‘Ninth Heaven’s Demon-Destroying Patriarch’ was a very unfamiliar name, not only for the crowd of gathered immortals, but also for the Exalted celestial emperor, Zhao Wushuang, and even Empress Myrtlestar inside the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals. All of them were thoroughly mystified.

They’d never heard of anyone with such a title in the world of immortals, but there was no doubt that the man was a powerhouse beyond compare, one that surpassed the celestial emperors of the nine majors!

Unbeknownst to the rest, Lu Yun’s mind was also in chaos. Just now, the Demon-Destroying Patriarch had nodded at him!

The ancient records spoke of the summoned patriarch as a simple demon-slaying entity. Once the target was destroyed, the summons would dissipate. Nowhere had he ever read that the patriarch possessed its own thoughts and consciousness!

……

“Aiya!” Lu Yun whacked his head and shouted loudly, “There’s more pressing matters at hand! Come with me, I’ll show you where the demon fetus is really sealed. We need to stop it before it’s among us!”

“Where the fetus is truly sealed?” The Exalted celestial emperor frowned.

“Stop it from arriving among us? More like you want to use us as sacrifices to welcome it to the world!” Ling Chengzu sneered. Close to a thousand immortals had died to the zombie just now. All those casualties from one zombie!

Scarred by the experience, almost every immortal present lacked the courage for further action. If even a simple zombie was this strong, how could they fight against a so-called demon god?

“Yin Qingran, you colluded with the zombies of this tomb to steal the Divine Fire Bead from our clan. Now repay this debt!” Ling Chengzu stepped forward and released nine aether dao fruits from his body, projecting a vast, terrible aura that restricted the young man’s movements.

Sneering coldly, many nearby looked at ‘Yin Qingran’ with frosty looks. For his part, the Exalted celestial emperor remained silent. The Yin Clan was nothing but a piddling second-tier clan. A true immortal from that inconsequential faction had somehow gotten his hands on a connate treasure!

A second-tier clan? Who were they to possess such an item?

A connate treasure could propel a major clan to the apex of the world. Even the nine heavenly courts lusted after such items.

The Exalted celestial emperor couldn’t stop all of these immortals by himself. In fact, he was desperately fighting his own impulses. As a freshly crowned celestial emperor, Zhao Luo wasn’t as impervious to worldly desires as the nine emperors from the previous generation had been.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let us handle the connate treasure another day. The demon fetus is the most pressing matter for now!” Zhao Wushuang pleaded. “Do not let petty gains blind to you to the greater picture!”

“Hahaha!” other immortals countered. “The demon fetus? Prince Wushuang, didn’t you see the formidable strength of the Ninth Heaven’s Demon-Destroying Patriarch from Dusk Province? Didn’t he slay the one you called the zombie of a divine emperor in one blow? Don’t they want to be a sacred land? Something as important as exorcising a demon should be left to them.

“As for us, we are just ordinary people. We only care about connate treasures!” The immortals laughed merrily and didn’t show the slightest intention to help. “Also, I see that Yin Qingran is in possession of a crystal cannon from Dusk Province. What’s more, he uses it without any concern whatsoever. He’s clearly become Lu Yun’s lackey!”

“Lu Yun of Dusk Province is the head of the Star Demon Sect. What an illustrious character, a demon among demons! It’s the duty of us all to put him down. Yin Qingran, since you’ve become his dog, you should be prepared to be hunted down by the entire world!”

Lu Yun didn’t recognize the ones speaking and doubted he’d ever offended them in any way. He’d stolen the connate treasure from under the Ling Clan’s nose because there was enmity between them, but seeing people he had no grudge with suddenly turn on him caught him by surprise.

“In the world of immortals, does one have to be either a friend or an enemy? Is there no middle ground?” he mumbled to himself with a frown.

“Junior brother Yin!” Eldest disciple of Destiny City, Xi Yingchen, stepped out and asked with a severe expression, “I would like to know where we might find Destiny City’s martial uncle Qi Hai!”

“Qi Hai? He’s right where the fetus is sealed. Currently, he’s fighting to stop the advent of the demon,” Lu Yun replied expressionlessly.

“In that case, please show us the way, junior brother Yin!” Xi Yingchen’s attitude softened immediately. When Lu Yun handed him a jade slip etched from a nascent spirit, he took a deep breath and added, “Many thanks, junior brother Yin!”

“Disciples of Destiny City, come with me!” More than three thousand immortals flew like the wind to where the demon fetus was sealed. Inside the jade slip was marked the shortest route, as well as a few spots of danger along the way.

“We’re also going.” Noting Lu Yun’s expression, Qing Yu realized how critical the situation was. She immediately collected Lin Yu and Lin Xuan and headed in the same direction without further ado.

“You can go if you want!” An arcane dao immortal from the Exalted Immortal Sect blocked her way. “Just leave behind the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals and your connate spirit root!”

This arcane dao immortal was blessed with handsome features and seemed extraordinarily youthful, but his eyes betrayed a sinister, licentious glint.

Boom!

A pillar of white light exploded as soon as he spoke and hit him dead on. The man shrieked miserably, his body torn to pieces and life gone in the blink of an eye. His true spirit then entered hell and became an Infernum, but the violent and unpredictable undulations inside the netherworld promptly shredded him to pieces and killed him for good.

“Don’t you people want the Divine Fire Bead?” Lu Yun patted the crystal cannon beside him with a faint smile. “Have at it! I’ll gladly hand the bead to anyone who can survive a shot from my cannon!

“Ling Chengzu, why don’t you give it a try?” He pointed the cannon straight at Ling Chengzu.

“No, no, that’s—”

Boom!

A blast hit the man before he could fully articulate his thoughts. This time, the victim didn’t even have time to scream before being mowed down. Like the arcane dao immortal before him, he, too, died for good as soon as he entered hell.

The scene cowed the rest of the crowd. No one expected that ‘Yin Qingran’ would truly dare to use the cannon!

Yin Qingran… of course it was Yin Qingran.

Lu Yun was masquerading as Yin Qingran even now. With Shapeshifting, he’d become the man himself and none of his own features could be seen anywhere. Alas, yet another misdeed had been firmly pinned on the hapless Yin genius!

At that moment, the real deal had hunted down ten Donglin immortals and was gleefully counting up how many immortal crystals he’d receive in exchange.

For his part, Lu Yun was too furious to care about who was taking the fall for him. He only cared about killing! He had to kill, or the flames of anger raging in his heart wouldn’t be appeased.

“Who else wants the Divine Fire Bead?!” His cold eyes swept past the crowd.

Boom!

Clouds of dust kicked up in the air as the entire tomb shook following a large explosion.

“Ouuuuu!” A demonic howl swept the mausoleum, accompanied by overpowering demonic energy that flooded into every corner of the tomb. Centimeter by centimeter, the energy corrupted the ground at their feet and transformed it into… demonic soil!

“The demon fetus… is born!” shuddered the celestial emperor, his eyes bespeaking his despair.

“So Ge Yanxia used a third way to bring the demon fetus into this world,” Lu Yun sighed. “Let’s go. Whatever happens next has nothing to do with us.”