The Forbidden Curse Mages from every nation departed from the Holy City. The outcome of this discussion could hardly be called satisfactory.
The great aristocratic families of Western Europe, in particular, felt hesitant and troubled. They feared that Lu Jun's summoning of the Forbidden Curse Mages was merely a pretext to purge and eliminate them.
Only now did those families realize they had shot themselves in the foot. Had they known, they would never have used the Antarctic Emperor as a means to test Lu Jun, only to drag themselves into the situation.
They returned with mixed emotions, preparing to discuss countermeasures. Some hoped to pretend nothing had happened and muddle through, while others, filled with resentment and unwillingness, planned to make a few secret moves.
In short, the days ahead were destined to be anything but peaceful.
Meanwhile, Lu Jun of the Military Strategy Palace was completely at ease. He spent some quiet time with Lu Mei, Ding Yumian, and Tang Yue, the three women closest to his heart, finally realizing his long cherished dream of sharing the same bed with all three.
Over the past six months, although Lu Mei had devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Military Strategy Palace, she had never neglected her own cultivation. With the support of the Great Earth Core of Lanyang and the Vast Divine Eye, both her Fire Element and Earth Element advanced into the Forbidden Curse Realm. Only Ding Yumian surpassed her, making the two of them the Military Strategy Palace's greatest combat pillars.
Both possessed the strength to battle Emperor-level Demons.
Although Lu Jun had already resolved to launch a campaign against the Antarctic Emperor, he had no intention of acting immediately. He wanted to make every possible preparation first. For example, he planned to purge the major aristocratic families, seize control of their industries and interests, nationalize them under the Holy City, and use the wealth to fund the Five Great Institutions and even benefit ordinary civilians across the world.
He also intended to establish a Chamber of Commerce outside the Five Great Institutions to oversee financial affairs, subsidize disadvantaged groups and impoverished regions, and implement balanced distribution policies.
After all, Lu Jun had fought countless life and death battles. He had no intention of allowing those aristocrats to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor while continuing to exploit others.
In addition, he planned to make a journey to Kunlun, eradicate the Sacred Wood Well Forbidden Land, reclaim the White Tiger Totem Origin of the Twelve Bronze Men that had been taken away, enter Kunlun's Time Town, and raise the Curse Element, Metal Element, and Space-Time Element to the Ruler Emperor level, pushing his overall cultivation to the peak of the Roof Emperor Realm, only half a step away from transcendence.
Only then would Lu Jun challenge the Antarctic Emperor.
This was because he had a troubling premonition. Perhaps when the Antarctic Emperor was on the verge of defeat, the Ocean Emperor and the Sahara Emperor would never stand by and watch. They would certainly intervene.
Although it appeared that he faced only the Antarctic Emperor, in reality he would have to confront all three Roof Emperors simultaneously.
"Difficult... truly difficult."
Lu Jun shook his head and sighed.
Seated cross-legged at the center of the Holy City, he silently circulated his supreme power. Behind him, a boundless sea of Chaos surged into existence, enveloping an area of ten thousand li. One universe after another unfolded until nine vast cosmic realms manifested, magnificent and majestic, as though the will of the heavens itself had descended.
Each of the Nine Universes radiated a different colored brilliance, dazzling and magnificent. Every universe contained a divine figure standing proudly within it. Six of those universes were already occupied by Divine Thrones and had become far more solid, while the remaining three remained rather illusory and completely empty.
His overwhelming power soared into the heavens. Although the disturbance was immense, it remained confined within a tiny area, as though he stood apart from the world itself, carrying an entire cave-heaven dimension upon his shoulders without allowing even the slightest trace of power to leak into the outside world, demonstrating an astonishing mastery over dimensional laws.
At the same time, waves of invisible power silently swept across the Holy City, gradually embedding themselves into the void and subtly transforming the region into his own domain.
Within only three days, the magical energy throughout the entire area multiplied dozens of times. Dense elemental energy of every Element filled the air, becoming so concentrated that it nearly condensed into liquid. Endless auspicious radiance drifted through the heavens, with countless streams of divine light descending from above.
Everyone within the Military Strategy Palace was astonished. Every moment, someone broke through to a higher realm. They immediately realized that all of this was Lu Jun's doing, and their reverence for him deepened once again.
Not long afterward, every phenomenon finally stabilized.
Lu Jun carefully sensed the surrounding environment and discovered it had been completely transformed into his personal sacred domain. If the authority over the Magic Plane were measured as one hundred percent, then he had refined less than one percent so far. This was merely the beginning, and for now he had focused all of his efforts on the Holy City, his headquarters.
Combined with the technologies developed by the two academies and this artificially created Magic Holy Land, humanity's attraction to the Holy City would increase dramatically.
He nodded in satisfaction before thinking to himself.
"It seems my cultivation path doesn't necessarily have to remain confined to the Magic Plane. Perhaps I don't need to refine the entire Magic Plane in order to ascend beyond the Roof Emperor Realm."
Regarding this difference between himself and the Three Roof Emperors, Lu Jun already had a theory.
Perhaps it was because of the diversity of the Divine Throne he possessed.
Take the Death Throne, for example. There was still a portion of the Underworld Authority waiting for him to claim within the Dark Plane.
As for the Summoning Throne, its influence had already extended deep into the Summoning Plane.
His path had long since transcended the Magic Plane.
It now stretched toward the Multiverse itself.
"Once I sweep away the Three Roof Emperors, perhaps I can organize an expedition of human Mages, Demons, and Undead into those two great planes."
A surge of ambition rose within Lu Jun's heart.
He was not even thirty years old yet. He had not truly entered his prime, and his potential for further growth remained immense.
After settling these matters, he informed Lu Mei and the others that he would soon depart for Kunlun.
A moment later, Lu Jun's thoughts stirred. Through the resonance between the White Tiger Pendant and the Curse Element, he locked onto the location of the White Tiger Totem and the Divine Wood Well Forbidden Land. His figure flickered, and he crossed the void in a single teleport.
The Kunlun Mountains stood vast and majestic, with countless towering peaks rising into the heavens. Snow-capped summits reflected the golden sunlight, colossal mountains connected seamlessly with the sky, forming a breathtaking spectacle filled with an ancient, weathered grandeur. Dense forests blanketed the mountainsides, vegetation flourished everywhere, and Demons roamed unchecked.
Upon a raised plateau deep within the mountain range stood a dense, pitch-black forest. Demonic energy surged through it, exuding an overwhelming aura of evil that drove away every living creature.
At the center of the black forest lay a crystal-clear lake, silent and tranquil, surrounded on all sides by the dense woods. It resembled a divine eye embedded within the forest, or a bright full moon resting peacefully upon the earth.
At this moment, a terrifying existence beyond description descended upon the land. Instantly, the entire forest erupted into violent motion as hundreds of millions of branches surged toward the heavens.
"Suppress!"
Standing in the void, Lu Jun fixed his gaze upon the Lake of Reincarnation at the center. Behind him, the Ninefold Cosmos manifested, and boundless nine-colored divine radiance poured downward, shooting into the heavens, shaking the stars, sinking into the earth, capable of moving mountains and filling seas.
At his command, the Life Divine Throne erupted with pure white brilliance. An overwhelming force of devouring burst forth, and the chaotic, endlessly expanding forest world was instantly suppressed. Branch after branch withered away before crumbling into ashes.
The endless forest vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but a scorched land of black ash. Only the lake at its center remained untouched.
Lu Jun stared into the lake.
Within its waters floated layer upon layer of corpses. On the crystal-clear surface, his own face seemed to be taking shape as vigorous Curse power rippled through the void.
Yet the Lake of Reincarnation tried several times to manifest his image of death, only for it to shatter back into ripples each time. It simply could not form Lu Jun's destined death.
Naturally, Lu Jun sensed a Curse descending upon him.
Unfortunately for it, before it could even take effect, the six Divine Thrones surrounding him resonated simultaneously, effortlessly dispersing the Curse with a single tremor.
"Heh... overestimating yourself."
Lu Jun let out a mocking laugh. Reaching out with one hand, a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky descended from the void, uprooting the entire Lake of Reincarnation before hurling it directly into one of the universes behind him.
It was that ominous crimson universe, an endless sea of karmic evil where countless billions of Curses intertwined.
The moment the Lake of Reincarnation entered the crimson-black Sea of Karmic Evil, it was as though it had been granted divinity. The entire Curse Universe finally gained its central pillar and rapidly became solid and complete.
Lu Jun's aura rose once again.
Within his Spiritual Universe, the Curse Star Ocean underwent another tremendous expansion. From its original 16,807 Stars, it experienced fission and ascension, multiplying into 129,600 Stars.
For additional chapters
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