Chapter 2020 – A Lagging World

Chapter 2020 – A Lagging World

“Hmm?” Sitting cross-legged by the banks of the minuscule lake, Lu Yun finally discovered that something was off. He raised his head to see a pair of icy-blue eyes staring straight at him.

It felt like it saw through everything that was him—scanning every single one of his cells and peering into his tiniest hair. Everything but the Tome of Life and Death!

The Tome of Life and Death!

That was his greatest weapon and his greatest weakness. The eye had honed in on him because it couldn’t see through the treasure.

Lu Yun yelped and turned into a particle of dust, throwing himself into the lake. At the same time, an exceedingly weak, yet remarkably strong will emanated from the eye.

Countless powerhouses received its message at the same time and converged on this location. Not only had the eye conveyed Lu Yun’s appearance, but even the aura of his soul, the oddness of his nascent spirit, and the particle of dust that he’d turned into was fully relayed.

Joint calculations from several people quickly determined that the nascent spirit stymieing even an eye of great dao must come from the outside world.

High supremes weren’t powerhouses in this world; they were only ants in front of the grand supremes, peak grand supremes, and empyrean supremes. But high supremes from the outside world were different. They entered this world with the will of the demons beyond. It would be an utter disaster once they constructed a transportation formation or some sort of altar.

Up in the air, the eye of great dao was firmly locked onto Lu Yun. It would track the Tome of Life and Death no matter what the young man turned into. Shapeshifting could change the treasure’s master, but not the treasure itself!

The Tome of Life and Death was Lu Yun’s nascent spirit. Although it demonstrated certain marvelous uses at critical moments to help its master through the crisis at hand, more often than not, it was Lu Yun who called upon it.

Currently, his utilization of the treasure was limited by how much strength he possessed. As he was only a high supreme at the moment, the Tome of Life and Death was limited to the level of a high supreme.

The eye in the sky wasn’t from the combat art of a living being—it was an eye of the great dao. The great dao of this world had coalesced into something similar to a rule and a pattern. That was why it was able to hone in on the Tome of Life and Death. Theoretically speaking, it shared the same origins as Lu Yun’s treasure.

The powerhouses of this world traveled at fast speeds. A dozen grand supremes assembled at the tiny lake—including the grand supreme in golden robes from earlier.

“There are indeed traces of cultivation here, and it belongs to a great dao that we’ve never seen before!” A grand supreme whose body was so red that it seemed like he was on fire frowned at the discovery.

“The eye of great dao is never wrong,” Gold Robes answered matter-of-factly. “According to its feedback, the person is now a grain of sand that’s melded into the lake in front of us. The seventeen of us shall join hands to refine this lake!”

“Join hands? That’s showing this outsider too much respect,” grumbled Red Flames.

“We need to bring our full strength to bear against outsiders, even if they are only an ant!” hectored a man in green robes. “Set up the formation!”

The seventeen grand supremes moved adroitly, surrounding the lake under guidance from the eye of great dao. A formation dropped down from the sky and began refining the lake.

Although it was a lake to them, it would be a vast sea anywhere else. Accordingly, there were countless beings that lived inside… but they were now all caught inside the array.

The denizens of this world would rather kill innocents than run the risk of letting an outsider get away!

“Venerated grand supremes, what is the meaning of this?!” A shocked high supreme abruptly charged out of the waters and rushed toward them upon the waves.

“An outsider has entered your territory, so I’m afraid you must be inconvenienced for the sake of preventing future disaster,” Gold Robes responded expressionlessly.

Hand seals flew from his hands as he spoke and shot into the formation, enhancing its might to the maximum. The lake was enveloped by something that seemed akin to both fire and water; all of its inhabitants keened as they were turned to ashes.

“Stop!! Stop!!” screamed the high supreme on the lake. “I am the disciple of the Thalassic Peak Grand Supreme! This is the peak grand supreme’s territory!! You, you guys!!”

“The Thalassic Peak Grand Supreme has been notified and it is with her permission that we refine this lake,” Green Robes remarked. “The outsider is adept at transformation, so everything in this lake must die. We must erroneously kill a hundred million to not let even one through!”

“Kill!” The seventeen grand supremes brought their strongest power to bear and operated the formation with its peak power.

BOOM!

The remaining waters that were yet to be fully refined suddenly exploded upward in a geyser, forming a massive fist that punched the formation. Backlash recoiled onto seventeen grand supremes and they jointly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“The cultivators of this world… are pathetically weak,” Lu Yun’s voice sounded. “You would rather kill a hundred million in error to not let even one through? How do your actions set you apart from demons?”

He emerged from the waters and slowly rose into the air. The seventeen grand supremes looked at him with fearful surprise.

“Are you a peak grand supreme?!” Gold Robes, in particular, was aghast.

“No, I am a high supreme.” Lu Yun looked at his hands and murmured, “I thought the fellow I met earlier just wasn’t skilled at battle and more learned in arts that emulate great dao, but it turns out that the cultivators of this world are far behind the times.”

While the formation looked invincible to the inhabitants of the lake and unquestionably domineering, it was full of holes to Lu Yun. In fact, it might as well be made of paper!

Although these seventeen grand supremes possessed the strength and cultivation level of grand supremes, their methods were laughably weak. Any supreme from the chief worlds could wipe the floor with them, to say nothing of Lu Yun!

It was so comfortable here and all sorts of great dao available at one’s fingertips that its cultivators had lost any sense of ambition. The local combat arts and dao methods remained stagnant from a very ancient age.

The knowledge and treasures of the ancients were the best?

No, the times were constantly improving and advancing. Anything that couldn’t keep up was destroyed.

It was no wonder that the cultivators of this world were terrified of outsiders.