Chapter 477
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Ang Xiao's Surprise
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At this moment, Ang Xiao was somewhat surprised.
The current Gantang Path had long been shrouded by his Perception Obstruction, hidden away. In theory, no one should notice this place.
‘This person is actually unaffected by the Perception Obstruction?’
This was understandable, after all. His true body was in the underworld, and casting spells remotely lacked power. If someone was dead set on believing something was wrong with Gantang Path,
it was normal for them to remain unaffected.
But the issue was, in Ang Xiao's perception, the person before him was merely at Foundation Establishment—not even at the peak. That was truly surprising.
‘For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to escape my current Perception Obstruction, they’d need at least a high-grade spiritual treasure specialized in purifying the mind and breaking delusions, and their cultivation couldn’t be too low. Interesting. Who is this person? Could they be an incarnation of some True Lord?’
In an instant, Ang Xiao's thoughts raced.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Yang stored the small piece of Cave Heaven fragment in his bag. Not daring to linger, his figure flashed and vanished from the spot.
“Hm?”
Almost simultaneously, another man with surging sharp aura on Gantang Path suddenly sensed something. He looked remotely toward where Lu Yang had disappeared.
He instantly locked onto Lu Yang's aura, but in the next second, that aura vanished into thin air, as if hidden by someone, preventing further tracking.
Soon after, a vast and majestic force descended from nowhere, manifesting a graceful silhouette.
“Interesting.”
True Lord Limpid Flying Snow scanned her surroundings. Her gaze pierced like torches across the vast Gantang Path. She finally remembered what she had overlooked earlier.
She had forgotten Chongguang!
She had come to Gantang Path with Chongguang before. Amid the great battle, she had fought to her heart's content but left Chongguang behind.
This was clearly abnormal.
Not just him—even the various True Lords of the Sword Pavilion seemed to have forgotten Chongguang existed. They hadn’t even glanced at Gantang Path.
‘So it’s not my issue. The entire Gantang Path has been tampered with. Chongguang was just caught in it because he happened to land here. What divine ability is this? It feels so familiar, like something I saw in the sect’s records before.’
‘But which record exactly... I can’t recall.’
This was undoubtedly problematic. For someone of her cultivation to be affected meant the hidden culprit’s cultivation might surpass hers.
‘Hongyun? Impossible.’
‘Then who?’
True Lord Limpid Flying Snow wanted to investigate further, but a new aura fluctuation from the Sword Pavilion side pulled her attention, preventing her from staying.
“. . . Leave first.”
With those words, True Lord Limpid Flying Snow scooped up Chongguang and vanished instantly. She had gained much from the battle but sustained serious injuries, needing to return for recovery. As for Gantang Path, it was in the Jiangnan region after all—let the Sword Pavilion deal with the headache.
At the same time, in a remote mountain forest.
Lu Yang landed leisurely in the woods with hands behind his back. He first carved out a temporary cave abode, then took out the Cave Heaven fragment inside.
“Thank you for your help, Senior.”
Lu Yang cupped his hands, a sincere smile on his face. Without Ang Xiao's Perception Obstruction to cover him just now, Chongguang would have found him.
The next second, faint light emerged from the Cave Heaven fragment. A figure shrouded entirely in smoke, indistinguishable by gender, age, or appearance, emerged from the glow. Though its aura was extremely faint, every gesture carried the poised grace of one who controlled heavenly secrets.
“Fellow Daoist... your courage is remarkable.”
Ang Xiao looked at Lu Yang, his emotions inscrutable. On the surface, he chuckled lightly.
“How were you so certain I would help conceal your aura?”
This was merely one question from Ang Xiao.
He had another he didn’t voice: How was Lu Yang so sure the Cave Heaven fragment he inhabited hadn’t been utterly destroyed in Gantang Path?
If Lu Yang hadn’t found him, or if he refused to help, Lu Yang would be exposed to Chongguang immediately. Though the outcome was good, the process was a massive gamble. This attitude piqued Ang Xiao’s curiosity—did the other party know him that well?
Facing Ang Xiao's question, Lu Yang merely smiled faintly.
“I have confidence in you, Senior.”
He didn’t believe Ang Xiao’s methods could be so easily destroyed by True Lord Limpid Flying Snow, which was why he dared risk coming to Gantang Path for luck.
Similarly, he trusted Ang Xiao could read the situation.
After all, if Ang Xiao didn’t help, Lu Yang would lose at most an incarnation. But Ang Xiao would be exposed, losing even this last Cave Heaven fragment.
Helping conceal him offered hope to preserve the fragment.
Thus, Ang Xiao would act.
‘After all, this isn’t the first time I’ve coerced him. How could I not understand? This is an old-school Saint Sect True Lord—the purest profit-seeker!’
With that thought, Lu Yang wasted no words. He decisively produced a radiant divine ability. The instant Ang Xiao saw it, surprise flickered in his eyes.
For that divine ability flowed with an aura that should no longer exist in the world!
This divine ability was the 【Root of All Things】 Lu Yang had seized from Hongyun.
Yang Chen Soil!
But after he reversed the yin-yang attributes of Chen Soil, only Yin Chen Soil should remain in the world. Where did this Yang Chen Soil come from?
“. . . Hongyun?”
Ang Xiao's mind whirled, instantly guessing the divine ability’s origin. His Dharma Eye pierced through, discerning Lu Yang’s Dao foundation and background.
“【Heavenly Fire】?”
This time, Ang Xiao was genuinely shocked.
The 【Heavenly Fire】fruit position was vacant—indisputably so. In fact, since ancient times, no one had ever successfully attained 【Heavenly Fire】.
The conditions were too harsh, even stricter than his own 【Great Forest Wood】.
The techniques under its domain were absurdly rare, and the path ahead was severed. Cultivating it offered little return for the effort, leading to gradual extinction over time.
With that, Ang Xiao formed his judgment.
‘This person is no True Lord.’
‘Foundation Establishment... but with a deep foundation and significant backing. Otherwise, impossible to possess a third-grade true technique pointing to 【Heavenly Fire】, let alone succeed in cultivating it.’
Among the five supreme fruit positions, only 【Heavenly River Water】 was in poor condition.
Water element belonged to the ancient true dragon lineage—the only supreme fruit position altered among the five elements. After the heavenly change, it suffered immense damage.
Lu Yang knew this too, gleaned from Tian Qiu’s memories. Without the flaw in the 【Heavenly River Water】intent, affecting all its cultivators, Tian Qiu—as a Foundation Establishment at divine ability completion—shouldn’t have been so weak in battle.
“Young friend, your boldness is impressive.”
Upon discerning Lu Yang’s true cultivation, Ang Xiao shifted tone, from “fellow Daoist” to “young friend,” while scrutinizing him.
“But I wonder, how did you recognize me?”
His Perception Obstruction fooled the world, True Lords included. Yet a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator knew him well?
He was intrigued by the secret behind it.
“You flatter me, Senior.”
Lu Yang smiled lightly, composed.
“This junior recognized you thanks to an elder in the family. It’s not my own ability.”
An elder in the family?
Ang Xiao’s mind flashed through several names. As an old Saint Sect True Lord, his existence traced back tens of thousands of years!
Five thousand years ago, when he struck against Hongyun, he had already feigned death for a long time.
Few in the world had lived longer than him.
Even fewer had seen him and knew his prowess—insufficient cultivation meant even the qualification to remember was lacking. Ruling them out one by one...
“. . . Old Dragon Lord?”
Ang Xiao fell silent for a moment, then abruptly uttered a name.
‘As expected of you!’
Lu Yang praised inwardly. This was the benefit of dealing with the clever—just a subtle hint, and he guessed exactly what was intended!