Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Undisclosed]
Chapter Title: Pact with the Outsider
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Looking at the handsome youth in the mirror's surface, Perfected Being Miaoyin maintained an impassive expression.
Yet inwardly, she pondered ceaselessly, preparing responses to the other's impending questions.
After all, this Perfected Being Suo Huan was no mere mortal.
Strictly speaking, he was a cultivator from beyond the heavens—though the realm-heaven to which he belonged had long been annihilated, shattered by the various True Lords and fully merged into this world.
He alone had escaped.
If Lu Yang were present at this moment, he would surely recognize the man, for he had once discussed the matter with Chongguang. It stemmed from an unexpected incident during a Dao-seizing battle.
The Sword Pavilion, Primal Saint Sect, Dao Court, and Pure Land—the True Lords of these four powers had joined forces to seize the realm-heaven. Even Foundation Establishment True Persons had entered the fray. Only after a brutal clash did they subdue it. That realm-heaven had nearly coalesced its own fruit position before the True Lords shattered the process. Solely the heaven-destined child chosen by the realm-heaven managed to flee.
And that heaven-destined child was Suo Huan.
Thereafter, he roamed the outer seas, relentlessly hunting disciples dispatched overseas by the four major powers. Most assumed it was vengeance.
Perfected Being Miaoyin, however, knew otherwise.
This heaven-external cultivator harbored vast ambitions. Slaying disciples of the four powers was no act of revenge, but a means of [gathering qi]! To claim a position and forge his Golden Core!
In this heaven and earth's quintessence, disciples of the four powers ranked supreme—especially their Foundation Establishment True Persons. Even a loose cultivator like Wu Cang possessed undeniable talent, rendering him a prime target for [gathering qi].
If Wu Cang qualified, then Lu Yang was all the more so.
The name [Yuan Tu] had gained some renown overseas, and his scandalous feat of publicly surpassing the Sword Pavilion immortal was spreading like wildfire.
Thus, Suo Huan swiftly grasped the implication.
Yet he betrayed no eagerness, instead feigning caution.
"You mean that Perfected Being Yuan Tu? He stirred up no small commotion overseas before. I nearly intervened myself—this one's untouchable."
The "commotion" to which Suo Huan referred was, of course, Lu Yang's overseas fishing expedition. Amid the heaven-earth killing intent, Suo Huan—who lingered overseas then—had nearly been drawn in. Lacking any karmic ties with Lu Yang, he ultimately stayed away; else he would long since have perished.
"Rest assured."
Perfected Being Miaoyin hastened to reassure him.
"You witnessed the True Lord clash earlier. Perfected Being Feixue suffered grave wounds and must now seal her cave-heaven for recovery."
"By then, he will lack a True Lord patron."
"Besides, greater risks yield greater rewards."
Here, Perfected Being Miaoyin's tone grew seductive.
"Slay Yuan Tu alone, and your [Spirit Ruins Blessed Land] will achieve qi-gathering perfection. When you then seek the Golden Core, reviving your realm-heaven becomes possible!"
". . ."
Her words plunged the Suo Huan in the mirror into contemplation. The [Spirit Ruins Blessed Land] she invoked was his paramount asset in overseas supremacy.
For [Spirit Ruins Blessed Land] was the seed his former realm-heaven had condensed in its death throes—a nascent fruit position of that realm-heaven. Since escaping, he had pursued qi-gathering arts to enable it to devour a heaven-earth fruit position.
Thus, not only could his ancestral realm-heaven—his homeland—revive.
His own cultivation would surge, securing True Lord status and a realm-heaven as his dao abode, elevating him among True Lords' elite.
"A rare chance in a millennium—you know this well."
Perfected Being Miaoyin presumed intimate knowledge of Suo Huan's designs. After all, he had slain countless inland cultivators, amassing spiritual materials and treasures beyond his needs, necessitating fences.
She served as one such channel for Suo Huan.
Hence, they had transacted covertly for years, each privy to the other's depths. Absent this rapport, Perfected Being Miaoyin would never have sought him.
"Well?"
Perfected Being Miaoyin pressed anew. Suo Huan at last replied.
"No courtesy without cause—thou art either thief or schemer. Fellow Daoist Miaoyin, what seekest thou this time?"
"Guard my tribulation passage!"
Perfected Being Miaoyin declared gravely.
"I stand at mid-Foundation Establishment's pinnacle, my heavenly gang and earthly sha secured. Only the final heavenly thunder tribulation daunts me."
"Merely open your [Spirit Ruins] Blessed Land for my tribulation within, attenuating the thunder's might. Any harm to your blessed land, I shall redress post-facto with Yuan Tu. His caliber ensures the qi harvested from his slaying will amply cover all losses."
"Moreover, should I breakthrough, I join thee in Yuan Tu's demise."
Perfected Being Miaoyin proffered her stake. Suo Huan mulled briefly, then demurred.
". . . Yuan Tu first. Then the blessed land."
"Agreed!"
This aligned with Perfected Being Miaoyin's foresight; she nodded crisply.
"Then Yuan Tu first—but bind us with a heart-unity pact."
"Thus none may renege."
"As expected."
Suo Huan assented without demur. Perfected Being Miaoyin eased at last, pivoting with a radiant smile.
"Regarding trades . . . our prior exchange—how much longer?"
"One [Heavenly Water Kan Harmony Treasure Pill]; its spiritual materials prove elusive. I commissioned thy overseas hunt. Years on, any trace?"
Suo Huan grinned.
"Fortuitous timing."
"I've stalked a quarry long—it fits thy specs precisely. By my reckoning, it nears the snare."
"Oh?"
Perfected Being Miaoyin blinked. Abruptly, the mirror's far side roiled in violent blur—spiritual qi erupting in waves.
". . . It arrives!"
Soon Suo Huan's jubilant laugh echoed from the glass. He swiveled the mirror, unveiling a resplendent grand array piercing the firmament.
The array resembled a gleaming dome, subjugating a vast maritime expanse below. Surging billows within solidified like rock; no divine power could rouse a ripple. Verily, a formation tailored to quell water arts.
Then—
"Roar!"
A resonant dragon chant erupted beneath the waves. Breakers shattered, birthing a colossal true dragon frame rivaling mountains.
None other than mid-Foundation Establishment Dragon King Sui Ying—the selfsame lured inland by Chongguang's [Cave Yang Blessed Land]. It had once allied with Lu Yang to repulse Ye Guyue, claiming half a [Shade Dragon Water] slab from him thereby.
Yet now it appeared profoundly bedraggled.
It had reckoned inland venture and half the [Shade Dragon Water] would, refined to丹, vastly advance its dao.
Unforeseen: entrapment.
This realization spurred Sui Ying's gaping maw skyward in thunderous bellow.
"Suo Huan! Dare thee ensnare me with array!?"
Suo Huan smiled faintly, sustaining the treasure mirror's live feed to Perfected Being Miaoyin while flicking his sleeve to stride array-ward.
"Fellow Daoist Sui Ying errs."
"Six centuries plus I've dwelt these outer seas. Our encounters abound—dost thou not know my ways?"
"What dare I not?"
His affable words chilled to the bone, stilling Sui Ying's roar as the dragon discerned the inexorable murder in Suo Huan's tone.