The Formation Orb flew out of Lu Yun’s hand while his luopan morphed into an embryonic minor world. There was already a dragon vein here that he could tap into for purposes of adjusting the environment. He’d be able to create the layouts necessary without further manipulation of the vein.

Lu Yun was most familiar with the Enneawyrm Coffinbearers layout as it’d once appeared on Earth. Meanwhile, the Nine-Phoenix Casket and Enneaqilin Coffinbiers were layouts he’d only ever heard of, but never seen with his own eyes.

That was no matter, as all three of those coffins now sat in hell; he could simply create the layouts by tracing their physical manifestations.

……

As soon as Lu Yun’s consciousness entered hell to scrutinize the Enneaqilin Coffinbiers and the Nine-Phoenix Casket, the Enneawyrm Coffinbearers released a beam of black light that enveloped the other two coffins.

Rumble!

A tremor tore through the air, heralding the opening of the Gates of the Abyss amidst a terrifying, thundering din. The three giant coffins flew ponderously out of hell, interrupting Lu Yun’s Dragonsearch Invocation.

“What… what the heck?!” Lu Yun had long noticed that the Enneawyrm Coffinbearers, Nine-Phoenix Casket, and Enneaqilin Coffinbiers could open the Gates of the Abyss at will. Moreover, the Enneawyrm Coffinbearers would charge out from hell to help him whenever he encountered great danger.

The other two coffins had remained quietly in their places up to now, so Lu Yun was highly taken aback to see them all spring to action.

“Just who are the three coffins housing?” He paused and flashed back to guard Jing Dichen, Beicang Qiong, and the Deaf Prince.

At the same time, Yueshen and her bloodcorpses returned to hell. The three coffins seemed to recognize only Lu Yun, so anyone else might be caught in the crossfire if they stuck around.

“If my guess is correct, the Ninefooted Turtle Cist should be in the celestial master tomb as well… Is it in this great treasure?” Lu Yun couldn’t help but speculate.

Bam!

The air trembled violently when the three great coffins landed heavily on the ground. Anguished screams rent the air as countless crystal mountains disintegrated.

“No!” Lu Yun screamed. The mountain trapping Bai Qi, Feng Ruyu, and Lin Yan had collapsed as well under the terrifying power of the three coffins.

Hum.

Before he could do anything, the faint golden light shrouding Lin Yan exploded with the radiance of the sun, deterring the sweeping might of the coffins. Lu Yun gaped in shock, narrowing his eyes against the dazzling glare.

The Tribulation Surrogate Pill!

Such was the pill’s power, and it was the first time Lu Yun had witnessed it since refining it! He knew very well just how powerful the coffins were, yet the pill had completely offset their power!

Bam!!

A great explosion blasted through the air as Lin Yan, Bai Qi, and Feng Ruyu’s bodies rushed toward Lu Yun in a long streak of gold. Lu Yun quickly activated the branch of the Path of Ingress in his body to welcome them. They’d all lost consciousness.

The Tribulation Surrogate Pill could resolve their dangers, but the impact of the collision had still been too strong. Nevertheless, it was actually a good thing that they were unconscious.

……

“Who goes there?!” roared an angry voice.

The immortal energy in the palace suddenly churned into a great vortex that swept in all directions.

Rumble!

Booms reverberated through the air as pockets of space collapsed within the great crystal mountain cradled in the hands of Empress Timelight’s body, reverting back to pure immortal energy.

A figure of blue and white stepped out from the void. Completely naked, the woman’s skin was flawless and smooth. She looked like a piece of art chiseled from immortal crystals, and deep blue light flickered all around her.

“It’s you, Lu Yun!” The woman’s gaze focused on Lu Yun. “And the six pieces I set into motion have returned!”

The deep blue light around her morphed into a dress as she slowly descended to the ground.

“You’re the soul fragment!” Lu Yun started when he got a better look. “No, no wait, you’re not the fragment outside... You’ve always been in here! You divided your true spirit in halves!”

She looked completely different from the soul fragment outside. Beauty that could likewise topple cities, she was an entirely different person. The fragment outside had turned herself into Empress Timelight, while the woman before him retained her original appearance!

However, she was a soul fragment as well; one that matched the fragment outside and would come together to form a complete true spirit. This woman could rival a great emperor—or perhaps she was a great emperor herself. It was sheer madness that she’d split her true spirit into two!

Inky smoke billowed out from the Enneawyrm Coffinbearers, Nine-Phoenix Casket, and Enneaqilin Coffinbiers to corrupt the great crystal treasure from the inside.

Face like frost, the woman glared coldly at Lu Yun. “I have indeed underestimated you. What terrible things you’ve summoned here!”

She raised her hand, and what undamaged crystal mountains remained fell into her hands as crystal monsters, accompanied by a tremor through the air. A large mouth and a pair of pale, ghastly eyes emerged behind her.

It belonged to the crystal monster that Lu Yun had encountered in the space where heavenly qi was converted.

“What uh… what?”

The woman seemed to have reversed space with a simple move, as if she wielded full control over this place.

“Spatial power?” Lu Yun paused. However, this was no time for him to pursue that line of thought.

The crystal woman was already making a move against him. Believing Lu Yun to be responsible for the three coffins, all would return to normal once she dealt with the impertinent youth.

A palm strike descended upon Lu Yun, who felt like he’d been cocooned from the world, orphaned and abandoned by all of existence. However, a great rumbling echoed by his ear in the next moment. A giant skeletal arm shot out of the Enneawyrm Coffinbearers and slammed into the woman’s palm.