Chapter 26: No Wonder It Is the Holy Sect

The landscape was like a painting, the setting sun like blood.

Lu Yang stood atop the sea of clouds; after a long while, when no palm strike descended from the heavens to crush him into dust, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Was that just now... a Foundation Establishment True Person?"

Lu Yang dared not even speak aloud, pondering only in his heart, his expression worsening to the extreme, for the gap between them was simply too vast.

Not only his body, but even his thoughts had been frozen; he only reacted after Daoist Hong Yun departed. That feeling was like a mouse caught in a cat's paw—it was no longer merely a difference in strength, but a distinction in hierarchy, instantly extinguishing all pride in Lu Yang's heart.

"I am still too weak; I lack power."

Originally, after defeating Liu Xin and the others while outnumbered, Lu Yang had swept away the gloom of his past life, feeling triumphant and high-spirited; now, however, he had once again leveled his mindset.

The path of immortality is long; one must still forge ahead through tempering.

Lu Yang sighed with emotion, then recalled the matter of Xiao Shiye, fear surfacing once more in his eyes: "Fortune—is it actually bestowed by others?"

By now, he remembered.

Before heading to the Merit Pool, Xiao Shiye had once said: "It just so happens I've been somewhat lucky lately, so I wanted to take the opportunity to test my luck."

Somewhat lucky lately.

At the time, Lu Yang had assumed it was the modesty of a child of destiny, but now it seemed that might have been the truth—he had indeed only become lucky recently.

Because of that Daoist Hong Yun!

"The colorful fish in the Merit Pool must refer to the Colored Merit Fish; could Daoist Hong Yun have intended to use Xiao Shiye's hands to fish it out of the Merit Pool?"

"If that is truly the case, then he succeeded in the previous life. However, having said that, in the previous life, after Xiao Shiye fished out the Colored Merit Fish, he announced a closed-door cultivation and vanished without a trace..." Lu Yang thought deeper and felt terrified: Fishing, fishing—once the fish is caught, is the bait naturally no longer useful?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly lifted his head.

Chusheng Sect, the Cloud Sea Reaching the Sky.

Perhaps to those high echelons of the Holy Sect who appear and vanish like divine dragons, showing only a glimpse of themselves, disciples like them were merely a school of fish raised in a fish pond?

"No wonder it is called the Holy Sect..."

Lu Yang took a deep breath, beginning to understand why no one had slapped him to death.

Even if a fish jumps about a bit too lively and harbors some unspeakable secrets, so what? They might even consider you a talent!

"In any case, at least the secret of the Book of Hundred Lives has not been exposed." Lu Yang felt fortunate in his heart; not only that, but the karmic ties related to the Book of Hundred Lives seemed to have also deceived True Person Hong Yun, to the point where the other party did not suspect at all why he possessed a cultivation base of the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation before even entering the sect.

"Without delay, let us return to eat first."

Fortunately, although the Primordial Dao Scripture was taken away by Daoist Hong Yun, Lu Yang had memorized the entire content of the cultivation method before that happened.

This was a good habit Lu Yang had developed because of the Book of Hundred Lives.

Whenever he encountered a decent cultivation method or divine ability, he would immediately memorize it, so it could be utilized in the next life without needing to spend contribution points to exchange for it again.

Moreover, while Daoist Hong Yun took the Primordial Dao Scripture, he did not take Immortal Qingchen's Secret Explanation of Array Treasures.

"Admittedly, the two are not comparable in the slightest; Immortal Qingchen's item clearly did not catch that person's eye, but for me, it is of great use."

In truth, Lu Yang did not value the Primordial Dao Scripture highly, as he had already set his sights on Zhao Xuhe's Third Grade True Art; the Primordial Dao Scripture was optional, whereas the Secret Explanation of Array Treasures, involving array formation and treasure refining cultivation arts, interested him greatly.

As for the Primordial One Qi Myriad Souls Banner...

"There will always be an opportunity; let us speak of it in the next life."

Returning to his cave dwelling, Lu Yang first restrained his temper, cultivated peacefully, studied the Secret Explanation of Array Treasures, and slowly repaired the damage sustained by his sword pill.

It was not until half a month later that he emerged from closed-door cultivation again.

This time, he sought out Zhao Xuhe.

When he arrived at Zhao Xuhe's cave dwelling, he saw Zhao Xuhe arguing with a young man dressed in the robes of the Law Enforcement Hall, whose appearance was dignified and stern.

"Senior Brother, you must believe me; do you not know my reputation, I, Zhao Xuhe? For over ten years it has been excellent. Is it not just 1, 00 contribution points? I will definitely repay them... What? Interest!? You... Fine, no problem, Senior Brother, grant me a few more days, and I will surely repay both principal and interest..."

After the two entangled for a moment, that Law Enforcement Hall disciple left with a cold sneer.

Zhao Xuhe stood gloomily in place, the qi mechanism around him fluctuating wildly; seeing the timing was right, Lu Yang immediately stepped forward.

"Senior Brother Zhao, it has been a long time."

Zhao Xuhe raised his head at the sound, immediately sensing Lu Yang's unmasked qi mechanism, his pupils constricting sharply: "Junior Brother Lu, you have broken through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation!?"

"Luck, mere luck."

Lu Yang smiled slightly and said: "This humble one's aptitude is dull; after closing myself off for several months and spending no small amount of contribution points, I barely managed to break through, making a fool of myself before Senior Brother."

Hearing this, Zhao Xuhe's expression grew even stiffer, even slightly twisted; after all, while both had speculated on substitute death yin puppets, he had speculated until he was bankrupt and lost everything, even his mistress running off with another man, whereas Lu Yang had earned a fortune and even used those contribution points to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation.

What angered him even more was that he might not even be Lu Yang's match now!

"Although I obtained the opportunity from True Person Panlong, because my fortune was insufficient and my merit lacking, I only obtained half of that Third Grade True Art..."

For this, he had specifically consulted his master once.

His master deduced the karma and concluded that because he had speculated on substitute death yin puppets, he had prematurely exhausted the merit accumulated over three lifetimes, leading to this failure at the last step.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuhe nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Half of a Third Grade True Art contained only the Qi Condensation realm Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Art, lacking the Foundation Establishment realm cultivation method; for him, it was utterly useless!

Not to mention he now owed external debts; he did not even dare to scatter his cultivation and switch methods, fearing that debt collectors would come knocking during the switch, see him powerless to resist after scattering his cultivation, suddenly turn into bandits, rob him clean, and kill him to silence him—that would truly be suffering with no one to tell.

"Junior Brother sought me out; is there some matter?"

"It is a long story." Lu Yang sighed: "To be honest with Senior Brother, I have come to seek your guidance, as this junior brother has recently encountered trouble."

"Trouble?" Zhao Xuhe's eyes lit up.

Hearing this, Lu Yang sighed: "Previously, this humble one focused solely on cultivation, and only after breaking through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation did I learn of the issue regarding True Qi Grade; my heart fills with regret..."

Hearing Lu Yang say this, Zhao Xuhe suddenly felt much better.

"So it is about True Qi Grade."

Zhao Xuhe hypocritically offered a few words of comfort: "Most disciples of the Holy Sect are actually unaware of this point, so it is normal for Junior Brother not to know..."

"Alas, affairs of the world are unpredictable." Lu Yang shook his head helplessly: "Therefore, I have come to ask Senior Brother if there is any method to improve True Qi Grade; if there is a superior cultivation method, that would be even better. Regarding the price, Senior Brother need not worry; I can afford one or two thousand contribution points."

"... h?"

Hearing Lu Yang say this, Zhao Xuhe's mind immediately became active; one or two thousand contribution points was exactly the sum he urgently needed right now.

In the flash of lightning and spark of flint, Zhao Xuhe's thoughts raced, and then he suddenly said:

"If Junior Brother Lu puts it that way... I do indeed have a cultivation method suitable for you in my possession; as long as you cultivate it, it can absolutely improve your True Qi Grade."

"Really?" Hearing this, Lu Yang's face immediately showed an expression of anticipation: "What cultivation method is it?"

Hearing this, Zhao Xuhe hesitated somewhat; for some reason, he always felt a strange sensation, but upon second thought, this cultivation method was only half complete and already useless.

Rather than keeping it, it was better to make use of waste and use it to repay his debts.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuhe gritted his teeth, directly took the Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Art he had obtained from Panlong Island from his bosom, and handed it to Lu Yang.

(End of Chapter)