Struggling to Survive with Regression Power in the Primordial Saint Sect

Chapter 521: Forbidden Knowledge, Impossible to Guard Against!

Ever since Lu Yang had enforced the False Dynastic Order and taken control of Jiangdong, 【Ang Xiao】 knew deep down that the time until the reversal of Chentu was drawing ever closer.

But he had also discovered the crux of the matter.

‘It’s said to be a reversal of Chentu, but there’s a hard condition. That is, he must seek the Golden Core either beforehand or immediately after the reversal of Chentu.’

Because once Chentu reversed, Chong Guang would definitely begin seeking verification for the Golden Rank without delay.

In such a case, if Lu Yang also sought the Golden Core at the same time, then Chong Guang would become his most steadfast ally, and the result would naturally be a joyous one for all.

But what if Lu Yang was unable to seek the Golden Core at that time?

Should that happen, with Chong Guang achieving True Lord status and Lu Yang not, then things would be very different—who could say whether Chong Guang, after becoming a True Lord, might not turn on him?

Unless Lu Yang was willing to place his faith in the character of a Saint Sect Real Person.

Otherwise, he could not possibly allow Chong Guang to seek the Golden Core first. Ideally, he would do so first, then help Chong Guang achieve it. At the very least, they should seek it simultaneously.

Given that, the answer was clear:

‘As long as I can stop this demonic dragon from seeking the Golden Core, sever his Dao path, then【Overturning Lamp Fire】wouldn’t actually be in danger. It would be far easier to deal with later.’

Even if everything went wrong—even if Chentu was reversed in the end, and【Overturning Lamp Fire】was verified by Chong Guang—as long as Lu Yang didn’t achieve【Heavenly Flame】, and one Supreme Fruit Position was lost, it would still mean one less great enemy. Once the True Lords appeared in the world, he could simply plot anew.

The plan sounded wonderful. But how should he proceed?

Undeniably, Lu Yang had judged【Ang Xiao】’s state with remarkable accuracy. At this moment, he indeed had little strength left to interfere in the present world.

So he could only borrow external force.

The moment that thought arose,【Ang Xiao】turned to look at Mu Changsheng, opened his mouth, and was about to say something—

Only to hear, in the next second, a sudden explosion—

“Bang!”

Xiao Shiye exploded.

More precisely, it was the Xiao Shiye doppelgänger formed by Lu Yang using the power of a Fruit Position. Just as【Ang Xiao】was about to speak, he decisively chose to cut it off.

The reason was simple:

‘My instincts tell me something’s wrong.’

‘【Ang Xiao】... That old beast is definitely up to something!’

Lu Yang executed a hand seal; the brilliance of the【Coiling Dragon Root】flowed at his fingertips, dispelling evil and driving away calamity. Combined with the mystical sense of blessing and misfortune from【Rise and Fall Matters】—

The two powers fused, making him hyper-aware of danger.

In the past,【Ang Xiao】could still use【Perception Barrier】to obscure his senses, but now,【Ang Xiao】no longer possessed that capability.

Thus, the instant he sensed danger—even with the safety net of【Puppet on Strings】—Lu Yang did not hesitate to cut off observation of the Secret Realm of Law Refinement.

After all, the opponent was【Ang Xiao】. One could never be too cautious.

With that, Lu Yangʼs thoughts stirred:

“Rumble!”

【Laws of the Immortal Nation】came crashing down, shielding him firmly at the center. According to Empress Xiao’s words, this would protect his soul and divine sense from harm.

After doing all that, Lu Yang cautiously peeked out and looked around.

Where was the danger?

His fingers nearly sparked from rubbing. Divine abilities flared forth one after another, trying to deduce the source of the crisis. But in the next instant, his face changed dramatically:

‘No... damn, I shouldn’t have tried to divine it!’

Alas, it was too late. At the moment that thought arose, a vast sea of information had already followed the web of causality and been easily calculated by Lu Yang!

A reversed application of the Dao of Karma!

Lu Yang instantly understood【Ang Xiao】’s tactic: while most people would go to great lengths to obscure heavenly secrets and hide karmic traces, he had done the opposite.

Not hiding karma, but actively providing it.

Lu Yang had failed to check himself. By the time he reacted, he had already deduced the entire cause and effect. A surge of unease welled up in his heart—but so too did confusion:

‘What exactly is he trying to do?’

The Dao of Karma was powerful, yes, but it had no direct offensive capability. Even if he fell into the trap,【Ang Xiao】could not use it to kill him remotely.

In other words: how exactly did he plan to win?

As Lu Yang pondered, the cause and effect he had just calculated began surfacing in his mind—it turned out to be a simple dialogue.

The two conversing were【Ang Xiao】and Mu Changsheng. The contents were brief.

【Ang Xiao】asked first: “Daoist Friend Xiantian, speaking of which—you’ve been trapped in this Secret Realm of Law Refinement for, what, five thousand years now?”

Mu Changsheng replied with puzzled doubt: “Five thousand years?”

“What are you talking about? After my soul returned to my consciousness, I already checked. My soulʼs been trapped here at most around a thousand years...”

——What?

At that moment, Lu Yang was dumbfounded.

Because he couldn’t make sense of how this conversation had any meaning, nor why it had become【Ang Xiao】’s killer move that made him feel such danger.

Was something wrong with this information?

‘Wait... I remember Mu Changsheng first rose to prominence during the great catastrophe five thousand years ago, then went into hiding afterward, his soul taken by the Saint Sect Ancestor.’

Hmm? Something didn’t add up—

A Foundation Establishment cultivator lives at most fifteen hundred years. If Mu Changsheng rose to fame five thousand years ago, then at the latest, he must’ve sought the Golden Core thirty-five hundred years ago.

He failed, and his soul was captured.

By that timeline, his soul should have been trapped in the Secret Realm of Law Refinement for at least three thousand years! How could it be merely a thousand?

That realization hit Lu Yang like a thunderclap.

The moment he noticed this timeline discrepancy, it was as though he held a key that unlocked another long-sealed memory chest.

‘True Lord Qingcheng Feixue... she doesn’t make sense either!’

‘From what I know, she also rose to power five thousand years ago—just like Mu Changsheng—so she must have achieved True Lord status at the latest thirty-five hundred years ago.’

‘Yet she clashed with the Dao Court’s former Grand Preceptor just a hundred years after becoming a True Lord.’

‘Which means that battle had to have taken place at least three thousand years ago. And when the battle ended, the former Grand Preceptor was purged by Emperor Jiayou.’

Here lay the problem:

‘The Son of Heaven in the Dao Court rules only for a thousand years. After a millennium, he must ascend to the heavens. That means Emperor Jiayou should have been a True Lord within the last thousand years!’

A True Lord of the last thousand years—how could he have appeared three thousand years ago?!

“RUMBLE!!!”

Just as that question formed in Lu Yang’s mind, thunder cracked from the sky above. He looked up in a daze—and his pupils instantly contracted:

“Wha—! I didn’t expect that I... I... F**k me!”

The words on his lips were forcibly swallowed back.

Through karmic calculation, Lu Yang clearly saw a beam of Buddhist radiance clinging to him like a maggot on rotting flesh—Bodhisattva’s Karmic Link!

At this moment, Lu Yang finally understood: “Damn it all—impossible to guard against!”

‘The crisis... was this knowledge!’

‘The secret of the timeline—five thousand years of forbidden knowledge! Even among the True Lords, few had realized this. And【Ang Xiao】used this knowledge to bait me perfectly.’

And judging from the reaction—it likely belonged to the World-Honored One himself!

Yet in the very next second, Lu Yang forcibly suppressed all panic and fear, regaining his composure. He gazed distantly toward Jiangxi:

‘No... it hasn’t reached the worst-case scenario yet.’

Yes, he had learned something he shouldn’t have. But now he was the Emperor of Bright Radiance in the Dao Court, and【Laws of the Immortal Nation】constantly protected him.

‘I have backing!’

The Dao Court and Pure Land had always been at odds, smiling on the surface but hostile at heart. The Dao Lord of the Court would surely love to see him vex the World-Honored One and would never let the latter personally descend.

‘As long as it’s not the true World-Honored One descending, they can’t take me.’

‘Buddhist karmic links are, in the end, only cause and effect tied to a Bodhisattva—not the true World-Honored One. At most, it draws a Bodhisattva’s attention and adds more uncertainty to my Golden Core trial.’

‘Yes... that’s【Ang Xiao】’s real plan.’

‘Killing me outright isn’t feasible. So he found another way—using forbidden knowledge like a lever to shift mountains with a feather, trying to ruin my Golden Core path through Jiangxi’s hand!’

The next moment, Lu Yang’s premonition was confirmed.

“Amitabha!”

From the direction of Jiangxi, a beam of Buddhist radiance shot into the sky. Chanting echoed through the heavens, and faintly, one could see a colossal golden Buddha seated in the sea of clouds.

‘【Manifested Form of Victorious Intention Doraten】? No...’

The golden Buddha appearing now, whether by aura or appearance, far surpassed the Dharma image Lu Yang had seen on Guangming in his past life.

Without a doubt—

‘The World-Honored One didn’t descend personally... but He did reinforce the situation!’

Today’s plot is crucial, laying the foundation for the upcoming Golden Core storyline. Sorting out the logic took some time—so only three chapters today.