Chapter 213: The Azure Coffin Cage; "Sure Thing, Auntie Zhu"
Beyond the Dao Realm lay an expanse of chaos and void.
And within this chaos and void existed a single enormous Azure Coffin.
Carved across the Azure Coffin were countless ancient runes — a single glance was enough to tell how old it was.
Inside the Azure Coffin was a world unto itself.
From every direction within the coffin stretched enormous iron chains, each tens of thousands of meters thick, glaring red light flickering across them.
Those chains extended toward the center of the coffin, ultimately converging upon a perfectly square cage.
Within the cage was a man in azure robes with bewitchingly beautiful features and a head of long golden hair, a hint of amusement on his face.
"Interesting. They actually killed my servant?"
"Just wait. Before long, I'll be able to get out."
With that, he reached a hand to the edge of the cage. The instant he touched it, the cage erupted with a terrifying pressure that bore down on him, seeking to suppress him.
Yet when it landed on him, it only moved him the faintest bit.
A hundred trillion years ago, this pressure had reduced him to utter wretchedness, pinning him down so he couldn't move at all.
This Azure Coffin seemed unable to hold him back any longer. Gazing through the coffin in the direction of the Dao Realm, Kaigulas grinned savagely.
"Just wait. When I return to the Dao Realm, I'll make everyone pay the price."
In the Immortal Realm, Lu Xunxian and the others knew nothing of this.
"Master — so, is it dealt with just like that?"
Peng Wufeng gazed at Lu Xunxian and the others, swallowing and steadying his nerves, yet still feeling utterly stunned.
A being that terrifying, dealt with so easily by the senior before him.
Just who in the world was this senior?
"Mm, it's dealt with. Go on with your tempering. If fate allows, we'll naturally meet again somewhere in the Immortal Realm one day."
Gu Daoshi smiled, then looked toward Lu Xunxian and made to leave alongside them.
He had only meant to nudge Peng Wufeng's fate a little, not to interfere too much, lest Peng Wufeng grow overly dependent on him.
And through that single intervention, he'd gained a fairly deep understanding and insight into the Law of Karma; with just a little time to let it settle, he could cultivate the Law of Karma to the Immortal Emperor tier.
Of course, this was thanks to Gu Daoshi himself.
Had it been any other Immortal Emperor, they likely couldn't have comprehended the power of another law in their entire lifetime.
Watching his master leave, Peng Wufeng knelt down toward the spot where Gu Daoshi had been standing and kowtowed three times, each knock ringing out.
"Rest assured, Master — I'll cultivate diligently and strive to see you again!"
Though he didn't know what realm his master was at, he wanted to cultivate hard to repay his master's kindness.
Were it not for his master, he'd have died inside Zhonggui Mountain years ago.
Beside him, Peng Wuwang took the whole scene in as well, and then a wry smile spread across his face.
"Sixth Brother, in that case, this throne is yours."
Earlier, he would have been dead set on claiming the throne.
But now, having witnessed that his sixth brother had so formidable a master, he knew the throne was beyond his reach.
Rather than lose in some wretched fashion, he was better off ceding the throne to his sixth brother of his own accord, thereby earning the boy's goodwill and ensuring his own survival amid the struggle for the throne.
Besides, with a master that powerful, his sixth brother's future achievements were sure to be no small thing.
Under his sixth brother's leadership, the empire would only grow stronger and stronger.
For him, that was hardly a bad thing.
Hearing this, Peng Wufeng knit his brows and demurred a little.
"Big Brother, that wouldn't be right, would it?"
"Eh, you've already called me Big Brother — so what more is there to say? Just take the throne."
"Aiya, Big Brother, you really do wear your heart on your sleeve."
"It's nothing — we're brothers, say no more."
...
And outside, after they'd left the secret realm.
The two of them couldn't help but look toward Lu Xunxian.
After a spell of thought, Lu Xunxian quickly came to a decision in his heart.
"Come on. Let's go take a look inside the Azure Heaven Secret Realm."
Gu Daoshi: ???
Zhu Qingyan: ???
"Ahem — Senior Lu, is that something that can even be done?"
Gu Daoshi asked with some hesitation.
The main thing was that the Azure Heaven Secret Realm was a Heavenly Dao Secret Realm; even one as strong as he, a Peak Immortal Emperor, could only influence the situation inside — his true body simply couldn't enter.
Hearing this, an everything's-under-control expression came over Lu Xunxian's face.
"Don't worry. Just follow me."
Earlier, perhaps it would have seemed somewhat difficult.
But now that he was a Dao Venerable, taking them into the secret realm was still something he could manage.
And as Lu Xunxian's words fell, the next moment they had arrived before the Azure Heaven Secret Realm.
Gazing at the Azure Heaven Secret Realm before them, both Gu Daoshi and Zhu Qingyan wore eager looks.
The next moment, Lu Xunxian raised a hand and carved out a space passage.
"You go in — but you'll need to suppress your own cultivation down to the Saint King Realm, or the secret realm risks collapsing."
Before they entered, Lu Xunxian instructed them.
Gu Daoshi and Zhu Qingyan naturally nodded in assent, then entered the Azure Heaven Secret Realm together with Lu Xunxian.
Within the Azure Heaven Secret Realm.
Lu Xiaoyao opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
"At last — the True Immortal Realm!"
After a full fifty years, he had finally completely refined the Immortal Venerable Inheritance, and his realm had surged as a result, breaking through directly from the Late Immortal Stage to the True Immortal Realm.
What was more, as time went on, even without deliberately cultivating, his realm would keep breaking through at a rapid pace.
By his estimate, this would continue until he broke through to the Immortal Monarch Realm.
Since he had now completely refined the Immortal Venerable Inheritance, it was about time to head out.
The next moment, with a single step down, Lu Xiaoyao arrived outside the inheritance ground.
Seeing the light of day again, Lu Xiaoyao felt as though an age had passed.
This was the first time he'd ever cultivated for so long — a full fifty years, no less.
He'd even cultivated himself into hallucinations, actually seeing his father appear before him.
After all, his father was a peerless powerhouse; how could he possibly have come into the Azure Heaven Secret Realm?
"This pace is a bit slow."
Sensing Lu Xiaoyao's True Immortal Realm cultivation, Lu Xunxian knit his brows as he spoke.
And as Lu Xunxian spoke, Lu Xiaoyao's eyes went wide with shock, and he pointed at Lu Xunxian in disbelief.
"You — you — you're not a hallucination?"
"Where would I get a hallucination from?"
Lu Xunxian wore a puzzled look, and Lu Xiaoyao quickly came to his senses, looking toward Zhu Qingyan and Gu Daoshi at his father's side, his voice full of disbelief.
"Father, Auntie Zhu, and this uncle — how did you all get in here?"
Hearing Lu Xunxian's words, Zhu Qingyan knit her brows and spoke.
"Call me Sister Zhu."
How come Luo Qianxue got called Sister Luo, but when it came to her turn it was "Auntie"? It made her sound so old.
She'd have him know that in the Immortal Realm, an Immortal Emperor her age counted as quite a young existence.
"Sure thing, Auntie Zhu."
Lu Xiaoyao nodded with a perfectly earnest face.
Zhu Qingyan: ...
Forget it. As long as you're happy. You are his son, after all.