Chapter 340: "It Was All for Ang Xiao!"
"This entire arrangement was made for ăAng Xiaoă!"
At this moment, LĂŒ Yang's thoughts had never been clearer. As numerous clues connected together, he finally understood the full story up to now.
"The origin... was the ăMystic Spirit Realmă!"
"In order to devour the ăMystic Spirit Realmă, the True Sovereign of the Sacred Sect took the lead, followed by other True Sovereigns. Many of them went beyond the heavens and destroyed the Mystic Spirit Realm."
Only one person had not been invited.
And that was ăAng Xiaoă!
"Being in the Netherworld, ăAng Xiaoă naturally couldnât go with the True Sovereigns to the ăMystic Spirit Realmă, and thus had no way of knowing what they did beyond the heavens."
"If my guess is correct, the True Sovereigns didnât merely kill the Supreme Beings of the ăMystic Spirit Realmă. Most likely, True Sovereign Qingcheng Feixue took the opportunity to reveal ăAng Xiaoăâs identity! That led to the later division of the Heavenly Court into four fragmentsâthese fragments were bait meant to lure ăAng Xiaoă!"
"And, as expectedâ"
"ăAng Xiaoă fell for it. He voluntarily entered the Heavenly Court fragments. The consciousness he had originally used to observe the current world was thus sealed, severing his perception of reality!"
"And thenâ"
At this thought, LĂŒ Yang looked again toward Jiangbei. He understood the arrangement made by Chong Guang to seek the Metal element. But the timing was too early for Chong Guang.
In other wordsâ
"It was Hong Yun!"
To be able to openly seek Metal in Jiangbei like that, he must have had the tacit approval of Chong Guang and Qingcheng Feixue. This completely exceeded ăAng Xiaoăâs expectations!
"This matter must be considered on three levels."
"The first layer is the trap set by Chong Guang and Qingcheng Feixue using the Heavenly Court fragments. This might not have been completely unforeseen by ăAng Xiaoă."
"Therefore, the second layer is the trap ăAng Xiaoă laid on top of that."
"And this trap is most likely within that fragment of the cave heaven beneath the waters of Gantang Dao. If Chong Guang and Qingcheng Feixue thought they had trapped ăAng Xiaoăâs consciousness and swaggered into that cave heaven fragment, they would surely fall into the trapâif not die, at least be severely wounded!"
"Beyond that is the third layer."
At this point, LĂŒ Yang couldnât help clapping his hands with laughter:
"Not only did Chong Guang and Qingcheng Feixue not go to that cave heaven fragment, they even pulled the rug out from under him and directly allowed Hong Yun to seek Metal!"
Now that was a killing blow!
Because doing so brought no benefit to Chong Guang, yet it dealt a devastating blow to ăAng Xiaoăâa truly spiteful move that harmed others with no gain.
"However, ăAng Xiaoă must have realized something was wrong."
"Because he discovered he couldnât leave the ăSouthern Heavenly Gateă and sensed the existence of a trap, he was desperate to contact his main body outside."
"And so, he appeared before me."
With the wondrous blessing of ăClarity of Insightă, LĂŒ Yangâs thoughts became even sharper:
"His words just now, part probing, part suggesting cooperationâbut ultimately, his real goal was only one: to have me kill him!"
"Whether it was to anger me or to incite rebellion within me, those were just tactics. What he wanted was the resultâto use me to complete his suicide!"
The influence of the ăNetherworldă was omnipresent.
As long as one remained within this world, the soul would inevitably enter the ăNetherworldă after death. This was the key for ăAng Xiaoăâs consciousness to return.
"He probably couldnât commit suicide on his own."
That was LĂŒ Yangâs guess.
Otherwise, why would ăAng Xiaoă go to such trouble to have him do it? Wouldnât it be easier to just cut his own throat? There had to be interference from a True Sovereign!
At this thought, LĂŒ Yang manipulated his avatar inside the ăSouthern Heavenly Gateă to tentatively extend a hand.
"Ugh!"
His movement suddenly haltedâhe couldnât proceed any further. Just now, he had intended to self-detonate, but that action had been forbidden.
".As expected!"
Raising his head, LĂŒ Yang seemed to see an invisible force like a great net enveloping the entire ăSouthern Heavenly Gateă, revealing a line of talismanic script:
ăSuicide is forbidden in this place!ă
"This is... the power of the ăMystic Spirit Realmăâs fruit position! A True Sovereign had influenced it, leaving behind this rule within the ăSouthern Heavenly Gateă!"
Thus, the act of suicide to return to the Netherworld was completely blocked for ăAng Xiaoă!
This was definitely not the work of Qingcheng Feixue.
More importantly, this rule was deeply hiddenâat least on the outside, ăAng Xiaoă hadnât noticed anything. Otherwise, he would have sensed the irregularity.
And this layer of concealment was an entirely different method.
In addition, the seal that isolated the ăSouthern Heavenly Gateă from the outside world didnât seem to be Qingcheng Feixueâs doing eitherâit was clearly someone elseâs work.
"Three... at least three True Sovereigns intervened here!"
"The whole world is the enemy. Truly, the whole world is the enemy. ăAng Xiaoă wasnât being schemed against by Qingcheng Feixue aloneâhe was being schemed against by all the True Sovereigns!"
In an instant, LĂŒ Yang couldnât help but feel deep emotion:
"Those who can become True Sovereignsâevery single one of themâis no simple figure. Even someone like ăAng Xiaoă could get overturned if he wasnât careful!"
Hong Yun had no shackles from the ăEarth of the Constellationsă. If he succeeded in seeking Metal and regained control of the ăOverturning Lantern Flameă, he would undoubtedly destroy all of ăAng Xiaoăâs arrangements, causing him to fall from the late-stage Golden Core Realm. This was a deathless, irreconcilable grudge on the Dao path! ăAng Xiaoă would stop it at all costs.
Could Hong Yun succeed?
"Highly unlikely."
LĂŒ Yang shook his headânot because he didnât have faith in Hong Yun, but because he had faith in ăAng Xiaoă. This late-stage Golden Core True Sovereign was of exceptional caliber.
Yet it couldnât be deniedâ
After all these calculations against him, Hong Yun had already seized the initiative. If seeking Metal had once been hopeless, now he had at least a thirty percent chance!
"...Only one question remains."
What about Chong Guang?
This whole arrangement against ăAng Xiaoă clearly involved massive effort from Qingcheng Feixue and Chong Guang, but in the end, Hong Yun gained the most.
What did they get in return?
Jiangnan, Gantang Dao, Changyao Radiant Cave Heaven.
While Hong Yun sought Metal and True Sovereigns across the world watched, a man with an ordinary face but a piercing aura arrived calmly.
Radiance overflowed from his body.
These many rays of brilliance merged into a pure light of divine power on him, like a bright yellow lamp illuminating the lakebed and revealing the cave heaven.
"It seems this is the place."
The man smiled slightly and walked into the cave heaven without hesitation.
Inside the cave heaven, a massive serpent formed of ăSi Fireă stretched its body. At the serpentâs head, the templeâs gate was wide open, revealing the interior.
The scene inside the temple was extremely simple: a chess table, two meditation cushions.
A blurry figure already sat on the inner cushion. Seeing this, the man didnât pause and calmly sat on the outer cushion.
"My lord, Chong Guang pays his respects."
Chong Guangâs expression was calm as he looked across the chessboard. There sat a figure shrouded entirely in mist.
"Impressive."
Mist roiled, and a voice that sounded neither male nor female, old nor young, emerged with a tone of admiration:
"The Sacred Sect indeed produces many talents."
Originally, ăAng Xiaoă had been lying in ambush in the cave heaven, waiting for Chong Guang and Qingcheng Feixue to walk into his trap. But then his avatar in the ăSouthern Heavenly Gateă had warned him.
Only then had he realized the changes in the outside world.
Undeniably, he was now in a difficult position. He still had ways to stop Hong Yun from seeking Metalâbut it would cost him dearly.
At this, ăAng Xiaoă had the same question as LĂŒ Yang:
"After all this effort to ruin my arrangement, only to benefit Hong Yun in the end... what exactly do you want?"
"Only to seek the Dao."
Chong Guangâs expression was steady: "The ăOverturning Lantern Flameă can no longer be verified. You are, after all, a late-stage Golden Core True Sovereign. If you truly wish to turn the tide, there are still ways."
"But clearly, your sights are set higherâyou are unwilling to pay the price."
"Everything depends on your choice. If you can help me find another path to verify the Golden position, I will naturally help you resolve this predicament."
Hearing this, ăAng Xiaoă was silent for a moment before understanding:
"Haha, hahaha! So thatâs it! So thatâs it! This wasnât your schemeâthis was Xue Feihongâs! Youâve already been cast aside!"
True Sovereign Qingcheng Feixue only wanted a True Sovereign of the ăOverturning Lantern Flameăâshe didnât care who it was!
That person could be Chong Guang or Hong Yun.
She hadnât approved of Hong Yun before because he hadnât returned in five thousand yearsâsheâd never counted on him, which was why she had placed her hopes on Chong Guang.
But now, things were different.
Hong Yun had traded with LĂŒ Yang for the "True Explanation of the Inner Observation of the Void" and the "Golden Lamp and Jade Radiance of the Upper Firmament," regaining the foundation needed to reclaim his position.
More importantly, he had no hidden danger from the ăEarth of the Constellationsă.
"Compared to you, Hong Yunâs chances of seeking Metal are undoubtedly greater. No wonder Xue Feihong sees you as expendable. No wonder you came to me alone!"
Chong Guang cupped his hands: "Your insight is sharp, my lord."
Faced with ăAng Xiaoăâs thinly veiled mockery, his expression remained steady, the sharpness in his gaze undiminishedâstill as resolute as a blade.
"Itâs nothing more than relying on myself."