Hongyun's Fright

The exploding precious light was like towering waves, instantly tearing apart the formation Fairy Qingchen had set down before swallowing Lu Yang, Liu Xin, and Chen Xin'an.

Liu Xin was the first to scream. In order to deal with Lu Yang, he had summoned the Banner Spirit one after another, and bringing out Chen Xin'an in the end had consumed more than half his true qi. At that moment, he had no strength left to withstand the blast. His body ignited in an instant, then turned to ashes, while the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner in his hand fell limply through the air.

"Worthy indeed of being a Sacred Sect Disciple."

Once Liu Xin died, although Chen Xin'an still had strength left to hold on, he could no longer maintain his existence. He could only let out a long sigh before scattering on the wind.

As for Lu Yang, he was directly swallowed by the precious light and vanished without a trace.

Only after quite some time did the surging precious light gradually subside, revealing Xiao Shiye's figure, his face filled with wild delight.

"I won!"

Xiao Shiye laughed excitedly. Although self-detonating a Spiritual Treasure was his trump card, it actually came with many limitations and was very easy for others to evade.

To use this move to kill an enemy, he first had to restrict the battlefield and ensure the attack landed.

Second, the explosion's power could not be concentrated. Though its range was vast, it was too scattered, so the enemy had to be worn down to a certain extent before a single strike could guarantee victory.

Finally, Spiritual Treasures possessed self-awareness and might refuse to cooperate in self-detonation.

"Thankfully, Fortune is still standing on my side!"

Xiao Shiye felt that ever since he had joined the First Saint Sect, it was as if his fortunes had turned. Whatever he wanted, he got; whatever he did, divine aid seemed to follow.

When speculating on Death Substitute Puppets, his luck had been so good that he sold at the very peak, making hundreds of thousands of Contribution Points in profit.

On a casual trip to the mortal world, he had effortlessly picked up a magic treasure left behind by someone from the past.

When he was being hunted, he had happened to encounter Lu Yang, a perfect shield.

No matter what sort of crisis he encountered, he always escaped danger without incident. After a string of coincidences, he emerged unscathed and claimed the greatest benefits.

"What a fine Ten Thousand Spirit Banner. From now on, it's mine."

Xiao Shiye was about to step forward and claim the treasure when, almost at the same moment, a figure wreathed in Blood Light appeared beside him and likewise reached out to seize the banner.

At the sight, Xiao Shiye froze. Then his entire body began to tremble.

"What, does Brother Xiao also want this magic treasure?"

The blood shadow rippled, slowly revealing Lu Yang's face. He turned toward Xiao Shiye and flashed him a grin, making Xiao Shiye's body quake like a startled tiger.

Are you human or ghost?

Xiao Shiye's face turned deathly pale. Looking at the Blood-Transforming Divine Light coiling around Lu Yang, the images of all those figures he had previously sucked into dried husks flashed through his mind.

The next second, he hurriedly released the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner and bowed respectfully.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother. This is the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner I was keeping for you. Now it returns to its rightful owner!"

"You have my thanks."

Lu Yang smilingly accepted the "Primordial Breath Ten Thousand Spirit Banner," examined it for a moment, then poured dharma power into it and tipped two Storage Pouches out from within.

They were Liu Xin's and Fairy Qingchen's Storage Pouches.

When he opened them, a "Primordial Dao Scripture" immediately came into view. Besides that, there was also a "Secret Explanation of Array Treasures," which clearly belonged to Fairy Qingchen.

"They're all good things."

Lu Yang sighed with feeling and firmly memorized the contents of both Dao Books. Then he looked toward Xiao Shiye, who was inching backward, trying to put distance between them.

To be fair, Xiao Shiye's killing move had truly been unexpected.

When a Spiritual Treasure self-detonated, even someone at Qi Refining Great Perfection might be blown to death. In theory, it was an unavoidable killing blow, yet Lu Yang was the exception among exceptions.

Because he cultivated the Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light.

Having transformed into a blood shadow, he was now merely human-shaped, possessing form but no substance. His true spirit was entirely lodged within the Sword Pellet; as long as the Sword Pellet remained intact, he would not die.

And faced with Xiao Shiye's Spiritual Treasure self-detonation, the Sword Pellet forged from Gold Essence and Jade Marrow was far sturdier than mere flesh. Though it had not emerged entirely unscathed, it had ultimately not been reduced to ash. Thus, once the explosion passed, Lu Yang re-formed his body and reaped the greatest benefit.

At that thought, Lu Yang found Xiao Shiye exceedingly pleasing to the eye.

He truly had not misjudged him before. This Xiao Shiye was indeed a talent! Without him, how could he possibly have gained such bountiful rewards?

"I truly must thank Junior Brother Xiao for this."

"To show my gratitude, Senior Brother will send you on your way now."

Lu Yang gave a soft laugh, then swept out his hand. A streak of Blood Light fell upon Xiao Shiye, and before he could even speak, it sucked him into a dried husk.

Leaving this man alive would bring too much trouble.

With luck so powerful, what if he rose again later and came back for revenge? Better to cut the weeds and dig out the roots, ending everything once and for all.

"But he actually died just like that?" Lu Yang looked at Xiao Shiye's corpse and rubbed his chin in surprise. "With luck like that of a Son of Destiny, shouldn't some benefactor have appeared at this moment to stop me? I even prepared for it, yet it was so easy."

At that thought, Lu Yang's heart stirred. He once again used the Qi Observation Technique to look at Xiao Shiye.

A strange sight appeared.

Previously, when he looked at Xiao Shiye, precious light had soared into the heavens; it had been as though Hongyun was shining upon him. But now, when he looked again, all that precious light had vanished into thin air.

Seeing this, an unprompted thought rose in Lu Yang's heart:

This man's Fortune had run out.

"Ah."

The next moment, a sigh suddenly rang out.

Lu Yang raised his head and looked toward the sky. His expression froze at the instant surprise was about to appear, and every thought in his mind became frozen in that very moment.

At some unknown time, a figure had appeared before Xiao Shiye's corpse.

The man wore a crane cloak, a smile at the corner of his lips, a Feather Fan gently swaying in his hand. He was handsome and unrestrained, and at first glance seemed no more than a dashing scholar out enjoying the spring countryside.

Yet with his appearance, the entire world seemed to lose its color. Only where he stood became the center of all things, gathering all blessings, wealth, and Fortune between heaven and earth. He was Heaven's favored child, making others unable to stop envy and resentment from rising within them.

"Is this all you gained?"

The newcomer beckoned with one hand. The "Primordial Dao Scripture" and the Primordial Breath Ten Thousand Spirit Banner that Lu Yang had just put away flew out of the Storage Pouch and landed in his hand.

Just then, a voice abruptly rang out. "Hongyun, you've emerged from seclusion?"

The Daoist named "Hongyun" raised his head at the words, seemingly meeting someone's gaze. He chuckled. "No choice. The person I chose suddenly died."

The voice sounded somewhat surprised as well. "Died? One of your people can die? What happened?"

"It's laughable, really. His time and tide were unfavorable."

"I gave him so much Fortune because I intended for him to fish up that Colorful Fish from the Merit Pool. But there were too many Variables, causing his Fortune to be exhausted ahead of time."

"Once Fortune is exhausted, death naturally looms overhead."

After saying that, Daoist Hongyun weighed the "Primordial Dao Scripture" in his hand, shook his head, and casually put it away. Then he looked toward Lu Yang nearby.

"This person, however, is rather interesting."

Daoist Hongyun counted on his fingers, and the smile at his lips grew ever wider. "What a great Variable this man is. The recent turmoil over the Death Substitute Puppets seems to be connected to him."

"Mm, his background is unquestionably clean. But why would a mortal possess Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivation at the very beginning of entry? Deliberately concealing it... it seems he learned arts from a Rogue Cultivator master, which is not a problem. Wait, no. He had already learned the Divine Firmament Sword Control Art before entering the sect? Could he be a spy from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion?"

The more Daoist Hongyun calculated, the greater the interest in his eyes became.

Other than the Hundred Lives Book, every secret Lu Yang possessed was calculated through Karma by Daoist Hongyun and laid bare thread by thread, until at last his brow furrowed.

".He cultivates the Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light?"

The next second, the interest in Daoist Hongyun's eyes rapidly faded, replaced by an expression of utter disgust.

Once one's body became a blood shadow, the immortal path was severed. Such a cultivator was naturally not worth any further effort from him, much less worthy of becoming the next "Son of Destiny."

"What a pity about the Colorful Fish in the Merit Pool. I failed to catch it this time. It seems I can only wait for the next opportunity."

Daoist Hongyun withdrew his gaze, then stepped forward. Like a fisherman whose bait had run out and who could only leave empty-handed, he soon vanished without a trace.

Only Lu Yang remained standing where he was.

Sweat poured down like rain.