Chapter 148: In the Future, He Will Surely Be a Pillar of the Holy Sect!

Northern Frontier, Shenwu Sect.

Lu Yang strolled leisurely among the pavilions and terraces, even in the mood to admire the surrounding scenery, appearing no different from a young scholar out on a spring excursion.

Yet above his head, unbeknownst to when, rolling clouds had already blanketed the entire Shenwu Sect; strangely, the cultivators within the sect remained completely unaware, continuing their cultivation, duels, and conversations as if those clouds were mere illusions that did not truly exist.

Within the clouds, myriad lightning snakes writhed.

From start to finish, this extraordinary phenomenon killed not a single disciple of the Shenwu Sect; it merely brushed past them, carrying away something intangible.

—Merit and fortune.

Every Shenwu Sect disciple touched by the clouds, though utterly unaware, found their bodies inexplicably heavier, as if burdened by an extra thousand jin.

Immediately after, Lu Yang raised his head to gaze into the sky.

The 【Sky-Exploring Instrument】 in his brow glowed brilliantly, allowing him to see clearly that at this very moment, countless gazes were fixed upon the lands of the Shenwu Sect!

He saw Master Master Chongguang's gaze filled with approval.

He saw the Arhat of the Pure Land shaking his head in sigh.

Of course, none of these people were physically present; they were deducing karma, relying on the omnipresent web of karma between heaven and earth to observe from afar.

Under their watchful eyes, Lu Yang simply smiled with ease.

The next second, the clouds receded like the ebb and flow of tides, finally converging entirely into Lu Yang's palm, transforming into a fruit woven from merit and fortune.

"Crunch!"

Lu Yang placed the fruit in his mouth, swallowing large chunks of flesh; with red lips and white teeth, he devoured it heartily, consuming every last bit of the merit and fortune the Shenwu Sect had accumulated over many years.

While gnawing, Lu Yang also made his way to the Shenwu Sect's treasury, casually opening it before grabbing storage bags and swallowing their contents whole, storing away everything from magic treasures and cultivation techniques to various elixirs, effectively stripping the Shenwu Sect of all its precious treasures clean.

Such a drastic change in fortune naturally alarmed the two True Persons of the Shenwu Sect.

"The sect... the sect has been robbed!"

True Person Huanwu almost instantly produced a precious mirror, reflecting the scene within the sect; upon seeing Lu Yang's leisurely figure, his eyes nearly burst with rage:

"It's Lu Yang! He's not at Skeleton Mountain, he's at the Shenwu Sect!?"

In that instant, both True Person Huanwu and True Person Xuanwu felt their hearts turn ice-cold, all their hot blood transforming into a bone-chilling, indescribable coldness.

It's over! Everything is over!

Upon hearing this, Arhat Fu Long whipped his head around and immediately formed hand seals, sparing no cost to unleash his innate divine ability, intending to return to the Shenwu Sect at once.

Soon, the familiar resistance arrived.

Clearly, Lu Yang was using 【Determining Kinship】 to block him; however, this time Arhat Fu Long was prepared, and surging magic power erupted instantly.

"You cannot stop me!"

Arhat Fu Long transmitted his voice brimming with killing intent; after all, he was at the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment, while Lu Yang was merely at the Early Stage—what did Lu Yang have to compete with him in terms of magic power?

Then he heard a light chuckle:

"Thank you, Daoist friend, for seeing me off; I take my leave now."

The next second, Arhat Fu Long pierced through the void, arriving in a single step at the Shenwu Sect, only to see Lu Yang drifting away, leaving behind the lingering splendor of his divine ability.

Drifting away, free and unfettered.

Arhat Fu Long saw clearly that the direction Lu Yang fled was none other than the Cloud Sea Connecting Heaven of the Holy Sect; strangely, not a shred of karma from the eight hundred li of Skeleton Mountain clung to him!

"Unbelievable... simply unbelievable!!!"

Arhat Fu Long was so furious his Golden Body nearly exploded; he almost lost his reason and chased into the Cloud Sea Connecting Heaven, but at the very last moment, he forced himself to calm down.

After all, if he truly dared to charge into the Cloud Sea Connecting Heaven, it would be seeking his own death; even the Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land would not save him, let alone help him kill Lu Yang.

"Luring the tiger from the mountain... what a fine case of luring the tiger from the mountain!"

Only at this moment did Arhat Fu Long truly understand Lu Yang's scheme: from beginning to end, Lu Yang likely never intended to engage him in a direct duel!

Using Zhao Xuhe to lure him away, then triggering the earth veins to invoke heavenly punishment and severely damage his merit and fortune, Lu Yang seized this golden opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Shenwu Sect, swallowing all the benefits alone before drifting away; even having suffered such a massive loss, Arhat Fu Long had to admit Lu Yang's prowess.

Truly despicable, exactly like an old tortoise.

This was something Arhat Fu Long had never anticipated; after all, before today, looking back at Lu Yang's experiences, who would dare say he wasn't a heaven-defying genius?

Such a genius should have been advancing bravely and vigorously.

Indeed, during the Battle for the Dao, Lu Yang had performed exactly so, slaughtering those in the Qi Refining realm, high-spirited and triumphant, moving through tens of thousands of soldiers as if walking through an empty land.

But now, looking back, it was all fake!

This beast was clearly only brave and vigorous against cultivators of lower realms; against those of the same realm, or even higher realms, he was as cautious as one treading on thin ice.

"A miscalculation!"

Arhat Fu Long sighed toward the heavens, yet remained unwilling to accept it; although Lu Yang's scheme was formidable, it ultimately suffered from one flaw:

This trick could not kill him.

Thinking of this, Arhat Fu Long was baffled: "My fortune has been severely damaged by heavenly punishment; even someone at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment could potentially slay me now."

"With such a golden opportunity, why didn't he make his move?"

If Lu Yang had truly chosen to fight him, Arhat Fu Long would have had no choice but to stake his life; yet now, he felt unable to exert any of his strength.

"What exactly does he intend to do?"

Chusheng Sect, Cloud Sea Connecting Heaven.

Lu Yang activated 【Determining Kinship】 and returned in a single step to Mount Luofeng, already casting the affairs of the Northern Frontier to the back of his mind, for he had perfectly achieved his intended goal.

Plundering the merit and fortune of the Shenwu Sect.

As for True Person Huanwu and True Person Xuanwu, one was nearing the end of his life, the other had limited strength and had been stripped of merit; to the Holy Sect, they were not worth mentioning.

Besides, weren't there still Yu Xi and the others? Lu Yang believed they could handle things properly.

Returning to Mount Luofeng, Lu Yang counted his spoils while making up his mind: "For the next fifty years, I will stay within the Cloud Sea Connecting Heaven and not venture out."

As for Arhat Fu Long?

"Are you kidding? Why would I risk my life against someone at the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment? The gap in realms is right there; if anything unexpected happens, wouldn't I suffer a huge loss!"

He only needed to wait patiently.

After all, he was still young; he had broken through to Foundation Establishment before turning eighty, and now, just over a hundred years old, he still had nearly two hundred years to enjoy slowly.

"Compared to me, Arhat Fu Long has at most thirty or forty years of life left in this incarnation; with his merit and fortune exhausted, once he dies in this life, he can only reincarnate as a pig or dog, impossible to return to the position of Foundation Establishment. So I just need to wait patiently for thirty or forty years, and naturally, I will be able to rest easy!"

From the very beginning, Lu Yang had seen this clearly.

Compared to Arhat Fu Long, his cultivation base held no advantage, his magic treasures were not necessarily more numerous, and his experience was far inferior; his only advantage was his youth!

Time was his greatest asset!

Therefore, all his plans were built upon this foundation.

Using the self-detonation of the earth veins to destroy Arhat Fu Long's chance of reincarnation, then outliving the old man! Wait until he died of old age, then go dance on his grave.

Dueling magic power? Staking one's life?

Too small! The perspective was too small!

"Dueling magic power, dueling divine abilities—in the end, none compare to dueling lifespan!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang felt utterly composed: "Arhat Fu Long... hmph! Wait until you die of old age, then I will settle the score with your reincarnated self!"

At the same time, within the Sacred Fire Cliff.

Master Master Chongguang withdrew his gaze from the web of karma, glanced in the direction of Mount Luofeng, and with an expression that was both strange and filled with emotion, could not help but praise:

"This child will surely become a pillar of our Holy Sect in the future!"

(End of Chapter)