Chapter 344: Nothing But Relying on Myself

'This entire scheme was prepared for 【Ang Xiao】!'

At this moment, Lu Yang felt his thoughts clearer than ever before; numerous clues linked together, and he finally understood the full story of events up to now.

'The cause was 【Xuan Ling Realm】!'

'To devour 【Xuan Ling Realm】, True Lord Chongguang of the Holy Sect led the way, followed by True Lords from all other factions; many True Lords went beyond the heavens and annihilated Xuan Ling Realm.'

Only one person was not invited.

That was 【Ang Xiao】!

'【Ang Xiao】, being in the Netherworld, could naturally not travel to 【Xuan Ling Realm】 with the True Lords, and thus could not learn of the True Lords' actions beyond the heavens.'

'If my guess is correct, the True Lords did not merely kill the Supreme of 【Xuan Ling Realm】; I suspect True Lord Qingcheng Feixue also took the opportunity to expose 【Ang Xiao】's identity! This is why the Heavenly Court later split into four; these four fragments are the bait used to lure 【Ang Xiao】!'

'The outcome was exactly as expected.'

'【Ang Xiao】 fell for the trap, voluntarily entering a fragment of the Heavenly Court; the consciousness originally used to observe the mortal world was thus sealed, cutting off his perception of the mortal world!'

'Then...'

Thinking of this, Lu Yang looked again toward the Jiangbei direction; he knew the arrangements Chongguang had made to seek the Golden, but this timing was too early for Chongguang.

In other words—

'... it was Hong Yun!'

To seek the Golden so brazenly in Jiangbei, he must have received the tacit approval of Chongguang and True Lord Qingcheng Feixue; this absolutely exceeded 【Ang Xiao】's expectations!

'This matter should be viewed in three layers.'

'The first layer is the trap set by Chongguang and True Lord Qingcheng Feixue using the Heavenly Court fragments; in fact, 【Ang Xiao】 might not have failed to foresee this in advance.'

'Therefore, the second layer is the trap 【Ang Xiao】 set upon this foundation.'

'As for this trap, it is most likely within the cave fragment beneath the waters of the Gantang Dao; if Chongguang and True Lord Qingcheng Feixue, believing they had trapped 【Ang Xiao】's consciousness, boldly entered that cave fragment, they would certainly fall into the trap; even if they did not die, they would lose a layer of skin!'

'Above this lies the third layer.'

Thinking of this, Lu Yang could not help but clap his hands and laugh:

'Chongguang and True Lord Qingcheng Feixue not only did not go to that cave fragment, but even chose to cut off the firewood from under the pot, directly allowing Hong Yun to seek the Golden!'

This is the absolute killing blow!

Because doing so brought no benefit to Chongguang, yet was enough to deliver a fatal blow to 【Ang Xiao】; it was unreservedly harming others without benefiting oneself.

'However, 【Ang Xiao】 should have also noticed something was wrong.'

'Because he discovered he could not leave 【Nan Tian Gate】 and sensed the existence of the trap, he urgently wanted to contact his physical body in the outside world.'

'Thus, he appeared before me.'

Under the divine enhancement of 【Dong Ming】, Lu Yang's thoughts grew even sharper:

'Just now, his many words contained both probing thoughts and intentions of cooperation, but ultimately his most fundamental goal was only one: to make me kill him!'

'Whether by provoking my anger or deliberately arousing my resistance, these were merely means; what he wanted was the result: to commit suicide by my hand!'

The influence of the 【Netherworld】 was everywhere.

As long as one remains in this world, upon death the soul and spirit must enter the 【Netherworld】; this is also the key to this consciousness of 【Ang Xiao】 returning.

'As for himself, he probably cannot commit suicide.'

This was also Lu Yang's guess.

Otherwise, why would 【Ang Xiao】 go to such trouble to borrow his hand to return to the Netherworld? Cutting his own throat would be far more straightforward; there must be a True Lord's influence involved!

Thinking of this, Lu Yang manipulated the clone within 【Nan Tian Gate】 and tentatively extended a hand.

"Hmph!"

His movement suddenly stopped, unable to perform any further action; and just now, he had intended to self-destruct, but this act was forbidden.

'... Indeed!'

Raising his head, Lu Yang seemed to see an invisible great power like a vast net wrapping the entire 【Nan Tian Gate】, displaying a line of talismanic script:

【Suicide is forbidden in this place!】

'This is... the power of the merit of 【Xuan Ling Realm】! A True Lord exerted influence upon it, thereby leaving this rule within 【Nan Tian Gate】!'

Thereby locking down 【Ang Xiao】's act of committing suicide to return to the Netherworld!

This was absolutely not the means of True Lord Qingcheng Feixue.

More importantly, this rule was concealed extremely deeply; at least 【Ang Xiao】 outside did not detect any clue, otherwise he would certainly have noticed something was amiss.

And this layer of concealment was yet another completely different method.

Besides this, the seal isolating 【Nan Tian Gate】 from the outside world also did not seem like the work of True Lord Qingcheng Feixue; it was clearly done by someone else.

'Three... at least three True Lords acted in this!'

'Enemies everywhere, truly enemies everywhere... 【Ang Xiao】 was not plotted against by True Lord Qingcheng Feixue alone, but by all True Lords under heaven!'

In an instant, Lu Yang truly felt boundless emotion:

'These figures who became True Lords, one by one, are none of them kind; even a figure like 【Ang Xiao】, if he makes a single mistake, will overturn!'

Hong Yun has no 【Chen Tu】 shackle; once he succeeds in seeking the Golden and regains control of 【Fu Deng Huo】, he will inevitably dismantle all of 【Ang Xiao】's arrangements, causing him to fall from the position of late-stage Jin Dan; this is a great Dao grudge of life and death! For this, 【Ang Xiao】 is probably willing to pay any price to stop him.

Can Hong Yun succeed?

'Very difficult...'

Lu Yang shook his head in his heart; it was not that he lacked confidence in Hong Yun, but that he had confidence in 【Ang Xiao】; the caliber of this late-stage Jin Dan Great True Lord was too high.

But it cannot be denied.

After 【Ang Xiao】 was plotted against in this manner, Hong Yun has already seized the initiative; if before seeking the Golden there was no hope, now he has at least a thirty percent chance!

'... There is only one problem.'

What about Chongguang?

In this scheme targeting 【Ang Xiao】, True Lord Qingcheng Feixue and Chongguang obviously exerted great effort, yet looking at the result, Hong Yun reaped the greatest gain.

What benefit do they have?

Jiangnan, Gantang Dao, Changyao Precious Light Cave Heaven.

Just as Daoist Hong Yun sought the Golden Core while all True Lords under heaven watched, a man of ordinary appearance yet with sharp spirit flying between his brows arrived here with composure.

His body overflowed with brilliance.

Many glories on his body merged into a beam of pure divine power light, like a bright yellow lamp, illuminating the lake bottom and revealing the form of the Cave Heaven.

"It seems this is the place."

The man smiled slightly and walked into the Cave Heaven without hesitation.

Inside the Cave Heaven, the towering giant snake formed by Si Fire stretched its limbs to its heart's content; the palace gates at the snake's head stood wide open, revealing the scene within.

The scene inside the palace was incredibly simple: a chess table and two rush mats.

A phantom figure already sat on the inner rush mat; seeing this, the man did not linger but walked directly to the outer rush mat and sat down with composure.

"My lord, Master Chongguang pays his respects."

Master Chongguang's expression was calm, his eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny as he looked across the chess table, where a figure entirely shrouded in mist sat.

"Remarkable."

The mist churned, and a voice, seemingly male or female, seemingly old or young, difficult to define in gender or age, emerged from within, carrying a tone of admiration and sigh:

"The Holy Sect indeed produces talents generation after generation."

Originally, Ang Xiao was still lying in ambush within the Cave Heaven, waiting for Master Chongguang and True Lord Qingcheng Feixue to take the bait, but he received a warning from a divided soul within the Southern Tianmen.

Only then did he realize the changes in the outside world.

It cannot be denied that he was now truly in a dilemma; he still had a way to stop the current Daoist Hong Yun seeking the Golden Core, but it would inevitably require paying a huge price.

Thinking of this, Ang Xiao also raised the same question as Lu Yang:

"After exhausting all efforts to ruin my arrangement, you ultimately fulfilled Daoist Hong Yun. What exactly do you seek?"

"Only to seek the Dao."

Master Chongguang's expression remained calm: "The 'Overturned Lamp Fire' can no longer be proven; my lord is after all in the late stage of Jin Dan, so if you truly wish to turn the situation around, there must be a way."

"However, my lord clearly aims higher and is unwilling to pay the price."

"Everything depends on how my lord chooses. If my lord can find another path for me to prove the Golden Seat, I can naturally help my lord resolve this situation."

Upon hearing this, Ang Xiao fell silent for a moment, then understood the reason:

"Haha, hahaha! So that is it, so that is it! This was not your scheme, but Xue Feihong's scheme! You have already become a discarded pawn!"

True Lord Qingcheng Feixue only wanted a 'Overturned Lamp Fire' True Lord; as for who it was, she did not care!

This person could be Master Chongguang, or it could be Daoist Hong Yun.

Previously, she did not recognize Daoist Hong Yun because Daoist Hong Yun had not returned to his position for five thousand years, so she had no hope in him, thus pouring her efforts onto Master Chongguang.

However, things are different now.

Daoist Hong Yun traded with Lu Yang for the 'Inner Observation of the Void Heaven and Earth True Explanation' and the 'Upper Bright Golden Chalice Jade Light', recovering the foundation he once used to return to his position.

More importantly, he did not have the hidden danger of Chen Earth.

"Compared to you, Daoist Hong Yun's hope of seeking the Golden Core is undoubtedly greater; no wonder Xue Feihong would view you as a discarded pawn, no wonder you would come to find me alone now!"

Upon hearing this, Master Chongguang cupped his hands: "My lord sees clearly."

Facing Ang Xiao's intentional or unintentional mockery, his expression remained calm, the sharp spirit between his brows not broken in the slightest, always as sharp and awe-inspiring as a blade.

"It is simply relying on myself."

(End of this chapter)