To be perfectly honest, Ang Xiao was a little startled.

But it didn't show on his face, and he quickly calmed himself. With his vast experience, he naturally recognized what this was.

Ang Xiao's eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the aged soul before him, which was suffused with Buddha Light. This soul itself was certainly not the "Guang Ming" it claimed to be. Rather, someone was cleverly using this soul as a vessel to speak with him in the Netherworld from the current world.

As far as he knew, only two kinds of people in the entire world could do such a thing. One was the Pure Land World Honored One, and the other was a Buddha's Son, who had been granted authority by the Bhagavat.

'However, the Bhagavat couldn't possibly be interested in me.'

Ang Xiao was absolutely certain of this. He knew very well that for beings at the Nascent Soul realm, the only thing that could provoke a Master of Dao to act was a matter concerning Heaven and Earth itself.

And he sought the Netherworld.

Therefore, strictly speaking, he had no fundamental conflict with the four Masters of Dao. As long as he didn't cross any red lines, none of them would make a move against him.

In that case—

'Has the Bhagavat sent down another Buddha's Son to mingle with the lower cultivators?'

Ang Xiao wasn't surprised. It had happened before, after all—it was nothing new. Besides, the current opportunity was even better than the last.

The last time the Bhagavat sent down a Buddha's Son, All the True Monarchs were still active. While they didn't dare interfere too openly out of respect for the Bhagavat, they weren't without their methods. Otherwise, that Buddha's Son wouldn't have been beheaded in three strikes by the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected. This time, however, even All the True Monarchs had retreated from the world.

'Could it be that this Buddha's Son isn't invincible yet?'

As Ang Xiao pondered, the Buddha Light on the aged soul rippled, and the consciousness of Buddha's Son Guang Ming connected from the current world, far away.

This, too, was the Divine Effect of Telepathy.

It allowed one to make another's mind their own.

Soon, Buddha's Son Guang Ming's faint voice drifted out. "You've been forced into dormancy for nearly thirty years. I wonder, Senior, if you would like to escape your confinement sooner?"

"Oh? You wish to help me escape?"

Buddha's Son Guang Ming nodded. "Precisely."

"Heh."

In response to Buddha's Son Guang Ming's confirmation, Ang Xiao laughed aloud. At his level, this world held few secrets from him.

In his eyes, a creature like a Buddha's Son could not be equated with the Bhagavat. The two were superficially similar but fundamentally different. Thus, if the Bhagavat himself had made this offer, Ang Xiao wouldn't have harbored the slightest doubt. But coming from a Buddha's Son, it raised a few questions.

"You don't believe me, Senior?" Buddha's Son Guang Ming's brow furrowed slightly.

"Explain."

Ang Xiao didn't dismiss him outright, instead prompting him to continue. "How do you plan to help me escape? And why do you want to?"

"Amitabha."

Buddha's Son Guang Ming first recited a Buddha's Name before saying gravely, "To manifest my Earthly Buddha Country, I still need three disciples who have not yet taken their place." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"One of them is an Immortal Spirit, currently hiding in the South."

Before Buddha's Son Guang Ming could even finish, Ang Xiao burst out laughing.

The South? Without Buddha's Son Guang Ming needing to elaborate, Ang Xiao knew exactly what was going on. "It seems the Buddha's Son has been blocked by that 'good old man' from the Sword Pavilion again?"

"...You see clearly, Senior."

Facing Ang Xiao's deliberate sarcasm, Buddha's Son Guang Ming's tone remained calm. "This humble monk wishes to ask you, Senior, to help me eliminate the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected."

For him, the four disciples required to manifest his Earthly Buddha Country were supposed to come from the South, the North, the East, and Overseas. So far, only the Southern King, Wu Taian of the East, had fallen into place. His two attempts in the North and Overseas had failed, with the battle Overseas even costing him a vital avatar.

Now, Lü Yang and Xiang Ye were holed up in the Sea of Clouds.

Under these circumstances, the only target left was in the South. But the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected refused to let him set foot in the South.

How was he supposed to proceed?

'I need at least two disciples to activate the Magic Instrument for the Earthly Buddha Country. When I do, all the cultivators at Foundation Establishment Perfection across the land will be forced to show themselves.'

This grand age was already more than halfway through.

As for those Seeking Gold, everyone who should, would, or could prepare for it was now poised for action. The world was a powder keg.

It just needed a spark to ignite.

'Let the death of the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected be the spark that ignites this grand age!'

Looking at Buddha's Son Guang Ming, Ang Xiao's expression remained unchanging. He secretly made some calculations for a moment before shaking his head. "What benefit is there for me in eliminating the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected?"

"The Fruit of Pewter Metal!"

Buddha's Son Guang Ming's next words made Ang Xiao sit up straight. The Fruit of Pewter Metal, like the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, was a Fruit that contained the Earth of Chen.

In other words, it was his for the taking.

Seeing his reaction, Buddha's Son Guang Ming became even more confident and said with a smile, "I wonder if you are familiar, Senior, with the three inherited Dao titles of the Sword Pavilion... Demon-Vanquishing, Exorcism, and Subduing Demons."

"There's no need to speak of Demon-Vanquishing. As for the other two, Demon Subduing Zhenren is still in the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, while only Exorcist Zhenren has reached Foundation Establishment Perfection. This man has always been a recluse, his reputation completely overshadowed by the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, so much so that few people even know which Fruit he cultivates."

"He cultivates the Fruit of Pewter Metal?"

Buddha's Son Guang Ming nodded. "This humble monk has a way to make Exorcist Zhenren willingly sacrifice himself for you, Senior, and pull the Fruit of Pewter Metal into the Netherworld."

"Furthermore, the Daoist Remnant created from his failure in Seeking Gold can also be of use to you, Senior."

"While it won't be enough to help you escape completely, Senior, it shouldn't be difficult for you to interfere in the current world using the body of a Daoist Remnant, right?"

Of course it wasn't difficult!

Although Minor Metal claimed it would create an era of great conflict lasting sixty years, there were still hierarchies among Perfected Lords—especially a Great Perfected Lord like himself, who was in the Late Stage of Golden Core.

An ordinary Perfected Lord might need the full sixty years to reemerge, but he could break free in forty years at most. And as for simply interfering in the current world with a Daoist Remnant avatar? He could do that right now! The terms offered by Buddha's Son Guang Ming were indeed tempting.

"...How do you propose to do this?"

Buddha's Son Guang Ming placed his palms together. "Because of your existence, Senior, Exorcist Zhenren's Dao path was severed, forcing him to find another way. This humble monk... helped him."

"Oh? How so?"

"This humble monk told him the current whereabouts of Primal Daoist Mu Changsheng."

Buddha's Son Guang Ming smiled faintly. Mu Changsheng's tragic fate might be hidden from the world, but it was no secret to the Bhagavat, who was also a Master of Dao.

Therefore, he knew of it as well.

"Not long ago, Exorcist Zhenren sent a Foundation-Stage Cultivator, who had died of old age, to be reincarnated, hoping to obtain the Consciousness Stripping Technique from Mu Changsheng's own lips."

Ang Xiao was incredibly astute. The moment Buddha's Son Guang Ming finished speaking, he had already deduced the entire plan. 'The only secret way in and out of the Stain Sect's Simulation Realm is through the Netherworld. And anyone passing through the Netherworld... must inevitably pass right under my nose!'

The Consciousness Stripping Technique?

As long as Ang Xiao could find the soul of that reincarnated Foundation-Stage Cultivator, he could tamper with it, turning the technique into a Secret Technique that would cause the Fruit to fall from grace at any moment!

He couldn't care less what other schemes Buddha's Son Guang Ming was plotting. As long as he could drag the Fruit of Pewter Metal into the Netherworld, it would be a win for him no matter how things played out.

However...

"Are you sure you want to kill the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected?"

Ang Xiao glanced at Buddha's Son Guang Ming. The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected was the apple of the Sword Pavilion's eye, a matter concerning the Fruit of Sword Dao. Leaving aside the question of whether Guang Ming was even capable of killing him...

...even if he could, would he dare?

"Killing him outright is out of the question, of course."

Buddha's Son Guang Ming shook his head. "But if he sacrifices himself and dies while attempting to manifest the Fruit of Sword Dao, that's another matter. In the end, the effect is the same."