Chapter 490 : Ang Xiao Emerges!
Chapter 490: Ang Xiao Emerges!
Inside the Pure Land, no one noticed the change in 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】.
Within its Sea of Consciousness, 【Ang Xiao】 remained anxiously arranging his plans. Of course, he had no intention of stealing from the World-Honored One—such an act was tantamount to seeking death.
Not to mention, the World-Honored One was shameless by nature.
Even though 【Ang Xiao】 believed he had no conflict of interest with the World-Honored One, provoking him would still be immensely troublesome.
Therefore, he merely intended to borrow 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】.
‘As an Outsider True Lord, 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】 has attained a fruit position close in imagery to 【Soil Amid Sand】, which makes it easy to attract the manifestation of that Fruition Position.’
Outsider True Lords were not without options.
If the Outsider Fruit Position in their possession was compatible with the orthodox Fruition Position of the region, there was actually hope to integrate an outsider’s fruit into an orthodox Fruition Position.
The principle was the same as with second-grade true arts.
However, the risks were enormous. Outsider True Lords lacked Cave Heavens and Golden Nature, which meant seeking the orthodox Fruition Position carried a high risk of failure.
And without Golden Nature, there was no such thing as reincarnation.
Thus, an Outsider True Lord had but one lifetime. Once that life ended, they perished permanently—no future lives to speak of.
This is why many Outsider True Lords were still willing to shoulder the risk in pursuit of immortality.
And to seek orthodoxy as an outsider, the first step was to integrate one's Outsider Fruition Position into Heaven and Earth.
Only by doing so could they align with the world's rules and gain recognition of their Fruition Position, thus being able to sense the local orthodox Fruition Position without rejection.
However, once the Outsider Fruition Position was integrated into Heaven and Earth, it meant accepting the rules of this wretched place. Their Fruition Position would then require a foundational boost—
The benefit was that the position’s rank would increase, making them stronger.
The downside was that they would forever be bound by these rules.
Such was the vast divide between Outsiders and the Orthodox.
Oftentimes, the outcome of such a pursuit was simply that the Outsider Fruition Position would be devoured by the orthodox one, and the True Lord themselves would not be accepted.
Dead men, vanished positions.
The well-fed orthodox Fruition Position would pat itself off and walk away.
Thus, local orthodox True Lords looked down on Outsider True Lords. How much disdain, you ask? One sentence illustrated it perfectly:
【True Lord Cheng Tian Zheng De】 looked down even on Outsider True Lords.
Thankfully, 【Ang Xiao】 cared little about such things.
‘I don’t need 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】 to actually attain 【Soil Amid Sand】. As long as it draws in 【Soil Amid Sand】, that’ll be enough to pull it into the Netherworld!’
Afterward, 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】 would be returned unharmed.
As for the World-Honored One—so long as he stayed holed up in the 【Netherworld】 and didn’t venture out, he couldn’t do anything unless he paid an immense price to descend in person.
“But if we’re doing this… then we’re going all in.”
Since he had activated the trump card of 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】, 【Ang Xiao】 naturally planned to go big. Why settle for just one 【Soil Amid Sand】?
‘Suohuan!’
With a thought, 【Ang Xiao】 prepared to contact Suohuan and use him to invoke 【Long Flowing Water】. Yet in the next second, his expression changed drastically:
‘What’s going on?!’
In the Netherworld, 【Ang Xiao】’s true body stood up abruptly, face grave—for just now, the karmic connection between him and Suohuan—
was severed!
Overseas, at the Heart Furnace of the Earthfire Sea.
“What a strange marvel exists in this world…”
Suohuan stood dumbfounded, staring at a man identical to himself in every way, while an overwhelming divine consciousness surged into his mind.
The secret of the Blessed Land of the Spirit Ruins.
The trap within the Myriad Spirits Returning to the Void Dao Scripture.
Obstruction of Knowledge and View.
In an instant, Suohuan’s eyes reflected sudden understanding, which quickly turned to serenity. “So be it. If you can accomplish it, then take everything.”
As his words fell, Suohuan’s aura weakened instantly. His head slumped, life extinguished. Meanwhile, his 【Blessed Land of the Spirit Ruins】 was stripped of its essence and infused into the other man’s body, causing his qi to skyrocket—
Within mere breaths, he reached a critical threshold.
In the next second, the man—now revealed to be Banner Spirit Suohuan—turned and bowed respectfully:
“Many thanks, my lord, for enabling me.”
“.It’s nothing.”
Lü Yang’s immortal embryo clone stepped forth from the shadows, glancing at Banner Spirit Suohuan in surprise. Frankly, he had expected a hard-fought battle.
Yet the outcome was nothing like that.
This life’s original Suohuan, upon learning the truth, chose not to resist. He even committed suicide voluntarily and gifted everything to Banner Spirit Suohuan.
All for one obsession:
‘Seek the Golden Fruition, reestablish the 【Huanzhu Realm】.’
Suohuan’s eyes were firm. This was the only goal that had kept him clinging to life and cultivation. Since he had no hope, he would pass it to another self.
“How do you feel?” Lü Yang asked.
“Almost fully restored.”
Suohuan looked invigorated. In his past life, due to channeling Long Flowing Water, his 【Blessed Land of the Spirit Ruins】 had suffered near-fatal damage.
Now, after absorbing the original’s essence, the damage was mostly healed. All he needed was to obtain a top-ranked Dao Court official post, refine Golden Nature, and he could perform the ritual to draw attention from 【Spring Well Water】—thus attempting to ascend to Golden Fruition!
At that thought, Suohuan immediately looked to Lü Yang:
“My lord, what about now?”
“See? You're rushing again.”
Lü Yang shook his head with a smile. “Things go smoother with patience. No need to rush. Go back and meditate—calm your heart first.”
“…Understood.”
Suohuan nodded, took a deep breath, and composed himself. He clearly realized his anxiety—this state was unfit for seeking the Golden Fruition.
In the next second, Suohuan transformed into a streak of escaping light and entered the Myriad Spirits Banner.
Yet just then—
“Rumble!”
With an earth-shaking boom, outside the Heart Furnace of the Earthfire Sea, a figure pierced through the void with Buddha Light flooding the skies—it was none other than 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】!
‘I must see who you really are!’
Within the Bodhisattva’s Sea of Consciousness, 【Ang Xiao】's eyes were icy. A massive hand spanned a thousand miles of sea, lunging fiercely toward Lü Yang.
In a flash, Lü Yang did not hesitate.
——Self-detonation!
“Boom!”
Exploding blood light radiated from the fingertips of 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】—utterly irreversible. 【Ang Xiao】 could only watch as Lü Yang vanished before his eyes.
Worse yet, by piloting the Bodhisattva out of the Pure Land, the aura that had been hidden under 【Obstruction of Knowledge and View】 was instantly detected. Multiple Bodhisattvas from the Pure Land cast their scrutinizing gazes his way.
“Something’s wrong. Dragon Serpent?”
“United Will hasn't been broken, but it feels awkward on the Dragon Serpent’s body—no response... You’re not Dragon Serpent! Who are you, fiend?!”
“...”
Faced with the Bodhisattvas’ interrogation, 【Bodhisattva of Coiling Dragon and Serpent Shadows】—or rather 【Ang Xiao】—had no interest in responding. He simply looked up at the heavens.
The World-Honored One had not appeared.
‘Just as I expected.’
【Ang Xiao】 smiled faintly, shedding all pretense. With a single thought, a radiant light shot to the heavens, lighting up a star above the firmament:
【Soil Amid Sand】!
At the same moment, a dark hole opened behind his head—it was the gate to the Netherworld. Behind it stood 【Ang Xiao】’s true body, wreathed in smoky vapor.
Meanwhile, in the Dao Court of Jiangdong—
Lü Yang’s true body suddenly opened his eyes. He looked toward the overseas direction. After a brief flicker of doubt, his face slowly showed genuine admiration:
‘What a fine Ang Xiao!’
‘He noticed I was targeting him. To avoid endless delay, he played his trump card early. Decisive and ruthless—a True Lord of our Holy Sect indeed!’
In this short time, Lü Yang had already dealt with Hong Yun, handled Suohuan—had he more time, he could have used 【Boundless Heaven】 to remove all True Lords, trapping 【Ang Xiao】 in the Netherworld.
Then he could’ve feigned possession of Overturning Lamp Fire to deliver a deadly blow—a slow death, perfectly executed.
But 【Ang Xiao】 sensed the danger.
Though he might not have known Lü Yang’s exact plan, his keen instincts detected peril—
So he struck first, catching Lü Yang unprepared!