Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: A Terrifying Turn of Fortune
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The exploding treasure light, like a monstrous wave, instantly tore apart the formation set by Fairy Qingchen, then submerged Lu Yang, Liu Xin, and Chen Xin'an.
Liu Xin was the first to scream. To deal with Lu Yang, he had summoned the banner spirit and then called upon Chen Xin'an, consuming most of his true qi. Now, he was completely powerless against the explosion's impact. His body was instantly ignited and turned to ash, the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner in his hand falling limply through the air.
"As expected of a disciple of our Saint Sect."
With Liu Xin dead, although Chen Xin'an had some strength left, he could no longer maintain his existence. He let out a long sigh and scattered with the wind.
As for Lu Yang, he was directly engulfed by the treasure light, vanishing without a trace.
After a while, the turbulent treasure light gradually subsided, revealing Xiao Shiye's figure, his face filled with intense ecstasy.
"I won!"
Xiao Shiye laughed with excitement. After all, while self-detonating a spirit treasure was his trump card, it had many limitations and was easy to dodge.
To use this move to kill an enemy, one first needed to restrict the battlefield to ensure it would hit.
Secondly, the explosion's power was not concentrated; its wide range made it too dispersed. Thus, the enemy had to be weakened to a certain extent to guarantee a one-hit kill.
Finally, the spirit treasure had its own consciousness and might refuse to self-detonate.
"Thankfully, luck is still on my side!"
Xiao Shiye felt that ever since joining the Primal Saint Sect, his luck had completely turned around. He got whatever he wanted, and everything he did seemed to have divine assistance.
When speculating on Death-Substituting Yin Puppets, he was lucky enough to sell at the peak, earning a massive profit of hundreds of thousands of contribution points.
On a casual trip to the mortal world, he effortlessly picked up a magic treasure left behind by a predecessor.
When being hunted, he conveniently found a shield in Lu Yang.
No matter the crisis, he always managed a narrow escape. Through a series of coincidences, he would emerge unscathed and reap the greatest rewards.
"What a fine Ten Thousand Spirits Banner. From now on, it's mine."
Just as Xiao Shiye was about to step forward to claim the treasure, a figure wreathed in blood-red light appeared beside him at almost the same instant, also reaching out for the banner.
Seeing this, Xiao Shiye froze for a moment, then his entire body began to tremble.
"What, does Brother Xiao want this magic treasure as well?"
The blood shadow flickered and slowly resolved into Lu Yang's face. He turned and grinned at Xiao Shiye, causing the latter to jolt in terror.
*Are you a man or a ghost?*
Xiao Shiye's face turned ashen. Gazing at the Heaven-Devouring Blood Light swirling around Lu Yang, the images of all the people he had drained into withered husks flashed through his mind.
The next moment, he hurriedly released his grip on the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner and bowed respectfully.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother. Your junior brother was just keeping this Ten Thousand Spirits Banner safe for you. Now, I return it to its rightful owner!"
"Thoughtful of you."
Lu Yang took the 'Innate Primal Qi Ten Thousand Spirits Banner' with a smile. After examining it for a moment, he infused it with his spiritual power and tipped out two storage bags from within.
These were the storage bags of Liu Xin and Fairy Qingchen.
Opening the storage bags, he found the 'Innate Dao Scripture' in plain sight. In addition, there was a 'Secret Explanations of Formation Treasures,' which evidently belonged to Fairy Qingchen.
"All good stuff..."
Lu Yang sighed with emotion. After memorizing the contents of the two scriptures, he turned his gaze to Xiao Shiye, who was slowly backing away, trying to create distance.
Honestly, Xiao Shiye's killing move had been truly unexpected.
The self-detonation of a spirit treasure could kill even a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm. In theory, it was a sure-kill move, but Lu Yang was an exception to the exception.
Because he cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Blood Light.
Transformed into a blood shadow, he now merely possessed a human form, tangible but without substance. His true spirit was entirely entrusted to his Sword Pellet; as long as the pellet remained intact, he could not be killed.
Faced with the spirit treasure's detonation, the Sword Pellet, forged from Gold Essence and Jade Marrow, was far sturdier than a mere physical body. While not entirely unscathed, it was not destroyed. Thus, once the explosion subsided, Lu Yang reformed his body and reaped the greatest rewards.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang found the sight of Xiao Shiye to be remarkably pleasant.
He really hadn't misjudged him; this Xiao Shiye was truly a man of talent! Without him, how could he have reaped such rich rewards?
"I really must thank you for this, Junior Brother Xiao."
"To show my gratitude, I'll send you on your way."
Lu Yang chuckled softly. With a wave of his hand, a streak of blood light fell upon Xiao Shiye. Before he could even speak, he was drained into a withered husk.
Leaving this person alive was too great a future risk.
With such incredible luck, what if he rose to power later and came back for revenge? It was better to settle things once and for all; tearing out the root of the problem was the most convenient solution.
"He died just like that?" Lu Yang mused, looking at Xiao Shiye's body and stroking his chin in surprise. "With his destiny-favored luck, shouldn't a benefactor have appeared to stop me? I was even prepared for that, but it turned out to be so easy..."
At this thought, something stirred in Lu Yang's mind, and he used his Qi Observation Art on Xiao Shiye again.
A strange scene appeared.
Before, when he had looked at Xiao Shiye, his treasure light had soared to the heavens, a sign of immense fortune. But now, all of that light had vanished into thin air.
Watching this, a thought inexplicably surfaced in Lu Yang's mind:
This man's fortune has run out.
"Alas..."
The next moment, a sigh suddenly echoed.
Lu Yang looked up at the sky, his expression freezing in the instant before shock could register, all his thoughts frozen in that single moment.
At some unknown time, a figure had appeared before Xiao Shiye's corpse.
The man wore a crane-feather cloak, a faint smile on his lips as he gently waved a feather fan. He had a dashing, elegant air about him, and at first glance, he looked like a handsome scholar out for a stroll.
Yet with his appearance, the entire world seemed to lose its color. Only he remained, the center of all creation, gathering all the blessings, wealth, and luck of heaven and earth. He was a true favorite of the heavens, inspiring uncontrollable jealousy and resentment in others.
"Is this all there is to gain?"
The newcomer beckoned with his hand, and the 'Innate Dao Scripture' and the Innate Primal Qi Ten Thousand Spirits Banner that Lu Yang had just stored away flew out and into his grasp.
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded, "Great Fortune, you've come out of seclusion?"
The Daoist known as 'Great Fortune' looked up as if meeting someone's gaze and chuckled. "I had no choice. The person I picked suddenly died."
The voice sounded surprised. "Died? Someone you chose can actually die? What happened?"
"It's laughable, really. Because his luck ran out."
"I gave him so much fortune, intending for him to catch that colored fish in the Merit Pool. But there were too many variables, and his fortune was depleted ahead of schedule."
"Once his fortune ran out, death was naturally at his door."
After speaking, the Daoist Great Fortune weighed the 'Innate Dao Scripture' in his hand, shook his head, and casually put it away. Then, he looked over at Lu Yang.
"This one, however, is a bit interesting..."
The Daoist Great Fortune performed a quick divination, the smile on his face widening. "This person is quite the variable. The recent turmoil over the Death-Substituting Yin Puppets seems to be connected to him."
"Hmm, his background is clean. But why would a mortal have a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivation upon joining? He's hiding it deliberately... looks like a rogue cultivator bringing his own skills into the sect, which is fine... wait, that's not right. He learned the Divine Empyrean Sword Control True Art *before* joining? Is he a spy from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion?"
The more the Daoist Great Fortune divined, the more interested he became.
Aside from the Book of a Hundred Lives, all of Lu Yang's secrets were unraveled through causal divination by the Daoist Great Fortune, revealed layer by layer. Only at the end did his brow furrow.
"...He cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Blood Light?"
The next moment, the interest in the Daoist Great Fortune's eyes vanished, replaced by an expression of distaste.
To become a blood shadow is to sever one's path to immortality. Such a cultivator was not worth his effort, let alone worthy of being the next "Son of Destiny."
"A pity about the colored fish in the Merit Pool. I didn't catch it this time. I suppose I'll have to wait for the next chance."
The Daoist Great Fortune retracted his gaze and took a single step, vanishing without a trace, like a fisherman who, having used up all his bait, could only leave empty-handed.
Only Lu Yang was left standing on the spot.
Sweat poured down like rain.