Chapter 499: Evolution

The sixty-four dragons of earthen veins had been tearing into each other, with none gaining a clear upper hand.

At this time, Lu Yun amplified the feng shui luopan with his blood essence and pushed the Dragonshift Method to the limit. In an instant, eight of the dragons grew exponentially in size and devoured the other fifty-six earthen veins.

Afterward, those eight spontaneously evolved into true dragon veins. The power of heaven and earth furiously gathered around the dragon veins and they moved to form a strange pattern in the air—the eight trigrams!

Earlier, the sixty-four earthen veins had been layouts of the sixty-four forms derived from the eight trigrams. But they’d reverted back into the eight trigrams after Lu Yun reversed feng shui with the Dragonshift Method.

An enormous layout of eight trigrams was thus created, erasing all scarlet yin spirits in a five-hundred-kilometer radius. What attracted everyone’s eyes, however, wasn’t the layout, but the vibrantly vivacious bamboo beside Lu Yun.

“That’s Embittered Bamboo, one of the ten fabled connate spirit roots!” Greed threatened to tear many of them apart. The ten connate spirit roots were more valuable than even connate-grade treasures!

There were enough connate-grade treasures for each faction and clan to acquire a couple, while there were only ever ten connate spirit roots in history!

Each of the spirit roots had a unique property that could influence its surroundings and give rise to powerful treasures. Wayfarer’s bamboo staff, for example, had gained the power of an ultimate immortal weapon with a simple hint of the Embittered Bamboo’s energy. Back in Destiny City, Wanfeng had used it to knock down many immortals.

With the true form of the Embittered Bamboo before their eyes, the dao immortals no longer overwhelmed by yin spirits had their gazes glued to the spirit root.

“Lu Yun is the one who caused the yin spirit tide. He’s obliged to seal the crack to pay for his sins. The merit that garners cannot offset all the deaths he caused in Azure Province.” A Feng dao immortal leered with a cruel smile.

“The Embittered Bamboo belongs to the Qing Clan,” scoffed a Qing arcane dao immortal as he casually crushed a spirit charging him. “As the patriarch’s son, Qing Han betrayed the clan and stole our greatest treasure… It’s time for us to collect what’s rightfully ours!”

With the source of the yin spirits within the tomb stoppered, the dao immortals were under much less pressure. The Ingress Path’s assistance was enough for them to kill most of the scarlet spirits in the province, so it seemed as if there was no longer a threat.

What they didn’t see was that there was still an endless supply of yin spirits rushing through the layout of eight trigrams. Its influence was just too powerful for any of those yin spirits to survive and emerge from the tomb.

“Is the Embittered Bamboo really yours, Qing old man?” someone mocked, unconvinced. “How is it possible for a mere Qing Han to steal such a treasure from you?”

“Hmph, my clan’s Arcane Golden Bell is still in that little bastard’s possession as well...” The Qing dao immortal scowled, his eyes fixed on the Embittered Bamboo.

The uncle of Nephrite’s emperor sighed with resignation. Treasures were a great lure, but in the end, the immortals only dared covet the spirit root because Lu Yun and Qing Han were too weak!

If they’d been the celestial emperors, or even just peak arcane dao immortals, no one would’ve dared say anything even after they took out the Embittered Bamboo.

Bam!

With a wave of his hand, the Ingress Path divided into strands of white light and ensconced the entire area within its protective zone. He didn’t want anyone to disturb Lu Yun at this moment. If the crack opened again, the consequences would be unbearable. He didn’t have enough power to activate the Ingress Path again.

Art Saint and Qin Sheng hovered in the air, shoulder-to-shoulder.

Art Saint wanted to devour Qin Sheng, but to his dismay, the latter was much more powerful than he was. If they got into a real fight, there was a greater chance that he would be killed.

Under Qin Sheng’s calm and genteel facade was a man with ruthless might.

Failing to suppress his vicious urges, Art Saint had snuck up on Qin Sheng and attacked him just moments ago, but Zither Saint had easily countered him and slammed him into the ground.

“What did you see all those years back that planted such a terrible demonic seed in you?” Qin Sheng frowned deeply. “There was a setup to allow your body to escape and merge with you in order to remove the demonic taint, but the eyes’ viciousness turned out to be greater than yours.”

“I don’t know.” Art Saint shook his head. “I lost control of myself after Yu Ying’s death.”

He grabbed his head, tormented, then unfolded the portrait of the beauty in his hand and stared at the woman portrayed on it.

“You’re the one who got Yu Ying killed. You’d deviated even before that.” Qin Sheng shook his head and shifted his attention back to the ancient tomb.

The eight trigrams had evolved again, reverting back to the four divisions—those referred to not just the four quadrants of the sky or divine beasts. The divine beasts were the divine spirits of the four cardinal directions, born of the four divisions and only one small part of them.

The four divisions combined the cardinal directions, cosmos, and earth in the four directions—north, south, east, and west. They were the amalgamation of four grand influences.

Currently, the pattern of four divisions generated endless power with a reach of ten thousand kilometers across. The four dragon veins dashed madly in circles within. They’d stopped attacking one another, but instead clashed and came together. The four neutral dragon veins thus gain the property of either yin or yang. Even the Ingress Path was pushed away.

Next to the Embittered Bamboo, Lu Yun’s body was bathed in rotating swirls of golden and green light. His feng shui compass had disassembled completely into golden glyphs, intertwining with the light of the Embittered Bamboo.

Bam!!

A crisp collision sounded as the giant boulder beneath Lu Yun’s feet cracked open. Splintering shards of stones flew as the stone was whittled into two sarcophagi.

Qing Long and Feng Xiao retained their consciousness, despite being sealed, and their faces turned a shade darker in reaction. Lu Yun really was going to bury them here!

“Your formation has sealed the crack already, Lu Yun!!” Feng Xiao screamed in panic. “There’s no need to bury the two of us...”

“We’re arcane dao immortals who have come to Azure Province’s rescue, Lu Yun! We’ve done a great deed for this world. Are you not worried about public backlash if you kill us?!” Qing Long was despairing as well, but kept his calm and attempted to persuade Lu Yun with logic.

“I’ve killed even origin dao immortals. Do you really think I’d worry about you two?” Face impassive, Lu Yun wasted no time in throwing Qing Long and Feng Xiao into their final resting places.

The pattern of the four divisions had disappeared, replaced by an enormous graph of yin and yang.

“Stop!!”

“You court death, Lu Yun!!” The Feng and Qing elites could no longer stay their hands and lunged at Lu Yun.