Chapter 1241: Dao Lineage

"Who is it!" Gong Liangyu knew very well that his status was special. Unlike ordinary Golden Core cultivators, he was far more likely to attract attention, so he had deliberately set out an hour later to avoid prying eyes.

He had never expected to still be followed. The other party no longer concealed his aura. He was unmistakably a Spiritual Infant grandmaster.

Only a Spiritual Infant cultivator could have tailed him for who knew how long without him noticing anything.

Gong Liangyu was greatly alarmed. He no longer cared about the Blood Grass and hurriedly tried to recall the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet to protect himself.

The Blood Grass had been an illusion, and now a Spiritual Infant cultivator had been following behind him...

These strange phenomena sent waves of chill through Gong Liangyu’s heart. Without realizing it, he had very likely already fallen into a trap.

The Spiritual Infant cultivator charged over without the slightest attempt to hide. Light blazed brilliantly like an auspicious cloud, floating above Dongyang Bo’s head. The Vajra Bangle released rings of rippling light that knocked the blood shadows away.

"Dongyang Bo!" Gong Liangyu’s pupils dilated, and he cried out in shock.

In that instant, countless Spiritual Infant figures flashed through his mind. There were devilish cultivators from Small Cold Domain, people from Tianxing Alliance, and even spies from Sin Abyss. He had never once thought of Dongyang Bo.

Back when Senior Brother Iron Crown had controlled Shangyuan Tranquility Palace, it had already formed an alliance with Shaohua Mountain, and together they had been known as two of the Eight Major Sects of the righteous path.

Friction between the disciples of the two factions had been inevitable, but it had never affected the bigger picture.

Only after Iron Crown had perished in Ziwei Palace and Gong Liangyu had succeeded him had Gong Liangyu begun to feel somewhat wary of Dongyang Bo. Even so, he had not wished to damage that relationship for the time being.

The man has no intention of harming the tiger, yet the tiger has already harbored the will to devour the man.[1]

Dongyang Bo was actually making a move against him! Gong Liangyu was not naive enough to believe Dongyang Bo’s appearance here at this exact moment was a coincidence! But too many questions filled his mind.

Dongyang Bo fully activated the Vajra Bangle and charged straight at him.

He plowed recklessly through the swarm of blood shadows. The Vajra Bangle spilled out ring after ring of phantom projections. No matter how the blood shadows charged at him, they could not get close and were instead knocked flying. His bearing was far more effortless and elegant than that of the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet.

Dongyang Bo did not bother putting on an act. He ignored the doubt and fury in Gong Liangyu’s eyes and stared fixedly at the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet that had returned to protect its master. He clicked his tongue in admiration again and again. "No wonder Shangyuan Tranquility Palace has endured in prosperity without its inheritance breaking! As expected of the renowned Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet. It truly lives up to its name. With this puppet, the Dao Lineage could be safeguarded and endure forever. One day, when I go down to the Nine Springs and face my master, I will at least have an explanation for him!"

Hearing this, Gong Liangyu suddenly understood, and the doubts in his heart were finally resolved. This old bastard’s target had never been anything else. It had been the sect-protecting treasure of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace all along, the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet!

That realization horrified Gong Liangyu even more. The moment he had seen Dongyang Bo, his first thought had been that the old bastard had somehow learned the news and had come to compete with him for the Blood Grass.

Dongyang Bo himself had no use for Blood Grass, but he had many disciples, not a single one of whom had reached the Spiritual Infant Realm. It would not have been strange for him to covet Blood Grass.

As for the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet grasping only the illusion of the Blood Grass moments ago, Gong Liangyu had assumed it was likely the spiritual herb’s natural self-protective ability after maturing, and that the true body was perhaps nearby.

The Heavenly Dao treasured life. There were countless strange flowers and rare herbs in the world, and not a few possessed similar abilities.

Since the world knew very little about Blood Grass, it was only natural that such a trait had gone unrecorded.

Thus, although Gong Liangyu had been shocked, he had believed that with the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet and the life-saving methods passed down by his sect, even if he could not defeat Dongyang Bo, he would still be able to escape.

At worst, after returning, he could seal the mountain and avoid the outside world, then pursue a different path to break through.

The karmic cycle is endless. Someday, there would always be a chance to take revenge.

Dongyang Bo might bully the weak and seize treasures first, but under such circumstances, could he really dare to raise an army and attack Shangyuan Tranquility Palace?

What Gong Liangyu had not expected was that Dongyang Bo’s target was not the Blood Grass at all, but the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet. It even seemed like he had long anticipated that Gong Liangyu would bring the puppet out!

Among people like Dongyang Bo, the existence of the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet had never been a secret. In fact, some of the rumors had been deliberately spread by Shangyuan Tranquility Palace itself, precisely so outsiders would believe the puppet could not leave the sect and would not covet it.

Did that not mean that from the moment he decided to come to Blood Lake, every step he had taken had already been within Dongyang Bo’s calculations?

The news of the Blood Grass, the true hidden danger of the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet, and also the fact that he possessed the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade, allowing him to resist the puppet’s soul-biting backlash and use the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet to search for treasure.... Dongyang Bo had known all of it, which was how he had been able to set this trap.

Gong Liangyu’s entire body turned cold at once, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!

His mind buzzed in disorder, a tangled mess. He began to suspect that from the moment he had taken over Shangyuan Tranquility Palace, just how many times had Dongyang Bo manipulated him openly and secretly? Perhaps it had begun even earlier!

Senior Brother Iron Crown was a Spiritual Infant cultivator, yet the sect had suddenly met with disaster and been forced to use the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet, cutting off his own path. Was Dongyang Bo behind that as well? And was Senior Brother Iron Crown’s death in Ziwei Palace a normal death?

Not long after I formed my core, I too suffered an accident that left behind a hidden injury that has been difficult to cure, causing every attempt to break into the Spiritual Infant Realm to fail. Only in recent years did I find a spiritual herb to heal the wound. Was that attack really an accident as well?

Gong Liangyu was filled with terror toward Dongyang Bo.

Dongyang Bo shifted his gaze to Gong Liangyu and said flatly, "My disciples have all been too dull. None of them could shoulder great responsibility. I had no choice but to do this. Daoist, you can only consider yourself unfortunate."

Gong Liangyu ground his teeth together, still wanting to verify certain matters. "That jade scroll, and the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade..."

"That’s right. It was me!" Dongyang Bo gave a slight nod. "The jade scroll was genuine, but what that senior discovered was the Blood-Boiling Evil Flower, which had already been harvested by me. I merely changed the name. As for the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade, I had originally intended to leave it for those useless disciples to use when crossing heart devil tribulations. Unfortunately, none of them amounted to anything, so I arranged a fortuitous encounter and delivered it to you instead..."

Though he spoke of one of his proudest schemes, there was not much joy on Dongyang Bo’s face, because this truly had been a last resort.

He had plotted this deeply and had long since begun laying plans against Shangyuan Tranquility Palace. He had thoroughly investigated the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet and had painstakingly sought out the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade.

Yet unless absolutely necessary, he had not wanted to seize the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet by force.

Firstly, he understood the hidden danger of the puppet. Not only was the cost of controlling it enormous, but as the soul shadows grew more numerous, it would sooner or later lose control and devour its master. If no one could suppress it at that time, it would bring a great disaster upon the sect.

Secondly, after years of management, Shangyuan Tranquility Palace had grown increasingly dependent on Shaohua Mountain, and in the future it could still serve as an excellent ally.

That was only if Shaohua Mountain could produce another Spiritual Infant cultivator and continue its Dao Lineage. Otherwise, decline was imminent. If so, what future could there be?

What made Dongyang Bo feel ashamed was that despite all his years of painstaking effort, not one of his disciples had succeeded in forming a Spiritual Infant. When it came to helping disciples form a Golden Core, he still had methods to assist them. But forming a Spiritual Infant was the greatest hurdle on the path of cultivation, and even he could do nothing but sigh in secret.

The jade scroll Gong Liangyu mentioned had belonged to a senior who had once entered Blood Lake. It recorded the senior’s experiences within Blood Lake.

Blood Lake had been sealed for many years and had only recently reopened. Gong Liangyu would not be overly suspicious, and all those records had been genuine, something no outsider could have forged.

After obtaining it, Dongyang Bo had merely changed the name of the spiritual herb and used certain means to deliver it to Gong Liangyu. With nine truths and one lie, he had indeed deceived Gong Liangyu perfectly.

1. This is an ancient Chinese saying, meaning malice often exists where you don't expect it. ☜

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