Chapter 1049: The Epoch Immortal
When Lu Yang saw the “Epoch” immortal-searching token, he froze.
What’s going on? Is the Epoch Immortal nearby?
Lu Yang landed. The Epoch Immortal-Searching Token grew increasingly hot.
He scanned his surroundings. After the successive self-detonations, Xitian Temple had been reduced to ruins, save for the Mahavira Hall, though it was teetering on the brink of collapse.
There’s something strange about the Mahavira Hall?
Lu Yang walked straight to the Mahavira Hall. The rising temperature of the token confirmed his suspicion.
Master Mingyu’s heart sank. He anxiously followed behind Lu Yang. “Immortal Venerable, Immortal Venerable, you cannot go there.”
Lu Yang paid no heed to Master Mingyu’s protests. When he reached the entrance of the Mahavira Hall, a voice came from within.
“Mingyu, this person is an old acquaintance of mine. I will catch up with him. Go and attend to the aftermath.”
“Yes.” Hearing the voice, Master Mingyu’s attitude shifted completely. He no longer obstructed Lu Yang and turned to leave.
As a great battle had just occurred, the populace was unsettled and in a frenzy. I do need to step forward and stabilize the situation.
Hearing the voice from within the Mahavira Hall, Lu Yang’s heartbeat quickened.
This is the Epoch Immortal’s voice. The Epoch Immortal is right here.
But if the Epoch Immortal is in the Mahavira Hall, why didn’t the Everlasting Immortal Fairy notice it earlier?
Lu Yang stored the Qingfeng Sword in his identity jade tablet and stepped into the Mahavira Hall.
Upon entering, a fragrance assailed his nostrils. It was a blend of sandalwood and lotus flower. The hall was spacious, and at its center stood a colossal golden Buddha statue that was dozens of meters tall. It had a benevolent face, and its eyes were half-closed, as if contemplating the true principles of the world.
Around the statue were exquisite murals depicting various stories of the World-Honored One. Each painting was vividly lifelike and enchanting.
The golden Buddha opened its eyes and stepped down from the lotus platform, simultaneously shrinking to the height of an ordinary person. Although its expression remained compassionate, its features shifted, now resembling a person in their early twenties.
The statue examined Lu Yang closely, its gaze settling on the wooden token at his chest. “You just used the Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit. Where did you obtain it?”
“Epoch, you’re still alive?!”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s voice rang out from within Lu Yang as she excitedly emerged.
The Epoch Immortal was equally delighted to see her. “Everlasting! You've truly been resurrected?”
“Mmm! Xiao Yangzi—Lu Yang resurrected me!”
Xiao Yangzi? The Epoch Immortal did a double-take. What a strange form of address.
Then he turned to look at Lu Yang. The Epoch Immortal’s expression grew serious, and he uttered two words solemnly. “Thank you.”
“N-no problem. It was just a coincidence.”
When he had met Jiang Lianyi, Ao Ling, and the Heaven Mandate Immortal for the first time, and they learned that he had resurrected the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, they would all express their gratitude solemnly. However, Lu Yang was still not used to such treatment.
“A coincidence is enough.” Lu Yang has accomplished something we failed to achieve for one hundred thousand years. Regardless of whether it was a coincidence, it is an immense debt of gratitude.
The wooden token on Lu Yang’s chest reminded the Epoch Immortal of the past, and he sighed inwardly. Back then, when I had looked through a temporal passage and seen a part of myself on Lu Yang, I’d already guessed that something had happened to my future self.
I was exceedingly cautious, yet my conjecture still came true—something had indeed happened to me.
“By the way, Epoch, how are you still alive?”
The Epoch Immortal’s expression grew peculiar. Is this really the first thing to ask upon meeting?
But considering Everlasting’s personality, such a blunt question isn’t surprising.
“How much do you know about the Ember Legacy Dynasty?”
“The Ember Legacy Dynasty? We’ve met Lianyi, Little Ling, and Heaven Mandate. We more or less know what happened.”
“You’ve met Heaven Mandate? Where is he now?”
“He resides in the small world of an ancient ring. The ring is in the possession of a Moon Laurel Immortal Palace disciple.”
“I see. When I obtained the Heaven-Splitting Axe, I thought something had happened to him. It’s good that he’s alive.
“Since you’ve met Heaven Mandate, you should already know most of what happened. I don’t know more than he does.”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy asked, “I heard from Heaven Mandate that you were ambushed at the end of the Ember Legacy Dynasty. Who did it?”
The Epoch Immortal shook his head gently. “I have no idea, but it was definitely one of the three, including the Heaven Mandate Immortal. Someone among the three had their body taken over by the mastermind behind the scenes!”
“But you can reverse time with the Epoch Dao Fruit? Who could have ambushed you?”
Recalling the scene three hundred thousand years ago, the Epoch Immortal slowly exhaled, his expression grave. “My Dao Fruit was interfered with; I couldn’t reverse time. I suspect the mastermind also possesses a time-related Dao Fruit.”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was puzzled. “Also related to time? How is that possible? You possess a temporal Dao Fruit. How could they have one too?”
“That I wouldn’t know. It’s only my intuition. Perhaps some other Dao Fruit can also affect time reversal.”
“What happened after that?”
“After being ambushed, I was severely injured. My Jianmu body was beyond saving, so I had to abandon it. My soul left my body and leaped forward several thousand years to the Great Qian era. However, I didn’t remain in the Great Qian, instead choosing to travel to the western regions.”
The Nian Year Beasts could leap through time; naturally, the Epoch Immortal could do the same.
“With my physical body gone and only my soul remaining, if I encountered the Silent Annihilation Immortal or the mastermind, I wouldn’t even be able to fight back.
“To forge a new body, I established the Buddhist Kingdom in the western regions and hid within the Buddha statue in Xitian Temple’s Mahavira Hall. Only the generations of abbots are aware of my existence.
“This Mahavira Hall was constructed from incense power, containing an inner small world that can evade the Silent Annihilation Immortal’s perception.”
Abundant incense offerings in the Mahavira Hall were perfectly normal and would not arouse suspicion.
“In the Buddhist Kingdom, I promoted the practice of Buddhist cultivators seeking alms to forge a Buddha’s golden body. Through such subtle influence, this became one of the methods of Buddhist cultivation.
“When Buddhist cultivators forge a golden body for a Buddha, it generates incense power. As a Buddha, I will absorb that incense power.
“During this time, I happened to find the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s Heaven-Splitting Axe and made it Xitian Temple’s main treasure, using it to conceal my presence.
“Whenever Xitian Temple faced danger, I would divine the future and have them deploy the Heaven-Splitting Axe at the most opportune moment to overcome the crisis.
“I observe that Young Friend Lu Yang’s immortal body is condensed from incense power, but it can’t be sustained for long, nor can it leave the Buddhist Kingdom.
“Such a body cannot withstand high-intensity combat.” At this, the Epoch Immortal paused, looking at Lu Yang with envy.
“Of course, that’s assuming Young Friend Lu Yang doesn’t have the Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit.
“To forge a permanent immortal body, I have been accumulating power all this time.
“Accumulating incense power is a slow process. It was boring to wait, so I randomly leaped through time, sometimes a few years, sometimes a decade, and sometimes even several decades. At each temporal node I arrived at, I would have Xitian Temple’s abbot tell me what had happened during those years.
“Just now, while I was in a time leap, I sensed Mingyu calling for me. He said that Xitian Temple was facing a great crisis. I also detected fluctuations of an Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit and an Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit from the other end of time. That’s why I leaped to this temporal node.”
