Chapter 2193.1: Frostmoon Ice

Ashflame City, the southern capital of Dark Orchid Empire.

The assembly of ten formations normally hidden in the void materialized in the airspace over the city. Not only that, but terrifying cracks snaked through their curtains of light. It was a clear sign that a lack of qi was causing the formations to crumble.

Luo Yulong, Sui Ge, Tie Shanhe, and some other soul projection cultivators shot into the sky, regarding the assembly with ugly expressions.

“Someone has dared touch the city’s spirit vein—there is no one in heaven or earth who will be able to save them!” snarled a stocky, dark-skinned cultivator at soul projection.

“No matter what, we need to stabilize the formations first. If they collapse, the city’s qi will immediately wash away.” Luo Yulong waved several tens of thousands of spirit stones out of his storage ring. They formed an enormous milky-white dragon that dove into the ground and returned a few hints of qi to the disintegrating formation assembly.

The other soul projection cultivators took note and also took out their spirit stones for repairs.

“As expected of the little prince, what a display of wealth!” Some of the cultivators looked on with envy when millions of spirit stones streamed out of Sui Ge’s ring.

A sum of millions of paramount rank spirit stones was no small wealth for soul projection cultivators. Of course, whatever they took out was for public use—Dark Orchid Empire would reimburse them later on.

They were repairing the formations both for the city and for themselves. Their foundations were firmly established in Ashflame. The metropolis would be worthless once qi fully dissipated from the city.

Eight soul projection cultivators and a mid nascent soul little prince managed to stop the array from crumbling after they brought out five million spirit stones.

RUMBLE!!

Before they could sag with relief, the ten formations hovering in the air spontaneously disassembled and turned to dust. All of the qi that’d been coalesced by the formations immediately flew outward. The lush Ashflame City turned as barren as the wilderness within forty-five minutes.

Some of the larger clans still had minor qi accumulation formations operating over their compounds. It retained a hint of vitality for the sprawling metropolis.

“Someone.. has taken Ashflame’s spirit vein..” A pale Luo Yulong dumbly watched motes of energy scatter from his domain. The other soul projection cultivators were likewise flabbergasted. They’d lived in Ashflame for multiple generations, it was unbelievable and unacceptable that their preeminent home suddenly became a third-rate city!

Ashflame was the southern capital of Dark Orchid due to the spirit vein beneath its foundations. It continuously took in ambient qi and supported the ponderous formation assembly. The formations also gathered qi from the surroundings, thus maintaining a city that ran for twenty-five hundred kilometers.

But now.. all of it was no more.

“Who dares sever the foundations of my Ashflame?! I, Xu Qiyu, will see that he is damned for all eternity!!” howled a middle-aged man who seemed otherwise scholarly and refined.

....

Lu Yun grinned merrily after he collected the spirit vein in the sword pagoda. Although it was only a lower rank spirit vein, it was an incredibly precious resource for him in his current state.

“I need to consolidate my cultivation first before I head up there and make trouble for the Ashflame city lord.” He sat down cross-legged and circulated Hongmeng qi. The lower rank spirit vein expanded in the sword pagoda and flowed into the young man’s body, using the pagoda as a medium.

Any other cultivator using a spirit vein to supplement their cultivation would explode on the spot. But Lu Yun practiced the Nine Chapters of Dao, a method from the heavenly dao itself. He needed hundreds to thousands times more qi compared to regular nascent soul cultivators. Energy from the spirit vein was immediately converted to Hongmeng qi when it entered his body.

His cultivation stabilized at peak initial nascent soul after a while, leaving Lu Yun only one step away from mid nascent soul.

“Goodwill is different from qi in that goodwill complements cultivation, but qi directly enhances cultivation. Regardless, it’s best to break through every cultivation level on the basis of dao comprehension and natural progression.” Lu Yun stood up, highly satisfied with reaching the fourth turn of the Seeing Dao chapter. He was much stronger than before and could certainly kill Sui Ge even if suppressed by the city’s formations.

“Let’s get that piece of Frostmoon Ice first before taking revenge.” He always sought an answer for every slight. Since the Ashflame city lord had voluntarily joined the fray, Lu Yun took his spirit vein in retaliation.

Besides, Darklake Empire needed to free itself of Dark Orchid control if it wished to raise its profile. On a fundamental level, Darklake and Dark Orchid were archrivals. Dark Orchid had become an Origin Sect pawn against the Lu Clan. It was only a matter of time before the two nations erupted in war. Taking the spirit vein of one of their cities was the same as weakening Dark Orchid, so whyever not?

....

Ashflame swiftly declined. Although numerous cultivators were still around, there were no signs of its former glory. Its heavyweights were preparing to move and oddly enough, numerous weaker cultivators rushed to the city when they received word.

Lu Yun didn’t bother changing his appearance before sauntering down the main street.

“Immortal Gazer.. sure rebuilt itself in a hurry.” Lu Yun smirked at the towering building in front of him. It’d taken him three days to claim the spirit vein and another to raise his cultivation. Yet Immortal Gazer rebuilt itself within four days!

Bam!

He reached the front door and kicked away the associate outside before the latter could say a word.

“Old man Tie, this young master has come back. Get your ass out here!” Lu Yun’s voice roiled through Immortal Gazer as a wave of sound.

“It’s you! How dare you come back!” Busy setting up new formations in the new building, Tie Shanhe’s face jerked with shock when he heard the voice. He quickly took out a transmission spirit stone and sent Luo Yulong a message.

“I haven’t done anything unsavory, why wouldn’t I return?” Lu Yun relaxed when he saw that Frostmoon Ice still rested in the grand steward’s ring. He’d have to visit the north if he couldn’t find the material in Ashflame.

Dark Orchid Empire stood staunchly in the south. If he was to visit the north from here, he’d have to spend at least eight years crossing the entire world. The likes of him didn’t have the right to take a transportation formation.

Lu Yun wasn’t willing to waste time, so he struck as soon as he spoke. He flashed to Tie Shanhe and grabbed for the man’s neck.

Whoosh!

Sword light rushed by and slashed at Lu Yun’s hand. Frowning, the young man turned to the side and easily avoided the sword light.

“To think you’d come back, loser!” Sui Ge stood in the air with flowing white robes and frostily regarded Lu Yun. “You’re the one who killed the city lord of Boulder Rise, aren’t you?”

“Boulder Rise? Yes, that’s me.” Lu Yun sensed several powerful presences breaking through the air. Their part of the void was quickly placed under confinement. It wasn’t the effects of a formation, but the joint forcefield from seven powerhouses at least latter soul projection.

“Die!” Sui Ge roared, his crimson flying sword flaring with radiance and deploying Rainbow Slayer once more.

Derision played on Lu Yun’s lips as Immortals Forbidden erupted in turn, emanating scintillating red light like a miniature sun.

Bam!

Two ludicrously extravagant rays of sword light crashed into each other, dismantling the forcefield from the seven powerhouses.

Pfft!

Sui Ge spat out fresh blood as he was thrown up into the sky. HIs upper spirit rank flying sword disintegrated from the impact.

“How is this possible?!” Eyes wide open and incredulous, he was unaware that he’d been able to suppress Lu Yun that day only with the help of Luo Yulong. The city lord hadn’t revealed his involvement out of consideration for the dignity of the greatest genius in Dark Orchid.

“Die!!” Lu Yun’s target was Tie Shanhe. He brought his palm down on the man’s head after sending Sui Ge flying.

The man was ready and his lower spirit rank defensive weapon swiftly raised a curtain of light. At the same time, a treasure shaped like a club flew out to meet Lu Yun’s hand.

Bam!

Lu Yun sent the club flying with a vicious palm strike, but he also stumbled backward as well.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The seven latter soul projection powerhouses also made their moves. Seven rays of cutting sword radiance darted for Lu Yun’s face.

“You court death!” Immortals Forbidden erupted with crimson radiance that enveloped the young man’s body before he shot into the air, transforming into a crimson dragon thirty meters long.

Swish swish swish swish swish..

The dragon twisted eighteen times in the bizarre fashion of the Eighteen Cerulean Sword Dragons. The seven rays of sword radiance were rebuffed, forcing their beholders to reveal themselves in the void.

Lu Yun churned to action again and snaked toward the powerhouses.

“So strong!” Luo Yulong gasped with shock and flung out a green seal. It expanded to thirty meters long in the air and smashed down on Lu Yun.

BOOM!

Sword qi and seal smashed together, leveling all buildings within three hundred meters. Lu Yun was shoved out of his dragon form while Luo Yulong spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of organs. He fell down bonelessly from the sky.