Chapter 270: One Move Ahead

Regarding Ang Xiao, Lu Yang had always been generous in directing his utmost hostility toward him.

Whatever Ang Xiao wanted to do, he would destroy; whatever Ang Xiao did not want to do, he would facilitate—his sole focus was targeted opposition.

Therefore, he was very interested in Yu Suzhen's experiences.

Achieving Great Perfection in Qi Condensation within three years certainly meant she had received significant opportunities through Ang Xiao's promotion; how much of that involved Ang Xiao playing dirty tricks?

With True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue presiding above, it was the perfect time to investigate!

Since soul-searching was impossible and the String Puppet technique could not be used, Lu Yang couldn't be bothered to ask questions anyway; it was far more thorough to let Yu Suzhen's body tell him directly.

Thinking thus, Lu Yang immediately activated his superhuman state, focused his mind, and skillfully employed his secret technique to enter Yu Suzhen's sea of consciousness, causing her to let out a miserable scream as if pierced through the body by an iron rod, while her past memories gushed forth like flowing water.

'The experiences of these past three years!'

Soon, Lu Yang gained complete control over Yu Suzhen's memories; layers of dim scenes emerged until finally, one specific vision reflected before his eyes.

At first, Yu Suzhen's experiences matched his predictions exactly.

After enduring countless hardships, she finally achieved Qi Condensation, joined Senior Butian Peak, was targeted by Liu Xin, miraculously killed him in return, and thereby obtained the inheritance of a Preheaven True Person.

However, right at this point, something was wrong.

Inside Liu Xin's Myriad Souls Banner, Yu Suzhen had seen an existence she had never encountered before; her current cultivation base was entirely due to that being's guidance!

'Where... is this place?'

In the memory, Lu Yang widened his eyes, yet all he could see was a turbid river, where churning waves revealed glistening white bones.

The river surged vast and boundless, with no end in sight.

Only at the river's center stood a massive boulder, towering like a mountain, firmly anchored in the middle, dividing the river into distinct regions.

'Something isn't right.'

Lu Yang frowned deeply; the scene before him was what Yu Suzhen had seen inside the Myriad Souls Banner, yet his understanding of the banner far exceeded hers, and he had never discovered such a place within it! This was undoubtedly Ang Xiao's backup plan—had he tampered with the Myriad Souls Banner?

Suddenly, Lu Yang remembered.

'I have seen this place before.'

This was a memory that did not belong to him, yet now he recalled every detail with crystal clarity; in that memory, he had been standing right here.

However, in that memory, there was another person present.

That person stood atop the massive boulder in the river's center, staring straight at him.

'Hiss!'

In an instant, Lu Yang gasped sharply and instinctively looked toward the direction in the memory, only to find that a human figure had indeed appeared there!

'No... he is an outsider!'

'A trap!?'

At this moment, Lu Yang was in the midst of 'soul-searching'; all the scenes before him were essentially illusions, yet that human figure was different—he was undeniably real!

He had walked out from within the memory!

In a place beyond description.

Amidst layers of shadows, in a realm shrouded by void and darkness, a handsome Daoist Priest sat cross-legged in midair, head raised, his eyes flowing with starlight like a river.

The next second, he smiled:

"Fellow Daoist is truly extraordinary; I placed my move within the Holy Sect to isolate karmic ties, yet you actually calculated it out, arriving here with such a grand procession to wait for me..."

Ang Xiao's tone carried a long-lost sense of satisfaction; in his view, everything that had happened so far was merely a game of chess between himself and that hidden fellow Daoist—he had used Yu Suzhen as a pawn, while the opponent had summoned Hong Yun, True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue, and others to intercept his piece.

This was no ordinary feat!

'To calculate my true objective with such precision, it seems the matter of Chen Tu has already been exposed, not to mention the fact that a True Person is watching.'

Lu Yang's guess was correct.

At this very moment, True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue was crouching nearby overseas, except her Dharma Body had merged with heaven and earth, making her invisible to anyone below the True Person realm.

'Fellow Daoist has never personally acted from start to finish.'

'You wield the art of borrowing a knife to kill with perfect mastery, hiding yourself in the shadows—yet if you truly possessed power comparable to mine, why hide in the shadows?'

Ang Xiao's smile gradually widened: 'Fellow Daoist's cultivation base isn't high, is it?'

'Mid Stage of Golden Core? Early Stage of Golden Core? Perhaps you borrowed the power of a fruit position? Surely you aren't at Foundation Establishment? Let me see just how many tricks you have...'

By now, Ang Xiao felt certain of victory; indeed, he had intended to use Yu Suzhen to lure out a Preheaven Daoist Demon to refine into a clone, but he never put all his eggs in one basket—thus, Yu Suzhen was both his pawn and the poisonous bait he had set!

In his view, the fellow Daoist hiding behind the scenes had miscalculated only one thing.

'You probably didn't expect that I can now crudely utilize the power of the Netherworld; although this Nether Envoy is not my clone, it surpasses one.'

'If you ignore it, it will help me bring the Preheaven Daoist Demon back to the Netherworld, and my scheme will still succeed.'

'But if you intend to stop it and kill it, you will inevitably suffer backlash from the entire Netherworld!'

The backlash from the Netherworld was nothing compared to karma.

Karma was merely a vast net full of holes and countless loopholes, but since all beings undergo reincarnation, the influence of the Netherworld was truly pervasive!

'The Netherworld's backlash strikes directly at the true spirit; even if you borrow another's body, you cannot escape it!'

At that time, being within the Netherworld, he could follow this connection to directly lock onto the hidden fellow Daoist's true form and uncover their origins.

'Whichever choice Fellow Daoist makes, I remain undefeated; in the end, I am still one move ahead in this game!'

Thinking thus, Ang Xiao couldn't help but burst into laughter; for someone of his stature, the feeling of surpassing a 'fellow Daoist' was a rare enjoyment.

'How about it? Will you hand over the Preheaven Daoist Demon willingly, or shall I see your true face?'

Ang Xiao looked expectantly toward the present world.

Meanwhile, Lu Yang had also realized the situation, understanding that he had fallen into Ang Xiao's calculation, yet he felt no particular panic.

'My true body is far away in the distance; no matter how bitter it gets, it is only the clone that suffers.'

Lu Yang observed the suddenly appearing figure through the String Puppet; the opponent had walked out from the memory and directly entered the clone's sea of consciousness.

Looking closely now, he saw the figure was half black and half white, bizarre in appearance, tall and thin, holding a mourning staff in one hand and dragging a soul-hooking chain in the other; opening its mouth in loud laughter, it revealed a full set of sharp teeth, squinting at people with glints of cold light, and upon seeing Lu Yang, it immediately shouted without hesitation:

"Hey! Where did this evil spirit come from?"

At these words, Lu Yang immediately laughed: "Evil spirit? I think you, honored sir, look more like an evil spirit; intruding into another's sea of consciousness without permission is hardly the conduct of the Righteous Path."

"Presumptuous!"

The figure sneered coldly: "Do you take me for those mortals with fleshly eyes? You possess spirit but no soul, consciousness but no corporeal soul; if you are not an evil spirit, then what are you?"

'Judging by this tone... this isn't Ang Xiao himself?'

Lu Yang heard clearly and began speculating in his heart: 'What exactly is this thing? The "evil spirit" it mentions... could it be referring to the Daoist Demon?'

In this regard, Ang Xiao's methods were actually identical to Lu Yang's; the only difference was that Lu Yang had created a Second Clone, while he had crafted a Nether Envoy—both were completely unaware of their true origins, knowing only to complete the tasks assigned by their hidden manipulator.

Therefore, the next moment, the monster shook its head: "Forget it, I can't be bothered to meddle further."

"Anyway, a person without soul or corporeal soul like you deserves reincarnation; whether you are an evil spirit or not, today I will capture both you and that evil spirit outside!"

(End of Chapter)