Rumble!
The moment Chong Guang finished speaking, Ye Guyue—who had long been taken over by the inner demon—didn't hesitate in the slightest. She instantly self-destructed her body, taking all her spiritual treasures with her.
And then, the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak was dumbfounded.
"Ah."
Before he could even react, the destructive storm whipped up by the self-destruction slammed heavily into the ocean he had created with his divine ability, causing him to let out a muffled groan on the spot.
Instantly, a surging golden-white storm swept across like the punishment of death by a thousand cuts, slicing his divine ability, [Red Ru Scales], almost entirely to pieces. In addition, Ye Guyue's life-forged spiritual treasure, the [Nine-Child Mother Heavenly Demon Sword], detonated alongside her, causing his dharma body to rupture and sending him plummeting from the sky.
'Maniac! The lunatics of the Sword Pavilion!'
The Master of Heaven-Mending Peak was both shocked and furious, his mind filled with a hundred different questions. Why did you self-destruct? I had only just suppressed you; you could have at least struggled a little bit!
Who knows, you might have even broken free!
It's not like you're one of those Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones with no hope of reincarnation. You were at mid-stage Foundation Establishment perfection! The Great Perfected One realm was in sight! How could you just throw away such a bright path to the Dao?
I don't understand it at all!
Ye Guyue's sudden self-destruction not only severely injured the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, but it even momentarily shook his Dao Foundation. This was already a massive problem that threatened his very path to the Dao.
However, the wood was already carved into a boat. The Master of Heaven-Mending Peak could only swallow this bitter pill. He decisively retracted all the radiant light of his divine abilities, unwilling to make another move. After all, he harbored ambitions of becoming a Great Perfected One. This intervention was solely to mend his relationship with Hong Yun; he certainly wasn't going to risk his own Dao path.
"Forget it, forget it."
"With Ye Guyue dead anyway, there's only a Jiangnan rogue cultivator left. Even without me, given Wu Cang and Tuan Xu's cultivation bases, it shouldn't be hard for them to slay him..."
The Master of Heaven-Mending Peak waited patiently for a moment.
Soon, the dense fog dispersed, revealing the state of the battlefield... and then he froze, because the battlefield before him was an absolute mess!
The restricting formations and Dao platforms that had just been set up were entirely smashed to pieces, without exception. Even the spiritual veins had been severed, meaning the formations couldn't be re-established in the short term. The Qi Refining disciples had suffered countless casualties. And in mid-air, Wu Cang and Tuan Xu stood side-by-side, but Perfected One Xiaohai was nowhere to be seen.
"...Where is he!?" the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak demanded sharply.
"He ran away."
Wu Cang waved his hand, a helpless expression on his face. "You know me. My methods are fine for head-on assaults, but when it comes to keeping someone from escaping, I lack the capability."
'Useless rogue cultivator!'
The Master of Heaven-Mending Peak cursed inwardly. He then looked at Tuan Xu on the other side, who merely threw his hands up. "Senior Uncle, I'm only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment..."
A convincing excuse.
But in that case, the other side had a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had escaped, and he couldn't make a move himself. Relying solely on Wu Cang and Tuan Xu, didn't that mean this entire battle was fought for nothing?
'More importantly, Ye Guyue is dead, yet I haven't been able to secure Gantang Channelquickly. What happens when the Sword Pavilion gets the news and sends a Great Perfected One as reinforcements?' Thinking of this, the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak felt a mouthful of rebellious blood surge to his throat. It took him an immense effort to forcefully suppress it.
"...Send a message!"
After a moment of silence, the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak gritted his teeth. "Send a message to Fellow Daoist Hong Yun. Tell him to send more reinforcements. We need at least a Great Perfected One holding down the fort."
As soon as these words were spoken, Wu Cang and Tuan Xu's eyes lit up slightly.
The [Sea of Bitterness]. Waves churned on the surface, while undercurrents surged below. Every single splash, every single undercurrent, represented the concept of an object or event in the mortal world.
And above the [Sea of Bitterness], Lu Yang stood with his hands behind his back.
He pinched a brilliant golden radiant light in his hand, which spread out like a spider web. It chased the tides, precisely grasping one of the undercurrents within.
This undercurrent was the minor tribulation he had guided out.
And through the [Master of Great Tribulations], he was able to effortlessly decipher the concepts within it. Time, location, characters—there was absolutely no way any detail could be hidden from him.
"What a brilliant calculation, Senior Uncle Chong Guang!"
A look of admiration surfaced on Lu Yang's face. "Besieging the point to strike the reinforcements, making the Saint Sect and the Sword Pavilion continuously funnel troops in. At this rate, the entirety of Gantang Channel will be nothing but inner demons!"
Of course, being able to achieve this was partly due to Chong Guang's profound methods, but also because inner demons had only recently emerged in the world. The vast majority of cultivators were completely unguarded against them and possessed no countermeasures whatsoever. Otherwise, Wu Cang and Tuan Xu wouldn't have been taken out by Chong Guang without even a sound.
"Looking at it from this angle."
"The expansion of the [Arctic Exorcism Court] is already extremely urgent. I must spread lightning arts as quickly as possible to eradicate demons, defend the Dao, and save the cultivators of the world from their suffering!"
Following that, Lu Yang's thoughts shifted:
"Having killed Ye Guyue, Senior Uncle Chong Guang will inevitably have Perfected One Xiaohai request reinforcements from the Sword Pavilion next. When that happens, who will the Sword Pavilion send to the rescue?"
As he pondered, he once again examined the beginning and end of the event.
In this moment, Lu Yang seemed to see a branching tree diagram. Based on a single main timeline, several branch lines split off, their thickness representing the probability of occurrence.
He first focused his profound wonder and looked at the thickest branch line.
Soon, Lu Yang's mind submerged into it. Images flashed before his eyes, and under the profound wonder of the [Master of Great Tribulations], numerous pieces of information surfaced one by one:
[Time: Within ten days]
[Location: Sword Pavilion]
[Character: Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon.]
[Event: Following the delivery of Perfected One Xiaohai's plea for help, Ye Guyue's death enrages the Ye family. They immediately request Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon to intervene and suppress the demonic chaos.]
[Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon sits atop Extreme Heaven Cliff. Upon receiving the news, he unleashes a single sword strike... Tribulation Ends]
Looking at the final result displayed, Lu Yang blinked. "Ah?"
The next second, an expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry appeared on his face. 'Master Vanquishing-Demon... this won't do. If I let you get involved, how am I supposed to play!'
At this thought, he immediately looked at the other branch lines. Although the [Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon Intervenes] branch line was the largest, the existence of the other branch lines meant they were still possible. And with the profound wonder of the [Master of Great Tribulations], he could entirely find a way to alter the ultimate direction of the event.
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, Lu Yang's eyes lit up as he looked at the thinnest branch line in the tree diagram. "I didn't expect to see you here... Since that's the case, I'll choose you!"
With his mind made up, he instantly activated the profound wonder.
Following that, Lu Yang plunged his hand—which was gathered with brilliant golden spiritual light—deep into the [Sea of Bitterness]. He plucked at the seawater, altering the course of that event's undercurrent.
"Now, I've truly become the mastermind behind the scenes."
Sword Pavilion, Extreme Heaven Cliff.
"Bastards!"
Looking at the flying message in his hand, the current Head of the Ye family, Ye Shaoying, flew into a towering rage. "Guyue is dead, her soul shattered and perished... The fiends of Jiangbei are simply going too far!"
At this thought, he immediately planned to seek out Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon and ask him to intervene. Although doing so would consume the little remaining goodwill between the Ye family and Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, considering the ferocity of the Demon Sect, it was inconvenient for someone of his precious status to take risks. Having Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon handle it would be much safer.
However, right at that moment.
"What has happened to make you so angry, Senior Brother?"
A slightly frivolous voice rang out. Ye Shaoying looked over and saw a young Daoist, who rarely showed his face within the sect, taking large strides toward him.
"...Subduing-Spirit?"
Ye Shaoying was taken aback for a moment, then sighed. "I've let you see something embarrassing, Martial Nephew. The Demon Sect killed a direct descendant of my Ye family, and one at Foundation Establishment Perfection to boot."
"So I was just planning to go and ask Guang Ji to intervene."
"...Ask Senior Brother Vanquishing-Demon?"
Hearing this, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit raised an eyebrow. As a cultivator of the [Sword Edge Gold], he had always maintained a sense of rivalry towards Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, who was currently the number one Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Therefore, the moment he heard Ye Shaoying intended to seek out Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, a desire to compare himself immediately arose in his heart.
At this thought, he took the initiative to say:
"May I ask what the fiend's cultivation base is? Why not let me take a look?"
His words were incredibly natural, devoid of any karmic fluctuations, and everything stemmed from his own heart. Even the Perfected Lord's remnant thought, Long Tu, residing within Perfected One Subduing-Spirit's body, noticed nothing amiss.
Naturally, Ye Shaoying went along with the flow.
Soon, after reading the message, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit revealed a confident smile. "I see. There's no need to trouble Senior Brother Vanquishing-Demon with such a trivial matter."
"I am now at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and my cultivation base is quite presentable. Furthermore, I cultivate the [Sword Edge Gold]. Dealing with these demonic scoundrels will be a piece of cake."
"A single trip by me will suffice!"