Out of the ten surviving potentates, there were a few like the Ignis Potentate who hadnât left for other lands. It wasnât that they didnât want to, but that it was too humiliating to flee at this time.
They were the pillars of their nations and worshiped on a daily basis by their citizens. Their people would sense it if they werenât physically in the divine nation. Plus, hadnât Lu Yun said that he would let bygones be bygones? They just needed to refrain from causing trouble for him in the future.
Thus, the Ignis Potentate never entertained the thought that Lu Yun would come for him first after the young man became a potentate. He suspected that the Immortal Potentate would be able to pierce through the Hongmeng barrier even without the two dragons in his current situation.
The new potentate just didnât want to leave the third realm yet.
âDonât be scared,â Lu Yun smiled in a friendly manner as he sat down across from the Ignis Potentate. âIâm not here to kill you.â
âWho said Iâm scared?!â The potentate nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. How long had it been since someone dared talk to him like this?? Donât be scared?! He was a noble and mighty potentate, the god of a divine nation!
âRight you are, youâre not scared. We both agree that youâre not scared,â Lu Yun chuckled.
Steam puffed out of the Ignis Potentateâs ears, but he remained cautious. He⊠really was a little scared.
Lu Yun had only mentioned it because heâd seen the trace of fear in the potentateâs emotions.
âGive me the Fire Virtue Orb that you received from the Starfire King.â
The potentate heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Lu Yunâs words. As lovely as treasures were, staying alive was the most important.
There was already a budding life form in the Fire Virtue Orb. If he hatched it with his dao rules and refined it into his replica, he would be able to seize the fire virtue power within and have a chance of breaking through to the fourth realm.
As mild as Lu Yun seemed on the surface, the Ignis Potentate could clearly sense a hint of pressure hidden deep within the young manâs expression. If he dared say no, Lu Yun would immediately kill him and retrieve the orb.
The Ignis Potentate brought out the Fire Virtue Orb without another word.
Thanks to the True King Pact and what Lu Yun had done afterward, the Ignis Potentate hadnât had time to do anything with the orb after receiving it.
Lu Yun waved the orb blazing with fire virtue power into his hands. The life form inside remained safe and sound, as quiet and peaceful like a sleeping baby. However, his expression changed drastically when he took a closer look.
âWhat is this? Why is there a true spirit in here?â He jerked his head up at the Ignis Potentate.
âI⊠I donât know,â the potentate hastily responded. âThe true spirit was already present when I received the orb. I havenât had time to eliminate it yet.â
Lu Yunâs brows furrowed tightly. He hadnât seen the true spirit inside when he first saw the Fire Spirit Orb. Perhaps heâd been too weak then to see it. Heâd wanted to gift the fetus to the spirit of disorder to be its body, helping him slowly grow into an existence like the god of Mount Tai.
But it would seem that that wasnât feasible anymore.
The Fire Virtue Orb was something nurtured by fire virtue of the fourth realmâa fairy of fire virtue. Once this life form was born, it would wield all fire virtue beneath the heavens.
Fire virtue was the starting point of civilization. Once this fire virtue spirit was born, it would be an emperor in the fourth realm. Though Lu Yun wouldnât suffer any consequences for destroying it, it would still be an act of great evil in his eyes.
âIt looks like my fifth disciple has been found.â He decided as he looked at the life form in the orb.
Something had always bothered him when it came to his disciples. His first disciple Liu Qingmiao was the reincarnation of one of the little foxâs soul parts. The little girl had eventually formed her own corporeal and ethereal souls, becoming an independent life form. Still, there seemed to be something unconventional about the relationship between Liu Qingmiao and the little fox.
And his fourth disciple Qing Han⊠While she didnât have anything to do with Qing Yu, she bore the name that Qing Yu had used when she appeared as a young man.
Lu Yun shook his head, putting these random thoughts out of his mind and stowing the orb. The Ignis Potentate grew nervous again when he saw that the Immortal Potentate didnât show signs of leaving.
Heâd thought that his heart was as calm as still water, that the only goal of his life was to pierce through the realmâs barrier and enter the fourth realm. It wasnât until now that he realized he still had the capacity to be afraid, that his mentality could fluctuate.
Though he strove mightily to conceal his emotional changes, Lu Yun could clearly sense his unease. He said nothing, just sat quietly unmoving in front of the potentate.
Tension built in the air, to the point where the citizens of Ignis picked up on something different with their nationâs god.
âNow you will tell me where the eleventh key of the Hongmeng Tower is,â Lu Yun finally broke the silence.
Sweat immediately beaded the Ignis Potentateâs forehead. As I thought!
The eleventh key to the Hongmeng Tower! The Immortal Potentate knew that theyâd hidden the eleventh key!
âThe potentates of the five elements hid the key, I donât know where it is!â he quickly confessed.
âThe potentates of the five elementsâŠâ Lu Yun frowned.
The Metal Potentate was the one whoâd taken Jin Gushen away from Multitude City. Lu Yun didnât know what their relationship was, but the potentateâs concern and attention for Jin Gushen seemed sincere. He might even be the reason behind Jin Gushen arriving in the Hongmeng.
Jin Gushenâs trials in the Colosseum were likely also a result of the Metal Potentate wanting to temper the young man. It was due to his relationships with Jin Gushen and Feng Qi that Lu Yun hadnât simply killed all of the potentates at Azure Dragon Lake.
He nodded at the Ignis Potentate and slowly faded away.
The Ignis Potentate sagged to the ground with a darkened expression.
âI told you he wouldnât do anything to you.â A person rotated into existence behind him. It was a man dressed in long muddy-brown robes with rough hewn features, but a surprising hint of delicate exquisiteness playing between his brows.
âHe wants to be a saint of the realm and be worshiped by all. He would never run us into the ground.â He sat down where Lu Yun had just occupied.
âHeâs already pierced through the barrier around the Hongmeng. What point is there in being a saint of the realm and being worshiped by all?â the Ignis Potentate said expressionlessly.
The Terra Potentate paused with shock.