Chapter 395
Chapter 395
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 395
Chapter Title: Take Them All Away!
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How frustrated the Immortal Spirit's upper body must have been—Lu Yang could guess at it somewhat, but he still had no idea of the specifics.
At this moment, he had already withdrawn his gaze. He stopped paying attention to Mu Changsheng in the Law Refining Secret Realm and even decisively severed his connection with the Yun Family Ancestor.
The reason was simple.
*In that instant just now, I actually had the thought of manipulating the Yun Family Ancestor to recruit Mu Changsheng and bring him into the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner.*
That single thought alone was enough for Lu Yang to choose severance.
Call it overthinking or making a mountain out of a molehill—it didn't matter. The pit that was an Innate True Person was simply too vast, far beyond what he could handle right now.
Only a True Lord might have a chance at controlling it.
"What Dao Lord secrets, what Mu Changsheng—they're all illusions! Only my own strength is real. The top priority is still to keep advancing!"
Lu Yang drew a deep breath and sat cross-legged within [Lihen Tian].
He didn't even need to will it—vast quantities of incense fire began converging on him. To his surprise, he then discovered that the incense fire was even more abundant than he had imagined!
*Right—after all, the White Lotus Cult worshipped not only the [Unborn Mother] but also so many Divine Lords and Divine Venerables, diverting huge amounts of incense fire. Now that I've slain them all and concentrated it, a rough estimate suggests... I can probably support two more at Foundation Establishment perfection!*
This was an unexpected windfall.
With the White Lotus Cult's incense foundation as a baseline, the comparable City God system and the imperial ancestral temple's reserves were sure to be no slouch either.
In other words:
*In truth, I just need to repeat the process and strip away the incense roots of the other two powers in Seven Luminaries Heaven, and I'll have nine at Foundation Establishment perfection.*
At this thought, Lu Yang's expression gradually grew calm.
*But this is too slow.*
The White Lotus Cult was the smallest of the three powers, yet stripping its roots had still cost him ten years—not to mention the other two.
*Uncle Chongguang's Great Contention Era spanned only a single cycle of sixty years. Once that time elapses and the True Lords return, what use will fake-holding a golden seat be to me?*
He could only maximize his gains by fake-holding the golden seat before the True Lords returned!
And he still had to plan for his next life.
The incense fire God Dao was entirely built upon Seven Luminaries Heaven's merit positions. But if he reopened the world and left Seven Luminaries Heaven behind, could these banner spirits still generate incense fire?
If not, wouldn't all his efforts be for naught?
With this realization, a far bolder idea suddenly leaped into Lu Yang's mind: *Perhaps... there's another way to solve all these problems.*
Seven Luminaries Heaven, Central State's Heavenly Capital City.
This was the heart of all Central State, the center of the City God system, and the site of the imperial ancestral temple. At this moment, two consciousnesses awakened in succession.
"The Unborn One just... vanished for an instant."
Of the two consciousnesses, one was naturally the sovereign lord of the All-Under-Heaven City Gods: the Capital City God Wu Ning, whose incense registry read [Heaven-Contemplating, Nation-Supervising, People-Serving, Fortune-Elevating Bright Spirit King].
The other was the Great Yan Court's Taizu, enshrined in the imperial ancestral temple.
Yan Taizu, the Capital City God, and the Unborn Mother—these three incense great gods at Foundation Establishment perfection had single-handedly shaped Seven Luminaries Heaven's current landscape.
They thus paid the closest attention to one another. A probe of their divine senses at this moment immediately detected the shifts in the world's incense fire. Yet the more they probed, the more alarmed they became, for they discovered that every strand of incense fire once belonging to the White Lotus Cult had, without exception, changed its object of faith.
"What's going on here?"
Doubt stirred in Yan Taizu's heart, along with a thread of unease. After all, incense great gods like him prized stability above all and abhorred variables.
"Something's wrong!"
The Capital City God wore an equally grave expression. His gaze traced the incense trails and soon locked onto a figure seated at the heart of the cloud sea, devouring the incense fire.
Who was that?
It was a handsome young Daoist, wreathed in endless incense fire. He merely sat there, yet he stole the color from all things.
Wherever one's gaze fell, it seemed not a man but a boundless vista of suns, moons, mountains, and rivers—seizing the entire field of vision without effort. More crucially, the incense fire coiling around him was vast beyond imagining! The entire White Lotus Cult's worth had gathered upon him!
"He's mad!"
The Capital City God spoke first. Incense power contained countless stray thoughts—the more one used, the greater the assault on one's own mind. It had to be dispersed.
Else, why create the City God system?
If there were no such drawback, why not demand the faith of all under heaven for himself alone as Capital City God, instead of enfeoffing so many City Gods to share the incense?
Yet the man before them disregarded the incense's impact entirely!
Why?
"No..."
On the other side, Yan Taizu spotted the anomaly: "That Daoist... he's not alone. Inside his body? It looks like someone's helping him!"
At those words, the Capital City God's heart stirred. He gathered incense fire into his eyes and unleashed his full divine ability toward [Lihen Tian]. Only then did the scene within clarify: amid layered peaks sat three figures cross-legged—they were the true recipients of the White Lotus Cult's incense.
Listening幽 Patriarch, Banner Spirit Unborn Mother, Long Yue.
At this sight, Yan Taizu and the Capital City God paled—especially Yan Taizu, who couldn't suppress a grim declaration:
"Outrageous!"
On the other side, the Capital City God furrowed his brow as well: "What is he playing at?"
How could an incense great god empower others personally?
Did he not fear betrayal from the incense great gods he himself raised?
And what use was rearing so many besides? They could never truly clash—any battle would inevitably engulf the populace and end in mutual ruin.
What point was there, save robbing one another of incense?
"Hoo..."
Meanwhile, Lu Yang—who had remolded [Lihen Tian] back into human form—exhaled a long breath of turbid qi, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
*Success or failure rides on this one throw.*
Up to now, Lu Yang had always seen himself as nothing more than an ordinary man.
He had some talent, but not enough.
Some resolve, but he still knew fear.
Some skill, but far from sufficient.
*Uncle Chongguang said one must rely on oneself—but I've always felt human strength has its limits.*
Ten lifetimes of cultivation, and this one had taught him that most deeply.
Scheme after scheme, he had lost his Immortal Spirit body, nearly died of fright from the World Venerable, and in the end been forced to abandon his home. Every step had left him no choice.
He'd had plans, only to be forced to scrap them.
He'd had goals, only to be forced to abandon them.
Sure, blowing up the fish felt great in the moment—but it was ultimately avoidance. Afterward came only emptiness and disorientation, without a shred of fulfillment. And besides, he had changed nothing.
He was still that wretch calculated to death by the heavens and earth, targeted by the World Venerable's descended Buddha-son, forced at last to flee his homeland in狼狈 disgrace—a stray dog without a home!
That thought hardened Lu Yang's resolve.
*...I'll stake it all!*
He would refine the entire Seven Luminaries Heaven into his Ten Thousand Spirits Banner!
Not just the mortals' incense fire—he wanted the incense God Dao's very source, the embryonic merit positions of Seven Luminaries Heaven too!
Take it all—pack it up and carry it away!
(End of chapter)