Chapter 401: The Dao of Monster Spirits (1/2)

“It won’t work.” Lu Yun shook his head in resignation after studying the glyphs. “They’ve been branded by the nascent spirits of the cultivators who owned them. Although the cultivators are dead, the brands remain, albeit in a dim, inactive state.”

“Then we’ll have to enter the city for the Life Glyphs.” Qing Han nodded worriedly.

“The good thing is my Shapeshifting art can fool even the nine celestial emperors… I’m curious, though, what’ve you done to disguise yourself? I haven’t been able to see your true form all this time...” Lu Yun gave Qing Han a onceover.

“It’s the power of starstones,” Qing Han shot him a glare and responded after a brief pause, his tone uneasy. “The starstones draw upon the power of the stars in the sky to create a shapeshifting barrer around me. Since the power belongs to nature, very few can see through it.”

Lu Yun didn’t dig further after that. As someone living his second life, he understood where Qing Han was coming from. She dwelled on too many concerns, but he wasn’t the impatient sort. Some things were worth waiting for. [1]

Qing Han sighed in relief after Lu Yun dropped the issue. For some reason, she was reminded of the time Lu Yun treated her with the Poison Fiend.

……

“Oh? It’s the two bumpkins. They returned in one piece!” Cultivators who had witnessed Lu Yun and Qing Han leave with the old man were rather surprised to see them return.

“Yi Tianling didn’t kill them?”

“Why would he kill us?” Lu Yun asked, his head cocked and lips curved into a mocking smile.

“Um...” the man awkwardly fell silent. Many knew what Yi Tianling was doing, but none of them had ever thought to warn the cultivators he’d preyed on.

“Come on.” Qing Han grabbed Lu Yun and walked away; none of these people were worth their time.

Now he knew what the half-smile on Lu Yun’s face had meant when he’d heard about the True Sovereign Meet. It might have been organized for a good purpose, but the execution… left a great deal to be desired.

Three years ago, Lu Yun and the others had planned the Sovereign Meet to promote the exchange of information amid friendly sparring. It would allow cultivators of all levels to test their knowledge and improve themselves together.

This Sovereign Meet, however, had much higher stakes. Great rewards could be won, and there was an ancient secret realm to be explored. By now, many cultivators had forgotten the original motivation for the gathering. The importance of the journey itself had fallen by the wayside, replaced by a drive for rewards and unknown opportunities.

All of the other cultivators were their obstacles or stepping stones, and everyone wanted nothing more than to weed out the competition.

There were two days until the Sovereign Meet commenced, but the organizers were still handing out Life Glyphs.

It was the first ever Sovereign Meet, so it was only natural that preparations would be lacking and the great factions in the world devoid of sufficient experience in holding such an event. Therefore, the registration process—namely, the process of requesting a Life Glyph—would only come to an end two hours before the event commenced.

Not only were the cultivators in a frenzy in and around Destiny City, but the organizers were constantly bustling back and forth in a flurry of action as well.

“What an impressive city!” Outside the city, Lu Yun scanned the feng shui out of habit.

“Five dragons on the ground form four dragons, four dragons soar into the sky to become five dragons. This is a layout of the nine emperors!” A chill went down Lu Yun’s spine. “Is the city lord trying to become the immortal emperor of the world?”

“What?” Qing Han gaped at Lu Yun.