The news cast a grim shadow over Lu Yun’s face. Usually, he wouldn’t have minded playing with them, but he absolutely did not have time for this right now.

All of Dusk Province was in chaos. The Lu and Chen clans were rioting nonstop, and the Lus were especially uproarious. After all, their patriarch had been thrown into the dungeons due to falling prey to soul planting.

Lu Yun felt rather powerless about the situation. The Lu clan was his very own, and the Chen clan was his in-laws. His decisiveness toward outside enemies wasn’t applicable here. After all, the clans were as much the victim as he. Any severe blows he dealt to them would only please Sword Divine.

The cultivators’ wish to hold a new Sovereign Ranking in Dusk Province was also nothing but trouble. The first had only served to crush the Destiny city lord’s renown into the ground. A hundred thousand years’ worth of prestige gone, just like that!

Lu Yun wasn’t interested in preserving his renown, but Dusk Province was quite unstable right now. There were divine infiltrators everywhere. A new Sovereign Ranking under these conditions would only stir the pot, and who knew what would happen then?

The immortal restriction that banned golden immortals and above wasn’t foolproof. The reappearance of origin dao immortals meant that there were plenty who were able—and willing—to remove it from the province.

Regardless of whether or not he agreed, the once-sealed borders of Dusk Province were suddenly thrown wide open again. Cultivators from all over streamed in, congregating around the inheritance tower and Sword Lake to train and cultivate.

The province almost seemed to have returned to the way it was before, which meant a conspiracy was most definitely brewing beneath the surface.

……

“Sir!” A day later, Yuying appeared again, looking much the worse for wear.

“What is it?” Lu Yun was reading a dao book. He’d dug it out of a burial mound in the central world, and its contents were immensely beneficial to his sword art and intent. He put down the book when he saw his envoy’s expression.

“Several hundred weapons of war have been set up on Dusk Province’s borders,” Yuying said very slowly. “They are aimed at the ancient tomb in the province’s center.”

“They’re setting their sights on the human demon, huh.” Lu Yun drew a sharp breath, things were getting really difficult now.

The human demon wasn’t particularly strong; the only reason the nine celestial emperors were powerless before him was because of the immortal restriction of the tomb. However, the relationship was somewhat reciprocal. Without the demon, the restriction wouldn’t be able to take full effect.

Without their dual protections, Dusk Province would surely be carved up and divided among the rest of the world as war spoils—the celestial courts had more than enough weapons of war to rival Lu Yun’s own, and the inheritance tower alone was the envy of all.

Indeed, the array of several hundred weapons on Dusk Province’s borders was a warning to him. If he dared open fire, they wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate in kind!

“I must make another trip to the ancient tomb,” mused Lu Yun, then disappeared on the spot.

……

In the world of immortals, there were four ancient tombs that surpassed emperor-grade. The ‘emperor’ here referred to immortal emperors of eld, not celestial ones.

The four tombs had existed since time primordial; records unearthed from other tombs said as much. No one knew who—or what—they held. However, no one intrepid enough to wander into them had ever lived to tell the tale. An ancient immortal emperor was even among the list of casualties.  

Dusk Province’s ancient tomb was a black mountain: Mount Dusk. Even the province itself was named after it.

In actuality, all of Mount Dusk was part of the tomb. Inky water flowed out of a murky cavern at its northern base. This was the source of Dusk River, a river that cut through half of the province and emptied into the North Sea.

No living creatures lived within its waters. There was only the teeming dead inhabiting the depths, and a few naturally formed feng shui horrors.     

Originally, Lu Yun had thought that the river was fueled by the malicious air pent up in the tomb. But in reality, Dusk River was a terrifying, heaven-defying treasure. Some unknown master had left it here.

The young lord of Dusk Province stood in the air over the cavernous river source, bowing ever so slightly toward the tomb.

“This junior seeks an audience, senior. Please grant me a meeting in person,” he shouted.

“When you achieve immortality, we will naturally meet.” A moment later, a cool voice echoed inside his mind.

“Senior…” Lu Yun frowned in frustration.

“Go back.” After this parting word, the human demon would speak no more.

“There are people who want to harm you, senior. You should be careful.” Lu Yun glanced over the tomb’s feng shui layout with a wistful sigh. The human demon wasn’t the tomb’s owner, merely a squatter who’d made his home here after the fact.

I don’t think he’ll manage to escape his fate this time. 

The layout here had changed, and now spelled extinction. There was nothing Lu Yun could do. Unless he was allowed to enter the tomb and alter its basis, the extinction layout could not be resolved. Such a layout within a tomb generally indicated its impending destruction.

Feng shui represented the natural order of the world. It was comprised of the characters for wind and water, two forces known for their persistence and inconstance.  

In this world, the art of feng shui was far more marvelous and terrifying than what formations could accomplish. In addition to mere lethality, feng shui layouts had the power to alter fate and fortune!

As Lu Yun was about to leave, someone unexpected appeared before him.

Mo Yi.

Her cultivation had reached an unfathomable level. When Lu Yun looked at her, he nearly felt like he was facing down Zhao Fengyang. Her impenetrability was that of an endless ocean.

“Come with me, I will bring you in.”

Lu Yun blinked twice, then nodded.    

“He is not an immortal yet. He will die if he enters,” the human demon’s voice suddenly echoed once more.

“I’m here. He won’t die.” Mo Yi was calm and reassured; she wouldn’t be denied. “…but it looks like you don’t need my protection.”

As soon as they entered the tomb, a black flame spontaneously roared to life around Lu Yun’s body. It cut off the malignant air of the tomb, an air so thick with malice that it was nearly strong enough to take solid form.

No wonder the human demon had warned him. Any living creature who wasn’t an immortal would be zombified on the spot. Peak void realm or not, cultivation made no difference.

“A dragon sleeps in mountains coiled,  

Those deathly cliffs with mysteries roiled.”

Taking out his compass, he chanted the Dragonsearch Invocation and surveyed the feng shui in the tomb. Although he’d instantly seen through the extinction layout from outside, it would be much harder to actually find and break it from within.

“What are you doing?” Mo Yi glanced at him quizzically.

“I’m looking for a formation, I need to break it open.” Lu Yun’s eyes glowed a faint gold and he looked toward the direction his luopan pointed in.

“Take care. The malignant air isn’t the only dangerous thing in this tomb,” remarked Mo Yi.