Chapter 306
Chapter 306
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: Aoxiao's Pawn!
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Yu Suzhen had been an outer sect disciple of the Primal Saint Sect just like Lu Yang back in the day, and she shared a deep bond with him. The Guardian Goddess Su Nv had been forged from her.
Yet no matter how one sliced it, she had no business showing up here right now!
And then there was her cultivation.
Lu Yang's eyes widened. Inside the Immortal Alliance headquarters, Yu Suzhen's aura surged with majestic grandeur—she was actually a Dao Merging Great Cultivator of the Biyang Cultivation World!
What kind of level was that?
The Biyang Cultivation World had been passed down from the Innate True Person. It eschewed ranks and focused solely on refining true qi. Though Dao Merging Great Cultivators were theoretically at the pinnacle of Qi Refining, their true qi was potent enough to rival second-grade true qi. With the aid of the [Imperial Mansion Golden Seal Tushita True Edict], they could even feign Foundation Establishment!
If Yu Suzhen had reached this realm, Lu Yang could wrap his head around it.
After all, in one of his previous lives, he had paved the way for her to become the "Child of Destiny," and her performance during that time had left even him in awe.
A living superhuman.
But no matter how superhuman she was, Yu Suzhen absolutely should not be here at this moment, nor should she possess cultivation at the peak of Qi Refining!
Because it had only been three years.
Just three years since his rebirth. To go from an ordinary outer sect disciple to a Dao Merging Great Cultivator at the pinnacle of Qi Refining in such a short span?
Utterly unreasonable!
Moments later, Lu Yang watched as Yu Suzhen slipped silently into the vast hall within the Immortal Alliance headquarters where the [Imperial Mansion Golden Seal Tushita True Edict] was stored.
"This should be the place."
Her expression was tense, yet laced with barely concealed excitement. With a flick of her slender hand, she produced a banner from her scented pouch that Lu Yang recognized all too well.
The [Ten Thousand Spirits Banner]!
'Had she gotten her hands on the inheritance of the Innate True Person from Liu Xin? Makes sense— in that previous life, she had forced Liu Xin to his death through sheer grit.'
Enlightenment dawned on Lu Yang. He now understood why Yu Suzhen had come to the Biyang Cultivation World. But even so, he couldn't explain her cultivation breakthrough. Three years to Qi Refining perfection? That was absurdly fast—even he couldn't cultivate that quickly starting from scratch now.
"Fellow Daoist? What's wrong?"
Seeing Lu Yang suddenly bow his head in silence, Hong Ju, who was traveling with him, shot him a puzzled look. He glanced toward Yu Suzhen in the hall.
Out of habit, he pinched his fingers to divine.
But Hong Ju's expression turned strange. He couldn't calculate anything— the woman carried a supreme treasure that concealed heavenly secrets.
'What secrets does this woman hold?'
'Wait... that banner. The Innate True Person?'
Exercising caution, Hong Ju made no move. He simply stood quietly in the hall alongside Lu Yang, watching as Yu Suzhen gripped the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner, forming hand seals and chanting incantations.
After all, one was mid-Foundation Establishment, the other at the peak. Even if Yu Suzhen was at Qi Refining perfection and could feign Foundation Establishment, the gap was too vast. The two needed only to restrain their auras and stand there, and she wouldn't even notice them.
"Innate Primal Qi, seal and command the myriad spirits!"
Yu Suzhen channeled her full might of mana, shaking the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner vigorously. The flag unfurled, manifesting a vast illusory space.
This space merged seamlessly with the [Imperial Mansion Golden Seal Tushita True Edict].
In that instant, the [Imperial Mansion Golden Seal Tushita True Edict] erupted in boundless radiant light, from which a hazy figure emerged.
'The Innate Dao Tribulation!?'
Seeing this, Lu Yang recalled the intelligence he'd gathered after transcending the Innate Dao Tribulation in his previous life. He finally understood what Yu Suzhen was doing.
'This is a contingency left by the Innate True Person. Use the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner to summon the Innate Dao Tribulation, then leverage the banner's absolute control to subdue it. Extract the metallic essence from its body to cultivate the first-grade true art he devised. A flawless, interlocking scheme.'
At that thought, Lu Yang's pupils contracted sharply!
By his reckoning, Yu Suzhen's meteoric rise to Qi Refining perfection in three years—not to mention crossing vast oceans to reach the Biyang Cultivation World—had to have a patron behind it.
He just hadn't known who.
But now he did: if he couldn't guess, it had to be Aoxiao!
'And crucially, I remember the Innate True Person proved the [Eternal Flowing Water] fruit position when seeking metal, only to perish due to the [Chen Earth] issue!' In the previous life, Chongguang's metal-seeking had failed, and the Dao Tribulation was refined into a clone by Aoxiao, granting him an invincible avatar that roamed freely under True Lord level, elevating his grip on the present world by leaps and bounds. But now, Chongguang hadn't even begun seeking metal.
Thus, the Chongguang Dao Tribulation was nowhere to be found.
'In the past, Aoxiao might not have cared. His grand momentum was set, lurking in the shadows with sufficient control over the world.'
'But not this life!'
'This life, he encountered me—a "fellow Daoist" in his eyes, another shadow operator of unknown true identity!'
Under these circumstances, how could Aoxiao sit idle?
Undoubtedly, he desperately needed an avatar to act on his behalf across the world. And in this era, the Innate Dao Tribulation was the perfect material!
Yet the Innate Dao Tribulation was sealed by the Innate True Person's dying invocation of the [Eternal Flowing Water] fruit position. Only by stirring heavenly killing intent and karmic pull could it be freed—a trifle for Aoxiao, but the commotion would be immense.
Aoxiao didn't want to expose himself.
'So he spent three years nudging karma, accelerating Yu Suzhen's growth, all to harvest the Innate True Person's Dao Tribulation now!'
Yu Suzhen was Aoxiao's pawn!
The moment clarity struck, Lu Yang acted.
"Edict for Mountains and Moving Mountains Orthodox Art!"
He formed the seal, chanted the incantation, pointed with mystic finger—three steps in one fluid motion—striking Yu Suzhen's brow just as she whipped her head around.
In the next second, Lu Yang had suppressed all her mana outright, even disrupting the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner mid-summon of the Innate Dao Tribulation.
"...Ah?"
At that instant, not only the suppressed Yu Suzhen, but even the decisive Lu Yang froze in place. Clearly, he hadn't expected to succeed.
Aoxiao couldn't see this place?
Truth be told, at this juncture, Lu Yang had assumed Aoxiao was watching Yu Suzhen constantly. His strike was a probe to gauge the response.
Yet he had pulled it off.
Was Aoxiao absent, or simply unwilling to show?
In a flash, Lu Yang's mind raced, forming a hypothesis: 'Could it be... True Lord Clear and Pure Flying Snow has been watching this place all along?'
That was the only explanation.
Earlier, Lu Yang had linked up with Chongguang, plotting to slay Hong Yun in the Biyang Cultivation World. Given Chongguang's caution, he must have invited a True Lord to oversee.
Lu Yang had thought that with Hong Yun absent and only Hong Ju arriving, True Lord Clear and Pure Flying Snow would lose interest and leave. But now it seemed the True Lord had never averted his gaze—tracking him the whole time—which was why Aoxiao dared not act!
'Perfect! This is my chance!'
Elation surged in Lu Yang. Turning to the suppressed Yu Suzhen, he intended to uncover just how many contingency measures Aoxiao had planted on his Senior Sister Yu.
'Pity [Puppet on Strings] requires my true body to deploy.'
Even feigning Foundation Establishment retained some of its traits. As a "True Person," Lu Yang couldn't soul-search her recklessly.
'Looks like I'll have to tough it out again.'
Those who achieve great things disregard trifles.
Mind made up in an instant, Lu Yang resolved:
Transcend Yu Suzhen!
(End of chapter)