Chapter 373: A Slim Chance of Survival
Outside the gates of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, two figures stood in stern confrontation.
One of them was a being formed entirely of coalesced Abilities: Wan Jin Gong sketched out its form, the Master of Weapons manifested as its armament, and it was augmented by Su Xuan Frost and the Heaven-Sounding Bell.
At a glance, its true form could not be discerned.
All that could be seen was a potent aura, an image favored by Heaven and Earth, surrounding it. Merely by standing there, it seemed to gather all the brilliance between Heaven and Earth.
’What a magnificent Immortal Spirit!’
Guang Ming nodded slightly. He didn’t actually know this entity, but the Victorious Will-Born Clarity Tathagata’s World Appearance behind him told him this was his Karma.
"Benefactor, are you willing to become my disciple?"
Guang Ming placed his palms together, his Dharma Eye burning like a torch. ’This benefactor may seem to have achieved Perfection, but in truth, they are still a step short. They have yet to awaken their Innate Ability.’
After speaking, he reached into his sleeve and produced a Golden Cuff. It was inscribed with dense, intricate patterns that reflected a myriad of illusory lights, as if it contained the truth of the Great Dao itself. Merely gazing upon it caused solemn Buddhist chants to echo in one’s ears.
"If you take refuge in the Buddha, benefactor, you shall be my head disciple."
"This Heart-Binding Girdle is the artifact of our Karma. Wear it, benefactor, and within thirty years, you will surely Refine your Innate Ability and achieve true fruition."
BOOM!
In response to Guang Ming’s offer, the figure of coalesced Abilities simply raised a hand. In an instant, a harsh frost filled the sky, and a terrifying killing intent saturated Heaven and Earth.
Su Xuan Frost!
This Ability not only changed the environment, but more importantly, it possessed the Profound Mysterious power to extinguish Mana. Each snowflake was like a thrice-forged blade.
Now, unleashed by the figure of Abilities, it drew upon the power of Heaven and Earth. Where the Ability passed, heavy snow swirled, enveloping Guang Ming and madly tearing at his Dharma Body. The suppressing force immediately left countless distinct white marks on Guang Ming’s Flawless Golden Body.
Yet Guang Ming remained unmoved.
At this moment, his Cultivation level was roughly the same as the radiant figure of Abilities—both at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, not yet at Perfection—but the strength they displayed was completely different.
"Amitabha."
Guang Ming placed his palms together. Without using any Abilities of his own, he simply endured the attack with his Golden Body while beginning to chant a scripture.
"Om Mani Padme Hum..."
As the scripture began, the Golden Cuff in his hand flew up in response.
The Golden Cuff seemed to have a life of its own, flying directly toward the head of the figure of Abilities. Seeing this, the radiant figure immediately changed its hand signs for its Magic Formulas.
CLANG!
In that instant, a melodious bell toll rang out again. It was formless and intangible, showing no Divine Power Radiance, yet it reverberated through the cosmos and blocked the descending Golden Cuff.
The Heaven-Sounding Bell!
Though the Golden Cuff was blocked, Guang Ming was not alarmed. Instead, he clapped his hands and laughed.
"The Rooster represents the temple bell, and Rooster Metal resides in the western Dui position. Benefactor, that you could Refine such an Innate Divine Technique shows you truly have a karmic bond with my West!"
The radiant figure of Abilities said nothing.
Meanwhile, inside the gates of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, Lü Yang was still struggling to resist the mental assault from Heaven and Earth. His opponent had clearly changed tactics.
’Is it trying to wear me down to death?’
’It’s using the incarnation of Abilities to stall Guang Ming and draw his attention, buying time to completely Refine me... But that’s not right. Why does it want to Refine me?’
If it just wanted a controllable Immortal Spirit,
wouldn’t it be simpler to just cast out my Soul and take over my physical body?
But from Heaven and Earth’s attitude so far, it clearly wants to possess both my body and Soul, not just an Immortal Spirit Body.
Could it be...
In an instant, a shadow passed over Lü Yang’s eyes. ’Has the Centome been exposed?’
’No, I’m just scaring myself.’
’The memories of a Foundation-Stage Cultivator are extremely difficult to read. Only the Heaven-Mending Skill can perform Soul Searching on a Foundation-Stage Cultivator, and that’s about the extent of it.’
And Lü Yang had no fear of Dual Cultivation!
So even if someone used the Heaven-Mending Skill on him, he could easily counter it.
Therefore, he refused to believe that Heaven and Earth could read his memories through the Immortal Spirit Body and learn of the Centome’s existence. That was completely illogical.
’More importantly, if Heaven and Earth really knew about the Centome, why would it be so sneaky, wasting time with this covert plot? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just Refine me in an instant? Given the Centome’s value, a grand, open move would be entirely justified... This must mean Heaven and Earth knows nothing about it!’
At most, it just found him strange.
After all, for an Immortal Spirit like him to appear out of nowhere, not needing to be nurtured by Heaven and Earth and capable of seeking out the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches on its own, was clearly bizarre.
’In other words, its attempt to Refine me is precisely because it wants to know my secrets!’
BOOM!
With another deafening crash, Lü Yang was once again forced into a desperate corner. He had no choice but to use Sinking Intent again to reverse the dire situation, pulling everything back to the beginning.
However, he had reached his limit.
’Sinking Intent consumes far too much Mana. Using it three times has nearly drained me... This is probably the last time I can use it!’
The situation remained desperate.
Past experiences began to flash through Lü Yang’s mind like a revolving lantern. There had to be a way. There had to be a way to break out of this hopeless predicament.
’Body, Soul... consciousness?’
Suddenly, Lü Yang’s heart pounded violently.
’Consciousness!’
Primal Daoist Mu Changsheng!
’That’s it, consciousness! My body, my Soul—these are all fundamentally creations of Heaven and Earth. Only my consciousness truly belongs to me!’
Back in his day, Primal Daoist Mu Changsheng had accomplished the incredible feat of stripping away his own consciousness, leaving it in No Heaven while his Soul reincarnated. Wasn’t that, too, a form of living? If I can replicate what Mu Changsheng did, perhaps I can find a way out of this desperate situation!
’After all... the Centome is tied to my consciousness!’
Lü Yang was absolutely certain of this point.
He had tested it. When he used Puppet to transfer his consciousness to his clone, he could open the Centome’s interface through that clone.
The problem now was that his consciousness was ultimately still based in his original Soul.
Once his Soul was controlled, his consciousness would find it hard to escape either.
’Unless I can completely extract my consciousness from my original Soul and transfer it to my clone’s Split Soul, only then can I hope to escape this alive!’
The clone had gone through reincarnation, and its Split Soul had long since become independent.
Furthermore, Puppet was undetectable.
Aside from Heaven and Earth, which had likely been watching him from the very beginning, no matter who investigated, there was no connection between Lü Yang’s main body and his clone.
There were not even any karmic links between the two.
The only reason Lü Yang could control the clone as if it were his own limb was because of Puppet. Without it, the clone would rebel instantly.
’So as long as I can strip out my consciousness, I can afford to lose this Immortal Spirit Body!’
’The reason Heaven and Earth has such a strong suppressive force over me right now is because I walked right into its trap, and also because of this Immortal Spirit Body. But my clone is a different story.’
’As long as my consciousness can escape to the clone.’
"Worst case, I can just kill myself and start over!"
But... how?
Mu Changsheng never passed down the method for separating consciousness from the Soul, and Lü Yang had only met him once. A single brief encounter was not enough to learn anything.
So, in all the world, was there anyone who could, with a single glance, replicate another’s Divine Communication Technique?
"..."
The next second, Lü Yang summoned all his Spiritual Essence, communed with his Dharma Body, and activated the Myriad-Soul Banner, directly contacting Progenitor Tingyou, who was still in seclusion.
’Progenitor! Save me!’