Chapter 520
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Strange Luck
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Xiao Shiye felt that his luck lately had been quite strange.
It had been several years since he joined the Primal Saint Sect. At the start, his luck had been remarkably good, with all sorts of opportunities flooding in one after another—he couldn't fend them off even if he tried.
It was practically heavenly fortune descending all at once.
But then, one day out of nowhere, the heavenly fortune vanished.
His circumstances took a sharp nosedive from there, as if he had to pay back every bit of prior good luck. Misfortunes piled up in droves.
In the end, he not only coughed up everything he'd gained from that good fortune but lost a bunch more on top. Even now, he was just your run-of-the-mill Primal Saint Sect disciple, scraping by with the standard routine: paying off his cave abode loan, planting spirit herbs for the sect's senior brothers, tending spirit beasts—the textbook life of a Primal Saint Sect drone.
Xiao Shiye had come to accept his lot.
Yet just over a month ago, he noticed a shift in his fortunes. The heavenly luck that had vanished seemed to be circling back to him.
The first stroke of luck was [Everjoy Garden].
‘Thanks to [Everjoy Garden], I didn’t just break through the Qi Refining sixth-layer bottleneck and advance to the late stage—I even picked up a pretty powerful technique.’
Xiao Shiye had read plenty of storybooks.
A shadowy, mysterious organization like that had to have some massive backing and influence. Being tangled up in it naturally meant a bright future ahead.
Of course, there were risks.
‘Storybooks always say these secret groups have ironclad rules. [Everjoy Garden] is no different—not a peep about anything related.’
One slip, and it was instant death.
Xiao Shiye had no doubts about that. He'd seen it with his own eyes: a Primal Saint Sect disciple who'd joined [Everjoy Garden] tried snitching to a senior brother.
Then he dropped dead.
No warning whatsoever. Even a senior brother at Qi Refining great perfection couldn't intervene—he just watched the guy's figure shatter like a soap bubble.
From then on, Xiao Shiye held [Everjoy Garden] in deep reverence.
Then came his second stroke of luck:
[Soaring Empyrean].
It was a fine, sunny afternoon. Xiao Shiye was out traveling when the other party suddenly slammed into him and forced a possession:
‘You don’t need my name. Just do as I say, and I guarantee Qi Refining perfection. Foundation Establishment’s even within reach down the line!’
Same old story—Xiao Shiye had read his share of storybooks. Wasn’t this the classic immortal grandpa archetype? His heavenly fortune was back for real! A secret organization and an immortal grandpa—the two biggest windfalls in any tale, both waiting on him hand and foot. How underwhelming could that be?
He’d even mapped it out.
‘First, leverage the secret group to get stronger and help the immortal grandpa recover. Then use the immortal grandpa to break free from the secret group.’
Pit the tiger against the wolf—one stone, two birds!
The thought made Xiao Shiye feel like the protagonist of his own storybook. All the prior hardships? Mere setup for "mock not the poor youth."
He bowed his head and quickly reached out to the treasure jade fragment tucked in his robes.
“Grandpa, I’ve knocked out plenty of sect missions like you said this past stretch. Contribution Points are stacked—what’re we cashing in for?”
He finished, rubbing his hands in excitement.
Could be some priceless sect treasure no one had clocked yet, but the grandpa spotted the clue and wanted him to snag it on the cheap?
“Go redeem usage rights for the Dharma Refining Secret Realm.”
Inside the cavern-heaven fragment, [Soaring Empyrean] spoke in even tones. His deep gaze fixed on Xiao Shiye ahead, smoke-veiled eyes locking with the youth’s impassive stare.
Within [Everjoy Garden].
Peering through Xiao Shiye’s eyes, Lu Yang knit his brows tight, mulling one question: Had [Soaring Empyrean] clocked the weirdness about Xiao Shiye?
Accidental brush, or on purpose?
Xiao Shiye’s true body had long been stashed away. What roamed outside was just a false shell shaped by [Everjoy Garden]’s positional authority. Sure, [Soaring Empyrean] now amounted to a lone strand of divine sense lingering in the world—but could a fake like that fool his senses?
‘Fat chance!’
Lu Yang trusted [Soaring Empyrean]’s chops. With that world-top True Lord’s cultivation and discernment, how could he miss the oddity clinging to Xiao Shiye?
Which meant… deliberate?
Lu Yang’s frown deepened. If on purpose, what was the angle? Another stab at screwing him over? But did he even have the juice for that now?
Under [Worry-Free Heaven]’s lockdown, [Soaring Empyrean]’s core self was cut off from the present world entirely. A remnant divine sense alone couldn’t muster much [Perception Obstruction]—how was he gonna screw him? Plus, [Everjoy Garden] stood buffer between them. Nothing to sweat.
That settled, Lu Yang turned to another puzzle:
‘Heading for the Dharma Refining Secret Realm—bought my pitch? Excellent. Now let’s see if he’s got the guts to drag innate true person Mu Changsheng out of there.’
The next instant, [Soaring Empyrean] spoke up.
“You might not know this, but the Primal Saint Sect’s Dharma Refining Secret Realm is one hell of an opportunity. Think it’s just some podunk minor realm-heaven?”
Xiao Shiye cocked his head.
“What’s the Dharma Refining Secret Realm?”
[Soaring Empyrean] didn’t reply.
Lu Yang knew that line was aimed at him, but he couldn’t care less about the secret realm’s perks. Right now, all he wanted was that gold hunt.
Next instant, Lu Yang severed the link with Xiao Shiye.
One [Everjoy Garden] buffer wasn’t foolproof. Insurance called—he plucked a random sap from the Dao Court ranks.
[String Puppet] takeover.
Now routing through the patsy added a [String Puppet] layer. Only then did Lu Yang relax into monitoring [Soaring Empyrean].
Meanwhile, [Soaring Empyrean] had already hauled Xiao Shiye to the grand hall housing the Dharma Refining Secret Realm. Normally, you queued up—but [Soaring Empyrean]’s [Perception Obstruction] cleared the jam. A flash of radiant light, and a fresh world bloomed in Lu Yang’s view.
The next beat brought a familiar roar of curses rolling through the void:
“Filthy demonic sect dogs! You beasts! This Mu Changsheng swears blood feud—!!!”
There, high in the Dharma Refining Secret Realm’s skies, innate true person Mu Changsheng’s soul raged and spat. [Soaring Empyrean] caught sight and paled in shock.
Lu Yang felt the same chill.
The instant Mu Changsheng registered, [Soaring Empyrean] pieced together the backstory. Reverence dawned on his face for the Primal Saint Sect’s forebear.
‘Incredible.’
[Soaring Empyrean] murmured low.
“No wonder… it’s like this. Felt something off—turns out it’s a secret this huge.”
“Hm?”
That was when Mu Changsheng clocked [Soaring Empyrean]. His gaze dropped. A surge of divine sense blasted Xiao Shiye unconscious in a blink:
“You… it’s you!”
Eyes bulging the next tick, Mu Changsheng barked.
“The shadow hand chopping [Long Flowing Water]? You? You stuffed my soul in here?”
“Fellow daoist innate, as it happens.”
[Soaring Empyrean] looked up, let out a sigh. He glanced at Xiao Shiye—locking eyes with Lu Yang, who watched through that lens.
Then came the headshake, the drawn-out sigh from [Soaring Empyrean]:
“…You beast.”
Plain as day: spotting Mu Changsheng clicked it for [Soaring Empyrean]. Lu Yang had suckered him hard. This mark was beyond his league.
[Long Flowing Water] was toast.
[Covered Lamp Fire] teetered on the brink.
What now?
Decision crystallized as [Soaring Empyrean] lowered his lids:
‘Didn’t want to go there. But no room left to stall.’