In Lü Yang's view, Fortune had prepared three escape routes for himself.

The first, of course, was the Seven Luminaries Heaven. This was his final resort, a path he would only take if he felt that returning to his Position was completely hopeless.

The second was a Grotto Heaven Fragment.

Beneath the waters of Gantang Dao, territory of the Ganhai Li Clan in the South, lay a fragment of Fortune's former Long Brilliance Treasure Light Grotto Heaven. Fortune had long since confirmed its location.

In reality, however, it was a trap set by Ang Xiao.

To go was to die.

The last was Fortune's current hiding place, sealed off by layer upon layer of Arrays that obscured all Karma Links. Not even World Purger Fei Xue could find him.

Three escape routes, each a failsafe. Unfortunately, Ang Xiao was simply too treacherous. He had preyed on Fortune's unwillingness to give up, using the Grotto Heaven Fragment to set an ambush. If Fortune chose the second path and began Refining the fragment, his violent death would not be far behind. This was something Lü Yang did not want to see.

After all, Fortune was his goal in this lifetime!

That was why he had sent the anonymous tip to Master Chong Guang. His sole purpose was to have Master Chong Guang destroy the Grotto Heaven Fragment in the South in his stead, thereby extinguishing that particular hope for Fortune.

'This life is different from my previous one.'

'In my Previous Life, not long after Master Chong Guang received my tip, No Heaven emerged, and then I revealed Ang Xiao's identity.'

'As a result, Master Chong Guang had no energy to spare for destroying the Grotto Heaven Fragment. After all, partway through, even World Purger Fei Xue withdrew his support. In the end, he was even forced to cooperate with Ang Xiao... But this life is different. This time, I haven't leaked a single bit of information ahead of time.'

Therefore, in this life, Master Chong Guang's choice would also be different.

'From Master Chong Guang's current perspective, his greatest enemy is Fortune. Thus, destroying Fortune's Grotto Heaven Fragment is an urgent matter.'

That was enough.

In the North, Lü Yang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the Sea of Clouds. He had a precise grasp of Master Chong Guang's psychology. "I'll leave the Grotto Heaven Fragment to my master uncle."

He would take care of the other escape route himself.

Only in this way could he force Fortune down the path to the Seven Luminaries Heaven, ensuring he had no chance to reincarnate and would instead fall into his trap.

At this thought, Lü Yang suddenly looked to his side.

"Daoist, you've been silent this whole time since we came out."

Beside Lü Yang stood a man with a subservient, deferential posture. Though his qi trace was surging and his Position was exceptionally high, he inexplicably gave off the impression of being small. Hearing Lü Yang's words, he gave a wry smile.

"You jest, my lord..." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"There's no need to call me 'my lord,'" Lü Yang said, his expression turning serious. "You and I are both just trying to survive in this world. We should be fellow Daoists, with no distinction of rank between us."

As Lü Yang finished speaking, Summon quickly nodded in agreement, but he had no intention of changing his address. After all, he was now a Banner Spirit, and Lü Yang was the Banner Master of the Myriad-Soul Banner. Lü Yang could be humble and refuse the title of "my lord," but Summon could not fail to use it. Summon understood this matter of attitude perfectly.

Lü Yang paused for a moment before speaking plainly.

"In this life, I intend to help you in Seeking Gold... Just like last time, I will give you two paths. You may choose freely, and I will not interfere with your decision."

"First, you can wait for me to advance further."

Lü Yang didn't elaborate, but if he were to manifest the Fruit of Celestial Fire in this life, he would inevitably be Ruling the World. At that time, it would not be impossible for him to directly bestow a Golden Position upon Summon.

However, this was too uncertain; it was far from a sure thing.

Thus, he quickly presented the second path. "Although your Spirit Ruins Blessed Land is severely damaged, the underlying dangers have been eliminated. I can help you repair it."

"I have with me a body of Knowledge regarding the Fruit of Spring Water, covering everything up to Foundation Establishment Perfection. It includes the corresponding Cultivation Technique and Rituals, which can attract the attention of the Fruit of Spring Water. Afterward, I will secure a First-Grade Official Position at Foundation Establishment Perfection for you. This will help you condense a Gold Attribute."

"At that time, you will be able to attempt Seeking Gold."

Lü Yang said in a low voice. The Knowledge about the Fruit of Spring Water naturally came from the Stain Sect's Xiang Ye, and it was enough to compensate for the deficiencies in Summon's Cultivation as a Person from Beyond the Heavens.

He had always taken his promises seriously.

His morals might be flexible and he often bent the rules, but with the Centome in his possession, he would always fulfill any promise he had made, so long as he had the ability to do so.

For a moment, Summon was stunned.

'He's really going to help me with Seeking Gold?'

'I thought you'd forgotten! That you were just stringing me along!'

This Celestial Great Zhenren, so accustomed to lowering his head, was suddenly overcome with emotion, yet found himself speechless. He could only give Lü Yang a deep bow.

"Thank you... Daoist."

Lü Yang waved his hand and smiled. "We will be spending a long time together in the future. We should work together with one heart. Otherwise, how will we face the powerful enemies that lie ahead?"

"You're right!" Summon nodded.

Seeing this, Lü Yang maintained his smile but sighed inwardly.

'I'm... actually a bit of a hypocrite.'

After all, no matter how nice his words sounded, it couldn't change one fact: as the Banner Master, he held the power of life and death over the Banner Spirits that had been "cleansed" by the Centome.

Whenever he wished, he could easily control either Progenitor Tingyou or Summon.

But rather than doing that, Lü Yang preferred to exchange sincerity for sincerity, just as he had never forced Progenitor Tingyou to do anything for him.

However, this was ultimately different, and Lü Yang knew it. He dared to exchange sincerity for sincerity because he held the power of life and death over them, giving him absolute confidence. If it were a complete stranger, how could he dare to entrust them with his trust? 'If you won't even enter the Myriad-Soul Banner, on what grounds should I treat you as a brother?'

'Forget it.'

'Hypocritical or not, so be it. In his current state, he lacked the capacity for true sincerity. In this broken place, this level of "hypocrisy" was the best he could do.'

As they spoke, the two arrived at a remote mountain forest.

This was Fortune's lair. It appeared Ordinary, but in reality, it was shrouded by layer upon layer of Arrays, severing all karmic links. Even a Perfected Lord would find it difficult to divine its location.

The fact that Fortune had managed to survive for so long was largely thanks to this lair.

'Too bad for him, I have cheats!'

There was no need to divine karmic links. Having already processed Fortune's memories, Lü Yang pinpointed the location directly. In his hands, the forest's dense Arrays were as fragile as paper.

「At almost the same moment, in the deepest part of the forest.」

HISS!

Suddenly, Fortune, who had been in secluded Meditation, shuddered. He instinctively raised his head, his gaze burning like a torch as he looked above himself.

"Am I... plagued by misfortune?"

For someone who dared to take the name "Fortune," he naturally had a few tricks up his sleeve. Among them was a Secret Technique for Qi Observation, allowing him to perceive fortune and disaster.

This was no simple divination of karmic links, but a sensory Secret Technique of an extremely high Position, allowing him to sense and avoid danger. This Secret Technique was the key reason that, as the reincarnation of a Perfected Lord, he could operate right under the nose of World Purger Fei Xue. Under normal circumstances, very few could track him down.

And now, he had sensed a crisis.

'A crisis... It's not a major one—Xue Feihong isn't the one who's found me. But it's not insignificant either, especially compared to my current Cultivation... Could it be a Late-stage Grand Zhenren who's come looking?'

Fortune's face showed no signs of panic.

Just a Late Stage of Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although he himself was only at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection, with the help of the surrounding Arrays, dealing with a Great Trueman wouldn't be too difficult.

A flicker of greed even arose in Fortune's heart... A Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment was surely a being whose Fortune soared like a rainbow. If he could Deprive the other party of their Fortune, he wouldn't need to waste time fighting with Qi Refining Disciples for opportunities or plotting to seize that Merit Pool from the Stain Sect.

"Let's assess the situation first..."

Fortune was extremely cautious. He used his Secret Technique to probe several more times and divined the karmic links, only abandoning the idea of fleeing after confirming he could handle this crisis.

The next second.

BOOM!

As the Arrays were forcibly broken one after another, Fortune quickly spotted two intruders. But in the following instant, his expression stiffened slightly.

His gaze fell directly on Lü Yang.

'Strange... Is this person very familiar with this place?'

This was clearly his own territory, yet the other party seemed to possess foreknowledge, effortlessly neutralizing the various traps he had laid within the Arrays.

Before Fortune could fully process his thoughts, he was startled... because Lü Yang, who had been looking elsewhere, suddenly tilted his head and stared directly—unerringly—at his hiding spot.

"Found you..."