Chapter 515
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 515
Chapter Title: True Method
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Tianwu Hall, within Kunning Palace.
Lu Yang and the Xiao Empress were discussing the Dao. What met the eye was a cascade of Divine Ability illusions bursting with color, instantly transforming into a magnificent, resplendent sea of flowers that spread out.
A faint, elegant floral fragrance wafted through the vast palace, refreshing the mind and soul, mingled with the sound of clear springs flowing like mountain streams. As time passed, the sea of flowers slowly converged toward the center, ultimately blooming into an immortal flower that unfurled petal by petal, radiating a brilliance too dazzling to behold directly.
【Glazed Myriad Marvels Immortal Bloom】!
This was a Primordial Earth Dao art from the Four Libraries Dao Canon, perfectly matching the Xiao Empress's Divine Ability 【Hundred Flowers Palace】. It was one she had carefully selected and painstakingly cultivated.
The Dao art's function was straightforward.
By immersing one's soul into the immortal bloom, the speed of refining metal essence would increase dramatically, compressing what normally took one or two years into just one or two days.
Back when Emperor Jiayou was still crown prince, the Xiao Empress had earned his favor through this Dao art. Yet the 【Glazed Myriad Marvels Immortal Bloom】, which had once handled Emperor Jiayou with effortless ease, now struggled to hold up under Lu Yang's ravaging.
‘In the end, she's cultivating toward supreme fruition.’
Refining metal essence was the same process, but with Emperor Jiayou, a few cycles of the Dao art had sufficed. With Lu Yang, however, she still couldn't extract it.
Only after she drained her magic power dry, her 【Hundred Flowers Palace】 Divine Ability wilted into exhaustion, and her entire body grew limp and feeble, did Lu Yang finally manage to refine a trace of metal essence—as if toying with her deliberately—leaving her feeling both satisfied and resentful, reduced to begging him repeatedly for mercy.
Satisfied, because she hadn't misjudged him.
After all, how difficult it was to refine Lu Yang's metal essence proved his foundation was exceptionally solid, giving him a high chance of successfully Seeking Metal in the future—and great potential benefit for her as well.
Resentful, because—he was too exhausting.
And this was only because the Xiao Empress's cultivation was profound and her Dao attainment deep. Even after such massive depletion left her Divine Ability wilted, a day's rest would mostly restore her.
Only thus could she maintain a once-a-day rhythm with Lu Yang. Otherwise, his relentless cultivation over these past days would have utterly destroyed her 【Hundred Flowers Palace】.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang paid no heed to the Xiao Empress's resentful gaze.
His mind was wholly focused on cultivation, inwardly inspecting his soul and gazing at the golden light coiling around it like a little dragon, a satisfied smile on his face:
‘One strand of metal essence!’
‘The so-called Dao begets One, One begets Two, Two begets Three, Three begets all things. Metal essence follows this imagery: three strands merge into one thread, three threads form one strand.’
Over these past months, he had spent his nights in the dragon bed, diligently cultivating without cease, and finally, with the Xiao Empress's aid, refined a full strand of metal essence. Any further threads of metal essence would now directly merge into it, steadily expanding it until it met the standard to support a blessed land.
‘But expanding metal essence has its drawbacks too.’
Lu Yang eyed the metal essence he had refined, and in a daze, it seemed to transform into an endless mountain and sea range, with his own consciousness becoming one with that vast expanse.
Birds, beasts, fish, insects.
Grasses, trees, rocks, stones.
Flying creatures, walking beasts, wind, rain, thunder, lightning.
All things operated in harmonious order, drawing his mind ever closer to the so-called "Heavenly Dao," viewing all as mere grass dogs, shedding his mortal semblance.
"Mm~~"
A moan laced with inexplicable delight rang out like a grand temple bell, snapping Lu Yang's thoughts back to reality. Warmth from his embrace brought him fully to his senses.
‘This is the influence of metal essence.’
Lu Yang's brows furrowed slightly. As metal essence accumulated, humanity would gradually be suppressed, leading to madness—the closer to Seeking Metal, the worse it became.
‘Good thing my will is firm.’
Lu Yang exhaled deeply, quickly pulling the Xiao Empress tighter into his arms and fiercely reclaiming the humanity he had just lost, before finally relaxing with a breath.
". . . Right, Your Majesty the Empress."
Looking at the Xiao Empress, now utterly spent from head to toe, Lu Yang said softly, "The Four Libraries Dao Canon doesn't seem to have any inheritance for 【Heavenly Fire】?"
"Still calling me Your Majesty the Empress?"
The Xiao Empress parted her vermilion lips slightly, her beautiful eyes seeming to weave silk as they fixed on Lu Yang:
"My name is Xiao Ru. Fellow Daoist, feel free to call me by name from now on."
Lu Yang chuckled lightly at her words:
"I still prefer 'Your Majesty the Empress.'"
"Glib tongue~"
The Xiao Empress feigned anger and shame, her jade hand lightly patting Lu Yang's chest before smoothly sliding downward, all while answering his earlier question:
"Naturally not. After all, by the time the Dao Court was reformed under Tianwu, 【Heavenly Fire】 had already vanished from the world. Only two lines of its illustrious inheritance remain, one of which fled overseas amid the chaos and was ultimately claimed by the old Dragon Lord's clan."
"Unfortunately, that line of inheritance is incomplete."
At this, the Xiao Empress shook her head again:
"But precisely because of that, the old Dragon Lord could acquire it. If it were complete, how could it have ended up overseas?"
"And the second?" Lu Yang asked curiously.
"The second should be in Jiangbei, in the hands of Zouyu's descendants—because the Zouyu imperial clan once harbored designs on 【Heavenly Fire】 as well."
The Xiao Empress spoke candidly.
Having thoroughly read the entire Four Libraries Dao Canon—not just techniques and arts, but also vast tomes of Dao books, wild histories, and secrets—she naturally knew them like the back of her hand.
Lu Yang's mind stirred at once upon hearing this.
‘Zouyu descendants... the Primal Saint Sect branch? That could be worth scheming for. I'm short precisely the matching True Method for 【Heavenly Fire】 right now.’
True Methods: supreme arts forged from metal essence.
Ever since refining metal essence, Lu Yang had prioritized this. Mastering a True Method suited to him would bring massive gains.
But the 【Heavenly Fire】 inheritance had long been severed.
And the 《Tianyu Kunya Dragon Chapter》 from the old Dragon Lord lacked this part. Lu Yang had been fretting over it, only to find a lead through the Xiao Empress.
"Speaking of which, what are your plans going forward?"
The Xiao Empress's gaze burned intently:
"You're not yet a True Lord, so you can't formally ascend the throne. You can only rely on the authority of 【As If the Emperor Himself is Present】 to provisionally enact a false dynasty."
"That's enough."
Lu Yang smiled faintly:
"Even a usurping dynasty carries some empowerment. In this era when True Lords hide from the world, it's no different from an orthodox regime."
The Xiao Empress's fine brows furrowed slightly:
"But even so, you must achieve great accomplishments to gain recognition from the 【Immortal Kingdom Dao Law】. Mere infighting won't do. Tianwu's founding ancestor was no ordinary figure—he gained acknowledgment by live-sacrificing an outer path True Lord."
"Even a false dynasty regime won't require something so extreme, but it'll still be difficult..."
"No matter. I've prepared for it already."
Lu Yang shook his head, his gaze turning toward Jiangbei and the seas beyond:
"Accomplishments... The greatest is none other than territorial expansion. And by now, it should have arrived."
Overseas, Four Seas Gate Dragon Palace.
(End of chapter)