The Treasurehunter Rat often visited Mount Cloudcover because it sensed Lu Yunâs presence beneath the big grave. Lu Yunâs future self was also Lu Yun, but he was now a dao fruit that rested silently inside the grave.
A complicated mix of emotions rose in Lu Yunâs heart. When heâd reached the dao immortal realm, heâd walked the path of using himself as a dao fruit. After he found the dao fruit of his past self, heâd not only absorbed his past cultivation level and experiences, but his strength had taken a massive leap forward as well.
If he could recover his future self, heâd gain more than that⊠heâd be able to see the various permutations of the future!
His future self was far more important than his past self. And just like his past self, he couldnât form any karmic ties to the future. He would silently cultivate and observe from the shadows just like his past selfâof that Lu Yun was certain of.
The future Lu Yun was also Lu Yun, so he was very cognizant of what he should be doing then.
âCome on, letâs go take a look!â Lu Yun set his jaw. He also wanted to know what his future self was doing here. When the little fox opened the passage to the future, heâd distinctly felt that it was an inordinately long road. That path wouldnât have led to this day less than a hundred years later!
There was only one possibilityâLu Yunâs future self had come back on his own.
He had to understand what had happened in the future, why his future self hadnât sought out the future Lu Yun and instead, returned to present time.
Based on Lu Yun and Miaoâs original plans, his future self would convene with the future Lu Yun to be his dao fruit.
The bronze doors were incredibly large, like the gates to a world. They were just a shadow in the airâtheir true forms were hidden in layers of space. However, there was a tiny door next to the massive onesâless than fifteen centimeters across. It was a tiny thievesâ tunnel. Plainly, it was the Treasurehunter Ratâs handiwork.
It had tremendous innate potential and could solve many layouts and formations. It was like equipping a tiger with wings after it learned feng shui and the art of tomb raiding.
Lu Yun had never fathomed that the rat would be able to dig a tunnel here.
âThe tunnel is just a bit short of perfection. Though it accesses the inside of the grave, there are countless planes of space inside. Youâll only end up on its outskirts.â Lu Yun glanced at the rat thatâd jumped onto his shoulder and caressed its head.
âIt looks like thereâs only one door to the grave, but there are many layers to itâa full three thousand, six hundred and fifty copies to be exact. Each one leads to a different grave, but thereâs only one real one.
âWho set this grave up? âŠme?â Lu Yun stroked his chin. âI do have the ability to set up something like this, but there are many things I canât see through here. If that wasnât the case, the person behind Ghost Dragon and Ghost Phoenix wouldnât have set up a layout of dragon and phoenix to break it.â
He subconsciously wanted to operate the Dragonquake Scripture, but a hint of warning emanated from the depths of his heart when the thought occurred to him. He immediately stopped calling upon the method.
âDonât go inside!â Qing Yu suddenly blocked Lu Yunâs way, her face ashen. âDonât come here before you make titled kinghood, or this will be a layout of death for you!
âI, I derived how to get inside and successfully made it to your future self,â she murmured. âBut itâs all fake. Your future self told me this is fake and that you shouldnât come here before youâre a titled king!â
âYou can see my future self?â Lu Yun gasped.
âI canât.â Qing Yu shook her head. âBut you can see me.â
Dismayed, he understood what Qing Yu meant.
âIs the future really a dead end?â Lu Yun murmured. âDid he come back because neither you nor I exist there?â He glanced at the little fox. âCan you sense your soul force replica?â
âMy soul force replica didnât follow you to the future. It dissipated on the way there,â came the disappointing reply.
Lu Yun nodded. âLetâs go. I keep feeling like thereâs something behind the door thatâs luring me in. We need to leave, and fast, before I canât control myself.â
Cold sweat suddenly beaded his forehead and he hastily opened the Gates of the Abyss, jumping through with Qing Yu, Miao, and the rat.
A pale, chubby boy roughly eight years old walked out of the bronze doors after Lu Yun left.
âDid he get away? What a pity.â He held a brush in his hand and his expression looked like he was both crying and laughing. He turned around and faced the huge grave in front of him. âWhat a pity that if I donât have Lu Yun, I can only use the layout of dragon and phoenix to undo this graveâs layout.
âDamn that Meng! That stupid busybody Meng! If it wasnât for you cooking up Mount Cloudcover, this little master wouldâve gotten the thing a long time ago!â He raised the brush in his hand and drew a few light strokes in the air, recreating the vanished scroll painting.
He was the artist behind the painting!
âGhost Dragon, go to Azure Dragon City and claim one of the Dragonling Assembly spots. You have to participate no matter what and get that old dragonâs blood!â he roared at the painting.
âYes, master.â A respectful Ghost Dragon slowly materialized on bended knee.
âGo now.â The little boy schooled his expression and gently waved his hand.
A hazy door appeared in the void and an enormous bridge darted out of it, smashing down on the little boyâs head.
â...Lu Yun!!â shrieked the little boy and he waved the brush through the air in a gentle stroke, creating a massive spatial turbulence.
The Bridge of Forgetfulness fell right into it and flared with fiery black sparks that pierced through the spatial turbulence. It continued descending onto the little boy, unabated.
âA creature of the fourth realm!â The little boyâs eyes turned blood red and his features turned into the laughing and crying ones of an akasha ghost.
âWaughhhhh!!â He howled at the sky and swished the brush at the bridge.
The bridge jolted and evaded the brush, ripping straight through the scroll painting and tearing it to shreds. A faint purple figure appeared and yanked the still kneeling Ghost Dragon and Fire Parasol Tree thatâd been ejected from the painting, then vanished without a trace.
The little boy remained screaming on the spot, releasing terrifying malice from his body that contorted his figure.