Nothing could forever remain a secret; word of the seed of nothing swiftly traveled throughout the fourth realm. All this time, countless fourth realm experts had entered the Hongmeng and the world of immortals in search of the seed of nothing. An uproar engulfed the realm, one that not even Meng Wang could settle down.
Unbidden, he looked at Mount Astronomia. Upon it, Qing Buyi swept a casual glance in the ancestral planetās direction and continued teaching his nephew.
ā¦ā¦
āSomething big is about to happen in the fourth realm.ā In his two hundredth year of cultivation while sitting cross-legged in the darkness on a Dao Flower, Lu Yun opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction.
āI say, Lu Yun, canāt you stay focused on cultivation? Who cares what happens in the fourth realm?ā Highly bored, the Demonic Vine rolled her eyes and turned to Jian Buāer. āI bet you this kid doesnāt have anything good in mind. He brought Haidong Lin with him last time and lost him. Heās got us with him now, does this mean he wants to kill us using someone elseās hand?ā
The Demonic Vine had been sentient for hundreds of millions of years, but her body was still that of a childās. She glanced at Jian Buāerās slovenly figure and patted her flat chest with dejection. āWhen will I grow up?ā
Jian Buāer pulled her close and tousled her sleek locks into a birdās nest before saying with satisfaction, āStay focused on cultivating. Youāre the source of demonic dao and thereās orders of darkness in your dao. Itās highly beneficial for you to cultivate here. See, donāt you seem to have grown one year older?ā
Jian Buāer wiped his nose on the back of his hand and transferred the yellowish-orange liquid onto the Demonic Vineās clean robes. She fidgeted uncomfortably before settling down again.
āHis cultivation level doesnāt seem to have changed in two hundred years. Is he sitting here for cultivation or not?ā The Demonic Vine tilted her head up at Lu Yun. The darkness was pitch black for everyone else, even to Lu Yun and Jian Buāerās eyes. To the vine, however, it was as clear as day.
Just as Jian Buāer had said, demonic dao was a great dao of darkness. Apart from Lu Yunās hell dao, it was the dao closest to darkness. The Demonic Vine was the source of the fourth realmās demonic dao, and all demonic dao was in turn derived from her, including the dao from the demon of immortal dao.
Lu Yun had sat in the same place for two hundred years without making any progress, but the Demonic Vineās strength had grown by leaps and bounds. Sheād been at eighth level wood dao sequence, but now she exceeded Jian Buāer at twelfth level sequence.
āEep!ā she shrieked and looked apologetically at Jian Buāer.
āWhat is it?ā he asked curiously when he sensed a tiny ripple from the vine.
āIāve just accessed thirteen levels of sequence!ā she responded blankly. āShould I switch to immortal dao now and transfer the thirteen levels of wood dao sequence to immortal dao sequence?ā
āNot yet,ā Jian Buāer chuckled wryly. He was feeling more than ever that Lu Yun was cultivating here not because he wanted to, but because he wanted the vine to cultivate here.
The Demonic Vine had accessed five levels of sequence in two hundred years not only because they were in the land of darkness, but also thanks to the Dark Dao Flower that Lu Yun was sitting on. Heād commanded the flower to bloom with the full might of its dao, and the power of darkness within it had fully melded into the gloom around them. The three were surrounded by a formless boundary, making it impossible for the endarkened and cultivators from the outside realm to discover them.
After Qing Buyiās rampage two hundred years ago in which he suppressed the Moran Clan and eliminated the Esteemed Nebula, none of the cultivators from the outside realm dared set foot into the Land of Reincarnation. They didnāt dare approach the land of darkness either, much less the primary worlds. They were deathly afraid of irritating the terrifying fiend and causing their own doom.
They could wait eight hundred years.
āTransfer your levels to immortal dao when you reach eighteen of them. The immortal dao is so strong that itāll vault you through nineteen when you do so.ā Jian Buāer smoothed back the Demonic Vineās crazy hair. āWhatās that kid doing?ā He frowned and observed Lu Yun with his consciousness.
The young man was indeed cultivating; immortal force surged and ebbed at every second in his body and hell dao operated at a furious speed. But his cultivation showed no signs of improvement. He seemed⦠to be waiting for something.
āIām waiting for someone to make trouble for me.ā Lu Yun opened his eyes with a frown. āI set up a massive trap for someone the day I accessed sequence, but he didnāt come.
āI later guessed that heād been scared off because Qing Buyi was already in the fourth realm, but heās still not showing himself even after Iāve come to the darkness to wait for him.ā
Lu Yun had kept Moran Dongningās words in mind, that someone would come make trouble for him when he set foot into sequence.
āWhat if you activate another level of sequence?ā Jian Buāer blinked. āMaybe that will bring him here.ā
āIāve already accessed six, but thereās still no sign of him,ā Lu Yun responded dejectedly and released his strength. Heād been at third level sequence, but was now at six.
Jian Buāerās jaw dropped and he rubbed his eyes fiercely, even though that gesture was useless in the dark.
āYou accessed three levels of sequence in two hundred years⦠how did you do it?ā he asked, dumbfounded.
āIf the Demonic Vine can access five in her demonic dao, itās no big deal for me to access three with hell dao,ā Lu Yun shrugged. Hell dao was part of immortal dao, so the sequence levels of hell dao were also those of immortal dao.
āForget it, Iām not waiting any longer!ā He got to his feet. āLetās go take a look at Myriadsea World. I think Haidong Lin is there right now.ā
āHeās not dead?ā Jian Buāer raised an eyebrow.
āHe shouldnāt be⦠He's more than just a passing acquaintance with me, so the Corpse Refiners will want to use him as bait.ā Lu Yun thought for a moment and sent his consciousness into the Disordered Hell.
Xie Tianxun sat morosely on the ground, unmoving and unspeaking. Meanwhile, Moran Dongning jumped with excitement.
āI got it! So thatās what the kid cultivates, no wonder heās stronger than my brother!ā Moran Dongning offered up a booklet like she was presenting a great treasure. Lu Yun paused, finding the girl to be looking a bit familiarā¦
āThe little nun?ā He thought of the little nun thatād abruptly appeared and suddenly vanished one day. She had the worshipful expression on her face!
āEh?ā Moran Dongning blinked and became uneasy. She said with embarrassment, āSo you found outā¦ā
Lu Yun smacked his forehead, already guessing what she was doing here. When his future self journeyed to the end of reincarnation and sought to enter the thirty-fourth loop, sheād blocked his way. As the Time Guard, she was immensely tired of the monotony in which she could lose her life at any second.
Hence, she joined Lu Yun. As for being worshipful, it had nothing to do with his performance in the Dusk Province arena. It was simply for his ability to travel through reincarnation. He was the first to ever do so!
āAlright, I shouldāve realized it was you a long time ago,ā he chuckled. Moran Dongningās prank on Mo Yiās senior sister was relief for both herself and Mo Yi. Who knew what the old nun mightāve done otherwise?
āThis is for you!ā She raised the booklet again. āIāve looked through it, thereās nothing wrong with the methods. This kid wonāt dare lie to me!ā She looked at Xie Tianxun, who looked back with a rueful expression.
āThe Kinship of Heaven and Earth?ā Lu Yun raised a brow at the title.Ā [1]
The written language of the outside realm was different from that of the fourth realm or world of immortals, but Moran Dongning had already translated it.
āThis is a method of the outside realm?ā Lu Yun asked.
She nodded. āAnd itās a very powerful one on par with my clanās. Itās said that a very strong powerhouse invented it a very, very long time ago. He didnāt have disciples or descendants, so his good friend buried it in his tomb when he died. Xie Tianxun dug up his tomb and brought the method back out into the world!ā
A method created by a powerhouse without disciples or descendants naturally wouldnāt come with any restrictions. Lu Yun quietly put it away; he could tell that Moran Dongning had practiced it as well. She was stronger than before and had accessed the second level of dark dao sequence.
Unexpected results could occur when two different methods met each other.
āRight, whoās the person you said would make trouble for me when I accessed sequence?ā Lu Yun asked.
1. This is a play off The Kinship of the Three, also known asĀ The Cantong Qi,Ā the earliest book on alchemy in China. The Cantong Qi is concerned with Cosmology, Daoism, and Alchemy, and joins them together as a single doctrine.Ā ā