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Chapter 534: The Fundamental Profound Mystery of the Fruit of Rampart Earth
CLANG CLANG!
As Lü Yang’s voice fell, the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva, now reduced to a mere Soul being scorched by Celestial Fire, could no longer suppress his wounds.
The next moment, a golden light emerged from his Soul, coalescing into a thick scripture. Its pages rustled open, revealing densely packed Sanskrit script, each character symbolizing a conceptual transformation. Humming with joy, it fell into Lü Yang’s hand.
It was the Chengyang Book!
Seeing this, the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva was so furious his Soul nearly exploded. That was his Lifebound Artifact! And now, it wouldn’t even spare him a glance.
What made him even more furious was that Lü Yang showed no regard for the Chengyang Book’s willing submission. He simply grabbed it and, with a flash of refinement, reduced the Spiritual Treasure back into raw Spiritual Materials.
It felt as if his own wife, whom he had cherished so dearly he feared she might melt in his hands, had willingly thrown herself into another man’s embrace. Worse, she preferred being wantonly ravaged and tormented to ever returning to him—and he was forced to watch. The flood of thoughts drove the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva to the brink of madness.
"This is too much! An utter humiliation!"
The Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva roared hoarsely, but as a mere Soul, he was helpless, already cupped in the five-fingered palm of Lü Yang’s Dharma Body.
This scene was witnessed by all of Jiangxi.
The colossal Dharma Body stood tall. A brilliant mote of Buddha Light darted left and right in its palm, but it could never escape the continent-sized Five Finger Mountain suspended in the air.
How could such a spectacle not fill one with dread?
Lü Yang, however, showed no signs of relaxing. The fire in his palm continued to incinerate the Soul of the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva as he gazed silently up at the sky.
’Are there any other moves left?’
’Once I completely destroy the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva, the fate of Jiangxi will be sealed... But it’s obvious the Pure Land won’t just sit back and watch.’
’The Bhagavat is likely occupied by the Daoist Court Daoist Lord. And since I haven’t touched the Fruit of Rampart Earth, he probably won’t intervene personally. At most, he’ll toe the line and introduce some other Variable to deal with me... At this point, the only Variable that could possibly change the outcome of this battle is...’
At this thought, Lü Yang abruptly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the distant North.
.......
「North. The Simulation Realm.」
The Secret Realm had not yet opened, so mountains, rivers, sun, and moon had yet to form within. The only scenery was that of drifting Souls, and among them, two were particularly conspicuous.
One was Ang Xiao; the other, Mu Changsheng.
Ang Xiao, however, was not in a good mood. His Divine Sense stirred, projecting an image: Lü Yang, completely victorious.
’The Pure Land... Useless fools!’
Ang Xiao cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth at the results of his karmic divination—he had never expected the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva to be defeated so easily!
He might have been of the Outer Dao, but he was still a Perfected Lord and had inherited the Pure Land’s legacy. To be so utterly routed by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator with a Fake Golden Position... It was a disgrace to all Perfected Lords in the world. And to think Ang Xiao had actually pinned his hopes on the Pure Land to get rid of Lü Yang for him.
However, when Ang Xiao’s divination revealed that Lü Yang was faking possession of the Fruit of Celestial Fire, he fell silent. His anger was replaced by a deep, chilling dread.
’Am I really supposed to let him attain the Fruit of Celestial Fire?’
A second Emperor Fruit!
Having attained an Emperor Fruit himself, Ang Xiao knew just how difficult it was. It was by no means a matter determined by Talent Skill alone.
When you were trying to make it, what mattered was your background and your faction!
He, Ang Xiao, had succeeded because he had the backing of the Stain Sect and had taken advantage of the opportune time of the celestial upheaval... But this Demon Dragon—on what grounds?
Who was pulling the strings behind the scenes?
The implications were terrifying. But just as Ang Xiao’s mind was racing, he saw the image of Lü Yang in his karmic vision—standing with his hands clasped behind his back—suddenly turn around.
"If you want to watch, Senior, why not come a little closer?"
Lü Yang’s laughter traveled across the Great Net of Karma Links. Though spoken in jest, Ang Xiao sensed a brutal and Extreme Killing intent within it.
Ang Xiao’s brow furrowed.
A moment later, however, his brow smoothed, and he laughed heartily. "Good! What a fine junior! I know your origins now. You’re just like that shrew!"
"You both come from *that* place!"
’...What?’
Back in Jiangxi, Lü Yang’s smile didn’t falter, but his mind reeled with shock and confusion. ’Shrew... Is he referring to World Purger Fei Xue? What does he mean, we’re the same?’
’*That* place... What place is he talking about?’
Before Lü Yang could make sense of it, a ray of Buddha Light suddenly erupted from the ruins of the Pure Land Great Hall he had previously stomped into rubble.
Within the Buddha Light, layer upon layer of light and shadow emerged. Though it appeared no larger than a mustard seed, it contained a universe. Faintly visible were myriad images: the Celestial Capital Jade Fortress, the Emperor’s Golden City, a dragon coiling across a thousand miles, a tiger crouching in the four cardinal directions. Finally, these images intertwined, melted, and merged into a single, Flawless, Illusionary Colors.
The Fruit of Rampart Earth!
Lü Yang’s pupils contracted at the sight. For a moment, he thought the Pure Land’s Unity had collapsed, but a second later, he sensed that the Fruit of Rampart Earth had not gone rampant.
In other words—
’Someone is deliberately awakening it?’
Lü Yang narrowed his eyes, and his gaze instantly pierced through all obstructions. He saw that beneath the Fruit of Rampart Earth, five monks with solemn and dignified appearances had materialized.
Behind each Monk stood a Dharma Appearance.
Manifest World Appearance, Purifying World Appearance, World Appearance, Hearing World Appearance, and Observing World Appearance!
The Five Dharma Appearances, returned!
What Buddha’s Son Guang Ming had said before was no exaggeration. As long as the Bhagavat was willing, he could create ten, even a hundred, Dharma Appearances with a casual flick of his wrist, without exerting the slightest effort.
’Rinima... Completely shameless!’
It was one thing for the Five Dharma Appearances to fail in their descent once, but for them to try a second time... The Bhagavat’s shamelessness had reached a new low in Lü Yang’s estimation, leaving him both furious and helpless.
BOOM!
Without a moment’s hesitation, a golden light flared in Lü Yang’s eyes. His gaze instantly incinerated the newly-appeared Five Dharma Appearances, and he harvested another wave of their Gold Attribute while he was at it.
Yet he didn’t dare to relax in the slightest.
The Bhagavat knew he could use the Dharma Gold Attribute to extend the duration of his Fake Holding, yet he still sent down the Dharma Appearances and activated the Fruit of Rampart Earth. He must have something else in mind.
’The Fruit of Rampart Earth... Can it really change the course of this battle?’
Lü Yang was puzzled. He himself had cultivated the Fruit of Rampart Earth before, and frankly, he didn’t think it alone was enough to turn the tables.
’Even if he uses the Fruit of Rampart Earth’s most fundamental Profound Mysterious ability, it’s not possible to kill me in one shot.’
’What is he planning?’
As Lü Yang pondered, he braced himself, ready to face the inevitable killing blow... But the result was not what he expected.
In a trance, it felt as if a gentle breeze had swept past.
It was the light of the Fruit of Rampart Earth. Bathed in its glow, Heaven and Earth itself seemed to flatten, becoming a crumpled, two-dimensional drawing.
Then, it began to twist and change—
At that moment, Lü Yang finally understood the fundamental Profound Mysterious ability of this Earth Element Supreme Fruit Position, and why the Bhagavat had placed such high hopes in it.
Its name was: Zhi Gu Jin!
In that instant, bathed in the Splendid Light of the Fruit of Rampart Earth, Lü Yang had a shocking realization: a predestined "cause" within Heaven and Earth had just been altered.
........
「North. The Simulation Realm.」
Ang Xiao suddenly froze. In that very moment, his memories descended into chaos as a memory that never existed surfaced:
’Before, when I possessed the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva to seize the Fruit of Pewter Metal and the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth, I thought I had completely severed my connection to him and returned him to the Pure Land. But in truth, because I was only a wisp of Divine Sense and not my true self, I was somewhat careless.’
’In other words, I didn’t make a clean break.’
’What’s more, I also "accidentally" left some of the Mighty Power from the Fruit of Pewter Metal and the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth inside the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva’s body...’
—This was the cause.
And with this change to the "cause," the "effect" also produced a new Variable:
’So now, I can possess the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva once more, and even borrow some of the Mighty Power from the Fruit of Pewter Metal and the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth...’
At this thought, realization finally dawned on Ang Xiao:
’To alter karmic links, to grasp the past and present... Once the cause in the past is changed, a new effect in the future spontaneously arises. This is the fundamental Profound Mysterious ability of the Fruit of Rampart Earth!’