Chapter 374: Do You Know That Immortal Spirit?
In a secret chamber, deep within a remote mountain forest in the North.
At Lü Yang’s call, Progenitor Tingyou, who had been in seclusion, was abruptly roused. His figure instantly traversed countless mountains and rivers, appearing as if from thin air.
Although he had been revived, he was still a Banner Spirit.
And as a Banner Spirit, he could be summoned by Lü Yang, the Banner Master. After a brief exchange via spiritual perception, Progenitor Tingyou immediately understood the dire situation.
"Separating your consciousness..."
As his voice fell, Progenitor Tingyou sighed deeply. He frowned, then said something that made Lü Yang overjoyed, "I believe I can try."
Admittedly, separating a consciousness was quite difficult. But this was not the same Progenitor Tingyou as before. He had first taken a Unity Immortal Pill from the Profound Spirit Realm to nourish his Enlightenment, then fused with his original body from this era. At this moment, his Enlightenment was even greater than it had been in the past!
"If it must be done, it can be done."
"However..." Before Lü Yang could speak, Progenitor Tingyou hesitated. "The success rate for this sort of thing is limited. I can’t guarantee it will work."
But Lü Yang was not the least bit flustered. ’Not a one-hundred-percent chance?’
With a thought, his Sword Dao Avatar immediately began casting a spell to draw out Fortune. He had slain Long Yue, and now all the Qi and Merit of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect’s mountain was ownerless!
After absorbing all this Fortune, Lü Yang didn’t hesitate for a second, using every last bit of it.
’Divination Lottery!’
[Event: Have Progenitor Tingyou separate my consciousness.]
[Great Evil: You fail. Your consciousness cannot separate from your Soul and is Refined by Heaven and Earth, causing you to fall into a state of ignorance.]
[Lesser Evil: You fail to transfer in time. Guang Ming breaks in and subjects you to Enlightenment.]
[Moji: You complete the consciousness transfer just in the nick of time. But are you truly safe now? Fortune and misfortune are intertwined; the future is still unknown....]
Lü Yang unhesitatingly chose [Moji].
"Progenitor, begin."
The next second, he looked at Progenitor Tingyou and smiled relaxedly. "Don’t worry. I’ve already seized a successful future!"
"...Alright."
Progenitor Tingyou was a decisive man. Since Lü Yang had said so, he wasted no time. A Splendid Light appeared in his eyes, and the glow of a Daoist Skill ignited at his fingertip. He pointed at Lü Yang’s Soul. Instantly, Lü Yang felt his consciousness begin to drift slowly upward.
The sensation was incredibly strange.
His first-person perspective shifted to a third-person one. Just like that, he had separated from his physical body, from his Soul. He could even see himself lying in the pool.
Guided by Progenitor Tingyou and empowered by the good fortune from the Divination Lottery, Lü Yang’s consciousness swiftly took control of the avatar. Although the avatar’s Split Soul tried to resist, under the forceful control of [Puppet], Lü Yang quickly mastered the avatar and resolved the hidden danger of the Split Soul.
Then, a slightly horrifying scene unfolded before Lü Yang’s eyes.
His ’Soul’ opened its eyes.
"..."
Its gaze was peculiar—indifferent and calm, yet possessing a clarity like that of a newborn baby. It stared intently at Lü Yang.
Lü Yang’s gaze met its.
Instantly, a powerful emotion transmitted through its gaze and flooded Lü Yang’s mind: ’Want! I want it! I want it so badly!’
Lü Yang froze. ’Want who?’
’You!’
The intense emotion assaulted Lü Yang’s consciousness again, but this time its effect was negligible, like a gentle breeze.
’It really worked... It can’t affect me anymore!’
As Lü Yang breathed a sigh of relief, a realization dawned on him: all things, All Phenomena, are rooted in Heaven and Earth, and the soul and physical body are no exception.
This was especially true for the Soul of an Immortal Spirit!
’...Or rather, only the Souls of Immortal Spirits can be significantly influenced by Heaven and Earth. For the Souls of ordinary Perfected Persons, Heaven and Earth have little authority.’
Where did this authority lie?
According to Lü Yang’s speculation, it most likely had to do with the Netherworld!
The Souls of Immortal Spirits were bestowed by Heaven and Earth, but the souls of all other living beings had to pass through the Netherworld. This was probably the key!
The same was true for his avatar.
’A Soul that has been to the Netherworld cannot be controlled by Heaven and Earth!’
Realizing this, Lü Yang relaxed and took a step back, putting a safe distance between himself and his former "self"—now the "Immortal Spirit."
The Immortal Spirit was powerless to stop him.
But in all fairness, its basic objective had been achieved. It had recovered its important ’tool’. As for the minor flaws in the plan, there would always be another chance to act.
"RUMBLE!"
Meanwhile, the battle outside the Ten Thousand Poison Sect’s gates was coming to an end. The four figures formed from Innate Divine Techniques shattered silently, like illusory bubbles.
Guang Ming, however, frowned.
"The master-disciple karma... it’s actually been severed?"
The dazzling Buddha Light on the Golden Cuff in Guang Ming’s hand suddenly dimmed. This change made him subconsciously raise his head and look behind him.
Behind him, the Victorious Will-Born Clarity Tathagata’s World Appearance—riding a Six-tusked White Elephant that held a white lotus in its mouth, seated and forming the Sealing Demon Seal—remained silent and still. With its pure face and compassionate smile, it seemed as if it had been an inanimate object from the very beginning.
"Amitabha."
With a wave of his sleeve, Guang Ming broke through the Ten Thousand Poison Sect’s Mountain Protection Grand Array and immediately spotted the Immortal Spirit currently residing in the Moon Worshiping Pool.
"...A pity."
Seeing this, Guang Ming was struck by a sudden realization.
’So that’s how it is. The Heavenly God beat me to it. If the benefactor had worn the Heart-Binding Girdle beforehand, perhaps he wouldn’t have met with such a disaster.’
"Absurd..."
The Immortal Spirit sneered. The trace of clarity in its eyes vanished, replaced by complete indifference. Its speech, which had been slightly halting when it first spoke to Lü Yang, now flowed smoothly.
"...I was born of Heaven and Earth. How could I be subservient to any person?"
"You fat rats are selfish and bring no benefit to Heaven and Earth. Now that the Celestial Will has shown me its favor, it wants me to uphold the Heavenly Dao!"
"From this day forward, my name is Major Metal!"
Major Metal, another name for Geng Metal.
Hearing this, Guang Ming couldn’t help but shake his head. "Stubborn and unrepentant. Another Mu Changsheng."
Before his words had faded, he put away the Heart-Binding Girdle. Behind him, the Victorious Will-Born Clarity Tathagata’s World Appearance moved in response, slowly raising its Buddha’s Palm.
"BOOM!"
The next second, the Buddha’s Palm descended!
A five-colored radiance bloomed between its fingers as it crashed down like an Ancient Divine Mountain. Beneath the palm, the vast gates of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect seemed to crumble into minuscule grains of dust!
The Splendid Light flashed and was gone.
In the next instant, the gates of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, and even the Moon Worshiping Pool, were pulverized by a single palm strike from the Victorious Will-Born Clarity Tathagata’s World Appearance behind Guang Ming.
But just before that, the figure of Major Metal had already vanished.
Elsewhere, Lü Yang was making a ragged escape, riding a beam of Sword Light.
From start to finish, he had acted no different from a Cultivator who had been accidentally caught up in the events. After seeing the Immortal Spirit, Major Metal’s, performance, he breathed a sigh of relief.
’As expected, Heaven and Earth didn’t expose me...’
Guang Ming was the Buddha’s Son, empowered by the Bhagavat himself. If Heaven and Earth had revealed the slightest clue connecting these events to Lü Yang, it would have undoubtedly drawn the Bhagavat’s attention.
In that case, Lü Yang’s only option would have been to self-destruct immediately.
’However, Heaven and Earth—or rather, that Major Metal—clearly covets my secrets... That’s why it didn’t expose me. It most likely wants to play the long game.’
The bad news was that he was now being targeted by an Immortal Spirit that would very likely reach Foundation Establishment Perfection in the future.
The good news was that he had survived this time.
Furthermore, Heaven and Earth had intercepted all the karmic links, so Lü Yang didn’t have to worry about being discovered by the Master of Dao. In return, Heaven and Earth would probably be paying close attention to him from now on.
’Oh well, it’s still better than dealing with the Master of Dao...’
At least for now, it seemed Heaven and Earth were being suppressed by the four Masters of Dao, making it difficult for it to act. The Masters of Dao, however, were a different story.
A Bhagavat could personally descend just to go fishing for small fry!
"Benefactor..."
A gentle voice interrupted Lü Yang’s thoughts. He looked up to see Guang Ming—the man who had just obliterated the entire Ten Thousand Poison Sect’s Holy Mountain—smiling at him.
"Do you know that Immortal Spirit benefactor?"