Chapter 168: Su Nü's Bitterness Never Ends

In the end, Chen Xinghai accepted reality helplessly.

As he saw it, this time he was probably just unlucky—the accident he ran into wasn't covered by Xian Alliance insurance.

But for Lu Yang, who had weathered countless battles in the Holy Sect, the Xian Alliance's little tricks were almost transparent at a glance; nothing surprising about them.

"This Xian Alliance disaster insurance only covers sea disasters, but not ghost clouds. And ships carry talisman protection, so ordinary disasters can't touch them at all."

This creates a paradox.

You ran into a ghost cloud? Why would a seafarer charge into a ghost cloud? Did the ghost cloud come to you on its own? Proof? None? Then you're committing insurance fraud.

You ran into a sea disaster? How could a sea disaster break through the ship's talisman protection? That's clearly unreasonable—you're still suspected of fraud.

Don't ask. Ask and the answer is: claim denied.

Of course, the Xian Alliance wouldn't be so brazen about it. Lu Yang figured that every year the Xian Alliance must deliberately pay out a batch of claims, then publicize them loudly.

This kind of scheme was all too familiar to Lu Yang. People like Chen Xinghai, the million seafarers, were all stalks of rice planted by the Xian Alliance, harvested every so often. In fact, the moment Lu Yang understood this mechanism, his eyes rolled and he already had a plan to take it to the next level.

So far, the disaster insurance the Xian Alliance offered was very expensive.

Only helmsmen like Chen Xinghai who owned a large ship could afford it. The navigators on board didn't need to buy insurance—clearly a waste of talent.

In Lu Yang's view, the Xian Alliance could perfectly well offer personal insurance—peace-of-mind coverage.

Of course, hardly anyone would buy this kind of insurance. After all, for seafarers, the sea itself was a nine-death-one-life affair; one careless moment and you'd end up in a fish's belly.

Even if you bought personal insurance, once you're dead you can't collect.

So to boost sales, you could spread the word that buying personal insurance might be useless, but not buying it might get you assigned by the Xian Alliance to dangerous sea regions.

Set it up like this, and wouldn't sales come rolling in?

This wasn't even Lu Yang's original idea. Back on the righteous-demonic battlefield, a True Person of the Holy Sect had once run exactly this play and made a killing afterward.

Pulling his thoughts back, Lu Yang looked at the middle-aged man again.

He was very patient. He waited for the man to finish talking with Chen Xinghai and leave on a beam of escaping light, then quietly followed, making sure there was no one within a thousand li before making his move.

He grabbed him in one swoop and performed a soul-search on the spot.

Chen Xinghai, being a low-level seafarer, didn't know much. The middle-aged man, as a Xian Alliance Sea-Patrol Envoy, would surely know more useful intelligence.

Under his soul-search, more information was dug out.

"This place is the northwest corner of the Turbulent Sea. The corresponding Xian Alliance port is currently overseen by the 'Shenxiao Sect,' which also has a Core Formation Ancestor stationed there."

Seeing this, Lu Yang sharply sucked in a breath of cold air!

This Shenxiao Sect—its strength could actually be compared to the top-tier sects of Jiangbei below the Holy Sect, with a Jin Dan True Monarch stationed there!

Although the memory was somewhat vague, calling him a Core Formation Ancestor, what he formed was still a Jin Dan. Overseas and inland, different regions, different names—that was normal. The only pity was that this person hadn't obtained the complete inheritance of the Shenxiao Sect; the cultivation method he had only covered the Qi Refining portion.

"This man's name is Situ Zheng, cultivation at Qi Refining… hmm?"

At this point in the soul-search, Lu Yang suddenly froze, because in this Situ Zheng's memory, the so-called "Qi Refining" actually had a full twelve realm layers!

"How are there two extra layers?"

Lu Yang frowned tightly and simply extracted the cultivation method from the man's mind directly. Fortunately, the man's consciousness sea had no restrictive measures either.

Soon, a cultivation method appeared before Lu Yang's eyes.

《Treading the Sea Art》

"To cultivate this art, one must possess a water spiritual root. Use the spiritual root to inhale and exhale seawater, refine it into true qi, then undergo twelve transformations before reaching Foundation Establishment."

As he read on, Lu Yang gradually furrowed his brow.

According to the art's description, only those born with a spiritual root could cultivate immortality. This was utterly incompatible with the common sense he had built up over a hundred years.

The difficulty of cultivating immortality lies in the path itself; entry, however, is extremely simple—anyone can cultivate. How could there be any distinction of spiritual roots? Not to mention the content of the Treading the Sea Art—using a spiritual root to inhale and exhale seawater? What about the cultivator themselves? Is this refining qi or refining a spiritual root?

The more Lu Yang read, the more something felt off.

Especially after personally witnessing the Xian Alliance's style of operation just now, he couldn't help but harbor suspicion about this so-called Biyang cultivation world—

Could it be a large-scale talent cultivation base the Holy Sect had set up overseas?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang concealed his form once more, erased Situ Zheng's memory of seeing him, then took out the Myriad Spirits Banner and summoned Su Nü.

"This servant greets Master."

The moment Su Nü appeared, she bowed gracefully, casting a half-resentful glance at Lu Yang, as if asking why he hadn't let her out for some fresh air in so long.

Lu Yang, however, acted as if he didn't see her look, and pointed at Situ Zheng: "Go with him for a trip."

The background of this "Shenxiao Sect" was unclear. If there really was a Jin Dan True Monarch, it would be too dangerous for him to follow rashly. Better to play it safe.

Let Su Nü scout the way first!

"This servant obeys."

Su Nü didn't ask further—either that or she was used to her master treating her as a tool. She immediately transformed into a gust of clear wind and followed behind Situ Zheng.

Situ Zheng was completely unaware and continued to fly on his beam of light.

Before long, the clouds parted and the fog dispersed.

A vast, boundless giant island suddenly appeared in Lu Yang's field of vision. Spiritual light ran wild across it, and cultivator figures could be seen at every moment.

Situ Zheng flew straight into the island and soon arrived before a pavilion.

Along the way, quite a few cultivators greeted him, but they were all minor figures at the Qi Refining realm and naturally couldn't detect Su Nü standing right beside him.

Right after that, Su Nü followed Situ Zheng around the island looking for something.

But as he watched, Lu Yang furrowed his brow.

"Why are they all Qi Refining?"

Through Su Nü's perspective, he already had a clear picture of most of the situation inside and outside the island, yet he discovered that there wasn't a single Foundation Establishment True Person on the entire island.

Where are the Foundation Establishment cultivators? Where did they all go?

Just as Lu Yang was puzzling over this, the entire island suddenly shuddered violently. Then beams of spiritual light shot up into the sky, actually constructing a grand formation.

Immediately after, large numbers of figures appeared outside the island.

"Hahaha! Today is the day your Shenxiao Sect faces total annihilation!"

Among the many figures, the leader radiated immense spiritual pressure, agitating the local Qi. Lu Yang glanced and saw the opponent's cultivation was likely at the late Qi Refining stage.

No, is he crazy?

Lu Yang could not comprehend it at all. Shenxiao Sect was a clan guarded by a Jin Dan True Person; how could a late Qi Refining cultivator dare to shout about total annihilation right before their mountain gate?

But soon Lu Yang recalled the example of the Divine Martial Gate. Hadn't the Divine Martial Gate also suffered because its late Foundation Establishment sect master was lured away by a trap set by True Person Yinshan, leading to a brutal siege and sudden death, causing the True Persons of the Divine Martial Gate to be reduced to less than one in ten, and finally wiped out by himself? Perhaps Shenxiao Sect had encountered the same situation?

This would explain why there was not a single Foundation Establishment True Person left on the island!

Just then, from a jade palace in the center of the island, a beam of spiritual light shot into the sky. It was also late Qi Refining stage, and a booming voice echoed out:

"Ancestor Qingting, your Qinting Gate has treacherous ambitions. Do you intend to violate the laws of the Xian Alliance?"

As the words fell, dozens to over a hundred beams of spiritual light rose from the island.

Lu Yang glanced roughly and saw they were all Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators. They looked imposing, but in reality, they were no match for a single strike; they were merely propping up the scene.

"This might be my opportunity!"

In his view, Shenxiao Sect must have encountered a crisis; most of the Foundation Establishment True Persons were likely dead, but he did not believe they were completely wiped out. Two had escaped from the Divine Martial Gate, after all.

At most, they were severely injured and temporarily hiding.

"If I help Shenxiao Sect now, I might be able to establish a connection with the True Persons or True Lords behind them. This would greatly assist me in my search for Cheng Tian Gang."

Of course, Lu Yang himself would not intervene.

After all, the Jin Dan True Person capable of dealing with Shenxiao Sect meant that the Qinting Gate behind them likely had a True Lord as well. The risk of him revealing his true form was far too great.

In comparison, Su Nu, as a Banner Spirit with no cause and no effect to trace, and capable of self-detonation, was very suitable.

Thinking this, Lu Yang immediately made his decision.

Let Su Nu suffer a bit; she will bear the karmic consequences.

(End of this chapter)