Chapter 22: An Enormous Graveyard (1/2)

The Myriad Formation Summit didn’t exist in Duskwater Prefecture five thousand years ago. Where the mountain sat now used to be the eighth city under the prefecture’s jurisdiction—Truewater City.

One fateful day five thousand years ago, a mountain had fallen from the sky and landed on the city. It then released a myriad of strange formations, killing all of the denizens. Not a single soul had escaped the city alive. Now, only the mountain stood where a bustling city had once been.

Before the incident, Dusk Province had been no different from the other provinces in Nephrite Major. The dao of immortals was flourishing, and though it’d be too much to call Truewater a city filled with immortals, there were still a good number of them.

The incident that destroyed Truewater marked the beginning of the decline of Dusk Province. The qi in the environment deteriorated and cultivators’ progress slowed. The province nosedived after the death of Yuying, the eighth governor of Dusk Province, a thousand years ago. Overnight, it became the most barren of all provinces in Nephrite Major.

Mo Yi’s tale about the mountain’s origin made Lu Yun’s heart itch with anticipation. There was an ancient city under the mountain! Anything buried and forgotten by history was fatally attractive to tomb raiders like him.

“You seem very interested in these things.” Mo Yi was caught off guard by Lu Yun’s visible excitement.

Lu Yun smiled. “Don’t you find it satisfying to recover forgotten histories from beneath the earth and bring them back out to the light of day?”

Mo Yi nodded after a pause. “True, the world of immortals was in shambles after the great war. It’s only been rebuilt because of the artifacts excavated from the ancient tombs.” She sighed faintly. “However, the tombs are very dangerous. There’s always great casualties during every excavation.”

“Right.” Lu Yun nodded in agreement. “The greater the danger, the greater the gain.”

The ancient tombs of immortals were indeed dangerous. Take Yuying’s tomb, as an example. It was just a regular immortal’s tomb, yet there were terrible things in it, like the thousand-year-old zombie, corpse flies, and stone spirits.

“Be careful of the envoy,” Mo Yi suddenly piped up. “He failed to use me to kill you, so his next attempt might come while we’re on the mountain.”

Lu Yun paused. “Are you sure it was him who set me up?”

Mo Yi nodded. “Everyone from Nephrite Capital wants you dead, including those from your own clan.”

Lu Yun fell silent; there seemed to be something more at play here. Something set his position apart from that of the other governors.

“Are you going to Mount Myriad Formation, milord? This old servant will follow you!” Ge Long volunteered himself with a righteous look on his face.

“Si—sir, this servant will go as well.” Fear tinged Wanfeng’s expression, but she clenched her jaw and volunteered.

“Ge Long will do. You should stay in the city lord manor.” Lu Yun patted her head and chuckled. “It’s fine if Ge Long dies, but I’d feel terrible if you get hurt.”

“You’re playing favorites, sir.” Wanfeng’s face flushed red and the tips of her ears turned crimson. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“Sweet talker,” huffed Mo Yi. “So our governor does live up to his reputation as a shameless skirt-chaser. You should be careful, girl. Don’t let him fool you.”

Lu Yun’s expression turned awkward.

“Pretty big sister, my house’s lord isn’t a shameless skirt-chaser! He—he’s still a virgin.” After wracking her brains, that was the only argument Wanfeng could come up with.