Chapter 685 - 680: Toying with Ang Xiao
A disturbance in karmic links, and Heaven and Earth’s Killing Intent descended.
This was the very thing that had caused Lü Yang so much suffering in the past, the main culprit that had forced him to start his life anew. But once he understood it, it was actually quite simple.
It was nothing more than using a Treasure of Fruit Position to leverage a Fruit, and then using the Fruit to temporarily wield the might of Heaven and Earth. To put it bluntly, it was a tool specifically designed to entrap Lower Cultivators. For a Golden Core Perfected Lord, it wasn’t even worth mentioning, so Ang Xiao certainly wouldn’t take such a crude, minor trick seriously.
"Interesting. A technique of Fortune?"
Ang Xiao raised an eyebrow and looked to the sky. His Dharma Eye, blazing like a torch, saw the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire acting upon him, and a hint of a smile touched his eyes.
The body he now inhabited was that of Master Xiao Hai, with a Cultivation only at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.
Although over the past twenty years he had, in his spare time, found one of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and used it to raise his Cultivation to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment, it made no difference when facing a Fruit.
In other words, he had indeed fallen for the trick.
Ang Xiao formed a Daoist Hand Seal and began divining the karmic links. He could clearly sense that he and someone far away, at the edge of the heavens, had been bound together by Heaven and Earth’s Killing Intent.
To break this bond, he would have to exert more power.
Doing so would be a trivial matter for him, but Master Xiao Hai’s body was limited in strength and likely couldn’t withstand any more of his Mighty Power.
’Yuan Tu will die at the hands of Master Xiao Hai?’
Soon, Ang Xiao finished divining the content of Heaven and Earth’s Killing Intent. His brow twitched, and an indescribable sense of surprise once again surfaced in his heart.
This one sentence revealed at least three pieces of information.
First, the mastermind behind this likely understood him very well—they at least knew about the Li Family, otherwise it would have been impossible to lock onto the name Master Xiao Hai so directly.
Second, the mastermind wanted to kill this Cultivator with the Daoist name Yuan Tu.
Finally, there was the implicit meaning behind the sentence: since they knew his identity, why would they want him to kill some unknown, insignificant nobody?
There was only one answer.
Ang Xiao judged others by his own standards and guessed inwardly, ’Making me kill someone is likely just a pretense. The real goal is to use this Heaven and Earth’s Killing Intent to lure me over!’
That being said, an unprecedented curiosity bloomed in his heart. The mastermind’s actions were just too obvious; in his eyes, they had no intention of hiding anything. It was less an attempt to entrap him and more of a challenge—a way to invite him for a meeting.
Now that was very interesting.
’They can see through my Veil of the Trees, and they still dare to provoke me like this... There’s an eighty percent chance we have a conflict on the path of the Dao. Which fellow Daoist from the Saint Sect could it be?’
What kind of person was Ang Xiao? With just a moment of thought, he grasped the key point:
’This person started with Fortune, which means their goal is the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire?’
At this thought, his expression gradually turned serious. After all, the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire was something he was determined to obtain, and he would absolutely not allow any outsiders to lay a hand on it.
Then, he turned his attention back to Heaven and Earth’s Killing Intent.
’Yuan Tu... who is he?’
Ang Xiao pinched his fingers to perform a divination, and a wealth of information about Yuan Tu immediately flooded his mind: ’A Saint Sect Zhenren, Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, a newly risen member of the younger generation.’
’Hmm... about to head Overseas?’
’His Dao Foundation is cultivated from the Fruit of Rampart Earth, and he’s preparing to go Overseas to find a strand of Earth of Wu. His destination should be... Oh? It’s actually the Azure Sun Cultivation Realm?’
Upon divining this, Ang Xiao’s eyebrow suddenly shot up.
He had a deep impression of the Azure Sun Cultivation Realm, simply because the Daoist Remnant formed from the death of Primal Daoist Mu Changsheng—who had failed in his attempt to obtain the Fruit of Long-Flow Water—was located there.
’What is the meaning of this?’
’Is he trying to tell me that he already knows the secret of the Earth of Chen?’
’The Daoist Remnant of the Fruit of Long-Flow Water... that would be extremely useful to me. With a little Refining, I could turn it into a clone at Foundation Establishment Perfection.’
Ang Xiao’s thoughts raced.
But he quickly regained his composure. No matter what, he would deal with whatever came his way. With his level of Cultivation, what in the world could possibly stop him?
Thinking of this, he made his decision: ’Yuan Tu... since Fortune and that mastermind want to kill this junior from the Saint Sect, then I will protect him. I will also take the Daoist Remnant of the Fruit of Long-Flow Water. No matter what tricks the mastermind has laid out, if he wants to stop me, he will inevitably have to reveal his hand.’
And as long as the other party revealed the slightest clue, he had a way to deal with them.
This was Ang Xiao’s confidence. After roaming the world for tens of thousands of years, hiding in the Netherworld, and seeking the Dao of the Nascent Soul, he rarely bothered to scheme against others anymore.
’So-called strategy is merely a supplement for when one’s strength is insufficient.’
In the past, when his Cultivation was lacking, his Dao was insufficient, and he was burdened by heavy karmic links, he had no choice but to be cautious and scheme in order to seek his Fruit.
Now, however, things were different.
He was now at the Late Stage of Golden Core, with his Five Elements at Perfection. Having reached this point, unless a Master of Dao themselves was setting the trap, he could simply bulldoze his way through any scheme, no matter how grand!
.......
’Ang Xiao must be thinking exactly that right now.’
Lü Yang, who had studied Ang Xiao for several lifetimes, knew his thoughts like the back of his hand.
And it was precisely because he had anticipated Ang Xiao’s confidence and arrogance as a Golden Core Great True Monarch that he dared to be certain the man would follow his script.
In a dense forest, Lü Yang sat cross-legged, his fingers flying through calculations so fast they nearly sparked, his mind constantly reviewing his current scheme.
He had never underestimated the role of raw power.
After all, why go to the trouble of scheming when you can just bulldoze your way through? Those who looked down on raw power because of their intellect were, at their core, just a bunch of thinking fools.
Therefore, his goal this time was simple.
He would chip away at Ang Xiao’s strength, force his hand, exhaust his trump cards, and make it difficult for him to interfere with Fortune’s effort to reclaim the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire.
’Ang Xiao has two True Monarch Level trump cards.’
’One is the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva from the Pure Land, and the other is a True Monarch Level avatar. Dealing with them would be equivalent to severing his arms.’
’I don’t need to worry about the latter; he will naturally use it when Master Chong Guang begins Seeking Gold. The key is the former. That is his ultimate safety net, a tool that can snatch the Fruit of Pewter Metal and the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth for him at a critical moment, allowing him to maintain his Late Stage of Golden Core realm. And if I can neutralize it... ’
At this thought, Lü Yang’s heart pounded with excitement.
Was there a chance?
Of course there was! Because right now, the Pure Land was watching Yuan Tu. He could absolutely use Yuan Tu to pass along intelligence without anyone knowing.
’In the vast Pure Land, with the Bhagavat presiding, how could they possibly allow Ang Xiao to make a move?’
’Not to mention, the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva is a Perfected Lord. If the Pure Land didn’t know, that would be one thing. But once they find out, they will surely find a way to deal with it!’
After all, Ang Xiao was already an enemy to the entire world.
The reason he succeeded in his Previous Life was mainly that he launched a blitzkrieg, taking everyone by surprise. This life, Lü Yang would not give him that chance again.
This was the power of intelligence.
As long as the intelligence he held was important enough, he could play even a Great Perfected Lord like Ang Xiao in the palm of his hand!