Outside Mauve Peace Paradise, a man in a white tunic sat cross-legged, his features obscured. Lu Daoling saw him as soon as he stepped outside. Conflicted emotions wrestled each other through his face before he finally turned back with a sigh.
……
“Go back, Miss Ruyan. For your child’s sake.” A few figures blocked Qing Ruyan’s way outside the Panorama Pavilion’s blessed lands. She narrowed her eyes and unleashed her inner energy, planning to hack a way out in blood.
“Come back, Ruyan,” a wizened voice transmitted to her. “Lu Yun must have a contingency plan if he dared leave Xiankan. You couldn’t help him even if you went to him.”
Qing Ruyan nodded mutely before suddenly saying, “From now on, the Panorama Pavilion will terminate all collaboration with the Qing Clan and the Exalted Immortal Sect.”
Dumbfounded silence reigned.
……
“Give up, senior brother Zhurong.” Gu Zun winked at a glowering Zhurong Cangshan. “You’re not influential enough to save Lu Yun. He put himself in the situation this time, and has no one else to blame.”
“Hmph!” Zhurong Cangshan scoffed and left with a flourish of his sleeves.
……
“If death is what you lot wish for, I won’t intervene again.” Wayfarer sat in a little tavern in the outer city of Xiankan, sighing into the cup of water he was holding.
A powerful dao immortal had locked onto him. Not far away, the other Wayfarer stared at him coldly.
……
No one showed themselves or said a word. The only sound came from the whirling Diabolic Formation of Soul Refinement as it continued to refine the fortress ship.
Crack.
In only a few breaths, ugly cracks had spread through the ship’s defensive formation, threatening imminent destruction.
“The Exalted Immortal Sect has gone to a lot of effort to kill you!” Wu Tulong said with a wry smile. He’d expected the sect would send dao immortals to attack Lu Yun, but they’d opted for the great formation instead, leaving nothing to chance.
“Not only that,” Lu Yun shook his head, “but the formation is also protected with a barrier to prevent anyone from breaking it from the outside.”
“Barrier?”
“It’s the Arcane Goldenlight Formation of the Qing Clan!” Color drained from Qing Han’s face, along with all faith in his clan. “Give me the Arcane Golden Bell!”
Lu Yun tensed at the change of expression. “What for?”
“I’ll detonate the bell and break the formation!” Qing Han declared. The Arcane Golden Bell was the Qing Clan’s supreme treasure. Although the bloodline within it had been erased by Empress Myrtlestar, the dao immortal power left by the Qing ancestor still remained. Its explosion would shake the heavens themselves.
“Don’t!” Lu Yun jumped in shock. “That’ll kill all of us as well!”
Qing Han lowered his head and fell silent, nails biting into his palms as he balled his hands into fists.
“I can deal with a little formation.” Lu Yun sneered at the crimson clouds in the sky. “I didn’t want to take this many lives, but can’t blame me for not showing mercy when you’ve shown me none.”
He slowly rose into the air.
“What are you doing?” Back on the ship, the others gaped at him.
“Breaking the formation, of course.” He took a deep breath. “Activate all of the defensive formations on the ship, Ge Long.”
“Understood!” At his deep inhale, the key in Ge Long’s hand glowed and the entire ship lit up, slowly stabilizing from its wobbling. Lu Yun disembarked from the ship. Flickering around his body were the four hundred and eighty million lightning bolts from the pill tribulation!
“We’ve activated the Diabolic Formation of Soul Refinement of my sect and the Arcane Goldenlight Formation of your clan to kill Lu Yun. He should die happy that we’ve put so much effort into dealing with a small fry like him.”
Zhao Yinfeng cracked a smile when he looked at the two formations. Qing Xiangpeng’s lips twitched as well. They’d gathered a total of five hundred peerless immortals, thousands of golden immortals, and eighteen aether dao immortals for this little expedition.
Donglin Zhi, the peak aether dao immortal from House Daolin, was present as well. Combined with the two great formations, their forces were more than enough for them to kill even an arcane dao immortal. As a mere cultivator, Lu Yun wouldn’t be able to survive no matter how talented he was!
That bastard Qing Han is on the ship as well. He can die with Lu Yun. Let’s see how Chen Xiao and that ingrate Qing Buyi react when they return!
The major factions in the world of immortals had banded together against Lu Yun, yet Qing Han had still remained staunchly by his side. He only had himself to blame if he died along with the young governor; Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi wouldn’t dare retaliate.
“The ship will be ours in about half an hour… Hm? How dare Lu Yun leave the ship on his own? What is he doing?” Zhao Tiefeng’s expression changed drastically. “Thunder tribulation?!”
Rumble.
Terrifying lightning arced from Lu Yun’s body. It was the four hundred and eighty million lightning strikes he’d devoured with the Thunder Palmstrike back when he was refining the Heaven Descent Pill!
Facing two great formations at once, he activated the Thunder Palmstrike again and released all of the thunder and lightning he’d devoured.
Sizzle crackle boom!
Silver lightning exploded, its brilliance so intense that the sun, moon, and the entire world paled in comparison.
Oof!
The eighteen aether dao immortals in charge of maintaining the formations threw back their heads and vomited blood, while the five hundred peerless immortals and thousands of golden immortals spontaneously disintegrated!
The lightning wouldn’t have hurt the dao immortals if it were to descend bolt by bolt, but Lu Yun had unleashed the tribulation’s power all at once! Even the eighteen dao immortals couldn’t stand the tremendous power, and all immortals below the dao immortal realm died at a touch of the lightning.
Crack. Bam!!
The two top-level formations exploded in midair, rendering seven of the weakest dao immortals into ashes from the resulting shockwaves and lightning. Qing Xiangpeng and Zhao Yinfeng had only survived because they were a little further from the formations, but they were still hurled off their feet by the impact. Heavily injured, the eleven surviving dao immortals struggled to flee from the center of the explosion.
An enormous mushroom cloud billowed into the air, through which a giant fortress ship sailed right out. Lu Yun stood atop the bow with his hands behind his back.
“Qing Xiangpeng!” exclaimed Lu Yun. “Zhao Yinfeng!!”
“Hahaha, Lu Yun, Lu Yun! Who would’ve thought he’d have this up your sleeves? You collected the Heaven Descent Pill’s tribulation for this moment!” Qing Xiangpeng laughed madly despite his unkempt condition. “You’ve killed seven dao immortals, severely injured eleven more, and slaughtered thousands of immortals! The entire world will retaliate, just wait and see!”
The Qing Clan and the Exalted Immortal Sect had spearheaded the operation, but most of the major clans in the world of immortals had sent a few of their members. It was not only an assassination attempt on Lu Yun, but also a go at partitioning the future Dusk Sacred Land.
No one could’ve expected the young governor to kill thousands of immortals—and seven dao immortals—in one fell swoop with his pill tribulation! After today, many factions in the world would name him in their wanted lists and do everything they could to kill him!
“Retaliation?” Lu Yun scoffed. “I’d really like to know who’s going to do the deed! If you lot are so displeased with the five youth sovereigns, you may send your youths to challenge us. But you went so low as to attack us with dao immortals and great formations. Tsk tsk, how shameful!”
Silence unfurled throughout the scene when Wu Tulong, Dongfang Hao, Zi Chen, and Mo Qitian walked out of the fortress ship.
Qing Xiangpeng, Zhao Yinfeng, and the surviving dao immortals were dumbfounded at the four emerging youths. They’d never for one moment thought that these four would also be on Lu Yun’s ship as well. When had they come to Life Province?!