So marked the end of the entire affair, a better conclusion than what the nine celestial emperors had expected.
“With the emergence of a sacred land for immortal dao, the world will prosper. Even if we fail to ascend, we may die in peace. It is unfortunate that it ended so soon...” sighed one of the celestial emperors.
Although the gathering had ended, many still remained in Dusk. Quite a few had already entered the inheritance pagoda.
……
“What? I have to travel to the capital for my appointment?” Lu Yun was ready to head to the North Sea for the hidden dragon tombs. However, a decree issued by the Nephrite court had arrived, ordering him to make a trip to the capital for the ceremony. That left him greatly disgruntled.
“Can’t I just resign?” he whined.
“No,” Qing Han denied frostily. The poison remained in his system, but he’d regained his consciousness and high spirits. “You worked so hard to earn your title. How can you just resign?”
“Ugh, fine,” Lu Yun reluctantly acquiesced. “Hey, will I see Qing Yu when I go to the capital?” Thinking of the girl who haunted his dreams filled his heart with eagerness.
“You will.” Qing Han nodded, but then added, “Didn’t you tell my big brother that you don’t like her though?”
“I… it’s not....” Lu Yun hurriedly shook his head. “I mean that I don’t really know how I feel about her without meeting her in person. I have to at least see her before I can decide, yeah?”
“Right.” Qing Han maintained an unusually cold expression and nodded slightly. He hadn’t been able to look Lu Yun in the eyes all this time. After all, his friend had seen him disrobed and topless. Although the Imperial Star had masked his true self, it was still his… her body. He could only talk tough at the moment and adopt a chilly expression to hide his shyness.
Lu Yun didn’t think too much of it. He assumed Qing Han’s stern expression was due to his recent recovery, which made the governor feel even more guilty.
“That’s it?” Qing Han asked, unconvinced.
“Yeah.” Lu Yun scratched his head. “Don’t think too much. I swear on my character that I’m straight! I don’t like men!”
……
Instead of returning to its usual tranquility, Dusk City became increasingly lively. Many immortals and cultivators had gathered in the area, but none dared stir up any trouble. Even peerless immortals who’d sealed their cultivation kept to themselves and respected Lu Yun’s authority.
The tournament had earned Lu Yun a mighty reputation, spreading his name far and wide after his defeat of Zhao Tiefeng of the Exalted Immortal Sect, execution of Beigong Yu of the North Sea, and slaying monster king Lü Biao.
Cultivators and immortals alike flocked to the pagoda, some leaving with excitement and others with disappointment. Although a few had benefited from venturing inside, thus far, the best among them had only reached the tenth floor.
No one had set a new record yet.
Lu Yun would be leaving for the Nephrite Capital in three days. During this time, he remained in his manor and studied the goateed old man that Mo Yi had sealed and returned to his original form—a mirror.
“Equipment can gain human form as well?”
If it’d been any other humanoid treasure, Lu Yun wouldn’t do anything to it, no matter how curious he was. All things were born equal. If he captured a humanoid treasure simply for curious study, he’d be no different from a bandit.
He was a tomb raider, not a robber.
Raiding tombs might be disrespectful to the dead, but it was for the benefit of the living. Hence, he never lost any sleep over his expeditions. The artifacts buried underground would be wasted if they weren’t brought out to the light of day, so it was better for him to unearth them.
The goateed old man, however, had acted against him many times. He’d not only revealed Lu Yun’s secrets, but had also attempted to turn others against him during the tournament. No guilt assailed the governor for treating the mirror like this.
“It’s uncommon, but not impossible.” Mo Yi considered the mirror carefully, then continued, “I think this isn’t an immortal treasure, but the treasure called Divine Spymirror.”
“Divine Spymirror?” Lu Yun cocked an eyebrow. “The treasure of the divine race who ruled the world of immortals eighty thousand years ago?”
The great war a hundred thousand years ago had severed the dao of immortals. After that, the divine race had risen to rule over the world and enslave all of the other races, be they human, monster spirit, demon, or even dragon.
Exactly eighty thousand years ago, the divine race had abruptly suffered a mysterious disaster that almost marked their extinction. This was the opening for other races to slowly recover and rebuild.
The Divine Spymirror was a treasure that the divine race had used to spy on all beings in the world to maintain their dominance. It was through this that they’d prevented any races from flourishing. As soon as a genius emerged in any race, the divine race would identify them and kill the genius before they became a threat.
“That’s the mirror.” Mo Yi was slightly surprised that Lu Yun knew about it. The divine race was unfathomable and mysterious beyond belief to contemporary cultivators. Those who knew of their secrets were as rare as hen’s teeth.
“However, the treasure was greatly damaged, to the point where the treasure spirit within was destroyed. Another divine took it over and infused it with their own power, thereby granting the mirror human form.” Mo Yi paused. “In its weakened state, the mirror can be considered at most a ninth-rank treasure. It can’t spy on everything beneath the heavens, like it did eighty thousand years ago. Its effective range now is about fifty kilometers in radius.”
“Fifty kilometers? Good enough.” Lu Yun’s eyes lit up. “I’m just going to use it to keep an eye on Dusk Province…. Wait! You say the mirror gained human form after a divine occupied it?”
“Correct.” Mo Yi nodded. “The mirror is a unique piece of equipment that the divine race refined with their power. Eighty thousand years ago, it was both a treasure and a powerful divine.”
“Who are you?” Lu Yun asked hesitantly. “How do you know all this?”
“Me?” Mo Yi dimpled. “I’m just like Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi, but unlike them, I do know some restraint.”
Lu Yun shrugged. That wasn’t a real answer. He’d known there was more to her than met the eyes as soon as she’d knocked Qing Quan away with a simple attack. However, what kind of circumstances would it take to force Mo Yi to sever her cultivation and go into hiding in Dusk Province?
“Alright, I’ve sealed the divine in the mirror. You deal with the treasure yourself, I’ll be returning to Duskwater City now.” She turned around and vanished as she spoke.
Lu Yun snorted wryly and grabbed the mirror, entering hell. There was a powerful divine in his netherworld; perhaps she would be able to use the mirror.