Chapter 493
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: World Honored One?
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Although full of grand ambitions, Lu Yang still possessed a clear sense of his own limitations.
To compete with the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord, he would at least need to attain late Golden Core by proving the [Heavenly Fire]—and even that wouldn't suffice. The gap between them was simply too vast.
'No rush. One bite at a time.'
'Moreover, the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's preemptive action may look impressive, but it carries its own repercussions. At the very least, he's probably unable to meddle in the mortal world any longer!'
Right now, True Lords across the realm might still be reeling from the shock of the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord standing alone against the masses, overwhelming the gathered heroes.
Yet for Lu Yang, who knew the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's hidden cards all too well: Yes, his power was shocking indeed. But the greater it seemed, the easier he became to handle.
'He's trapped in the Netherworld, after all!'
Or rather, the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord had confined himself there voluntarily for the sake of his Dao path—a choice that doomed him from ever emerging.
And now, his [World-Proclaiming Dharma External Body] had been detonated.
The Innate Dao Sin had manifested the [Heaven of Non-existence], the threat lurking within Suo Huan had been excised by Lu Yang himself, Uncle Chongguang had yet to pursue his Golden Core, and Hongyun had already met a violent end.
What did the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord have left?
'The one truly backed into a corner is him!'
'Once this moment of glory fades, his only remaining link to the mortal world is that tiny shard of cave-heaven I've sealed away.'
Lu Yang quickly sorted through his thoughts.
True, the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's decisiveness had spared him total ruin down the line. But all it bought him was a fallback chance.
'The [Earth amid Sand] and [White Wax Gold] were dragged into the Netherworld by him, completing his set of three phases. Even if I reverse the Chen Soil now, he won't drop from late Golden Core. Reversing the Chen Soil can still threaten him, but now he has leverage to haggle.'
Falling from late Golden Core would spell certain death for the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord.
His refuge in the Netherworld depended entirely on late Golden Core cultivation paired with the supreme phase [Great Forest Wood]. Without that cultivation, he couldn't hide for long.
This realization left Lu Yang with a twinge of regret.
It might have been the cleanest way to dispose of the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord without a drop of blood spilled. Yet his opponent's swift move had ruined it.
'From this, his realm isn't all that stable either.'
How did other Golden Core True Lords break through to the late stage? By finding kindred spirits, aligning multiple phases in mutual harmony—true collaboration at its core.
But the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord went it alone.
By reversing the [Chen Soil], denying anyone else the chance to prove its corresponding phase and claiming it by proxy. One had to admit, it was brilliantly ruthless.
Other late Golden Core cultivators needed those aligned allies.
Betrayed or abandoned, their realms would plummet instantly. But operate by the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's method?
No counter!
To reverse the Chen Soil required proving its matching True Lord phase first. But proving True Lord demanded unreversed Chen Soil. A perfect paradox—utterly unbreakable!
—Except plans never survive reality.
The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's scheme was flawless. Yet one interloper marred his grand design, planting the fatal crack.
Hongyun.
'Not quite a crack. The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord likely had Hongyun under his thumb. He just never saw me coming to upend the board.'
Hongyun's vulnerability was trivial.
But Lu Yang's involvement, combined with Ancestor Tingyou's False Holding Position technique, ripped it wide open into a mortal gash.
With that epiphany, Lu Yang produced the cave-heaven fragment from his hand.
He paused to consider, then held off unsealing it. Instead, he picked out a hapless victim and transformed him into a puppet via the [Puppet on Strings].
Next, Lu Yang retrieved the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner.
"You lot, go with him."
Nine banner spirits stepped forth in sequence. Empowered by the [Seven Luminaries Heaven]'s incense offerings, their statuses exploded upward, morphing instantly into nine peak Foundation Establishment figures who landed behind the unlucky soul.
Lu Yang then sent the fellow off, concealing the nine incense gods within, bound for Jiangdong.
'It's the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord, after all. Better safe than sorry.'
Only once the pawn crossed into Jiangnan territory did Lu Yang direct him to briefly lift the seal on the cave-heaven fragment, opening negotiations with the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord.
"Clang! Clang!"
In the next instant, Lu Yang sensed a lethal peril crashing down—like a sword poised above his skull, ready to strike.
Yet just as abruptly, the threat ground to a halt.
"Hm?"
A bemused murmur echoed, followed by a stretch of quiet. Then the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's form materialized from the fragment.
Helplessness etched his features:
"Little friend, you're overly cautious. Was that truly necessary?"
In that fleeting moment, had Lu Yang appeared before him—even a remote clone—he could have ended him on the spot!
The peril Lu Yang sensed stemmed from the strike by the Sword Pavilion's [Rigid Form Preaching True Lord]. The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord had pocketed that sword back then, unvanished and ready. At his whim, it could reemerge in the mortal realm, bent to his will!
A late Golden Core Great True Lord's blade—its might spoke for itself.
One slash, and even a clone would trace the link straight to the true body. He'd stowed it expressly for this reckoning against his unseen foe.
Pity Lu Yang's wariness prevailed.
The [Puppet on Strings]-controlled shell shared no karmic tie to his core self. Destroy it, and Lu Yang remained unscathed.
The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord clocked as much.
He hadn't spotted the [Puppet on Strings], merely the lack of connection to Lu Yang's origin, prompting his last-second pullback.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang smirked to himself:
'Ha! Knew it!'
This sly old fox was gunning for me after all. Lucky I'm sharp!
The instant after, Lu Yang worked the [Puppet on Strings] to murmur through the vessel:
"With senior's divine might shaking the world, no caution before you is excessive."
The words hung. Their eyes locked.
'Little fox!'
'Old beast!'
Eyes flickered with unspoken barbs, but neither broke first—the one to speak would cede ground, both knew it.
Lu Yang didn't idle. Silently, he summoned the nine incense gods in tow, fusing them seamlessly. In moments, they reared up as a towering palace—the [Yama Hall], radiating crushing pressure.
'This is...'
The Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord's face shifted. His depth of insight and guile let him glean the full picture from the [Yama Hall] alone.
"...You."
He exhaled deeply the next breath:
"You slew Hongyun. His metal essence is yours now—you can falsely hold the [Covered Lamp Fire]?"
Enlightenment dawned on the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord.
Relief tinged it too—thank goodness he'd acted fast. Let the foe claim false hold of the [Covered Lamp Fire], and he'd be finished!
'So that's how... The root of my unease.'
Admiration, hard to name, stirred within the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord as he grasped Lu Yang's feat:
'No True Lord pulls his strings!'
'A mere Foundation Establishment who somehow pierced my veil. Premeditation against the blind—nearly toppled my millennium scheme on a Foundation Establishment whim!'
Impossible, though?
How could base Foundation Establishment breach his [Cognitive Obstruction]? How'd he learn of Suo Huan as backup? Only one answer fit...
Abruptly, the Soaring Empyrean Sun-Obscuring True Lord grew deferential.
He stole a wary glance at Lu Yang's impassive calm, then pitched his voice low, tone level, laced with probing:
"World Honored One?"