Chapter 308
Chapter 308
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 308
Chapter Title: When the False Becomes True, the True Becomes False; Where Nothing Exists, Something Arises, and Where Something Exists, Nothing Remains
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Nether Emissary opened its massive maw.
Within its blood basin of a mouth lay a tongue like a river of blood, its sharp fangs and teeth a mound of gleaming white bones. A shrill shriek erupted, as if thousands of阴 souls cried out in unison.
Boom!
In an instant, the great sound was silent. Terrifying divine ability radiance shook Lu Yang's sea of consciousness violently, and rays of golden light immediately shielded his divine sense.
Stubborn Gold Duke!
This innate divine ability was a standard life-preserving technique. Under its enhancement, no axe or halberd could harm him in the slightest—even his sea of consciousness was protected!
Yet the Nether Emissary's power clearly far surpassed Lu Yang's. After all, it had been crafted by Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord, starting at the late Foundation Establishment stage as a great Perfected Being.
Moments later, the golden light from Stubborn Gold Duke shattered amid the Nether Emissary's shriek. The horrific sonic waves rumbled through Lu Yang's sea of consciousness, churning until his sea of consciousness, divine soul, and memories were all shattered into a tangled mess. Only then did the howl cease.
But the very next second—
"Hmm?"
A ray of golden light flashed. Before the Nether Emissary could react, a sword gleam rose from the shattered sea of consciousness and slashed toward it!
"Still alive?"
The Nether Emissary blocked the sword light in stunned disbelief, only to find its dharma body disintegrating inch by inch under the gleam, melting away like ice and snow!
Army Lord of Arms and Armor!
Of course, Lu Yang hadn't entrusted Calamity Wave to his clone, so what he unleashed now was a portion of the wonders from Army Lord of Arms and Armor, symbolizing "革."
革 meant change.
When things reached an extreme, they transformed!
This divine ability could alter the nature of matter—turning metal to iron, iron to mud. Under its influence, the Nether Emissary felt its once-light soul body suddenly grow countless times heavier, its ethereal divine sense gradually taking on a tangible, metallic texture!
"How is this possible?"
The Nether Emissary's eyes widened in utter incomprehension.
"You took my Malicious Yin Howl head-on, your sea of consciousness shattered—how are you still fighting?"
The answer was simple.
‘My clone's sea of consciousness shatters—what does that have to do with my main body? As long as it hasn't been completely soul-scattered, Puppet on Strings keeps it going. I can force it to fight!’
That said, Lu Yang was cursing up a storm in his mind right now.
‘Where's Hong Ju? Where's True Lord Clear Snowfall? Why aren't they acting? Can't they see this massive Nether Emissary invading my sea of consciousness?’
Where are my teammates? Help me out here!
At the same time, the Nether Emissary seemed to peer into Lu Yang's thoughts and sneered.
"Don't hold out hope. No one can help you now."
"The moment I awakened, I unfurled Fertile Cinder Stone. In your sea of consciousness, even a million years might pass, but only a breath will elapse outside. Perhaps someone has already moved to save you—but before they pull you out, this solitude will have broken your mind and made you abandon all thought."
The Nether Emissary expected Lu Yang to show terror.
Instead, it met Lu Yang's gaze, burning with greedy fervor.
‘A divine ability like that exists?’
Lu Yang's heart raced with astonishment. A million years in a single thought—the Nether Emissary's arsenal was clearly tailored for soul assaults after discarding the fleshly body.
Which fruition corresponded to this?
‘Netherworld Mansion!’
The realization made Lu Yang itch with excitement. No cultivator in the current world had ever practiced Netherworld Mansion arts—this was the first he'd encountered!
How had it been cultivated?
‘This monster's magic is peculiar. I didn't notice before, but after clashing and sensing its aura, it feels oddly familiar.’
It resembled an immortal spirit!
‘Damn, could this be an immortal spirit born of Netherworld Mansion qi? Not just Heavenly Gang Earthly Fiends—Netherworld Mansion can spawn immortal spirits too!?’
In a flash, Lu Yang thought of his own golden talent, Natural Immortal Spirit. If Netherworld Mansion could truly birth immortal spirits, didn't that mean he had a shot at Fruition of Emptiness? Nascent Soul Dao Lord... this could be his path to the pinnacle!
But he quickly reined himself in.
‘Not necessarily. This thing is clearly a contingency Soaring Empyrean left in Yu Suzhen's body—not necessarily naturally formed. Netherworld Mansion's situation is still unclear.’
As for the Nether Emissary's threats, he dismissed them entirely.
A breath becoming a million years?
Easy.
With a thought, Lu Yang severed the Puppet on Strings connection. Once that breath passed outside, he reconnected to the clone.
In that instant, the outside world had utterly transformed.
Boom!
Hong Ju had acted.
In truth, the moment the Nether Emissary appeared, Hong Ju had already struck—only for time to be infinitely stretched by the Nether Emissary's divine ability.
But once Lu Yang cut the link, he escaped the divine ability's grasp. The "million years" shrank back to a mere instant. Only after Hong Ju cast his spell, yanking the Nether Emissary from the clone's sea of consciousness, did Lu Yang reclaim control.
Through this maneuver, the clone had tanked all the damage.
Lu Yang's main body remained unscathed!
At the same time, the lurking Soaring Empyrean witnessed the shift but seemed listless. ‘Looks like our friend isn't making a move?’
The Nether Emissary hadn't died.
That meant the shadowy ally had chosen to stand down, willing to yield the innate Dao fiend rather than reveal themselves.
If Lu Yang could hear Soaring Empyrean's thoughts, he'd be utterly exasperated.
Do I not want to kill the Nether Emissary?
I just can't beat it!
The next second, a vast, boundless force descended—the ever-spectating True Lord Clear Snowfall from overseas had finally intervened.
The Nether Emissary's uniqueness had evidently drawn her in.
Yet Soaring Empyrean remained unconcerned.
The Nether Emissary wasn't truly powerful; it was just molded from a fragment of Netherworld Mansion qi—intimidating in appearance, but worthless in essence.
The real key lay elsewhere.
‘Now, who still remembers the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner?’
Cognitive obstruction!
The Nether Emissary's emergence was bait to draw attention, allowing him to cast cognitive obstruction and conceal the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner.
‘The innate Dao fiend is mine.’
In that moment, all sounds ceased.
An invisible veil expanded, clouding minds and dulling perceptions. No one recalled it—or if they saw, they subconsciously ignored it:
The Ten Thousand Spirits Banner was still drawing in the innate Dao fiend!
Lu Yang had interrupted the process earlier, but it had silently resumed, unnoticed by anyone present amid such an obvious change.
Anyone except Lu Yang.
Cognitive obstruction fell on the clone, making it overlook even what it saw. But Lu Yang, viewing through Puppet on Strings, was unaffected!
Alas, seeing it did him no good—he was powerless to stop it.
"Ten Thousand Spirits Banner!"
Lu Yang tried to shout a warning, but even his voice was veiled. No one responded. He could only watch helplessly.
‘In his past life... he must've taken the Chongguang Dao fiend the same way, right under the True Lords' noses!’
‘Unlike against Foundation Establishment, against True Lords, he can't conjure something from nothing or fabricate perceptions outright. Mostly, it's diversion!’
‘Diverting True Lords' attention!’
‘Past life, a massive battle. This life, that monster—like fishing.’
‘As long as True Lord Clear Snowfall bites on his bait, he uses cognitive obstruction to make her ignore everything else.’
‘Too vicious!’
Lu Yang sighed inwardly in resignation. The innate Dao fiend had been his target—he'd hoped to settle another talent with an innate True Person's golden nature.
Now, it seemed he had to let it go.
But just then—
Crack!
A crisp explosion rang in everyone's ears, shattering an invisible barrier and dispelling the cognitive obstruction!
"Hmm? Who goes there!?"
True Lord Clear Snowfall's voice thundered across the four directions. Her vast divine sense locked onto Soaring Empyrean, who was on the verge of claiming the innate Dao fiend.
By now, the summoning was complete.
Yet as the mastermind, Soaring Empyrean frowned.
Not just because the cognitive obstruction had shattered and True Lord Clear Snowfall had spotted him—but because of the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner now in his grasp.
‘So heavy...!?’
Something was wrong!
The once-ordinary Ten Thousand Spirits Banner, after absorbing the innate Dao fiend, had undergone an unforeseen transformation!
The next instant, a serene voice echoed faintly:
"When the false is made true, truth becomes false; where nothing exists, something arises, and where something exists, nothing remains."
"Mu Changsheng leaves Heaven of Non-existence here, for the benefit of those who follow."
In a flash, even Soaring Empyrean's composure cracked with shock in his eyes. This voice was all too familiar:
‘Innate True Person Mu Changsheng!?’
In that electric moment, Soaring Empyrean understood the banner's weight.
‘This is the weight of fruition!’
Innate True Person Mu Changsheng had spent his later years seeking first-grade true qi and "empty attestation," only to die pursuing Long Flowing Water. Soaring Empyrean had thought him lost to obscurity.
But now—
‘He succeeded back then!?’
(End of chapter)