Chapter 432
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: ?
Chapter Title: The Secret of Heaven-Receiving Hall
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"It's you!?"
Lu Yang was better off staying hidden. The moment he revealed himself, he immediately caught Ye Shaoying's attention. The Ye family head's face abruptly twisted in shock.
After all, as a "scattered cultivator from beyond the heavens," Lu Yang's strength had already earned him a resounding reputation in this era when True Lords had secluded themselves. Even at peak Foundation Establishment, one couldn't claim certain victory, and Ye Shaoying—a late Foundation Establishment great cultivator—could only barely hold off a peak Foundation Establishment expert by relying on formations.
If Lu Yang were outside, he might still have some confidence.
But now, Lu Yang had somehow infiltrated the family grounds! The grand formation meant to block intruders hadn't activated in the slightest!
Unfortunately, the situation left no room for further thought.
"Kill!"
With Lu Yang's command, the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner unfurled. All the banner spirits except for Tingyou Ancestor surged out in full force, instantly unleashing a storm of blood and gore.
After all, banner spirits had no fear of death.
Seeing this, Ye Shaoying's eyes turned bloodshot. If these banner spirits were truly unleashed, the vast Ye family would face utter annihilation!
With a furious roar, Ye Shaoying moved to activate the formation against Lu Yang. But the instant he stirred, a torrent of incense aspiration power rolled out from the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner, like a towering mountain crushing the Ye family's inner and outer formation operations. At the same time, several banner spirits blocked his path.
"Get lost!"
Ye Shaoying slashed out with his sword. Sword light fell upon the banner spirits, but their incense aspiration glow erupted, directly dissolving the attack into nothingness.
In that instant, a terrifying status descended.
"Bang!"
Banner spirit Long Yue, Wusheng Laomu, Yan Taizu, Capital City God—the four incense deities struck simultaneously, nearly popping Ye Shaoying's eyes from their sockets.
"Peak Foundation Establishment... four of them!?"
What kind of joke was this!
Ye Shaoying desperately gathered formation power to bolster himself. Combined with the incense deities' inherent weakness, he barely avoided being smashed to death on the spot.
Even so, the overwhelming gap in power filled him with despair.
Countless countermeasures flashed through his mind, only to be discarded one by one. As for reinforcements... Perfected Being Que Xie? He could barely save himself!
In the end, only one option remained—
"Demon-Quelling... Light Annals!"
With that thought, Ye Shaoying cast aside all emotion, pulling out the jade slip used to contact Perfected Being Demon-Quelling and swiftly imprinting it with his divine sense.
Meanwhile, at the Jiangnan border.
"...A call for aid?"
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling, en route toward Jiangxi, suddenly halted. He took out a jade slip, glanced back, and a trace of sorrow flickered in his eyes.
"Master?"
Lu Yang constantly monitored Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's status via his Sword Dao avatar. Startled, he immediately stepped forward respectfully and asked.
But Perfected Being Demon-Quelling quickly averted his gaze. Perfected Being Que Xie had been right about one thing—he truly was a heartless, cold individual. When Que Xie had asked him earlier which sword intent—[No Kill] or [All Slay]—truly belonged to him, he hadn't answered.
Because the truth might shock everyone.
The sword intent that truly belonged to him was [All Slay]. [No Kill], the intent he'd wielded for nearly his entire life, was merely an external inheritance.
'Perhaps I truly am no virtuous soul.'
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling sighed inwardly. In his view, he had simply grown accustomed to [No Kill] after using it for so long.
"No matter."
Regaining his composure, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling said flatly. Without pause, he crushed the jade slip in his hand and ignored the changes at Sword Pavilion behind him.
"Phew."
Meanwhile, Lu Yang—who had been tense and ready to flee—breathed a sigh of relief. Excitement soon bubbled up in his heart.
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling was ignoring it!
The outcome was sealed!
With that thought, Lu Yang rode his escape light straight to the heart of the Ye family estate. Perfected Being Xiuxin had already secretly scouted the location of the Ye family treasury for him.
[Heaven-Receiving Hall]!
The moment he stepped into this Ye family treasury, a powerful aura assaulted him. Even with Lu Yang's current cultivation, it felt oppressively heavy.
'Status residue.'
Lu Yang knew full well that this treasury had once been sealed by Heaven-Receiving Orthodox Virtue True Lord's status—a fortress impregnable as gold and iron. Only now, with the True Lords in seclusion and their status power greatly diminished, did he have a chance to enter. Otherwise, it would be suicide.
'This method surpasses even Dragon Palace's.'
Lu Yang wasn't surprised. After all, the true dragon lineage and Sword Pavilion paled in foundation by comparison. Heaven-Receiving Orthodox Virtue True Lord had the advantage of his orthodox lineage.
He stepped into the grand hall.
Soon, a pitch-black, profound gate appeared before him. Etched upon it was a blood-red formation in place of a door knocker.
Lu Yang frowned. 'Try the [Profound Thunder Entering Dao Cloud] again?'
He dismissed the idea the next instant. Leaving aside its overwhelming power—which could easily destroy the entire treasury—this true treasure was no longer obeying his commands.
'[Profound Thunder Entering Dao Cloud] was refined by the [Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord] behind Xiang Ye. With the True Lord in seclusion, its condition is poor.'
One activation had already strained its spirit.
Most of the time, it needed to slumber to preserve itself and avoid excessive wear. It wouldn't strike again just because he wanted to plunder treasures.
'Fortunately, I prepared for this.'
With a thought, Lu Yang tossed out the Ye family True Person he had just sealed, manipulating him with [String Puppet] to approach the treasury gate step by step.
"Whoosh!"
With the bloodline verification of a Ye family direct descendant, the treasury gate swung open, revealing a passage. A smile spread across Lu Yang's face.
But the next second, he froze.
For behind the gate lay no treasury as imagined—no cascade of spiritual lights. Instead, there was a gloomy, dark chamber steeped in deathly silence.
"This is..."
Lu Yang looked up. The chamber's walls were covered in dense, twisted, blurred script, as if eroded by endless ages.
It was a cultivation method.
Titled—Ascending Profound Wonderful Realm Fixed Contemplation Register!
Lu Yang saw through it at a glance. The [Supreme Bright Golden Cup Jade Light] from Hongyun's memories was the same type.
'This is... a method to sense status!'
'Indeed. With Heaven-Receiving Orthodox Virtue True Lord's time running out in this life, how could he fail to leave a contingency for reclaiming his status upon rebirth?'
'Through this method, one can sense [Wall Soil]!'
As Lu Yang pondered, a surge of intense危機 swept over him. Instinctively, he retreated a step and looked again at the dark chamber.
"...Something's wrong."
How could an entire treasury hold only a single cultivation method?
And Heaven-Receiving Orthodox Virtue True Lord's contingency—how could it be just this status-sensing secret art? Even Hongyun had prepared several!
"Thud, thud, thud."
Heavy footsteps emerged from the chamber's shadows, soon entering Lu Yang's view: a sword-wielding youth with lips red as cinnabar and teeth white as jade.
"Hiss!"
In that instant, Lu Yang drew a sharp breath.
Tingyou Ancestor's reaction was even greater—his eyes instantly bloodshot, a roar squeezing through clenched teeth:
"[Zhengde]...!!!"
'Impossible—this isn't the true body!'
'I get it... Just as Hongyun created Hong Ju, Heaven-Receiving Orthodox Virtue True Lord left a similar contingency. This is his response body!'
The next second, Lu Yang's eyes lit up.
For within the sword-wielding youth before him burned a faint yet utterly pure radiance, like flickering flame!
'Metal nature!'
Heaven-Receiving Orthodox Virtue True Lord's metal nature!!!