Chapter 674: Yellow Springs Land, Sir Yu (1/2)

A deafening bang detonated in the air as black smoke wafted over all of Center Province. Mount Exalted was nowhere in sight, and neither were the two celestial palaces anywhere to be found.

……

The world grieved for the deaths of the two celestial emperors.

Unlike Zhao Changkong or Tuoba Jie, [1] the Exalted and Truespirit rulers had truly grasped what it meant to be a celestial emperor before their deaths, thereby gaining the recognition of their heavenly mandates. They’d been celestial emperors in the finest sense, and the land itself mourned their passing. The immortal dao trembled, and all beings far and wide wept with sorrow.

“I didn’t expect it to be the Truespirit celestial emperor…” Outside Center Province, Lu Yun stood on the peak of a mountain and silently gazed upon where Mount Exalted had once towered into the clouds.

“They died a meaningful death… Once Mount Exalted rose into the void, it would’ve become a land of demons and progressively gnawed away at the world of immortals,” Qing Yu said softly.

“You’re right.” Lu Yun nodded. “Thankfully for us all, both of them were true celestial emperors.”

Only celestial emperors would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world. No other powerhouses would do anything remotely similar. Instead, they’d be the first to flee when their lives were in danger, and would never stay to fight to the bitter end.

Lu Yun was no exception, either. He wasn’t a villain, but neither was he anything close to a white knight of shining chivalry. Everything he did was for his own sake; such was human nature.

“To think that my Death Spike would end up destroying not only the Exalted Immortal Sect, but also all of Exalted Major…” Lu Yun’s head hung low, his face wan.

The Exalted celestial emperor was dead, and the Exalted Immortal Sect destroyed. Although formidable clans still remained in Exalted Major, the major’s main pillars had collapsed. Sooner or later, Exalted Major would fall into the hands of another faction. After all, it didn’t have powerful guardians like Art and Zither Saints.

“Exalted Major won’t be destroyed. She still has some crippled origin dao immortals left, so any would-be invaders would pay a heavy price,” Qing Yu consoled. “This doesn’t have anything to do with your Death Spike. The events of today were destined to happen ever since the demon possessed the divine emperor’s true spirit.”

Without Lu Yun, Ge Yanxia would’ve freed the demon god on her first try. With that, all of Exalted Major would’ve become a demonic land, its denizens condemned to a cruel fate. Present circumstances were the best one could hope for, and they had nothing to do with his Death Spike.

“The next ruler of Exalted Major should be Zhao Wushuang… she has the makings of a celestial emperor. Perhaps she’ll grow into the greatest empress of the nine majors.” With a nod, Lu Yun pushed his negative thoughts aside.

“True.” Qing Yu nodded as well. “Let’s go back. There are many things waiting for us in Dusk Province.”

……

Lu Yun had finally obtained the supreme treasure below Mount Exalted, but for some reason, whenever he thought of the two celestial emperors’ final sacrifice and ramming their palaces straight into Mount Exalted, he couldn’t help but fall into momentary despondency.

For his part, Ge Long briefly emerged and fused the tiny formation diagram beneath Dusken soil. Then he’d hauled a dragon vein out of thin air and placed it on top of the diagram, securing it in place.

A somber sword aura instantly engulfed all of Dusk Province, but dispersed as fast as it’d appeared, as if those living in the province had suffered a second’s worth of mass hallucination.

During this period of time, Dusk Province’s coffers were flung wide open and spilled forth a torrent of immortal crystals. The bounty for House Donglin had begun to bear fruit.

Naturally, many tried to cheat their way to a reward. They offered limbs severed from still-living Donglin immortals, or perhaps heads and nascent spirits belonging to unrelated parties.

But as the master of the Tome of Life and Death and possessing a nascent spirit modeled after the six paths of reincarnation, it was child’s play for Lu Yun to examine the lineage of the deceased. As a result, all who resorted to skulduggery were expelled after a good beating for their nonsense.

Not only had House Donglin suffered serious casualties in recent days, but the people of Exalted Major also hated them to the bone. They’d all heard the stone spirit drone on and on about “I, Dongling Taihuang” and what he’d do, leading them to believe that Donglin Taihuang had been the originator of the dreadful stone spirit.