nation had become a Corpse Refiner va.s.sal a long time ago. Lu Yun only needed a small ploy to hold them off outside the land. If they still wanted entry, they would have to dig a dog hole.
……
Three days pa.s.sed by in the outside world, but three thousand years pa.s.sed by in the formation of time. That wouldn’t be a long period in ordinary times, but each second was extraordinarily precious to Lu Qing at the moment.
After that, he officially met the strongest genius of the chief worlds in combat.
Lu Yun didn’t sit around idly either. He was a busy man during the past three years. A boundary of Time Reincarnation quietly encircled Mount Astronomia, isolating the pa.s.sage of time on the mountain from the rest of the void. It was slowed down, creating more breathing room for the rest of the Land of Reincarnation.
This turned the mountain into a buffer zone between the land and chief worlds, one that belonged to neither side. Lu Yun, Lu Feng, Chen Xiao, the Dao King, and the fourth s.p.a.cetime traveler—Moran Dongning—jointly created the ma.s.sive boundary with help from the ten Yama Kings. They successfully did so without catching the eye of the supremes.
Everyone’s attention was on the one thousand battles to come. It also helped that Lu Yun set up a boundary instead of a formation. Formations came with ripples that were easily detected by formation masters. Boundaries, however, were hard to discern.
“It’s finally complete.” Lu Yun wiped away the sweat on his forehead.
“It won’t remain a secret for long,” the Dao King warned. “Powerhouses abound in the chief worlds and those two ‘spirit’ supremes are absolute t.i.tans. They just put on the foolish act of a buffoon. While it seems like others are jerking them around, they’re actually very shrewd and nurse their own plans. They’ve probably already discovered the time boundary and just haven’t said anything.”
Lu Yun’s heart skipped a beat. In his view, the two supremes stepping forward to speak on behalf of the chief worlds were incredible idiots. This course of action easily attracted hate—just as his son had said, any of Myriad Spirit’s disciples would be fully hunted down if they dared enter the land.
That tiny speck of gain wasn’t worth the trouble of sticking one’s neck out for.
But while they looked like they were driving a hard bargain in the negotiations, they’d actually been giving way. A thousand battles seemed to guarantee victory for the chief worlds, but it would benefit Lu Qing the most. He’d already taken his position and left no way out for himself if the chief worlds decided to keep fighting him. But with the one thousand battles, he had a way to withdraw gracefully, no matter the outcome.
He would be known throughout the chief worlds if he won and it would be a very honorable defeat if he lost. Without the limit of one thousand battles, the supremes of the chief worlds would likely all attack him at the same time. He’d never hold them off.
The two supremes had also forced away Jiang Kui and the Corpse Refiners.
“Those two…” Lu Yun mused uncertainly. “Don’t seem to be the fair weather sort and don’t seem to be on our side either…”
“There are boundless interests and motives at play over the Land of Reincarnation. Perhaps they don’t want the world of sequence or seed of nothing. Maybe they seek something that doesn’t conflict with our plans,” the Dao King nodded. “They’re quietly doing us a favor so that we’ll return it to them later.”
The Myriad Spirit and Firstspirit Supremes were utilizing some tricks to interfere with the judgment of the other supremes, preventing exposure of the time boundary. In Lu Yun’s eyes, his son’s last several hundred battles were purely a delaying tactic. Once the supremes discovered the boundary, they would stop observing Lu Qing’s fights and charge straight into the land.
Again, there was no rhyme or reason to it. They just needed an excuse.
In the absence of being right, Qing Buyi wouldn’t be able to stop them. He’d only be able to flee with Lu Qing.
During these twenty thousand years, immortal dao flourished in the fourth realm. Fairylands fully materialized over the Central Hongmeng and the latter truly became the Hongmeng of immortal dao. Immortal dao traversed it straight into the fourth realm. Having become whole and complete a long time ago, time ticked in the second and third realms once more.
Fragments of the original Hongmeng began to grow when irradiated with the light of immortal dao, returning to the state of the original Hongmeng. Countless Formula Academies were established in this process, supporting immortal dao so that it shone throughout the fourth realm and became its only great dao.
Dongfang Mo and Meng w.a.n.g sent their own dao into Qing Yu, using her as the medium to accelerate Fairylands’ expansion so that it absorbed the heavenly palace, turning everything into a world of immortal dao sequence.
The world of sequence blazed like a sun and illuminated the fourth realm, forcing those who were yet to cultivate immortal dao into becoming denizens under this great dao.
The process took ten thousand years.