“The world of immortals no longer needs me.” Lu Yun shook his head gently. “Little Yu and I will only impact its development and interfere with the growth trajectory of the immortal dao. As for the Nihil Hell, the thing inside it won’t dare cause trouble with Violetgrave standing guard.”

The little fox stood next to Lu Yun and blinked large eyes at him, nodding with partial understanding.

“Meng Wang also understood this when he was the immortal emperor, but could never bear to fully withdraw from the world. He still had the world of immortals develop according to his wishes, which was why he was defeated in the end,” Lu Yun sighed softly.

“Let’s go to the third realm,” he concluded after some thought. “Violetgrave’s paved the way for us and Little Yu will find things difficult if she’s there alone. We should go help her.”

The little fox fidgeted awkwardly; she was unusually interested in the third realm. “How do we get there? Have the lizard-dragon and Zhuo Bufan take us there?”

“I’m afraid that won’t work. They’re both from great Hongmeng factions, so they’ll be detected if they use their own power to return to the realm. We need to find a way using our own methods.” Lu Yun pondered, “My past self and your soul force replica both entered the Hongmeng once. Though they only took a look around, the path that we created should still be there.”

A smile appeared on his face. Though he hadn’t left too many traces of himself or anything that could cause karmic repercussions in the mythological realm, he’d still laid many plans for his present self—the path into the Hongmeng, for example.

After he broke through to the chaos cultivation realm, he realized that the immortal qi of the worlds and the pure chaos currents of the chaos were insufficient for his further cultivation. He needed to partake of higher level power in order to continue progressing.

While karmic fruits could raise his cultivation level and a million and eighty thousand of them seemed like a lot, the world of immortals also needed the fruits to fend off the yin spirits. Additionally, with chaos creatures now starting to cultivate the immortal dao, a monumental amount of supplemental virtue and merit was necessary for it to thrive and prosper into a full great dao governing the chaos.

For Lu Yun, entering the Hongmeng to advance his cultivation was the natural next trial. He wouldn’t use the power of goodwill to increase his own strength.

“Then let us go to the Hongmeng!” The little fox returned to her fluffy form and darted into Lu Yun’s arms. “To the great beyond!”

“…can’t you maintain human form?” Lu Yun scowled down at her.

“No!” She pursed her lips. “What if you have lewd thoughts about me? I don’t want to raise a whole litter of fox kits with you!”

“……”

“Off we go!” She poked her head out of his robes and pointed ahead with dashing flair.

“……”

……

Lu Yun and the little fox seemed to have vanished into thin air. There was no sign of them, whether in the chaos or the worlds. Regardless, the situation in the world of immortals had fully stabilized.

The Immortal Realm Battlefront had completely stalled the yin spirits outside the world of immortals. Though countless immortals were still needed to man the lines, there would be no further danger to their homes as long as this vanguard was maintained.

After the Dao Academy finished expanding to all parts of the world, it began to withdraw from secular affairs and out of the public eye. The thirty-three facets retook control over the world, and the immortal emperor its only ruler.

Only in this way did the world of immortals truly live up to its name. If the Dao Academy continued to be its greatest voice, that would eventually send the immortal dao down the wrong path and the academy disciples steadily become more overbearing, until they returned to how they’d been before the great cleansing.

This was what Lu Yun least wished to see.

……

“Are you so sure that the path you created before is still there after so many chaos tribulations?” Back in human form, the little fox wore a dress of white silk and had casually swept her hair up with a hairpin. She tugged one of Lu Yun’s billowing sleeves and followed closely by his side.

“Chaos tribulations?” Lu Yun paused. “Can chaos tribulations destroy paths to the Hongmeng?”

“Haven’t you noticed that the entire chaos seems to have been reborn after this tribulation? Everything here has been wiped clean away.” The little fox rolled her eyes at Lu Yun and subconsciously wanted to burrow into his arms. However, Lu Yun pressed his hand to her head and forced her to remain in human form.

Compared to before, the chaos now was much more empty and open. Though there were still countless pristine currents swirling in the void, it was as if they’d been washed clean. All of the chaos creatures and even the plant life inside was completely gone.

They were spotless, immaculate, and completely devoid of everything.

There’d been traces of life in the chaos before, as well as various coordinates, strange formations, restrictions, and others scattered throughout the void. They were now all gone, along with the chaos tribulation.

“I’d already ascended beyond the chaos then, so the path I created should be strong enough,” Lu Yun murmured.

It was the little fox’s turn to roll her eyes. “Think about it, how many chaos tribulations have taken place from the mythological realm to present day? Eight thousand? Or ten thousand?”

Lu Yun chuckled ruefully, he’d really miscalculated this time.

“Young master!” Zhuo Bufan popped out from the abyss. “You and the mistress can easily enter the Hongmeng.”

“You have a way?” Lu Yun turned around to look at Zhuo Bufan. The abyss wasn’t fully closed, so Zhuo Bufan and the lizard-dragon could come out at any time and take care of things for their new master.

“Yes, yes!” he quickly responded. “This humble one is an enforcer of the Enforcer Alliance, here on orders to investigate who’s destroyed the Dubiety Realm. It wouldn’t raise a single eyebrow if I bring you and the mistress back.

“Besides, the young master and mistress will need a place to stay upon entering the realm. The Enforcer Alliance is comprised of a hundred and eight king-level factions in the Hongmeng. The network of connections is loose and complex. If I vouch for your inclusion in the alliance, no one will look into your origins or background!”

“And who’s your mistress?!” the little fox objected with a red face.

“Ah yes, yes. Understood!” Zhuo Bufan smiled with the knowing look of men.

After Lu Qing set up a restriction in Zhuo Bufan’s true spirit, the enforcer was as docile as could be. Lu Yun’s word was his command, there was no thought of rebellion or any other inclination contrary to the human’s wishes.

“Alright then.” Lu Yun nodded. “But are you sure that you haven’t exposed yourself? Your father’s a king. Won’t he have noticed that your true body’s suddenly entered a lower realm?”

He flicked a sideways glance at the man. This worry was precisely why he hadn’t directed Zhuo Bufan or the lizard-dragon to bring them to the Hongmeng.

“No!” Zhuo Bufan answered confidently. “The Purple King is the most terrible king in the Hongmeng and so much stronger than my father. He can’t see through the Purple King’s methods, not to mention I was in closed door cultivation at that time…”

He smiled ruefully. “But the lizard-dragon can’t show itself after we travel back. It’s no secret that Dragonhollow Mountain’s sent him to the world of immortals to set certain plans in motion there.”

The lizard-dragon nodded as well. Since the other end of the abyss leading to the Hongmeng had been severed, that also meant that the mountain knew something had happened to it.