Chapter 108: Advancement to True Disciple

In the center of Skeleton Mountain, Lu Yang sat silently in meditation with the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner in hand, surrounded by ten thousand ghosts, his Qi at the peak of the Qi Condensation realm radiating without any attempt to conceal it.

Immediately, a beam of brilliant light shone into the 【Yanmo Hall】.

The light gathered into a human form, and Yinshan True Person stepped out, his face filled with surprise, his gaze fixed directly on Lu Yang while secretly calculating the cause and effect.

However, he froze.

This time, Lu Yang had not deliberately obscured his own cause and effect; instead, he had actively revealed most of it, which caused Yinshan True Person to feel great shock.

"You are... Lu Yang?"

In his calculation, Lu Yang had only joined the sect for over ten years, yet his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Qi Condensation realm; if that could still be understood, then achieving great divine powers at such a young age was sheer fantasy, absolutely unattainable for an ordinary grassroots disciple!

After a moment of silence, Yinshan True Person reached the exact same conclusion as in his previous life:

"May I ask, Daoist friend, which True Person of our Holy Sect have you reincarnated from?"

Lu Yang: "..."

Before Lu Yang could respond, Ancestor Tingyou appeared behind him, sneering, "What Holy Sect True Person? This is my Wugui Dao disciple!"

"Wugui Dao?"

Hearing this, Yinshan True Person was startled again; he looked at Ancestor Tingyou, calculated for a while longer, and then showed surprise on his face: "Tingyou? The last Sect Master of Wugui Dao?"

"It is the sixth generation, not the last!" Ancestor Tingyou spoke again, clearly dissatisfied with the term 'last', and said coldly, "Our Wugui Dao has continued for a thousand years without ever breaking its lineage; Lu Yang is my Wugui successor, merely temporarily sheltering under the Chu Sheng Sect for now!"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Yinshan True Person was stunned, then clarity appeared in his eyes; if that were the case, then Lu Yang's rapid progress could be understood.

Joining a master with existing skills, naturally appropriate.

Thinking of this, Yinshan True Person glanced again at the Guardian Deity Su Nu behind Lu Yang; that was the true reason he had not attacked upon first appearing.

'An external avatar, Foundation Establishment cultivation?'

Yinshan True Person realized something, taking Su Nu as the foundation of Wugui Dao; in this way, it was no wonder Lu Yang had achieved great divine powers at such a young age.

After all, the difficulty of cultivating great divine powers was limited to the Qi Condensation realm; for a Foundation Establishment True Person, it was not so difficult, so it was normal for Lu Yang to achieve it young; the only doubt was where this great divine power came from, yet when Yinshan True Person calculated to the end, he calculated onto himself.

"Are you one of my Sanhe Association people?"

Watching Yinshan True Person's changing expression, Lu Yang remained calm and composed.

Of all his great divine powers, only one could have its cause and effect traced by others: the "Twelve Dushen Tian Sha Secret Demon Tribulation Light" he had learned in this life.

And this great divine power was a benefit of joining the Sanhe Association.

So no matter how one calculated, he was fundamentally black-rooted and black-stemmed; moreover, he had signed the Sanhe Association's contract, so strictly speaking, he was still Yinshan True Person's own person.

As for other great divine powers with unclear origins, once he advanced to the position of True Disciple and gained status and rank, revealing them later would not arouse suspicion.

For this, he must advance to True Disciple as quickly as possible!

Generally speaking, to become a True Disciple of the Holy Sect, one must have a Foundation Establishment True Person supporting one from behind, meaning one has gained the Holy Sect's trust.

In this world, what matters is power and background.

Without background, one is just a small thug, destined to be a cannon fodder.

Therefore, Lu Yang must demonstrate value to attract a sufficiently strong patron, and "Wugui Dao successor" is a very good tiger skin to wear.

"Replying to the senior, yes."

Lu Yang bowed respectfully and said, "Senior Sister Feixia came to invite me to join; I concealed this previously, please do not blame me, senior."

"So that is how it is..."

Yinshan True Person looked at Lu Yang with a strange expression: "You could have continued to hide, why reveal it actively? Do you wish to reopen Wugui Dao?"

He did not doubt Lu Yang's identity; after all, Ancestor Tingyou's cause and effect were clear as day, the last Sect Master of Wugui Dao, and even he had actively admitted Lu Yang's identity as a "Wugui Dao successor"; how could it be false? It was impossible for Lu Yang, a Qi Condensation cultivator, to have deceived Ancestor Tingyou, was it?

"Senior misunderstands."

Lu Yang decisively shook his head: "I am a disciple of the Holy Sect; although I received the inheritance of Wugui Dao, my heart turns to the Holy Sect, and I have absolutely no thought of establishing a separate sect."

"In fact, I wish to present the entire Wugui Dao lineage to the Holy Sect."

"... Oh?"

Hearing this, Yinshan True Person looked at Ancestor Tingyou; seeing that he made no reaction to this, his heart grew even more curious, unaware that Lu Yang had already coordinated with him beforehand.

A thousand years have passed; Ancestor Tingyou has long recognized reality.

The key lies in the sect's continuation and the existence of the lineage; as long as the lineage remains, sheltering under a larger sect and paying some price is a natural matter.

"Interesting..."

Yinshan True Person also realized it now, looking at Lu Yang with a half-smile: "You wish to use the Wugui Dao inheritance as your stepping stone for advancement?"

"Is that not allowed?" Lu Yang asked in return.

"Hahaha! Yes, of course it is allowed!"

The next second, Yinshan True Person laughed loudly, all previous doubts gone, his gaze on Lu Yang full of appreciation: "Truly a disciple of our Holy Sect!"

Under the Holy Sect's rule, merit is not weighed, reincarnation is not weighed, roots are not weighed; only your value is weighed!

If the value is high enough, never mind if you are a successor of Wugui Dao; even if you were a successor of the Yuchu Sword Pavilion, you would still be accepted; the Holy Sect has never cared!

Thinking of this, Yinshan True Person already understood Lu Yang's request: "You wish for the position of True Disciple?"

Lu Yang clasped his hands: "True Person sees clearly."

"I agree to this matter."

Yinshan True Person smiled: "You present the Wugui Dao inheritance to the Holy Sect, a great merit; I can recommend you upward to grant you a True Disciple slot."

At this moment, Yinshan True Person's gaze toward Lu Yang had changed; if before he was looking at a stranger, now that he knew Lu Yang had joined the Sanhe Association and signed a magical contract, he clearly regarded Lu Yang as his own junior, considering him a talent worth cultivating heavily.

'Just right; Senior Brother Chongguang and I have agreed to go to that region in eighty years.'

Although Yinshan True Person favored Luo Wuya, breaking through to Foundation Establishment is nine deaths and one life; no one knows the outcome, so he also wanted to find some backup candidates.

Moreover, strictly speaking, Lu Yang clearly has more hope than Luo Wuya.

"Thank you, senior!"

Lu Yang smiled at the sight, clasped his hands in thanks, and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; with this, he now held some standing within the Holy Sect.

Of course, this standing was currently like a castle in the air.

After all, his status as a True Disciple was an imposed title, possessing the name but not the substance; to truly earn the Holy Sect's trust, he would inevitably have to endure a long probationary period.

"But it doesn't matter."

"After all, the one thing I lack least is time!"

Holy Sect, the center of the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.

This place is named "Holy Fire Cliff," the secluded retreat of the Zhang Sect and the various True Lords; the only True Person permitted to enter here is the current Daizhang Sect.

Master Chongguang.

At this moment, this True Person, vigorous and heroic with ambition surging toward the heavens, stood solemnly waiting before a quiet chamber, silently calculating the days in his heart.

"It is about time."

After an unknown duration, Master Chongguang finally raised his head; almost simultaneously, a faint sound came from the quiet chamber before him, and a graceful figure pushed the door open and stepped out.

"Greetings, True Lord Qingcheng Feixue!"

Master Chongguang did not hesitate a word, immediately bowing low to the ground, until a soft voice came: "Rise, no need for excessive courtesy; how has your cultivation progressed recently, Chongguang?"

"Slight progress."

Master Chongguang remained bowed, speaking solemnly: "Some days ago, I completed the final 【Gangyan Furnace】; the Dao path is perfect, lacking only the ascent to the heavenly seat."

"You have completed the 【Gangyan Furnace】?"

Upon hearing this, True Lord Qingcheng Feixue immediately showed joy: "This Earth Fiend seat belongs to 【Dahuangluo】; with this, your Dao path has gathered 【Aifeng】, 【Zhixu】, 【Zhanmeng】, and 【Dahuangluo】, four medicines complete; I imagine the 【Fu Fu Deng Huo】 seat is now within easy reach."

"When do you intend to ascend to the seat?"

"It still requires time." Master Chongguang shook his head: "Daoist Hong Yun is not dead, and there are still True Lords supporting him behind him; rashly ascending the seat would likely make success difficult."

"Therefore, I intend to go to 'that place'."

"Oh?" True Lord Qingcheng Feixue was stunned upon hearing this, then nodded: "With your cultivation, although you can barely go, you will still need several helpers."

"I already have candidates." Master Chongguang nodded.

True Lord Qingcheng Feixue asked no more upon hearing this, nodding: "I have always trusted you with your affairs, but my emergence from seclusion this time is for the War for the Dao."

"War for the Dao? So soon?" Master Chongguang was stunned.

True Lord Qingcheng Feixue shook his head: "The Great Calamity of a Thousand Years approaches, the Star Talismans are out of order; this is also the natural order. Go and inform the Holy Sect, and summon the True Disciples."

"Yes!"

Master Chongguang nodded, yet a trace of worry appeared on his face.

If it were ten-plus years ago, he would not have worried, because at that time the Yinshan True Person had not yet broken through to Foundation Establishment, sufficient to suppress the Qi Refining disciples of all Dao lineages.

However, now, the Yinshan True Person has already reached Foundation Establishment.

Although, apart from the Yinshan True Person, there were also some dazzling figures among the True Disciples, most of them needed to be stationed in various places across Jiangbei and could not move lightly.

And among the True Disciples available to be deployed, one dazzling existence capable of stabilizing the situation was missing.

I imagine other Dao lineages also saw this point, which is why they reopened the War for the Dao in such a short time, just to suppress the Holy Sect's prestige.

"It seems this time, the Holy Sect will likely have to suffer some losses."

Thinking of this, Master Chongguang could not help but sigh.

(End of this chapter)