Chapter 455
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: The First Failure in Seeking Gold
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The time of falsely holding the golden position had finally come to an end.
However, before it ended, Lu Yang still relied on his True Lord-level status to enclose the entire area around the Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace with a third-grade array.
He used the array from Hong Yun.
[Seven Luminaries World-Stabilizing True Preservation Grand Array]
"With this grand array in place, and the Ancestor Master protecting me, unless a True Lord descends in person, at least I won't have to worry about anyone disturbing me while seeking gold."
This was already the limit of what Lu Yang could achieve.
And if a True Lord burned their cavern heaven to descend, or a Dao Lord intervened, just to stop him from seeking gold—then it would be his bad luck. Worst case, this attempt would be a bust.
With that thought, Lu Yang wasted no time. He sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative trance. Yet when he truly reached that final step, a surge of intense fear and trepidation still rose uncontrollably in his heart. All the previous scenes flashed one by one before his eyes.
Chong Guang, Suo Huan, Xiang Ye.
"Seeking gold and failing means certain death. Uncle-Master Chong Guang got off relatively easy. Xiang Ye was the truly unlucky one—died from seeking gold failure without even making a splash."
Oh, right—Suo Huan too.
He had obtained the power of [Long Flowing Water]. His mission in this life was complete. He was currently resting inside the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner. The next life would be his opportunity.
"...Right. What do I even have to fear?"
It was just trial and error!
Others only got one shot at seeking gold, but he had dozens of chances. If he still couldn't succeed like this, then no one in the world could possibly attain True Lord!
Lu Yang steadied his mind and breath. With a single slash of his wisdom sword, he severed all stray thoughts. Then he furrowed his brow, and a palm-sized stone block flowing with golden radiance appeared before him. It was none other than the blessed land condensed by the Immortal Spirit Upper Chapter before its death: [Heavenly Grace and Earthly Favor Geng Metal Blessed Land]!
After all, this time he was seeking [Pomegranate Wood].
His other blessed land, [Xuan Du Blessed Land], was his core foundation of the Dao. He couldn't afford to damage it. The Immortal Spirit Upper Chapter's blessed land? He didn't care if that one broke.
"Begin!"
In that instant, Lu Yang circulated the Heaven Mending True Scripture and began drawing directly from heaven and earth. He used "transcending heaven and earth" as the ritual to draw the fruit position's attention.
Rumble!
At that moment, Lu Yang felt his consciousness rising upward. It soon reached the Foundation Establishment realm, then continued climbing higher.
Blessed land ascension!
Lu Yang's eyes blurred slightly. His vision swept past two scenes—like two sides of the same object, opposing each other yet complementary.
One scene was what he had once seen with [Xuan Du Blessed Land]: a world like a honeycomb, every fruit position a hole that had riddled the world like a sieve. The other was from Chong Guang's memories: the boundless bitter sea that encompassed all of heaven and earth.
"The bitter sea knows no bounds; fruit positions are the boats."
Which of the two scenes was real, and which false? Or... were both real, simply appearing utterly different due to the angle?
Lu Yang pondered in his heart, but the blessed land ascension showed no sign of stopping.
"Immortal spirits... do have their advantages."
From Chong Guang's memories, the blessed land ascension step consumed an enormous amount of power. Chong Guang had burned his entire [Celebration Nation] just to complete the process.
But for Lu Yang, it wasn't so troublesome.
"Because I'm an immortal spirit now?"
"It feels like heaven and earth aren't just failing to stop me—they're actively pushing me along. It's saving me a massive amount of mana. Way easier than what Chong Guang went through."
This puzzled Lu Yang. After all, he wasn't the Immortal Spirit Upper Chapter cultivated by the Heavenly Duke. By rights, he should be at odds with the Heavenly Duke. Yet heaven and earth were supporting him. Could it be that in the Heavenly Duke's eyes, it didn't matter who the immortal spirit was? It just needed one to attain a fruit position?
"No... impossible!"
If that were the case, the Heavenly Duke never would have targeted him in the first place. It could have simply cultivated another Immortal Spirit Upper Chapter. Clearly, it placed great importance on the immortal spirit's identity.
"Unless..."
Lu Yang glanced around, suddenly feeling a chill: "...Unless what's pushing me forward right now isn't the Heavenly Duke at all—but some Dao Lord!"
Lu Yang hadn't forgotten.
Just like the many tribulations that plagued Foundation Establishment real persons—internally contradictory in logic—what the Heavenly Duke could accomplish, a Dao Lord could as well!
"Who?"
The Pure Land World Venerable? Unlikely. A World Venerable's intervention came with great fanfare. This subtle, silent nudge felt more like the handiwork of the Primal Saint Sect's Ancestor Master.
"Better not overthink it."
Lu Yang shook his head inwardly. Regardless, "heaven and earth" were supporting him right now, and he couldn't change that. He might as well relax and enjoy the ride.
With the path ahead clear and unobstructed, Lu Yang soon arrived before [Pomegranate Wood]. He finally appreciated this heaven-earth fruit position up close. At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than a hazy glimmer. But upon closer inspection, it was like a vast, boundless ocean.
"So-called attaining a fruit position means merging oneself with it."
The blessed land enters the fruit position. The qi aligns. It sheds its form and becomes a cavern heaven... Yet this qi alignment, simple as it sounds, was harder than ascending to the heavens.
Because the fruit position's qi was in constant flux.
Like the bitter sea before his eyes—surging waves, rising and falling without end. The qi was the waves upon that sea. Only at the wave's absolute crest could alignment occur.
Otherwise, it would smash you right back down.
"Uncle-Master Chong Guang made it to this step back then. But because of the [Chen Soil] issue, his qi couldn't align with the fruit position. He failed and perished."
In that moment, more scenes reappeared in the depths of Lu Yang's eyes.
These scenes varied, each depicting his actions upon entering the fruit position—his process of aligning with its qi. Every one seemed to succeed.
Two of the light-shadows showed him proceeding most smoothly. Lu Yang knew full well those were paths he had derived by referencing the memories of [Hong Yun] and [Zheng De]. Predecessors had planted the trees; he reaped the shade. All difficulties were laid bare. It looked like there'd be no risks at all.
"No—not right!"
Lu Yang jolted awake in his heart. He pulled back the foot he had nearly stepped forward with. "They weren't seeking [Pomegranate Wood]. How could I just copy their experiences?"
The thought arose, and the two scenes vanished instantly.
"Hiss!"
Lu Yang drew in a sharp breath of cold air as realization dawned. "These aren't illusions spawned by heart demons. They're genuine future visions!"
The process of perusing these future visions was the process of aligning with the fruit position's qi. Whichever future he chose would become reality. But only one led to success... The rest were illusions. Pick wrong, and he would fail and perish on the spot!
"This is testing my Dao attainment."
If his Dao attainment fell short—if he couldn't select the one truly correct path from the multitude of futures—then no matter his talents, he could never attain the Dao fruit!
Lu Yang took a deep breath and pressed onward.
Soon, he settled on one future vision. Its imagery matched his understanding of [Pomegranate Wood] perfectly. No flaws anywhere.
But the instant he locked onto that future—
Lu Yang's divine sense plunged. Once more, he uncontrollably beheld a host of scenes—all visions of his failure, as if to block him from advancing further.
"Retreat? Think again?"
The thought flickered through Lu Yang's mind for an instant before he snuffed it out. Time for blessed land ascension was limited. He couldn't test them one by one.
"These failure scenes are nothing but demonic barriers meant to disturb my mind."
"No—not necessarily all demonic barriers... Because they might be real. Designed to make me doubt myself, to leave me hesitating."
Lu Yang sighed inwardly.
The next second, his gaze hardened with resolve. Ignoring the multitude of barriers, he aligned his qi with the chosen future vision and took a step forward!
Boom!
A thunderous crash rang out. Everything before Lu Yang's eyes shattered—including the [Heavenly Grace and Earthly Favor Geng Metal Blessed Land] he had seized from the Immortal Spirit Upper Chapter.
"...Failed?" Lu Yang remained utterly calm. He wasn't surprised.
"My Dao attainment wasn't enough... No—the Immortal Spirit Upper Chapter's Dao attainment wasn't enough. Right—heaven and earth had directly infused it with divine abilities. What Dao attainment could it possibly have?"
The realization struck Lu Yang like a bolt of insight.
"The final step of seeking gold demands sufficiently profound Dao attainment. This must be some Dao Lord's doing—specifically designed to slay immortal spirits that have grown too strong."
No wonder no immortal spirit had ever succeeded at seeking gold!
Some sly old fox had tampered with the process at its source... Who? It couldn't be the Primal Saint Sect Ancestor Master again, could it? That was downright insidious...
Lu Yang's mind-spirit rapidly dispersed.
Seeking gold had failed. Soul scattered to the winds. Not even reincarnation would be possible. Good thing he had his cheat.
"Book of a Hundred Lives!!!"