Chapter 419
Chapter 419
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 419
Chapter Title: The Choice Given to Suo Huan
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Jiangbei, Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.
As a streak of escaping light descended, Xiang Ye, Hong Ju, and Lu Yang landed one after another on Sacred Fire Cliff. Lu Yang took a long-missed look at the Primal Saint Sect's scenery.
As expected, a vibrant scene of flourishing life and thriving growth stretched out before his eyes.
He even spotted an old acquaintance.
'Perfected Being Yin Shan.'
The man remained oblivious to his gaze.
Seeing this, Lu Yang felt a twinge of emotion. Once an unattainable Foundation Establishment Perfected Being, now he seemed utterly ordinary.
'And... an Innate Perfected Being!'
Lu Yang hadn't forgotten the scene he'd glimpsed through the String Puppet. The Innate Perfected Being Mu Changsheng was still locked away in the Law Refining Secret Realm.
This poor soul had been royally screwed over by the Primal Saint Sect's founding ancestor. After all that toil to create the Heaven of Non-existence, he'd thought Golden Core was within reach—only for the crucial soul to be casually flung into the Law Refining Secret Realm by the ancestor's formless hand. Five thousand years wasted, all for naught.
'Hmm, better stay far away from that unlucky bastard.'
Don't let his blood splatter on me.
As Lu Yang pondered, Xiang Ye sized up this "scattered cultivator from beyond the heavens," chuckling inwardly. 'What wandering cultivator from beyond? Total bullshit!'
Did he think he couldn't tell?
'The guy strolls into Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea like he's coming home, and zeroes in on Sacred Fire Cliff right away. If he's not a Primal Saint Sect Perfected Being, I'll eat my hat!'
'He's here to cut ties.'
Xiang Ye stroked his chin. 'But where the hell did the Primal Saint Sect dig up a big shot like this? It's like he popped out of a rock.'
Cultivation was never a solitary affair.
Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Blessed Lands, Golden Nature—which didn't require resources? Which didn't involve dealings with others? Which didn't mean competing and snatching from rivals?
Lineage, allies, enemies. By rights, any cultivator worth their salt had all three. Early or mid Foundation Establishment might fly under the radar, but late-stage or perfected? A grand Perfected Being with some fame across the land?
Impossible for no one to know them.
'I know this guy!'
Xiang Ye prided himself on his seniority—even Chongguang couldn't match him. In the current Primal Saint Sect, probably only Hong Ju had outlived him.
'...Hmm?'
Suddenly, his thoughts stalled.
'I might not recognize him, but Hong Ju's different. Relying on that Heavenly Luck Bright Light True Lord, he's lived at least five thousand years.'
Perfected Foundation Establishment, five reincarnations—barely fifteen hundred years.
By rights, Hong Ju had seen off generations of Primal Saint Sect's perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators. If this really was one returning, how could he not know them at all?
Unless...
'He needs to hide?'
'Who could make him hide?'
Xiang Ye unraveled the threads of logic, and a suspicion leaped out:
'...Hong Yun?'
His first instinct: 'Impossible!'
Hong Yun's legend was common knowledge among Primal Saint Sect Perfected Beings—like the top joke of the year.
So Xiang Ye instinctively dismissed it. But after ruling out other impossibilities, he couldn't help pondering: 'Could it really be Hong Yun? Well, True Lord reincarnation—can't underestimate him.'
Xiang Ye mulled it over inwardly, his face impassive.
"Friend, you've just arrived and fought that Buddhist scion. Why not rest here first, recover, and then we can talk further?"
"My thanks, friend."
Lu Yang cupped his hands. He then entered the cave abode chamber Xiang Ye had arranged for him. With a thought, he summoned the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner once more.
As the banner fluttered, Suo Huan's figure emerged.
"Greetings, my lord."
Suo Huan bowed respectfully, a glint of anticipation in his eyes.
Lu Yang's expression turned solemn. "Regarding the issue on you, friend, I have two solutions. It depends on which you choose."
"Please enlighten me, my lord."
True to his word when he could keep it, Lu Yang always did. Since he'd promised to ferry Suo Huan this lifetime, he'd long prepared methods. Besides, to him now, Suo Huan's problem wasn't hard at all.
Lu Yang held up two fingers. "First method: You abandon the Spirit Ruins Blessed Land. I strip your consciousness, send your soul to reincarnate. Once reincarnation ends and the beyond-heavens traces are washed away, I return your consciousness. Then you can recultivate the Great Dao."
A permanent fix.
With the String Puppet, Lu Yang could lock onto Suo Huan's soul—even after the Underworld's cleansing, he'd sense it swiftly.
Once cleansed by the Underworld, even Soaring Empyrean couldn't touch Suo Huan.
Stripping consciousness carried high failure risk—possible instant death—but Lu Yang could dodge it with Fate Appraisal Lottery.
'Strictly speaking, I could even achieve soul immortality like a True Lord's reincarnation without Golden Nature. If word got out, who knows how many Foundation Establishment Perfected Beings would turn green with envy. Pity—it's meaningless to me with the Book of a Hundred Lives.'
And moreover—
"I'll take the second option."
As Lu Yang expected, Suo Huan discarded the first without hesitation. He couldn't abandon hope for reviving the Huanxu Realm.
Even if flawed.
Lu Yang shook his head. "Second option: Keep the Spirit Ruins Blessed Land, but stop cultivating that Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to Ruins Dao Scripture."
Suo Huan didn't object, only showed worry. "Without the Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to Ruins Dao Scripture, how can this humble one, a mere beyond-heavens cultivator, seek Golden Core?"
"Just switch to another."
With a thought, Lu Yang compiled a cultivation method from his divine sense and handed it over.
True Immortal Supervisory Dao!
"This is..."
"The method corresponding to the Xuanling Realm's position." Lu Yang grinned. "With the True Lords in seclusion, the Xuanling Realm's still sitting there untouched."
By the four great powers' efficiency, the Xuanling Realm should've been fully absorbed by now. But Chongguang pulled a massive stunt, dragging all True Lords away—halting the process. The shell lingered.
Lu Yang's plan was simple.
Ditch the Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to Ruins Dao Scripture—with Soaring Empyrean's backdoor—and have Suo Huan devour the Xuanling Realm to claim Golden Core!
Suo Huan's eyes lit up. "Will it work?"
"...There's hope!" Lu Yang sounded confident, but thought: 'Like hell it will. You're doomed!'
If Suo Huan picked the first, he'd happily oblige. But the second meant staying trapped in Soaring Empyrean's scheme.
No helping that.
After the Seven Luminaries Heaven trip, Lu Yang knew: Sometimes strategic retreat was key. Stay on the enemy's board, and you'd never win.
So when Suo Huan chose the second, Lu Yang wrote him off.
No matter.
By his estimate, reopening with the Book of a Hundred Lives to cleanse Suo Huan's soul and Spirit Ruins Blessed Land should fix it.
Then why offer the second option?
Simple: Without Suo Huan seeking Golden Core, how to lure Soaring Empyrean out?
'Friend Suo Huan, your opportunity's next life anyway. So lending it to me this one? No big deal, right?'
The Underworld, that unspeakable realm.
In the towering hall, Soaring Empyrean sat cross-legged, quietly overlooking the River of Souls flowing past his door—like beholding something sublime.
"Hm?"
He suddenly looked up.
Now, he couldn't see the present world or reach beyond this hall. Yet the feedback from his position furrowed his brow:
"The Knowledge and Perception Barrier on Suo Huan... broken?"
Soaring Empyrean's face darkened. Suo Huan was his key pawn to seize the position and drag into the Underworld—flawless in theory.
Yet it failed. This loss of control grated. Though he'd acted these thirty years, he'd lacked the spark for success...
Then his gaze shifted.
Before the hall door, in the vast River of Souls.
"Amitabha."
A reincarnating Foundation Establishment soul leaped out, radiating Buddhist light, proclaiming loudly: "This monk Guang Ming greets Senior Soaring Empyrean."
(End of chapter)