Violetgrave had unconditionally done many things for Lu Yun already. In return, she’d only wanted an immortal sword that Lu Yun had no use for.

Apart from a detached look in her eyes, a bit of disappointment could also be glimpsed.

Lu Yun shook his head gently. “I’m not planning on having you safeguard the spatial node.”

“Eh?” Violetgrave blinked. In her understanding, apart from Qing Yu and one other in the current world of immortals, she was the only one up for the task. Surely Lu Yun knew this as well.

“Little Yu is the dao sovereign of the immortal dao and she has her own duty and responsibilities. She should’ve undergone a tribulation in the chaos, but avoided it due to various reasons. Therefore, it has to be her this time,” Lu Yun responded solemnly as he looked at his dao partner.

Qing Yu nodded in return. Violetgrave had dispelled that tribulation for her—the human tribulation that Lu Yun had summoned with the Dragonquake Scripture. Not only had that tribulation resulted from the Dragonquake Scripture, but it’d also contained her dao tribulation.

After the immortal dao entered the chaos, repulsion from the chaos creatures created a tribulation in and of itself. The humanoid figure with a dagger in hand represented the will of all living beings.

Violetgrave had traded her dark fire to Qiu Luoyu, who used it to dispel the human tribulation. However, the dao tribulation remained. Qing Yu had to truly shoulder the responsibilities of the dao sovereign before she could endure it.

“There’s actually someone else who can stand here in her place.” Violetgrave narrowed her eyes in thought when she heard Lu Yun’s response. “She can take the tribulation for Qing Yu instead.”

“I know who you speak of… but it wouldn’t be fair to her.” Lu Yun shook his head.

Dongfang Hao’s dao partner.

Apart from a mysterious master by Dongfang Hao’s side, there was another woman who could influence the will of the immortal dao. She’d been born with this inclination and could even manipulate it to a certain degree.

When Lu Yun had been scheduled his own tribulation, the woman had used the will of the immortal dao to affect it. Thankfully, he’d still overcome the trial in the end. And after Qing Yu became the dao sovereign, thus making the will of the immortal dao whole and flawless, there was nothing else in existence that could affect it.

However, Dongfang Hao's dao partner still possessed the fortunes of the immortal dao. Though she wasn’t a dao sovereign, she was the equivalent of a replica of immortal dao—one with its own mind.

While it’d be less effective if she was the one to hold down the fort here, she could also call upon the immortal dao to seal away this spatial node.

“Fair?” Violetgrave cocked her head. “Someone once talked about fairness with me, which is why I keep transacting with people. Living beings give me their souls while I give them power.

“But later on, I discovered that there is no such thing as fairness in life. Everything is but superficially righteous excuses.”

Lu Yun remained silent for a moment before saying, “Violetgrave, please keep Little Yu company and keep her safe.”

“You really don’t need me to guard this place for Qing Yu, or bring that woman here?” Violetgrave started and asked again. Staying here to keep Qing Yu company was a completely different affair from personally standing guard herself.

Violetgrave was a treasure, an unparalleled immortal sword. If Qing Yu was the focal point of remaining here with her, that wouldn’t result in any terrifying changes to a treasure.

“Nope,” Lu Yun and Qing Yu chorused.

“I’m very much reassured with you here.” Lu Yun smiled at Violetgrave.

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll tempt Qing Yu and reach some sort of deal with her?” A smile floated onto Violetgrave’s face and she looked teasingly at Lu Yun.

“I can trade you whatever you want. I have plenty of souls,” Lu Yun responded without missing a beat.

“Boring.” Violetgrave jumped up and vanished. The Violetgrave sword floated up from Lu Yun’s hand and floated down next to Qing Yu.

“I’m afraid that you’ll have to suffer a bit.” Lu Yun looked lovingly at Qing Yu, an apology flashing through his eyes.

“This was my duty to begin with. I calculated just now that one of my opportunities has something to do with this spatial node.” Qing Yu smiled merrily. “Go and don’t worry about me. With Violetgrave here, no one will be able to harm me.”

“Mmhmm.” Lu Yun took a deep breath.

“You’ll be able to spend some alone time with the little fox while I’m preoccupied. Make use of it to take down her primary self too!” Qing Yu suddenly said with a half smile.

“Eh, what, uh, no, huh?” Tongue tied, Lu Yun stared at Qing Yu and couldn’t get a full sentence out. The sudden change swept away the sorrow of parting that’d been seeping into the atmosphere.

“Alright, go on. Don’t tell me, you two will have a whole nest of little foxes by the time I return!” Qing Yu sat down cross-legged among the stars and spoke no more.

Grinning ruefully, Lu Yun walked up to his deeply meditating dao partner and dropped a kiss on her forehead before he left.

After his departure, Qing Yu opened her eyes again and stared dumbly in his direction, her thoughts unknown.

……

Lu Yun retrieved the hellfire on Qing Yu. With Violetgrave by her side, the fire seemed rather superfluous. Instead of immediately returning to the world of immortals, a golden coin with wings appeared in his hand—the Treasurefall Coin.

This was a peculiar treasure that wasn’t ranked or possessed any offensive abilities. Its only function was to search out treasure and claim it.

Lu Yun had once made use of it to locate the Fire Parasol Tree and Ghost Phoenix within the dragon tomb. He could likewise direct it again to search out the same tree. Since he was an empyrean master now, he could send out the Treasurefall Coin in search of something specific, rather than generic treasure.

Humm.

Golden light burst from the coin as its tiny wings shuddered, sending it shooting forward as a golden meteor and vanishing among the stars.

Snapping to attention, Lu Yun quickly deployed the Boundless Step in pursuit.

The Treasurefall Coin was extremely fast; it almost tested the limits of what this realm could tolerate. There were no ripples of energy or life when it activated, as if it was something dead. Thus, there were no yin spirits that would take an interest in it, not to mention the horde here seemed to have received some sort of command and were surging toward the world of immortals.

……

“What is this?!” Lu Yun looked at what was before him with shock.

The Treasurefall Coin had stopped and circled the void—it’d lost the Fire Parasol Tree. There was a tremendous spatial fissure in front of it, filled with yin spirits both in and out.

Patently, the yin spirits of the cosmos came from this crack in space, and Ghost Dragon and Ghost Phoenix were both inside it.