The demon sovereign!

Lu Yun hadn’t expected to run into this old enemy as soon as he entered the immortal emperor’s tomb!

Just like the shamanic divine, the demon sovereign had used an art similar to Spirit Fragmentation to leech off the bodies of countless followers and disciples. But what the demon sovereign had sent wasn’t his nascent spirit, but rather his primary self—the Hadal Skeleton!

With the demon sovereign’s outstanding mastery of the Hadal Bone Art, he could transform himself into an indestructible skeleton.

“Hadal Bonefire, Hadal Bone Art… Hadal Bone Mountain…” Lu Yun suddenly recalled the white creature that’d once crawled out of hell’s abyss and invaded his kingdom… It’d also cultivated the Hadal Bone Art, and its Hadal Bonefire was a million times stronger than the Demon Sovereign’s.

That creature was an extraordinary existence that’d summoned a world with a single punch. Even imbued with the power of hell, Lu Yun hadn’t been its match. If not for Ge Long’s timely arrival, his replica would’ve been destroyed and hell would’ve gained a new master. Now that he saw the demon sovereign’s bone appearance, it brought to mind the white creature that was suppressed in the boundless void of the netherworld.

That creature was still in hell as of this moment, but hadn’t shown itself during the akasha ghosts’ rampage, proof that they were existences it was wary of, too.

In addition, Lu Yun had glimpsed another existence similar to the demon sovereign in Exalted Major’s lineal tomb. Hadal Bonefire likewise burned in its eyes, and the corner of hell born from a fragment of the Gates of the Abyss also originated in hell.

Did the demon sovereign hail from the netherworld as well, and was some sort of connection between him and the white creature lurking in the depths?

…… 

The demon sovereign had split himself into a thousand and eighty bones, entrusting them to a thousand and eighty true immortals. When they simultaneously deployed the Hadal Bone Art, they could instantly manifest the demon sovereign’s true form, as if through a battle formation of prodigious power. Since his strength was fragmented over a thousand parts, that freed the demon sovereign from the immortal restriction at the same time.

His true skeleton self slowly stood up, a cold, eerie, white fire burning deep in his skull. Like two white eyes, the fires stared fixedly at Lu Yun.

“Who did you say couldn’t protect himself?” the demon sovereign asked again.

“Honored Demon Sovereign, there’s no real enmity or grievance between us. What contradiction there is was caused by your disciple, Jiangchen Xie,” Lu Yun steadied his nerves and responded calmly. “But he’s dead now and possessed by his ancestor Jiang Chen. Therefore, it’s not impossible to resolve the differences between us!”

“No enmity?” There was no flesh or blood on the demon sovereign’s face, but Lu Yun could sense the malevolence emanating from it. 

Last time, the demon sovereign had paid a visit to Dusk Province when Lu Yun established his dao. His would-be glorious arrival was interrupted by a few well-placed slaps from Lu Feng. For that very reason, he’d become the butt of countless jokes in the world.

He’d been an invincible existence inside the celestial master tomb, one even stronger than Silverlight. There, he’d obtained countless treasures, used the energy released from the fusion of the Yin and Yang Realm Tombs to come back to life, then erased every last wisp of death energy from his enduring true spirit.

But after his revival, he’d chosen to cultivate the Hadal Bone Art anew. As a result, he was weaker alive than he had been as a dead spirit. Nevertheless, he was still the equivalent of a flawless primordial origin dao immortal and could easily crush Lu Yun with one hand!

Not even in his wildest dreams had Lu Yun expected to see these mighty figures use such means to avoid the immortal restriction and enter the central world.

The immortal restriction here was different from the one in Dusk Province. The latter was controlled by the human demon and resembled a shield that protected the land. In comparison, the restriction here was closer to a rule of nature… and like every rule, there were loopholes that could be exploited.

He’d first encountered a shamanic divine that’d used Spirit Fragmentation to send his nascent spirit inside, and here was a demon sovereign who’d split himself into a thousand and eighty bones.

Alas, the shamanic divine had been rather unlucky. It should’ve been invincible inside the central world, but it just had to come across Lu Yun and his tribulation lightning. This time, however, there was nothing the young man could do against the demon sovereign.

He had the Sugato Sword and his crystal cannons of course, but those things were simply black holes, guzzlers of immortal crystals.

He’d spent a fortune building the immortal crystal garden and luring in the Ancient Tree of Life, going so far as to borrow tens of trillions from the merchant alliance. He was now a debt-ridden man who almost saw mirages of his crystals magically duplicating themselves in his ardent desire for more.

If possible, he’d rather cut down on his spending and use good ole fashioned weapons instead. Moreover, fully-powered attacks from the crystal cannons or Sugato Sword might not be enough to slay this old skeleton.

The demon sovereign’s wrath seethed like a constant inferno after his humiliation in Dusk Province. He itched to crush Lu Yun dead right this instant, but had hesitated over the boy’s claim that he couldn’t protect himself. Ultimately, he withstood his anger and chose not to kill the young man on the spot, because he knew Lu Yun wasn’t spouting mere nonsense.

“Resolve our differences? Do you think the humiliation I suffered at Lu Feng’s hands can be forgotten with just a few choice words from you?” The demon sovereign leered with an ugly grimace. “Though you said this seat cannot protect myself, let’s see who’s the one who can’t protect himself now.”

“Correct. Like I said, you can’t protect yourself!” Calm and collected, Lu Yun tilted his head up and observed the more than three-hundred-meter-tall giant skeleton. “If you run into someone from the Green Firmament, how many blows from the Skyturning Seal do you think you’d be able to withstand?”

“The Green Firmament!” The demon sovereign shook. “You say the Green Firmament is also here? And they brought the Skyturning Seal with them?”

“Yes, the Green Firmament’s Fangyang Xing is here with the Skyturning Seal. When I fought him outside the World Boundary, he used the seal to dispel my sword energy,” Lu Yun answered calmly.

“A trivial Fangyang Xing…” the demon sovereign snorted in contempt.

“Hahahaha!” Lu Yun burst out into hearty laughter. “Trivial, you say? Demon Sovereign, you yourself used a special method to sneak into this realm, do you think the Green Firmament’s powerhouses won’t possibly do the same?”

The demon sovereign fell silent. There were indeed countless experts in the Green Firmament. Were it not for certain limitations, the entire world of immortals would’ve long become theirs.

A single powerhouse could use the Skyturning Seal to shatter his skeletal body in one blow. After coming back to life, his enduring true spirit had begun to dissipate and transform into regular nascent and true spirits, further weakening his current form.

“So what are you proposing?” the skeleton sneered. “Do you perhaps wish to join forces with that laughable strength of yours? This seat could kill you by just blowing in your direction! Or are you going to block the Skyturning Seal for me?”

The demon sovereign didn’t dread the Green Firmament’s powerhouses; what he was wary of were terrible immortal treasures like the seal.

“I can’t deter the Skyturning Seal, but this can!” With a flip of his hand, a nine hundred and ninety-nine storied pagoda—the Sugato Sword—appeared in his hand.

Hadal Bonefire twitched fiercely in the demon sovereign’s eyes.

“I’ll lend you the Sugato Sword so you can withstand the Skyturning Seal. In exchange, we’ll write off any past animosity between us. How about it? As for Lu Feng humiliating you, you can seek vengeance once you grow strong enough.” Lu Yun stood in the air, his tone brimming with confidence.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll renege on our agreement and kill you off here and now once the sword is in my possession?” The skeleton smiled coldly.

“You are the Venerated Sacrosanct Demon Sovereign! Although I was born in this era, I have heard of your illustrious name! You fought against the immortal emperor in the Primordial Era, and while history labels you a demon, you are also a great figure of indomitable spirit and righteousness. How would you possibly covet the possession of an insignificant true immortal?” Lu Yun casually tossed the Sugato Sword to the skeleton. “You can return this to me after you take the Skyturning Seal.”

“Very well!” The demon sovereign blinked, then nodded. “Since you’re being so straightforward, let it not be said that this seat is a hypocrite. Our previous grudge shall be written off, and when I take the Skyturning Seal from them, I will return your Sugato Sword!”