âWe Luminaries seek to be an existence like the heavenly court of the original Hongmeng. If we are to rule the Boundless Planes, we must also protect them. Your wanton massacre of innocents places an evil reputation at our feet. Such a crime cannot be forgiven.â
âBut, IâŠâ the Great Brahma gaped. He hadnât thought that Bai Hongtian would⊠want to kill him after trading Jian Juexian and Lu Yun for him?
âThere are no buts about this. I exchanged our prisoners for you because you are part of the Luminaries. You are my brother. In the same vein, I kill you because you have violated one of our sacred tenets and thus deserve death.
âA perfect circle is impossible if there is a lack of regulation. You must pay the price when you commit a crime.â Bai Hongtian raised his hand and shattered the two halves of the Great Brahma.
All this took place in front of Jian Zhuxian. He wasnât the least bit surprisedâplainly, heâd known that this would happen.
âYou are now my brother after joining the Luminaries, Jian Zhuxian, but if you run afoul of the sacred tenets, I also have the right to kill you,â Bai Hongtian said solemnly.
âYes yes, I know,â Jian Zhuxian replied lazily. âAre you moving on to the Sword Clan next? If the Luminaries want sword dao, just one Ingress Sword Island isnât enough. You need the Sword Clan too, donât you?â
âItâs not that we want sword dao, but that the Boundless Planes need sword dao. It is an immensely powerful orderâif it is infused into the realm, the overall orders will grow stronger.â
Lu Yun didnât know what took place on Ingress Sword Island after his departure, but he was slightly disappointed that none of the plans heâd left behind took effect.
âI wonder if I can get a sequence expert,â he murmured after leaving. âAccording to Ah Zhi, activating sequence isnât just a cultivation level. Thereâs nine levels to them, so while I might be able to take down a first level sequence expert, Iâll be the one dead if I encounter anyone stronger.
âAh, yes, Juexian, do you think thereâs been anyone whoâs set foot into sequence since the dawn of the new epoch?â A sudden thought struck Lu Yun.
âOf course,â Jian Juexian answered with an odd look at his rescuer. âArenât the Star Sovereign King of the Star Sect and Quiet Sovereign King of the Sword Clan all sequence experts from the new epoch?â
âThis proves you donât have the potential to access sequence.â Lu Yun looked him up and down and pursed his lips. âYou even lost the Immortalâs End sword that your old man gave you!â
Jian Juexian fell into a sheepish silence.
âIs the old man really still alive?â The two had gotten closer after Lu Yun rescued Jian Juexian from Ingress Sword Island and the latter was much more open with the young man now.
âYep, alive and kicking. Heâs living it up.â Lu Yun nodded. âHelp me out with something before I send you to him.â
âRelease the overlord of Ice?â Jian Juexian immediately guessed what his friend wanted to do. Lu Yun came from the original Hongmeng and had learned the overlordâs shortcut to accessing sequence. Now that he possessed the strength to capture the Great Brahma, of course he wanted to free the overlord.
âThatâs right,â Lu Yun nodded. âIâve spent the last hundred years deriving the way to free the overlordâIâll need another Nihil World Sovereign to help me apart from you. The three of us together will result in a successful mission.
âDo you have any other friends in the Boundless Planes?â
Jian Juexian opened and closed his mouth.
âFine, you donât.â Lu Yun flicked a sideways glance at the sheepish man. âShould I go back to the sect for help? âŠno, the Luminaries already have their eyes on the Star Sect. The regular disciples should be fine, but any Nihil World Sovereign that leaves the World Star will be attacked.â
He operated formula dao again to search for the way forward.
ââŠno way!â Lu Yunâs eyes widened. An answer had come to him as soon as he started his calculationsâthe Brightheart World King.
Sheâd become a Nihil World Sovereign and was now called the Brightheart Sovereign, or simply Heart Sovereign. Who wouldâve thought that itâd only take one hundred and ten years for her to break though!
Though heâd been the one to reach this conclusion, itâd come from a new iteration of formula dao that had nothing to do with him. The group on Divine Alchemist Mountain had already induced a qualitative change in formula dao. While it couldnât easily deduce events fifty thousand years in the past or future, anything or anyone whoâd formed a karmic relationship with Lu Yun would be revealed by formula dao.
He was utilizing the most sophisticated portion of the artâinferring karmic consequences. This wasnât something that formulas could calculate. One needed to be a true initiate of formula dao and be able to jointly utilize all levels of formulas to calculate karma.
Since formula dao was a joint creation between Lu Yun and Qing Yu, they would always be the first beneficiaries no matter what heights formula dao evolved to.
âYou mean that Brightheart lass is a Nihil World Sovereign now?â Jian Juexian blinked. Last time heâd seen her, she was a peak Void World King and only half a step away from breaking through. Such a distance, however, would take at least one hundred million years of hard work to bridge. He didnât really believe Lu Yun, but there was no reason for the young man to lie to him.
âCome on, letâs go find Brightheart!â Lu Yun sped off in the right direction after determining it with formula dao.
Nihil World Sovereigns viewed things from the perspective of a world. All of the Boundless Planes were in their purview and everything was simply a bridge to their destination. Powerful Nihil World Sovereigns crossed a plane with each step they took.
The Abstruse Plane was located in the southwest cluster of the Boundless Planes. It was an unremarkable plane and its denizens not particularly strong. A World Manifest cultivator could reign supreme here, so no one imagined that thereâd be Nihil World Sovereigns in seclusion in the area.
Brightheart and her master lived here. Her master, the Cicada Sovereign, was also a powerful Nihil World Sovereign. She had close ties to the Star Sect; it was due to a recommendation from Xing Shenzuo that Brightheart had been able to take her for a master.
Xing Wuliangâs senior brother, Xing Hun, had originally selected both Xing Wuliang and Brightheart. Given that Brightheartâs aspirations didnât lie in supplemental dao, though, she didnât fulfill the Star Sectâs recruitment standards. However, her potential was so strong that Xing Shenzuo had felt compelled to send her to the Cicada Sovereign.
Neither did the girl disappointâshe reached Nihil World Sovereign when Xing Wuliang was still a World Manifest.
âYou came just as we thought, senior brother Feifan, senior brother Juexian!â Brightheart appeared before the two right when Lu Yun and Jian Juexian arrived in the Abstruse Plane.
âEh? You knew we were coming?â Jian Juexian floundered for a response.
âMy masterâs been studying a great dao called the formula dao lately. Apparently, it can derive all things and it showed us that the two senior brothers would come,â Brightheart explained with a smile.
Lu Yun quickly understood. Though formula dao was being studied on Divine Alchemist Mountain, the various Nihil World Sovereigns of the sect were already propagating it throughout the fourth realm. Those of their peers on good terms with the Star Sect received a bit of formula daoâs heritage. Of course, any accomplishments the new pupils attained were also sent to the group on the mountain.
Such was the assembly of collective wisdom.
As Lu Yun and Jian Juexian were here to request aid, they didnât conceal their presences. The Cicada Sovereignâs comprehension of formula dao was quite high, so sheâd easily determined their arrival through the karmic ties to her disciple.
âSince junior sister knew weâd come, I will not beat around the bush. Iâm here to request your help in undoing the seal on the overlord of Ice,â Lu Yun responded candidly, easily calling her his junior sister. There was no hierarchy in learning and whoever attained the accomplishment first was senior. He was stronger than her, so he was the senior brother.
Additionally, Brightheart had glimpsed certain things in the Tomb of the Hallowed Emperor; this was also why she called Lu Yun her senior brother.
âBut of course!â She smiled broadly. âMy cultivation level is yet to stabilize and my master says that I will encounter a great opportunity on this trip. I will truly solidify my strength and even improve one step further.â
That Cicada Sovereign probably practices more than formula dao⊠Abstruse Plane⊠Lu Yun nodded to himself.