Crack!
A clap of seemingly thunder rumbled out from the middle-aged man’s figure, unleashing an aura exceeding that of peerless immortal. Power as weighty as a mountain and deeply vigorous as the sea surged from the immortal, dimming the sky and cowing all things while a golden halo flickered into being around him.
“Donglin Yuhuang! It’s Dongling Yuhuang, the head of House Donglin!!!” An ear-piercing shriek came from Dusk City when someone realized the man’s identity.
The house head’s cultivation might not have been as high as some of the old monsters out there, but in Aureate Major, his status and authority were second only to their celestial emperor. No one had imagined that he’d pay a personal visit to Dusk Province!
In fact, he likely wouldn’t have revealed himself if not for Qing Han releasing the black dragon that ate all eight hundred golden immortals in a single gulp. Though the immortals had sealed away their cultivation, the entire troop was still gone in a second.
“Daddy, help! Save me!” The head hanging above the city gates bawled as soon as it realized Donglin Yuhuang had come.
“Stop whining, you utter disgrace!” the latter roared back furiously. Having broken the seal on his cultivation, Donglin Yuhuang clasped his hands behind his back and ascended to a lofty vantage point in the air, surveying Dusk City with disdain.
A strange stillness descended over the city while the people stared at him dumbly, incredulity in their eyes.
“What restriction? Nephrite Major’s immortals are just playing with smoke and mirrors. This so-called restriction never existed to begin with.” Donglin Yuhuang looked down at the stupefied masses below, mockery quirking his lips.
“Daddy, help me…” Donglin Shaogong continued wailing, his imprisoned nascent spirit frantically bouncing inside his skull.
“Silence!” Oh, how the Donglin house head wished he could smash his son’s head in! This lowlife was nothing but a stain on House Donglin’s name.
“No, that’s not it!” Donglin Shaogong suddenly screamed in terror, “Daddy, behind you, behind you!”
“Hm?” Bemused, Donglin Yuhuang reflexively looked backward; what came into view made all the hairs on his body stand on end. An ice-cold chill coursed from the bottom of his feet all the way to the top of his head.
A pair of enormous, gray eyes had appeared in the sky above without warning. Each eye was thousands of kilometers wide, like a giant, invisible face had come into being in the sky. Cold and devoid of emotion, they looked down indifferently at the haughty head of House Donglin. They emitted no particular aura or presence, as though they were a mere painting drawn in the clouds. Perhaps no one would’ve noticed their existence, if not for the suddenness of their appearance.
“Are you that so-called restriction?” Donglin Yuhuang forced himself to calm down, a fiery fighting spirit burning in his eyes. “You are in the presence of the Eminent Aureate Major’s distinguished Hous—”
Roar!!
The snarl of a wild beast echoed through the land, interrupting the immortal and distorting the flow of energy in the surroundings.
Donglin Yuhuang opened his mouth and vomited blood.
……
“So this is the Dusk Province restriction, a taboo that’s existed in Nephrite Major for a thousand years!” Having retrieved the black dragon, Qing Han now stood atop a building in the city as he stared spellbound at the giant eyes. Despite the eyes’ apparent lack of power, they exerted extraordinary psychological pressure. If not for his Scroll of Shepherding Immortals and Imperial Star, he wouldn’t have dared look at them directly.
“Yeah, my ears are worn out from all the times people have mentioned it. It’s about time I saw it for myself.” Lu Yun had come to his side at some time. “The head of House Donglin falls far short of the Nephrite Emperor. The emperor can threaten the restriction without fear, but this house head can’t even stand to look it in the eyes,” he murmured as he looked at the dejected Donglin Yuhuang in the sky.
“The restriction overpowered him with a single glance... I wonder what on earth it is. A zombie? An immortal ghost? Or is it something else?” he muttered under his breath while scrutinizing said eyes.
“I don’t know, and she’s not certain either,” Qing Han responded. He’d taken a moment just now to ask the just-awakened Empress Myrtlestar, but not even she knew the secret behind the restriction.
Humm!
A light thrum suddenly reverberated in the air as Dongling Yuhuang gently burst like an ephemeral bubble, his entire being vanishing without a trace.
In the city, cultivators and immortals alike gasped with fright. Donglin Yuhuang may not have been the strongest heavyweight in the immortal world, but he was still a powerful dao immortal, at the very least. Despite that, he’d been as sturdy as a bubble! Just what kind of existence was the Dusk Province restriction to snuff out a dao immortal in full view of the gathered crowd!
Some foreign immortals who’d previously been skeptical immediately discarded their suspicions and reinforced their own seals, layering seal upon seal lest they attract the eyes’ attention as well.
To the crowd’s relief, the eyes slowly faded away after extinguishing Donglin Yuhuang, until—
“Wait a second!” A clear and resounding shout suddenly came from Dusk City. “I want to chat with you!”
Chat? Who wanted to chat with whom?
Numerous immortals milled around in confusion, their brains still off-kilter from the fearsome restriction’s oppressiveness. At such a time, few could maintain their lucidity. A frail figure soon appeared in front of them, riding on purple sword light as it took to the sky and arrived in front of the barely present eyes.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to go back. I want to chat with you,” the voice added, causing countless immortals to comically crash into the floor. What blithering idiot was so bold as to talk to the restriction?!
Who did he think he was? An ancient immortal emperor from the legends?
When the rest wished for nothing more than the restriction to leave as soon as possible, there was someone trying to talk to it!
“It’s the governor! He’s talking to the restriction. How… fearless... ” some shouted when they recognized Lu Yun. Everyone held their breath. Who knew what consequences Lu Yun’s actions would have?
The almost faded eyes solidified once again, but unlike last time, there was now a flash of emotion in the dusky pupils.
“I shall converse with you when you are strong enough to enter my tomb.” Loud enough to rouse the dead, the expansive voice shook everyone’s mind, causing spells of grogginess.
“Alright!” Lu Yun replied immediately. “But as long as I’m governor of Dusk Province, there can be no further riots from those evil spirits!”
Dizzy with shock, the people weren’t sure they’d heard correctly. What was he doing? Negotiating with the terrifying restriction? They could already imagine the outcome. Just like Donglin Yuhuang, the governor was going to turn into a bubble, then burst with a pop.
“Agreed,” the incommensurable voice replied. Then, the eyes slowly disappeared from sight.