Chapter 144: Senior Brother Zhao, This Is the Last Time

"Noisy."

Before Lu Yang's words had even faded, Guang Ming, who had just been wailing, abruptly silenced himself; he knelt on the ground, daring not to lift his head, feeling as though he had plunged into an ice cave.

Lu Yang, however, maintained a gentle demeanor, personally extending a hand to help him up:

"How have you been faring in the Pure Land?"

"Troubling the True Person with such concern."

Sweat poured down Guang Ming's face like rain; swallowing hard, he spoke with a trembling voice: "Thanks to the True Person's mercy in sparing this monk's life, this monk has been getting along quite well in the Pure Land."

"Oh?" Lu Yang raised an eyebrow: "Did you gain some benefit, perhaps?"

"No! No!"

Guang Ming shook his head frantically and hurriedly said: "It is merely that, thanks to my master's promotion, I have assumed the position of eldest disciple at the Arhat Fu Long Temple; beyond that, there is nothing else."

"Is that so." Lu Yang nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, very good."

Only then did he finally turn to the main matter: "To be honest, I have a small matter requiring assistance; would Daoist Guang Ming be willing to lend me a hand?"

Of course he was not willing!

Guang Ming's heart turned icy, yet his face displayed an expression of eager anticipation: "To rush through fire and water for the True Person is a blessing this monk has cultivated over eight lifetimes!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang smiled even more warmly and said in a kindly tone: "Rest assured, it is merely a small matter; I currently have an excellent talent under my command named Zhao Xuhe, who, like myself, cultivates the Nine Transformations Dragon Art, and whose cultivation base has long reached the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation; recently, he has been planning to break through to Foundation Establishment."

"When the time comes, I will personally intervene to conceal it for him."

Lu Yang spoke casually, but Guang Ming listened with trepidation, quickly patting his chest and saying: "Please rest assured, Senior Cultivator; regarding this matter, this monk will certainly keep his mouth shut tight!"

"Keep your mouth shut tight?"

Lu Yang shook his head and laughed: "Do I need you to keep your mouth shut? Would it not be more convenient to simply kill you? I want you to tell this matter to Fu Long!"

"Ah?"

Guang Ming stood with his mouth agape, even more bewildered.

Lu Yang paid no heed and continued: "This does not count as asking you to betray; rather, it could be said to help you establish a merit, so you need not be too concerned."

Despite these words, Guang Ming suddenly realized something.

'Wrong!'

'This is likely a trap! Using a cultivator who has practiced the Nine Transformations Dragon Art to break through to Foundation Establishment as bait for my master; this demonic fiend intends to harm my master?'

For a moment, Guang Ming could not help but swallow.

He was now the eldest disciple of the Arhat Fu Long Temple; with Arhat Fu Long above him, there was no room for advancement, but if Arhat Fu Long were to die, that would be an entirely different matter.

Thinking of this, Guang Ming immediately lowered his voice, speaking in a hoarse tone:

"Th-that is my master!"

"The master who guided me into the Dao, whom I regard as a father..."

Facing Guang Ming's wail, Lu Yang nodded with understanding: "Rest assured, I have this matter under control; I guarantee that this time, he will die without a whole corpse."

"... t is a promise!"

Guang Ming agreed decisively, and only then did Lu Yang drift away.

After Lu Yang departed, Guang Ming collapsed onto the ground; while sweat poured down like rain, his hands trembled as he drew a stick of Spirit-Awakening Incense from his robes.

Click!

The Spirit-Awakening Incense ignited; amidst the curling incense smoke, Guang Ming's expression gradually returned to stability, and after an unknown amount of time passed, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Yet this opening of the eyes was vastly different.

"... eh heh."

Although Guang Ming's appearance had not changed, his brows were relaxed, his gaze sharp, and the aura he projected had undergone a earth-shattering transformation.

"Ultimately, he is an ignorant junior, unaware of the Pure Land's marvelous methods."

"In all directions under heaven, the ones least afraid of being subverted are likely the Shi cultivators of my Pure Land; after all, having cultivated oneself into 【Me】, how could 【I】 possibly betray?"

He had specifically brought Guang Ming along this time to serve as bait!

"Does Zhao Xuhe intend to lure me out and then set an ambush to surround and kill me? If so, I shall simply turn the tables on him, making him try to steal a chicken only to lose the rice!"

Thinking thus, Arhat Fu Long touched Guang Ming's body once more, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Although slightly astute, he is cowardly and clingy to life, actually contemplating betrayal... Never mind; I shall keep him for now to deceive that Lu Yang, lest he suspect anything amiss, and eliminate him after the deed is done."

The next second, Arhat Fu Long withdrew his consciousness.

A moment later, Guang Ming opened his eyes with a look of utter confusion; ignoring everything else, he immediately looked at the stick of Spirit-Awakening Incense placed beside him.

In an instant, Guang Ming could barely suppress his chattering teeth.

'He has been here!'

This stick of Spirit-Awakening Incense was specially made by him, hiding a subtle mystery; the incense smoke resonated with his spiritual sense, leaving an obvious trace within his heart.

Such a trace was extremely fragile; once interfered with by external spiritual sense, it would be instantly erased.

Yet now, the trace was gone!

'There is no mistake; it must have been Master who came, only I do not remember, do not know, and cannot detect it... He already knows that Lu Yang sought me out!'

Guang Ming exhaled deeply, and only after a long while did he regain his composure.

'Knowing... is good!'

'At least this means I am still useful to Master, and he will not kill me in the short term. And I am also useful to Lu Yang, so he likely will not kill me either...'

Thinking of this, Guang Ming suddenly felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

At the moment Lu Yang had approached him, the reason Guang Ming had wailed was because he realized he had become a pawn manipulated at will by two True Persons.

If he sided with Lu Yang, his master would kill him.

If he did not side with Lu Yang, Lu Yang would kill him too.

'Things have come to this; on the surface I have sided with Lu Yang, but secretly I am Master's puppet; yet my earlier conversation actually hinted as much to Lu Yang...'

He had said: That is his master!

As a master, how could one lack methods to control a disciple? As long as Lu Yang could discern the implication behind his words, he would understand his true stance.

Only in this way could he offend neither party, perhaps securing a path to survival.

At this moment, Lu Yang had already cast Guang Ming to the farthest reaches of the nine heavens.

For regardless of Guang Ming's thoughts, they were of no importance or meaning to him; all he wanted was to use Guang Ming's mouth to convey information to Zhao Xuhe.

Immediately afterward, he concealed his form and arrived at a quiet chamber within the Skull Mountain Market.

Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.

Within the quiet chamber, Zhao Xuhe was in closed-door cultivation, completely unaware of Lu Yang's arrival; seeing this, Lu Yang extended a finger and pressed it against his brow center.

"Apologies, Senior Brother Zhao; this is the last time."

As his words fell, a stream of yellow light merged into Zhao Xuhe's body; Zhao Xuhe immediately felt a sense of mental ease and comfort, as if resonating with the entire Skull Mountain.

Seeing this, Lu Yang smiled with satisfaction.

Just moments ago, he had personally transferred the most important inheritance of the Witch-Ghost Path—the control over the eight-hundred-li earth pulse of Skull Mountain—to Zhao Xuhe without any reservation!

The next second, a brilliant light shimmered at Lu Yang's fingertip.

【Resolve Suspicion】!

The great net of karma was stirred; an invisible thought descended into Zhao Xuhe's sea of consciousness, its content simple: whoever obstructs his Foundation Establishment, he will fight to the death with them.

Even at the cost of shattering both jade and stone!

Under the influence of 【Resolve Suspicion】, once Zhao Xuhe was obstructed from breaking through to Foundation Establishment with no retreat possible, he would decisively employ his most powerful means.

—Self-detonate the earth pulse!

In an instant, Lu Yang sensed a strong sense of crisis... this was Heaven and Earth generating a reaction, issuing a warning to him from the depths of fate.

If Zhao Xuhe truly self-detonated the earth pulse, Lu Yang would inevitably suffer karmic entanglement.

Thinking of this, the brilliant light at Lu Yang's fingertip suddenly shifted.

【Distinguish Same and Different】!

His innate divine ability activated; Lu Yang instantly and sacredly severed his connection with the Skull Mountain earth pulse, never again becoming entangled with even a shred of its karma, all karmic consequences falling entirely upon Zhao Xuhe.

What Zhao Xuhe does has nothing to do with me?

The colorful radiance of the divine ability draped over Lu Yang like armor, washing away the karma; soon, that feeling of being "specifically targeted by Heaven and Earth" vanished.

Only then did Lu Yang smile with satisfaction, withdraw his finger, and look at Zhao Xuhe, who was still cultivating with closed eyes.

Senior Brother Zhao, you may go in peace.

In the next life, I will certainly treat you well!

(End of Chapter)