Immortals over the North Sea receded like the tides. The heavenly armies of Dusk Province and other majors alike returned to their domains, and the sea returned to its former state of calm.
Shockingly, Levitating Island had survived the chaos. The giant isle had weathered both Lu Yunâs tribulation and the battle of immortals shortly thereafter. Alas, the two Scarlet Apes realized with great disappointment that the floating peak at its center was gone.
âDonât bother looking for it.â Silverlight glanced in Dusk Provinceâs general direction. âThe island was that foxâs treasure in the first place. Sheâs just taken it back. Itâs already over, you two. Why are you still here?â She glared sharply into a corner of empty space.
âHahaha, is that so? I guess my disciple and I shanât bother you any more,â a childlike voice sounded, followed by two ripples in space. The invisible duo had departed.
âŠâŠ
âYouâre not going to refine the Dao Flower projection?â Qing Yuâs eyes were as wide as dinner plates; she was bewildered by Lu Yunâs decision.
âThereâs no need. Refining the projection is just ceremony.â Lu Yun shook his head.
âB-but⊠you shouldnât just give it away like that, either!â Qing Yu grew a little anxious. Lu Yun had used the flowerâs projection to place a bounty upon every dao immortal of the Dongfang Clan. Frankly, she found it crazily irrational.
Her partner ran his fingers through her silken locks. âIf I didnât, thereâd be more and more people after youâŠâ Steel glinted in his eyes. âIâm going to teach the world a lesson. Theyâre welcome to make a play for you, as long as theyâre ready to pay the price!â
The bounty was also a threat. Those who intended to follow in the Dongfang Clanâs footsteps would first need to evaluate whether their faction or clan could bear the brunt of Lu Yunâs ire.
A single death wasnât nearly warning enough.
Previously, Lu Yun had placed bounties with an absurd sum of crystals. This time, he was doing the same with tribulation essence and the Dao Flower projection.
His apparent psychosis greatly amplified the danger he posed. On the day of Qing Yuâs tribulation, he was sure that there would be less than a handful of people waiting to attack her like today.
As long as he livedâas long as Dusk Province stoodâthe vast majority wouldnât risk such foolhardiness. The bounty seemed brash at first, but there was plenty of deeper meaning behind it.
âŠâŠ
This time, the world of immortals finally caught sight of the newest addition to Lu Yunâs trump cards.
Kui!
Many supposed that his lightning rod and the black thunder heâd used to crush the fur seals were related to the primordial Thunder God. In that bygone era, Kui had commanded the punishing thunder of innumerable worlds⊠itâd even been able to preside over common cultivatorsâ tribulations. But now, it was Lu Yunâs subordinate!
Thankfully, itâd evidently lost the power over tribulations. Otherwise, any void-ascended immortals feuding with Lu Yun wouldâve died during their ascensions .
The fact that he hadnât immediately established a sacred land provided even more relief. During the first month of his immortality, Dusk Province remained relatively quiet and calm, while the rest of the world still churned in utter chaos.
Aside from the battlefield in Witherdew Major, the Donglin and Dongfang Clansâ ancestral homes were completely leveled. The two great families saw their holdings overturned and their immortals scattered to the winds, a terrifying fate that deterred any of Qing Yuâs would-be assailants.
Meanwhile, Dusk Province continued flourishing and the concept of âsupplemental paths as kingâ was gaining wider acceptance. The provinceâs treasures, talismans, and methods began to circulate throughout the world. Even diagrams for formations of heaven and earth were being sold!
Though Dusk Province didnât proclaim itself as a sacred land, many people saw it as that and more. The lightning rod and Closesky Formation were especially popular bestsellers. Though exorbitantly priced, immortals nevertheless swarmed toward them like ducks to water.
Their only disappointment was that lightning rods were single-use products that were irreparably destroyed afterward. However, each and every user survived their tribulation!
Such fantastic results only served to heighten the fervor of the strongest factions.
The absolute best and brightest of the world didnât care for it, of course. Any genius who manifested phenomena of ascension across an entire major couldnât bear to lower themselves to requiring outside aid for their heavenly tribulations. Their pride compelled them to overcome their trials with only their own strength.
The Closesky Formation, on the other hand, was a more permanent fixture in day-to-day living. Its appearance had completely changed the law of the land, as the previously invincible crystal cannons and weapons of war were restricted by the mysterious power of this formation.
Setting up a Closesky Formation around oneâs own lair guaranteed safety from ballistic assault. However, Its expensive price tag put it out of reach for many at the same time.
âŠâŠ
One day, a hazy figure smashed into Dao City from the sky in a meteoric descent. Whoever it was had been beaten into an unidentifiable bloody pulp. Lu Yun immediately arrived on the scene to take the figure away.
It was the Divine Azure Dragon King!
Heâd gone to the ancestral territory of the azure dragons to look for living kin; why was he so badly hurt? Most of the dragon veins heâd taken with him were gone; the only one left, kept tightly in his grasp, was the singular ancestral one.
âWhat happened to you?â Lu Yunâs expression became rather ugly.
The current Azure Dragon King was at least a peak origin dao immortal. No, he was even stronger than that. Even so, heâd been brought to the brink of death by some unknown enemy.
Summoning the power of the three connate spirit roots inside herself, Qing Yu brought him back to a more stable condition.
Pah!
The Azure Dragon King spat out a mouthful of blood and shook his head violently before finally speaking. âCreatures from the Blood Sea have come ashore.â
âYou went to the Blood Sea⊠to look for your bottom half?â Lu Yun furrowed his brow. Heâd witnessed the terror of the Blood Sea firsthand before. It was only because of the paper boats and lanterns that the girl lingering from ages past had given him that heâd safely traversed it.
Despite the Azure Dragon Kingâs present strength, he wouldnât survive any time at all in the Blood Sea.
âNo,â the Dragon King shook his head, âmy kinsmen are on the other side of the Blood Sea. Bloody footprints appeared by the shore⊠When I went to investigate, I was injured by the sea creatures.â
âBloody footprints?â Lu Yun pressed his lips together in concern. He knew that creatures in the Blood Sea could come ashore. Mo Yi had once captured one to sacrifice to the restriction inside Dusk Provinceâs ancient tomb. Had more done so of their own volition?
âWhat kind of footprints were they?â he asked.
The Dragon Kingâs eyes began to glow. A huge screen of water appeared in front of Lu Yunâs eyes, depicting a Blood Sea that broke against a golden beach. Upon that beach, two small sets of crimson footprints stretched straight toward the mainland.
The footprints⊠were human.
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