Chapter 306: Man in Yushu Jiange, Heart Initially Holy

To be honest, Lu Yang never imagined he would meet Ang Xiao again in this life under such a dramatic and abrupt circumstance.

'Bai Bu Dui, stay calm.'

Lu Yang clenched his teeth, suppressing the urge to restart: 'The one who explored the 【Chang Yao Bao Guang Cave Heaven】 was Xiao Hai True Person—what does that have to do with me?'

'With the 【Puppet Strings】 blocking him, he can't see me!'

Just bluffing!

Lu Yang had one hundred percent confidence in this, after all, this was a golden talent from the 【Bai Shi Shu】.

【Puppet Strings: Steal a person's fortune, inherit their karmic ties, and you can hide beneath their appearance, manipulate them like a puppet, with no one able to trace their origins.】

Said to be untraceable—then it is untraceable!

Hang it up!

The confidence granted by the 【Bai Shi Shu】 allowed Lu Yang to forcibly steady his emotions and continue locking eyes with 【Ang Xiao】 through Xiao Hai True Person's vision.

In that moment, all sound vanished.

'.'

Even the rising Si Fire froze mid-air; the flying sparks halted in place. Though heat rolled around them, the air turned icy as winter.

Xiao Hai True Person's expression froze solid in the instant of terror, his thoughts halted—only the figure standing within the fire remained mobile, one hand supporting his cheek, the other crossed over his chest, his gaze blazing as he stared directly at Xiao Hai True Person before him.

His gaze was like a torch.

Xiao Hai True Person's qi fluctuations, magic power ripples, pupil dilation and contraction, shifting gaze, and karmic traces—all were laid bare before him.

【Ang Xiao】's smile faded slightly.

'Which fellow cultivator?'

He spoke slowly, and his voice made the entire cave heaven fragment tremble; the Si Fire resumed its flow, creeping inch by inch up Xiao Hai True Person's body!

Countless fire snakes swallowed Xiao Hai True Person in a single blink, then slithered into his seven orifices, flooding his five viscera and six bowels, his spiritual platform and mind sea; the blazing flames rendered the poor Foundation Establishment True Person utterly transparent, leaving not the slightest anomaly hidden.

Yet 【Ang Xiao】 found nothing.

'Illusion?'

The empty cave heaven still held only himself; this result stirred a flicker of doubt in his eyes, but it quickly hardened into absolute certainty:

'Impossible!'

'My perception never lies—someone is watching me, using this Foundation Establishment True Person to watch me, yet I cannot trace… which fellow cultivator?'

Across the world, few could be called 'fellow cultivator' by him—after all, monopolizing five fruit positions and leaving no fruit for others to attain was no ordinary feat; only those who reached Late Jin Dan through such means ranked among the strongest, or how else could he scheme for the Underworld?

'Could it be… the Dao Master is watching me?'

【Ang Xiao】's eyes grew even more cautious—he knew of one such technique: the Pure Land! That wretched World Honored One loved this trick most!

'Unlikely—what could possibly draw the Dao Master's gaze?'

【Ang Xiao】 stared coldly and intently at Xiao Hai True Person—he was strong, extremely strong, but certainly not worthy of the attention of four Dao Masters.

They were not even on the same level.

If the mortal world were a great sea of suffering, with all beings drowning within it, only True Jun could ascend to a fruit position and ride the sea upon it as a boat.

The Dao Master had already crossed beyond the sea of suffering, reaching the other shore.

The Dao Master's perception of the world and his points of focus had long transcended the mundane, utterly distinct from all others—at least, certainly not from him.

'What if… I kill him?'

【Ang Xiao】 frowned deeply—this Li family of the Tide-Seekers was a piece he had carefully chosen to conceal this cave heaven fragment for years.

But not to bury it completely.

Only to leave a few traces.

Only then, when Daoist Hong Yun True Person finally, after countless hardships, found this cave heaven fragment, would he feel no suspicion whatsoever.

The two previous jade slips—【Dong Xu Nei Guan Tian Di Zhen Jie】 and 【Shang Hao Jin Zhan Yu Guang】—contained flawless content; otherwise, they could never have deceived Daoist Hong Yun. His true manipulation lay not in these doctrinal teachings, but in this very cave heaven fragment!

Once Daoist Hong Yun True Person absorbed this cave heaven fragment and transformed it into his own blessed land,

his scheme would succeed.

But if Xiao Hai True Person died here, it might not.

'Though I used cognitive barriers to make Daoist Hong Yun overlook the past cause of death and his suspicions toward 【Chen Tu】, and removed his backup plan for reclaiming his position,'

'he is still a True Jun.'

'Five thousand years have passed—even with 【Cognitive Barriers】 affecting him, he must have sensed something amiss by now; Daoist Hong Yun is likely as skittish as a bird startled by the sound of a bow.'

'Under these circumstances, if I let this Foundation Establishment True Person die, Daoist Hong Yun will suspect something when he comes later, introducing countless variables to my scheme—no, wrong: from the moment this Foundation Establishment True Person appeared in the cave heaven, my scheme already had variables!'

But where did these variables come from?

【Ang Xiao】 pinched his fingers to calculate, yet found nothing—his brow deepened further; for the first time, he felt a flicker of things slipping from his control.

'…Enough. I shall respond to all change with stillness.'

The next instant, 【Ang Xiao】 regained his composure, then stepped back, his figure melting once more into the blazing sea of Si Fire.

Time resumed its flow.

Xiao Hai True Person blinked—his earlier terror vanished as if it had never happened; he had already forgotten why he had been frightened.

Nothing major had occurred.

No opportunity had appeared.

'Hmm, what a pity.'

Thinking of this, Xiao Hai True Person sighed deeply: 'I never expected this cave heaven to be empty—no treasures at all. I came all this way for nothing.'

Yet he ignored the three jade slips on the table.

The next moment, he turned and left the cave heaven without hesitation; behind him, 【Ang Xiao】 silently watched his retreating back.

'An unknown fellow cultivator… interesting.'

A smile of interest slowly traced itself across his gentle face; having orchestrated alone for over five thousand years, he felt delight at even a slight variable.

'Let us see how you will make your move!'

"I'm out, I'm out!"

Withdrawing the vision of 【Puppet on Strings】, Lu Yang patted his chest, still shaken: "In this life, I will not approach a single step of the Gan Tang Dao again!"

This broken place is far too dangerous!

Despite his words, a bold thought arose in Lu Yang's heart: "However, Master Chongguang must be very interested in that cave heaven."

The method to create a blessed cave heaven!

The method to sense 【Covered Lamp Fire】!

At this point in time, Master Chongguang should not have reincarnated yet; these two techniques are enough to set him in motion, and once he arrives, how could True Lord Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue not come?

'The "Ming Guang Daily Records" clearly recorded suspicions regarding 【Chen Tu】; as long as I can make Master Chongguang see this, I can make him wary of this point, and incidentally forge a bond of merit, so that later I can obtain the immortal spiritual body he leaves behind in his reincarnation, that Xin Metal Qi.'

【Pomegranate Wood】 is the union of Geng Shen and Xin You.

And since he intends to prove 【Pomegranate Wood】 in this life, the Xin Metal Qi concerns his Dao path; placing a piece early to plan ahead is also preparing for a rainy day.

Moreover, it can make True Lord Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue and Ang Xiao fight!

Once the existence of 【Ang Xiao】 is exposed early, the grand-scale "Master Chongguang Seeking Metal" from the previous life will, in this life, likely become even more the focus of all eyes.

At that time, it will be his opportunity!

'There is still about a century of time.'

Lu Yang pondered in his heart, and a clear plan surfaced in his mind:

'Within a century, I must nurture the immortal spiritual body to the perfection of Foundation Establishment; during this period, it would be best to connect with Suo Huan, letting him and Master Chongguang go seek metal together.'

'With this pair of Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick standing at the front, attracting everyone's gaze.'

'I can leisurely make my arrangements, emerge into the world with the identity of a Foundation Establishment-perfect immortal spiritual body, and then, while everyone is too busy to stop me, directly attain the True Lord fruit position!'

Sky-Connecting Cloud Sea, Holy Fire Cliff.

Inside the vast main hall, a man whose appearance was not handsome but whose brows carried a sharp, sky-piercing momentum sat upright in the foremost seat.

It was none other than True Person Chongguang!

In his hand was a flying letter glowing with spiritual light, precisely the one Lu Yang had previously sent via spell, which detailed the secrets of the Ten Thousand Graves Pit in Jiangnan.

Besides that, Lu Yang described in his own words how he reincarnated in Jiangnan, acted as a spy, and was currently at the Heart of the First Saint in Yushu Jiange; even True Person Chongguang clicked his tongue in amazement.

There are actually quite a few traitors in the Holy Sect.

After all, looking across the Sida Sect, the only sect whose environment is worse than the Holy Sect is Pure Land; yet Pure Land allows entry but forbids exit, so there is no risk of rebellion.

Compared to that, Yushu Jiange and Dao Court are far better.

Therefore, ordinary True Persons with no hope on their Dao path often, after death and reincarnation, choose not to return to the Holy Sect, but simply change their alias and go directly to Yushu Jiange or Dao Court.

However, after so many have left, this is the first to send a letter back, saying their heart is inclined toward the Holy Sect.

"Interesting..."

True Person Chongguang looked at the signature name at the end of the flying letter and fell into brief contemplation: "Duanmu Yuan Tu... does our Holy Sect have such a loyal True Person?"

(End of this chapter)