Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadows

Ang Xiao’s reaction was anything but slow.

More importantly, as a Saint Sect True Monarch, he shared a key trait with Lü Yang: they were both incredibly decisive, never hesitating when action was required.

’I can’t let this go on!’

At this thought, Ang Xiao immediately changed his previously laid plans. He had originally intended to use Chongguang as a stepping stone for his own advancement.

’First, I’ll eliminate the final hidden threat, Fortune. Then, after Chongguang fails his attempt at Seeking Gold, I’ll use the Veil of the Trees to secretly hide away the Daoist Remnant he becomes upon death. Once the dust settles, I can use the Chongguang Evil Corpse to attract the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, and finally pull that Fruit Position into the Netherworld.’

The entire plan was quite thorough.

If Lü Yang knew of it, he would immediately understand the logic behind Ang Xiao’s actions during the ninth world; he was, in fact, following this very plan.

However, no plan in the world is perfect.

And so, Ang Xiao had encountered variables along the way... For example, during Chongguang’s attempt at Seeking Gold, Ang Xiao clearly hadn’t anticipated that he would reach the critical point.

In Ang Xiao’s plan, Chongguang was supposed to fail smoothly while Seeking Gold and then die suddenly, without making the slightest ripple... Yet, relying on his own Dao Heart and talent, Chongguang had forced Ang Xiao to expose his identity and make an enemy of all the Perfected Lords under Heaven just to collect the Chongguang Evil Corpse.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

The Overseas conflicts, Fei Xue’s schemes—Ang Xiao had actually run into many accidents, but he weathered them all with his profound resources and backup plans.

Plans never keep up with changes; that is the way of the world.

Ang Xiao was well aware of this, which was why his plans had a large margin for error. He could always revise and adjust for any unexpected events.

This time, however, the accident was a bit too big.

"I can sense that the Veil of the Trees I left behind in the Saint Sect has been suddenly broken. My hidden name and information have likely been exposed."

"In other words, I can forget about the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire."

The more Ang Xiao thought, the uglier his expression became. "Furthermore, my opponent is intentionally cutting off my perception of the Current World. If this continues, I’ll be far too passive."

This could not be allowed!

If you fall behind, you get beaten. If he were to just hand over the initiative, things would become very difficult. A single misstep could render his countless years of scheming all for naught!

Thinking of this, a thought stirred in Ang Xiao’s mind.

Five thousand years had passed since he achieved the Late Stage of Golden Core and went into hiding in the Netherworld. In those five millennia, he had prepared many trump cards for himself.

Three of them were the most critical.

The first, naturally, was the Earth-Walking Avatar, which allowed him to forcibly interfere with the Current World when necessary, unleashing combat power far beyond the Middle Stage of Golden Core.

The second was the Summon.

Both the Spirit Ruins Blessed Land and the Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to Ruins Dao Scripture were lures he used to draw the Fruit of Long-Flow Water into the Netherworld, so they were naturally of utmost importance.

However, compared to the third trump card, the first two seemed insignificant... because the third was his true magnum opus.

In the next second, Ang Xiao’s consciousness traversed the Netherworld.

And entered the West.

At the same time, in the Pure Land in the West, the overlapping phantoms of temples could be faintly seen, holding up the Buddha Light. It was truly a land of Merit where the Thunder Sound preached, a great Dharma hall untouched by ten thousand kalpas.

Yet deep within the phantom temples, beneath the veneer of Buddha Light, was a bizarre and variegated landscape. It was a collection of Zen Forests, each containing countless temples, all clearly divided into distinct and varied sections... These Zen Forests were the abodes of the Pure Land’s Bodhisattvas.

One of these Zen Forests was the most peculiar of all.

As far as the eye could see, it was, astoundingly, a colossal Golden Buddha!

It sat cross-legged, its full palm outstretched. Within that palm stood mountains and rivers, dotted with innumerable temples, and in every temple, Monks were cultivating.

And it wasn’t just the palm.

The hair, the skin, the seven orifices, even the internal organs... every part of this Golden Buddha seemed to be a temple, a vast Buddha Country!

This was the Shuxiang Zen Forest. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The master of this Zen Forest was named the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva. He was the most low-profile and least-known Bodhisattva in the entire vast Pure Land.

But just then, a strange phenomenon occurred with the majestic Golden Buddha. It did not move, but the Buddha Light behind its head suddenly rippled, transforming into ring after ring of pure, circular light—a Dharma wheel of wisdom. As it spun, it seemed to be divining something, or perhaps receiving someone.

Such a change naturally drew the attention of the other Bodhisattvas.

"Dragon and Snake... What is he doing?"

"I don’t know. Ever since he fed his body to the Buddha, using his Dharma Body to nurture so many temples and establish this Shuxiang Zen Forest, he hasn’t spoken in years."

"Pay him no mind."

"He is merely from the Outer Dao. He spent years seeking the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth to no avail. Now that he has established this Zen Forest, perhaps the Bhagavat has bestowed a blessing upon him, and he has gained some new understanding."

"Indeed..."

The discussions of the Bodhisattvas outside did not affect the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva’s state of mind in the slightest. At this moment, he was silently gazing into his own Spiritual Space.

In his heart, there was only one question:

’Who am I?’

The next second, a voice emerged from the depths of his heart: ’You are me.’

Countless sealed memories flooded his mind, bringing him a sudden enlightenment. At the same time, a figure completely shrouded in smoke appeared in his Spiritual Space.

Ang Xiao!

He stood with his hands behind his back, carefully studying the state of the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva, as if judging something. After a long while, he finally nodded.

"Good, very good."

"It seems the seal from the Veil of the Trees wasn’t damaged... This trump card is still viable. Or should I say, the mastermind behind the scenes hasn’t discovered him yet?"

That’s right, the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva was his third trump card!

This was an Outer Dao True Monarch, but not an ordinary one, for the Outer Dao Fruit Position he had achieved was a perfect match for the concept of the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth.

What does it mean for a dragon and snake to be coiled and hidden?

"Formed by the receding tides, shaped by the passing waves, the palace where the dragon and snake lie coiled and hidden, a land of shifting hills and valleys—this is called the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth..." It was one of the Five Dao Fruit Positions that Ang Xiao monopolized!

A true Perfected Lord of the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth should be called the Dragon and Snake Coiled Hidden Bodhisattva.

However, since he had achieved an Outer Dao Fruit Position, one whose concept merely aligned with the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth, the "Hidden" was changed to "Shadow," and he was thus called the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva.

’Back then, I split off a sliver of my Soul and had it reincarnate from the Netherworld into the West. It climbed the ranks step by step until it finally attained one of the Outer Dao Fruit Positions in the Pure Land’s collection, becoming the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva. This was all done to use him as a medium to draw the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth into the Netherworld. The risks I took were immense...’

The thought still sent a tremor of fear through Ang Xiao’s heart.

Due to the unique nature of the Pure Land, he would never activate this trump card under normal circumstances. To use it meant he had reached the final, critical moment.

’Time is not on my side...’

Ang Xiao examined the state of the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva. After being deeply rooted in the Pure Land for so many years, he had long been assimilated by the Bhagavat’s Unity.

But since Ang Xiao dared to send him into the Pure Land, he naturally had a countermeasure.

On the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva, Ang Xiao had planted the strongest Veil of the Trees in history, pouring almost all of his Divine Fruit Position into it.

Its effect was simple:

At this very moment, although the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva was still within the network of Unity, he had simply forgotten the fact that he was the Bhagavat.

Instead, he remembered that he was Ang Xiao.

Two negatives made a positive.

The result, paradoxically, was that the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva gained a certain degree of freedom. This was a world-astounding miracle that only the Fruit of Great-Forest Wood could achieve!

After all, the higher one’s cultivation, the more severe the Bhagavat’s Unity became.

Especially at the Golden Core Level, one was like another face of the same entity as the Bhagavat, theoretically impossible to separate... Yet Ang Xiao had succeeded!

At this moment, the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva had been stealthily stolen away by Ang Xiao. Although it wouldn’t be long before the Bhagavat noticed the anomaly, turned his gaze this way, and resolved everything... before that happened, Ang Xiao was confident his plan would already be a success!