Chapter 256: Go Eat Shit!

By the time Lu Yang came to his senses, Suo Huan had already been pierced by 【Li Jie Bo】, and the divine marvel of 【Duanmu Yuan Tu】 on the sword began to operate at tremendous speed in that instant.

Those killed by this sword have all their karmic ties severed!

Originally, Suo Huan's body was entangled with multiple layers of karma; various True Persons had assisted him in seeking the Golden Nature, and naturally, they intended to use this karma to carve him up completely afterward.

The blessed land returns to the Pure Land.

The Golden Nature returns to the Dao Court.

The fruit position returns to the Holy Sect.

Not to mention that Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person was currently borrowing this karma to divert a portion of the backlash force from the 【Mingfu】 onto Suo Huan's body.

However, now that Suo Huan had been killed and his karma shattered by the divine marvel of 【Duanmu Yuan Tu】, the remaining blessed land and Golden Nature of Suo Huan instantly became ownerless, while Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person could no longer divert the backlash and had to bear it herself; this meant the benefits were gone, yet the costs had increased significantly!

This was 【Cheng Tian Gang】's trump card.

As for why he had helped Lu Yang refine 【Li Jie Bo】, besides exploiting Lu Yang's predicament to create a ritual affair and thereby seek the attention of 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】, there was another reason.

More importantly, it was this divine marvel of 【Duanmu Yuan Tu】!

He had used Suo Huan's hands to refine this spiritual sword precisely so that at the most critical moment, he could use this karma-severing divine marvel to bring about this situation!

"Are you going to continue fighting me, or go seize the blessed land and the Golden Nature?"

【Cheng Tian Gang】 laughed loudly, but before his voice had even faded, most of the True Persons had already stopped their attacks and rushed toward the 【Lingxu Blessed Land】 and Suo Huan's Golden Nature.

The Pure Land and the Dao Court immediately chose to stop targeting 【Cheng Tian Gang】; after all, the 【Lingxu Blessed Land】 and Suo Huan's Golden Nature were originally earmarked for them, and if someone else snatched them away, their entire expedition would yield nothing but losses, whereas suppressing 【Cheng Tian Gang】 was a relatively long-term interest.

Long-term interests meant they could be delayed.

But the 【Lingxu Blessed Land】 and Suo Huan's Golden Nature were short-term gains; once this opportunity passed, it would be gone forever, so how could they casually give them up?

Besides, wasn't 【Cheng Tian Gang】 already injured?

It was enough to wound him; killing him was impossible anyway, so why offend him to the point of no return? Compared to that, securing more immediate benefits was far more practical.

"As expected... I still have to rely on myself!"

High above in the dome of heaven, Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person laughed coldly upon seeing this, showing not the slightest intention of stopping, but instead attacking 【Cheng Tian Gang】 even more frenziedly!

Witnessing this scene, 【Cheng Tian Gang】's expression instantly changed: "Shrew! Madwoman!"

He had never expected that after seeing all other True Persons stop their attacks, Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person, despite knowing her realm was lower than his, would still insist on tangling with him!

One must remember that the reason Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person had managed to trap him this time and inflict heavy injuries was partly because he was still suffering backlash from the 【Mingfu】, and partly because she had drawn in a joint effort from True Persons of all factions; but now that only this madwoman remained, on what grounds did she think she could fight him?

Did she not understand how to weigh pros and cons when facing a situation where the costs outweighed the benefits?

Had she not seen that even the other Holy Sect True Persons had stopped?

Yet since Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person had chosen to do this, 【Cheng Tian Gang】 had no choice but to frantically urge his magic power as well, continuing to stalemate with her.

However, 【Cheng Tian Gang】's cultivation base was ultimately higher.

Thus, in this tug-of-war, he eventually gained the upper hand; 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】 continued to fall step by step, flying toward the gates of the 【Mingfu】.

Yet he too had paid a price.

Below, the karmic sin of Master Master Chongguang, which 【Cheng Tian Gang】 had refined into a clone, had begun to burn, and he had even sacrificed the fruit-position treasure 【Tongming Yiyun Lu Shu】 entirely; this meant that after this battle, if he failed to obtain 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】, there would be no second chance.

For over so many years, only Master Master Chongguang had ever verified 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】.

Without his karmic sin serving as a medium, 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】 would no longer cast its gaze downward, and the difficulty of pulling it into the Mingfu would skyrocket several-fold.

At the very least, it would be impossible before the arrival of the millennial calamity.

'Only victory is allowed; defeat is not!'

【Cheng Tian Gang】's gaze was grim; he had already placed all his chips on the gambling table, and although Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person was still obstructing him, it was to no avail.

Yet at the same time.

'You beast!'

Lu Yang held 【Li Jie Bo】, his expression ugly; what made him feel even more stifled was that he dared only curse this single angry phrase in his heart, not daring to speak it aloud.

'【Li Jie Bo】 definitely has problems; after all, since it involves a True Person, how could there not be some hidden contingency? It might not even be just this one contingency; unless I use the 【Book of Hundred Lives】 to cleanse it, I wouldn't dare use it again—who knows if it might kill me with one more slash?'

This had nothing even to do with the sword spirit's will within 【Li Jie Bo】 itself.

【Cheng Tian Gang】's contingency had completely exceeded the limits of this half-true treasure; even if the sword spirit was unwilling, it remained impossible to resist the other's manipulation.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but lift his head.

At this moment, Suo Huan was already dead, his soul and spirit scattered, while his blessed land and Golden Nature were being carved up and fought over by True Persons of all factions, so no one paid attention to him, a mere nobody.

Yes, a nobody.

These were Suo Huan's dying words, and that sigh still echoed in Lu Yang's ears: "We nobodies can only drift with the current."

"If we drift in the right direction, we might ride the momentum upward."

"If we drift in the wrong direction, we are buried beneath the sea."

"Fellow Daoist, take my advice and give up; you cannot fight against those great ones in the heavens. Having escaped this deadly situation this time, it would be better to simply live out your life in peace."

"With a perfected Foundation Establishment and five lifespans, over a thousand years is not bad at all."

"Do not make the same mistake of self-deception as I did..."

When leaving these final dying words, Suo Huan's tone was very calm.

Had he found relief? Lu Yang did not think so; he believed Suo Huan had simply become numb and despairing, viewing the sea of bitterness as impossible to cross and believing that seeking the Golden Nature was nothing but aiming too high.

Yet after a moment of silence, Lu Yang smiled.

The sea of bitterness is hard to cross? Heaven's will is hard to defy?

'Fellow Daoist Suo Huan, in your next life, I will ferry you across!'

The next second, Lu Yang looked toward 【Cheng Tian Gang】 and Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person, who were still fiercely battling, then turned his sword horizontally and placed it against his own neck.

"Hm!?"

Almost simultaneously, 【Cheng Tian Gang】 felt a sensation and whipped his head around to look at Lu Yang.

The ritual affair by which he was guiding 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】 was formed based on the premise of "helping Lu Yang reverse a certain-death situation," with all the karmic ties centered on Lu Yang.

However—

'What if I die?'

At this moment, Lu Yang's mind was perfectly clear; if he died, it would mean "reversal failed," the ritual affair would collapse, and 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】 would naturally hide itself again!

This was undoubtedly something 【Cheng Tian Gang】 did not wish to see; having already expended such a great price, how could he allow everything to be ruined at the last step?

Therefore, very quickly, a voice drifted over:

"Young friend, what do you want?"

【Cheng Tian Gang】's tone remained calm, believing Lu Yang had merely seen through the situation and was now haggling from a position of strength, so he straightforwardly got straight to the point.

"I want Suo Huan's Golden Nature; the amount doesn't matter."

Lu Yang replied with equal calmness and indifference.

"Good!"

【Cheng Tian Gang】 did not haggle over the price but nodded directly; while continuing to suppress Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person, he diverted a fraction of his attention to snatch a sliver of the Golden Nature.

Since what Lu Yang asked for was so little, the True Persons were willing to grant him this face; having done this, 【Cheng Tian Gang】 paid Lu Yang no further mind and immediately withdrew his gaze, believing it impossible for Lu Yang to actually commit suicide and assuming he was merely looting during a crisis—now that his demand was met, Lu Yang would naturally be sensible.

He was even praising Lu Yang's act of looting during a crisis.

'He has methods, cunning, and courage; he is a talented individual who will be of great use in the future.'

【Cheng Tian Gang】 pondered in his heart how best to utilize Lu Yang as a chess piece in the future, after all, strictly speaking, he had saved Lu Yang's life this time.

What was a mere sliver of Golden Nature? He could naturally make it up later.

The karma of saving a life meant he could feed off Lu Yang for a lifetime!

However, the next second.

"Slash!"

【Cheng Tian Gang】, who had just withdrawn his gaze, instantly froze, and his expression, which had always remained calm, finally showed a rare trace of shock and fury.

Turning back, he saw Lu Yang grinning coldly at him.

The sliver of Suo Huan's Golden Nature had already been stored away by him, while 【Li Jie Bo】 had slashed open his own neck, simultaneously severing the karmic ties on his body!

"Boom!"

Almost simultaneously, the 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】, which had still been falling, instantly dispersed its light, hid itself once more, and broke free from 【Cheng Tian Gang】's grasp!

"Seeking death!!!"

For the first time, 【Cheng Tian Gang】's voice carried intense rage, exploding loudly between heaven and earth, with such terrifying pressure that even the True Persons were startled.

Yet Lu Yang was not afraid in the slightest; facing the sky, he raised his head, puffed out his chest, and flipped the bird.

You want 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】?

You want 【Chang Chang Qingjing】?

You want to become a Dao Lord?

"Go eat shit!"

This time, Lu Yang made no attempt to hide it, no longer muttering silently in his heart, but instead cursed aloud directly, before defiantly self-detonating amidst a tremendous roar!

"Book of Hundred Lives!"

(End of Chapter)