Chapter 1097: With Such Treacherous Ministers, the Soybean Dynasty Is Destined to Fall

Although Immortal Ying Tian currently doesn't plan to act openly, without Gray Bean, he can now leave the Ancient Ring miniature world. Given his cultivation, no one will discover him. Most importantly, he can freely harness the power of the Tribulation Dao Fruit and control heavenly tribulations!

Immortal Ying Tian and Qing He had been separated for three hundred thousand years, and their individual experiences were extensive. However, these experiences were a bit embarrassing to recount, so there was no need to tell Qing He about them. While Qing He often followed Immortal Wuxiu in ancient times, witnessing countless embarrassing moments for herself and losing much face, during the Xin Huo Dynasty, she had achieved great success, enjoying boundless glory and fulfilling every wish. Presumably, Qing He's impression of him during the hundred thousand years of the Xin Huo Dynasty had already overshadowed her ancient-era impressions. What Immortal Ying Tian didn't know was that Lu Yang had already recounted Immortal Ying Tian's three hundred thousand years of hiding and evasion during their journey. Upon meeting Immortal Ying Tian, Qing He merely feigned ignorance of his experiences.

After bidding farewell to Immortal Ying Tian, Lu Yang set off for the Buddhist Kingdom. If there was one place Lu Yang enjoyed staying the most, it was the Buddhist Kingdom. Upon entering the Buddhist Kingdom, Lu Yang immediately summoned his immortal body, condensed from incense and faith, and empowered it with Immortal Wuxiu's immortal consciousness.

“This state is still the most comfortable,” he mused. After acquiring the immortal body, Lu Yang felt he could change the world, summon wind and rain with a single thought, truly feeling omnipotent.

“If only Old Meng were here in the Buddhist Kingdom,” he lamented. Lu Yang felt regret; he was now at his peak, and the timing was perfect. If Old Meng were also in the Buddhist Kingdom, he could challenge him to a duel.

“You made a grand vow, used the power of incense and faith to condense an immortal body, and then reinforced it with the rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit?” Qing He was most proficient in the cultivation method of incense and faith, having personally established the path of incense during the Xin Huo Dynasty. Qing He instantly discerned the origin of Lu Yang's immortal body. Meanwhile, her hands were not idle; she peeled and sliced a spirit fruit, arranging it into the shape of a small rabbit and offering it to Immortal Wuxiu.

“Mmm, delicious,” Immortal Wuxiu said, opening her mouth to eat the rabbit-shaped spirit fruit. It tasted very good, and although it was conjured by Qing He, its flavor was identical to a real spirit fruit. Immortal Wuxiu felt it was truly wonderful to have Xiao He residing in her mental space. While Xiao Yangzi was also good to her, he couldn't compare to Qing He's thoughtfulness; at the very least, he didn't serve her as Xiao He did.

Witnessing this, Lu Yang felt immense heartache. As a historian, to serve the Emperor in such a manner was utterly improper. With such a sycophantic minister, how could the Soybean Dynasty avoid ruin! However, the Emperor was utterly engrossed and unaware. If he were to speak frankly, the Emperor would surely perceive it as jealousy of a virtuous minister, leaving a bad impression. He needed to proceed slowly and strategically.

While contemplating how to persuade Immortal Wuxiu, Lu Yang arrived at the Grand Hall of the Western Temple, unnoticed by anyone along the way. The Western Temple had been rebuilt on its original ruins, with a completely different layout than before; only the location of the Grand Hall remained unchanged. The sand sculpture of the Western Temple that Lu Yang had given Yun Mengmeng had now become a unique rarity. Inside the Grand Hall, a golden Buddha statue was casually lying on a lotus pedestal, yawning.

“Kid, you're here?” Immortal Su Yue showed no surprise at Lu Yang's arrival.

“Oh, Su Yue, we’ve arrived,” Immortal Wuxiu greeted.

“Greetings, Senior Immortal Su Yue,” Lu Yang said.

“Brother Su Yue, it’s been a long time,” Qing He added.

After Immortal Su Yue was ambushed at the end of the Xin Huo Dynasty, Qing He knew he hadn't perished. The higher Dao Fruits for her rudimentary Longevity Dao Fruit were the Dao Fruits of Time and Immortality. If Immortal Su Yue had fallen, she would have sensed the suppression lift. However, even if Immortal Su Yue had perished, she still wouldn't have become an immortal. Her becoming an immortal would have meant the Longevity Dao Fruit replaced the Dao Fruits of Time and Immortality, and the Master would never be able to revive.

“Sister Qing He, it’s been a while since we last met,” Immortal Su Yue chuckled. He had been leaping through time since the late Xin Huo Dynasty, and to him, it hadn't felt long since he last saw Qing He.

“Everyone, please sit,” he invited. Immortal Su Yue brought out three spare lotus pedestals and invited the three to take a seat.

“It seems Wuxiu paid a heavy price to defeat Immortal Jimie. It might take her two or three centuries to recover,” Immortal Su Yue remarked, observing Immortal Wuxiu's weakened state with a sigh.

“Cough, cough…” Immortal Wuxiu suddenly coughed violently, “It was all worth it to save Xiao Yangzi.”

“Immortal...” Lu Yang was deeply moved by these words, never imagining he held such significance in the Immortal's heart.

The three of them reminisced for a long time before bidding farewell to Immortal Su Yue. Mainly, Immortal Wuxiu and Qing He were catching up, with Lu Yang merely listening in. After the three departed, Immortal Su Yue's gaze sharpened as he recalled his previous encounter with Immortal Wuxiu. At that time, Immortal Wuxiu foresaw that she would need to restore her physical body to face Immortal Jimie in the future. Once her body was restored, there would be no reason to remain in the mental space. It was then, while Lu Yang was welcoming Yun Zhi, that she sought his help. After hearing the full story, he helped Immortal Wuxiu devise her current plan.

Before leaving the Western Temple, Lu Yang also paid a visit to Xin Ding.

“Is Senior Brother Xin Ding still in seclusion?”

“I heard that after Senior Brother Xin Ding entered seclusion, the number one ranked on the Earth List also quickly entered seclusion, worried that Senior Brother would challenge his position upon emerging.”

“How terrifying,” one martial monk commented.

“Just looking at Senior Brother Xin Ding's usual gentle demeanor with others, who would have thought he was the second-ranked on the Earth List?”

Lu Yang smiled, listening to the martial monks' evaluations of Xin Ding; it seemed Xin Ding was doing quite well at the Western Temple. Lu Yang took a single step and arrived at Xin Ding's seclusion spot. Xin Ding's retreat had concluded, and he was currently discussing the shortcomings of his recent insights with the Heavenly Dome Holy Lord. It appeared that after he left, the Heavenly Dome Holy Lord from the ancient Heavenly Dome Holy Land had, as per their agreement, entered Xin Ding's mental space to assist his cultivation.

“Heh heh, it seems the little fellow's cultivation progress is quite good?” A golden divine being, bathed in golden light and with an indistinguishable appearance, appeared before Xin Ding.

“Heavenly Venerate!” Xin Ding was surprised, never expecting to see the Tofu Heavenly Venerate again in this lifetime.

“Greetings, Heavenly Venerate,” said the Heavenly Dome Holy Lord, knowing this figure was a true immortal, whose status far surpassed his own, a late-stage Tribulation Transcender.

“No need to be so formal,” Lu Yang said, emitting a gentle glow that involuntarily caused the two to relax. “I was visiting my two friends, Ying Tian and Su Yue, and happened to drop by to see how your cultivation was progressing. From what I see now, your cultivation progress is decent.”

Hearing the Heavenly Venerate's evaluation, Xin Ding secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad he hadn't disappointed the Heavenly Venerate. The Heavenly Dome Holy Lord, however, was startled. Visiting Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Su Yue? Just which great immortal from ancient times was this Tofu Heavenly Venerate? He dared not ponder it; how could he presume to speculate on a Heavenly Venerate's identity?

In the mental space, Qing He cast a sidelong glance at Lu Yang. “Did he learn this from Immortal Ying Tian?” she wondered.

“My Lord, what exactly is he…?”

“Heh heh, self-taught. Impressive, isn't he, Xiao Yangzi?”