Chapter 303: Switching Sides Repeatedly, Playing Both Ends
Chapter 303: Leaping Between Sides, Profiting All Around
Compared to Chongguang, contacting Hong Yun actually took Lü Yang more effort.
Of course, it wasn't truly difficult to establish contact. All he needed was to touch upon some of Hong Yun's core interests—without needing to appear in person, Hong Yun would come looking for him on his own.
Lü Yang's method was simple: he used [Puppet on Strings] to manipulate a local Qi Refining rogue cultivator from Jiangbei, then remotely influenced Xiao Shiye's karma through this setup. After orchestrating this maneuver, Daoist Hong Yun—who had been using Xiao Shiye as bait—was naturally alarmed and inevitably sought him out.
Lü Yang's thoughts aligned precisely with Chongguang's speculation.
How could he possibly sell such crucial information about the Dongtian fragment to just one party? After all, the greatest advantage of intelligence was that it could be sold multiple times!
The next moment, the void split open.
Seeing this, Lü Yang's eyes brightened slightly: "Fellow Daoist—"
Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, Daoist Hong Yun immediately activated his magic power and struck the Qi Refining rogue cultivator with a palm, reducing him to a bloody pulp. However, two more figures soon appeared:
"Fellow Daoist, don't you want to know—"
The first figure was shattered by Daoist Hong Yun before it could finish speaking. Fortunately, the second figure continued: "—about your own Dongtian?"
At these words, Daoist Hong Yun—who had initially come only because he sensed Xiao Shiye's karma being tampered with and casually killed the Qi Refining cultivator upon finding him—suddenly froze. Focusing his gaze, he finally noticed the eerie expressions on these "Qi Refining rogue cultivators."
"...Who are you?"
Daoist Hong Yun glanced at the sky, then waved his sleeve, instantly vanishing from the spot with Lü Yang. Moments later, a strand of divine sense tore through the air.
Whoosh!
The vast divine sense swept over the scene like a gale scattering fallen leaves, yet found nothing. Eventually, it slowly coalesced into a frostily beautiful figure.
[True Lord Qingcheng Feixue]!
"What a pity... he escaped too quickly."
After all, Daoist Hong Yun had once been a True Lord of the Saint Sect. Unless she confronted him face-to-face, deliberately hiding made it difficult even for her to track him down.
At this thought, True Lord Qingcheng Feixue suddenly smiled enchantingly, her beautiful eyes gleaming with intrigue. "Judging by this, did that person really sell the same goods to two buyers and come to negotiate with Hong Yun? Not impossible. If I lie in wait, perhaps I can catch him..."
Jiangbei, a remote mountain forest.
This place was nestled among towering peaks, concealed by layer upon layer of formations—each one a top-tier array designed to obscure heavenly secrets, completely severing all karma.
The next moment, the void split open.
Daoist Hong Yun, accompanied by the Qi Refining rogue cultivator Lü Yang controlled, stepped directly into the formation. Like Chongguang, he immediately began with a soul search.
Truly an old-school Saint Sect disciple.
Lü Yang remained calm, already accustomed to such methods.
Only after the soul search yielded nothing did Daoist Hong Yun finally regard Lü Yang with newfound seriousness. Staring at him, he asked, "Do you know the name of my Dongtian?"
This was the final test.
Without hesitation, Lü Yang replied, "[Changyao Radiance Dongtian]!"
At these words, Daoist Hong Yun exhaled deeply. Only an old-school Saint Sect disciple or someone who had truly seen his Dongtian could know this name.
"What do you want?"
Clearly, Daoist Hong Yun understood that there was no such thing as unconditional love or hatred in this world. Since Lü Yang had sought him out, he naturally wanted something in return.
Moreover, unlike Chongguang—who, as the acting Sect Master of the Saint Sect, already held overwhelming momentum and thus had room for negotiation—Daoist Hong Yun had wasted five thousand years and was now backed into a corner.
Thus, his attitude was refreshingly straightforward.
Seeing Daoist Hong Yun's directness, Lü Yang naturally cut to the chase: "I want the half-finished True Treasure you left behind in the Biyang Cultivation World—and that Primordial Dao Calamity!"
"...Who exactly are you?"
The moment these words left Lü Yang's mouth, Daoist Hong Yun's expression grew even graver, his brows furrowing tightly. The arrangements he had made in the Biyang Cultivation World should have been unknown to anyone.
How had this leaked?
The half-finished True Treasure he left in the Biyang Cultivation World, the [Imperial Palace Golden Seal True Edict], was essentially a discarded move—a plan he had once intended to use to falsely claim the Golden Seat.
However, falsely claiming the Golden Seat was far too difficult. Even after refining it with the talents of the entire Biyang Cultivation World, the [Imperial Palace Golden Seal True Edict] remained a half-finished True Treasure, unable to fully ascend. Its only utility lay in deducing divine abilities—hardly crucial for him.
At best, it was utterly useless.
Thus, when Lü Yang expressed interest in this half-finished True Treasure, Daoist Hong Yun was more surprised by the leak than reluctant to part with it.
"But... how can I trust you?"
Daoist Hong Yun smirked coldly. "As for the Dongtian fragment you mentioned—do you think I don't know about it? Isn't it the one at the bottom of Jiangnan's Sweet Pear Tree Dao?"
Hearing this, Lü Yang raised an eyebrow.
Yet he quickly realized: in his previous life, Daoist Hong Yun had managed to return to Foundation Establishment Perfection and refine a Blessed Land—meaning he must have found the Dongtian fragment.
Now it seemed he had already discovered traces of it.
But why hadn't he gone after it immediately?
With this thought, Lü Yang regained his composure and chuckled lightly. "It seems Fellow Daoist also harbors doubts—suspecting that Dongtian fragment might be problematic, no?"
And rightly so!
No matter what, Daoist Hong Yun was once a Saint Sect True Lord. How could he not understand that behind every opportunity lay a trap? The problem was—he had no choice!
"..."
Though Daoist Hong Yun wanted to refute Lü Yang's words, he found himself speechless. After all, this had indeed been his greatest hidden worry in recent days.
Yet the pressure Chongguang exerted was simply too immense. As the former master of the [Overturned Lamp Flame], he could even faintly sense the [Overturned Lamp Flame]'s attention gradually shifting away from him—being stripped bit by bit by Chongguang. If this continued, he would truly be usurped!
His options were limited.
Thus, not long ago, he had already resolved to travel to Jiangnan and reclaim the Dongtian fragment—even if it was poisoned bait, he would have to swallow it!
But Lü Yang's appearance changed his mind.
"What else do you know?"
Under Daoist Hong Yun's gaze, Lü Yang directly imprinted a copy of the [Dongxu Inner Observation Heaven-Earth True Explanation] he had obtained from the Dongtian using his divine sense.
Though [Ang Xiao] had erased all of True Person Xiaohai's memories of it, Lü Yang had recorded the contents through True Person Xiaohai's body at the time. True Person Xiaohai forgetting had nothing to do with Lü Yang!
"This is...!?"
The moment he saw the [Dongxu Inner Observation Heaven-Earth True Explanation], excitement flashed in Daoist Hong Yun's eyes—it felt eerily familiar.
"I have another related technique," Lü Yang said calmly. "That one is even more important—a secret method for connecting with the [Overturned Lamp Flame]. I suspect you'd be far more interested in that?"
At these words, Daoist Hong Yun closed his eyes.
Lü Yang smiled. Unlike his transaction with Chongguang, this time, he had firmly seized the initiative in dealing with Daoist Hong Yun.
"Fellow Daoist must accompany me overseas."
With an air of finality, Lü Yang declared, "Aside from the [Imperial Palace Golden Seal True Edict], you must also help me subdue that Primordial Dao Calamity."
After all, he couldn't handle that Dao Calamity alone.
"...Agreed."
Understanding that he had lost the upper hand, Daoist Hong Yun didn't haggle and nodded decisively.
The transaction concluded satisfactorily, leaving both parties pleased.
After exchanging flying message talismans for future contact, Daoist Hong Yun watched Lü Yang depart, though he couldn't help but mutter inwardly:
'Which Saint Sect True Person is this man?'
'Could he be bait set by Chongguang to lure me? Even if not, given the Saint Sect's style, selling intelligence to both sides is routine—and burning bridges after crossing them is standard practice...'
'Would he turn around and contact Chongguang right after this?'
"Hey, hey, hey?"
Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds, Sacred Fire Cliff.
Chongguang stared oddly at the flying message talisman in his hand as Lü Yang's handwriting swiftly appeared:
[Acting Sect Master, I have a golden opportunity to trap and kill Hong Yun.]
[Interested?]