During his time inside the celestial master tomb, Fangyang Xing had asked extensively about Lu Yun. He’d indeed heard of supposed weapons of war, but thought that rumors of the youth carrying them on his person was just hot air and self-aggrandizement. He hadn’t taken that nonsense at face value.

But now, Lu Yun really had brought thirty of them out all at once. Moreover, Fangyang Xing’s consciousness could keenly sense the frightening energy stored inside them. A simultaneous barrage from all of them would engulf the entire area and leave him nowhere to hide. His bones would be ground to dust, his soul vaporized!

“Lu Yun, you were playing me for a fool!!” he screamed in despair. With a wave of a hand, he recalled the Skyturning Seal and turned into a stream of light that vanished from sight.

Why would Lu Yun even bother exchanging blows with me if he had those weapons of war in his possession? Just bring out the cannons. Would I have dared fight over the Timelight Tower? He’s even made me expose the Skyturning Seal!

Humiliation, anger, regret, and fear churned furiously in his mind.

So the Timelight Tower is his for the time being. I’ll return to the palace and think of another way! I might not have killed the demon sovereign this time, but I did obtain the Skyturning Seal. That’s still a great accomplishment!

Consoling himself with that thought, he didn’t dare tarry for one more second and immediately initiated a blood ritual, sacrificing his corporeal body and escaping in a hurry.

…… 

Thump!

Lu Yun plopped down on the ground after Fangyang Xing’s departure, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath.

Weapons of war?

The last of them had become junk after facing the endless hordes of corpse divines. These… were merely meant to scare his opponent. The thirty cannons could indeed generate terrifying energy… but with their mouths melted, they’d explode if he tried firing them.

If he’d truly been in a position to use their firepower, why would he have wasted so much time with Fangyang Xing? One cannon volley would’ve blown the man to pieces.

At any rate, Lu Yun was currently in terrible shape.

Burning eighteen karmic fruits, deploying hellfire, calling upon the Tome of Life and Death… handling all of that at the same time had pushed him to his limits. The energy inside him receded like the tides, leaving him sore and exhausted, while the internal injuries he’d done his best to suppress threatened to pick this moment to flare up.

Though his soul and consciousness had come out of it unscathed, his body was on the verge of breaking down. Had he continued fighting, not even his nascent spirit would’ve been able to heal the damage.

He immediately stuck several healing talismans on himself and ate a healing pill to slowly mend his wounds.

“Eighteen karmic fruits is my absolute limit right now,” he murmured. “The power I gain from burning eighteen of them is comparable to a void-realm immortal before their tribulation.

“That said, Fangyang Xing’s talent is second to none to begin with. He sensed the existence of the void realm thirty thousand years ago and had the conviction to set foot on that path. Now that he’s a disciple of the incredibly mysterious Firmament Palace, his cultivation methods and combat arts are all flawless specimens from the primordial times. Add to that him already ascending to immortality and equipped with a supreme treasure like the Skyturning Seal... it makes sense that he’s stronger than me.

“Once I become an immortal myself, he won’t be a match for me if we’re in the same realm.” Lu Yun sighed softly, opening his eyes a long moment later. The Sugato Sword was still by his side, having stood guard over him from start to finish.

“Don’t worry, the Skyturning Seal isn’t your opponent anymore.” He looked at the sword with a smile. “You’ve absorbed the power of hell and been tempered by hellfire, the Cosmic Sea, and other treasures, while the Skyturning Seal has been buried here for who knows how long. It’s power is no longer what it once was.”

Zing!

A metallic buzz came from the Sugato Sword, as if to say that the Skyturning Seal wouldn’t have been its match regardless, even if it hadn’t been buried in the tomb.

Lu Yun smiled wryly in silence. Treasures of this level had likely all spawned their own spirits. Although the Sugato Sword hadn’t become an existence like the Tiger and Dragon Princes, it possessed a modicum of self-awareness nonetheless.

This self-awareness had been dim and hazy at first, but running into the Skyturning Seal had thoroughly awakened it and made the treasure considerably stronger by roughly thirty percent.

Lu Yun had had to draw from his own energy to use it at first… but just now, he’d been surprised to discover that it had absorbed the energy from his immortal crystals on its own, resulting in a tremendous power boost that thwarted the Skyturning Seal!

“Another ace up my sleeve—a treasure with its own spirit!” Lu Yun gently buffed the Sugato Sword in front of him, the hint of a smile on his lips. “But this thing’s another glutton for immortal crystals. The more immortal crystals it takes in, the more powerful it is.”

In its brief clash with the Skyturning Seal, it had consumed close to ten million crystals. To leverage its full potential seemed to require as many crystals as his cannons.

Fangyang Xing couldn’t bring out the Skyturning Seal’s true power, but likewise, what the Sugato Sword had shown earlier was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Sugato Sword can become a god! The thought suddenly crossed his mind. With enough ritual sacrifices, the spirit inside can become a divine spirit.

“Hmmm, Dusk Province doesn’t have a guardian spirit yet.”

Rumble!

Just then, the silver mountain in front of him quaked, sending silver stones and boulders rolling down its slopes one after another. 

“These stones…” Lu Yun picked one of them up. “They contain the power of time…”

He jerked his head up.

A silver pagoda floated into the air, shedding brilliance like that of the incandescent halo of a scorching sun. At that very instant, a sea of silver flooded his vision and caused temporary vision loss.

“What the heck!” His heart suddenly pounded fiercely, as if a wild beast had set its sights on him. All the hairs on his body stood on end.

“I have to leave!” He forced the Spectral Eye open and immediately shifted away from his position with the Wandering Step.

Boom!!

Like a giant foot had stomped on the ground, the entire area began to tremble. Even after moving away, Lu Yun still suffered heavy injuries from the violent vibrations.

Countless of his bones had been broken in that split instant, but even now, he didn’t have the faintest what had just happened.

“Don’t!!” Like a cuckoo crying blood, Jing Huaci wailed in extreme distress.