Chapter 178: Dao Nie

At this very moment, Guangming desperately wished Lu Yang were here.

After all, if Lu Yang were here, his strength alone could easily handle Senior Wu Cang—there would be no need to bring him here, and none of this would have happened.

'What the hell is this thing!'

'That Senior Wu Cang was already Foundation Establishment mid-stage! And he was so easily possessed? Who exactly is this? A True Lord reincarnate? A Foundation Establishment peak True Person?'

At this moment, Guangming's thoughts were utterly chaotic.

Until 【Senior Wu Cang】 turned his head to look at him, and the 【Imperial Seal of Golden Script, Divine Edict of Doushu】 gradually dimmed, reverting back to the form of a talisman.

'You're quite interesting too.'

【Senior Wu Cang】 smiled faintly: 'The greatest karmic thread entangling you points directly to that Lu Yang—it seems he's made plenty of enemies. A Chusheng Sect disciple?'

Only 【Senior Wu Cang】 himself knew how difficult it was to awaken, to reincarnate through a vessel, and to break free from the barriers set by the Primordial Daoist. After all, the dying Primordial True Person had nearly exhausted his full power, using great karma to draw a prison and seal it away.

Without the karmic connection manifesting, it could never leave.

And that karmic connection was the Primordial True Person's heir—only when that heir held the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner and used it to summon could it emerge unharmed.

But then, it would have to willingly be refined by the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner.

And given the banner's ruthless nature, once refined by it, it would be enslaved for eternity—that was precisely what the Primordial True Person intended.

Yet now, a new turning point had emerged.

Senior Wu Cang's appearance gave it a second option, because Senior Wu Cang was no longer Lu Yang's match, yet the two had already been bound by karmic fate.

【Senior Wu Cang kills Lu Yang】

Under these circumstances, Senior Wu Cang needed external force.

And it was that external force—if it accepted Senior Wu Cang's identity and took upon itself the karmic debt of killing Lu Yang, it could break free from the Primordial True Person's chains.

Such a heavenly opportunity—how could it possibly let it slip away?

The next instant, 【Senior Wu Cang】's gaze fell upon Guangming, and Guangming suddenly panicked as golden radiance began to glow upon his own body.

'This is your karma.'

Perhaps because it had barely escaped confinement, 【Senior Wu Cang】 seemed in a talkative mood: 'The Bodhisattva who sent you was kind enough to amplify your karma.'

'At least two True Lord techniques were used in this matter—one sent this Senior Wu Cang to my doorstep to aid my escape, the other sent you to me, ensuring I could find my target the moment I broke free. Now, I truly wish to meet this Lu Yang.'

【Senior Wu Cang】's face was filled with curiosity.

After all, according to its knowledge, even within the talent-rich Chusheng Sect, few True Persons could attract such hatred as to draw down a killing scheme like this.

'Come with me.'

The next instant, 【Senior Wu Cang】 lifted one hand, seizing Guangming in its grasp while simultaneously tearing away the bright karmic thread from its own body.

Karma as guide, tracking across ten thousand li.

Then, 【Senior Wu Cang】 took one step forward—

'This 【Danger】… is growing larger.'

Across the boundless ocean, Lu Yang rode the 【Cross-Void Golden Vessel】, nearly becoming a streak of light, surging through towering waves as he fled swiftly toward the mainland.

Yet the 【Danger】 above his head showed no dimming—instead, it grew even more crimson.

'Could this change… mean I made the wrong choice?' Lu Yang's heart brimmed with doubt—if he hadn't erred, why was the crisis drawing ever closer?

What exactly had happened?

For the first time, Lu Yang felt a flicker of helplessness, as if he had reverted to his Qi Refining days—unable to trace karma, powerless before fate.

But the next instant, Lu Yang shook off all distractions. Compared to then, he was now utterly different. Even if he could not calculate the source of the crisis, he was not entirely defenseless. Thinking of this, he gripped the 【Edict Jade Tablet】 bestowed by Master Chongguang.

Yet perhaps due to excessive tension, his hand trembled, causing the 【Edict Jade Tablet】 to slip from his palm.

Fortunately, his other hand shot out in time, catching the falling 【Edict Jade Tablet】 before it hit the ground, followed by a soft laugh:

'Friend, be careful.'

At this moment, time itself seemed to freeze—only a handsome young boy, robes fluttering, appeared in an instant from ten thousand li away, landing beside Lu Yang!

Boom—!

Before the newcomer had even finished speaking, at this critical juncture, the 【Edict Jade Tablet】 in his hand suddenly exploded, and from within emerged a figure.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Yang's body flashed with divine radiance.

【Define Kinship】!

The next instant, Lu Yang vanished from his spot, leaving only 【Senior Wu Cang】 and the figure emerging from the 【Edict Jade Tablet】, staring at each other.

'Hmm? Dao Nie.'

The figure emerging from the 【Edict Jade Tablet】 was a middle-aged man with a grim expression; upon seeing 【Senior Wu Cang】, he immediately showed surprise.

Yet the next instant, an indescribable power crashed down—there was a sharp crack, like a silver vase shattering, and in an instant, the middle-aged man's figure was erased. Correspondingly, the transcendent aura of 【Senior Wu Cang】 instantly weakened to its nadir.

For a moment, all things fell into empty darkness.

A power far beyond Foundation Establishment collided here, silencing heaven and earth—long after, a single figure reappeared.

'…Damn it!!!'

【Senior Wu Cang】 stood midair, Guangming unconscious in its grasp, its face dark: 'Just like the Primordial One—it's karma of the life essence.'

Had Lu Yang been doomed the instant it appeared.

The 【Edict Jade Tablet】 was indeed powerful, but it required activation—without activation, it was merely dead iron. 【Senior Wu Cang】 had never given Lu Yang the chance to activate it.

Yet Lu Yang's life essence technique had exceeded its expectations—it had forcibly maintained a single instant of clarity, and within that instant activated the 【Edict Jade Tablet】, breaking through its seal. Not only had it struck back hard, but it had also escaped cleanly from its grasp.

'Do you think you can escape?'

【Senior Wu Cang】's expression turned icy as it licked its lips, continuing to pull the karmic thread from Guangming, locking onto Lu Yang's location before stepping forward once more.

Whoosh—whoosh—!

This time, what greeted it was a towering sea of blood.

【Blood Sea That Fills Heaven Array】!

Billions of tons of seawater bolstered the status of the A-Bi Sword, raising towering waves that crashed down toward 【Senior Wu Cang】, yet 【Senior Wu Cang】 simply ignored them.

His gaze fell instantly on Lu Yang within the formation.

In an instant, Lu Yang felt his consciousness dip slightly under 【Senior Wu Cang】's gaze; in a daze, he seemed to see a giant hand reaching toward him.

Where the giant hand passed, the blood sea and sword qi alike melted away like ice and snow, unable to exist; clearly, the two were not opponents of the same tier. As that giant hand seemed about to pierce the formation's barrier and rest upon his neck, Lu Yang finally unleashed his divine ability.

"Distinguish Difference!"

A cool qi swept through his sea of consciousness, clearing Lu Yang's mind once more; the radiance of his divine ability struggled to manifest, helping Lu Yang vanish from his spot again.

"Fix Intimacy!"

Lu Yang's disappearance once more finally erased the self-assured smile from 【Senior Wu Cang】's face, replaced by a cold expression.

At the same time, nearly ten thousand li away.

"Senior Wu Cang?"

Lu Yang's figure emerged from the void amidst the radiance of his divine ability, his face still bearing an expression of shock; he had already recognized the one who had struck.

Yet he could not comprehend at all: how had Senior Wu Cang, who had been nearly bisected by him just days ago, in the blink of an eye become a great power he could not possibly resist? Even a True Person at the peak of Foundation Establishment would likely be no more than this; what exactly had happened in between?

Crack!

Like shattered glass, a crisp sound rang out beside Lu Yang; then Lu Yang saw a rift, and on the other side of the rift stood 【Senior Wu Cang】.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay."

The voice arrived, possessing some demonic quality that made Lu Yang, despite his hundredfold reluctance, involuntarily stand still and choose to surrender.

No path to heaven! No door to the earth!

Is it certain death!?

(End of this chapter)