At this moment, Lu Yang could only remain silent.
Like Hong Tian, he gazed into the distance, looking toward Jiangnan. It was the sword light slashed from there that had shattered Hong Tian's final hope.
Not only that. As Hong Tian fell, the True Body Tathagata and the [Supreme Law of the Heavenly Kingdom] arrived. One grabbed Hong Tian directly in hand, while the other netted the [Heavenly Fire]. As for the sword light that severed hope, it slowly extracted a sword intent from Hong Tian's sea of consciousness.
This was Jiangnan's goal for intervening.
For a Titled Sword Intent?
Lu Yang watched this scene coldly, but his mind couldn't help recalling the [White Chi Golden Nature] he had once settled, and its corresponding talent:
[Dragon-Slicing Platform]...
The current Hong Tian was undoubtedly in this situation. The Immortal Court seized the [Heavenly Fire], the World Honored One wanted his person, and the Jiangnan Sword Sect was stripping away his sword intent!
Seeking the golden stature led to death, and the various factions feasted on the carcass.
However, amidst the chill in his heart, Lu Yang was also filled with doubts.
The Jiangnan region in the [False History] still has perfected lords, so slashing out such a sword light isn't strange. But what about the present world? The Sword Pavilion in the present world has no perfected lords left!
The Sword Pavilion's perfected lords being in seclusion is almost a certainty. After all, in the previous life, even when the Sword Pavilion was breached by the Saint Sect, no Sword Pavilion perfected lord emerged. And unlike the Pure Land, the Sword Pavilion has no Unorthodox Perfected One keeping watch... In that case, who in the present world's Sword Pavilion could slash out such a sword?
Master Vanquishing-Demon? Absolutely impossible!
Lu Yang couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought. However, since this scene appeared in the [False History], considering the worst-case scenario, it would likely appear in the present world too!
Boom!
Just then, a loud noise suddenly erupted from the Jiangnan region.
Lu Yang looked sideways and saw a Titled Sword Intent rising slowly... It was Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's counterpart in the [False History], named Perfected One Xuanwu.
However, because there was no World Honored One in the [False History], Perfected One Xuanwu lacked the [No-Kill Sword Intent], so his strength was far inferior to the present world's Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon. Yet even so, this Perfected One Xuanwu drew his sword without hesitation, slashing boldly toward his own sect!
"Presumptuous!"
In an instant, a cold snort came from the depths of the Jiangnan Sword Sect. Immediately after, a mighty force descended, instantly suppressing the furious Perfected One Xuanwu.
Lu Yang watched with a heavy heart.
Is this foreshadowing for me? The Sword Pavilion will kick me when I'm down in the end. Master Vanquishing-Demon will act for me, but the result will just be him being buried along with me...
At this moment, he suddenly realized the truth:
No wonder... no wonder the Saint Sect Ancestor helped me.
Look at this scene. The Dao Court, the Pure Land, and the Sword Pavilion in the [False History] all benefited and feasted on Hong Tian. Only one faction wasn't invited.
Damn it, the Saint Sect was gone!
How could the dignified Saint Sect tolerate such a thing?
This is the three families wanting to eat alone. Forget about meat; they didn't even want to give the Saint Sect Ancestor a sip of soup. That's why the Saint Sect Ancestor came to help me!
If you won't give me a share, then no one gets a share!
From another perspective, the Saint Sect Ancestor... is probably the strongest among the four Dao Lords. So much so that the other Dao Lords would rather risk the variable and danger of Him intervening than let Him get even a tiny bit of benefit. At the same time, this is where my chance of survival lies!
Until this moment, Lu Yang still hadn't given up. He was even full of anticipation.
Fellow Daoist Hong Tian, you died well!
Although Hong Tian failed to seek the golden stature, he had tested out all the dangers for Lu Yang. The True Body Tathagata, the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], and the Sword Pavilion's sneak attack were all exposed!
With intelligence, he could think of a solution.
There was still hope!
As for the fortune lost just now to use [Divining Luck Drawing Lots] for Hong Tian, Lu Yang didn't care. Fortune was negligible to his current self.
After all, he already ruled the world. As long as he wished, he could mobilize the fortune of the world for his own use. What was that little bit used for Hong Tian? It was nothing more than being unable to watch passively, feeling unhappy, and doing his part... When he sought the golden stature himself, that would be the time to truly bet everything and go all out.
At the same time, above the dome of the sky.
Hong Tian's figure re-emerged. The steps condensed earlier collapsed, and his stature fell, causing him to exit the Foundation Establishment Realm and re-manifest in reality.
However, he had no time to attend to anything else.
He didn't even have the strength to speak.
The [Heavenly Fire] had fallen into the great net; clearly, it couldn't escape. His sword intent had also been extracted. His thoughts were becoming increasingly hazy.
I'm going to die...
Never had there been a moment where Hong Tian realized this so clearly. The True Body Tathagata trapping him possessed extraordinary means; he couldn't escape at all!
He couldn't even reincarnate!
Just then, the True Body Tathagata spoke:
"Amitabha. Fellow Daoist, you may bow under my command today and become one of my Tathagata forms. You can save your life, and I will also take Fellow Daoist to experience the outside world."
The True Body Tathagata directly voiced Hong Tian's greatest lifelong wish.
However, faced with such temptation, Hong Tian only sneered coldly, glancing at the True Body Tathagata with contempt. "Become your puppet, and then go to the outside world?"
What was the difference between that and moving from one cage to another?
Therefore, his answer would always be the same:
"I would rather die!"
Rumble—!
Taking one last look at Lu Yang below, Hong Tian's soul exploded with a bang. His soul dispersed, causing a blazing firelight to suddenly light up between heaven and earth.
However, like a candle blown out by the wind, the firelight vanished in the blink of an eye.
Only the True Body Tathagata remained standing quietly in mid-air. His Buddha face remained composed, his smiling expression not shaken in the slightest.
"...Stubborn."
As his voice fell, He also lowered his head, looking in the direction where Hong Tian cast his final gaze. However, He saw only a handful of scattering ashes of tribulation in that direction.
In the Zou Yu Ruins, Lu Yang's main body opened his eyes.
However, before he could react, a voice drifted over eerily. Gentle and calm, even carrying a hint of pity, it made one involuntarily want to believe:
"Lu Yang? Du Huan? Little friend, are you listening?"
Lu Yang: "...!?!?!"
Just this one sentence caused Lu Yang's expression to spiral out of control instantly. An indescribable terror, which hadn't appeared for a long time, instantly flooded his heart.
He knows I'm here?
The World Honored One... He knows I am in this [False History] right now!
In this instant, all the calculations in Lu Yang's mind, all the hopes for the future, turned into a blank slate. Only after a long time did thoughts re-emerge:
Me... am I still me?
No... it was the Saint Sect Ancestor who let me into this [False History]. If the World Honored One could catch me at will, what was the point of me coming in?
Lu Yang gritted his teeth and looked around tremblingly.
No one suddenly appeared. His thoughts were fine too; at least he didn't have the urge to shout "Alas!", and his thinking was stiff mostly due to fright.
It wasn't spoken specifically to me, but a voice transmission to the whole world.
That's right... The World Honored One can't find me! He can only sense that I am in this [False History], but He can't trace the vine to the melon and find my location!
Lu Yang let out a long breath.
But soon, a greater heaviness surfaced in his heart:
But... if the World Honored One knew long ago that I was also in this [False History], He must have guarded against me. Is everything I saw still useful?
The [False History] could no longer be trusted!
Because Lu Yang had no idea if the World Honored One had tampered with anything in secret.
Perhaps it was all true, perhaps it was a mix of truth and falsehood, or perhaps it was fundamentally a fatal trap set by the World Honored One to bewitch him and guide him into making wrong judgments!
Lu Yang gritted his teeth. He manipulated a marionette again, raising its head to look in the direction of the True Body Tathagata.
High in the sky, the True Body Tathagata looked leisurely. The smile on His face grew wider, as if He sensed Lu Yang's gaze. He spoke softly:
"This time was just a rehearsal."
"But next time, it will become reality."