Chapter 807 - 802: Great Harvest
[Celestial Human Residual Consciousness]
Once again, Lü Yang found himself in the magnificent Immortal Palace Secret Realm. Amidst a violent distortion of light and shadow, he stumbled out of the void and into a grand hall.
SLAM!
The heavy doors slammed shut, and the resounding boom gave Lü Yang an unprecedented sense of security—especially after hearing the faint, yet world-shaking, cry of a sword from beyond.
’If you can actually kill your way in here, I’ll admit defeat!’
Lü Yang glared fiercely at the doors, but they remained firmly shut, not even trembling. All sound was cut off, allowing his racing heart to finally calm.
"...Ha!"
’Success! True Monarch Gangxing’s Gold Attribute, a premium Life Form Body guaranteed to produce the Fruit of River-Sand Gold, and the Fruit of Post-Road Earth. My haul is still massive!’
He had actually prepared three plans for this conflict between the Righteous and Demon Daos: best-case, mid-case, and worst-case.
The best-case scenario was, naturally, to gather the Three Elements using the Fruit of Celestial Fire, the Fruit of Post-Road Earth, and the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal, then ascend to the rank of Great Perfected Lord. After that, he could have taken the world by storm.
The mid-case scenario was to devour the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal and the Fruit of Post-Road Earth, which would still have been a profitable outcome.
The worst-case scenario was what had just happened: leveraging his ability to fight above his rank to devour the Fruit of River-Sand Gold and the Fruit of Post-Road Earth. At least he hadn’t come away empty-handed.
However, Lü Yang knew perfectly well this wasn’t due to the brilliance of his own scheme. The Daoist Lords were hardly a united front. It was less that he had successfully schemed against the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord and more that the other three Daoist Lords had seized the opportunity to royally screw him over.
’Still... this life is probably at its end.’
With a calm expression, Lü Yang sat down cross-legged. Behind him, his Past Dust Appearance and Rebirth Appearance emerged in succession to stand at his back.
The Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, the Fruit of Spring Water.
The Fruit of Post-Road Earth, the Fruit of River-Sand Gold.
To put it bluntly, he was now just one final Wood Fruit Position away from completely mastering the Dao of Arcane Body and becoming its Great Perfected Lord!
However, a single step’s difference was often a chasm as wide as heaven and earth.
’None of the Daoist Lords will allow me to devour this last Wood Element. The re-establishment of the Dao of Arcane Body is directly tied to the very foundation of the Pocket World Technique.’
’To the Daoist Lords, I’m probably a complete pariah by now. Not only do I have no more strategic value, I’ve even become a threat. If I were to leave the Celestial Human Residual Consciousness and enter the Current World now, a Daoist Lord’s gaze would undoubtedly fall upon me in an instant.’
Lü Yang wasn’t overly worried, though.
After all, no matter how deep the enmity, it was all confined to this life. In the next life, everyone would start over from scratch. Then, he could focus on plotting for the Wood Fruit Position in peace.
In other words:
’In my next life, I *will* become a Great Perfected Lord!’
The next moment, the Righteous Banner manifested behind Lü Yang. Billowing purple Qi surged forth, and from it, a soul drifted into view. It was none other than Progenitor Tingyou, his Dharma Body shattered.
"Ah, Progenitor."
Lü Yang grinned, feigning a relaxed tone. "It was a little bumpy, but I made it out alive. Don’t worry, I’ll have you fixed up in no time."
"...Don’t worry about me."
Progenitor Tingyou shook his head, a look of pity welling in his eyes. "You should focus on your own injuries first. The damage you’ve sustained is far worse than you think."
"...What?"
Lü Yang froze at his words. The next second, countless cracks suddenly appeared across his Dharma Body, and his previously stable Qi trace plummeted in an instant!
SPURT!
Lü Yang violently coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face a mask of astonishment. "When... No, it was that sword cry from before—the one that was barely there!?"
"So you noticed."
Progenitor Tingyou said with a look of resignation, "It’s a good thing you got away so fast, and that the Other Shore stood between you and that sword cry. Otherwise, your Divine Soul would have been completely annihilated by now!"
"And that’s not all. In your current condition, the only way to heal is to enter the Sea of Suffering and draw on the power of the Dao of Arcane Body to mend your wounds. But it’s different this time. The Daoist Lords are fully aware of you now. The moment you enter the Sea of Suffering, you’ll likely be slain on the spot!"
Lü Yang was silent for a moment, then he chuckled.
"So as long as I don’t go out, I’ll be fine, right? This is perfect. I can take your advice, Progenitor. We can just lay low and consolidate our foundations for a few years."
"Sigh... I suppose it’s the only way," Progenitor Tingyou said with a sigh.
He knew these were just empty words of comfort. In Lü Yang’s current state, he was likely enduring the agony of a thousand cuts every single moment. How could he possibly consolidate anything?
It would be a struggle for him to even enter meditation!
It was even worse than that. As Lü Yang carefully inspected his condition, his expression changed. ’These sword marks... they seem to be gradually fracturing my Dao Heart?’
It wouldn’t be an issue in the short term, but if these sword marks weren’t erased over a long period, even his Perfect Dao Heart could begin to degrade!
’Looking at it this way, the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord must have been getting truly desperate.’
’Then again, to be robbed by an ant like me while his house was on fire, only to be screwed over by three other Daoist Lords... if I were him, I’d be desperate too. It’s only natural he’d resort to such a vicious move.’
Lü Yang found some grim humor in his plight. He then took a deep breath and used his Perfect Dao Heart to forcibly suppress the influence of the sword marks, barely maintaining a fragile equilibrium.
After a moment, he once again formed a Daoist Hand Seal.
"Go!"
The next moment, the Righteous Banner, the Tribulation Wave, and the Yellow Court—three True Treasures in total—materialized one by one. They circled Lü Yang, constantly radiating ripples of colorful light.
Following that, Lü Yang began to extract the Fruit of Celestial Fire Imagery from the Tribulation Wave and the Yellow Court, focusing it all into the Righteous Banner. He then added the imagery he had extracted from the Yellow Court previously, causing the Righteous Banner’s glow to intensify.
Next, he took out the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal Imagery he had extracted.
He infused this imagery into the Tribulation Wave, using it to reforge the True Treasure. Soon, countless phantasmal lights and shadows flickered to life around the magical sword.
’Not bad at all.’
Lü Yang chuckled softly. ’The Righteous Banner gets the Fruit of Celestial Fire, the Tribulation Wave gets the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal... As for the Yellow Court, I’ll find a way to get my hands on the Fruit of Rampart Earth!’
He had never forgotten his ultimate goal.
To use the imagery of the Five Elements Supreme Fruit Positions to forge five True Treasures, and then use those five treasures to weave together the strongest possible Void Attainment Position, one complete with all Five Elements!
He had now gathered two of the five.
’With Student as a Model, once Yuan Tu successfully attains the Fruit of Rampart Earth, I’ll be able to share in that cultivation. Getting the third one isn’t a complete impossibility.’
’And if that doesn’t work, well, I can always figure it out in the next life!’
Settling his thoughts, Lü Yang turned to his Past Dust Appearance and began to examine the profound mystery of the Fruit of Post-Road Earth, which he hadn’t had a chance to inspect earlier.
The Fruit of Post-Road Earth: it connects all of Kyushu and reaches every nation. It resides in the Kun direction, its virtue thick and boundless. It is the very earth that turns with the heavens and the sun, that carries the oceans and bears the mountains.
Its profound mystery was named Dao Without Borders.
As its name suggested, the essence of this profound mystery was "pathfinding." No matter the obstacle or hardship, it could always forge a road ahead.
’Once I activate this profound mystery, I’ll enter a dimensional space similar to the Sea of Suffering or the space of the Foundation Establishment Realm. The difference is, only I exist within that space, and it has a corresponding location in the Current World. I can walk within the space and emerge into the Current World whenever necessary.’
’I see.’
Lü Yang marveled inwardly. ’This profound mystery is incredibly valuable. Its status is likely on par with the Fruit of Stove-Inside Fire—it has the potential to become an Emperor Fruit!’
Of course, it was only potential.
Without the right opportunities, even the greatest potential was worthless if it couldn’t be actualized. At least, in the eyes of the Dao Court Daoist Lord, it was far less important than the Fruit of Celestial Fire.
’Luckily, this wasn’t my only prize from this venture.’
At this thought, Lü Yang reached into his robes.
He soon produced a sealed infant. A Golden Soul, as vibrant and distinct as a lit torch, resided within its frail body.
True Monarch Gangxing!
Without hesitation, Lü Yang seized the infant in his grasp.
The next moment, still under the seal, True Monarch Gangxing was completely unable to resist Lü Yang’s crushing grip. With a wretched wail, he was ruthlessly subjected to Gold Absorption.