Chapter 940: De-Chong Talisman

Profound Spirit Realm, Celestial Court.

Lü Yang opened his eyes. The multicolored light at his fingertips continued to cycle as usual. It all felt like a dream, save for the Fruit Arcana etched into his mind, proving its unquestionable reality.

Then, Lü Yang froze, realizing he had suddenly forgotten something. He seemed to have just met someone, yet he couldn’t recall exactly who it was.

“Who did I meet?” Lü Yang subconsciously checked the Time Shifting World Changing Dao Fruit he had obtained. Instantly, a look of horror washed over his face. “The Fruit Arcana of Fruit of Rampart Earth? Did I meet Bhagavat? How is that possible! Did Bhagavat descend to the mortal realm to catch me? Am I out of my fucking mind?”

More and more memories surfaced, only to vanish moments later.

“No, it’s not that my memories are disappearing.” Faced with such a bizarre situation, Lü Yang didn’t panic. Instead, he remained calm to the extreme. “It’s the karmic links! A portion of my past karmic links has disappeared!”

The loss of memory was merely a side effect. Because he had achieved Dao Heart Perfection, not even a Master of Dao could directly manipulate his memories. However, by obscuring karmic links, they could indirectly interfere to some extent.

“Is it Bhagavat? Is he obscuring the karmic links of our meeting?”

Just then, a lingering voice echoed by his ear. “Rest assured, Daoist. I merely obscured some karmic links. This is a necessary measure. When the crucial moment arrives, Daoist, you will naturally remember…”

The voice came to an abrupt halt.

Lü Yang stood there, dumbfounded. He let out a long breath, leaving only one realization in his mind. “It seems my Cultivation has advanced just now.”

His karmic links had been altered, and his past meeting with Bhagavat was covered up. It was replaced with a new narrative: “Just now, through years of profound accumulation, leveraging my innate, unparalleled Talent Skill and unyielding persistence, I comprehended the Fruit Arcana of Fruit of Rampart Earth… What the hell is this!”

Something was definitely wrong! Lü Yang’s expression immediately tensed up. At this moment, a faint spiritual perception suddenly wafted out from the long-silent Righteous Banner.

“Huh? Progenitor?” Startled, Lü Yang cast a trace of his Heart Spirit into the Righteous Banner. Soon, he saw Progenitor Tingyou, whose expression was solemn and still carried lingering traces of fear.

Seeing Lü Yang arrive, Progenitor Tingyou didn’t waste words. He directly transmitted a wisp of spiritual perception, saying, “See for yourself.”

Curious, Lü Yang received the spiritual perception and briefly sensed it. In an instant, the previous conversation with Bhagavat and numerous scenes flooded his vision—these were all things Progenitor Tingyou had witnessed through his eyes.

“…”

When he came back to his senses, Lü Yang raised his head, the same lingering fear as Progenitor Tingyou reflecting in his eyes. “To think such a thing happened…”

Fortunately, he had long been accustomed to maintaining contact with Progenitor Tingyou, allowing the progenitor to observe the outside world through him. Furthermore, as a Banner Spirit, Tingyou was devoid of karmic links and thus immune to Bhagavat’s tampering. Otherwise, this piece of the past would have truly been buried, undeniably plunging him into a passive position.

But now, things were different.

“Bhagavat intentionally obscured the karmic links, likely out of fear that I might act recklessly—such as contacting other Masters of Dao. By doing so, he can also sever ties with me and avoid exposing himself.

“But now that I have this memory…

“This is an ironclad smoking gun!”

Excitement gradually surfaced on Lü Yang’s face. “At a crucial moment, if I toss this memory out for the other Masters of Dao to see, it would definitely be thrilling!”

However, his expression soon darkened again. He hadn’t dared to think too much about it at the time, but now there was one question he had to figure out: “Just how did Bhagavat… know about the Plan for the Collapse of the Other Shore?”

Just then, Progenitor Tingyou spoke up. “Actually… I lean more towards him not knowing.”

“Oh?” Lü Yang’s eyes lit up. “Progenitor, please elaborate.”

Progenitor Tingyou pondered for a moment before suddenly asking another question. “Why do you think that figure from the Stain Sect propped Bhagavat up to the position of Master of Dao?”

Lü Yang understood immediately. Or rather, what he didn’t understand were merely matters related to Cultivation. But with Progenitor Tingyou pointing him in the right direction, he immediately connected the dots.

“It’s karmic links!”

Bhagavat’s Attainment allowed him to reverse Time and Change Cause and Effect. While such methods were undoubtedly formidable… the Stain Sect’s other three First Generation Peak Masters were not necessarily any weaker.

“You have to think about this in reverse. Powerful methods? What use are they? The Beast Taming Peak Master opened up the Netherworld. Stunning, right? Yet didn’t he still end up in his current state? The Stain Sect doesn’t care about flashy methods. The point isn’t how profound the techniques are, but rather—are they beneficial to the Stain Sect Ancestral Master!

“Only those who are useful will be cultivated.

“Without utility, the more formidable the methods, the easier it is to die!”

That was why Bhagavat was the one who achieved the Dao.

“The Stain Sect Ancestral Master cultivates Constant, while Bhagavat controls karmic links. The latter is perfectly suited to plug the gaps and fix the loopholes for the former… such as finding unexpected Variables!”

Suddenly, Lü Yang had an epiphany. “Bhagavat didn’t discover my plan; he merely detected the ’cause’ I created, and used it to deduce the ‘effect’ of the Other Shore’s collapse?

“That was why he came acting as an angel investor! In his calculations, my Plan for the Collapse of the Other Shore was likely a possibility, but with a low probability of success, which was why he lent me a helping hand.

“That explained everything!

“Taking it a step further… this probably isn’t the first time Bhagavat has done something like this. He might even be the Master of Dao specifically tasked with this!”

Take the Beast Taming Peak Master, for instance. The four Masters of Dao killed him right after he opened up the Netherworld. Could they have been absolutely certain back then that the Netherworld possessed the potential of a Master of Dao?

“It’s entirely possible that Bhagavat deduced the karmic links and discovered this possibility! That ultimately led to the four Masters of Dao joining forces to beat the Beast Taming Peak Master into his current half-dead state, suppressing the Netherworld’s growth and confining it to the Immortal Pivot to prevent further expansion!”

The more Lü Yang thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. And this was just Bhagavat. One had to know that the Emperor Fruit truly tied to the future was the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal. What was the situation with the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord? Could he achieve even more?

“Nascent Soul, Golden Core… Ang Xiao didn’t lie to me. The difference between the two is truly like Heaven and Earth. They hardly seem like beings of the same dimension!”

Of course, the situation might not be that dire. It was impossible for Bhagavat to review all karmic links. He likely only noticed abnormal karmic links that reached a certain magnitude before deducing them… But even that was terrifying enough. It took Lü Yang a long time to recover his composure.

“Regardless, Bhagavat probably hasn’t leaked the matter this time, which is why he sought me out in private. Even Masters of Dao have selfish motives…”

This was the Variable! Yet despite this realization, Lü Yang felt an increasing sense of urgency. As the saying goes, a long delay invites trouble. The more time dragged on, the greater the Variables, and the higher the chances of making a mistake.

“It’s time to make a move,” he decided. He had originally planned to rest for a few years, as the Overlord-level Dao Weapon from the Star Palace would only be completed in thirty years. But now, he didn’t want to wait.

“The Overlord-level Dao Weapon and the Tribulation both require time; there’s nothing I can do about that.

“But for other matters, it’s best I complete them as quickly as possible. Delay breeds complications.”

The De-Chong Talisman! For this Celestial Human Residual Consciousness fragment he had won from World Purger Fei Xue, Lü Yang had previously hesitated due to the difficulty of clearing it, intending to prepare fully before making an attempt. Now, however, he couldn’t afford to wait.

“Worst comes to worst, I’ll just create an Incense and Candle Avatar to test the waters first.

“After all, this is a Celestial Human Residual Consciousness fragment that the Beast Taming Peak Master specifically rigged. It must hide a significant secret and will be of great use to me right now!”

With this in mind, Lü Yang immediately began forming a Daoist Hand Seal. His spiritual perception sensed the Void. In an instant, his consciousness felt as if it had fallen into a boundless, pitch-black expanse, Piaomiao and erratic. Only after a long time did he finally spot a glimmer of light.

As the light slowly expanded, his Intention rapidly approached. His vision gradually cleared, and in a daze, a magnificent array of pavilions and terraces within the light appeared before his eyes.

“RUMBLE!”