âYou want to go with me?â Lu Yun started. âBut this is a highly dangerous trip and apparently the ruins have turned into a den of ghosts.â
He wasnât familiar with Xing Lingkong and subconsciously didnât want to expose any of his trump cards to the man. If Lu Yun were to choose between Xing Wuliang and Xing Lingkong, heâd rather choose the former, even though Xing Wuliang was much weaker.
âYou donât trust me, do you, junior brother?â Xing Lingkong was highly quick on the uptake and easily read Lu Yunâs mood, especially as the young man wasnât hiding anything.
Lu Yun would never trust someone heâd just met, no matter if the other was a threat or not. It was an instinctual reaction to not trust strangers, even if the stranger had just done something for him.
Lu Yun nodded in a natural motion.
Xing Lingkong chuckled ruefully. âAlright then, itâs not a bad idea for junior brother to cultivate for a period of time first. Itâd be best if you can pass the first domain of Soul Dominion before you do anything else.â
He didnât care to linger around after being outright rejected; Xing Lingkong turned on his heel and left. He could go himself if Feng Feifan didnât want to go with him. While the ruins were dangerous, the Star Sect hadnât forbidden its disciples from traveling there.
Lu Yun sank into deep thought as he watched the man leave.
âCompared to Xing Wuliang, Xing Lingkong does indeed play the part of the sectâs foremost senior brother better.â The reflections that Xing Lingkong had given him were incredibly valuable. Though Lu Yun was stronger than him in terms of absolute strength, he was far behind the other when it came to supplemental dao. After all, the latter had trained for three hundred million years. In comparison, Lu Yunâs experience didnât even add up to a rounding error.
His plan to head to the Snowsword Sect was thus put on hold as he also wanted to test himself against the famed Soul Dominion cultivation grounds.
Soul Dominion was a cultivation locale specifically for soul force cultivators. The stronger oneâs grasp and the deeper oneâs understanding of the craft, the further one would progress through it.
Though Lu Yun could activate the three domains of Argent Snow, he wouldnât make it very far through Soul Dominion with his current level of comprehension.
âI need to meditate in closed door cultivation first.â He returned to his nameless abode so he could carefully peruse the notes that Xing Lingkong had gifted him.
âFinally. Heâs finally not going anywhere.â Up in the air, Xing Chen surreptitiously wiped away a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. âI only wanted him to go to Ingress Sword Island or search for Argent Snowâs legacy among the Sword Clan. He could also strengthen our ties with them at the same time. But the kid wants to go to the Snowsword Sect? Would I have destroyed those bastards if they possessed Argent Snowâs heritage?â
Sheâd annihilated them because theyâd long since turned into a den of demons and devoured countless planes from the shadows. After she razed the corrupted Snowsword Sect, it dissolved into a nest of ghosts. The Star Sectâs Nihil World Sovereigns hadnât headed to the ruins to search for Argent Snowâs heritage, but to completely wipe out the remnants of the Snowsword Sect.
For that, the Star Sect paid a heavy price.
While the ruins remained a nest of ghosts, the ghosts were sealed inside and couldnât rampage through the realm. The public remained oblivious of the truth, just as incorrect rumors had immediately swirled when Lu Yun declined to invite Xing Lan in. That had been the start of Xing Lingkong supposedly wanting to teach Lu Yun a lesson on Xing Lanâs behalf.
And then, the entire sect became wrapped up in the nonsense.
General knowledge about Argent Snowâs heritage being present in the Snowsword Sectâs ruins had grown in a similar fashion. The demise of several Nihil World Sovereigns had been viewed through the lens of sect experts searching for the soul weaponâs inheritance in the factionâs ruins.
Though sect powerhouses later clarified the proper course of events, widespread belief declined to embrace their words. Additionally, the seniorsâ habits meant that one explanation was all they would give. They didnât care if others believed them. Thus, a dangerous land of ghosts morphed into the location of Argent Snowâs heritage.
Influenced by this general belief, Lu Yun firmly believed the same. His notions were reinforced after conversing with Xing Wuliang and Xing Lingkong.
Ten years passed by in the blink of an eye. To fourth realm cultivators, ten years were the span of a finger snap. Their order of time denoted that one major cycle revolution marked one yearâa similar rule to what was present in the various worlds and Hongmengs of the fourth realm.
The order of one major cycle ruled the realm.
âIâve done it!â Lu Yun opened his eyes with a smile.
Ten years of meditation and simulation, combined with Xing Lingkongâs reflections, enabled him to perfect the methods of the first three domains in Argent Snow. In the same vein, his soul force and cultivation had taken noticeable leaps forward over the past ten years.
His true cultivation had reached true nihil realm from true void realm. What was meant by âtrue cultivationâ was the strength that he could deploy in the Hongmeng. Though that had nothing to do with the fourth realm, it was what he truly commanded without the aid of the Tome of Life and Death.
A stronger self meant more solid foundations, otherwise he would never feel on even footing despite being a Nihil World Sovereign. Now that his true cultivation was in the true nihil realm, his strength as a Nihil World Sovereign also rose by thirty percent.
âLetâs go to Soul Dominion now and see how far I can get!â Anticipation blossomed in Lu Yunâs heart to think of his upcoming challenge.
Soul Dominion was a special realm of trial created by numerous rules. Legend had it that the creators of the eight soul weapons had shaped it with a world of rules. It wasnât in the Star Sect as any faction in the Boundless Realms with the heritage of a soul weapon could communicate with it.
There was a Hall of Soul Dominion in Mount Buzhou through which Star Sect disciples could access the realm. However, only those who trained with one of the eight soul weapons could enter the hall and Soul Dominion.
âSenior brother Wuliang.â Lu Yun bumped into Xing Wuliang at the doors to the hall.
âYou havenât gone to Snowsword Sect yet, junior brother?â Xing Wuliang blinked to see the young man.
âIâve been in seclusion and studying a few methods that senior brother Xing Lingkong gave me. How are you, senior brother?â Though Lu Yun had completely outstripped Xing Wuliang, he still called the man senior brother. The latter was the one whoâd brought Lu Yun into the Star Sect, just as Xing Hun had originally recruited Xing Wuliang.
âIâve just broken through the tenth level of the first domain.â A smile curved Xing Wuliangâs lips. âAt this pace, it wonât be impossible to clear the first domain within a hundred years! My latest attempt gave me some inspiration, so Iâm going back to closed door cultivation. Go on in, junior brother.â
He rushed off into the distance.
Lu Yun smiled and strode into the Hall of Soul Dominion. The building was a complete world filled with seat cushions. Disciples only needed to form a replica out of soul force to enter the rest of the world. Their primary bodies would remain in the hall.
âJunior brother Feng Feifan⌠has senior brother Xing Lingkong not beaten you up yet?â A light voice sounded in his ears. Lu Yun turned around to see a surprised Su He.
ââŚno,â he replied awkwardly. A new round of rumors had flurried when he declined to travel with Xing Lingkong ten years ago, despite the man not caring in the slightest. There was now a moving love triangle between Feng Feifan, Xing Lan, and Xing Lingkong.
Given how lazy the Star Sect seniors were, they wouldnât put an end to gossip. Though Xing Lingkong and Xing Lan had denounced the balderdash, their voices were drowned out by hundreds of millions of disciples just on the World Star alone.
Thus, this tragic love story took on a life of its own.
Life on the World Star was very monotonousâcultivation, beatings, and gossip. The saying that a wise man does not believe rumors did not hold true in the Star Sect. In fact, it was the wise who took the farfetched stories and made them more realistic.
If it wasnât for these fun pastimes between cultivation and beatings, quite a few disciples would likely be bored into a cultivation deviation.
âSoooooo⌠junior brother, who do you like? Is it senior sister Xing Lan or senior brother Xing Lingkong?â Su Heâs eyes sparkled with interest. âApparently junior brother Xing Wuliang is interfering in your love as wellâŚâ
Lu Yun wanted to faint dead away on the spot.
<blockquote><b>Translator's Thoughts</b>Can you imagine if someone started a tabloid in this sect?