They formed in oneâs body when one reached kinghood through cultivation level. The more a king possessed, the stronger their battle strength. A first step king possessed one dao rule, a second step possessed two, so on and so forth.
Nine took shape in Qing Yuâs body when she reached kinghood, but becoming a titled king at this level violated one of the Hongmengâs taboos. To avoid being rejected by the realm, she destroyed one of her dao rules and withdrew to eighth step king.
âThe Hongmeng is a jail and a being with an incredible will is its warden. It forbids many things from taking place in the realm,â Qing Yu explained. âThe order of time, the Dragonquake Scripture, ascending to kinghood as a ninth step king, and many others. That will is the jailer of the realm and supervises all of the inmates, preventing them from growing overly powerful and breaking free of the jail.
âI strongly suspect that when the world of immortals expands to the Hongmeng, that mind will reach out and crush the world!â
âIs it the will of the Hongmeng?â Lu Yun frowned deeply.
âNot of the Hongmeng.â Qing Yu shook her head. âThe Hongmeng is just an enormous space filled with endless profundities. It was never able to evolve into a real world, so no will can form here.
âThat will most likely belongs to some frightening being, very possibly from the fourth realm.â
âIf it has to do with the fourth realmâŠâ Lu Yun set his jaw. âIâll have She Nong come here and squash it.â
Qing Yu lowered her head without a word. Plainly, she didnât think that She Nong and the others would be a match for the realmâs warden.\n
Unless⊠those once imprisoned in the Hadal Hell regained their strength and returned to their prime. Otherwise, a puny She Nong would be no match for the third realmâs jailer.
This part of the Hongmeng was very different from the other Hongmeng worlds as seen from the fourth realm. The others were just grains of sand, but the immortal dao had arisen in this one and provided it with a kind of foundation.
Qing Yu had once calculated that the root of the fourth realm was very likely in the world of immortals, so those of the fourth realm paid especial attention to this part of the Hongmeng.
Lu Yunâs brows snapped together.
âAnd!â Qing Yu suddenly puffed up her cheeks. âI want crystal veins! I hear that youâre a big shot these days and in cahoots with the Redbud King. Give me crystals!â
âHahaha, okay okay okay. Iâll give you as much as you want!â Lu Yun broke out in easy laughter. Wasnât everything he was doing now all for her sake?
And she wanted the crystal veins not for her own gain, but for the world of immortals!
Qing Yu spoke no further on this topic; she didnât want to affect Lu Yunâs frame of mind. The Valley of Ten Evils was a shield for the first realm, and there was very possibly a road leading directly to the world of immortals deep within its depths. Perhaps itâd already turned into a ghastly battlefield.
âAh, you may have a lot of kings here, but theyâre all lower level and not very useful.â Since she was an eighth step king, she could see through the entire pagoda with a single glance. Her scan noted Hua Fengwen as well, but he was similarly a low level king without much use in her eyes.\nâI have a seventh step king here who tries to trip me up at every turnâsheâs even showing signs of betraying Hopeless Major. Iâll be much more at ease if you kill her and turn her into one of your Infernum.â Qing Yu deposited an unconscious woman in black on the ground with a wave of her hand.
Sheâd made full preparations after hearing that Lu Yun had arrived, readying everything she could think ofâincluding the seventh step king thatâd opposed her time and time again.
The king was one of the founding members of Hopeless Major and had been part of the faction upon inception. However, sheâd never fought the ninth step kings of the realm and frequently raised the idea of forming an alliance with them to refine the world of immortals.
She was exceptionally disgruntled at Qing Yuâs sudden appearance and had attempted to sway the other kings numerous times to overthrow Qing Yuâs rule. After her last attempt, Qing Yu unleashed her own claws and knocked her unconscious for Lu Yun to deal with.
âAlright!â Lu Yun summoned Quiet without another word and raised the sword high, chopping the womanâs head off.
Hellfire appeared in the next second and enveloped the black-robed seventh step king.
âThis servant greets the master!â The womanâs form slowly materialized out of the black flames. She fell to both knees and pressed her forehead to the ground, prostrating herself before Lu Yun.\nVisit wuxiaworld.eu for extra chapters.
âGreetings to the two mistresses!â She offered the same grand gesture to Qing Yu and the little fox.
âOne mistress. Singular.â The little fox shuffled uncomfortably.
âTwo!â Qing Yu gaily took her hands. âKeep a close eye on him when Iâm not around, make sure he doesnât dally with other women!â
The little foxâs eyes disappeared into two crescents with the force of her smile.
âDonât worry, just leave it to me!â She thumped her chest.
Next to them, Lu Yun muttered something inaudible without pause.
âMaster, this servant is guilty!â the black clad woman suddenly said. âThis servant secretly contacted a ninth step kingâthe Broadsword Kingâand divulged Mistress Empyreanâs movements to him. I invited him to ambush the mistress!â
The womanâs name was the Jade King and she fully recounted her conspiring with the Broadsword King.
\nCold sweat dotted Lu Yunâs forehead. Thank goodness heâd raised hell at this juncture and ensured that Qing Yu would hear of his arrival. Thank goodness sheâd decided to come to him personally. If a ninth step king had ambushed her at any point in time, she really would have died!
His hands moved subconsciously and hurriedly slapped a Resurrection Talisman onto her body. He then grabbed a double fistful of the talisman and stuffed them into her hands.
âThere are also ninth step kings in Hopeless Major, so itâs not like the Broadsword King will find it easy to kill me.â However, she still carefully put the talismans away.
âHere, take this sword. Its name is Quiet and itâs the foremost sword of the fourth realm. It will shine with greater power in your hands!â Lu Yun handed the weapon over to his beloved. Heâd established a relationship of equals with it, so it would automatically accept Qing Yu after being gifted to her.
âPerfect!â Qing Yu lit up. She did indeed lack a useful treasure; Quiet would fill that gap wonderfully.
âAnd this mountain of purple crystalâŠâ
âNo! Keep it!â This time, she hastily turned her dao partner down. âYou need a useful treasure to fall back on as well. There will be many battles in which you have to take to the field!â
âHere, you take this. This is all the treasure that Hopeless Major has accumulated since the day of its founding. Itâs no use staying with me and it only collects dust sitting in the vaults, so you might as well make the best use of it!â Qing Yu placed an unusually heavy storage treasure in Lu Yunâs hands. With his current level of strength, the tiny treasure almost sank through the floor and took him with it.