Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 301
Chapter Title: In the Sword Pavilion, Heart in Primal Saint
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To be honest, Lu Yang never imagined that in this life, he would reunite with Soaring Empyrean under such a dramatic and abrupt circumstance.
‘Stay calm, no impulses.’
Lu Yang gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to bail: ‘The one exploring the [Long Yao Treasure Light Cavern Heaven] is Perfected Being Xiaohai—what does it have to do with me?’
‘With [String Marionette] in place, he can’t see me!’
Just a bluff!
Lu Yang was a hundred percent confident in this, after all, it was a golden talent from the Book of a Hundred Lives.
[String Marionette: Seize a person’s qi luck and bear their karma, allowing you to hide beneath their exterior and control them like a puppet. No one can divine your origins.]
If it said no one could divine it, then no one could!
Bring it on!
The confidence from the Book of a Hundred Lives let Lu Yang forcibly steady his nerves. He continued peering through Perfected Being Xiaohai’s eyes, locking gazes directly with [Soaring Empyrean].
In that instant, all sounds ceased.
“.”
Even the rising Si Fire froze mid-air. The sparks that should have danced hung motionless. Though the surroundings roiled with heat waves, the moment felt as cold as midwinter.
Perfected Being Xiaohai’s expression froze in that split second of terror, his thoughts halted entirely. In the entire cavern heaven fragment, only the figure standing amid the flames could still move. He propped one cheek with a hand while crossing his arms with the other, his gaze sharp and piercing as he stared at Perfected Being Xiaohai.
His eyes burned like torches.
Every shift in Perfected Being Xiaohai’s aura, every ripple of his magic power, the dilation and contraction of his pupils, the flickers of his gaze, the karmic ties on his body—all were taken in completely.
The smile on [Soaring Empyrean]’s face faded slightly.
“Which fellow Daoist is this?”
He spoke slowly, his voice making the entire cavern heaven fragment tremble. The Si Fire resumed its flow, inching bit by bit up Perfected Being Xiaohai’s body!
Countless fiery serpents swarmed him in a single blink, engulfing him entirely before crawling into his seven orifices, flooding his organs, spiritual platform, and sea of consciousness. Blazing flames rendered this pitiful Foundation Establishment Perfected Being transparent from head to toe, leaving no anomaly hidden, no matter how small.
Yet [Soaring Empyrean] found nothing.
‘An illusion?’
The vast cavern heaven remained empty, with only him present. This outcome sparked a flicker of doubt in his eyes, but it quickly turned to utter certainty:
‘Impossible!’
‘My senses can’t be wrong. Someone is watching me—through this Foundation Establishment cultivator, no less. But I can’t pinpoint... which fellow Daoist it is?’
Across the world, few could be called “fellow Daoist” by him. After all, monopolizing five fruition positions single-handedly, leaving no fruits for later generations to attain—such methods weren’t for just anyone. His late Golden Core breakthrough placed him among the absolute strongest. Otherwise, how could he scheme against the underworld?
‘Could it be... the Dao Lord watching me?’
Caution deepened in [Soaring Empyrean]’s eyes. He did know of a similar technique: Pure Land! That grooved World Honored One loved such tricks!
‘But no, what about me would draw a Dao Lord’s gaze?’
[Soaring Empyrean]’s gaze grew profound and chilling as he scrutinized Perfected Being Xiaohai. The man was strong—very strong—but not strong enough to attract the attention of any of the four Dao Lords.
They weren’t on the same level at all.
If the mortal world was a vast bitter sea where all beings drowned, only True Lords who ascended to fruition could use their fruition as a boat to sail its surface.
Dao Lords had already escaped the sea, reaching the other shore.
The world in a Dao Lord’s eyes—their very focus—had long transcended the mundane, utterly unlike others’. At the very least, it wouldn’t be him.
‘Should I... kill him?’
[Soaring Empyrean] frowned tightly. This Gan Tang Li clan member from Haichong was a pawn he’d carefully selected years ago to conceal this cavern heaven fragment.
Not to bury it completely, though.
But to leave a faint trail.
Only then, when Hongyun Daoist finally unearthed this cavern heaven fragment after endless toil, would he harbor no suspicions.
The first two jade slips—including the contents of True Explanation of Cavernous Void Internal Contemplation of Heaven and Earth and Supreme Bright Golden Cup Jade Light—were perfectly genuine, or they couldn’t have fooled Hongyun. The real tampering wasn’t in that knowledge, but in this very cavern heaven fragment before him!
Once Hongyun Daoist absorbed it, transforming it into his own blessed land...
His scheme would succeed.
But if Perfected Being Xiaohai died here, that was uncertain.
‘Though I used cognitive barriers to make Hongyun overlook the old cause of death and his suspicions about [Chen Earth], and extracted the contingency he used to reclaim his position...’
‘He’s still a True Lord, after all.’
‘After five millennia, even with the cognitive barriers, he’s likely sensed something amiss. Hongyun now is no different from a startled bird.’
‘In this state, if I let this Foundation Establishment cultivator die, and Hongyun investigates later, he’ll surely grow suspicious. That would introduce countless variables into my scheme out of nowhere—no, wait. From the moment this Foundation Establishment cultivator entered the cavern heaven, variables were already in play!’
But where had the variables come from?
[Soaring Empyrean] pinched his fingers to divine, yet found nothing. His frown deepened, a rare sense of losing control creeping in for the first time.
‘...Fine. Respond to change with no change.’
The next second, [Soaring Empyrean] regained his composure. He stepped back, his figure melting once more into the endless blazing Si Fire.
Time resumed its flow.
Perfected Being Xiaohai blinked. The terror from moments ago seemed never to have happened, fading swiftly. He’d already forgotten why he’d been terrified.
No major events.
No great opportunities.
“Sigh, what a shame.”
With that thought, Perfected Being Xiaohai couldn’t help sighing deeply: “Who’d have thought this cavern heaven would be empty—no treasures at all. What a wasted trip.”
As he spoke, he completely ignored the three jade slips on the table.
The next moment, he turned and left the cavern heaven without hesitation. Behind him, [Soaring Empyrean] watched his retreating figure silently.
‘Unknown fellow Daoist... interesting.’
A smile of genuine intrigue slowly curved his mild features. After scheming alone for over five thousand years, this slight variable only brought him joy.
‘Let’s see how you make your move!’
“Gone, gone!”
Severing the [String Marionette] link, Lu Yang patted his chest with lingering fear: “In this life, I’m never setting foot near Gan Tang Dao again!”
This damn place was too dangerous!
That said, a bold idea stirred in Lu Yang’s mind: “But Uncle Chongguang would surely be very interested in that cavern heaven...”
The method to forge cavern heaven blessed lands!
The method to sense [Covered Lamp Fire]!
At this point in time, Chongguang hadn’t reincarnated yet. These two techniques alone would spur him to action—and if he came, how could True Lord Feixue stay away?
‘That Bright Light Daily Record explicitly mentions suspicions about [Chen Earth]. If I can let Chongguang see it, he’ll be on guard against that point. Plus, I can forge some goodwill, so later I can smoothly claim the immortal spirit body he leaves behind in reincarnation—that strand of Metal Qi.’
[Pomegranate Wood] was the fusion of Geng Shen and Xin You.
Since he planned to attain [Pomegranate Wood] in this life, that Metal Qi was crucial to his path. Laying groundwork early was just prudent preparation.
Not to mention, it would make True Lord Feixue and Soaring Empyrean clash!
Once [Soaring Empyrean]’s existence was exposed early, Chongguang’s grand quest for Metal in the previous life would draw even more attention this time.
And that would be his chance!
‘About a century left.’
Lu Yang pondered, a clear plan forming in his mind:
‘Within a hundred years, I must nurture the immortal spirit body to peak Foundation Establishment. Ideally, link up with Suo Huan during that time too, so he joins Chongguang in the quest for Metal.’
‘With that pair of dimwits drawing all eyes...’
‘I can set up leisurely, emerge as a peak Foundation Establishment immortal spirit, then attain True Lord fruition before anyone can stop me!’
Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, Sacred Fire Cliff.
In the vast hall, a man sat at the head seat. His features weren’t strikingly handsome, but his brows radiated a soaring sharpness.
It was none other than Perfected Being Chongguang!
In his hand was a radiant flying letter—sent by Lu Yang earlier via spell, detailing the secrets of the Ten Thousand Men Pit in Jiangnan.
Beyond that, Lu Yang had described his reincarnation into Jiangnan as a sleeper agent: in the Sword Pavilion, heart in Primal Saint. Chongguang couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder.
The Primal Saint Sect actually had quite a few traitors.
After all, among the four great sects, only the Pure Land had a worse environment than Primal Saint—and it allowed entry but no exit, posing no risk of rebellion.
By comparison, Sword Pavilion and Dao Court were far superior.
Thus, many ordinary Perfected Beings with no hope on their paths would reincarnate after death, skipping return to Primal Saint and donning new identities to join Sword Pavilion or Dao Court.
So many had left, yet this was the first to send word back, declaring his heart still with Primal Saint.
“Interesting...”
Perfected Being Chongguang eyed the signature at the letter’s end, falling into brief thought: “Yuantu... Does our Primal Saint Sect have such a loyal Perfected Being?”
(End of chapter)