Chapter 477: The Water Element’s Deficiency |
At this moment, 【Ang Xiao】 was more than a little surprised.
Because the present Gantang Dao had long since been shrouded and hidden by him using 【Obstruction of Knowledge and View】, in theory, no one should be able to notice it.
‘This person is actually unaffected by the 【Obstruction of Knowledge and View】.’
This was actually understandable. After all, his true body resided in the underworld, and casting a spell across realms had limited effect. If someone was wholeheartedly convinced that there was something wrong with Gantang Dao…
Then it would be normal for them to remain unaffected.
But the problem was that, in 【Ang Xiao】’s perception, the person before him was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage—not even at perfection—now that was truly surprising.
‘For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to escape the effects of my current power's 【Obstruction of Knowledge and View】, they would need at least a high-grade spirit treasure specifically meant to purify divine sense and dispel illusions, and their cultivation must not be low. Interesting. Who is this person? Could they be an incarnation of some True Lord?’
In an instant, countless thoughts ran through 【Ang Xiao】’s mind.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang tucked that small piece of Cave Heaven fragment into his pouch and, not daring to linger, disappeared in a flash.
Almost simultaneously, within Gantang Dao as well, a man brimming with sharpness suddenly felt a ripple of intuition and looked toward the spot where Lu Yang had just vanished.
He caught Lu Yang’s qi in an instant, but the next moment, that qi dissipated into thin air, as if someone had hidden it, making it impossible for him to track further. Not long after, a vast and mighty power descended from the sky, revealing the graceful figure of a woman.
“How interesting.”
True Lord Qingcheng Feixue looked around, her gaze like torches as she swept her eyes across the vast expanse of Gantang Dao. She suddenly remembered what she had forgotten earlier.
She had forgotten about Chong Guang!
Earlier, when she came to Gantang Dao, she had come with Chong Guang. But after a fierce battle, she had indulged herself in the fight and forgotten Chong Guang in Gantang Dao.
This was clearly abnormal.
And not just her—even the other True Lords from the Sword Pavilion seemed to have forgotten Chong Guang's existence, and no one had even glanced at Gantang Dao.
‘So it’s not just my problem—someone has tampered with all of Gantang Dao. Chong Guang was simply caught in it because he happened to be there. This divine ability… why does it feel so familiar? I seem to have read about something similar in the sect’s classics.’
‘But which classic exactly… I can’t remember.’
This was undoubtedly suspicious—especially since even someone of her cultivation was affected. It meant that the one behind the scenes could possibly be even stronger than her.
‘Hong Yun… impossible.’
‘Then who could it be?’
True Lord Qingcheng Feixue wanted to investigate further, but as she returned to Jiangnan, a qi fluctuation from the Sword Pavilion demanded her attention, forcing her to leave.
“…I’ll go for now.”
With those words, True Lord Qingcheng Feixue immediately scooped up Chong Guang and vanished from the scene. Though she had gained much from this battle, she was also heavily injured and needed to recover. As for Gantang Dao—well, it was within Jiangnan anyway, so she might as well leave it to the Sword Pavilion to worry about.
Meanwhile, in a remote mountain forest…
Lu Yang descended leisurely into the forest with his hands behind his back. He first carved out a temporary cave-dwelling and then took out the Cave Heaven fragment within it.
“Many thanks for the senior’s assistance.”
Lu Yang cupped his fists with a sincere smile. If not for 【Ang Xiao】 masking him with the 【Obstruction of Knowledge and View】, he would have already been discovered by Chong Guang.
The next second, a soft radiance emanated from the Cave Heaven fragment, and a figure shrouded in smoke, gender and age indiscernible, emerged from the glow. Though the aura was extremely faint, every gesture exuded a calm and composed manner of controlling heavenly secrets.
“Daoist friend… you are quite bold.”
【Ang Xiao】 looked at Lu Yang, betraying no emotion in his heart but lightly smiling on the surface. “How could you be so certain that I would help conceal your presence?”
This was merely one of 【Ang Xiao】’s doubts.
There was another he did not voice: How could Lu Yang be so sure that the Cave Heaven fragment he was hiding in hadn’t been completely destroyed in Gantang Dao?
If Lu Yang had failed to find him, or if he refused to help, Lu Yang would have been immediately exposed before Chong Guang. Though the final result turned out well, the process was undoubtedly a gamble. And it was this very attitude that made 【Ang Xiao】 curious—the other party seemed to understand him quite well?
Faced with 【Ang Xiao】’s question, Lu Yang only smiled faintly:
“I have faith in you, senior.”
He didn’t believe that someone like 【Ang Xiao】 would be so easily destroyed by True Lord Qingcheng Feixue, and thus dared to risk coming to Gantang Dao.
Similarly, he believed 【Ang Xiao】 would see the situation clearly.
After all, if 【Ang Xiao】 didn’t help him, he would merely lose a clone. But 【Ang Xiao】 would be exposed and wouldn’t even be able to keep this last fragment of the Cave Heaven.
On the contrary, by helping him remain hidden, there was still hope of preserving it.
So 【Ang Xiao】 would definitely act.
‘After all, this isn’t the first time I’ve coerced him. How could I not know him? This man is a classic True Lord of the Holy Sect—driven purely by profit.’
Thinking of this, Lu Yang didn’t waste words and directly brought out a dazzling divine ability. The moment 【Ang Xiao】 saw it, a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes—because within that divine ability, flowed a qi that should have long since vanished from this world!
That divine ability was precisely the 【Root of All Things】 that Lu Yang had stolen from Hong Yun.
Yang-aligned Chen-Earth!
Yet ever since he reversed the yin-yang properties of Chen-Earth, only yin-aligned Chen-Earth should have remained in the world. Where had this yang-aligned Chen-Earth come from?
“…Hong Yun?”
【Ang Xiao】’s thoughts spun rapidly, and he already guessed the origin of Lu Yang’s divine ability. With eyes like torches, he also discerned Lu Yang’s Dao foundation and background.
“【Heavenly Fire Above】?”
Now this truly surprised 【Ang Xiao】.
No one had ever attained the Fruitional Rank of 【Heavenly Fire Above】—that much was certain. In fact, throughout all ages, no one had ever successfully proven this path.
The requirements were simply too harsh—even more so than his own 【Great Forest Wood】.
Its related cultivation methods were absurdly rare, and the path forward was severed, making it not worth the effort to cultivate. As a result, it gradually faded into extinction over time.
Thinking this far, 【Ang Xiao】 came to a conclusion:
‘This person is no True Lord.’
‘Foundation Establishment… but with a rich foundation and strong background. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly possess a third-grade true art pointing to 【Heavenly Fire Above】, let alone succeed in cultivating it.’
Among the Five Supreme Fruitional Ranks, only 【Heavenly River Water】 was in poor condition.
Because the water element once belonged to the True Dragon Clan of old and was the only one among the five elements whose Supreme Fruitional Rank had been altered. After the great upheaval, it suffered immense damage.
This was something Lu Yang knew as well—he had discovered it from Heavenly Jiao’s memories. After all, if not for the deficiencies in the imagery of 【Heavenly River Water】, which affected all cultivators under its dominion, then as a Foundation Establishment cultivator training in a Supreme Fruitional Rank with perfected divine abilities, Heavenly Jiao's combat strength would not have been so lacking.
“You are quite the daring young man.”
Upon seeing Lu Yang’s true cultivation level, 【Ang Xiao】 immediately shifted his tone—from “Daoist friend” to “young friend”—while scrutinizing Lu Yang:
“It’s just… I wonder, young friend, how you came to recognize me?”
His 【Obstruction of Knowledge and View】 had deceived the entire world—even True Lords weren’t spared—yet a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator had significant insight into him?
The mystery behind this intrigued him greatly.
“Senior flatters me.”
Lu Yang chuckled softly and said calmly, “It is only thanks to an elder in my family that I recognized you—not through my own merit.”
An elder in the family?
【Ang Xiao】 quickly cycled through a few names in his mind. He was an old-generation True Lord of the Holy Sect, having existed for tens of thousands of years!
Even five thousand years ago, when he struck down Hong Yun, he had already been in a state of feigned death for a long time.
Few people in the present had lived longer than him.
And even fewer had seen him in person and understood his power. Most didn’t have the cultivation to even remember him. Eliminating possibilities one by one—
“…Old Dragon Monarch?”
【Ang Xiao】 fell silent for a moment before suddenly uttering a name.
‘As expected of you!’
Lu Yang praised inwardly. This was the advantage of speaking to someone clever—with just a hint, they could guess exactly what you wanted them to.