Chapter 361: When the Self Begins! (Fourth Update)

"Is that all you have? You dare challenge me?"

Lu Yang suppressed the sword light, reached out, and immediately fished two streaks of flowing light from the spiritual tide formed by the crumbling, disintegrating true bodies of the two Wandu Sect True Persons.

They were their gu insects.

【Dragon Centipede Gu】.

【Cicada Gu】.

The former was clearly a divine technique gu similar to a Dharma Body, capable of transforming a person into a strange dragon centipede; it indeed possessed a bit of the awe of a true dragon, but that was all.

The latter, however, was far more interesting.

"The morning mushroom does not see the dark or the bright; the cicada does not know spring or autumn."

Lu Yang held the 【Cicada Gu】 in his hand; at first glance, it appeared to be a fine golden cicada, which emitted the sound of cicada chirping as he infused his magic power.

Suddenly, Lu Yang's eyebrows raised slightly, for amidst this chirping sound, he clearly felt his own body undergo a subtle decay; the speed of his magic power circulation accelerated, as if time were gradually draining from him, and a touch of frost appeared amidst his originally jet-black hair.

"Hmph!"

The next second, Lu Yang let out a cold smile, flicked his fingertip, and instantly triggered a 【Sword Qi Thunder Sound】, which immediately dispersed that strange cicada chirping.

Looking back, where was any decay?

His jet-black hair remained unchanged; the wrinkles and decay previously caused by the passage of time had vanished entirely, as if everything just now had been nothing but an illusion.

"Interesting."

Lu Yang stroked his chin, having figured out the mystery of this 【Cicada Gu】; its foundation lay not in magic power, but solely in the single thought of the person struck by the gu.

"Appearance arises from the mind; if you believe, it exists; if you do not, it does not. This gu can create an illusion so real it is indistinguishable from reality, and once the victim believes it, the false instantly becomes true; if they do not believe, it is merely a dream... This gu is far superior to the 【Dragon Centipede Gu】."

The only drawback is that this gu has an extremely short lifespan.

Born in spring, dying in summer; born in summer, perishing in autumn; therefore, it usually remains in a dormant state, reviving only when needed, and cannot be used lightly under ordinary circumstances.

'No wonder the three lots drawn just now by the 【Fate-Inspecting Lot】 included the possibility that I could never take them down.'

After all, if the 【Cicada Gu】 is used well, its power is truly considerable.

Whether injured, drained of magic power, or trapped in other predicaments, as long as one firmly believes in the illusion one creates, the crisis can be easily smoothed away.

'Pity they met me.'

Such a miraculous gu, before it could truly unleash its power, was instantly defeated by Lu Yang's ungentlemanly one-shot combo, possessing great mystery but no place to be used.

"It's mine!"

Lu Yang waved his hand, drawing the 【Cicada Gu】 into his possession; the only pity was that neither of them carried the method for the Wandu Sect to control gu insects.

"That makes sense; such secrets are rarely carried on one's person..."

Thinking of this, Lu Yang's movement paused slightly.

In fact, if he wished, he could now bring the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner through the 【Heavenly Totality of All Phenomena Dharma Body】 and capture these two Wandu Sect True Persons.

By then, any technique secrets could be learned simply by asking.

However, after consideration, Lu Yang still gave it up.

'Unnecessary; since the avatar has already entered the Yushu Jiange, no trace linking it to the main body must remain; it is better to cut the ties cleanly.'

'And caution steers the ship for ten thousand years... Who knows if someone is watching me right now!'

In the Southern Border, in the very center of a military camp wrapped in layers of clouds with spears and swords standing like a forest, the Dao Court's 【Prince of Pacifying the South】 Wu Tai'an calmly withdrew his gaze.

"He actually won..."

Wu Tai'an stroked his chin, somewhat surprised: "Just Foundation Establishment, yet able to recover to the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment; this person's roots in a past life must be considerable."

He was a noble of the Dao Court imperial family; the current Son of Heaven was his elder brother, the Crown Prince was his nephew; the pair of emerald eyes brought by his bloodline possessed the mystery of gazing upward to the nine heavens and downward to the netherworld from birth, equivalent to others possessing an extra innate divine technique without a rank, making gazing ten thousand li away a mere trifle.

"The Yushu Jiange has produced another formidable sword cultivator."

Wu Tai'an sighed, but the expression on his face gradually grew gloomy, his tone low: "Looking across this world, how many heroes are there?"

"The Holy Sect is the most dazzling."

"A single 【Zhenzhen Grand Void True Lord】 broke the five-thousand-year shackles, opening a sixty-year era of great contention; which True Person in the world does not owe him a favor?"

"The Yushu Jiange is equally unwilling to fall behind."

"Ye Guangji, the True Person of Demons Sweeping, the number one sword cultivator in the world today; I cannot even imagine who in Foundation Establishment could withstand three of his sword strikes; his strength is fundamentally unreasonable."

"As for the Pure Land, let alone that; the Buddha's child has been born, and the 【Buddha Kingdom on Earth】 is just around the corner."

"Even the overseas..."

Speaking here, Wu Tai'an suddenly erupted in rage, slapping the table: "Even overseas, damn it, a formidable otherworldly wandering cultivator has appeared!"

The Holy Sect, the Yushu Jiange, the Pure Land; all possess the heroes of their time.

The overseas also produces talented people.

"But what about us?"

What about the Dao Court?

As the words fell, Wu Tai'an's adjutant, standing beside him, could not help but speak cautiously: "Your Highness, do we not also have the Crown Prince acting as Regent..."

It would have been better not to say that; once said, Wu Tai'an immediately sneered: "The Crown Prince? A figurehead who eats without working, a useless fool! He likely has his mind entirely set on waiting for Your Majesty to ascend the dragon carriage and depart this world, to meet the Great Ancestor, and then naturally inherit the throne of the Son of Heaven; that is the extent of his ambition in this life!"

"Letting him maintain what is already achieved is already a stretch."

"Letting him expand the borders and seek a Golden Seat for himself? You overestimate him! Let alone a Golden Seat, even holding a false position, he probably lacks the courage!"

"As for the entire court, one by one, they are all unparalleled cowards!"

"How can we govern Jiangdong well while together with these insects? How can we improve the Dao Court?"

Wu Tai'an cursed with great satisfaction.

However, the adjutant beside him listened with trembling heart and fear, wishing his ears were deaf, and could only gaze at his nose and his heart, pretending he heard nothing.

But the next second, his expression changed.

Because after the cursing, Wu Tai'an's expression suddenly became calm: "Back then, the 【Zhenzhen Grand Void True Lord】 opened sixty years of peace and tranquility."

"Ten years have passed since then."

"Yet the world remains exactly as it was. Though undercurrents surge, no one has truly taken that step. Do you know why?"

"Why?" the deputy general whispered.

"Because they are afraid!"

Wu Tai'an grinned: "Is what the 【Zhaozhen Taixu True Person】 said truly reliable? Have those my lords truly hidden themselves away? Did they leave any hidden moves?"

"These are all unknowns!"

"Perhaps some even suspect this is a scheme concocted among the True Persons themselves, intending to dig out and uproot by the roots the seedlings they have nurtured for five thousand years."

The more Wu Tai'an spoke, the more the deputy general sweated profusely.

Could these things possibly be true?

Of course they could!

Without even mentioning anything else, that 【Zhaozhen Taixu True Person】 hails from the Holy Sect! That fact alone is enough to make True Persons across the world harbor doubts.

However, in the next second, Wu Tai'an shifted his tone:

"If you ask me, they are all cowards!"

"Waiting today, waiting tomorrow—how long until the year of the monkey? Little do they know the sooner the time, the greater the chance! The later one seeks the Gold, the more dangerous it becomes!"

"After all, the 【Zhaozhen Taixu True Person】 is merely a newly ascended True Person. They say he can drag things out for sixty years, but who can truly say? Facing all the True Persons of the world single-handedly, I'd count it a feat if he drags it out for thirty years! It is even possible that he is already on the brink of falling, his death imminent!"

Having spoken, Wu Tai'an stood up.

"Your Highness..."

The deputy general seemed to have anticipated something and whispered an attempt to dissuade him, but seeing Wu Tai'an's calm and majestic expression, he silently lowered his head.

"How can the Holy Sect, the Yushu Jiange, the Pure Land, and the Overseas Regions lack my Dao Court?"

Wu Tai'an smiled with resolve: "All the True Persons in the world are watching and waiting, too afraid to seek the Gold, all waiting for someone to take the lead. If so, then let me be the first!"

"Looking back through ancient and modern times, ascending to seek the Gold has never been achieved without martyrdom. Now that the True Persons have hidden themselves, there has been no news of anyone martyring themselves for seeking the Gold; this is why the world does not flourish. If there is to be one, it must begin with me!"

(End of this chapter)