Necropolis Immortal

"Who are you?" The city lord frowned instead of accepting the key.

"Cang Ling," he responded.

The city lord's expression shifted drastically and she sat bolt upright from the bed of clouds. Her pretty eyes fixed in a deadly stare at the Dao King. That wasn't his name, but her name!

It was the name she'd used before becoming lord of this ancient city after her death. Anyone who'd known of it was long dead, and even those lucky enough to survive to present day would completely fail to recognize her. They would never connect the city lord with Cang Ling of the original Hongmeng!

Hong didn't know her name either, but this Dao King had easily given voice to her identity.

"Who are you?!" the city lord shrieked, on the verge of losing control.

"I am me, the Dao King… and Haotian of the world of immortals," he answered calmly.

"You've disturbed my peace of mind." The city lord rearranged herself back on the bed of clouds. She seemed to regain her calm, but that was only on the surface. After a pause, she continued, "I see. If my heart remained as calm as still water, I would forever linger here and silently watch over the changes in the Hongmeng, forever an outsider."

"That is correct." The Dao King nodded, dropping the brilliantly blue key in her hand with a gentle push of his own. "No one can stay on the sidelines forever. If you do not become involved, your final fate will be destruction at the hands of someone else.

"I am… still chasing that person. I know of her existence, but I cannot see her. Neither is she willing to see me." A bleak note colored the Dao King's tones. "From the original Hongmeng til now… I just want one glimpse of her."

"…I know who you are. I can't believe you're still alive!" the city lord realized. "You are Che."

……

The seventh day finally arrived. Anticipation and some agitation ran hot through the crowd; all eyes looked eagerly at Lu Yun over Azure Dragon Lake.

The Fish and Starfire Kings were also a bit nervous. They knew that Lu Yun was using himself as bait so those of the True King Pact would attack him, thereby buying time for the Purple King.

Killing intent built as a tangible force in the atmosphere.

It drifted in on the breeze, slowly shifting toward the lake. Though people shivered in the warm temperature, they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The source of the killing intent wouldn't reveal itself before Lu Yun became a titled king.

"Immortal King, you are a cultivator on the right and proper path. Why would you detour into a wrong turn instead?" a soft sigh sounded in the crowd's ears. It was gentle and forgiving like a ceaselessly loving father.

"A path is a path, what talk is there of right or wrong?" Lu Yun opened his eyes and murmured, "A king's title is bestowed by the Hongmeng Tower and it is the guide for the path. The Hongmeng Tower is the ultimate sovereign of the realm and its greatest weapon, as well as the personal treasure of the mistress of the realm…

"How can a path imparted by the tower be an erroneous one?" He spoke in a loud voice that carried far, clearly traveling into the ears of everyone present.

The kings on the deviated path shook violently, spontaneous enlightenment dawning on them.

That was true. The Hongmeng Tower had bequeathed their titles and it was the foremost weapon of the realm. It represented the Hongmeng's rules and orders, so how could something it pointed out be false? There had to be true kinghood waiting at the end of ninth step king, they just hadn't found the way to break through.

Or, the other possibility was that someone had erased the way to ascend to true kinghood.

Unbidden, everyone thought of the ten divine nations when their thoughts traveled here.

"Ai," sighed the voice. "Then this means you are determined to make a mistake with your next step. You will not be able to turn back."

"Why would I?" Lu Yun chuckled. "My dao partner the Intrance King became a true king from the deviated path. My other dao partner the Empyrean King broke through to true kinghood at the end of this so-called wrong path!"

Faces brightened at his response.

The Intrance King!

The Empyrean King!

So they'd found the way to pierce through the end of the road and become true kings!

"The Empyrean King is the Dao Sovereign and the Intrance King is favored by a great personage. That they can make the step doesn't mean that those of the Hongmeng can do the same, and it hardly means that you can follow in their wake, Immortal King!"

"Then let us try."

Hummm.

A layer of purple qi exuded from Lu Yun's body, collecting as a pillar of light that soared into the sky.

The image of a tower appeared, slowly becoming a tangible entity that hovered over Lu Yun's head. Those assembled could sense marvelous ripples emanating from it.

This was the true form of the Hongmeng Tower.

The purple light around Lu Yun condensed further to become dao rules. Superior realm cultivators normally didn't reveal their dao rules when ascending to titled kinghood, but Lu Yun was undergoing this process to point the way for the titled kings of the realm. He had to manifest his dao rules in front of everyone in order to indicate what the future path of cultivation should look like.

The kings within the crowd opened their eyes wide and looked closely at Lu Yun's dao rules.

The first one appeared.

Then the second.

……

"Metal Potentate, you will go and raze Multitude City." The voice that'd spoken earlier sounded again, this time sounding like a command.

Hidden in the void, the Metal Potentate frowned, but didn't say anything given the circumstances. He vanished in a streak of golden light.

Raze Multitude City!

Everything of Lu Yun's was in the city. His two dao partners and subordinates all resided here. He would lose everything if it was destroyed.

Despite the horrific command, Lu Yun remained unmoved in the air, silently gazing upon the tower over his head.

The seventh rule.

The eighth rule began to coalesce.

……

"It's said that ascending as a ninth step king is forbidden. If someone does so when they become a titled king, they will immediately attract misfortune," murmured the Azure Dragon city lord on the walls of his city.

"If he doesn't ascend as a ninth step king, there will be no point to him taking the deviated path," replied the Coiling Dragon city lord.

They fell silent, keeping their eyes fixed on Lu Yun.

The killing intent in the surroundings grew denser, but the potentates and true kings didn't take action. They were waiting, waiting for Lu Yun to become a ninth step titled king and summon misfortune to him.

Hummmm.

The ninth dao rule appeared amidst a loud reverberation. Nine dao rules stood by Lu Yun's side like pillars holding up the sky.

The firmament had been dyed a deep purple, but it suddenly darkened at this time. Winds swept through the assembly as the black shadowy life form appeared.