Chapter 491
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Soaring Empyrean's Defiance
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"This Soaring Empyrean... I've worked so hard, so why won't you just die?"
Lu Yang sighed, yet he also felt admiration.
No one in this world was ever just an NPC. Everyone was the protagonist of their own story, and varying environments and experiences gave rise to endless possibilities.
Soaring Empyrean was no different.
Even relying on the accumulations of ten lifetimes, Lu Yang had nearly exhausted every scrap of intelligence on Soaring Empyrean and set this trap accordingly. Yet Soaring Empyrean refused to sit idly by and wait for death.
He was scheming his own breakout!
And Lu Yang had to admit—he had succeeded. Heaven of Non-existence had only just emerged and hadn't spread yet. At this point in time, it couldn't force the True Lord into seclusion.
"If only he'd given me another year... No, just half a year! Half a year would've been enough for Heaven of Non-existence to expand. Even if Soaring Empyrean had any trump cards left, I could've forced him into seclusion anyway. All his schemes would've come to nothing, leaving him pinned obediently by my forged Covered Lamp Fire."
Unfortunately, Soaring Empyrean hadn't followed the script.
"This godforsaken place really is blessed with heroes and spiritual lands. No matter how many times it resets, it always surprises me. And this time's no exception—stirring up such a massive spectacle."
After a fleeting pang of regret, Lu Yang's face showed no trace of defeat. Instead, a smile crept across it.
"Plans can't keep up with changes? Fine! It's just a matter of countering move for move. Let me see what you're planning and how far you can take it."
With that thought, Lu Yang strained his vision to gaze into the distance.
Overseas, Soaring Empyrean stood with hands clasped behind his back, hovering in midair.
The Pure Land was only the first. As he stopped concealing his aura, the second arrival was Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord. Her vast divine sense locked onto him in an instant.
"So it really is you!"
The next moment, a lithe figure with long legs shattered the void and stepped forth. Beneath her elegant smile—like that of a classical beauty—lurked seething fury.
Soaring Empyrean wasn't surprised. He'd done extensive private research on this other pinnacle True Lord of the Primal Saint Sect, the one who'd risen after him. He knew her vindictive nature all too well. But he had his own pride, and the current Flying Snow meant nothing to him.
"That's all you've got?"
Soaring Empyrean scanned his surroundings, his gaze turning toward the Four Seas Gate. He was waiting. If he wasn't mistaken, that mysterious Foundation Establishment cultivator was connected to the Old Dragon Lord.
Meanwhile, inside the Four Seas Gate.
"What's his problem? Why's he staring at me?"
Sensing Soaring Empyrean's gaze, the Old Dragon Lord's hard-won survival instincts kicked in. He curled up tighter, utterly ignoring the chaos outside.
Human cultivators brawling? What business was that of his?
After the heavenly change, he'd kept the true dragon lineage alive this long precisely by never sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Meddling in others' fights was a death sentence.
This reaction caught Soaring Empyrean off guard.
"Not him? Wrong guess?"
His mind raced for a moment before settling into calm resolve. Since he'd gone all-in, he'd meet steel with steel, floods with earthworks.
"Fine then. I'll stick to my path."
With that, Soaring Empyrean wasted no more time. His true body in the Underworld slowly raised a hand, drawing the ignited Sand-in-Earth fruit position toward the Underworld!
But in the next instant, Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord struck first. Her red lips parted lightly, intoning a Dao sound. A single sharp rebuke echoed across the four realms under heaven:
"Soaring Empyrean!!!"
The moment his true name rang out, the veil of the world's Knowledge-Seeing Barrier wavered. Countless Golden Core True Lords wore looks of shock.
"Soaring Empyrean... right, Soaring Empyrean!"
"What has he done?"
‘That aura—late Golden Core stage!?’
"The only one to claim a supreme fruit position after the Great Forest Wood heavenly change... and I don't remember him? Knowledge-Seeing Barrier? Wait, something's off with Chen Soil..."
Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord's Dao sound proved devastatingly effective, exposing Soaring Empyrean to every True Lord under heaven in an instant. But by now, he no longer cared. From the day he'd faked his death and slipped into the Underworld, he'd prepared for the possibility of standing against the world.
‘World-Benefiting Dharma External Body!’
In the next breath, his Underworld true body hurled a puppet into the present world. The moment it materialized, roiling purple qi erupted from it.
That single burst of purple qi outshone the divine abilities of most True Lords across the world!
"Hiss..."
In Jiangdong, Lu Yang drew in a sharp breath. ‘That purple qi... Back when Ninth-Life Chongguang Uncle failed his bid for gold, this was how Soaring Empyrean made his appearance.’
One against over a dozen Golden Cores!
Including powerhouses like Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord—and he'd won. It spoke volumes about just how terrifying Soaring Empyrean's true strength was.
In this moment, purple qi blanketed the skies as Soaring Empyrean multitasked seamlessly. With one thread, he directed the World-Benefiting Dharma External Body to block Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord. With the other, he commanded Dragon Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva to draw in Sand-in-Earth. The fruit position inched ever closer to the Underworld...
"Amitabha!"
The Pure Land Bodhisattvas made their move.
In an instant, several more fruit position stars ignited in the firmament.
Lu Yang glanced over to see Yangliu Wood, Songbai Wood, and Chaizhuai Gold. Surprise stirred in his heart. The Pure Land only had three Bodhisattvas?
Of course, counting Dragon Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva made four.
‘But... three fruit positions: two wood, one gold. They can't form the Three Phases. In other words, the Pure Land has no late Golden Core!’
A major revelation.
Lu Yang also grasped why the Pure Land had targeted Soaring Empyrean: seizing Sand-in-Earth would complete their Three Phases!
This was a clash over late Golden Core advancement—a battle for the Dao itself.
How could they yield ground?
Yet Soaring Empyrean had schemed over Sand-in-Earth for so long, treating it as his final hammer blow. How could he leave any openings?
Boom!
The next instant, Soaring Empyrean shifted his hand seals. Dragon Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva, under his control, promptly offered up its outer Dao fruit position.
Tempted by the outer Dao fruit position, Sand-in-Earth shifted from resistance to eager compliance.
In a flash of lightning speed, Soaring Empyrean withstood the ferocious onslaught from Pure Clarity Flying Snow True Lord and the others with one hand while grasping Sand-in-Earth with the other.
‘Got it!’
The next moment, Sand-in-Earth plunged into the Underworld.
This single shift elevated Soaring Empyrean's aura to a whole new level—like a puzzle snapping into place, more complete than before.
The sight set True Lord auras surging across the world.
Especially within the Sword Pavilion, where a long-dormant presence stirred anew. It was as if a pair of sword eyes snapped open, glaring razor-sharp at Soaring Empyrean.
Soaring Empyrean paid it no mind.
"Keep going...!"
At the same time, watching Soaring Empyrean claim Sand-in-Earth—a resounding victory—yet refuse to retreat, Lu Yang grasped his intent.
‘Covered Lamp Fire has its great fortune. Long Flowing Water has Suo Huan. Sand-in-Earth has the Pure Land Bodhisattvas. How could White Wax Gold lack a contingency?’
As if in answer to Lu Yang...
The next instant, Soaring Empyrean's awareness descended to Dragon Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva's palm. Beneath layers of temple phantoms gleamed a radiant stubborn stone, gold light shimmering within. A shadowy figure floated and sank inside—an immortal spirit near perfection!
And it targeted the White Wax Gold fruit position!
Beneath the World Honored One sat countless Arhats and Bodhisattvas, tirelessly converting it with sutras until it escaped Heavenly Duke's grasp. It was one of the Pure Land's most prized treasures.
Yet now, Soaring Empyrean had seized the nest after driving out the magpie, claiming it for his own.
This was why he'd sent a soul splinter into the Pure Land: not just for Sand-in-Earth, but above all for White Wax Gold!