Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Shen Gold Changes Hands
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Lu Yang admitted to himself that he had indeed panicked for that fleeting instant.
But he quickly calmed down. His immortal spirit true body hadn't been seized yet, which meant there was still room to turn things around.
‘My true body probably hasn't been exposed.’
‘This strand of Shen Gold qi is most likely the problem—probably bait deliberately laid to lure me out. What a godforsaken place.’
With that thought, Lu Yang let out an involuntary sigh.
He then reached out and took True Person Qi He's storage bag, activating it with the method Chen Xin'an had provided before sweeping it with his divine sense.
The result shattered all his illusions in an instant.
At the very bottom of the storage bag sat a clump of yellow mist. It conveyed a sense of boundless vastness, yet resembled a lump of dull, stubborn metal sorely in need of refinement.
Earth Fiend [Shen Gold]!
"Shen governs the land of longevity for water and earth. Though it is gold qi, it incorporates the intents of water and earth—tempered by fire, it forms swords and halberds; quenched in water, it gains a gleaming edge. If weighed down by earth, it lies buried in heaps."
Lu Yang sighed. He had sent his clone to the Ten Thousand Men Pit solely to track down the Shen Gold qi, observe how things unfolded, and decide whether to fish in troubled waters for it. But after this back-and-forth, the Shen Gold qi had landed right in his hands, leaving him in an awkward spot instead.
‘I got the item.’
‘But how do I get it to my true body? The risk is way too high. I hand it over one moment, and the next, someone shows up at my door to wipe me out and start over.’
So, who exactly was pulling the strings behind all this?
Lu Yang knew that revealing his desire for the Shen Gold qi through Hong Ju carried risks—it made him an easy target.
The problem was this wretched place. He couldn't just hole up!
Without taking risks, he couldn't accumulate enough luck to sense the Shen Gold qi in the first place. He had steeled himself for that during the trade.
‘Right now, at least two True Lords have their eyes on me!’
‘Soaring Empyrean, Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord—and Hong Yun's probably watching too, though he doesn't matter. The real threats are Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord and Soaring Empyrean.’
The memory of [Soaring Empyrean] shadowing him silently that day was still fresh. Flying Snow True Lord might not specialize in such arts, but her realm was so lofty that it made no difference to him. Monitoring him without detection would be child's play for her.
‘That said, there's another possibility.’
Jiangnan, Hidden Sword Villa.
Lu Yang's immortal spirit true body looked up, cradling the [Calamity Wave]. Under the wondrous enhancement of [Illumination], he gazed at the sky, a trace of solemnity in his eyes.
It was a sensation that had lingered ever since he became an immortal spirit, impossible to shake.
‘Feels a bit like heavenly killing intent.’
But unlike heavenly killing intent, this qi machine felt far more benevolent. With a single thought, the world's spiritual energy would surge into his body of its own accord.
‘...Heaven's favor?’
Lu Yang knew full well that while his immortal spirit true body could fool anyone—even True Lords—it could never deceive the heavens and earth that had birthed him.
‘It's possible this strand of [Shen Gold] is the heavens lending him a hand.’
"After all, as an immortal spirit now, I'm basically heaven's favorite son."
‘Whether it's a True Lord or the heavens themselves, though, this feels too rushed. They could have made it subtle, seamless—without me noticing anything amiss.’
If it were him in their shoes, he certainly wouldn't make it so obvious. He'd set up layer upon layer of trials, force him to exhaust every ounce of effort before quietly obtaining the [Shen Gold], let him believe he'd fooled everyone—then strike with a shameless ambush.
‘Making it this blatant only puts me on guard. Why?’
As he pondered, Lu Yang continued sifting through True Person Qi He's memories. His expression suddenly shifted. His brows furrowed tight, and his face darkened ominously.
“.Well played, Qi He!”
Lu Yang hadn't asked about the reason for his betrayal of the Primal Saint Sect earlier, assuming he'd defected to Jiangnan. But he'd still underestimated the depravity of a Primal Saint Sect True Person.
This man hadn't just betrayed the sect—he'd betrayed the entire world, throwing in his lot with the [Profound Spirit Realm]!
The reason was simple: longevity.
‘In the [Profound Spirit Realm], a cultivator's lifespan is worlds apart from that of a Foundation Establishment True Person. There's no [Tortoise Wind] eroding the soul, no harsh caps on life.’
Even the weakest ghost immortal enjoyed a millennium of life!
Those god immortals who claimed a nation's incense offerings lived over ten thousand years—not to mention the human immortals, earth immortals, and even loftier celestial immortals beyond.
Of course, that didn't mean cultivators in the [Profound Spirit Realm] could rest easy.
‘There, once you achieve immortality, you face the [Dao Assimilation Tribulation]. From ghost and god to human, earth, and heaven—the higher your cultivation, the more readily the heavens and earth assimilate you.’
‘Long life or not, most ghost immortals don't last three centuries. God immortals succumb after a millennium, human immortals perhaps two millennia, earth immortals three, and celestial immortals ten thousand—it's just another flavor of [Tortoise Wind], albeit less brutal.’
Flaws aside, it was a massive temptation for True Person Qi He.
Especially since he was already on death's door.
In the twilight of his second life, he'd only just broken through to mid-Foundation Establishment. Reincarnating for a third carried huge risks—one misstep, and he might never return.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. It was par for the course.
Primal Saint Sect True Persons had always put profit first, self above all. If the gains were several times the cost, they'd brave any peril.
And this strand of [Shen Gold] was his calling card—a single heavenly gang earthly sha, an absolute boon to the [Profound Spirit Realm]'s divinities.
‘No wonder!’
In a flash, Lu Yang understood: ‘That's why they handed the [Shen Gold] to me so urgently—because they were about to lose it!’
On top of that, the [Shen Gold] itself was tainted.
From Qi He's memories, Lu Yang learned he'd used a secret art to plant a mark on the [Shen Gold], allowing the [Profound Spirit Realm] to sense it.
At that revelation, Lu Yang seethed with rage: ‘A realm traitor no less! And the marking art came straight from the [Profound Spirit Realm]—designed for tracking and tagging. It has the casting method, but no way to dispel it. This [Shen Gold] is nothing but a hot potato now!’
Profound Spirit Realm.
As a grand realm-heaven, its structure was extraordinarily unique, divided into upper and lower layers. Below lay over a hundred mortal realms; above towered the Heavenly Court.
Those hundred-plus mortal realms collectively upheld the Heavenly Court. When a cultivator reached the immortal threshold, they could ascend to the Heavenly Court, become a ghost immortal, and serve as heavenly soldiers or generals. Accumulate enough merits, earn a seal and a nation, bask in incense offerings, and ascend to god immortal.
At the heart of the Heavenly Court stood Lingxiao Hall.
This palace occupied the court's pinnacle, the supreme sovereign's abode. During the sovereign's seclusion, three immortal officials presided, overseeing all Heavenly Court affairs.
And at this moment, within Lingxiao Hall.
Upon the towering throne sat a man in resplendent robes, eyes closed in contemplation. Abruptly, he opened them, a flicker of surprise in their depths.
“[Shen Gold]... has changed hands?”