Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Heavy Light's Final Lesson
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As a gentle breeze swept past, a figure naturally materialized beside Chongming, entirely formed from the spontaneous convergence of heaven and earth spiritual qi.
“Father.”
Seeing this sight, Chongming's face immediately twisted with complex emotions. But before he could even speak, his figure abruptly vanished from the spot.
“Hm?”
Lu Yang raised an eyebrow at the scene. Since he too was proficient in such teleportation divine abilities, he could tell: Chongming had been sent out of the blessed land.
In the next instant, Chongguang gazed at him with a half-smile.
“How's that? Surprised? Did you really think I was like that fool Chen Taihe, planning to use my own child as a vessel for calamity substitution? Such Perfected Beings from the Saint Sect have only grasped the superficialities—they can hardly be considered true direct disciples of the Saint Sect.”
“Uncle-Master's righteousness knows no bounds.”
Lu Yang, of course, offered no rebuttal. He simply cupped his hands and lavished a few compliments, though inwardly he dismissed it entirely. After all, not long ago, the man had just screwed him over once.
Chongguang looked helpless upon seeing this.
“Chongming truly isn't my backup plan—he's Miaoyin's.”
“Miaoyin and that fool Chen Taihe are both stuck at the peak of mid-Foundation Establishment, desperate to break through to late-stage but lacking the confidence to withstand the heavenly thunder tribulation.”
“And so, Chongming was born.”
“Unfortunately, Chongming's talent is limited, and he's rebellious to boot. Miaoyin's methods for nurturing disciples also fall short of Chen Taihe's, so she's been unable to meet her needs through him thus far.”
“This time, she brought Chongming to my blessed land most likely to persuade me to seize his body, preserving the blessed land. If I went all out to cling to life, I might even manage to hold onto peak Foundation Establishment cultivation. At that point, she could use Chongming to perform the calamity substitution technique.”
“To put it bluntly, she just wants me to substitute for her tribulation.”
Realization dawned on Lu Yang's face.
Did Chongming truly lack Chongguang's backup measures? Not necessarily!
But thanks to Perfected Being Miaoyin, whether they existed before or not, they were gone now! After all, actually seizing Chongming would just be handing a gift to Perfected Being Miaoyin.
Since that was the case, it was better to phrase it more nobly.
This was the way of Dao companions in the Saint Sect. In the Saint Sect, what did mother-son bonds, husband-wife ties, shared hardships, or even love amount to? It was all a sham—believe it at your peril!
“And so, Yuantu, today I'll teach you your final lesson.”
Chongguang turned to Lu Yang and said gravely, “Using outsiders as materials is indeed the Saint Sect's style, but that's merely a method, not the core of the Saint Sect.”
“Especially when it comes to one's future path on the Dao. Relying on outsiders as materials might sound appealing, but in truth, it places your hopes for the Dao on others. The Great Dao brooks no regrets—you might succeed once, even twice, but a single failure means total defeat.”
“Why is Foundation Establishment the threshold for being called a 【Perfected Being】?”
“Because a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being has the power to resist. Using one as material might succeed many times, but there's always a slim chance of failure.”
“And true direct disciples of the Saint Sect never gamble on that slim chance.”
“In the end, we trust only ourselves!”
As his words fell, Chongguang True Person's aura surged explosively, as if he had returned to his glory days when he sought the Golden Core, the fighting spirit in his brows undimmed.
“One must rely on oneself!”
In the next moment, Chongguang took a step forward.
In an instant, Lu Yang felt the mountains and rivers of heaven and earth shifting backward. Though he had no intention of following, he was still forced to flee alongside him.
“Uncle-Master... you're planning to drag me along by force?”
“You can choose to leave.”
Chongguang smiled faintly, utterly unconcerned. “But Flying Snow True Lord isn't one to mince words. If you go out there, you might suffer a bit.”
“...”
Lu Yang could only look helpless. In truth, with his personality, if not for the True Lord's prior command, he would have turned tail and fled long ago.
He had already made a huge profit from the 【Shadow Dragon Water】 and wasn't greedy. The smart move was to leave the blessed land early, wait for Chongguang True Person to die completely, then return. But with Clear and Pure Flying Snow True Lord watching outside and issuing strict orders for investigation, rashly leaving would surely lead to retribution.
“So, Uncle-Master, what was the reason for your failure?”
Chongguang glanced at Lu Yang and said flatly, “Do you think if even I could figure it out, those higher-ups in the sky wouldn't?”
“You think they truly don't know?”
“If they really didn't, why send you all in to question me? Why not just yank my soul from the blessed land and search it on the spot? Wouldn't that be simpler?”
At this, Chongguang sneered coldly.
“They've long since guessed it! They just don't know who... and they see I still have some strength left, so they're waiting for me, waiting for me to risk it all one last time!”
They've guessed it?
Chongguang's words stunned Lu Yang momentarily, before realization hit. “Us entering the blessed land to loot... was also within Uncle-Master and the various True Lords' expectations?”
Chongguang nodded, gazing at the still-collapsing blessed land. “I've failed once already and lack the power to maintain such a large blessed land, so I needed someone to help shrink it... You taking away those four spiritual embryos formed from my innate divine abilities was actually beneficial to me.”
Lu Yang still frowned. “But in that case, wouldn't Uncle-Master's path to the Dao be incomplete?”
Chongguang laughed at that. “You think innate divine abilities are so easily divided?”
“Lifebound innates, the two great divine abilities are eternally verified upon proof. Their roots have long fused with my soul—what manifests outwardly is mere branches and leaves.”
“Otherwise, upon reincarnation, would you have to re-refine the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, seeking divine abilities anew?”
Here, Chongguang's voice suddenly dropped, his eyes flashing with resentment. “Yes... it can't be changed. The Great Dao brooks no regrets!”
This tone immediately gave Lu Yang a flash of insight.
The Great Dao brooks no regrets, can't be changed... Could Chongguang's failure in seeking the Golden Core stem from his path to the Dao, from completing those four innate divine abilities?
Linking it to Ancestor-Master Tingyou's earlier doubts.
In that instant, a thought surfaced in Lu Yang's mind. “...It's the 【Shadow Dragon Water】?”
At these words, Chongguang whipped his gaze around, staring deeply at Lu Yang before nodding. “Witch Ghost Dao's Tingyou—your insight lives up to your reputation.”
“???”
Lu Yang was instantly displeased. Figuring this out was clearly thanks to my genius-level wisdom! Ancestor-Master Tingyou merely provided a tiny hint!
But what was wrong with the 【Shadow Dragon Water】?
With Chongguang True Person's cultivation and Clear and Pure Flying Snow True Lord providing protection, there shouldn't have been any issues in selecting the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends.
After all, that was the foundation of seeking the Golden Core.
Yet he had erred precisely there—unbelievable.
Lu Yang pondered, his divine sense quietly sinking into the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner as he asked Ancestor-Master Tingyou, “Ancestor-Master, what do you think is wrong with the 【Shadow Dragon Water】?”
“...Only one possibility remains.”
But as the words fell, Lu Yang saw the ever-imperturbable Ancestor-Master Tingyou—who wouldn't flinch if a mountain collapsed before him—now reveal a look of shock and wariness.
“The Avici Sword is forged from Geng Metal qi—Geng Metal is Yang Metal.”
“And Yang Metal can only pair with Yang Earth!”
“The 【Shadow Dragon Water】 is transformed from Chen Earth qi, the most yin and soft earth under heaven... It's all wrong! The 【Shadow Dragon Water】 should inherently be Yang Earth!”
Lu Yang jolted in shock. “The knowledge was wrong?”
“No!”
Ancestor-Master Tingyou shook his head. “If it were merely a matter of knowledge, how could a Golden Core True Lord not know? With the Primal Saint Sect's ancient heritage, how could they be ignorant?”
“It was truly altered!”
“The 【Heavenly Corpse Baleful Qi】 nurtured by our Witch Ghost Dao back in the day was also formed from Chen Earth qi. I can swear that all Chen Earth qi in the world before was Yang Earth!”
The answer was self-evident.
Chen Earth was inherently Yang, yet some great power had silently changed it!