Chapter 265: From Joy to Sorrow
Chapter 265: From Joy to Sorrow
Watching Chen Anmin’s expression sour, his tone now laced with accusation rather than the reverence he’d shown earlier, Lv Yang sighed inwardly.
‘A wild dog that refuses to be tamed!’
Or perhaps it’s simply too soon. My authority isn’t firm enough yet. Otherwise, even with the Fruit Position’s temptation, he wouldn’t have turned so quickly.
Chen Anmin’s change was undeniable. Lv Yang saw it clearly—his ambition had swollen, but the Fruit Position’s influence had also hastened his betrayal. This Jie Tian intends to break with me.
The next moment, the Fate Star above Lv Yang’s head—the one marked 【Villager】—abruptly extinguished. The symbol of “native” status vanished, replaced by an alien aura that sent others reeling. Chen Anmin froze mid-step.
“Immortal Master… you?!”
To Chen Anmin’s shock, the savior who’d revived him—and over a million fellow villagers—was a Celestial Demon.
But his hesitation lasted only seconds.
A Celestial Demon! If I kill him, I’ll reclaim the Son of Heaven’s Zhi Zun Wei. I’ll be the world’s sovereign!
Chen Anmin’s eyes burned crimson. Then he heard the “Immortal Master” sigh softly, turning to him with eerie calm.
“Anmin… you plan to strike at me?”
Chen Anmin’s hand twitched mid-air.
Yet before he could act, a violent pain gripped his gut. Around him, everyone who’d harbored murder felt the same.
“Pfft!”
The next instant, razor-sharp claws tore through their bodies. From their chests crawled mature Aetherophagous Beetles, draining their life essence and reducing them from peak strength to withered husks in seconds.
“Boom!”
Simultaneously, thunder split the heavens. Stars trembled, the cloudless sky darkening as storms gathered.
“Realizing it now? Too late!”
Lv Yang grinned, flicking his fingers to recall and kill the beetles within Chen Anmin. He activated his Spirit Harvesting technique.
Instantly, the stars shifted. The sunlight that had once crowned Chen Anmin now flowed uncontrollably toward Lv Yang, absorbed into his body. Under the golden glow, a colossal three-headed, six-armed dharma body emerged behind him.
“Rustle!”
The dharma body devoured the 【Bright Heaven’s Chosen】’s radiance like a whale siphoning krill, growing more vivid by the second.
Not just Chen Anmin—the Fate Stars of all who’d turned against Lv Yang were now his to claim!
Plop!
Those who’d refrained from attacking dropped to their knees, feeling dwarfed by Lv Yang’s presence. Looking up, they saw not a man but a divine statue—its solemn face seemed to gaze into each soul, filling them with dread as they prostrated, trembling, too terrified to raise their heads.
【Heaven-Encompassing Dharma Body】!
“Success!”
Lv Yang leaned against his dharma body, eyes half-closed in satisfaction. Thunder crackled overhead, but he reveled in it.
The Fruit Position’s Spiritual Wisdom was a fool. If it had been slightly wiser, it would’ve never allowed him to implant the Aetherophagous Beetles into the populace.
Yet the Fruit Position, coveting his Earth Vein Qi and preoccupied with his battle against Miao Yin’s True Man, had failed to spot the danger. It had let Lv Yang act freely—unaware he’d been waiting for this moment. A 【Bright Heaven’s Chosen】 was enough to forge a dharma body!
“And you struck first. This is self-defense.”
Lv Yang exhaled deeply, savoring the 【Heaven-Encompassing Dharma Body】’s divine power—a gift akin to an innate Divine Ability.
But before he could fully examine its essence, the heavens roared again.
“Boom!”
The next second, every villager implanted with beetles lost their Fate Stars in unison. A vast swath of stars dimmed above.
The 【Myriad Martial Realm】’s Fruit Position had severed its losses.
Then, blood-red auras surged from the distant military camp—soldiers untouched by his beetles. Their power levels had skyrocketed, led by another Son of Heaven-level sovereign!
“So they’re done playing fair.” Lv Yang raised an eyebrow. The imperial army hadn’t been infected. If they attacked now, he’d be slaughtered.
“Good thing my goal’s achieved.”
The 【Heaven-Encompassing Dharma Body】 was his. Lingering here served no purpose. He activated the mark within his Spirit Sea.
A voice echoed in his mind: “Huh? Already done?”
The Heavenly Ascension Hall’s childish tone crackled with surprise: “Wait a moment! I’ll pull you back now!”
The Hall’s retrieval required absolute safety to bypass spatial laws. That’s why Miao Yin’s True Man had been trapped when cornered. But Lv Yang faced no such danger.
Light enveloped him.
Simultaneously, thunder erupted in fury, as if heaven itself screamed in rage. Lv Yang flinched.
Looks like I’ve angered the Jie Tian.
Next time I return, they’ll hunt me down instantly. Spirit Harvesting just got exponentially harder. No wonder Second-Tier True Cultivation Techniques are so rare!
For the Second-Tier, the 【Heaven-Encompassing Dharma Body】 was merely foundational. To fully seize the 【Myriad Martial Realm】’s Fruit Position, he’d need 4-5 more harvests. But even one had enraged the realm.
Even a Foundation-Building Grandmaster would face dire risks. A single misstep could mean death.
But I’m different.
If this life fails, the next resets all grudges. I’ll repeat the same method, harvesting 4-5 lifetimes.
The greatest hurdle of the Second-Tier Technique was nonexistent for him!
The path is clear… the path is clear!
Reassured, Lv Yang’s mood lightened. He dismissed his dharma body, even waving cheerfully at the sky.
“Farewell.”
But as his words faded, his smile froze.
The thunder paused mid-clap. Light and Spiritual Qi solidified into a misty haze.
Lv Yang’s mind felt weighed down, as if a boulder had dropped into his consciousness.
Silence fell. No thunder, no cries—not even his breath.
Instinctively, he turned. The veil lifted, revealing someone beside him all along.
Since entering the 【Myriad Martial Realm】, this person had shadowed him—distributing beetle eggs, hunting Miao Yin’s True Man, trading with Suo Huan, witnessing his dharma body’s birth…
Who?
Lv Yang’s gaze climbed. The figure stood relaxed, hands clasped behind his back, studying the storm with mild interest. Clad in an ancient, dignified robe, he seemed to step from history itself.
But when Lv Yang met his face, his blood ran cold.
Chongguang?! Why Chongguang?!
The shock clarified everything.
No… a Dao Aberration! Chongguang, reborn as a Dao Aberration after failing to attain Immortality!
The realization sent a deeper tremor.
Chongguang’s failure to ascend—his transformation into a Dao Aberration—should’ve been a seismic event. Yet no one, not even the True Monarchs, had considered it. As though his existence had been erased…
…a Cognition Veil?
He’s the 【Great Forest Wood】… Soaring to Obscure the Sun, True Monarch!
(End of Chapter)
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