Chapter 1960 – A New Miao  

“Weird, don’t they say that the tomb of the empyrean supreme is incredibly dangerous?” Lu Yun didn’t know how long or far he’d walked, but he hadn’t come across anything that resembled a threat other than the area of tombstones and the black wind manifestation at the door.

The layouts here were complicated and interconnected. It was one singular tunnel when he first entered, but more forks popped up the further in he walked. By now, he was completely turned around and had lost his bearings.

He wanted to operate formula dao, but something was interfering with it. The answers he received were hazy and indistinct. There seemed to be a layer of fog in front of him obscuring everything. That had also been the case when he tried to calculate the tomb of the empyrean supreme prior to entering; he hadn’t been able to derive anything useful.

While he didn’t run into anything, Aoxue and the others were having a ball of a time. They died with moderate frequency and hacked their way back after resurrection.

Lu Yun wanted to get a status update from them, but their ire was so roused that they rushed off after distracted, half-hearted replies. It was aggravating, but he knew that they must have discovered something important. They couldn’t pay full attention to their master in their throes of urgency, or they never would’ve treated him like this, not in a thousand years.

Whatever they’d found must be very important to him.

And subconsciously, they didn’t want Lu Yun to go to them. That was a true zone of danger and he could very likely die inside. It was a subconscious protection from the Tome of Life and Death. Having him experience life and death as part of cultivation was one matter, needlessly heading to his death was another.

Ao Xue and the others were grand supremes, and very powerful ones that were only a hair weaker than the nine clawed golden dragon and Cen Sui. But even they constantly died and came back to life—a sign of how terrifying that zone was.

After thinking it over, Lu Yun summoned his other six Yama Kings and sent them to help the four already in the tomb. He could clearly sense the latter group’s delighted surprise when reinforcements arrived.

At this stage of their development, the Yama Kings could take full responsibility and initiative for their duties. They were able to act on their own. The other six wanted to come help a long time ago, but the tomb of the empyrean supreme was so unique that they weren’t able to make it in. They couldn’t even contact Lu Yun from their side.

With all ten Yama Kings in the tomb, they immediately set up the Formation of the Ten Yama Kings. Only then did Lu Yun feel the situation slightly stabilize. While they continued the cycle of dying and reviving, it was much better than before.

“What kind of place is this?” he wondered with trepidation. Although ten Yama Kings were no match for a peak grand supreme, they wouldn’t have any trouble killing someone of Ben Sui’s level. He didn’t sense the aura of a peak grand supreme from their location, so there was something there that could only wield the strength of one.

“Am I just lucky to not run into anything else so far? But no danger means no treasures. The god of Mount Tai must be exploring that most dangerous area and trying to locate the opportunity to become an empyrean supreme.”

Just as there was the opportunity for ascension here, there were naturally items that called out to geniuses such as Lu Yun, Miao, and Chu Xun. But he didn’t feel any summons to anything once he entered the burial mound.

“Alive…” Chu Xun stirred in his hands, exhaling an almost inaudible sound. “Big brother Miao is alive…”

Lu Yun put her on the ground, finding that she was just murmuring to herself and wasn’t fully awake.

“No, she is awake. Something’s clouding her heart and mind,” he realized. “...and I wondered why I didn’t bump into anything strange. Something on the level of a ghost king’s been following me around!” He stood in place and muttered, “You must be tired after following me all this time, friend. Why not come out for a chat?”

“My mistake. You discovered me because I let my concentration lapse for a single second,” came a slightly hoarse voice behind Lu Yun. The latter’s pupils contracted violently when he saw a familiar form.

Miao.

“Miao?” Lu Yun frowned. “No, Miao is dead. You’re someone else who’s taken his body.”

“That Miao is indeed dead,” the person in front of him nodded. “But I need a legitimate identity in this world after breaking free of my seal, so I am Miao now. My consciousness, soul, and spirit are all Miao. The only thing different is that I think different thoughts.

“All that matters is that I am Miao, the one who killed a grand supreme with the body of a high supreme.”

Lu Yun nodded and handed Chu Xun to the other. “Then since you are Miao, you can have her back.”

Miao glanced at the little girl in his hands. She should be awake, but the reborn Miao had clouded her thoughts with an illusion that sent her into a half awake state. It was this maneuver that gave Lu Yun an opening to detect Miao’s presence.

“Um… look after her for me for a few days?” Miao asked stiltedly after staring at Chu Xun.

The previous Miao had spoiled the little girl to no end, but didn’t feel anything beyond pure brotherhood toward her. She was a little sister to him. At the same time, neither did a little girl of eight years old know what love was. He was more her idol and someone she’d placed on a pedestal.

The new Miao didn’t inherit those same emotions. All he wanted was to be reborn in the chief worlds through Miao’s identity.

“Alright, I’ll look after her for now, but you have to take her with you before we leave the tomb. I’m not a babysitter,” Lu Yun nodded. “I’ll expose you to the realm if you leave her with me!”

Miao’s expression turned stiff.

He’d already been standing behind Lu Yun when the latter deployed the power of reincarnation—Lu Yun hadn’t discovered him then. But now that he stood in front of the young man with Miao’s appearance, Lu Yun most certainly knew that he’d witnessed the usage of reincarnation.

More importantly was that Lu Yun knew who he was.

The manifestation of black wind in front of the doors to the burial mound.

He wasn’t actually a spirit of the black wind, but a victim of an incomparably strong entity who sealed him away in the black wind. His resulting massive resentment had turned him into a ghost. Having fought Lu Yun once, the young man immediately recognized him when he showed himself.

“I owe you a favor since you freed me from the seal. So don’t worry, I will take the little girl with me,” Miao nodded with a rueful chuckle.