“In other words, generations of celestial emperors and countless divines have stood guard here not to defend the world against that ancient enemy, but just to have their strength passively sapped away? In fact, the enemy from a hundred thousand years ago is able to deplete the world of immortals of her geniuses and experts without lifting a finger at all?” Lu Yun’s expression grew ugly.
“Mmhmm.” The nine celestial emperors nodded and fell silent at the same time.
“Seventy years, you only have seventy years,” Zhao Fengyang finally spoke again after a long moment of silence. “I hope you can create a few more miracles in these seventy years and hold off the endless hordes of yin spirits outside the door.”
Lu Yun looked up to see that some sort of power had dyed the sky here a bloody red. However, it seemed different from the strength in the Blood Sea.
“Seventy years may not be enough,” he murmured. “Please hold on for a bit longer, seniors.”
He waved a hand to coalesce nine sparkling fruits in the air.
Karmic fruits!
They melded into the celestial emperors the moment they appeared, sending trembles through the august personages, bringing shine and vigor back to their haggard faces.
“What is this?!” Zhao Fengyang exclaimed. That shimmering golden fruit had taken root in his body and was supplying him with boundless energy, helping him maintain peak condition.
“This is a karmic fruit. The nine celestial emperors have performed many deeds of great merit for the world, so of course the karmic fruits will protect you.” Lu Yun bowed to the nine rulers.
They wanted to rise and return the gesture, but they didn’t dare move at all right now, for fear of backlash from the door. Last time Zhao Fengyang had sent a sliver of a replica into the world, things hadn’t yet progressed to these dire straits. The pressure from behind the gates grew steadily greater, increasing danger at a constant rate. They no longer knew if the door would be destroyed first, or if they would first be crushed under that titanic pressure.
“With this, we can endure for another hundred years.” Zhao Fengyang made a rough calculation. “After a hundred years, the pressure from beyond the door will be unbearable. Even if we are at peak condition then or reach the primordial realm, we will still be crushed by the pressure from behind the door.”
“It may not have to be a hundred years!” Qing Yu took a deep breath. “The world of immortals is undergoing a revolution at the moment. When Lu Yun establishes his sacred land and incorporates a brand new dao into the immortal dao, the world’s civilization will surely reach a new peak surpassing the prosperity of the Primordial Era. Combat arts have yet to undergo a renaissance, and supplemental paths will be king!”
She looked at Lu Yun with these last words. He nodded in acknowledge and set out for the massive door for a closer look.
“Don’t go near it!” Zhao Fengyang and his cohort wanted to stop the young man.
“No matter, I want to see just what’s behind this door.” Opening the Spectral Eye and combusting inky hellfire on his body, he forcefully pushed back the scarlet power in the air.
“You can advance no further.” An ethereal voice suddenly sounded by Lu Yun’s ears as a charming young girl in old robes appeared in front of him. Her delicate brows were elegantly shaped and her hair drifted around her like the clouds. A short sword in the shape of a butterfly perched on her head.
Diexi!
Absent for such a very long time, Diexi had appeared in this patch of space!
“What are you doing here?” Lu Yun asked blankly and retracted the hellfire on him.
“I’m here to replace him in guarding those nine.” Diexi pointed at the celestial emperors behind Lu Yun and then at the recently dead origin divine. “They, too, need guardians while they guard the door. Out of the entire world of immortals… here is most suitable for me.”
“You…” The turn of events threw Lu Yun for a loop.
“I was born out of the Abyss of Divine Burial, and you should know who put me there and set up the tomb of the living.” The zombie king dimpled. “I inherited the last wishes of that person and the divine race. To stand guard here is my only purpose in life.”
“Wayfarer.” Lu Yun nodded. Wayfarer… the primordial Celestial Master Zhang. That was the only person who came to mind.
“I’ve only just evolved from a zombie to a zombie king and come back to life, reversing yin from yang. I don’t want to die yet… so can you lend me two people?” Diexi asked seriously.
“Who?”
“Wushen Ruyi and Yueshen Jixiang!”
“Are you two willing?” Lu Yun summoned the two from hell. Waving an arm at the piles of divine bodies in the area, he explained everything to the two immortal ghosts.
“We divines protected the world eighty thousand years ago. Since the two of us still exist, then we will continue to protect it further.”
Both of their memories had fully awakened by now. Naturally, they weren’t only part of the twenty-four divine kings back in the day, their backgrounds were even greater.
“That’s the crown prince.” Ruyi looked at the lifeless origin divine on the ground and sighed softly.
So the last guardian had been the crown prince from eighty thousand years ago! He wasn’t born an origin divine, but had practiced some sort of combat art that enabled him to take this form.
“If even the crown prince has fallen in the line of duty, how can we shirk our responsibilities?” Yueshen chuckled. “Please place this servant’s coffin layout here, sir.”
“That won’t be necessary, I’ll keep both of your core essences in hell. If you die, you’ll be reborn there.” Lu Yun sent out Yueshen’s nine bloodcorpses as well. She was still an immortal ghosts, so these nine bodies were her strongest attacks. Meanwhile, Ruyi had occupied the Divine Spymirror, so she was also incredibly strong in her form as a treasure.
“It won’t take a hundred years!” Lu Yun declared with certainty. “Passively taking punches like this isn’t my style. I promise that it won’t be long before I open this door myself and conquer the stars!”
He’d been the enemy of almost the entire world in everything that had happened, but he hadn’t hunkered down in Dusk Province. Instead, he’d taken the fight to his detractors multiple times. House Donglin was no more and the Exalted Immortal Sect gone as well. The Jin and Feng Clans had declined to where they’d exited the world stage.
Lu Yun reached out with his hand and materialized a purple immortal sword.
Violetgrave, the sword!
He continued forward with the sword in hand, using the violet sword light to hew through the blood fog until he arrived beneath the door. It was thirty thousand meters tall and impossible to see the top of at a glance. What had been a sacred, stately door now more resembled a bloody maw ready to devour the entire world of immortals.
Whoosh!
He suddenly raised Violetgrave and stuck it right in front of the door.
“Ai…” a long sigh sounded from the sword. “Come take me back after a hundred years, or you’ll find that I’ve become even more dangerous than the yin spirits outside that door.
Boom.
Violet brilliance flared from the sword, dying the door a deep purple and forcing back the blood color that’d covered it.