Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Guang Ming
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Northern Frontier, Shenwu Sect.
In the sect's deepest, eerily阴森 grand hall, a streak of rainbow pierced the sky and plunged inside. It landed within the hall before finally transforming into a burly man who collapsed onto the ground.
“Pfft!”
The moment Perfected Being Huanwu hit the ground on his knees, blood surged uncontrollably from his mouth. His face twisted in heartache as he clutched it with both hands, forcing the blood back down his throat.
After all, this “blood” was actually the essence of his Dao foundation. Normally, even spitting a single mouthful required over ten days of recovery. Now it gushed endlessly without stopping, a sign of how severe his injuries were—not to mention he had even abandoned his fleshly body, fleeing with only his soul.
“Senior Brother!”
At that moment, a young man emerged from within the hall. Anxiety etched his features, and upon seeing Perfected Being Huanwu in such a state, he hurried forward to help him up.
“Junior Brother Xuanwu... medicine, medicine!”
Perfected Being Huanwu urged repeatedly. The youth dared not delay and promptly produced a pill bottle, pouring out a crimson little pill from within.
In the next instant, he activated it with his mana.
The shattered pill fell onto Perfected Being Huanwu's body. In a flash, organs regenerated, flesh reformed, and bones filled out, manifesting into the likeness of Perfected Being Huanwu himself!
With his soul entering to take residence, Perfected Being Huanwu finally breathed a sigh of relief. His originally unstable Dao foundation stabilized once more. Though the new fleshly body continuously emitted cracking sounds of fracture, evidently struggling to bear his soul, it was at least usable now—no longer leaving his soul without a vessel.
“It's good that Senior Brother is alright...”
Seeing this, Perfected Being Xuanwu finally exhaled in relief. Yet as thoughts turned to the sect's current plight, a wave of sorrow suddenly welled up from his heart.
“Senior Brother, why don't we just leave?”
Despite his deep attachment to the Shenwu Sect, Perfected Being Xuanwu gritted his teeth and spoke these words, his tone revealing he no longer wished to concern himself with it!
“We are True Persons, after all—not mere Qi Refining mortals.”
“If we abandon the Shenwu Sect's heritage without taking a single item or harboring other intentions, simply fleeing overseas with single-minded intent, surely no one would pursue us.”
Perfected Being Xuanwu's words plunged Perfected Being Huanwu into silence.
Indeed, if they truly abandoned the sect now, though the Shenwu Sect would be finished, the two of them would undoubtedly survive. But how could he resign himself to that?
Perfected Being Huanwu was already over one hundred fifty years old, having only just condensed his lifebound treasure. He had been waiting to draw on the sect's merit and destiny to seek out a Heavenly Gang or Earthly Fiend star, refining it into an innate divine ability to advance his cultivation further. Even if his three-hundred-year lifespan ended thereafter, reincarnation would allow him an easier return to Foundation Establishment.
But what if the Shenwu Sect were gone?
First, the merit and destiny would be lost, making mid-stage Foundation Establishment impossible in this lifetime. Second, with no sect, who would guide his reincarnated self?
Fleeing overseas would turn them into rootless wandering ghosts from then on!
What dao path could there be to speak of?
Even reincarnation would hold no prospects!
Thus, unless absolutely forced, Perfected Being Huanwu truly had no intention of abandoning the sect. Yet this battle with Lu Yang had left him feeling only bone-chilling cold in his heart.
“That fiend is dead set on us. It seems the southern Jiangnan side has truly given up on us.”
In that moment, Perfected Being Huanwu felt only茫然.
But just then—
“Amitabha.”
A Buddhist chant rang out like the tinkling of a clear spring, washing over and instantly soothing the anxiety and fear in the two True Persons' hearts. Yet it also startled them greatly.
“Pure Land? Buddhist cultivator?”
Perfected Being Huanwu looked up to see a wisp of sandalwood incense drifting before him. By the time he regained his senses, a red-lipped, white-toothed youth had appeared in the grand hall.
“This poor monk Fulong greets the two donors.”
Arhat Fulong first pressed his palms together in salute before smiling faintly.
“Though the Sword Pavilion has no interest in the Northern Frontier, the Pure Land does not mind lending a hand.”
“Is this true?” Perfected Being Huanwu's face lit up with sudden joy.
Of course it was false.
Arhat Fulong sneered inwardly, his expression growing even more compassionate.
“Pure Land Buddhist cultivators do not speak falsely. This poor monk has come precisely to aid your esteemed sect.”
In truth, this was merely Arhat Fulong's personal action, unrelated to the Pure Land. Recently, in divining karma, he had joyfully discovered that Lu Yang—who had hidden in the Primal Saint Sect without emerging for thirty years—had finally come out. Thus, he had rushed here without pause, seeking to eliminate this future threat while the opportunity was ripe.
With that thought, Arhat Fulong produced another item from his cassock.
It was a golden statue, radiant with brilliant light. Urged by his mana, it instantly took form and landed beside Perfected Being Huanwu.
“This treasure is called the [Shedding Golden Body]. It was formed from a disciple of my temple who voluntarily offered his body.”
“Compared to the dharma body your fellow Daoist condensed with pills, this physical form is undoubtedly far more sturdy. It should suffice to restore over eighty percent of your battle prowess.”
“Many thanks to the holy monk!”
Perfected Being Huanwu wasted no words and immediately sent his soul out to fuse with the [Shedding Golden Body]. His originally weakened aura began rising once more.
Arhat Fulong nodded in satisfaction at the sight before glancing toward the direction of Skull Mountain.
“He's sensed me as well.”
Arhat Fulong's brows furrowed slightly as he murmured to himself.
“This person's talent is exceptional. Thirty years to condense his lifebound treasure—killing him will be no small challenge.”
To be fair, with his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, he had full confidence against Lu Yang and could not possibly lose. However, Foundation Establishment True Persons could sense karma and thus avoid calamity. If Lu Yang chose not to engage and fled upon sensing danger, he would have few good ways to deal with Lu Yang.
Unless he could confine the battlefield to one place.
Only then, with Lu Yang having nowhere to escape, could he seize the chance to slay him. The ideal scenario would be to convert Lu Yang—that would benefit him the most.
To that end, he had made preparations.
Whether they succeeded would depend on their respective schemes. He believed Lu Yang desired to eliminate him just as urgently; it was merely a contest of whose calculations proved superior.
As Arhat Fulong pondered, in another location within the Shenwu Sect, a shifty-eyed monk feigning solemn dignity wandered idly.
“How did I end up as the big senior brother of the [Dragon-Subduing Temple]?”
Guang Ming's recent days had been quite enjoyable. With Guang Hai and Guang Hui both dead, he had saved the remaining Pure Land Buddhist cultivators, earning considerable connections.
“Life is impermanent, ah~”
Guang Ming sighed deeply from the heart, his drive for cultivation waning. After all, for a Buddhist cultivator like him, the path forward had essentially reached its end.
Because the [Dragon-Subduing Temple] had an owner.
As long as Arhat Fulong lived, no matter how high his cultivation grew, it would only serve as a wedding dress for Arhat Fulong. Since that was the case, why bother with tireless daily cultivation?
It was time to enjoy himself!
At that thought, an image suddenly flashed in Guang Ming's mind: the Dao-seizing battlefield, Lu Yang's back as he slew Guang Hai and the others in one go.
“Hiss!”
Guang Ming immediately drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
“Pah pah pah, what bad luck—why think of that fiend all of a sudden? Forget it, forget it!”
Yet the more he tried to forget, the clearer that back view became in his memory.
In a daze, he seemed to return to the Dao-seizing battlefield once more, trembling as he stared at that figure's back. The man turned, smiling faintly at him:
“Dao Friend Guang Ming, long time no see.”
From the ends of the earth, arrived in a single thought.
[Fixed Kinship]!
“...Huh?”
Guang Ming snapped awake, staring blankly at Lu Yang, who had suddenly turned around before him. He rubbed his eyes, then pinched his own cheek.
It hurt.
‘Mama ya!’
The real deal!?
In the next second, with a thud, Guang Ming dropped straight to his knees on the ground, weeping profusely.
“Senior Cultivator! This little monk has missed you so terribly!”
(End of chapter)