Chapter 159: The Terror of Lu Yang

At this moment, the expression on the Butian Peak Master's face was blank.

Chen Shuqian's awakening—he could still convince himself it was ultimately Lady Ruoxiang's doing; although it exceeded his expectations, the method he could understand.

But Chen Xinan was different!

Chen Xinan's body had no spell set by Lady Ruoxiang on it; logically speaking, he should have been unable to break free of his own divine-sense suppression technique!

Had long since been the master's man?

Who is the master?

"Could it be that—"

The Butian Peak Master whipped his head around, only to see Lu Yang with one arm around Lady Ruoxiang and the other hand suppressing Chen Shuqian, flashing him a ghastly smile.

"Im-impossible!"

In an instant, an absurd thought leapt into the Butian Peak Master's mind: "The time I rescued you was even before he reached Foundation Establishment!"

"Nothing is impossible."

Chen Xinan shook his head: "From the very beginning I was the master's man. If not for the master's command, how would I have kept up this act with you all along?"

At this moment, the Butian Peak Master felt a chill seep right into his bones.

Not only because of Chen Xinan, but even more because the mastermind standing behind Chen Xinan—the depth of his scheming, the far reach of his layout—made him feel as though he had fallen into an icy pit.

"What brilliant tactics!" the Butian Peak Master sighed at length.

Even he could not help but admire: if what Chen Xinan said was true, then this person, back when he had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, had brazenly schemed against him!

Yet thinking of this, the Butian Peak Master still could not puzzle it out no matter how he turned it over.

Was it worth it? Do we have such a deep grudge between us?

The Butian Peak Master had no mind to think further, and could only look at Chen Xinan again: "Xinan... you can't do this to me! Didn't you understand your father best of all in the past?"

"I must break through to late Foundation Establishment! I still have many things I need to do—become a Great True Person, gain a voice in the Holy Sect, earn the favor of a True Lord. I've prepared for so long! The Thousand-Year Tribulation is approaching; if I scheme properly, there's hope of seizing this chance to seek Golden Core!"

"Xinan, I beg you..."

The Butian Peak Master refused to believe it. Unlike Chen Shuqian, Chen Xinan was truly raised by his own hand—could the bond between father and son really be inferior to a Lu Yang?

Yet clutching his last shred of hope, all he heard in reply was a cold response:

"Farewell forever, Father. And farewell to my cowardice."

Boom—boom—boom!

The next second, Chen Xinan, whose divine sense was being suppressed, likewise threw himself into a self-detonation; then a layer of karma visibly dissipated at a speed the naked eye could follow.

In the blink of an eye, within the Foundation Establishment realm only the Butian Peak Master remained where he stood. He had just opened his mouth to say something when the long-gathered rumbling 【Heavenly Thunder】 crashed down, instantly swallowing his figure, leaving only a piercing, venomously resentful roar drifting out:

"Lu Yang——!!!"

Below, within Butian Peak, as a wisp of white qi descended, it transformed into Chen Xinan's figure, who landed before Lu Yang and prostrated himself on the ground with a respectful expression.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Even Master Chongguang within the Holy Fire Cliff, who had once praised Lu Yang as bound to become a pillar of the Holy Sect in the future, had not imagined Lu Yang could pull off something like this.

"Good heavens—Old Monster Chen is done for!"

"Wife, daughter, son... damn, they're all Duanmu Yuan Tu's people. Who wouldn't die in his place? Just how did Yuan Tu pull this off? A mind-control secret art?"

"Impossible—how could a mind-control secret art work on a True Person?"

"Surely it's not because he's good in bed?"

"Anyway, it must definitely be good in bed."

For a time, the Holy Sect's True Persons buzzed with discussion; looking again at the Butian Peak Master still struggling beneath the 【Heavenly Thunder】, they unconsciously took a few steps back.

To be fair, no one felt sympathy for the Butian Peak Master.

On one hand, the Butian Peak Master himself simply wasn't well-liked; on the other hand, his behavior had vaguely crossed some people's bottom line.

Treating a Foundation Establishment True Person as a pawn!

In the Holy Sect, whether one had reached Foundation Establishment was always a clear dividing line; once one reached Foundation Establishment, one left the ranks of pawns and gained the right to choose.

But if even True Persons could be treated as pawns, then that dividing line would become blurred—especially since the Butian Peak Master had relied on this method to break through to late Foundation Establishment. Wouldn't other mid-Foundation Establishment True Persons follow suit and secretly cause trouble for those of them at early Foundation Establishment?

Therefore, regarding the Butian Peak Master's fate, they were also glad to see it come to pass.

"Chen Taihe, you died well!"

Especially with Chen Shuqian and Chen Xinan both breaking free and turning around to deal the Butian Peak Master a blow, it further cemented the transcendent status of Foundation Establishment True Persons from the side.

This outcome was enough to suppress many a restless heart.

Added to that, this was the Holy Sect, whose traditional style had always been like this, so for a time, many people's gazes toward Lu Yang even gained a few shades of goodwill.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the aged True Person who had earlier bragged about his wide experience also wore the look of a man whose eyes had been opened; the way he stared at Lu Yang was practically like looking at a superman. Only after the young True Person beside him called out to him repeatedly did he suddenly snap awake, then deeply exhale a breath of stale qi.

"From now on, never offend Yuan Tu!"

The moment he came to his senses, the aged True Person warned in a low voice, "This man's demonic nature runs deep, and his methods are extraordinarily advanced—at the early Foundation Establishment stage, he has successively slain two mid-stage cultivators—"

"It's not that exaggerated, is it?"

The young True Person seemed still a little unconvinced: "One was worn down to death, the other was colluded with wife and daughter to be killed in secret; not a single one was won through direct magical combat."

"If it were direct magical combat, he might not necessarily be that formidable."

At this point, the young True Person smiled confidently: "I think I could probably have a bout with him."

"What do you know? That's exactly what makes him terrifying!"

The aged True Person shook his head: "You only see his scheming, but you haven't seen the divination ability one must possess to accomplish what he has done."

"If one cannot precisely divine heavenly secrets and grasp karma, one cannot reach his level. Either he has a Heavenly-Secret Treasure in hand, or his talent is extraordinary and his Dao cultivation far surpasses his own realm. Whichever it is, his combat strength absolutely cannot be weak!"

"Besides, he doesn't completely avoid magical combat either."

"Didn't he fight a True Person from the Divine Martial Gate on Skull Mountain a few decades ago? I heard that bout could be called an overwhelming victory."

"Although the Divine Martial Gate isn't large, it still has some foundation."

"At the very least, there is still a supreme spiritual treasure suppressing the sect. Huan Wu, who fought him, has also condensed his innate essence; in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, he counts as a mid-tier figure."

"But what was the result?"

The more the Elder True Person spoke, the more solemn his expression became: "Yet now, when anyone looks at Duanmu Yuan Tu, the first thing they think of is his methods!"

A person of extremely great strength, yet the first impression he gives is not his strength?

This is the true terror!

Using one form of flamboyance to mask an even greater flamboyance; strictly speaking, this is even a form of hiding one's skill, yet few are aware of this point.

For a moment, the Elder True Person did not even dare to speak his conclusion openly, fearing it would draw Lu Yang's attention. He was already over eight hundred years old; his third life was nearing its end, his fourth life still far off, and he did not wish to inadvertently provoke such a treacherous fellow disciple.

Among the True Persons, there were not a few who shared his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Lu Yang watched the 【Heavenly Thunder】 in the Foundation Establishment realm gradually dissipate, the Peak Master of Senior Butian turning into a handful of karmic ash, feeling a touch of regret in his heart.

"What a pity, such excellent material for a sword sacrifice."

Even the Arhat Fu Long Arhat was included; alas, the wonders of the 【Abi Sword】 require combat to accumulate, and his subduing the enemy without fighting would not be counted.

Otherwise, two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would absolutely be able to push the power of the 【Abi Sword】 to a terrifying level!

(End of this chapter)