Chapter 619
If there was one person in the world whose each and every move could attract the attention of all, it was Lu Yun. Master of the future sacred land with a host of treasures to his name, each one powerful enough to turn his peers green with envy!
In the eyes of many, him setting foot inside Exalted Major was no different than a lamb venturing into a tiger’s mouth.
The dao weapon protecting the dao fruit tree was in Lu Yun’s possession. Perhaps he didn’t usually carry it around with him, but if Exalted Major captured him, ransoming the brat for the weapon didn’t seem out of the question.
And now that he was already inside the major, his fate was sealed.
Other than the imperial court, the Exalted Immortal Sect was another powerful presence within the major. Just like twin pillars supporting the sky, they worked in tandem to bolster the faction.
Among the nine majors, Primus Major was deservedly ranked number one, while the number two laurel jointly belonged to Citrine and Exalted Major.
On the surface, the Exalted Court and Exalted Immortal Sect didn’t get along and frequently undermined each other, but everyone knew that for the pretense it was. If both were to one day act with a common goal, even Primus Major would have to consider giving way.
……
The Exalted Court’s emissary turned on his heel after saying his piece and left without further ado. While quite a few immortals had come to receive Lu Yun, they didn’t exhibit any particular courtesy. In fact, they looked more like a regiment sent to escort a prisoner.
Their lack of manners was easy enough to understand. In three short days, Exalted Major had sustained heavy losses in Witherdew Major, its soldiers defeated at every turn by ten lord-grade s.h.i.+ps. Serenity Province, once theirs for the taking, had been wrenched from their grasp.
Now that the chief culprit had arrived, these immortals would’ve unsheathed their flying swords and dismembered him into a thousand pieces at the drop of a hat, if not for the celestial emperor’s orders.
Instead, the delegation of immortal officials resorted to their flying treasures with nary a word and took to the air toward Mount Exalted.
Rather than trying to ingratiate himself with plainly hostile people, Lu Yun stuck to bantering with Qing Yu along the way. He’d already guessed that his arrival would throw Exalted Major into disarray. They probably hadn’t imagined he’d really show up, and were likely now debating how to deal with him.
After traveling for an hour or so, the dao immortal emissary suddenly came to a stop.
“It’s getting dark, so you should rest here for now. His Celestial Majesty will receive you tomorrow on the morn.” Without waiting for Lu Yun’s reply, the official summarily disappeared beyond the horizon, his men in tow.
Li Youcai looked up blankly at the blinding sun hanging high above them. “Is it getting dark?” he muttered foolishly.
“Of course not. It’s all a show from the Exalted court to put me in my place.” Lu Yun sneered at the opulent manor in front of him, a trace of chill on his lips.
“What’s the matter?” Qing Yu asked subconsciously when she noticed something amiss with his expression.
“This is a lineal tomb, one that kills without drawing blood.” Lu Yun had been prepared for a trip fraught with danger, but the presence of Ashu by his side bolstered his confidence. To think that Exalted Major would use a lineal tomb to kill him!
A lineal tomb was a place of eternal rest, in which lay coffins of familial ancestors. But it only took a small alteration to turn such a tomb into a lethal weapon.
The tomb in front of him had once housed the remains of a great clan’s ancestors, but it’d been abandoned for a long, long time and slowly transformed into an ill-omened place, a natural killing layout.
The manor seemed opulent on the surface, but through the Spectral Eye, he could see the blood and gore that stained the place, remnants of untold numbers of living creatures that’d died here. By arranging for Lu Yun’s group to shelter here for the night, Exalted Major’s officials were obviously intent on having the structure do their dirty work for them.
But who was Lu Yun? Someone this easily frightened? He glanced around the surroundings and spotted furtive figures darting past. Chuckling, he calmly led his group into the residence.
“The manor looks magnificent and the decorations are all sumptuous, but why does it feel so cold in here?” Lin Yu couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ver once they were inside and hastily scrutinized the surroundings.
“This place is filled with yin energy and thinly-veiled murderous intent. It must be the Lineal Tomb Killing Layout as described in the secret archives of the tomb raiders.” Without undue haste, Lin Xuan leafed through a thick paper book in his hand and compared the writings with their environment. “Look over there. Yin energy converges in that spot, while yang energy is repelled. It’s fine enough in the daytime, but ghostly creatures are sure to run amok once night falls.”
Compared to Lin Yu, Lin Xuan was a little more interested in feng shui layouts. The secret archives of the tomb raiders in his hand was a book Lu Yun had written according to the cla.s.sics of his sect, one that also integrated everything he’d experienced during his time in the world of immortals.
Rather than jade slips that could be read with one’s consciousness, Lu Yun had a preference for books made of paper.
“Over there, you say…?” Blinking, Lin Yu shook his head and smiled wryly. He really didn’t understand the ways of feng shui.
“Unless I’m mistaken…” Paying no heed to his brother’s expression, Lin Xuan looked around and declared in a solemn tone, “there’s a ghost king here! An extraordinarily dangerous ghost king. This residence actually turned into ruins a long time ago, everything we see now is an illusion that the ghost king’s created by combining the tomb with the land’s feng shui. We fell into the ghost king’s trap the moment we came inside!”
With an imperceptible smile, Lu Yun nodded gently at Lin Xuan’s words. His pupil was very close to the truth.
“It’s not an illusion,” he corrected. “As a medium of the underworld, ghost kings wield power over life and death and extinguish heaven and earth. Strictly speaking, this place’s become a separate world of its own. Just like the tombs of the yin and yang realms, it occupies the same s.p.a.ce as the outside world, but on a parallel plane. Everything here is real.”
Lu Yun looked around them. “Although this ghost king is formidable, it can’t isolate its domain from the yang energy of the world, yet. It’s daytime, so it must be hidden somewhere, observing us. Night will be when it reigns supreme.”
A circulation cycle had formed in this minor world, one that combined various feng shui of extreme yin to repel yang. The ghost king wasn’t truly afraid of what little yang energy there was left, just instinctively reluctant to show itself during the day.
The explanation made Lin Xuan increasingly excited, while Lin Yu couldn’t help but shudder. As for Li Youcai, his wide figure curled into a ball and hid behind Lu Yun.
“Ho-how about we leave?” the trembling Li Youcai offered.
“Exalted Major’s powerhouses will slaughter you if we take half a step outside this manor.” Qing Yu glanced sideways at him. If he weren’t so useful, she would’ve kicked him out already.
“What should we do now?” Lin Xuan carefully observed the surroundings while constantly referencing the book in hand to a.s.sess the situation.
“Honestly, everything will be easily resolved as long as we find the ghost king’s corpse. And if this ghost king was this strong in life…” Lu Yun was still one Envoy of Samsara short. He could feel that the quota of ten envoys allowed by the Tome of Life and Death wasn’t a random, meaningless number.
Thus, before he ascended to immortality, he planned to gather all ten envoys.