“Good idea!” Lu Yun’s eyes shone at Qing Yu’s suggestion. Though positive that the cannon would be destroyed by Scarlet Ape’s staff, it would save his life in the process. Given the options of sacrificing a treasure and surefire death, he naturally chose the former without a shred of hesitation.

Moreover, the cannon could be remade even if destroyed. The necessary raw material just so happened to be the Divine Seaquell Staff in Scarlet Ape’s possession. No matter how mighty the staff was, it would at most destroy the cannon’s internal structure, which wouldn’t prevent it from being reforged.

“There’s no rush right now.” His mood was now much more relaxed. “Let’s wait for Xing Chen to finish his meditation first.”

“I’ll go back to my research then!” Qing Yu suddenly leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek. Smooch! Then she was gone again, reappearing on the floating peak.

Slack-jawed, Lu Yun rubbed his cheek and chortled foolishly like an idiot. “This chick is marking her territory!”

It took him a long while to recover his wits. Qing Yu naturally knew of everything that had transpired between him and the little nun, and since the latter was present, Qing Yu wouldn’t cede an inch and had declared her possession straight away.

The little nun glanced at Lu Yun with a bit of frustrated suffering in her gaze, then went back to the research, ever so slightly moodier than before.

……

Days turned into years, and a full century flew by inside hell.

In those hundred years, Qing Yu and the rest sank into meditation, exchanging insights via their nascent spirits. Lu Yun deployed a great formation around the floating peak with immortal crystals to supplement the vitality that Qing Yu and the little nun required.

Cultivators could feed off the energy of the world. Even without food, they wouldn’t starve to death as long as they obtained sufficient energy. Immortal crystals contained immortal energy, which was formed by high level energy of the world and was enough to sustain Qing Yu and the little nun.

Despite that, the environment inside hell was a peculiar one. The immortal dao here was a projection instead of a complete path. Other than the Envoys of Samsara, not even Lu Yun himself could cultivate inside.

In any case, a hundred years of seclusion was nothing to speak of for cultivators and immortals alike. While the contemporary world’s history of a hundred thousand years might appear long and illustrious at first glance, it was but a fleeting moment for many immortals.

According to legend, some immortals back in the primordial era would seclude themselves for dozens of millennia at a time. Even in modern society, many immortals often entered closed door cultivation for several thousands of years at a time.

In comparison, a hundred years didn’t seem all that long.

Of course, once Lu Yun left the netherworld, time inside hell would fall in sync with the outside world again. It would be as if no time had passed at all, and not even their lifespans would be affected.

“Success!” Xing Chen opened his eyes, excitement sparkling within. By now, the giant lungs had been fully refined and fused with the replica’s body.

“That’s the feeling! This strength is weaker than what the corpse puppet can make use of, and isn’t comparable to when my real self is enhanced by the power of hell… but those are borrowed powers and this strength is my own!” Mirth colored Xing Chen’s face.

Boom!

He suddenly punched the air and generated an explosive sound that nearly tore apart space itself. Space in the fractured hell wasn’t as stable as in the world of immortals, but ordinary golden immortals, or even dao immortals, would still be hard pressed to rip into it.

“An all-out punch from me can blow up at least an ordinary aether dao immortal! That was also just a punch with no combat arts, immortal techniques, no nothing!”

Ever-lingering apprehension about his personal safety could finally be put to rest. He could now confidently stand tall in the world of immortals. With battle strength sufficient to rival an arcane dao immortal, he was a genuine powerhouse at the top of this world. While his real self was still weak, he now had a trump card to at least guarantee his safety at the bare minimum.

He glanced over at the girls. They were still deep in meditation, hazy rays of light radiating from their figures a clear indication that they’d reached a crucial stage.

“I can save them some time if I stay in here, but the link between hell and the outside world will be completely severed if I do that. If I go outside, I can act as a medium to establish a faint connection between the two worlds. This way, the immortal dao outside will acknowledge their newly created method to deduce combat arts.”

Otherwise, even if Qing Yu and the little nun were successful in their pursuit, the resulting product would only be a ‘method’, rather than an independent school of thought.

A new method would at most be remembered by men, but a brand-new school of thought would be forever etched into the immortal dao itself and benefit them in countless ways.

“It’s time to head out.” Lu Yun sprang into action and merged with his replica. He had to exit in person, or else time would freeze for Xing Chen the moment he left through the Gates of the Abyss.

It had nothing to do with Lu Yun’s consciousness, but with the Tome of Life and Death in his possession. After merging with his replica, he brought out the Black Emperor.

“My thoughts can’t keep up with Scarlet Ape’s speed, so this is the only way! Ten billion immortal crystals for a fully-powered shot!”

Boom!

Lu Yun adjusted the cannon’s aim, then combusted ten billion immortal crystals for fuel and fired the cannon at maximum power.

A terrifying column of white light spewed from the cannon’s mouth. At the same exact instant, Lu Yun and Xing Chen’s combined body set foot inside the celestial master tomb.

Boom!!

……

“What?!” Scarlet Ape’s eyes shot wide with astonishment and its face spoke volumes about its incredulity. The vast and terrible power facing it slammed right into the iron staff in its hand.

Caught off guard, the ape was sent flying by the explosion.

Bang!!

At the same time, its great iron staff landed heavily on the Black Emperor’s mouth. With frightening force, it destroyed the cannon’s formation runes, talisman runes, and the weapon’s internal structure. Following which, the cannon smashed heavily into Xing Chen’s chest.

Puff!!!

Fresh blood vomited furiously from the replica’s mouth as his body crashed heavily against the wall behind him, instantly turning into flattened flesh. The Black Emperor hurtled after him and smashed him again.

This second blow drilled a hole through Xing Chen and nailed him firmly to the wall of bones. If Lu Yun’s real body had been the one carrying the cannon… he no doubt would’ve been pulverized to bits by now.

His real body had detached itself from Xing Chen earlier on. Still, Lu Yun’s face was pale and a thick streak of blood flowed down his lips, a testament to the severe wounds he’d also suffered.

He lifted a hand and sent his replica’s body, replete with a big hole in the middle, back to hell together alongside the ruined cannon.

With another wave, he summoned three hundred more weapons of war, all of their pitch-black cannon mouths glowing with white brilliance and aimed squarely at the two scarlet apes.