Chapter 595 ·The Deeply Loyal and Righteous Lü Yang

Chapter 595: The Deeply Loyal and Righteous Lü Yang

【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】.

What kind of True Lord was this?

Clearly one of the most top-tier True Lords under heaven, at the late-stage Golden Core realm. In the days when 【Soaring High】 had yet to emerge, and True Lord Feixue had not broken through, he was number one in the world.

But in reality?

His personality, his mysteries, his true treasures—almost no one understood any of them. People only knew he had a sword intent named 【Champion Seizer】. And even that was suppressed by Dangmo True Person, who had simultaneously cultivated two titled sword intents. This, instead, became proof that this famed Sword Pavilion True Lord failed to live up to his reputation.

Even Lü Yang thought the same.

【Soaring High】 underestimated him, True Lord Feixue believed him incurably ill, and with his mismatched Fruit Position combination, people thought he was inadequate.

Yet now, he stood right in front of Lü Yang.

With a refined smile on his face, like a well-read scholar greeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in years, he waved at Lü Yang:

“Fellow Daoist, your reputation precedes you.”

Ssshh—!

Lü Yang opened his mouth to reply, but blood traces had already appeared on his neck. Then, his head dropped—just like that, it fell.

Without warning.

At that moment, Lü Yang felt a chill in his heart: the other party had no intention of exchanging words. His first move was a killing blow—he truly meant to take his life!

“Boom!”

In a flash, flames burst out. Lü Yang’s Dharma body collapsed, and 【Heavenly Flame Above】 radiated dazzling brilliance. Layers of golden illusionary hues reformed his figure, allowing him to emerge unscathed—except the 【Heavenly Inscription Seal】 on his brow had grown noticeably dimmer.

Forcefully inscribed: 【Any True Lord, upon death, may resurrect from their Fruit Position in peak condition!】

He had already used it once when surrounded by the four of Lesser Yin Immortal Lord’s group. This was now the second time, and his magical power was severely drained.

‘Alas, my cultivation is still insufficient.’

Lü Yang sighed inwardly. According to the rules of the 【Heavenly Inscription Seal】, when revived in peak form, even lost magical power should be restored.

In that case, it should be:

What? You say reviving via 【Heavenly Inscription Seal】 consumes vast magical power? I revived in peak form—what power loss could there be?

——Now that would be right.

Unfortunately, his cultivation was not yet high enough to fully implement this rule. To achieve that, he would at least need to be mid-stage Golden Core.

Moreover, some wounds could not be shaken off so easily.

“Crack!”

The next second, his just-recovered Dharma body began showing visible cracks. Boiling water-and-fire light surged from within.

Simultaneously, blood lines once again appeared on his neck, continuously expanding like a bone-deep plague, seemingly about to sever his head again—until a stream of pure, cool spring light fell upon him, halting the spread.

【Shared Nourishment】!

The fundamental mystery of 【Water from the Spring】. Behind Lü Yang, the newly-refined Banner of Enlightening the Righteous Dao fluttered, and Suo Huan, from within it, looked on with concern.

Toward Lü Yang, Suo Huan undoubtedly felt gratitude.

After all, if not for Lü Yang, his homeland would never have revived. The dead friends and relatives could never have hoped to return to life.

That kindness, he remembered deeply.

Moreover, Lü Yang was the only one who didn’t discriminate against his identity as an outer-world rogue cultivator—he was the best candidate to protect Suo Huan and the newborn Huànxū Heaven.

With this in mind, Suo Huan spoke immediately, his voice drifting into Lü Yang’s ears:

“Retreat for now. We’ll cover the rear.”

“No!”

Lü Yang flatly rejected the proposal. “This time is different. A late-stage Golden Core True Lord—moreover, a sword cultivator. He can obliterate your true spirits.”

Precisely because the enemy also possessed a titled sword intent and held a sword-path Fruit Position, Lü Yang knew well—with 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】’s cultivation, he could sever avatars and kill true bodies. Through karmic linkage, he could strike down the true spirits of Suo Huan and others inside the banner!

So if they stayed behind to cover the rear—

Their deaths would be true deaths. Lü Yang could only restart from their second anchor point before they died, but would never see this version of them again.

“Fellow Daoist...”

Hearing this, Suo Huan looked at Lü Yang differently. Beside him, Ancestor Tingyou and Empress Xiao also showed touched expressions.

Because he didn’t want them to die, he wouldn’t let them cover the rear?

So loyal! So righteous!

To this, Lü Yang could only smile bitterly in his heart:

This, of course, wasn’t about loyalty or righteousness—it was purely about self-interest. After all, he could restart after death, but the banner spirits could not. Wouldn’t that be a total loss?

‘I’m merely protecting my assets.’

‘At most, I phrase it nicely—so that Ancestor, Fellow Daoist Suo Huan, and Empress Xiao are more willing to risk their lives for me.’

Exactly. Nothing more. It’s not about loyalty or righteousness.

In a flash, Lü Yang once again looked toward 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】.

The latter still wore that flippant smile, observing Lü Yang with mild surprise, then nodded. “The Supreme Fruit Position lives up to its name.”

Implied: the man didn’t.

Lü Yang remained calm, neither proud nor shamed. He never saw himself as some heaven-gifted prodigy—so what if he was insulted? Survival was what mattered.

Seeing this demeanor, it was actually 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】 who frowned.

At this moment, he scrutinized Lü Yang again—clearly surprised that someone who attained the mighty 【Heavenly Flame Above】 could remain so indifferent to glory or shame.

How to put it... kind of like the World-Honored One.

At that thought, the True Lord’s smile grew even gentler—but beneath it, his killing intent rose to another level.

‘Since I’ve struck, I cannot leave a living witness.’

With that, 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】 raised his sword fingers, lightly tapped his waist-bound sword’s hilt, and unleashed another beam of sword light.

But this time, Lü Yang was prepared.

He moved first, forming seals before his chest, while simultaneously raising the newly-refined Banner of Enlightening the Righteous Dao into the air, unleashing majestic violet qi.

Now elevated to a true treasure, the Banner not only retained the Myriad Spirits Banner’s original mysteries but had gained three new ones—all related to 【Heavenly Flame Above】. One of them even blended in the imagery of the outer-path Fruit Position 【Imperial Mandate】 from the Martial Realm—far surpassing other true treasures in quality.

This vast violet qi was one such mystery.

Its name: 【Imperial Chariot】—its effect akin to a domain. Outwardly, it weakened enemies and diminished their fate; inwardly, it empowered banner spirits and elevated their status.

“Boom!”

In a flash, the vast violet qi engulfed 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】—these were all enemies Lü Yang had slain and absorbed into the banner. He had no remorse.

“Explode!”

At Lü Yang’s command, thousands of banner spirits detonated simultaneously, shattering the sea of light around the True Lord.

Yet 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】 remained unscathed.

Still dressed like a scholarly nobleman, his robes flowing—untouched by damage. He only slightly frowned and looked to where Lü Yang had been—

——it was already empty.

The True Lord shook his head and chuckled softly. Even now—even now—Lü Yang had not once asked why he wanted to kill him.

‘Not easy to deceive, huh.’

And to think he had prepared a flawless explanation—entirely truthful, no falsehood—just to stall for time.

But Lü Yang hadn’t even asked.

Can’t be helped. The Saint Sect's teachings were just too righteous. This kind of trick might fool outsiders from the 【Celestial Mansion】, but not the locals.

“But after taking a hit from me, you won’t get far.”

The next second, 【Sturdy Path-Preaching True Lord】 formed another hand seal, then stepped forward unhurriedly, tracking Lü Yang's position with calm composure.

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