Truth be told, Lu Yun felt rather depressed. The stage had been set for him to shine in a blaze of glory, but the rug had been pulled out beneath him just like that.

When it came to his tribulation, nothing of note had truly happened apart from the heavenly judgment’s initial grand entrance. He himself had been expecting some kind of rare, foreboding beast to appear, and that his phenomenon of ascension would affect the entire world, or even worlds beyond!

He wasn’t one to crave the limelight, but since he wanted to establish a sacred land, he had to become a figure that towered over the world and surveyed all from a lofty position, striking fear into the hearts of the masses. 

Going against the entire world? Hadn’t he always done so? Otherwise, why would so many come out to spoil his tribulation and try to kill him?

Alas, the bulk of his phenomenon of ascension had taken place inside hell, remaining unseen by those outside. As a result, he was now an object of ridicule.

Old stories about his ignoble past began to circulate: Calamity Lu of Dusk City, a trash constitution that couldn’t cultivate, reliance on the Aurum Openia Pill to set him on the path of immortal dao, and so on...

At this rate, even if he were to establish Dusk Sacred Land, he’d still be the butt of many jokes throughout the world. All of his previous miracles were now assigned to various tricks and cheats, and his fake mask had promptly fallen after his ascension!

At least, that was how immortals now viewed him.

……

The newest laughingstock of the world hovered in the air while the purple energy slowly flowed into him and tempered his immortal body.

He didn’t know where the purple energy had come from, but he had the distinct feeling that it was different from that of others. Inside him, the energy was coalescing into a... second nascent spirit?

Indeed, a nascent spirit, one that looked identical to himself, apart from the purple energy surrounding it. But he quickly realized that this nascent spirit was nothing but a facade. His true nascent spirit was still the one shaped after the six paths of reincarnation.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let us now begin the auction of the tribulation essence…” 

Misty purple liquid the size of a fist appeared in his hand; he didn’t need it to construct his immortal foundations. The Method of Life and Death was a connate method, and earlier on, the energy inside hell had already constructed his immortal foundations and molded his immortal body.

Therefore, the essence wasn’t something he couldn’t part with.

Boom!

Before his voice finished echoing, a great hand descended from the heavens and tried to grab the Dao Flower projection next to him.

“It’s not yet time to auction this lot, dear customer. Or are you trying to take it by force, perhaps?!”

Boom!

A column of white light exploded by Lu Yun’s side and vaporized the giant hand. Somewhere close by, an arcane dao immortal shrieked with anguish as his right hand disintegrated into infinitesimal particles.

With deterrence from the two scarlet apes and the unanimous agreement of the celestial emperors, origin dao level combatants were prohibited from participating in the fight for the Dao Flower projection, crippled ones included.

“Onward, kill him!” The rest of the crowd finally launched their offensive. They could keep calm in the face of tribulation essence, but a hundred trillion premium immortal crystals for the Dao Flower projection?

No one wanted to throw money out the window. They could simply force the issue with their superior strength!

“Sure enough, you’ve allied yourself with Lu Yun, Emperor of Yellow Springs. Are you determined to protect him even now?!” an angry yell cut through the crowd.

About to attack Lu Yun and take the Dao Flower for himself, the monster spirit emperor froze in place. He hadn’t made his move yet, and even if he did, it’d be to kill Lu Yun and take the flower… Why were people suddenly saying he was protecting the brat?

But the next moment, space in front of him distorted as a barrage of treasures, flying swords, and combat arts smashed in his direction. He stared blankly for a moment, then came out of hiding with an angry shout and an explosive punch forward.

Boom!

Space shook violently as his fist annihilated countless immortals!

The world thought he’d already plucked his origin dao fruits, but that wasn’t the case. Even so, his strength had reached peak arcane dao realm. In the face of his attack, not even nine-fruit arcane dao peers were his match. 

Collective shock slammed into the crowd at his reaction.

“That really is the Yellow Springs emperor, and he’s definitely aligned himself with Dusk Province!

“No wonder none of Dusk Province’s powerhouses came for Lu Yun’s tribulation… just the Yellow Springs emperor alone is enough!” someone shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What… what’s going on?” The monster emperor stared, aghast. Now that he’d defended himself, he could tell that the previous rain of attacks…had been a mirage.

But how could he explain himself now? His return punch had been very real, and it’d killed close to a thousand immortals from various clans.

“Lu Yun, you bastard!!” he seethed. A dark green halberd appeared in his hand as he swept forward and forced back more than ten arcane dao immortals! 

Jingle...

The melodious tinkle of a bell sounded as a small fox, white as snow, darted past like lightning.

“You would’ve been safe and sound had you not drunk Su Xiaoxiao’s wine, but since you did...” Hopping around nimbly, the fox skipped over millions of kilometers and returned to Qing Yu’s cozy arms in Dao City. She then cocked her head and shot out a chubby paw to snag a small golden dragon from the air, draping it around her neck to cover the small golden bell hanging over her chest.

Eyes full of protest, the golden dragon looked off to the side at Liu Qingmiao. Like a koala, the little girl clung to Zhu Yan’s neck. [1]

……

Chaos engulfed the North Sea.

Immortals attacked each other in a blind slaughterfest over the Dao Flower projection. Shielded by the sword curtains trailing down from the Sugato Sword above him, Lu Yun was also thrown into the thick of things. 

In his hand, Violetgrave flared with bewitching violet light as it reaped the lives of all who charged his way. Anyone he killed ended up in the kingdom of hell and became his Infernum, so he didn’t mind killing more of them.

“Hmm?” He froze when he realized that, unbeknownst to him, a giant shadow had appeared in the air at some point in time. The Dao Flower projection?

“Good, marvelous!”

Rumble!

The world shook as space tore apart. Stormy demonic energy oozed out of the giant rift, and a giant hand made of stone probed out of the spatial opening toward the Dao Flower.

“The stone spirit?!” Lu Yun blanched violently. “How are you still alive?!!”

Mount Exalted had been reduced to rubble alongside the Truespirit and Exalted Palaces because two celestial emperors had given up their lives for the cause! The stone spirit should’ve also gone to meet its maker just like them… but it was still alive! Moreover, it’d arrived above the North Sea to claim the Dao Flower projection!

The corner of Lu Yun’s eyes split open and spurted out fresh blood. Had the two celestial emperors died in vain?!

The thought was too terrible to entertain.

“Stone spirit? Hahahaha… This noble one is the demon god!” Another hand stretched out of thin air and formed a fist to punch Lu Yun.

At the same time, a moving carpet of fur seals swarmed forth from every direction, attacking everyone in their path, be they man or immortal. Caught by surprise, an untold number of immortals suffered an early demise.