Chapter 961 - 956: Ang Xiao Proves the Netherworld!

Chapter 961: Chapter 956: Ang Xiao Proves the Netherworld!

At this moment, the entire Void Sea of Light fell into utter silence.

In the direction of the Celestial Mansion, World Purger Fei Xue had also distanced herself from the six Great True Monarchs of the Dao of Magical Power from the Star Palace. With a slight frown, she looked toward the Immortal Pivot.

She wasn’t the only one. Taiyin Immortal Venerable, the Star Palace, and even the Profound Wall far beyond the horizon—every Cultivator holding a Great True Monarch Position sensed it. Some stepped out of their Cave Mansions, some ended their seclusion, and others woke up from Meditation, all raising their heads to look toward the Immortal Pivot.

Naturally, Lü Yang was no exception.

Unlike many others, however, he did not focus his attention on the Current World. Instead, he looked up at Heaven, his gaze piercing through the Sea of Suffering to gaze at what lay above.

Above the Sea of Suffering.

What met his eyes was a lofty, utterly unreachable expanse. The rolling sky felt infinitely oppressive; looking up from below was like gazing at the peak of a mountain from its foot.

Yet right at that moment, a beam of Splendid Light suddenly descended from the mountain’s peak. It was very faint, very Ordinary, yet it fell unstoppably into the Sea of Suffering, sank through the Foundation Establishment Realm, and shone into the Current World. It plummeted all the way down until it finally rolled into the perpetually dim, sunless Netherworld.

It illuminated half of Ang Xiao’s face.

Even so, only smoke could be seen on that illuminated face—Ang Xiao’s Ascension Ceremony for the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood remained completely unshakable.

"Cang Hao!" Ang Xiao sneered coldly, silently ruminating on the attacker’s Honorary Title. This was the true name of the Daoist Court Daoist Lord, and speaking it aloud would only bolster his power.

At the same time, visible scenes were stripped from Ang Xiao’s body out of thin air, surrounding him. These were his past, his history of karmic links, which now formed a Time Scroll that protected him at its center. The Bhagavat had made his move!

Inside Nourishing Life Master, Lü Yang gazed into the distance. This time, Ang Xiao no longer deliberately concealed himself, allowing Lü Yang to clearly see the identities of the combatants.

"The Daoist Court Daoist Lord and the Bhagavat?" he wondered. "Why did this happen?"

It was not surprising that the Bhagavat stepped in to protect Ang Xiao. However, in his Previous Life, the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord had been the first to strike. Why was it the Daoist Court Daoist Lord this time?

Although the Daoist Court Daoist Lord had also acted in his Previous Life, it had been after the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord. Why had the order changed? And what about the Daoist Lord of Magical Power? In his Previous Life, it was the Daoist Lord of Magical Power who intervened to stop the Daoist Court Daoist Lord. But this time, he had not made a move. What was he waiting for?

Lü Yang furrowed his brow, his mind racing as he thought. To him, the experiences of every past life were of utmost importance; they were the foundation for his future actions. Therefore, if the future had changed, he had to know the reason. Otherwise, they would lose their reference value.

"The abnormal behavior from both the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord and the Daoist Lord of Magical Power..." Lü Yang murmured.

Just as Lü Yang was deep in thought, Ang Xiao, who had been idly watching the Bhagavat and the Daoist Court Daoist Lord entangle, suddenly experienced a slight change in his gaze and formed a Daoist Hand Seal.

Immediately, Lü Yang noticed the change, and a look of shock surfaced on his face. "It’s the Netherworld?" he thought. "The guiding power of the Netherworld has been affected. The Ghost Gate is suddenly no longer open to the outside, and the reincarnation process of Souls has been halted? The reason he’s doing this is..."

"CLANG CLANG!"

Ang Xiao’s action was like sounding a bugle for a charge. A sword chime from the Other Shore interrupted Lü Yang’s thoughts—the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord had made his move!

However, before the sword chime could fully arrive, the surging sound of crashing waves followed closely behind. A massive, Boundless sea of Mana enveloped Ang Xiao, isolating the sound of the sword chime. Both sides fell into a stalemate once again—in this life, it had unexpectedly turned into a wrestling match between the Daoist Lord of Magical Power and the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord!

"...I understand now!" Lü Yang finally grasped a fleeting thread of inspiration and suddenly saw the light. "The key is the Netherworld. This factor influenced the actions of the two Daoist Lords!"

Among the six Masters of Dao in the Sea of Light, only the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord and the Daoist Lord of Magical Power had demands concerning the Netherworld.

The reason was simple.

"On the Sword Pavilion’s side, True Monarch Gangxing just defected. You could say he has forged enmity with World Purger Fei Xue and Taiyin Immortal Venerable, so he needs the Netherworld to preserve his life.

"Therefore, the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord was unwilling to strike, because the power of the Netherworld was still on the Celestial Mansion’s side. If he rashly attacked Ang Xiao and Ang Xiao cut off reincarnation in the Netherworld, True Monarch Gangxing would be in deep trouble. That’s why the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord waited a moment instead of acting immediately."

This was not an abandonment of the campaign to strangle Ang Xiao. He had merely waited for a beat.

In fact, just a moment ago, True Monarch Gangxing had already fled swiftly with the Sword Pavilion Cultivators. Right after that, the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord decisively made his move.

"As expected, Great Perfected Lords are truly different," Lü Yang thought.

"No matter what methods were used, and no matter his ranking among the Great Perfected Lords, the moment True Monarch Gangxing recovered, even the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord placed much higher importance on him.

"Ang Xiao clearly realized this as well—even earlier than I did. That is why he swiftly severed the Netherworld’s Power of Reincarnation. It wasn’t to deal with the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord, but to curry favor with the Daoist Lord of Magical Power! That is why the Daoist Lord of Magical Power intervened to block the attack at the critical moment."

After all, the Star Palace was still at war with the Celestial Mansion right now!

Because of the Netherworld, the Star Palace forces had to throw away one life just to fight countless others, making them hesitate to act for fear of greater losses. If not for Lü Yang earlier, they probably would have suffered a crushing defeat long ago. The importance of the Netherworld was self-evident.

When Ang Xiao severed the Netherworld’s Power of Reincarnation, a massive flaw instantly appeared in the Immortal nature of the Immortal Pivot’s forces, rendering them far less terrifying. As a result, the Star Palace’s odds of winning greatly increased.

"The Daoist Lord of Magical Power likely considered this when he refrained from acting against the Daoist Court Daoist Lord at the very beginning. He was holding out for a better price... This is no joke," Lü Yang reasoned.

Because the current situation was different from his Previous Life!

In his Previous Life, the Star Palace had not conquered the Celestial Mansion, and the Dao of Arcane Body had no hope of revival. Thus, the Daoist Lord of Magical Power had been more than happy to see Ang Xiao successfully validate his Dao in the Netherworld.

However, in this life, the Celestial Mansion was right before their eyes, and the Dao of Arcane Body had a chance to revive. Ang Xiao was no longer the Daoist Lord of Magical Power’s sole choice. Of course, considering it would cause trouble for the Saint Sect Ancestral Master, he was definitely still inclined to help. But his aid was no longer unconditional; he required tangible benefits.

Fortunately, Ang Xiao reacted quickly.

He cut off the Netherworld’s Power of Reincarnation on the spot, allowing the Star Palace to completely secure the upper hand in the battle for the Celestial Mansion, which in turn prompted the Daoist Lord of Magical Power to make his move.

After sorting out his thoughts, Lü Yang exhaled a long breath, though his expression remained solemn.

"It’s not over yet," he thought.

"The Bhagavat, the Daoist Court Daoist Lord, the Sword Pavilion Daoist Lord, the Daoist Lord of Magical Power... These are all just appetizers. If nothing goes wrong, that exalted figure is about to strike."

In the next second, an epiphany struck Lü Yang.

Not just him, but Ang Xiao in the Netherworld, and even all the Great Perfected Lords suddenly gained a clear understanding. Calculating the karmic links, they saw an unalterable outcome:

Ang Xiao would fail in his bid for the Nascent Soul.

His body would perish, and his Dao would be used to fill the Netherworld!

At this moment, the blank canvas known as the Current World was marked with a striking stroke of ink by a transcendent entity beyond the mortal realm—the Constant had descended!

Destined by fate, utterly inescapable!

However, unlike in the Previous Life, the well-prepared Ang Xiao of this life, though still inwardly alarmed, did not lose his composure. He remained calm and unhurried.

"I see, a Constant, is it?" he murmured.

He suddenly recalled his previous Dao discussion with Lü Yang and sighed inwardly. "So this is the method you didn’t tell me about? It is indeed something I could not have anticipated.

"Even if I had anticipated it, it would be extremely difficult to counter.

"But since you also have ambitions, you will eventually have to face this just like I am... What will your method be?" A trace of curiosity surfaced in Ang Xiao’s heart. "The Constant has arrived.

"Where is the Variable?"

.......

Inside Nourishing Life Master.

At the exact same moment the Saint Sect Ancestral Master made his move and the Constant manifested in the Current World, Lü Yang swept his sleeves and stood up. His brows were raised in high spirits, and a blazing fire ignited in his eyes:

"The time has come!"