Chapter 424
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Empyrean Cliff
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Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, Empyrean Cliff.
This was the highest peak in all of Jiangnan. Gazing upward revealed the sun, moon, and stars; peering downward showed mountains, rivers, and lands. At eye level stretched a magnificent vista of rolling clouds.
Lu Yang rode his beam of escaping light straight to the cliff's summit. At first glance, he spotted Perfected Being Demon-Quelling seated at the precipice's edge. Though he displayed not a trace of mana, he still eclipsed all the splendor between heaven and earth. The winds and clouds around him gathered spontaneously, clustering at his side.
'What immense destiny.'
By now, the destiny of the world's foremost sword cultivator had grown so vast that even the naked eyes of those below Foundation Establishment could perceive it with ease.
"Have you succeeded?"
In the next instant, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's voice drifted over faintly.
Lu Yang dared not dally.
"Thanks to Master's guidance, this disciple has received the Sword Art."
"What is it called?"
Lu Yang held nothing back.
"《Sword Art of Rigidly Forging the Dao Feather into Nirvana》."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling nodded in approval. Only then did he turn to regard Lu Yang, his expression still appraising the newcomer like a field of premium leeks or some priceless rarity.
"Master, I have urgent matters to report!"
Lu Yang cupped his hands.
His words tumbled out in a rush.
"This disciple has mastered the Sword Art. My Sword Intent has advanced yet another level, making my perception of vital energies exceptionally acute. I vaguely sensed a familiar aura of Buddhist cultivation from the direction of the Piercing Earth Abyss. I fear it stems from the Pure Land. Pray, Master, discern the truth."
He did not spell out the full truth.
After all, even denunciations required proper technique. And what standing did he, a mere mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, have to accuse Perfected Being Chexie and Buddha Son Guangming outright?
'Better to let Demon-Quelling handle the investigation himself.'
Through the Yun family ancestor, Lu Yang had confirmed that both Perfected Being Chexie and Buddha Son Guangming remained within the Piercing Earth Abyss. Demon-Quelling need only look, and the evidence would damn them.
Yet Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's reply caught him utterly off guard.
"Oh."
He betrayed no surprise at Lu Yang's report. Instead, he simply shook his head.
"My days are numbered. Let them do as they will."
Let them do as they will?
Lu Yang's gaze flickered.
Compared to decades prior, Demon-Quelling now meddled in far fewer affairs. He simply held vigil upon Empyrean Cliff.
In days past, attendants dispatched by the Ye family had always accompanied him. Yet now, upon Lu Yang's arrival, the vast cliff summit stood empty save for Demon-Quelling alone. His robes whipped in the wind, a solitary figure in plain, unadorned garb—hardly the image of a direct disciple from a Golden Core sword clan like the Ye family.
'This won't do!'
Alarm stirred in Lu Yang's heart. As he knew, this plot involved True Lord Soaring Empyrean and Buddha Son Guangming scheming in tandem, wielding Perfected Being Chexie against Demon-Quelling.
Why tip him off?
Petty vengeance was secondary. As a proper Saint Sect cultivator, Lu Yang never stirred without profit. Why harm others to no gain?
'Without my report, Demon-Quelling stays unprepared. Without preparation, how do they clash to the death? Without their deathmatch, how do I profit as the mantis stalks the cicada? Demon-Quelling's metal essence—the metal essence of the world's top sword cultivator. If I claim it, that's pure windfall!'
The thought solidified. Lu Yang spoke at once.
He even mustered a fearful look mid-sentence.
"Master, those Pure Land Buddhist cultivators trespassed into our Sword Pavilion without leave. This disciple fears for Master's and my own safety..."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling glanced at him, then shook his head.
"Fear not."
"That Buddhist cultivator targets me alone—mere schemes against my person. It's nothing unusual. These days, who under heaven does not covet my downfall?"
Evidently, he had grown inured to it.
Lu Yang grasped the unspoken meaning as well.
Indeed, Demon-Quelling was the world's common foe.
For he was number one.
Not some flattery-fueled title propped up by the masses, but the genuine article—a yawning chasm above the runner-up, the irrefutable paramount!
'Such intimidation rivals even True Lords in this era, though not quite matching them. My slaying of Tian Qiu overseas and routing of Buddha Son Guangming's avatar in direct combat? Far cries from this cheap master's renown. Number one in the world—the pinnacle invites the grave!'
Lu Yang deemed his own infamy respectable enough.
Yet what of it? Xiang Ye still summoned him to the Saint Sect, respectful of his power yet secure in his own footing—not truly afraid.
But swap in Demon-Quelling?
Would Xiang Ye dare bid him enter Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea? Likely the entire sea would seal itself before he drew near!
'Even Sword Pavilion itself...'
Lu Yang shook his head inwardly.
Yes—even Sword Pavilion warily eyed Demon-Quelling. His ways stood too aberrant amid their ranks!
Small wonder he shrugged off collusion with the Pure Land. It was par for the course! In his eyes, their waiting until his end neared smacked of excessive timidity.
As Lu Yang mulled this, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling spoke abruptly.
"Yan Xiao."
"This disciple is present."
Lu Yang raised his head in answer. Demon-Quelling stared back, eyes alight as if on the verge of words—then abruptly furrowed his brow.
"...Who?"
His gaze shifted, peering afar beyond Sword Pavilion bounds. Moments passed before Lu Yang's divine sense faintly registered a hubbub.
The next instant, a figure streaked in on escaping light, alighting upon the cliff. It was Ye family head Ye Shaoying, tension etched on his face. No sooner had he landed than he eyed Demon-Quelling and murmured.
"Outside Sword Pavilion... a few foolhardy loose cultivators have arrived."
"Loose cultivators?"
Lu Yang blinked in disbelief. Since when were Jiangnan's independents so bold? Approaching Sword Pavilion courted annihilation.
Even Perfected Being Demon-Quelling arched a brow.
"Loose cultivators... what brings them here?"
"They seek you."
Ye Shaoying stole a cautious glance at Demon-Quelling before rushing on.
"Their leader is Jimo City's lord, Mo Shiyuan."
Demon-Quelling's brow creased at once.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang divined a quick hexagram in secret, unraveling the matter swiftly.
Mo Shiyuan: lord of Jiangnan independent sect Jimo City. Generations of his line had refined talismans for Sword Pavilion, supplying sundry cultivation provisions.
More crucially, history bound him to Demon-Quelling.
It harked back to the Pure Land's prior Buddha Maiden, Jing Guan. She had ventured into Jiangnan to preach, only for Demon-Quelling to behead her with three strokes.
Their clash arose because that era's Jimo City saw Jing Guan flout the will of its cultivators and folk alike, enforcing conversions by fiat. This drew Demon-Quelling's wrath in battle, dooming Jimo City—save for one survivor.
Mo Shiyuan.
Had Demon-Quelling not intervened, Mo Shiyuan's kin would have perished wholesale. Vengeance? A pipe dream for life. Nay, he'd likely have joined the Pure Land as a Buddhist drone.
Thus did Demon-Quelling hold his great debt.
"...Let's meet them."
Subtle change flickered in Demon-Quelling's eyes, swiftly yielding to composure. He beckoned Lu Yang to follow, then soared off on escaping light toward Sword Pavilion's gates.
Meanwhile, deep in Piercing Earth Abyss.
Perfected Being Chexie and Buddha Son Guangming sat across from one another. A chessboard lay between, its black and white forces entangled in deadlock.
"Pa!"
Perfected Being Chexie slammed a black stone into a pivotal corner, clinching dominance in an instant. His tone stayed even.
"The show... begins."