Chapter 187: The Identity of Lu Ya, the Might of Taiyi

Lu Ya?

Fang Longye's heart trembled; he raised his head to look at the smiling red-robed Daoist.

Seeing his composed demeanor, he let out a breath.

However, for a moment, he did not speak, remaining silently still.

On the ancient wooden table before him, there were tea utensils and incense; the blue smoke tilted into the flame light cast from outside the window, curling and not dissipating.

As if the sky were about to turn overcast, shadows were sparse and scattered, lingering to and fro.

Amidst the swirling smoke and light, the uncertainty on his face was reflected.

It did not take long.

After hesitating for only a moment, he still made up his mind.

He was seen taking one last greedy look at the Xiantian spiritual fruit on the table.

This was, after all, a Fusang Glazed Fruit! It belonged to the very top tier of fire-attribute Xiantian spiritual fruits.

A single one would be enough to allow one of the Five Qi in his chest—the Heart Fire Qi—to Reverse Innate.

What a pity.

Forcing himself to endure the feeling of his heart bleeding, he shifted his gaze, lowered his brows and eyes, and looked no more.

Then he said, "Senior, your great kindness and virtue are something this junior is endlessly grateful for."

"It is just that, as this junior has offended you just now, how would I dare to enjoy such a Xiantian wonder?"

The meaning of refusal in his words was exposed beyond doubt.

To be frank, he was truly very tempted by this.

It was just a pity.

When a person offers gifts with such courtesy, they must be seeking something.

This great power, whom he had not anticipated, had turned a blind eye to his previous impudent behavior and remained so generous.

It certainly would not be that simple.

Fang Longye did not think that, apart from his special connection with the great Hongyun, there was anything else about him that could be valued by a great power like Lu Ya.

It was very obvious: Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance, his intent was on Pei Gong.

If it were any other great power, he might have agreed offhandedly. He would take the benefits first and worry later.

But who let it be Lu Ya?

Even in Fang Longye's past life, the legends of this great power were considered famous and worth talking about.

And in this life, Fang Longye naturally had some understanding.

After all, his identity alone destined that the Demon Master Mansion would naturally pay attention to him.

Although, for some unknown reasons, the descriptions of him in the Demon Master Mansion's library were rather vague.

But it still allowed Fang Longye to know his identity clearly.

This person indeed had many masks in Honghuang.

Some were known to all the world, while others were obscure and unknown.

The most famous ones were the identities of Daoist Lu Ya during the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation and the Great Sun Tathagata after the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation.

But the most important thing.

According to the books in the Demon Master Mansion, this Daoist Lu Ya was one of the ten sons of Di Jun, the only little Golden Crow to survive the Lich War.

Heaven have mercy.

With just this identity, how could Fang Longye dare to have intimate contact with him? Fang Longye had understood very early on that in this world, apart from his Golden Finger, his most important trump card was the affinity he had formed with the great Hongyun.

He was not willing to cast aside this protective banner for the sake of a little petty gain.

The fragrance was refreshing; the Fusang Glazed Fruit sat on the table, shining brilliantly.

The Xiantian Spiritual Essence hidden within it pulsed with the void from time to time, and various strange phenomena and mysterious sounds appeared around it.

It was worthy of being a top-tier Xiantian wonder—only, one man's meat is another man's poison.

To him, this was a candy laced with deadly poison. Although it tasted sweet, it would cost one's life.

Seeing that Daoist Lu Ya still maintained a smiling posture, he did not know what his true intentions were.

Fang Longye simply decided to speak plainly, looked cautiously at Daoist Lu Ya, and smiled bitterly: "Tenth Prince, aren't you making things difficult for this junior?"

"Heh—"

Daoist Lu Ya shook his head and chuckled softly.

This caused Fang Longye a burst of tension; looking at his expression, which had become one of half-smile, he felt a heavy pressure descend upon his heart.

This pressure came suddenly.

It was as if a breeze had suddenly risen, fresh water slapping against ice, ripples spreading out, shimmering and moving, expanding in all directions, vast and profound, giving one a suffocating sense of oppression.

Daoist Lu Ya shook his head and laughed, "I know your concerns, but do not worry. Listen as I explain it to you in detail, and you will naturally have no worries."

"What I am about to say is truly a secret, known to few."

"In fact, I am not the true Tenth Prince of the Golden Crows."

?! Once these words were spoken, Fang Longye's heart was greatly shocked! Because he heard the implication behind these words.

Sure enough—

"The ten little Golden Crows born to Di Jun were long ago shot and killed by the Great Witch Yi in ancient times."

"I am merely a dove occupying a magpie's nest, having taken over the body of that smallest tenth Golden Crow."

"Could it be that you are the legendary Chaos Demon God?" Fang Longye thought of a guess that netizens from his past life had about the identity of this Daoist Lu Ya.

"Chaos Demon God?"

"You could say that!"

Lu Ya reached into the void, plucked a leaf from the Fusang Wood outside the palace, and held it in his hand.

He said with deep nostalgia: "I was originally the intelligence born from the Fusang Wood. If one counts from before the world was opened and Chaos derived, the Fusang Wood born within Chaos can indeed be considered a Chaos Demon God."

"However, there is nothing worth praising about this. Aside from a few, I have never seen Chaos Demon Gods be any more noble than the top-tier Xiantian Shengsheng in the Primordial World~"

Hearing this, Fang Longye felt a surge of curiosity and asked: "Isn't it said that the Ancestor God Pangu was also one of the Chaos Demon Gods?"

"Since they are all existences born within Chaos, even if they cannot compare to the Ancestor God Pangu, shouldn't they be inherently stronger than the Xiantian Shengsheng?"

Lu Ya sneered: "Even if you don't cultivate, would you consider those ants as small as dust to be living beings on the same level as you?"

Then, a look of reverence rose in his eyes as he said: "What kind of existence was the Great God Pangu? Compared to him, other than a few, the other Chaos Demon Gods were nothing more than mayflies in Chaos!"

"Pick any top-tier Xiantian Shengsheng from the Primordial World at random, and they are by no means inferior to those Chaos Demon Gods."

"Furthermore, many Xiantian Shengsheng were originally transformed from those Chaos Demon Gods from before the world was opened."

"Therefore, the Chaos Demon Gods are really nothing extraordinary."

Fang Longye was noncommittal; after all, the person before him was also a big shot, so naturally, his perspective differed from a small fry like himself.

He dared not say it was like someone standing and talking without feeling back pain, but it could certainly be considered like asking "why don't they eat minced meat" when there is no grain.

However, he had no mind to argue about this right now; instead, he was very interested in the "few" that Lu Ya mentioned.

He wondered what kind of big shots could make this Lu Ya look at them differently.

However, considering that Lu Ya was a big shot and had not finished speaking, he naturally suppressed his curiosity in this regard.

"Unknowingly, I have strayed far from the topic. Let us return to it, and you listen as I tell it slowly."

……

On the table, a gentle fire and fine smoke; the boiling water in the copper stove rolled like crab eyes and fish scales, churning over and over.

Fang Longye reached out, lifted it down, and tilted the copper pot, pouring the boiling water into a small porcelain cup. The tea leaves in the cup were struck by it, and suddenly a deep, dark fragrance arose.

Unlike floral scents, it was fresh, icy, and pure, rushing into one's nose.

Fang Longye casually poured a cup for Lu Ya, picked up his own fragrant tea, and blew on it; the tea aroma swirled and lingered at the tip of his nose.

He sipped and drank slowly, pondering what Lu Ya had said.

As Lu Ya narrated, Fang Longye finally understood some of the secrets within.

Although the true body of this Lu Ya was the Fusang Wood, the top-tier Innate Spiritual Root of the Primordial World, he was limited by this and had long struggled to take human form.

And just when Di Jun was creating the Tang Valley Secret Realm for his ten sons and requested branches from it, he immediately conceived a scheme.

He moved his own True Spirit into that branch, intending to find an opportunity to occupy the magpie's nest and seize a small Golden Crow as his body.

In the end, heaven rewards the diligent. During the Lich War, the ten small Golden Crows were schemed against and all perished, allowing him to find the opportunity to successfully occupy the magpie's nest in the body of the tenth and youngest Golden Crow.

From then on, as the tenth prince of the Golden Crows, he cultivated without ceasing, passed through the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation, and finally succeeded in becoming a great power.

As for this Fusang Wood, it was naturally refined by him into an incarnation.

That is, the one sitting across from him right now.

Of course, Lu Ya's ultimate goal was still to cultivate primarily with the body of the Fusang Wood.

After all, no matter how strong the Bloodline of that Golden Crow body was, how could it compare to an Innate Spiritual Root? "So, is there anything else in this matter that you need my help with?"

Fang Longye asked in confusion after he finished speaking.

That's right, after the explanation, he truly had no concerns about accepting Lu Ya's kindness now.

After all, the enemy of an enemy is a friend!

He imagined that the big shot Hongyun would not mind being friends with Lu Ya, the enemy of the Golden Crows.

But in his view, hadn't this Lu Ya always been smooth sailing? What kind of trouble could he have that required others to help solve? One must know, he was now the renowned Great Sun Tathagata of Fomen!

What kind of status was that~ In his previous life, that was the supreme deity of the Esoteric sect, which stood on equal footing with the Chan sect in Buddhism.

He had always been regarded as the sun by the people of the plateau region, until the appearance of another red sun.

Given the confirmation that the two worlds had reflections of each other, Fang Longye did not think that Lu Ya's current strength would be low.

"This brings us to the owner of that Golden Crow Imprint outside the palace~" Lu Ya said with a bitter smile.

Fang Longye blinked, said nothing, and waited quietly for what followed.

"Do you think that Golden Crow Imprint is strong?" Lu Ya did not answer directly, but instead asked Fang Longye in return.

"Obviously."

Fang Longye naturally nodded in response.

Recalling the encounter where he almost died just moments ago, he still felt lingering fear.

After some calculation and comparison, he felt that even the Dapeng Bird he had encountered not long ago would be no better off than him when facing this imprint.

Lu Ya still wore a bitter smile on his face and said: "In your eyes, this Golden Crow Imprint is unimaginably powerful. But you are definitely still underestimating its might."

"If I say that even I cannot erase this imprint, do you believe me?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Hearing this, Fang Longye was shocked and stood up.

Looking at Lu Ya's unquestionable expression, it was a long time before he slowly sat back down.

His heart was still in turmoil, unable to believe it.

It was just an imprint, and what level of existence was Lu Ya?

He was a Great Divine Ability user countless times stronger than a Daluo! How could he be unable to erase even an imprint? Moreover, if it were truly that powerful.

He would have died directly under that Great Sun Golden Crow Image long ago. How could he have waited for Lu Ya's rescue? Seeming to see the doubt in Fang Longye's heart, Lu Ya explained: "The power displayed by this imprint does not look that strong."

"That is because most of the power of this imprint is being used to shackle this Fusang Wood, which is only a step behind the parent body!"

Speaking to this point, Lu Ya began to grit his teeth.

It was no wonder he was like this.

In fact, his original plan was to rely on the love of Di Jun, the Demon Emperor, for his sons, and use his hand to help himself cultivate the branch into a sub-tree.

Once the timing was right, he would move his True Spirit into his own branch to reduce the difficulty of taking human form.

As it turned out, things went contrary to his wishes.

His calculations had a slight deviation.

That branch of his did indeed become an Innate Spiritual Root under the vast resources of the Demon Heavenly Court.

It was even only slightly inferior to his original body.

However, those two mongrel birds, Di Jun and Taiyi, were quite cunning.

The two brothers joined forces, exhausting their heart's blood to heavily refine this branch of his.

This caused this Fusang Wood branch to be forever a treasure of the Golden Crows under the mandate of heaven.

They even harbored the scheme of wanting to rely on this branch to influence him, the original body.

They wanted him to be a slave and servant to their Golden Crow clan for all eternity, following their every lead.

If this can be endured, what cannot?

Since they are devoid of righteousness, then do not blame him for being heartless.

Therefore, he secretly influenced the minds of the ten little Golden Crows, plotting for them to cross the sky as ten suns, creating boundless murderous karma, and letting the Great Witch Yi shoot them all down.

And he also took this opportunity to perform the act of the dove occupying the magpie's nest.

It was just that the most suitable body for him was still this Fusang Wood branch before his eyes.

Over these years, he had spent time wearing down the imprint left by those two mongrel birds, Di Jun and Taiyi.

It is hateful that Donghuang Taiyi was truly too powerful.

Countless Yuanhui have passed; Di Jun's imprint had long been erased by him, yet the imprint left by Donghuang Taiyi remained as fresh as ever, no matter how he tried to wear it down.

There was not the slightest trace of it diminishing.

Time flowed on, the light of the universe flew by, and no matter what methods he employed, he could not tarnish this imprint left by Taiyi.

And as long as this imprint was not removed for a single day, he could only continue to waste away, never able to return to his true form and ascend to the peak of the Great Dao.

Seeing Lu Ya's expression turn gloomy the moment the Golden Crow Imprint was mentioned, Fang Longye understood in his heart.

"So, the one thing you need my help with, Senior, is to assist you in erasing this imprint?"

Lu Ya Daoist first nodded, then shook his head.

Fang Longye was puzzled.

Lu Ya Daoist chuckled and said, "Do you know who left this imprint?"

Fang Longye recalled the information from the books in the Demon Master Mansion and said uncertainly, "Should it be Donghuang Taiyi?"

In any case, there were only two candidates: Di Jun or Taiyi.

Naturally, one would pick the stronger one.

"Correct."

Lu Ya Daoist scrutinized Fang Longye privately, his gaze flickering with a strange light, his heart harboring his own deep plans.

Donghuang Taiyi had fallen, but at their realm, Life and Death were long since blurred.

It was very difficult to truly perish.

As early as the ancient times, Donghuang Taiyi was about to return to Honghuang, but fortunately, he was stopped by Yuanshi Tianzun.

But he could stop him for a time, yet he could not stop him for an eternity.

Donghuang Taiyi was still gradually returning to the world.

Most crucially, in the final confrontation between the Demon Clan and the Witch Clan, Donghuang Taiyi had a great awakening and leaped forward.

As long as he returned to the world, attaining the Hunyuan Dao would be a simple matter.

Even ascending to the absolute peak was not impossible.

And his previous actions and various schemes could deceive the Donghuang Taiyi of the past, but they could absolutely not deceive the Donghuang Taiyi who would return to the world in the future.

Therefore, what he needed was not just to break the imprint Donghuang Taiyi left on the Fusang Wood branch, but more importantly, to find an existence that could protect him.

"Um, Senior. Actually, you could have just gone directly to Senior Hongyun. I really don't have that deep of a relationship with Senior Hongyun."

Fang Longye felt that since he had accepted a commission, he had to make things clear and explicit.

He dared not guarantee that the big shot Hongyun would be willing to do this favor for Lu Ya.

Mainly, he was terrified of offending the person before him, leading him to stick pins in a doll of him behind his back.

Even Zhao Gongming at the Great Luo Realm had no solution when facing that Nail-Head Seven-Arrow Book.

He could not withstand it! "Why would I look for Fellow Daoist Hongyun?"

"It is you I am looking for!"

Lu Ya Daoist composed his mood and looked at Fang Longye with a smile.

"Me?!" (End of this chapter)