Chapter 372: Sudden Dire Straits
The appearance of Guang Ming resolved the doubt in Lü Yang’s heart.
Why was Heaven and Earth in such a hurry to act?
Because Bhagavat had his eyes on him!
For a moment, Lü Yang was so scared he nearly jumped out of his skin. After all, in his ten lifetimes of cultivation, Bhagavat was the most absurd and shameless person he had ever encountered.
A Nascent Soul Daoist Lord hunting a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator?
’But the question is, what have I ever done to deserve being targeted by Bhagavat?’
This made no sense at all!
Of course, for a moment Lü Yang also wondered if this was a lingering problem from a previous life, when Bhagavat had almost caught him as he was restarting.
However, he quickly dismissed the idea.
Absolutely impossible!
’After all, that happened several lifetimes ago. If that were the case, Bhagavat would have snatched me up and started the Refining process in an instant during my Previous Life.’
Feeling the urgency from Heaven and Earth, Lü Yang’s eyes suddenly lit up in realization. ’I’m wrong... that’s not it. I’ve got the cause and effect backward! It’s not that Heaven and Earth is rushing to act because Bhagavat is targeting me. It’s that Bhagavat is targeting me because Heaven and Earth has been supporting me all along!’
In short, it was because of his identity as an Immortal Spirit!
’I’ve suspected the purpose of Immortal Spirits before. To me, they seem like things created by Heaven and Earth specifically to occupy the Fruits...’
It seemed now that he had hit the nail on the head.
’If I’m not mistaken, the four Daoist Lords are likely wrestling for power with Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth wants to support the Immortal Spirits, and the Daoist Lords want to suppress them!’
This speculation also resolved another one of his doubts.
Why did Immortal Spirits also have to undergo tribulations?
As Heaven’s favorite child, his cultivation should have been a smooth ride, free of bottlenecks. He shouldn’t even have had the extra cultivation requirements other cultivators faced.
But what was the reality?
Not only did he have to face the Celestial Thunder Tribulation of the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, but he also had to face the Celestial Five Declines of Foundation Establishment Perfection. Not a single expected ordeal was missing.
’Looking at it now... these might not have been sent down by Heaven and Earth at all!’
’They were sent down by the Daoist Lords!’
No wonder not a single Immortal Spirit had managed to mature after all these years. It was likely that ninety-nine percent of them were secretly interrupted by the Daoist Lords, or perhaps even recruited by them...
The Stain Sect had a prime example: Minor Metal!
’Innate Immortal Spirit? What a massive pitfall!’
’So in the end, all the Immortal Spirits that Heaven and Earth worked so hard to cultivate just ended up paving the way for the Daoist Lords, becoming talents under their command...’
RUMBLE!
The whispers in his ear grew more and more intense. In the vision, Guang Ming was clearly speeding toward the Ten Thousand Poison Sect. There was not much time left.
A sudden inspiration struck Lü Yang. He understood that Heaven and Earth was urging him, reminding him. In human terms, it was saying: ’Don’t worry, you’re Daddy’s favorite child. Everything just now was a misunderstanding. Daddy just wants to save you. Quickly open your Heart Spirit, so Daddy can help you ascend to the heavens in a single step...’
"I’d have to be a fool to believe you!"
Lü Yang was completely unshaken, still clinging to his sliver of clarity. ’Good to me? Wants to save me? If that were true, it wouldn’t have made me inexplicably drowsy just now!’
In the end, it still wanted to harm him!
That being said, Lü Yang couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness. With Heaven and Earth and Bhagavat, it was like being caught between a wolf and a tiger. There was absolutely no room to maneuver.
’Forget it... I’ll just self-destruct!’
’You win. You can have this round.’
Lü Yang’s Heart Thought stirred.
But in the next second, his expression stiffened. His Immortal Spirit Body was now firmly imprisoned by the Moon Worshiping Pool.
He couldn’t kill himself!
This time, Lü Yang’s expression truly changed.
If it were just a general inability to commit suicide, Lü Yang wouldn’t have cared. As long as he guarded his Heart Spirit, he could always find a chance... but Bhagavat was right outside!
If Bhagavat really found his way to him, and he still couldn’t kill himself...
...then he would be completely screwed!
Not to mention, there was an eighty percent chance that Bhagavat’s target was him. He was trying to snatch food from the mouth of Heaven and Earth. It was almost a certainty that he was coming to grant him Enlightenment!
—A dead end!
Without any warning, without giving Lü Yang any time to prepare, one moment he had the full support of Heaven and Earth, and the next, his fortune had turned, and the hero was no longer free.
Yet even so, his thoughts remained calm.
The whispers of Heaven and Earth in his ear intensified, telling him of the crisis, urging him to consider the bigger picture, trying to make him feel an uncontrollable sense of fear.
"Bhagavat is coming... then let him come!"
As this thought formed in Lü Yang’s mind, the whispers instantly became a roar. But he remained unmoved, and a cold smile even touched the corners of his lips.
"Stir things up! Go on, keep stirring!"
"Stir things up until Bhagavat comes and turns me into a Monk! Stir things up until a Daoist Lord comes in person and destroys my Immortal Spirit Body! At worst, I’ll just die along with you!"
Was Lü Yang afraid of death?
Of course he was. But with ten lifetimes of cultivation, he knew full well that the more you feared death, the more you had to act like you didn’t! In this goddamn Broken Place, you either went crazy or you didn’t survive!
In an instant, all was silent.
All the whispers vanished. Lü Yang sat quietly, his mind becoming as clear as crystal. The mental invasion from Heaven and Earth was both a crisis and the perfect whetstone, sharpening the Sword Heart he had just formed until it was like a drawn, gleaming blade.
Then, a roar surged toward him like a tidal wave!
This time, however, Lü Yang smiled. He could feel that the drowsiness it caused was much weaker than before!
’Did Heaven and Earth compromise?’
That was, of course, impossible. It was just that Heaven and Earth had more important things to do, so it was forced to divert the power that had been focused on him.
’This is enough... This is enough!’
When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured!
His chance at survival lay right here!
The next moment, Lü Yang felt a tremor from beneath his feet.
"Amitabha!"
A resounding Buddha’s Name echoed from the distant sky. Guang Ming had arrived! He stood before the main gate of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, a compassionate smile on his face.
WHOOSH!
Almost simultaneously, Lü Yang saw the three Abilities he had painstakingly refined—Master of Weapons, Wan Jin Gong, and Su Xuan Frost—fly out from his body in unison.
However, the Tribulation Wave did not move.
This Marvelous Treasure, brought by the Centome, severed all karmic links. Only Lü Yang could activate it; not even Heaven and Earth could affect it in the slightest.
Soon, however, Lü Yang witnessed a scene that left him dumbfounded.
A bell chimed between heaven and earth. A stream of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches suddenly gathered before him for no reason, finally transforming into a wisp of white energy that drifted down.
Rooster Metal!
A Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch had formed!
Right before his eyes!
’This is what it really means to be Heaven’s child... If Heaven and Earth had truly supported me completely, why would I have needed to waste time searching for the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches?’
Lü Yang gritted his teeth as he stared at the Rooster Metal before him.
At the same time, he also understood Heaven and Earth’s intentions. Why did it try to scheme against him? Because he was uncontrollable! Heaven and Earth needed an Immortal Spirit it could control!
’Heaven and Earth must have suffered enough because of Fortune. It worked so hard to raise Fortune to the rank of Perfected Lord, only for Fortune to turn around and sell it out, not sharing any of the benefits. No wonder Heaven and Earth doesn’t trust me... To actually compare me to Fortune! Doesn’t it know I’m a good person?’
The next second, the Rooster Metal merged with Lü Yang’s main body.
The fourth Innate Divine Technique appeared.
Heaven-Sounding Bell!
In that instant, there was no Divine Power Radiance. There was only the melodious toll of a bell echoing through the air. The four Innate Divine Techniques gathered together, finally outlining a figure.
Immediately after, that figure shot out from the main gate of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect.
Seeing this, Guang Ming, who had been about to break through the Ten Thousand Poison Sect’s Grand Ward, was stunned for a moment. Then, he nodded in extreme satisfaction and smiled.
"Benefactor, you and I are fated to be master and disciple."