Chapter 504: Human Nature

At the precise moment of conclusion for the interment of heaven and earth and completion of the bronze palace, the scene grew dark before Lu Yun’s eyes and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Having been baptized by the grand influence of heaven and earth, though, his will wasn’t what it’d once been, and he managed to stay on his feet.

Survivors in Azure City hurried out of the capital and worked together with the immortals stationed outside the province to deal with the yin spirits. The Azure governor called upon his seal again, combing through every part of the land to flush out and kill all of the lurking yin spirits.

It took about three days for the province to be cleansed of evil.

As Lu Yun had predicted, however, the calamity had left Azure Province a desolate and barren land, most of those who called her home erased from existence.

Having completed clean-up, the Azure governor and his kin knelt on the bloodied land of the province, weeping silently. Foundations set up and painstakingly tended to over the past tens of  thousands of years had been destroyed overnight.

Every living soul fell silent.

This was one of the worst disasters Nephrite Major had suffered in its history. Billions of lives in the province had been slaughtered. Even those who’d rushed from other parts of the major to help had suffered great casualties as well.

Those who’d survived were heavyweights of the world, or geniuses equipped with great treasures or fortune.

No one took their leave of Azure Province, instead making their way to the bronze palace, which was a bit of a misnomer since it was, in fact, a giant mausoleum. The structure was a hundred kilometers wide and covered the enormous breach beneath it.

It seemed like a single entity that contained enormous bronze tombs, each of them related to each other as a singular feng shui layout. The grand influence of the world buried the will of death beneath the fissure.

However…

A deep-seated horror prickled skins when everyone realized they could still hear the despairing cries and wails of the Qing and Feng immortals. 

They hadn’t died, but were instead buried alive—an even more chilling prospect. Many immortals who approached the palace could feel a cold air of malice and resentment from it.

“Don’t you think you crossed a line, Lu Yun?!” demanded a Nephrite official.

Before his voice could reach Lu Yun, the soundwaves were dispersed by Feinie’s casual brandish of a sleeve.

Lu Yun and Qing Han had come to and sat cross-legged on the ground, their inner energy circulating at great speed and their presences increasing in strength.

They were both already in the unravelled void realm. Exhausting their strength earlier had pushed them through their current bottleneck and broken another layer of shackles. Once they’d recovered, they’d ascended further to peak unravelled void realm.

With a wave of her hand, Fenie summoned the Formation Orb of Yin and Yang. Killing intent shining out of her eyes, her frosty gaze focused on the gathering immortals.

Their eyes glittered with greed, as they hadn’t forgotten about the Embittered Bamboo that had emerged from Qing Han’s body. 

That was a connate spirit root!

More importantly, there was also the formation of heaven and earth here—one that could be incorporated into the body for an enormous boost in power. Acquiring the formation would allow current-generation immortals to compete with void realm cultivators, even after the latter ascended to immortality. Obsoletion was off the table for them!

Qing Han was right before them, and Lu Yun, who possessed the formation, was equally debilitated!

…… 

“Away with you!” Aoxue took a step forward and manifested a crimson halberd, the tip of which glowed faintly with a bloody light.

“Oh? And where were you when the yin spirits tore through the land?” sneered the Nephrite official. “Are you now going to raise your weapons against the heroes who helped counter the invasion?”

The aether dao immortal’s high, thin voice grated on the ears. His clothes and hair were unkempt, and he’d seemingly gone through a deadly battle. His complexion, however, was ruddy and he glowed with health, in stark contrast to those who’d fought bitterly for their lives.

He had a point, though. Many of those present had risked their lives carving a way out of Azure Province and back again. Most of them were bathed in blood, and some had lost limbs. They’d clearly weathered a ghastly battle.

They, too, stared at Lu Yun and Qing Han with insatiable greed in their eyes. In this world, not even immortals were above emotional urges and selfish desires.

When the flood of yin spirits had struck, they’d stepped forward one and all as heroes, risking their lives to contain the invaders and safeguarding Azure Province and Nephrite Major at large. Once the danger passed, however, they had eyes only for the treasures. To that end, they would gladly kill Lu Yun and Qing Han.

Such was human nature, and the grayscale nature of the world. There was no clear-cut black and white, nor was there a definite right and wrong. It was simply a matter of conflicting perspectives.

Tensions were so thick in the air that one could cut them with a knife.

The shadows of a blood dragon, phoenix, and qilin took shape behind Aoxue, Huangqing, and Cangyin, foreboding crimson light threatening to flood the land.

Yuying then unleashed the three immortal fires, unnerving many with the great heat.

Not to be outdone, Feinie, Su Xiaoxiao, and Xingzi demonstrated their might as well. Roiling waves of formations, poisons, and shamanic methods emerged to hold the gathering immortals at bay.

“Witches!” The aether dao immortal official tensed at the great concentration of heavenly power originating from Yuying and other seven Envoys of Samsara. Theirs was the strength to crush aether dao immortals!

Those beneath arcane dao immortal couldn’t possibly match peerless immortals who’d gained the power of heaven and earth.

“All immortals present are heroes who saved countless lives,” exclaimed the official. “Are you going to set yourselves against the world of immortals?”

“Well said!” interjected a Lin dao immortal. “You didn’t expend any strength earlier, but now attack immortals instead… You are as depraved as the yin spirits!”

The Lin dao immortal was a seven-fruit arcane dao immortal, just like Feng Xiao and Qing Long. Wayfarer was the only thing stopping him from taking down Lu Yun and Qing Han, their eight protectors be damned.

The envoys silently stood their ground, protecting Lu Yun and Qing Han.

“They did their parts,” came a remote voice from the air. Zhao Changkong descended from the sky with a steely expression. “If these eight ladies hadn’t protected the earthen veins of Azure City, it would’ve been destroyed as well.”

Nephrite’s emperor had been unable to enter Azure Province when the crack persisted. The heavenly mandate on him would’ve attracted even more powerful yin spirits if he did, and all would’ve truly been doomed.

The same was true of Art Saint and Qin Sheng, which was why they’d stayed high in the sky instead of joining the fray and killing yin spirits themselves.

As for Wayfarer… he appeared to be a regular man with no immortal energy whatsoever.

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