Chapter 477: Chapter 477: All the Stars Surround the Moon

Be that as it may, Lü Yang had no intention of continuing his conversation with Ang Xiao.

After all, this wasn’t the first time he’d talked with Ang Xiao. He was well aware that when facing an extremely cunning Elder First Saint like him, the more one said, the more mistakes one would make.

’I’ll have to keep him on the hook for now!’

’After all, I don’t have the capital to Pinch Ang Xiao yet. We’re not on equal footing, so this isn’t the best time for me to be negotiating with him.’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The best time would be after he had dealt with Fortune!

’Then, with the Hongyun Gold Attribute in hand, I’ll be able to use Fake Holding on the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire at will. That will be the time to truly face Ang Xiao and bargain.’

At this thought, Lü Yang gave Ang Xiao no further chance to speak. He immediately activated his Abilities, sealed the Grotto Heaven Fragment in his hand, and tossed it into the Myriad-Soul Banner. This severed the connection with Ang Xiao’s main body. With Progenitor Tingyou keeping an eye on it, he wasn’t afraid of anything going wrong.

He had World Purger Fei Xue to thank for this.

If she hadn’t smashed the entire Grotto Heaven to pieces, making it difficult for Ang Xiao to exert more of his Mighty Power, he probably wouldn’t have been able to capture him so easily.

"...Hm?"

Just then, a thought suddenly struck Lü Yang.

........

「East, Celestial Wu Capital City.」

Lü Yang’s main body opened its eyes. The next moment, he left his Cave Mansion and appeared high in the sky. A eunuch in a brocade robe was walking toward him.

"Lord Du Huan, my apologies for disturbing your seclusion."

"Not at all!" Lü Yang’s expression turned solemn as he hurried forward and bowed. "I’m sorry to have troubled Fellow Daoist An to make this trip. Has His Majesty sent another Holy Decree?"

"Indeed."

Eunuch An offered a faint, amiable smile. After all, Lü Yang’s first words had been "Fellow Daoist An." While he might say such formality was unnecessary, he was inwardly quite pleased and wouldn’t have minded hearing it again. With this bit of rapport established, he naturally didn’t mind revealing a little information:

"It’s actually good news."

"Some days ago, word came from the Observatory that they’ve locked onto the location of the Outer Realm you offered, Lord Du Huan. His Majesty is planning to retrieve it personally."

"I have come to ask you to accompany him."

’Ask me to accompany him?’

Lü Yang’s heart stirred, but he showed no hesitation, immediately saying, "It would be my honor!"

Seeing this, Eunuch An gave a smile that wasn’t a smile and said, "His Majesty sees your loyalty, Lord Du Huan. You must not let His Majesty down."

’What does he mean?’

Lü Yang narrowed his eyes. Although things had gone very smoothly for him so far in this life, the lessons from his Previous Life made him remain vigilant.

’Has my cover been blown?’

’That’s impossible. I obtained this identity using [Cuckoo’s Nest]. With the Position of the Centome itself backing it, how could Emperor Jia You possibly see through it?’

’If that’s the case... it must be that my avatar was exposed! Could it be that Emperor Jia You discovered that I secretly refined an avatar and sent it to the North?’

Lü Yang wondered, feeling uncertain. ’After all, the existence of the [Immortal Dao Law] gives the Dao Court a terrifying degree of control over the East. I can accept it if my avatar was truly exposed, but the question is... does Emperor Jia You know more?’

After all, he had done quite a few things in the North.

’Dou Hongyun, capturing Ang Xiao—which of these wasn’t extraordinary? If Emperor Jia You saw all of this, he would definitely suspect my identity.’

’I didn’t sense the gaze of any Golden Core experts along the way.’

’But he is a Perfected Lord, after all. If he really used his full Mana and his Abilities to monitor me, I might not have noticed. I can’t overestimate myself.’

Lü Yang weighed the possibilities and calmed himself down.

In the end, he leaned toward the conclusion that Emperor Jia You did not know. Just a moment ago, he had checked the status of [Ambition] while facing Emperor Jia You.

It was still shining brightly!

The quality of a Talent Skill calculated by the [Centome] goes without saying. You can trust it completely.

’[Ambition] is shining brightly, which means Emperor Jia You still values me. He might be scrutinizing me, but it probably hasn’t reached the point of suspicion.’

Thinking of this, Lü Yang’s confidence grew:

’My avatar was probably exposed, but Emperor Jia You most likely doesn’t know the details. He only knows I sent an avatar out of the East, not what I did.’

Now that he had a judgment, the decisions that followed were simple.

........

「Celestial Wu Hall.」

A Dao Platform rested upon the Nine Provinces and Ten Thousand Directions. Behind layers of curtains on the platform, a majestic figure was silhouetted—it was Emperor Jia You, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Lü Yang strode into the grand hall.

The next second, the palace doors slammed shut behind him. The surrounding Qi traces were severed, and an invisible pressure washed over Lü Yang like a tidal wave.

Immediately after, a resonant voice drifted to his ears, musing:

"A body refined to a crane’s form, two sutras beneath a thousand pines. I came to ask of the Dao, yet have nothing more to say: the cloud is in the azure sky, the water in the vase."

As the voice faded, the curtains were drawn aside. For the first time, Lü Yang truly saw Emperor Jia You, the sovereign father to the trillions of citizens and Cultivators of the East.

At that moment, Emperor Jia You was also looking at him:

"Du Huan. Du Aiqing."

The voice was flat, betraying no emotion, yet it resonated throughout the hall like a Giant Bell: "Do you think you are the cloud, or the water?"

Hearing this, Lü Yang didn’t hesitate for a second. He bowed and said, "It all depends on Your Majesty’s will. If Your Majesty wishes this servant to be the cloud, then I am the cloud. If Your Majesty wishes this servant to be the water, then I am the water."

"Hahaha."

Emperor Jia You laughed loudly at his words, but there was no trace of mirth in his eyes. He said faintly, "It seems Du Aiqing has gained much from your seclusion these past few days."

"Your Majesty sees clearly."

Lü Yang nodded, putting on a sincere and honest expression, and said openly, "This servant sent an avatar Overseas these past few days to meet with the Dragon Monarch. I spoke of Your Majesty’s grace, and the Dragon Monarch was greatly pleased. He instructed this servant to serve Your Majesty well and repay the favor of your patronage."

At these words, Emperor Jia You was momentarily stunned.

Just as Lü Yang had guessed beforehand, he did indeed know that Lü Yang had sent an avatar out of the East and was planning to use this fact to reprimand him and test his loyalty.

But before he could even make his move, Lü Yang had confessed voluntarily.

The next moment, a genuine hint of a smile finally appeared in Emperor Jia You’s eyes. The more he looked at Lü Yang, the more he liked what he saw. ’What is a loyal official? *This* is a loyal official!’

’Not hiding anything is the greatest form of loyalty!’

’Moreover, there’s a subtext to Lü Yang’s words: the esteemed grandson of the Dragon Monarch himself has to send an avatar Overseas just to make contact.’

’What does this show?’

’It shows that the True Dragon Race knows its place. They haven’t secretly left behind any means of communication that could bypass the [Immortal Dao Law].’ This pleased Emperor Jia You even more.

But despite this, Emperor Jia You’s tone remained completely level:

"You are the Dragon Monarch’s own grandson, yet you refer to him as ’Dragon Monarch.’ Isn’t that a bit too distant?"

"Your Majesty is mistaken!" Lü Yang shook his head with a solemn expression. "When on duty, one should address others by their official titles. How could we bring personal matters of blood relations into it?"

Hearing this, Emperor Jia You was once again inwardly moved, and he nodded.

"Since the True Dragon Race has submitted to my East, as long as they are loyal to the nation, they will one day have a position that endures with the country itself. The Dragon Monarch is a man of understanding. You may rise."

"Thank you for Your Majesty’s profound grace."

Lü Yang stood up, made a fist with his right hand, and said with a solemn face, "Loyalty!"

Although Emperor Jia You hid it well, looking at the ever-brightening glow of [Unyielding to Others], Lü Yang knew he had passed this test.

The next moment, however, Emperor Jia You suddenly said:

"Speaking of which, I heard you’ve been in contact with quite a few Demon Cultivators and even founded an organization called the [One Heart Association]. I wonder what your purpose might be?"

Lü Yang’s expression didn’t change as he answered calmly:

"Demon Cultivators are wild and difficult to tame. They receive Your Majesty’s grace, yet they only seek their own benefit and have no thought of repaying the nation."

"This servant founded the [One Heart Association] precisely to teach them how to repay Your Majesty with one heart and one mind, so they may protect Your Majesty like a host of stars gathering around the moon!"

Emperor Jia You: "..."

’What a toady!’

The corner of Emperor Jia You’s mouth twitched slightly. He then flicked his sleeve and rose. "Enough. I intend to take a trip Beyond the Heavens to retrieve the Incense World Heaven you spoke of."

"You shall accompany me."

The next moment, Lü Yang saw the light of [Ambition] suddenly flare up brilliantly. If he were to Backstab him at this moment, the Talent Skill bonus would probably reach fifty percent