No cultivator beneath awakened stage dared attempt the Dao Rune Pill. If they did so and their bodies proved insufficient to withstand the might of all qi within five thousand kilometers, they ended up ensuring their own demise.
Some cultivators took the pill only when they reached initial awakened stage and their consciousness transmuted to immortal consciousness. Only that level of mind could manage such a massive quantity of qi.
Lu Yun, however, was different from ordinary cultivators. He practiced the Nine Chapters of Dao and his body contained the much more sophisticated Hongmeng qi.
……
The Lu young master stood unmoving at the pinnacle of Dewcloud Peak. He seemed as if a bottomless hole, endlessly devouring energy.
Countless spirit herbs within the sect’s herb gardens withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Sect disciples rushed around like headless chickens, unsure of what to do. However, no one dared disturb the cultivating stranger.
Such a level of powerhouse could destroy the entire sect with a casual backhand. There was nothing sect disciples could do even if they wished to take action. They couldn’t come within fifty kilometers of the stranger.
It took four hours before Lu Yun stopped. He was now peak initial combination stage and half a step away from mid combination stage. The Nine Chapters of Dao consumed incredible amounts of qi, which made breaking through very difficult. And yet, one Dao Rune Pill had helped him ascend nearly two cultivation levels. How terrifying was this pill??
Ambient energy slowly returned to its usual flow, leaving behind a strange tranquility in the void. Even the air seemed to be clearer.
“Combat art of the heavenly dao… Sword Manipulation?” Lu Yun carefully took stock of the changes in his body and was taken aback by his newest combat art. However, he brightened anew when the runes for the combat art flashed in front of his eyes.
Sword Manipulation differed from the other combat arts in that he didn’t need to actively deploy it. It was a passive combat art that operated at every second. In fact, it seemed more accurate to say that Lu Yun had gained a new instinct.
His speed when flying with swords would now be at least three times faster than before. Any sword technique he deployed would also be thirty times stronger. How fearsome was that?? One had to know that when powerhouses fought each other, a misstep of millimeters was sufficient to completely change the outcome.
“Is this a type of… passive halo?” Lu Yun felt that his new combat art was a bit of a pity. If it could actually form a halo for him to use on his side’s cultivators, he would be invincible!
His eyes darted around rapidly and focused on the Cloudraid Sword disciples beneath him.
“Senior…” A latter nascent soul cultivator quickly stepped forward with a bow when he saw that Lu Yun had completed his meditation.
“Cloudraid Sword Sect will fully submit to Darklake Empire within three days or face extermination down to the last chicken if a single person resists,” Lu Yun intoned coldly.
“Understood!” The sect leader quickly assented when he heard that Lu Yun came from Darklake.
The young man promptly disappeared, leaving behind shell-shocked sect disciples sighing with relief.
……
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. On the fourth day, the skies of Jade Ruins Realm trembled like something had been added to them. Those of higher ranked worlds of cultivation understood that this meant the rules of the heavenly book had returned. The formerly defenseless Jade Ruins Realm was thus protected again.
Regardless, all foreign immortals frantically departed the realm three days ago. Even some wandering through parts of the land other than Immortal Burial Valley were unwilling to stay.
An absolute force of slaughter with the battle strength of a golden immortal rampaged through all of the realm. He killed any foreign immortal he met, no matter who they were or what they were doing.
Lu Yun’s words had been disseminated through the land three days ago, but many were those who thought nothing of them. The Lu young master was a far cry from the Human Emperor and His Majesty’s unequivocal might. He commanded no respect from the visiting immortals.
A golden immortal in residence at the Barren Empire royal palace declared that he would investigate the young man’s identity and assign him to eternal purgatory. But less than ten breaths after he voiced those words, he was summarily executed by a mysterious person. He didn’t know who killed him, even at the moment of death.
The golden immortal’s murder turned all foreigners into timid mice. They ran out of the realm, but there were still a few unlucky bastards that encountered Terra Demon. Lu Yun had already given them a day’s grace to depart. Since the hour was past, his rule was in place.
Jade Ruins Realm underwent key changes when the rules of the heavenly book returned. Numerous cultivation empires vaulted from a low rank to a higher rank. Some of the higher ranked empires declined overnight and were smashed into ruins.
Immortal Burial Valley was the source of fortune and nightmares. Some ascended to the heavens with one step thanks to fortuitous opportunities, others lost their lives despite being unquestionable powerhouses.
Awakened cultivators from the three ninth rank cultivation empires also ventured in. Of them, Firmament Empire’s representatives were lost to the last. Even their wandering immortals died to a mysterious assailant.
Firmament Empire was thus removed from the list of ninth rank cultivation empires. It was replaced by the Dark Orchid Empire. Dark Orchid had vaulted to ninth rank in one leap! And yet, that seemed to be within certain people’s expectations.
What was most surprising was that another name was placed above the three ninth rank empires—Darklake Empire!
A tenth rank cultivation empire!
This was Jade Ruins’ first tenth rank empire in its entire history!
The entire world shifted when the heavenly book returned to its rightful place. Clouds and wind surged while auspicious radiance shone as far as the eye could see. The list of cultivation empires in its pages kept continuously rearranging itself.
Lu Yun stood on the roof of his house and looked up at the tranquil radiance in the sky, waves of emotion in his heart.
“I wonder what that heavenly book is… Is it a treasure? A rule? Or something like the heavenly dao…” He scratched his head.
Endless qi surged in the sky and gathered into massive spirit veins. They darted beneath Darklake’s various cities and sects, instantly turning it from an impoverished nation into one that rivaled an immortal realm.
Waves of qi brewed and reared in all directions. Darklake cultivators were highly agitated as they received the most benefits due to being the original inhabitants of the empire. According to the rules of the Jade Ruins Realm, the heavenly book bestowed resources relevant to a cultivation empire’s new rank whenever it ascended higher.
“Although Darklake has become a tenth rank cultivation empire, its foundations are still rather weak. Grandfather’s specially raised troops alone are insufficient to support the nation’s weight on their backs,” Lu Yun smacked his lips. “Terra Demon can do it, but it’d be a waste of his talents if I keep him here. Forget it, I’ll make plans after grandpa becomes the ruler of the realm.”
Terra Demon returned with another person by his side—more accurately, an empyrean immortal.
“Tai Sui greets Your Majesty!” The empyrean immortal fell to his knees as soon as he saw Lu Yun and repeatedly kowtowed on the ground.
“Oh?” Lu Yun first looked at the newcomer, then bestowed a strange expression on Terra Demon. “I didn’t think you’d use this method to extract his true spirit and help him take possession of another.”
“The young master is short on people.” A smile cracked Terra Demon’s remote expression. “While Tai Sui’s reputation is hardly worth speaking of, he is still the true spirit of an immortal king and possesses a lifetime’s worth of immortal king memories. He is the perfect workhorse for the young master’s needs.”
Although Terra Demon had devoured Tai Sui’s immortal king nascent soul to nourish his own body, he didn’t destroy Tai Sui’s true spirit. Rather, he retrieved it and sent it into another empyrean immortal’s nascent soul, helping the man take possession of another.
It was a release of sorts to Tai Sui since it meant he was no longer a vicious spirit. Anything was better than that.
When Yinghuo, Seven Kills, Greedy Wolf, and Army schemed against him, endless bloody light from the vicious spirits surged into Tai Sui. If it wasn’t for Vermilion Bird surreptitiously giving him a hand, the immortal king might not have retained his sentience. He would’ve devolved into a mindless spirit long ago.
“Tai Sui is willing to do whatever Your Majesty requires!” Tai Sui quickly declared.
He’d originally placed the northern immortal emperor under the central immortal emperor, but his reverence for Lu Yun knew no bounds after a chaos immortal was executed in front of the central immortal emperor.
“Young master, I planted a restriction in his true spirit. He won’t dare rebel,” Terra Demon chuckled.
“Well done,” Lu Yun snorted and handed a Hongmeng Fruit to Terra Demon. The man brightened as he was able to refine another fruit after repairing his nascent soul with Tai Sui’s. One fruit had been the limits of his abilities before when he was still injured, and much of its effects had gone to waste.
“Ah, yes, you should be on your way and look for a cultivator called Song Yi in Great Xia. Help him from the shadows to build a faction in the dynasty,” Lu Yun remarked.
Terra Demon stowed the fruit and nodded. “Young master, I am strong enough to kill arcane immortals now, so that Yan Guichi…”
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