Before Lü Yang finished speaking, Guang Ming, who had been crying moments ago, suddenly fell silent, kneeling on the ground without daring to lift his head, feeling as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
However, Lü Yang remained gentle, personally reaching out to help him up.
“How have you been in the Pure Land?”
“Thank you for your concern, True Person.”
Guang Ming was drenched in sweat, swallowing hard, and stammered, “Thanks to True Person’s mercy for sparing my life, this little monk has been doing fairly well in the Pure Land.”
“Oh?” Lü Yang raised an eyebrow. “Did you gain any benefits?”
Guang Ming frantically shook his head and hurriedly said, “I was merely promoted by Master to the position of chief disciple of the 【Fulong Temple】, nothing more than that.”
Only then did he finally get to the point. “To tell you the truth, I have a small matter that requires your assistance. Would Daoist Guang Ming be willing to lend me a hand?”
Guang Ming felt a chill in his heart, but on the surface, he showed an eager expression. “To brave fire and water for True Person is a blessing I have cultivated over eight lifetimes!”
Hearing this, Lü Yang’s smile grew even more kind as he said warmly, “Don’t worry, it’s just a small matter. I currently have a promising talent under my command, named Zhao Xuhe, who, like me, cultivates the Nine Transforming Dragon Art and has long since perfected his Qi Refining stage. Recently, he’s preparing to break through to Foundation Establishment.”
“At that time, I will personally act to shield him.”
Lü Yang spoke casually, but Guang Ming was terrified, quickly patting his chest and promising, “Please rest assured, True Person, this little monk will keep this matter absolutely secret!”
Lü Yang shook his head with a smile. “Do I need you to keep it secret? Wouldn’t it be easier for me to just kill you? What I need is for you to tell Fulong about this!”
Guang Ming gaped, even more confused.
But Lü Yang paid no mind and continued, “This doesn’t really count as betrayal. You could even say it helps you earn merit, so there’s no need to be too concerned.”
Though he said so, Guang Ming quickly realized the truth.
‘No, this is a trap!’
‘He’s deliberately using a cultivator of the Nine Transforming Dragon Art breaking through to Foundation Establishment to lure my master. This demon wants to harm my master!’
For a moment, Guang Ming couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
Currently, he was the chief disciple of the 【Fulong Temple】, with Fulong Arhat above him and no further path to advance. But if Fulong Arhat died, it would be a different story.
Thinking of this, Guang Ming immediately lowered his voice and hoarsely said,
“But... that is my master!”
“The master who introduced me to the Dao, whom I regard as a father!”
Faced with Guang Ming’s wail, Lü Yang nodded understandingly. “Rest assured, I have it all planned. I guarantee this time he will die without leaving a corpse.”
“One word is enough!”
Guang Ming agreed without hesitation, and only then did Lü Yang leave gracefully.
After Lü Yang left, Guang Ming collapsed to the ground, sweating profusely while his trembling hands pulled out a stick of Awakening Incense from his robe.
The Awakening Incense was lit, and as the fragrant smoke curled up, Guang Ming’s expression gradually calmed down.
After an unknown period of time, he suddenly opened his eyes.
But this time, it was completely different.
Though Guang Ming’s appearance remained unchanged, his brows relaxed, his gaze sharp, and his entire demeanor had undergone a drastic transformation.
“In the end, these ignorant juniors do not understand the marvels of my Pure Land.”
“Of all the cultivators in the world, the ones least afraid of being turned traitor are us from the Pure Land. After all, when you cultivate yourself into 【the self】, how could 【the self】 betray itself?”
He had deliberately brought Guang Ming here to serve as bait!
“Zhao Xuhe wants to lure me out and ambush me? Since that’s the case, I might as well turn the trick against them and let them suffer for their scheme!”
Thinking of this, Fulong Arhat stroked Guang Ming’s body again, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
“Though somewhat clever, he’s still greedy and cowardly, actually thinking of betraying me... so be it, I’ll keep him alive for now to deceive that Lü Yang, lest he senses something amiss. I’ll deal with him after this is over.”
In the next moment, Fulong Arhat withdrew his consciousness.
A while later, Guang Ming opened his eyes in a daze, but without paying attention to anything else, he immediately looked toward the Awakening Incense beside him.
In an instant, Guang Ming’s teeth chattered uncontrollably.
This stick of Awakening Incense was specially crafted by him, containing hidden mysteries. Its flame was connected to his spiritual sense, leaving an obvious mark in his mind.
This mark was extremely fragile and would be wiped clean the moment it was disturbed by an external spiritual sense.
Yet now, the mark was gone!
‘No mistake, it must have been Master who came. I just can’t remember it, didn’t know, and couldn’t sense it... he already knows Lü Yang approached me!’
Guang Ming let out a long breath, gradually calming down after a long while.
‘He knows... that’s good!’
‘At least this way, I am still of use to Master, and he won’t kill me for the time being. As for Lü Yang, I am also of use to him, so he probably won’t kill me either...’
At this thought, Guang Ming suddenly felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Back when Lü Yang approached him, Guang Ming had wailed precisely because he realized he had become a chess piece manipulated by two True Persons.
If he sided with Lü Yang, his master would kill him.
If he didn’t side with Lü Yang, Lü Yang would kill him.
‘At this point, I have outwardly sided with Lü Yang, but secretly I am still my master’s puppet. Yet, in that conversation earlier, I actually hinted at Lü Yang...’
He had said: that was his master!
As a master, how could he not have means to control his disciple?
As long as Lü Yang could pick up on his hidden meaning, he would understand Guang Ming’s true stance.
Only in this way could he avoid offending both sides and perhaps find a way to survive.
At this moment, Lü Yang had already tossed Guang Ming to the back of his mind.
Because no matter what Guang Ming thought, it didn’t matter to him. It was meaningless. All he needed was for Guang Ming to pass the information about Zhao Xuhe.
Immediately afterward, Lü Yang stealthily entered a quiet chamber in the Skull Mountain Market.
He pushed open the door and walked in.
Inside the quiet chamber, Zhao Xuhe was in closed-door cultivation, completely unaware of Lü Yang’s arrival. Lü Yang extended a finger and pressed it to his forehead.
“Sorry, Senior Brother Zhao, this will be the last time.”
As his words fell, a stream of yellow light merged into Zhao Xuhe’s body, making Zhao Xuhe feel an unparalleled sense of ease, as if he were resonating with the entire Skull Mountain.
Lü Yang watched with a satisfied smile.
Just now, he had personally transferred the most crucial inheritance of the Witch Ghost Path, the control of the eight-hundred-li Skull Mountain’s earth veins, to Zhao Xuhe without reservation!
In the next instant, a divine light glowed at Lü Yang’s fingertip.
The web of causality trembled as an invisible thought entered Zhao Xuhe’s sea of consciousness, carrying a simple message: whoever blocked his Foundation Establishment, he would fight to the death.
Even at the cost of mutual destruction!
Under the influence of 【Sever Suspicion】, if Zhao Xuhe encountered obstruction in his Foundation Establishment with no way to retreat, he would decisively unleash his most powerful move.
——Self-detonate the earth veins!
In an instant, Lü Yang felt a surge of intense danger.
This was heaven and earth reacting, silently issuing him a warning.
If Zhao Xuhe really self-detonated the earth veins, Lü Yang would inevitably be caught up in the resulting karma.
At this thought, the divine light on Lü Yang’s fingertip suddenly shifted.
Activating his innate divine ability, Lü Yang instantly severed all ties with the earth veins of Skull Mountain, forever freeing himself from any related karma, leaving everything to Zhao Xuhe.
What Zhao Xuhe did had nothing to do with me.
The divine brilliance enveloped Lü Yang like armor, cleansing him of all karma.
Soon, that sense of being heavily targeted by heaven and earth vanished.
Only then did Lü Yang smile in satisfaction, withdrawing his finger and looking at Zhao Xuhe, who remained in closed-door cultivation.
Senior Brother Zhao, go without worry.
In the next life, I will treat you well!