The Tome of Life and Death completely caged in the Curse Kingâs strength. However, deep-seated fear suddenly dissipated from his face and an eerie smile stretched his lips from ear to ear.
âThis is your trump card, isnât it? After so much time and effort, I finally understand how you managed to break out. Itâs all because of this item, huh?â
Lu Yunâs heart skipped a beat. Break out!
Break out of what? Destiny? The endless loops?
A multitude of thoughts replicated in his heart like demons; a variety of distracting thoughts bounded into being and a wisp of black flame rose in Lu Yunâs mind. What had been a bright mental world began to darken and the dark flame coursed through the area.
âTsk tsk tsk.â Contempt traced the Curse Kingâs smirk. âSo you do know that youâre just a plaything in the hands of a great being. So what of the worlds? What of your immortal dao? It is all naught but flowers in a mirror and the moonâs reflection in water. Transient and ephemeral, a dreamlike illusion.â
âIf thatâs the case, why are you so obsessed with me?â Lu Yunâs eyes brightened and the black demonic flame sputtered out of sight, absorbed by his hell dao.
Thatâd been the fire of an internal demon. Once an internal demon developed and stirred to action, the flame of the heart would devour the body.
âObsessed with you? Who do you think you are for me to be obsessed with you?â the Curse King chuckled. âI was only curious about the bronze book you carry. I wanted to know what it was, that it could help you leap out of this extensive river.
âBut it turns out to be entirely inconsequential, something thatâs only stirred up a tiny ripple. Itâs not worth speaking of.â Though the Curse King was firmly suppressed by the treasure, he wore the smile of a victor.
Lu Yun stared fixedly at the Curse King before he, too, chuckled.
âYouâre trying very hard to hide it, but you canât disguise the trace of fear in the innermost depths of your heart.â He keenly recalled the split second of terror from the Curse King when the Tome of Life and Death first appeared. It hadnât been an act; the other was truly afraid. He was engaging Lu Yun in conversation simply because he wanted to gloss over the moment.
They were in a world of the mind. Martial strength of the outside world held no meaning here. Oneâs doom was nigh when a mental weakness developed.
Weaknesses abounded in Lu Yunâs mind, but he was protected by the book. The Curse King labored mightily to withstand the treasure as it didnât come down to whether or not he was willing to forsake the replica, but that he couldnât.
This replica housed some of his memories and some secrets were hidden in those memories. Thus, he was attempting to buy time to burn his memories.
âYou win this round since youâve learned of my trump card. Victor, you can now die with peace of mind.â Of course Lu Yun knew what the Curse King was trying to accomplish. He brought out the withered wood and combined the six hellfires into one pure black hellfire. They enveloped the Curse Kingâs mind and followed the wisp of fear into the deepest parts of the body before he could fully destroy his memories.
Bam!
The Curse Kingâs mental body suddenly exploded. Self detonation! His replica and anything it contained were instantly blown to smithereens.
âŚâŚ
A certain locale in the known expanses of the Boundless Planes.
A man with black hair slowly opened his eyes. His face was as white as a sheet and a trickle of blood dribbled down his chin.
âHe actually forced me into mental self detonation.â The Curse King coughed lightly as he looked piercingly in a particular direction of the void.
Mental self detonation was vastly different from destruction via outside force. Mental self detonation required the primary body to connect the core essence of their mind to the replicaâs mind. Once detonation was undertaken, the primary bodyâs mind would also be affected. If a replica was destroyed by outside force, all the primary body needed to do was to sever the connection.
âWhat is that book?â The Curse Kingâs hands were as pale and slender as a womanâs. He stroked his smooth chin and sank into contemplation. âI was only testing the waters when I said âbreak outâ, but he developed an internal demon from the phrase. What does he know?â
âŚâŚ
âPity, most of the memories were destroyed in that explosion.â Despite the majority of important details being lost in the self detonation, Lu Yun carefully collected the Curse Kingâs scattered memory fragments. He could see hints of useful information in them.
âI see, so it wasnât the original Hongmeng that kept the fourth realmâs orders under control, and not the seeds of nothing either.â He frowned deeply. âSomeone has been purposefully leading us down the wrong path. Whether itâs a dao that traverses the fourth realm or the world of immortal dao that Mo Yi thought of, neither will be able to corral orderâŚ
âNo, the world of immortal dao can, but it needs to nurture a true world first.â
Itâd never been the Hongmeng thatâd suppressed order, but the worlds inside it. Heaven and earth were the true masters of order, the existences that accepted all order and manifested them.
The worlds of the original Hongmeng had reached terrifying heights. Once they expanded to their fullest, they would incorporate all of the known and unknown expanses of the fourth realm, making it a true realm of order.
However, being as weak as they were, the worlds needed protection. The chaos and Hongmeng had never been the best guardian for the worlds. That honor went to immortal dao!
Immortal dao encompassed everything, including the worlds. It could shore up weaknesses and mutually depend on the worlds. If Mo Yiâs world of immortal dao was to protect the worlds, then it would perfectly accomplish their goals.
However, Lu Yun still didnât understand what she really had in mind.
Though there were many hints and clues in the Curse Kingâs memories, Lu Yun didnât dare fully believe any of them. The Curse King was a crafty and insidious fellow. Everything in his memories, apart from the worlds, could be fake. The bits about the worlds were true only because they matched Lu Yunâs own calculations. Some things could also be verified with the powerhouses of the original Hongmeng and fourth realm.
âAccording to the Curse Kingâs understanding, he walks the path of justice and we are the irredeemable evil, the cavities that disturb existence?â Lu Yun glimpsed something interesting. âHeâs seriously so childish. There is no absolute right or wrong in the world, just a difference in perspective.
âSo what if weâre the holes in the paper? As long as our existence is rational, then come one day, we might become the paper.â He opened his eyes and stretched out his limbs.
âHmm? My cultivationâs taken another step forward and Iâm a Void World King now?â Lu Yun blinked with surprise.
The Curse Kingâs mental body had completely melded into Lu Yunâs body. Though the young man could access only his true cultivation level for now, his realm of Nihil World Sovereign yet existed. He just lacked the proper strength and cultivation level as befitting his realm.
With the Curse Kingâs self detonation, the Tome of Life and Death transmuted his immense mental power into pure strength and directed it into Lu Yunâs body, thereby raising his cultivation level.