Necropolis Immortal

Gusts of yin wind howled around them as general illumination dimmed the more they progressed. The dull sun in the sky was still there, but its radiance turned to darkness when it hit the ground.

"Is it really the creation seed?" Brightheart asked.

"What else would command so much effort from someone?" Jian Juexian responded matter-of-factly. In his eyes, only a creation seed would inspire the unknown existence to set up this kind of layout.

Brightheart didn't know Lu Yun and Jian Juexian's true cultivation level, but a layout that could forcefully increase the strength of someone in it was a heaven-defying one.

Lu Yun started with surprise. Scheming against Nihil World Sovereigns, drawing them into a plot… Is it really just a creation seed?

"...how do you know there's a creation seed here?" Jian Juexian's gaze abruptly turned sharp as he trained it on Brightheart.

Xing Wuliang knew about it because his shadow had told him, but he hadn't shared it with the rest of the group. Lu Yun and Jian Juexian's conversation had been in the manner of Nihil World Sovereigns; Brightheart couldn't have heard them.

Xing Wuliang also looked at the world king.

"Don't tell me that your shadow told you." Jian Juexian's sword scraped free of its scabbard as he leveled a frosty stare at Brightheart.

Brightheart looked at Xing Wuliang; he was already one step in front of her and blocking Jian Juexian's suspecting gaze.

"So what if Brightheart knows about the creation seed?" Derision curved his lips. "You're not one of us."

Jian Juexian blinked, then looked at Lu Yun. The latter was completely ignoring them and soldiering forward in the oppressive world.

"Be careful, the darkness here is shadow, not darkness," Lu Yun said. "We're in the belly of a massive shadow. Be quick about anything you want to do. We won't be able to do anything after we leave this patch of shadow."

The shadow was somehow isolating them from the outside world and didn't fear the power of the world. It wouldn't have the courage to swallow the world he'd drawn otherwise. Lu Yun had already seen the shadows that he'd killed earlier come back to life.

As long as shadow dao persisted in this world, those shadows would never die.

"Who says I'm not afraid of the power of a world?" sounded a muffled voice as soon as Lu Yun finished speaking.

He trembled with shock and the other three lifted their heads with stupefaction.

"Shadows can talk?" Xing Wuliang asked dumbly.

"Didn't you guys hear part of the truth earlier?" the shadow continued. "The Shadow Sovereign voluntarily laid himself to rest in the burial mound so he could protect this place. Therefore, it isn't the creation seed that's buried here."

"My shadow… lied to me?" Xing Wuliang frowned.

"Of course it did. Not only does it lie to you, but it also wants to kill you," the voice responded matter-of-factly. "You fell into that person's trap and everything about you is polluted, as is your shadow."

Lu Yun frowned slightly. Had he misjudged and the other pair of eyes not had any effect?

Oh, wait a second! That pair of eyes was hiding in Xing Wuliang's in order to "see" the creation seed. If it helped Xing Wuliang as soon as he fell into a trap, the one behind the tumors would learn about its existence.

Thus, Xing Wuliang's shadow smoothly became one of the pawns and started controlling all of the shadows in this world. It even wanted to attack the shadow dao that governed it since there was more than just shadow dao at play here.

"You're the one who swallowed us—do you have something to say?" Jian Juexian put his sword away and looked up at the darkness that was actually shadow.

"Why do I need to tell you anything?" It seemed to be pouting. "I'm just preventing you from approaching the tomb in the center of the burial mound. Whatever you are, my duties are to keep you away from it.

"And it's not the creation seed here. If you want that, you can go to the main tomb. The Hallowed Emperor has the seed, it's not here."

Lu Yun was growing ever more curious about the state of this tomb world.

"Why should I believe you?" he chuckled and flung out the Water and Metal Virtue Orbs. "The more you want to keep it from me, the more I want to take a look."

Not the creation seed?

Perfect. Though he was a little curious about them, he could ask Violetgrave for all of them if he wanted. She would never turn him down.

If it wasn't the creation seed buried here, then it had to be a stunning treasure. At this point in their exploration, he could sense that what lay ahead wasn't a living being, but a treasure.

He put thought of everything else out of his mind and raised Horizon's Edge, walking forward and holding it high. Though they were in the stomach of a shadow, a shadow was a shadow and not truly alive.

Yes, a shadow was talking to them, but that was a byproduct of shadow dao. It was the more the equivalent of the Shadow Sovereign talking to them.

A tomb keeper?

They were the living dead, but it would be over the top for the Shadow Sovereign to bury himself in a pile of dirt, then use his own boundless resentment to turn other people's shadows into shadow demons to guard the tomb.

"You seek death!" The voice flew into a rage at seeing Lu Yun forge ahead without considering anything else. The shadows he'd eliminated earlier reappeared, charging the group with sharp daggers.

They were formless and shapeless, immediately entering the world drawn by Horizon's Edge. While the shadows earlier had been afraid of the power of a world, these ones seemed to have been modified to withstand it.

"Hmph!" Jian Juexian sneered and unsheathed his longsword, slicing more than a dozen into half with one stroke. Blackish-red blood flowed out of his defeated opponents.

Shadows bleed?

He paused with surprise.

"The shadows before were afraid of the power of a world, but they were also formless, shapeless, and didn't belong to our world. Hence, we couldn't kill them," Brightheart called out. "Now that they've returned to this world, they aren't afraid of the power anymore. But, that means we can kill them."

A tic throbbed in Lu Yun's cheek. So Brightheart had seen through everything long ago!