Struggling to Survive with Regression Power in the Primordial Saint Sect

Chapter 533: Why Aren’t You Running Anymore, Senior?

Although he had already been cursing furiously in his heart countless times, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 still hadn’t given up—there remained one final glimmer of hope in his heart.

‘Pseudo-possession... must have a time limit!’

True Lords weren’t so easily killed, not even an Outer Dao True Lord. As long as he held on, at worst he would just outlast Lu Yang, and victory would still be his.

However, in the very next second, his expression subtly changed.

Because at that moment, Lu Yang—who had just dodged his fruit-position collision technique—was already drifting over, reaching out and gently brushing against his fruit-position.

‘Not good!’

In an instant, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 felt a strong gravitational force pulling him—his entire power seemed to fall into a bottomless abyss.

Fortunately, his reaction was quick. With a single thought, he recalled his 【Myriad Transformations】 fruit-position, but was left heartbroken upon seeing that the hazy mist formed by the fruit-position was now missing a corner—hundreds of transformations from the “Myriad Transformations” it contained had disappeared into Lu Yang’s hands!

“Hm, still a bit lacking.”

Looking at the thin mist in his hand, Lu Yang sounded somewhat disappointed. After all, it was just pseudo-possession—he couldn’t truly harness the mysteries of the 【Heavenly Fire】, which allowed the opponent to escape.

Otherwise, in that very instant, the 【Myriad Transformations】 fruit-position would have been fully taken.

After all, directly unleashing a fruit-position to kill an enemy was inherently dangerous. For an Outer Dao True Lord, it was even more so—any injury would lead to a Dao flaw.

‘Mine now!’

Lu Yang casually tossed the corner of the Outer Dao fruit-position into the Myriad Spirits Banner and fed it to the 【Sword Dao Fruit-Position】. At least it wouldn’t go to waste.

On the other hand, the expression of the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 grew even uglier, as he could no longer sense the corner of his lost fruit-position. The loss made him seethe with rage, but reason still prevailed, and he decisively retreated—seizing the opportunity to escape from Lu Yang’s sight.

After all, the rule prohibiting escape had already vanished!

‘If I’m right, refining rules should take time. Otherwise, if he could lay down multiple rules at once, I’d have been done for already.’

This guess hit the nail on the head.

The rules set by Lu Yang through the concept of the 【Heavenly Fire】 indeed had several limitations: First, the rules must never conflict.

Second, rules took time to establish—but the more rules there were, the faster new ones could be written.

Third, only three rules could exist at the same time.

‘Mainly because I lack the fundamental profundities of the 【Heavenly Fire】. Otherwise, there’d probably be no limit to the number of rules. Such a pity.’

Lu Yang sighed and then pointed forward.

Firelight flared—

All previous rules vanished. A new rule emerged:

【Those who flee mid-battle shall be severely punished】

In the next second, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】—who had been fleeing—also came to a halt. Clearly, he had been prepared and didn’t trigger the punishment of Heavenly Fire.

Lu Yang immediately gave chase in a beam of light. But the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 had gotten smarter. He no longer tried to escape directly but fought as he retreated—engaging Lu Yang while maintaining his distance. Clearly exploiting a loophole in the rules, he aimed to prolong the fight until Lu Yang dropped from the True Lord position.

It had to be admitted—this was a smart tactic.

Moments later, Lu Yang composed himself, and a second rule was written:

【Those who see a True Lord and do not greet shall be severely punished】

“Boom!”

Heavenly Fire descended once again. After all, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 had been evading Lu Yang like the plague—there was no way he’d approach him voluntarily. He could only brace himself and suffer the fire.

Even while being scorched and screaming miserably, he still kept his distance from Lu Yang, clearly unwilling to duel any further. He knew that as long as Lu Yang fell from the True Lord realm, even if he himself were on the brink of death, killing a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator would be as easy as flipping a hand!

‘Hold on! Hold on to the end, and victory is mine!’

Clinging to this belief, even with his mind going blank from the searing Heavenly Fire, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 clenched his teeth and persevered, never giving Lu Yang a chance to close in.

Until the third rule appeared:

【Even the ends of the world shall be reached in a single step】

Seeing this rule, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 suddenly froze: Huh? What the hell is this?

The next moment, a bone-chilling cold swept through his body, for he saw Lu Yang—empowered by this rule—slowly taking a step.

“Thump!”

It was simply too fast—it felt as if Lu Yang wasn’t walking, but that time itself was flowing beneath his feet. Mountains, rivers, and the sun and moon all moved to push him forward. Before the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 could even register the footstep, his vision was already covered by a massive hand—five fingers like hooks, locking tightly around his throat!

At this moment, only one thought remained in his heart:

‘What the hell... he can do that!?’

Not only could the rules punish violators—they could even be used to empower himself? How did such an unreasonable concept exist within a single fruit-position?

At this life-or-death moment, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】’s mind raced, seeking a countermeasure.

The 【Sun-Bearing Scroll】... Forget it. His natal treasure had already defected. Summoning it wouldn’t save him—if anything, it’d probably attack him instead!

Use his fruit-position again?

No good. At such close range, unleashing the fruit-position would be serving it up on a platter. If it got seized again, he’d truly be beyond salvation.

Only one option remained—

“Boom!”

In the next second, the 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 blew apart his own body without hesitation, using the Golden Cicada Shell Shedding Technique once again—sacrificing his golden body in a desperate bid for survival.

But he immediately sensed something was wrong.

His body below the neck had exploded per his command—but his head remained intact, entirely unresponsive, with only streams of Flowing Fire seeping through.

‘It’s been seized!?’

The 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 opened his mouth and spat out torrents of flame—within which a streak of flowing light darted out. He had decisively abandoned his own head!

His soul transformed into light and fled—but this act perfectly triggered the rule 【Those who flee mid-battle shall be severely punished】. Heavenly Fire erupted from within—burning his soul both inside and out. Worse still, as an Outer Dao True Lord, he lacked metal-element protection. His soul began to show signs of disintegration!

‘Bitter indeed!’

The 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】 let out a sorrowful sigh—yet just then, Lu Yang’s previously overwhelming aura suddenly faltered. The divine radiance surrounding him dimmed.

This single shift reignited hope in the Bodhisattva’s heart.

“Hm? Could it be…”

The surge of joy cleared his mind from the fire’s haze. Lu Yang’s Qi was visibly plummeting—he was about to lose his True Lord status!

‘My chance is here!’

Though he had lost his golden body and was now just a soul, he was still a True Lord. Even in this state, slapping a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to death would be as easy as breathing!

But in the next second, he froze.

For he saw Lu Yang calmly open his palm—within it floated five strands of metal-element essence, each one from a Dharma Image!

Each Dharma Image had yielded one strand.

After slaying the five Dharma Images, the Real Person of Demon-Cleansing had handed these essences over to Lu Yang. However, to his dismay, these essences were rather special.

Their nature was identical to those once calculated through the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】—and thus couldn’t be used for another summation. That had nearly driven Lu Yang mad with frustration. Still, he’d kept them, unwilling to waste anything. And now—they had a purpose.

With that thought, Lu Yang pointed again.

【Seize】!

The five strands of metal-element essence were seized and fused into the Fortune-Bearing metal within the 【Yama Palace】—smelted together under the concept of the 【Heavenly Fire】—

And Lu Yang’s divine light flared back to life.

The Fortune-Bearing essence and the Dharma Image essence—originally incompatible like water and fire—were forcibly merged under the Heavenly Fire’s power, replenishing the loss from pseudo-possession!

“Looks like I can hang on a while longer.”

Having completed this, Lu Yang turned to the despair-stricken 【Dragon-Serpent Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva】, smiling slightly, exposing a row of sharp white teeth:

“Why aren’t you running, senior?”

“Or is it... you just don’t want to?”