Necropolis Immortal

These two dragons were the second and third greatest in the realm—essentially the azure dragon ancestral god's younger twin sisters. Their strength surged into Lu Yun's body and imbued his nine dao rules with renewed power.

The newly formed dao rules that Lu Yun had retracted back into his body materialized once more, throwing off magnificent power and spreading in all directions.

With the Yang Potentate at the vanguard, he was the first to be sent flying with this fearsome surge of strength. His chest caved in from the terrible force.

A hazy purple sword had appeared in Lu Yun's hands—the Purple Sunrise Sword. It was the ultimate treasure of the Hongmeng that the king soldier had gifted to him in the Army Pagoda.

Though it was an ultimate treasure of the realm, it was of the original Hongmeng and thus many times stronger than modern treasures. It was stronger than even many treasures of the fourth realm.

With his current level of strength, Lu Yun didn't need to use the Glacial Fire Hammers. Just the Purple Sunrise Sword was enough. He deployed a sword technique the moment it appeared—Dragonrise!

A hazy purple dragon seemed to ponderously lift its head from the depths of an abyss and look toward the horizon.

It was followed by Dragonsoar!

Lu Yun's sword intent flared into a dragon that glided over the horizon, loftily regarding all in its glorious might. Next, it exploded into ten million rays of sword intent.

This was Lu Yun's third sword technique and it was… nameless.

Nameless, without beginning and without end, but comprehensive of all things in the world and all possibilities!

From dao came one—Dragonrise.

And one begat two—Dragonsoar.

Two gave birth to three—this nameless stroke that was without beginning or end was all life that followed three.

Rumble!

A terrifying sound echoed through the firmament as the Curse King's formation broke. His replica broke apart with a few strokes from Lu Yun and returned to the void.

Lu Yun's final move had created a tiny crack in the air. When the crowd peered at it, they discovered not the spatial turbulence of the Hongmeng… but the fourth realm. The Immortal King's three strokes had stabbed through the barrier around the Hongmeng and reached the fourth realm!

Stunned, the ten potentates struggled to process the sight. The three thousand true kings were equally at a loss. A new light gleamed in the eyes of the four ancestral gods that were being manipulated by the curse as living corpses.

Their core consciousness was beginning to fight back against the curse.

With the shattering of the formation, so was the curse afflicting the black qilin dispelled. It regathered in full size and stuck out its tongue.

"Oh my… carrot. You pierced through the barrier around the Hongmeng with a single stroke. This is the strength of the fourth realm—you already have the strength and cultivation level of the fourth realm!

"How is that possible?!" it yelped. "Those two big dragons would at most propel you to the peak of the Hongmeng. But you'd need more than absolute strength to break the barrier, you'd need a cultivation level of the fourth realm—"

It suddenly shut its mouth, realizing the critical point it'd overlooked.

Lu Yun already had a cultivation level of the fourth realm, he'd only ever lacked strength all along!

"You…" It stared, tongue-tied, at Lu Yun.

The ten potentates no longer had the desire to continue. Piercing through the realm's barrier with three strokes had completely shattered their battle intent, killing intent, and confidence!

Even though the Immortal King was relying on the second and third greatest dragons of the realm, he still possessed a cultivation level that was worthy of this strength!

"You may go. I can overlook the matters of the past, but I will kill you if you cause any trouble in the future!" Though Lu Yun's tones were cool, they didn't harbor any hostility.

The Dao King inclined his head.

"To think that it's true, that he really does possess a cultivation level of the fourth realm. No wonder he dared take the deviated path!" A smile finally appeared on his face. The mistress of the Hongmeng hadn't appeared and Lu Yun had demonstrated his true strength. The Curse King had lost this round.

"I didn't anticipate him mysteriously gaining that kind of cultivation level," sighed the Curse King. "Ah, I see now. You visited the lost ancient city on purpose, Dao King. You didn't want its city lord to help Lu Yun, but to have her keep the other five in check."

He'd been so focused on his success this time that he'd overlooked other possibilities.

"Lu Yun wouldn't have been able to fend off another five city lords and the two dragons wouldn't have dared draw close," the Dao King agreed. "Therefore, I had to use a little trick to ensure those five wouldn't be able to join the fight."

Directing the two dragons into Lu Yun's body had been the Dao King's final ace. He just hadn't known about the cultivation level of the fourth realm.

Piercing through the Hongmeng barrier in three moves meant that Lu Yun was invincible in the third realm. Nothing would be able to touch him, unless an expert from the fourth realm descended to their world.

It'd be a tall order for the Curse King to find anyone like that for the time being. This Hongmeng world was unique; no one dared touch the origin of the realm apart from certain desperadoes like the Fire Virtue Potentate.

The Curse King slowly faded away, taking the living corpses with him. This scheme wasn't a complete loss for him since he'd gained the core strength of the four ancestral gods.

Clarity returned to Azure Dragon Lake. The two dragons withdrew from Lu Yun's body and respectively returned to Myriad Dragon Valley and Redbud Mountain, but he wasn't made the weaker for it. The strength he commanded in the fourth realm was far greater than what the two dragons had brought him. They'd barely elevated him to void refinement level—an amoeba compared to a Nihil World Sovereign.

He remained standing over Azure Dragon Lake, looking wordlessly up at the sky. Lu Qing stood next to him; the black qilin had already left with the cyclops dangling from its mouth.

The cyclops had his own thoughts and consciousness and he was a genuine potentate, not something projected out of a curse. The qilin was going to bring him back to the lost ancient city and study him in great detail.

"Qing'er, you don't need to return to the chaos. Stay in the Hongmeng," Lu Yun suddenly said.

"…okay." Lu Qing shook. How long had it been since someone called him Qing'er?

He was momentarily transported back to the mythological realm, to that utopia removed from the world and the life of sheer happiness he lived with his parents and senior sister.

"There is no so-called deviated path," Lu Yun abruptly shouted, filling every corner of the realm with his voice like it were a dao note.

At ninth step kinghood, he didn't possess the strength for that feat. But he'd just pierced through the barrier around the realm and obtained the acceptance of the Hongmeng's orders. The projections of the four supplemental daos had yet to depart. They added to his momentum and helped his voice carry further.

"When the path to the true realm was severed, the Hongmeng Tower created a shortcut for us, one pristine and without flaw. Through it, we become titled kings through battle strength and can still reach the other shore at ninth step kinghood.

"I will now show you the final segment of this path to true kinghood."

Hummmmm.

His nine dao rules appeared once more.