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“So it’s you!” Lu Yun evaded a fatal blow, rapidly backing up and glaring at God with clenched teeth.
The layer of ambiguity over God’s face gathered anew, obscuring his form. God smiled without a response. Heavenfall stabbed forward again, enveloping Lu Yun with the “execute” character.
Lu Yun retreated further.
“Why don’t you use the Sword of Chaos? I’d already be dead if you used the sword,” Lu Yun sneered.
“Divine dao has come under immortal dao’s banner and the Sword of Chaos is the weapon of divine dao. The mistress will sense it if it goes on the move.”
The Sword of Chaos was the ultimate weapon of the Divine Temple of Chaos. God had refined it one more time to integrate it into divine dao, whereupon divine dao slowly assimilated into immortal dao.
Thus, the current Sword of Chaos could bring less power to bear compared to Heavenfall. However, the sword was an instrument of slaughter that could execute even the Fire God. It would easily end Lu Yun if it acted in concert with the spear.
God… Dongfang Hao.
Dongfang Hao was God.
The Sword of Chaos had selected him because he was God.
He could use the akasha ghosts’ layout of absolute death to ensure his own escape because he was God.
He’d become the ruler of Exalted Major and oversaw all divines in the world of immortals because he was God.
All of this was because he was God.
He’d been by Lu Yun’s side all this time, silently watching, silently observing. His watchful eye had extended to the mistress, Dao King, Pangu, Hongjun, Fuxi, Wahuang…
That was why it was so logical for him to be here. Rather than wait in the tomb all this time, he’d come with the Fire God.
His Sword of Chaos failing to execute the Fire God was part of his plans. He knew that Lu Yun needed to follow the Fire God to reach the Divine Temple of Nothing, so he’d placed his sword intent on the Fire God.
He waited here to witness Lu Yun’s burial.
Although some unplanned flukes had occurred along the way—he hadn’t seen Ancestor pass the method of nothing to the young man, for instance—it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
Lu Yun’s emotions were in turmoil after seeing that Dongfang Hao was God. Already in an inferior position to begin with, he lost even more ground. The Tome of Life and Death manifested over his head and radiated beams of golden splendor, barely managing to keep Lu Yun safe.
However, its bearer could no longer withstand the attacks. The Tome of Life and Death was his last line of defense and Lu Yun would be buried here once its defenses broke.
“The Tome of Life and Death… is more than just the bearer of reincarnation.” A distant voice traveled into Lu Yun’s ears. It was a female voice. An extraordinarily familiar female voice.
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Violetgrave.
“You…” Lu Yun gaped.
Violetgrave had been freed after the six hells became one to form the sole origin hell. She was a true living being and spent her days journeying the realms. Lu Yun didn’t have the heart to ask her to shoulder any more burdens, so he never expected her to appear at a time like this.
“The Tome of Life and Death is powerful not because it is reincarnation’s bearer,” she repeated. “Reincarnation chose it to be the bearer because it is that strong. The Tome of Life and Death… is life.”
Violetgrave’s voice flowed into Lu Yun’s ears like the waters of a spring.
“Books are the steps of civilization, they facilitate civilization’s steady ascension to the peak. Only where there is life is there civilization. Life was an accident of objective existence. Objectivity has never shifted on account of life’s will.
“Life, however, established civilization. Civilization is the key to affecting objectivity.
“God thought he set up his plans with none the wiser, but the mistress and Dao King are no fools. The Tome of Life and Death is their contingency plan.”
“So this means that I never broke free of their scheme from beginning to end?” Lu Yun asked in an emotionless voice as he finally understood the true meaning of the Tome of Life and Death.
The book was the media of civilization, not reincarnation. The words of “Life and Death” in its name didn’t refer to reincarnation as reincarnation was greater than life and death.
Life and death referred only to life. And death.
For creation, life and death were of the highest importance. Yearning for life and fear of death was the true meaning of life. The Tome of Life and Death was the book of all. It carried the true meaning of life and recorded the civilization of life.
Lu Yun suddenly recalled Violetgrave’s past—she’d been the Netherdark Hell. The Netherdark Hell buried civilization. None of those civilizations ever disappeared—they were preserved in the Tome of Life and Death.
She approached Lu Yun and the Violetgrave sword permitted Lu Yun to wield it not because of reincarnation contained within the Tome of Life and Death, but because the book itself was the book of civilization.
Lu Yun slowly lifted his head. Etched deep into his bones, reincarnation exploded out as a ball of white flames that slowly gathered in the center of his forehead.
Reincarnation was still within him, but there was now a clear divide between human and great dao. Reincarnation was still Lu Yun, but Lu Yun was no longer reincarnation.
The mistress and Dao King had long ascertained what God’s plans entailed, but they’d never thought of taking action. They wouldn’t do so even if God used the Sword of Chaos to truly bury Lu Yun here.
If God buried Lu Yun here and obtained reincarnation, becoming the pinnacle that’d never appeared before and affecting objectivity with the subjective wills of life… That was one kind of happy ending.
The great destruction would be fully terminated and everything would become God’s ideal paradise.
They would not stop this from taking place. It was the first kind of ending.
The second was this exact moment, the moment in which Lu Yun saw the Tome of Life and Death for what it was. It was the moment when he saw himself clearly and obtained the true meaning of life.
Life, death, and civilization.
……
“What is going on?!” God gasped. The layer that obscured his features was swept away and revealed Dongfang Hao’s face. His appearance shifted, then shifted again into God’s original form—a domineeringly handsome man in purple robes.
The light of civilization revolved around Lu Yun as reincarnation intersected with civilization.
Civilization represented the will of life. Reincarnation represented objective existence. Once civilization affected reincarnation, Lu Yun would become that ultimate pinnacle and affect objectivity with subjectivity.
Civilization and reincarnation reached a perfect balance in his body, both non-interfering and not affecting each other.
Lu Yun did not become that pinnacle.
Boom!
He thrust out his palm and forced God back, then slashed outward with a sword stroke. It was the first technique of his sword dao—Vast Dragon Seaturner.
Endless rays of sword light collected into a massive dragon that churned toward God. Lu Yun’s strength had risen explosively, but he was unable to crush his opponent. The two were evenly matched.
Calm returned to God’s expression and the corners of his mouth turned upward. He reverted back to Dongfang Hao’s appearance and closed his hand around the Sword of Chaos.
“I lost to you by a single move in Dusk Province all those years back. Let us continue that battle today!” Dongfang Hao blazed with high spirits and threw himself at Lu Yun, just as he had at the battle of the Five Youth Sovereigns in the world of immortals.
Sadly, Wu Tulong, Mo Qitian, and Zichen would never catch up to them anymore.
“Alright!” Lu Yun roared with laughter.
The ancient tomb turned into a battlefield.