Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Immortal Fetus Complete
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Overseas, in a remote sea domain.
A streak of escaping light streaked past. Within the light was a young man with a sullen expression.
“Mother... really intends to harm me, just as Father said?”
The youth was none other than Chongming.
Ever since his trip to the Qing Kingdom, this young man had aged considerably. Though his lifespan remained undamaged, several strands of white hair had appeared at his temples.
The escaping light continued racing across the overseas waters for some time before finally descending onto an uninhabited island. It was as if it passed through a layer of transparent water curtain—from the outside, the island appeared desolate and eerily silent, yet upon entering, he discovered a rosy-lipped, fair-faced young Daoist had materialized out of nowhere along the shore.
“Daoist Friend Xu.”
A flicker of complexity passed through Chongming’s eyes. He let out a sigh, stepped forward, and cupped his hands.
“I’ve troubled you, Daoist Friend. Chongming will surely repay this kindness in the future.”
If Lu Yang were present, he would certainly recognize the boy.
This young Daoist was none other than Xu Xin, Chongming’s old rival from the Dao-seizing battlefield of old—now a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being himself.
“Enough with the nonsense.”
Xu Xin shook his head at those words. His figure abruptly turned illusory.
“I have no desire to get entangled with you. Fend for yourself, young master.”
With that, his form shattered silently into nothing.
Chongming could only sigh in response. In his heart, he murmured,
“Father said Mother wishes to harm me, yet why instruct me to head out to sea per her guidance?”
Back in the Qing Kingdom, Chongguang had sent Chongming out of the Dongyang Blessed Land with a few pointed instructions. Out of absolute trust in his father, Chongming had followed them to the letter. Though Perfected Being Miaoyin’s heartless actions had left him deeply disheartened, he had rallied nonetheless:
“No matter what, the Saint Sect is off-limits.”
Chongming retrieved a Bagua compass from his robes. This was the supreme treasure Chongguang had given him for concealing heavenly secrets—with its protection, no one should be able to track him down.
At that thought, Lu Yang’s figure suddenly surfaced in Chongming’s mind.
“I’ll just endure!”
“I’ll outlast Mother!”
As the Primal Saint Sect’s most exceptional disciple of the younger generation, Lu Yang’s legends were widely known—including how he had endured past Furon Arhat and schemed the Heaven Mending Peak Master to his doom.
With such precedents from Primal Saint predecessors, Chongming felt little uncertainty. He quickly settled on a course:
“Youth is my greatest asset. Mother is already on her third life. I can’t match her in spell battles or cunning, so I’ll compete on lifespan. Eventually, I’ll outlive her to that final day!”
If fortune favored him, Perfected Being Miaoyin would perish in her tribulation—not many years from now.
If not, and she advanced to late Foundation Establishment, it mattered little. He’d simply wait out two more lives. As long as he hunkered down, opportunity would come.
With that resolution, Chongming steadied his emotions.
Yet as he turned, horror seized him utterly.
Along the island’s shore, atop the greenish-white waves, a figure had appeared!
“Crash, crash, crash.”
The sound of surging waves drifted in from afar, pounding against the coastal rocks—and slamming into Chongming’s heart like icy depths.
The arrival rode in on the swells, feet dancing across the foam. He alighted lightly on the shore with elegant poise, like a scholar on a leisurely outing to the countryside. An amiable smile perpetually graced his face. Yet for all his smile, his eyes gleamed with chilling cold, devoid of any mirth.
“You certainly gave me a hard time tracking you down.”
In that instant, Chongming’s expression froze. He yearned to resist, but an indescribable, overwhelming pressure had already descended upon him.
‘It’s over!’
Though freshly in Foundation Establishment, Chongming was no novice to the world. Even against a mid-Foundation Establishment Perfected Being, he retained the power to strike back.
But this Perfected Being merely stood before him, sealing away his mana and divine sense. Forget striking—his ability to think stemmed solely from the foe’s restraint in not locking down his consciousness. Such a gulf in very being, this horrifying suppression, only a late Foundation Establishment grand cultivator could wield!
In that moment, despair flooded Chongming’s heart.
To his surprise, however, the man did not seize and refine him on the spot. After scrutinizing him briefly, the pressure lifted of its own accord.
The newcomer then fixed him with a piercing stare.
“You recognize me.”
Four simple words, delivered without a trace of doubt—pure certainty, as if the fact were long confirmed. Chongming found himself bowing his head involuntarily.
“...Father mentioned you a few times.”
“Daoist Friend Chongguang.”
Suo Huan smiled faintly at that. Hands clasped behind his back, he strolled over, his tone even.
“You have a fine father.”
“I’ve lingered overseas far too long. Communicating certain matters with the Saint Sect’s elders proves... inconvenient. Thus, some obfuscation is needed—best to muddy the causal threads. Your father secured this opportunity for you, preserving your life and extracting you from the maelstrom. Fine fortune indeed. Truly fine fortune.”
“Far better than mine.”
Suo Huan shook his head with a sigh.
Chongming stared blankly.
‘What does he mean?’
But his thoughts soon ground to a halt.
Upon his body, a faint glow slowly emerged, weaving into a graceful, alluring silhouette.
Suo Huan hastily retreated a step at the sight.
“This lowly one greets True Lord Qiluo.”
The silhouette’s features belonged to none other than the Painted Silk Variegated Gauze True Lord, who had once refined pills for Lu Yang. And now, she manifested overseas!
A chill crept into Suo Huan’s limbs. Inwardly, he sneered:
‘Miaoyin truly is a fool, oblivious to her own limits. As Chongguang’s dao companion, how could her every move escape the gaze of the True Lords above?’
‘On the surface, a mere transaction between Miaoyin and me—handing over her son Chongming for my qi-harvesting, causality clear and ironclad. In truth, the True Lord borrows Chongming’s threads for a clandestine meeting. Miaoyin serves merely as mouthpiece!’
At last, the Painted Silk Variegated Gauze True Lord spoke.
“Speak. Why seek my presence?”
“This lowly one wishes only to ease Your Excellency’s burdens.”
Suo Huan’s voice remained steady. He performed a proper Dao salute with impeccable courtesy.
“The great affair of recent days—this lowly one, though dwelling overseas, has heard tell.”
“Daoist Friend Chongguang proves himself the wave-maker of this era’s Saint Sect, single-handedly shaking the world. Alas, he fell short at the end. One can’t help but sigh.”
“This lowly one lacks Daoist Friend Chongguang’s prowess—a mere stray dog, a petty figure.”
“A petty figure drifts with the currents.”
Here, emotion finally colored Suo Huan’s tone.
“This lowly one stands ready to prove the Everflowing Water, to share Your Excellency’s woes and shatter the present impasse.”
His expression grave, he bowed deeply in respect.
“Your Excellency knows well: this lowly one hails from beyond the heavens, cultivating no natal essence, refining no innate talents. To this day, the qi-harvesting arts have been my sole path. The Spirit Ruins Blessed Land in my grasp aligns with water. In essence, any water-attuned fruit of position offers this lowly one a threadbare chance at attainment.”
“Even the Everflowing Water!”
The Painted Silk Variegated Gauze True Lord’s eyes narrowed at his words.
“Bold indeed. ‘Drifting with the currents’ suits you well.”
A true blind spot!
Suo Huan, as an outsider cultivator, held no need for Chen Tu. At core, he wielded qi-harvesting to strip this realm’s heavenly fruits!
Should he claim the Everflowing Water, it would equate to fruition.
Deprived of Everflowing Water, that enigmatic True Lord—suspected to be the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord—would lack complete five elements henceforth, plummeting from late Golden Core!
Yet no boon without bane. Suo Huan’s gold-seeking required no Chen Tu, but such paths rarely resonated with fruits. As an outsider devouring local heavenly positions, calamity was inevitable—deadly feud with the enigmatic True Lord assured!
The trial dwarfed Chongguang’s by magnitudes.
Success alone offered no security upon the True Lord throne, all the more with the millennium tribulation looming—a single misstep, and he’d join Hongyun Daoist in oblivion.
Suo Huan betrayed no hesitation.
Once heaven’s chosen of a realm, brimming with vigor—now he bowed naturally, a frail remnant of years past.
“This lowly one seeks nothing more.”
Head bowed low, he pleaded humbly.
“Implant Your Excellency’s restriction upon me. I offer my life in service. Grant only a Golden Core fruit... even one lifetime suffices.”
Primal Saint Sect, Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.
The three-month deadline neared.
Lu Yang pushed open the seclusion chamber’s door and strode inside. At the chamber’s heart, upon the meditation cushion, sat a handsome youth in solemn repose.
His features mirrored Lu Yang’s precisely, save for the sharp edge etching his brows—after all, forged from a flying sword embryo, laced with a sword cultivator’s incisive keenness, impossible to fully temper away. Even his lip movements, heartbeat, and breaths synced perfectly with Lu Yang’s true body.
Lu Yang’s face lit with satisfaction.
“The immortal fetus is complete!”