Three hundred and sixty-five star divinities!

They were the strongest forces of the ancient immortal dynasty. Though they were only ingress realm existences, they could threaten the immortal emperor himself when fighting in concert!

Lu Yun quailed slightly at the revelation.

“Star divinities who can manifest a myriad of cosmic phenomena?” Inspiration struck him.

He was familiar with the concept, thanks to the cosmic feng shui method recorded by his sect. A cosmic manifestation was a sea of stars, not something that could be summed up by three hundred and something celestial bodies.

“If that was really the case, there was probably some enmity between the Monster Celestial Master and the ancient immortal court, so he deliberately engineered its fall.”

Hearing his new master’s murmurings, Kui looked up in shock, wanting to contradict him. But it didn’t have the courage as it was now one of Lu Yun’s Infernum.

“Star divinities who can match an emperor-level powerhouse when acting together... As well as Fengbo, Yushi, and you, who were peak principal realm existences, half a foot in the emperor realm yourselves... Altogether, that made up roughly half of the immortal court’s strength.”

Lu Yun cast a glance at Kui. “The Monster Celestial Master buried all of you together with himself before the cataclysm arrived. The immortal dynasty might’ve stood a chance if it could call upon every resource at its disposal, but it didn’t have a prayer with you people gone.”

Kui fell silent. It hadn’t experienced that great battle for itself, and the immortal court had become history by the time it’d reawakened. Even the immortal emperor it’d always revered as unparalleled had perished for good.

If Kui, Fengbo, and Yushi had still been there, with all four of the celestial masters and the complete regiment of the star divinities, it might not have been impossible to save the day.

“In any event, you stay here and cultivate… While you’re at it, you can also give pointers to the other Infernum.” Lu Yun waved Kui off. As if it’d been pardoned from a death sentence, the latter hastened to bow and cautiously withdrew.

“Now, how am I supposed to leave?” Lu Yun couldn’t help but feel a little vexed. “Should I turn into dust, or maybe something else? But Scarlet Ape’s staff is too heavy. It’d crush me dead even if I transformed into air.”

By air, he meant an actual gaseous substance, but even air was composed of material particles that would be destroyed by Scarlet Ape’s staff, killing Lu Yun in the process.

“Or perhaps I should turn into gaseous sand so that I can be sucked away by the lungs’ layout again…” He quickly considered many possible means of escape. “It’s too bad that Violetgrave’s sealed inside hell. I can’t summon the corpse puppet inside the sword.”

That would’ve been the best solution, but the power of hell had grown alongside his rise in cultivation. Treasures containing additional consciousnesses, like Qing Han’s Scroll of Shepherding Immortals or his own Violetgrave, were sealed upon entry as a self-defense mechanism.

“The only way is to become a grain of gaseous sand and be sucked away by the lungs before the staff lands on me.” Lu Yun’s brow furrowed lightly.

“Hmm?!” His expression abruptly stiffened and with a wave of his hand, pulled Xing Chen and Qing Yu tumbling awkwardly into hell.

He hastily sent Qing Yu into the resurrection layout on the floating peak, where her replica immediately merged into her body.

“What a close call, I almost died! What the heck was that?!” Qing Yu opened her eyes and looked at Lu Yun, her face flush with trepidation.

“I’m not sure… but I think I saw Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi!” Lu Yun’s eyes lit up. “It looked like they’re trapped inside a giant cocoon of light.”

Their replicas possessed complete consciousnesses of their own, since a cultivator’s tremendous mental capacities made splitting their awareness into three an entirely normal occurrence, to say nothing of merely two.

“Right! I think I also saw my cousin wink at me!” A smile emerged on Qing Yu’s lips.

She’d been worried sick ever since Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi had gone missing, afraid that some misfortune had befallen them. But now, her fears could finally be put to rest. Qing Buyi and Chen Xiao were simply trapped; their lives weren’t in danger.

“The true identity of the Ancient Tree of Life is a massive feng shui layout!” Lu Yun realized. “And I also saw a great tomb there!

“Fruits of Life aren’t enough to eradicate your body’s issues entirely. For that, we need to refine the entire tree! The key to refining the Ancient Tree of Life is located inside that giant tomb!”

Although it wasn’t a connate spirit root, the Ancient Tree of Life boasted of an unusual power that no connate spirit root had ever possessed, hence why it was dubbed the number one man-made spirit root.

The poison inside Qing Han had burrowed deep into her bones and become part of her body. Once it activated, it would seep into all of immortal dao. Only the spirit pearls of the four divine spirits, combined with the Ancient Tree of Life, could thoroughly cleanse her of the fearsome poison curse.

Their replicas had gone searching for the Ancient Tree of Life in the Endless Desert, but they’d met a fearsome attack that’d nearly destroyed them.

This was Lu Yun’s first failure after coming to the immortal world. He’d been utterly powerless when faced with the strange, ancient tomb.

“The Ancient Tree of Life’s been transformed into a fearsome tomb. I wonder what’s buried inside.” Lu Yun fell pensive. “Maybe it’s for…”

“Lu Yun! Now that your replica’s here, why don’t you refine the lungs into his body? After that, you can have him go back out instead of you,” Qing Yu proposed with a smile, particularly worry-free at this moment.

Lu Yun slapped his forehead with a smile. “That’s right!”

His replica was created from the sacred relic of the shamans, the Nine Yin Soul-Parting Wood. It was exceptionally sturdy to begin with, and if it were further strengthened by the fearsome metal energy inside the lungs, it might possibly withstand a strike from Scarlet Ape’s staff.

“My replica’s only an artificial body. Though I can simulate internal organs and deceive dao immortals, he’s not a true living entity. But if he can incorporate the lungs, he might be able to evolve into one!”

Xing Chen also looked at the giant lungs with a glint of excited agitation in his eyes.

Qing Yu broke away from the envoy group that was still researching their unique art. As the flash of a hazy halo engulfed her figure, she landed by Lu Yun’s side.

On the floating peak, the small nun looked at Lu Yun and Qing Yu, loneliness flashing through her eyes.

“You…” Lu Yun stared at Qing Yu in disbelief. “You’re not affected by the environment here?”

“The immortal dao also exists here!” Qing Yu smiled. “Its projection here is slowly maturing into a genuine immortal dao. Thanks to that, I’m not affected by hell’s death energy!”

Lu Yun nodded gently, then looked at Xing Chen.

Rumble!

His replica’s figure slowly enlarged, ultimately growing to be as big as the giant lungs.

Ray after ray of cosmic energy descended from the netherworld’s sky, and before long, all of hell was bathed in a sea of silver. The power of the Cosmic Sea that had fused with hell was on full display.

Whoosh!

The next moment, Qing Yu sprang into action as well. Two connate treasures, the Cosmic Skycarver and Cosmic Eyes, manifested together and merged with the Cosmic Sea, producing an enormous silver vortex that appeared in the sky above and ruthlessly bore down on the giant lungs.

Opening his mouth wide, Xing Chen swallowed the energy of the stars alongside the lungs.