Lu Yun might be rumormongering, but he was doing so with solemn sincerity. There was great conviction behind his tone, and everything he said hit a nerve.

Although the aether dao immortal from the North Sea Court knew Lu Yun was blatantly making things up, it didn’t stop a seed of doubt from being planted in his heart. Had His Majesty really discovered the way to pick an origin dao fruit?

His hesitation didn’t escape the attention of the onlooking immortals. Donglin Biying, especially, took note of his strange reaction. Lu Yun is probably telling the truth! That Beigong Xuan really has found a way to pluck an origin dao fruit!

“You are right, Lu Yun.” The voice of the aether dao immortal of the North Sea shifted into a low and booming timbre. Even his presence underwent a complete transformation.

Beigong Xuan!

The North Sea emperor had descended upon the aether dao immortal and temporarily replaced his consciousness. His sudden emergence alerted the other immortals and they backed away, readying themselves for battle, worried that the monster spirit emperor would go on a sudden killing spree.

“We have found a way to pluck origin dao fruit.”

Silence rang after that admission. Lu Yun frowned, but didn’t say anything.

“Wouldn’t you like to know what it is?” Beigong Xuan smiled faintly. “It is to infuse the Divine Seaward Iron—Our clan’s treasure—with the power of the dragon vein in order to leverage the might of the four seas and form a heavenly mandate. With the mandate of the four seas as protection, one will be able to safely pick the fruit.

“However, you’ve stolen both Our dragon vein and Our clan treasure.” Beigong Xuan put his arms behind his back, his smile dropping from his face.

The celestial emperors of the nine majors were able to ascend to the origin dao realm because they were protected by heavenly mandates, which allowed them to pluck their dao fruit. With heavenly mandates tamed by past celestial emperors, all new celestial emperors gained their mandate’s recognition and protection as soon as they assumed the throne. Cultivation thus became the only prerequisite for their ascension.

Nevertheless, in order to become real celestial emperors, they would have to pluck nine origin dao fruit and inspire them to resonate in unison before the immortal could attract a heavenly mandate and refine it.

Of course, Lu Yun could tell Beigong Xuan was blowing hot air as well. He’d just made up rumors about Beigong Xuan, and in retaliation, Beigong Xuan had set him up.

A complex mix of expressions passed through the crowd’s faces as they listened to the back and forth. They couldn’t tell who was telling the truth. However, they had to take the claims seriously no matter their validity. Neither Beigong Xuan nor Lu Yun were the harmless sorts.

“Lu Daoling of the Lu Clan is one who’s plucked nine arcane dao fruit,” Beigong Xuan sneered. “With the foundation he built for himself, he’ll pluck an origin dao fruit immediately after gaining the heavenly mandate of the four seas.”

“Are you saying that my clan’s ancestor is going to refine the heavenly mandate of the four seas with the Divine Seaward Iron?” Lu Yun smirked.

Thud!

With a wave of his hand, a black cannon clonked portentously to the ground, sending a tremor through the skydragon tomb.

The Black Emperor!

Lu Yun had melted the Divine Seaward Iron and refined the cannon based on the structure of various weapons of war.

Beigong Xuan’s pupils contracted violently. “You… you destroyed Our clan treasure!!” he raged, eyeballs almost popping out in his fury. The Divine Seaward Iron was the divine treasure of the blackwater snakes, and all of the North Sea monster spirits. He instantly recognized the material used to refine the strange treasure before him.

“Hahaha!” Lu Yun broke into loud laughter. “Are you insulting your own intelligence with these lies, Beigong Xuan? Plucking origin dao fruit with the heavenly mandate of the four seas? The four seas are four spatial fragments identical to the vastless cosmos outside the world of immortals. They possess no heavenly mandates!

“So dragon veins are the key to you picking your origin dao fruit! If you’ve ever lost a dragon vein, folks,” proclaimed the human youth, “it must have been stolen by Beigong Xuan!”

Beigong Xuan was already charging the youth with no holds barred. His true self wasn’t here, but he was able to unleash the power of an arcane dao immortal with his consciousness attached to the peak aether dao immortal.

Situ Yun was ready to activate the Pelagic Orb, but Lu Yun reacted before he could. No sooner had Beigong Xuan moved a single muscle than Lu Yun burned a sum of three billion immortal crystals!

A beam of ghastly light shot out of the Black Emperor.

Bam!

The world fell silent.

“Fucking shit, this again?!” Deep within the dragon tomb, Beigong Xuan caterwauled with fury.

……

“A, a weapon of war!!” someone screamed in terror. Lu Yun carried a weapon of war on him!

Didn’t those things need to be connected to an underground vein, and weren’t they immobile?! Why did Lu Yun have a weapon of war as part of his personal possessions?!

Everyone turned to him with dread. That one shot had been enough to kill an arcane dao immortal!

The peak aether dao immortal Beigong Xuan had possessed had evaporated under the attack and entered hell as Lu Yun’s Infernum. Even Donglin Biying, who’d been standing nearby, had suffered the same fate as well. The small crack they’d been blocking was now a giant hole three hundred meters across.

Situ Zong gaped, at a loss for words. Now he understood why Lu Yun and Qing Han had dared venture into the skydragon tomb on their own. The weapon of war alone was enough to kill anyone and anything!

“Alright,” Lu Yun said casually. “The opening’s big enough now, everyone may come and go freely. I’m not going to charge you anything.”

He flashed a warm smile—at least, he thought it was warm, but to others, it looked like the leer of a devil.

A heartbeat later, Lu Yun realized with resignation that he hadn’t gained any goodwill from the immortals around him. Clearly, he’d scared them out of their wits with that demonstration, and they scattered immediately.

Lu Yun rubbed his nose. “Am I really that scary?”

Situ Zong nodded blankly, not yet recovered from the shock.

“Not scary,” Qing Han responded with utmost seriousness, “but mighty!”

“Yes, the young lord is mighty!” Situ Yun agreed, excitement dancing across his face. Only someone who could kill dao immortals without any hesitation could be the young lord of the Star Demon Sect!

“Mm, yes, well said!” Lu Yun sent the Black Emperor back into hell.

“Young lord...” Situ Zong spoke up. “The weapon of war should be your secret weapon. Now it’s known to the world...”

“It’s what I used to destroy Beigong Xuan’s replica,” Lu Yun shook his head and continued, “so he knew about it already. I can at least get the most out of it by using it again. After all, I have you. Don’t use the Pelagic Orb without a good reason, it’s our real secret weapon!”

Situ Zong was momentarily overwhelmed, but then his expression froze. After a moment’s thought, Lu Yun had taken the Black Emperor out again and rested it on Situ Zong’s shoulder. The unwitting weapons bearer staggered and almost toppled to the ground.

“Keep this with you,” Lu Yun said gravely, “and no one will come after us.”

“So heavy...” Situ Zong agreed with a wry smile. The weapon really was too heavy. If his cultivation hadn’t reached peak aether dao immortal realm, he wouldn’t have been able to carry it.

Of course, Lu Yun didn’t think the Pelagic Orb would be able to kill Beigong Xuan either. The Black Emperor was still his real trump card. The last attack had only burned three billion immortal crystals, but its maximum capacity was ten billion!

In other words, he’d only tapped into thirty percent of the cannon’s full power.