This coffin had once been a poisonous tumor in the Tomb of the Hallowed Emperorâthe biggest tumor, rather. Instead of placing it there to lure others into his schemes, however, Yun Zhongzi had set it up to counter the tomb.
The Tomb of the Hallowed Emperor was meant to manifest that of the emperor of the original Hongmeng and entice the Imperial Seal to reveal itself in the Broken Primeval Plane. Yun Zhongzi himself knew that once the tomb began to shift into the one for the original emperor, everything within would break free of his control.
He didnât know if that would be good or bad. Thus, heâd left the coffin at the most important site of the tombâits entranceâfor the purpose of keeping the tomb in check.
If the coffin had remained in place, it wouldâve been a thorn in Di Yinâs side despite his control over the tomb. It wouldâve nailed the tombâs orders and laws in place so they couldnât spread to the outside world.
However, Yun Zhongzi never fathomed that Lu Yun would subdue and remove the coffin. It was due to this coffin that the young man had fallen into Yun Zhongziâs trap, and he now brought it out once more.
The coffin that Lu Yun had repaired echoed with dull roars of thunder. The zombies that were rushing the trio shuddered and halted in unison. Fear shone out of their ghastly white eyesânot the fear of the zombies, but fear from the great dao of the Corpse Sovereign.
âYou brought out that thing!â Jian Juexian shrieked with horror despite the boundless sword light surrounding him. That coffin was evil beyond compare!
It shattered the corpse dao around them as soon as it arrived; Brightheartâs cracking skin slowly healed as well.
A coffin forty-five thousand kilometers tall didnât mean much in the vast fourth realm. But for some reason, it towered like an enormous mountain at the moment.
âWhoâs buried in the coffin?â The Corpse Sovereignâs voice echoed from all directionsâhe didnât recognize it. Lu Yun had already taken the coffin away when he regained consciousness. In spite of that, he could clearly sense the terrifying aura coming from it.
Explosions rang out from the coffin, each boom knocking the dao of corpses and burial in the surroundings back a little bit more.
Gray fog surged forth as the coffinâs lid lifted.
An enormous mushroom cloud rushed into the upper reaches of Ice.
âWhat a pity⌠I wonât be able to use this coffin against the Luminaries anymore after Iâve brought it out,â Lu Yun sighed with reluctance.
That the Eastern Cluster had transformed into a giant tomb was good news for the Luminaries. The development completely destroyed the clusterâs roots, making it nigh impossible for the Central Hongmeng to rise again.
But the ambitious Luminaries would still keep this place under watch, despite controlling the known expanses and even the heart of the known expanses. Everything that happened here was under their purview.
They would be on their guard after Lu Yun brought out the coffin and develop ways to counter it.
But the Eastern Cluster was his homeland! If it really turned into a giant tomb, the Central Hongmeng would be completely done for. All talk of formula dao and immortal dao would become naught but an empty breeze.
He would never let Di Yin do as he would.
The coffin was open and a gray hand probed out from it.
A scent of corruption, decay, and decline wafted out with the hand. It was the despair of a world on the eve of its destruction, the last moments of light during a sunset, and an intoxicating yet rotten beauty.
A bizarre world slowly manifested on top of the hand.
A door to order. A rotten order, a broken order, an order on the brink of destruction.
At the same time, it was a true world of orderâinfinitely stronger than the shortcut that the overlord of Ice had taught Lu Yun.
No, it would be more accurate to say that the two couldnât be compared at all.
The door shook before the Corpse Sovereign could say anything. An overwhelming presence of deterioration filled the entire plane.
The teeming masses of zombies crumbled as soon as it washed over them, disintegrating into dust. They were already dead and had become zombies upon their death, a weapon of the Corpse Sovereign.
For them, such destruction was a release.
âSo there was a world of order buried in that coffin. A world of order on the edge of ending.â Jian Juexian gazed appreciatively at the mighty Lu Yun whoâd defused the Corpse Sovereignâs zombie tide as soon as it appeared.
âCome with me.â Lu Yun expanded to fifty-thousand kilometers tall and grabbed the coffin next to him, putting it on his back. He strode forward and headed toward the Broken Primeval Plane.
That was the heart of the Eastern Cluster now.
The Corpse Sovereignâs primary body was on the scene, but he didnât dare meet Lu Yun in combat. Though heâd once been a sequence expert, that was in the past. For now, he was just a Nihil World Sovereign, an ant when facing order.
He continuously retreated until he reconvened with the Shadow and Fog Sovereigns. The Fog Sovereign was the strongest of them, but he was also regarding the coffin with a grim look.
âItâs Yun Zhongziâs order,â he gnashed his teeth. âOur previous world of order dissolved when we practiced the orders of the new epoch. Somehow, Yun Zhongzi managed to bury his in the coffin!â
A golden stick appeared in his hand, swirling a golden wind that carried gray fog toward Lu Yun.
The Aureate Wind soul weapon was the Fog Sovereignâs weapon of choice. Not only did his wind refrain from dispersing the fog, but the latter became even more tangible and ensconced thirty-seven planes, blocking Lu Yunâs way forward.
The Fog Sovereign slowly dissipated, reappearing inside the fog.
âFog Sovereign, I am no match for you at my current level of strength, so I wonât throw myself against you.â With his senses obscured, Lu Yun couldnât see, touch, or even hear the words heâd spoken. He wouldâve loved to bring Lunar Pivot out and measure himself against the sovereign if itâd been any other time.
But he was hardly in the mood for that now; he didnât have time to spare.
The longer this dragged on, the more deeply embedded the way of burial would be in the Eastern Cluster and the more corrupted the Central Hongmeng would be. It would also be increasingly difficult to determine the overlordâs condition.
Another arm probed out from the coffin on his back and swiped at the void.
The golden wind billowed backward and the gray fog retreated. The Fog Sovereign spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward for an indeterminable distance.
Lu Yun finally reached the Broken Primeval Plane. The tombstone thatâd belonged to the Tomb of the Hallowed Emperor was erected in front of it, and the plane had wholly transformed into a tomb.