Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds, Sacred Fire Cliff.
Up to this day, very few in the Primordial Saint Sect knew what had really happened.
They only thought that their own True Lord had gone mad, which was why he came out to fight with the True Lord from the Sword Pavilion.
The only ones who truly understood the situation were the Grand True Persons at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
For example, Hong Ju.
“Pu!!!”
Inside a quiet chamber, Hong Ju suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling a mysterious power rooted in his bloodline dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Impossible!?”
Hong Ju stared blankly at the blood he had just coughed up.
There should have been a faint golden hue in the blood, yet now it had turned into a glaring crimson.“True Lord... is dead?” Hong Ju was utterly bewildered.
He was Hong Yun Daoist, or rather, in the past, when the 【True Lord of Heavenly Fortune and Bright Radiance】 had still held his position, he had been created through the refinement of his own blood essence, molded and cultivated to finally achieve the peak of Foundation Establishment as a Grand True Person.
Thus, there had always been a trace of golden essence lingering in his bloodline.
However, he was already certain of his suspicion.
There was only this one possibility — Xue Feihong, that wretched woman!
Once just a junior True Lord, after her last reincarnation and regaining her position, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Now, within just a few hundred years, she had already broken through to the mid-stage!
It was simply unbelievable!
At the mid-stage Gold Core level, with a permanently stabilized cave heaven, there would be no risk of its collapse unless a Nascent Soul Dao Lord took action.
Reclaiming the position after reincarnation would also be greatly accelerated.
It sounded simple.
But in reality, how many True Lords had gone through countless cycles of reincarnation, spending thousands or even tens of thousands of years without breaking through to the mid-stage, always facing the danger of cave heaven collapse.
This step was not so easily taken.
‘That wretched woman! She must have used some underhanded means!’
Hong Ju suddenly stopped the furious roar in his heart.
Because at some point, the quiet chamber where he was meditating had already begun to show traces of water, and yin energy was rising.
This was heaven and earth responding to the resentment in his heart.
“Ugh!”
In the next moment, Hong Ju suddenly vomited a mouthful of water.
The spring water was cool, seemingly manifesting out of thin air, churning his internal organs into complete chaos.
“Cough cough cough!”
Hong Ju coughed while hastily circulating his divine powers, severing the karmic ties.
Then, he quickly took out the 【Talisman of Shared Fate and Altered Fortune】 and began writing rapidly:
【I have never harbored any great disrespectful thoughts!】
As the words settled, another wave of meritorious fortune flowed into the talisman, finally stopping Hong Ju’s vomiting and halting the disintegration of his dharma body.
“I must not hate. I must smile...”
At the mid-stage Gold Core level, things had already changed drastically!
With the cave heaven stabilized and the position blessed, the connection to heaven and earth had become unbelievably close.
Even the fleeting thoughts of mortals would receive a response!
Hong Ju let out a bitter laugh.
Of course, it was not for Hong Yun Daoist that he laughed bitterly.
As a True Person of the Saint Sect, the only thing that could make him despair and laugh bitterly was his own fate.
“I am a being formed from the blood essence of a True Lord, my entire path tied to the True Lord.
Even though I have reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, I have no chance of ascending to a position.
Now that the True Lord is dead, I have little time left.
In just a few short years, my dharma body will collapse, and I will follow the True Lord in death... I don’t even have a soul!”
Without a soul, there would be no reincarnation!
If Hong Yun Daoist had still been alive, the connection through golden essence would have kept his lifespan worry-free.
But now, at most, he could only struggle to survive for another two or three years!
How could he possibly accept this?
Thinking of this, Hong Ju began calculating again, his fingers almost striking sparks as he desperately tried to find the culprit behind Hong Yun Daoist’s fall!
A moment later.
“...”
Hong Ju fell silent.
On his chiseled face was an expression full of confusion, his fingers nearly rubbed raw.
“How could this be... no, no, no... this isn’t right, right?”
No matter how he calculated.
It all pointed to him being the one who killed Hong Yun Daoist!
It had to be a miscalculation!
“The inherently evil Chong Guang and Yuan Tu... it must be them who obscured the heavenly secrets and karma, preventing me from finding the truth.
I share an irreconcilable enmity with them!”
Hong Ju lowered his hand, his eyes full of hatred yet helplessness.
He knew very well that the only reason he had not yet been slapped to death was purely because he still had some value.
After all, as a Grand True Person at the peak of Foundation Establishment, the True Lords of the Saint Sect still wanted him to die on the battlefield.
Almost at the same time, a stream of light flew into the hall.
Hong Ju looked over dispiritedly and saw the spiritual light unfold into a handwritten note with only one line:
Help me ascend, and I will grant you a lifetime of glory.
“.Chong Guang?”
Hong Ju was stunned for a moment upon seeing this, then suddenly sat upright.
“That’s right, if he ascends and takes charge of the 【Overturning Lamp Flame】, perhaps he could also preserve my life...”
At this thought, Hong Ju instantly felt as if the sky had cleared.
Inside another hall on Sacred Fire Cliff.
True Person Chong Guang sat at the head seat, while True Person Yinshan stood by his side.
At that moment, True Person Chong Guang suddenly opened his eyes as if he had received some kind of reply.
His eyes narrowed slightly, showing a hint of satisfaction.
The current situation was far better than he had expected!
With Hong Yun’s death, his biggest obstacle had been removed, allowing him to lay out his plans with even greater ease.
His hope of ascending had increased several times over!
Thus, when divine light flickered in the hall and Lü Yang emerged from within, True Person Chong Guang immediately burst into laughter.
He took the initiative to step down from his seat and warmly approached Lü Yang, patting him on the shoulder.
“This time, you’ve worked hard, Yuan Tu.”
“For the sake of Uncle-Master, it is not hard at all.”
Lü Yang shook his head and said earnestly, “Uncle-Master mentioned before that there was a great task to entrust to me.
I wonder what it might be?
As long as it is within my power, I will not hesitate to give my life a thousand times over!”
See, this was what true loyalty looked like.
How reliable!
True Person Chong Guang was not the least bit annoyed at being interrupted by Lü Yang.
On the contrary, his smile grew even broader.
“In that case, I won’t be courteous with you, Yuan Tu.”
With that, the three of them sat down facing each other.
“Speaking of which, I haven’t yet discussed this with you, Yuan Tu.”
Chong Guang spoke casually.
“Yuan Tu, you probably don’t yet know how to ascend and seek the golden fruit, do you?”
Lü Yang’s heart stirred upon hearing this.
Finally, the real content was coming!
As for seeking the golden fruit, he was not entirely ignorant.
After all, there was still the Ancestor Ting You inside the Myriad Spirits Banner.
However, Ancestor Ting You was considered a rogue practitioner.
Or rather, except for the four major powers of the east, south, west, and north, all other sects were considered rogue paths.
The difference was merely in who was more rogue and who was less so.
For example, some sects with long-standing legacies also had True Lords overseeing them.
Such sects could barely be considered respectable in the eyes of the Saint Sect, but only just.
Compared to them, as the direct descendant True Person of the Saint Sect, Chong Guang undoubtedly had a more systematic and precise understanding of how to ascend and seek the golden fruit.
Thus, Lü Yang immediately straightened his posture and cupped his hands, saying, “Please instruct me, Uncle-Master.”