Chapter 173
Chapter 173
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Trapped in the Grand Array
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Don't move, all of you!"
At this moment, Guang Ming appeared all smiles on the surface, but he had secretly sent a transmission to the crowd of Dao-Merging Great Cultivators behind him, urgently telling them not to make a move.
"Senior Brother Guang Ming?"
Mu Huan's expression shifted slightly at the sight.
"We eleven Dao-Merging cultivators have gathered this time. With Senior Brother's assistance on top of that, why waste time bantering with this person? Better to strike directly."
The words had barely left his mouth when Guang Ming's eye twitched violently.
What did he mean by "with Senior Brother's assistance"? You bunch of idiots are rushing to your deaths—don't go splashing blood all over this monk! Eleven Dao-Merging cultivators faking Foundation Establishment—impressive, are you? If it really comes to blows, another eleven of you probably still wouldn't stand a chance against this ferocious fellow!
In that instant, Guang Ming recalled past experiences.
He remembered Lu Yang rampaging invincible across the Dao-Seizing Battlefield, brimming with heroic spirit.
He remembered his master Fulong Arhat's unwillingness as he was tricked by the man and lived on bitterly until his death of old age.
With those thoughts, he hurriedly transmitted to the group again.
"It's no use. His innate divine ability lets him shift through the myriad directions—kill one of you, then flee; kill a second one. In a drawn-out fight, you're bound to lose!"
". . . Innate divine ability? What's that?"
Guang Ming felt he had already advised them earnestly and bitterly, yet this Dao-Merging Great Cultivator's question made his face abruptly turn ashen-purple. He barely held back a gasp.
Ignorant bumpkins from overseas!
But it wasn't surprising. These Dao-Merging Great Cultivators relied on the [Imperial Mansion Golden Seal Tushita True Edict] just to fake Foundation Establishment—how could they possibly comprehend an innate divine ability?
Without comprehending it, of course they wouldn't know.
So Guang Ming gritted his teeth, about to explain.
But then he saw a Dao-Merging Great Cultivator beside him suddenly draw a dharma sword and slash straight at Lu Yang without another word!
In a flash, all eleven Dao-Merging cultivators struck at once!
Even as he acted, Mu Huan shouted.
"Senior Brother Guang Ming, why keep up the pretense with this thief? Strike quickly—don't let him slip away!"
Guang Ming: " . . . "
Bastards! Trying to drag him into the water!?
Yet Guang Ming was a veteran of countless battles—how could he be coerced by the Immortal Alliance? His expression turned stern in an instant. He erupted into action with an escape art, vanishing a thousand li away.
"Milord, spare me! Spare my life!"
He had only just taken his master's sudden demise as a chance to claim the seat of [Dragon-Subduing Temple], enjoying three centuries of heavenly longevity. How could he die pointlessly overseas?
"I'm not with them!"
Such craven self-preservation stunned Mu Huan and the other Dao-Merging Great Cultivators inwardly. They turned doubtful gazes toward Lu Yang, who stood with hands clasped behind his back.
Was this man truly so ruthless?
Words aside, with arrows nocked and strings drawn, they had no choice but to loose. The Dao-Merging Great Cultivators dared not hold back. Instead, they madly urged their mana, fully activating their treasures.
Spiritual radiance surged like tides in an instant.
Eleven treasures blasted out together.
No path of retreat.
Lu Yang's figure was instantly swallowed up.
They figured this combined strike would at least leave the opponent scrambling.
But Lu Yang merely pinched a spell gesture at the sight.
A divine ability's brilliant glow reflected behind him.
It swayed.
Brushed once.
All the treasures vanished without a trace.
[Fixing Kinship Degrees]!
The sight left Mu Huan and the Dao-Merging Great Cultivators frozen in place.
Careful sensing revealed their treasures had landed thousands of li distant.
What technique was this!?
Before they could react, Lu Yang produced the Myriad Spirits Banner.
The banner unfurled with a wave.
Smoky qi roiled to fill the heavens in an instant.
Su Nu and Chen Xin'an's figures emerged in tandem.
"Master, where do you think you're going?"
Su Nu smiled with captivating charm.
The Yama Hall blotted out the sky and sun.
Lu Yang had cast a spell to send it to Guang Ming's side, blocking the monk who still planned to flee.
"N-no-no, just taking in the scenery here."
Guang Ming gave a sheepish grin.
He knew escape was impossible now.
He could only stay put obediently.
Meanwhile, his mind raced for a way out of danger.
But then.
"This is . . . the Myriad Spirits Banner!?"
Among the Immortal Alliance's Dao-Merging cultivators, the eldest and most senior suddenly cried out upon seeing the Myriad Spirits Banner in Lu Yang's grasp.
Lu Yang wasn't surprised at the sight.
In truth, he had pulled it out deliberately—to see if anyone would recognize it.
By his reckoning, Biyang Cultivation World was most likely the handiwork of the Innate True Person.
Even if Hongyun Daoist had usurped the nest, the lineage might not be fully severed.
"Stop! Everyone, stop!"
Soon enough, the elderly Great Cultivator halted them all.
Only then did he turn a nervous gaze on Lu Yang.
"You've inherited the Innate True Person's legacy?"
The words sent the crowd into uproar.
Mu Huan and the other Dao-Merging Great Cultivators betrayed utter disbelief, exclaiming in agitation.
"Innate True Person's legacy? Elder Lin, you're certain you didn't mistake it?"
"How could I mistake it?"
The Great Cultivator dubbed Elder Lin shook his head.
"Refining people into slaves, gathering form and scattering qi—that's the Myriad Spirits Banner exactly. The Innate True Person's legacy truly endures!"
With that, Elder Lin turned to Lu Yang and spoke gravely.
"Truth be told, the reason we've troubled Fellow Daoist is our true spirits are bound by a exotic treasure. Upon death, our souls can't escape—and that treasure hails from the Primal Saint Sect. Only a Primal Saint Sect True Person offers any hope of unlocking it."
"But since Fellow Daoist bears the Innate True Person's legacy, that's a different story altogether."
"If Fellow Daoist would lend us a hand and release the soul restrictions, there's naturally no need for us to keep fighting to the death."
". . . Is that so."
Lu Yang neither confirmed nor denied it, replying indifferently.
"I did receive the inheritance from the Innate predecessor. But why should I help you? What's in it for me?"
"This happens to be one of our Immortal Alliance's secrets . . . "
Elder Lin paused at that.
Lu Yang waved a hand without delay.
The Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument whirred to life.
A beam of Bing Fire radiance cut off the group from the outside world.
With that, the local karma became nigh impossible to divine.
Only then did Lu Yang regard Elder Lin.
"Speak."
Elder Lin cupped his hands.
"Since Fellow Daoist captured Piaomiao, with your methods, you've surely learned our Immortal Alliance's origins from her lips by now."
"But Piaomiao only recently achieved Dao-Merging, and her knowledge is confined to Biyang Cultivation World. She doesn't know certain matters—only our generation of elders, surviving eight centuries and more, know the fuller truth."
With that, Elder Lin produced a jade slip and proffered it directly to Lu Yang.
"This was left behind by the Innate True Person."
"Back then, Hongyun Daoist came and tried destroying it, taking it away—but all for naught, bound here by great karma."
"Fellow Daoist will grasp the reason at a glance."
Lu Yang smiled at the words but didn't accept the jade slip.
Instead, he glanced at Chen Xin'an beside him.
"Go on, take it and check what secrets it holds."
An item of unknown provenance—why risk it himself?
What if the Innate True Person's soul lurked within, waiting for a divine sense scan to seize the body? Let Chen Xin'an probe the trap.
At Lu Yang's command, Chen Xin'an stepped forward at once.
He swept the jade slip with divine sense.
Lu Yang linked through the guardian spirit bond.
He viewed the contents via Chen Xin'an's sight.
All while upholding his divine ability, ready to deploy [Distinguishing Same from Different] and sever the connection anytime.
Soon enough, he beheld the jade slip's message:
[Seek gold and perish, perish without regret; body transmutes to Dao's sin, legacy blesses posterity; wield my banner, enter my gold-seeking ground, refine it—you may attain first-grade Great Vehicle True Qi!]
"Great Vehicle True Qi . . . first-grade!?"
Lu Yang's pupils contracted sharply.
His prior guess had been spot on.
Biyang Cultivation World could truly refine True Qi to first-grade!
Elder Lin smiled faintly at the reaction.
"The Innate True Person's gold-seeking ground—only I know its location."
"Well? Will Fellow Daoist lend aid now?"
Though dwelling in Biyang Cultivation World, he wasn't wholly ignorant of the inland realms.
He knew full well the allure first-grade True Qi held for Lu Yang.
In that moment, Lu Yang was indeed tempted.
Foundation Establishment allowed no regrets—one couldn't rebuild the Dao base with first-grade True Qi.
Yet with first-grade True Qi to bolster it, the Dao base could evolve in myriad new ways.
Even adding a layer of profundity to one's innate divine ability wasn't impossible.
A supreme enticement for any Foundation Establishment True Person.
For a time, Lu Yang wore a hesitant look.
"Let me think . . . "
Elder Lin waited patiently.
After all, he could afford such time.
He trusted that after weighing gains and losses, Lu Yang would make the rational choice.
One incense stick.
Two incense sticks.
. . . Wasn't this taking too long?
". . . No!!!"
The next instant, Elder Lin's face twisted drastically.
Mana surged wildly from him.
He shattered the treasure radiance Lu Yang had cast to isolate their karma.
Right after, a grand array wreathed in radiant glow filled their eyes.
The treasure light had masked it completely.
No one had detected the array's erection.
By the time they did, all were ensnared within!
"You!?" Elder Lin whirled in fury.
But the spot was empty—no figure in sight.
The Lu Yang who had just sat pondering eyes closed had shifted outside the array unnoticed.
He gazed upon the trapped crowd.
Like so many turtles in a jar.
Meanwhile, Guang Ming—far enough away to evade the array—sighed at the scene.
How could these overseas cultivators trust a Primal Saint Sect True Person's words?
They simply hadn't eaten enough losses yet!