Chapter 191: Celestial Emperor of Exalted Major? (1/2)

“Blood dragon and blood phoenix....” Lu Yun’s expression darkened as he stared at the blood phoenix approaching him. “Tell me, are there any other blood whatevers in the world?”

“You may not get an answer if you ask anyone else, even Myrtlestar,” responded the dread zombie. “There are two more blood fiends apart from these two: blood qilin and blood turtle.”

“Dragon, phoenix, qilin, and turtle.” The governor paused in shocked recognition.

There were four divine beasts that represented the gods of the four cardinal directions—the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. There were also four auspicious spirits of good omens—the dragon, phoenix, qilin, and turtle!

Noting Lu Yun’s dazed expression, the dread zombie continued, “That’s right. It’s those four creatures of auspicious omens. Blood fiends themselves have no physical form, but they can manifest through dragons, phoenixes, qilins, and turtles to plague the world with disaster and destruction.

“Isn’t it funny? What the world hails as auspicious creatures delivering peace and prosperity can become world-ending nightmares just like that.”

Lu Yun’s expression shifted uneasily in tandem with his thoughts.

“Come, come to me...” the blood phoenix whispered to the governor like one would a lover. “Let me use your body, your blood, your flesh, your bones, and your soul to refine this supreme divine sword. Come to me!”

Crimson light exploded from its body and a pungent smell broke through the protection of hellfire to assault Lu Yun’s senses. Lightheaded, he felt an urge to complete the Sword of Chaos with his own flesh and blood.

“Wake up!” He bit his tongue and jerked himself awake. The blood phoenix was only a little more than three meters away from him.

“Come, come, let’s complete this sword together and return the divine race to its glory. The light of the divines will shine on all the heavenly planes once again.”

“Piss off!” growled Lu Yun, throwing a powerful punch at the blood phoenix.

The phoenix flashed back to the smithing platform under the giant sword and continued hammering Huang Qing’s body.

“Hm?” Lu Yun started and whirled around, coming face to face with a young man. The newcomer wore a worn, white robe with an expression that suggested ancient pain. His eyes seemed to house a boundless ocean of stars.

“I told you the Sword Barrow spells doom and that trespassers will die.” His voice grated like two pieces of dry wood rubbing together.

Lu Yun shuddered violently. “You’re the Dusk restriction!”

The young man being here was nigh unfathomable! Lu Yun had seen that pair of eyes twice before. Once outside Dusk City, where the eyes glared Donglin Yuhuang, the patriarch of House Donglin, to death by popping him like a bubble.

The other time was outside this very Sword Barrow.

Lu Yun took a closer look at the unexpected visitor. The young man was neither alive nor dead, but stuck somewhere in between and was alternating between the two states.

“Restriction?” The young man paused. “Many seem to have called me that over the past thousand years.” That was when the restriction had appeared in Dusk Province.

“Then what did people call you before that?” Lu Yun sucked in a deep breath.

The man’s eyes grew unfocused as he travelled down the dusty hallways of memory. “A thousand years ago, many called me… His Majesty the Celestial Emperor of Exalted Major.”

“What?!” Lu Yun’s eyes threatened to fall out of his skull. “The Exalted celestial emperor?! You’re him?!” He reflexively took a few steps back. “Who’s the one that stands with the nine celestial emperors now?”

Lu Yun immediately contacted hell with his mind. His envoys had all died more than a thousand years ago, so they wouldn’t know about things that had occurred after their death. He could only ask the Infernum.