Necropolis Immortal

Though there wasn’t a tomb raider faction in the world of immortals, it’d become the mainstream school of the Dao Academy.

Every disciple chose to study tomb raiding, no matter what path they walked. Pristine, unexplored tombs were the most abundant resource in the world, so the dao of tomb raiding was the most popular among immortals and cultivators.

Lu Yun knelt in front of the grave for a very long time, immersed in the memories of yesteryear. He’d thought at one point that Fuxi was his master. But now he learned that his master was just his master, a mortal without any cultivation.

Somehow, this revelation made Lu Yun feel freer.

If Fuxi was his master, that would mean that his destiny had been written in stone from the moment of his birth, that everything he’d done so far was predetermined by another. However, his master was simply a very ordinary person. Though he was a descendant of the once human sacred land, Lu Yun’s fate belonged to only himself.

“This grave hasn’t fallen into disuse.” The little fox burrowed out of Qing Yu’s collar and jumped onto Lu Yun’s head. “There’s a very familiar presence here… someone I know has been here before.”

“Eh?” Lu Yun blinked. He’d left Earth more than thirty years, almost forty years ago. However, his master’s grave hadn’t fallen apart. It was spotlessly clean and there weren’t any weeds or dust around.

Plainly, someone came by often to clean up the tiny grave.

Lu Yun was at a loss. By his generation, his sect only had one disciple at a time so he couldn’t possibly have any peers. Besides, he operated in the world of darkness, and though he’d made a few friends, he’d never revealed his master or master’s grave.

“Someone you know?” Lu Yun took the little fox down from his head and looked seriously at her. “Who?”

The little fox was an expert at the empyrean realm. Her perception was far more sensitive than Lu Yun or Qing Yu’s. At least, Lu Yun hadn’t sensed any particular presence here.

The little fox looked blatantly back at him and responded dumbly, “It’s your presence.”

“Mine?” Lu Yun’s eyes widened and he looked at Qing Yu, who was equally confused. “I’ve come here before?” He looked askance at the little fox.

“It does seem like your presence, also feels a little different.” The little fox paused. “The you here is only a mortal…”

She suddenly shut her mouth as a somewhat thin figure came limping in from the distance. It was an elder over sixty years old, wearing a ragged shirt and looking to be in feeble health. He carried a basket in one hand and slowly approached the lonely grave.

“It’s the anniversary of your death today, master. This unfilial disciple Lu Yun has come to visit you.” The man put the basket on the ground and placed some fruit that was beginning to spoil in front of the grave. He then took out a flask of low quality spirits and started drinking.

Qing Yu opened and closed her mouth, but didn’t say anything. She could clearly see that the elder in front of them was Lu Yun. Though he looked different from her dao partner, the presence he emanated was the same as Lu Yun’s.

There’s another Lu Yun on the ancestor planet?

Lu Yun also remained silent and didn't reveal himself. He silently regarded the other him.

The Lu Yun in front of them was covered in injuries both large and small, and he’d broken his right calf once. It hadn’t recovered even now, which was the reason behind his limp. These injuries were most likely souvenirs from raiding tombs. The one on his right calf, in particular, had sounded the death knell on his tomb raiding career.

If Lu Yun hadn’t obtained the Tome of Life and Death and reincarnated to the world of immortals, would his fate be like the old man in front of them?

Everyone in the industry knew that tomb raiders didn't end up with happy endings. Those who managed to successfully extricate themselves from the trade were no exceptions either. Bad luck still found them in their later years and sent them to the afterlife under grisly circumstances. Sometimes, even their families weren't spared from misfortune.

Lu Yun of Earth propped himself up from the ground with one hand and held the flask with the other. He poured pungent spirits into his mouth without care for much else. He was drunk before too long and hauled himself up from the ground to kowtow three times at the grave. After that, he placed the fruit back into his basket and limped away.

“He won't live for much longer,” Qing Yu said with melancholy after a long period of time. “Would you have turned out this way if you hadn't gone to the world of immortals?”

“No.” Lu Yun thought of how daring and triumphant he’d once been in the world of darkness. Back then, he’d brimmed with so much self assurance that he’d met the titans of the dark head-on.

He would never be down on his luck like this.

“I reincarnated to the world of immortals, but the me on the ancestor planet didn't die. Someone's lived out my life here in place of me!” Lu Yun slowly followed the hunched over figure in the distance.

Qing Yu and the little fox blinked at his declaration. Someone was living out Lu Yun’s life for him on the ancestor planet?

Was it Fuxi?

But Fuxi had met himself after he traveled from the great wilderness to the future. He wouldn't let himself turn out like this either. 

No matter what, Lu Yun believed that Fuxi was on Earth, tucked away in a corner of the world. Perhaps he was at the old site of Mount Buzhou, or perhaps he was on Kunlun Mountain. Perhaps Lu Yun would be able to find Fuxi if he followed the Lu Yun on Earth.

……

“Where have you gone, you old shit?! Hurry up and take this trash out!”

Bam!

A brawny man with bulky arms and a round waist dropped old Lu Yun to the ground with an irritated kick. Unable to scramble back up from the agony, the old man lost his grip on the basket as well. Some of the fruit rolled out and was impatiently stomped to a pulp when it met the brawny man’s foot.

Old Lu Yun struggled to sit up and wordlessly picked up the mess, putting it back into his basket.

Eyes reddened, Qing Yu couldn’t bear to see this old man with the same life energy as Lu Yun to be bullied like this. She reached out to interfere, but the Lu Yun by her side pulled her back.

He shook his head gently. “Don’t do anything yet, let's see how things play out.” He stared fixedly at the scene, body also trembling from the brawny man abusing his elder.

They were in front of a small restaurant with some trash and liquid waste collected in front of the doors. The brawny man was clearly an employee of the restaurant. Old Lu Yun lurched along and piled the trash onto a worn-out electric rickshaw, then rode off with the vehicle.

“Pah, stupid old thing!” The brawny man spat at old Lu Yun’s departing figure, disgust surfacing in his eyes.

Qing Yu could no longer tolerate what she saw. She sent the brawny man flying with a wave of her hand, hanging him onto a large tree by the side of the road.

The ghostly retribution scared the wits out of the brawny man.