Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Suo Huan's Desperate Gamble
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As soon as Lu Yang finished speaking, the chilling killing intent in his words sent shivers through everyone present. Even Suo Huan gave him a deep look, revealing a hint of surprise.
But soon enough, understanding dawned in his eyes.
"Friend, I appreciate the thought, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you."
Suo Huan shook his head. Lu Yang had the guts to offend the Pure Land, but he didn't. He could only sigh in regret. Seeing this, Lu Yang fell into contemplation.
After a moment's thought, he still spoke up. "Friend, if I may speak bluntly, your pursuit of the metal nature this time—"
Before Lu Yang could finish, Suo Huan cut him off directly, saying calmly, "I've scraped by overseas for six hundred years. I've already considered everything."
"This is nothing more than going all in."
At this point, a trace of nostalgia flickered in Suo Huan's eyes. "I know what you mean, friend. All those who might aid my pursuit of the metal nature have their own agendas."
"None of them have good intentions."
"But this is the best method I can think of. Without it, if any faction decides to block me, I'll truly have no chance at all."
"Back then, when I fled the Huanxu Realm with the heavens' favor, it collapsed and transformed into the Spirit Ruins Blessed Land for me. It even derived the Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to Ruins Dao Scripture as my path to the metal nature. As long as I use this secret art to devour a single fruit position, the Huanxu Realm can be revived."
This was Suo Huan's obsession—and his helplessness.
"I'm different from you, friend. I have no dao foundation to speak of, and reincarnation is impossible for me. A lifetime's span may be long, but it's only this life's true self that I have."
"Your methods for pursuing the metal nature are all useless to me."
"Only this Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to Ruins Dao Scripture is my path upward. Not to mention it can restore my homeland. So this road—I must take it!"
With things said this far, Lu Yang could only cup his hands. "Then I wish you success, friend."
Suo Huan nodded wordlessly, then waved his hand.
In the next instant, Lu Yang felt the world spin. He had already been ejected from the Primordial Magnetism Divine Mountain. A moment later, he found himself in the Foundation Establishment realm.
Looking around, he spotted a cluster of Buddhist light.
Lu Yang's brows lifted slightly, a smile playing on his lips. Though Suo Huan had claimed he couldn't help, he'd quietly lent a hand after all.
He'd delivered Lu Yang right to the Vimalakirti Venerable One!
Right then, from the direction of the Primordial Magnetism Divine Mountain in the present world, a brilliant beam of light pierced the heavens, shooting straight into the Foundation Establishment realm before ascending even higher.
"Suo Huan has begun his pursuit of the metal nature!"
"A cultivator from beyond the skies... he's the first!"
In an instant, all the great cultivators lying in wait within the Foundation Establishment realm turned their gazes. The experiences of every seeker were worth their attention.
Meanwhile, inside the Primordial Magnetism Divine Mountain, Suo Huan stood with his hands behind his back.
Above his head materialized an official position woven from talismanic script: [Duke Protecting the Nation, Commanding the Seas and Borders]. It was unmistakably a first-rank position in the Dao Court!
It was this official seal that empowered him to display peak Foundation Establishment combat prowess. With the aid of arrays and techniques, he'd slain the Dragon Palace's crown prince, Tian Qiu's fleshly body. And it was precisely this position that allowed him to stand at the threshold of pursuing the metal nature, taking the most crucial step:
Condensing the golden nature!
In the next second, a golden mark appeared between Suo Huan's brows, shaped like a crescent moon. Compared to Chongguang's from back then, it carried an obvious illusory quality.
This was normal, of course.
After all, he'd condensed it with external aid, while Chongguang had cultivated it himself. The foundations were worlds apart. To have succeeded at all was already a stroke of heaven's fortune.
"Luckily, I have other means to make up for it."
Suo Huan exhaled deeply and looked up at the vault of the sky, as if he could see several colossal dharma bodies spanning the heavens gazing down at him silently.
He felt no hesitation.
He removed the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl from his waist and communed with it via divine sense. In the next moment, a radiant star lit up for him in the firmament above. [Everflowing River]!
Seeing this, Suo Huan immediately produced a jade vial, uncorked it, and a thick aura of water-element qi instantly wafted out.
[Heavenly Virtue Beneficent Divine Water]!
Almost simultaneously, Suo Huan sensed the many gazes upon him sharpen abruptly, laced with faint killing intent.
"[Soaring Empyrean], so you made your move after all!"
"Can't trace the karma. When did it get delivered to Suo Huan?"
"No matter. We anticipated this. After all, someone wants to claim the [Everflowing River] fruit position—he couldn't just sit idly by. Let's see what other tricks he has."
High in the boundless expanse, several massive divine senses intertwined.
Suo Huan was oblivious to it all and unconcerned besides. He simply drained the Heavenly Virtue Beneficent Divine Water in one gulp, then circulated his magic to refine it.
The Heavenly Virtue Beneficent Divine Water was the fruit position treasure of the Everflowing River, possessing the virtue of clarity and nourishment, the wonder of benefiting the world. Consuming it brought rebirth from desperation, prosperity and flourishing, merit benefiting all things. Its imagery perfectly matched his current plight, instantly causing the heavenly light of the Everflowing River to blaze!
"Rise!"
In the next second, Suo Huan poured all his magic power into the effort. The Spirit Ruins Blessed Land manifested behind him, reflecting the Buddhist light, then shot skyward toward the fruit position!
At the same time, down in the Foundation Establishment realm.
"What do you think Suo Huan's odds are?"
The Vimalakirti Venerable One shook his head with a cold laugh. "The lords are watching from above. How could they really let an outsider cultivator claim the metal nature?"
"You can't say that. This time, it's all for claiming the Everflowing River and shaking that one's foundation in the underworld. The lords might not care about some outsider cultivator. Worst case, they kill him after and let him take his golden nature into reincarnation—he'll make a fine tool another day."
"Only your Holy Sect thinks that far ahead."
As they chatted, the Vimalakirti Venerable One's expression grew grim. For the Pure Land, the real goal of this trip had been to convert Lu Yang.
And they'd failed.
Even his personal intervention had yielded nothing. This would surely damage his standing with the Bodhisattva, stirring other thoughts in him.
'Beyond me, the Dao Court and Sword Pavilion are eyeing that Lu Yang too.'
'While Suo Huan pursues the metal nature and the true lords focus on guarding against the underworld one, if I invite them to strike together, perhaps we can surround and kill that Yuantu?'
The idea ignited his ambitions.
"Gentlemen..."
He'd just opened his mouth when, before his words could spread, an indescribable suction force latched onto him. His face changed dramatically.
The Vimalakirti Venerable One reacted swiftly. The moment the warning arose in his heart, he summoned his protective spirit treasure—his lotus pedestal. A beam of Buddhist light bloomed from it, shielding him firmly at the center. Then it exploded in a shower of shattering sparks.
"Who's there!"
The Vimalakirti Venerable One's gaze whipped around, only to find the ambush wasn't a single strike but dozens, hundreds—thunderous sword lights hurtling toward him!
'Sword Pavilion... no, that junior!?'
Realization dawned on the Vimalakirti Venerable One, mingled with disbelief. He never imagined Lu Yang would dare come at him directly!
Did he truly think he could kill him?
In a flash, the Vimalakirti Venerable One laughed in fury. He unleashed his full magic power, manifesting a Buddhist palm that swept away the sky full of sword lights, revealing what lay behind.
Then he saw a towering shadow.
[Dharma Body of the Heaven-Dominating Controller of Myriad Phenomena]!
The dharma body sat majestically in the Foundation Establishment realm, three heads and six arms, azure-faced with fangs bared. Amid soaring black fire, a heaven-obscuring hand reached ruthlessly toward him!
"..."
Almost simultaneously, the other great cultivators who'd been chatting amiably with the Vimalakirti Venerable One had vanished, leaving him alone.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed through the Foundation Establishment realm. The heaven-obscuring hand was blocked by the Vimalakirti Venerable One. As the billowing black fire parted, it revealed the young Daoist behind the dharma body.
The Vimalakirti Venerable One gnashed his teeth. "You little brat..."
Lu Yang ignored him entirely, gripping his sword and forming seals. A beam of yellow light materialized, crashing down like toppling mountains and rivers, overturning heaven and earth!