Chapter 262

As his vision gradually cleared, Lu Yang looked up at the sky and saw a breathtaking spectacle: stars hung high, sun and moon coexisting in one heavens.

"Interesting."

Lu Yang briefly sensed the surroundings and immediately felt the hostility of this world's heavens—the ambient Qi felt like countless silver needles, sharp and piercing.

If one rashly absorbed the Qi of this realm, the result would be lacerations all over one's body, and the Qi itself might even contain deadly toxins, corrupting one's Dao foundation; thus, only a Foundation Establishment True Person could endure it—had a Qi Condensation peak cultivator entered, it would have been even harder.

After all, Qi Condensation peak cultivators lack the requisite status and are easily assimilated by the world's heavens.

Only a Foundation Establishment True Person, once certified, remains certified forever; even in another world, they can anchor themselves with their Dao foundation, preserving their integrity against erosion and influence from the world's power.

Then Lu Yang sensed the state of his original body.

"Good, no problem—I can withdraw my consciousness back anytime, and if my original body goes to the 【Heaven-Piercing Hall】, I can even teleport to my avatar's side!"

The next moment, he looked again at the sky above, feeling as if the stars were countless eyes, their starlight making him uneasy.

This feeling was all too familiar to Lu Yang.

"Again—the heavens' killing intent!"

As an outsider, facing a world's killing intent, ordinary methods cannot evade it; this is precisely the danger inherent in gathering Qi from beyond the heavens.

At that moment, the True Person Miao Yin spoke:

"Duanmu Yuan Tu, you and I moving together draw too much attention—we're easy to track. Why not split up for now, reunite only after we've masked our spiritual signatures?"

This was merely an excuse; in truth, True Person Miao Yin merely wanted an excuse to separate from Lu Yang, avoiding detection, then summoning Seeing Suo Huan as previously agreed to kill Lu Yang and secure herself a chance to use a blessed land for Tribulation Crossing.

Unbeknownst to her, Lu Yang was equally eager for this separation.

They instantly agreed—True Person Miao Yin immediately took flight on a beam of light, while Lu Yang remained, calculating information regarding the Ten Thousand Beasts Realm.

"Fated Star Warriors, Sun-Moon Son of Heaven."

Soon, Lu Yang had his answer: "In this world, cultivators channel all their cultivation into their Fated Stars, which clearly manifest as positional embodiments."

"What a splendid Dao fruit for governance!" Lu Yang remarked.

"This Dao fruit resembles 【City Wall Soil】—likely one the Dao Court favors most, and this system even bears similarities to the Dao Court's own."

In other words, this world's Dao fruit held great value for him.

"But in my current state, I can't cultivate at all—I can only raid once and flee. The gains are real, but meager."

Lu Yang frowned, pondering how to maximize his gains—when suddenly, he felt a spiritual current arise within his body, and the surrounding Qi, which had previously regarded him as an enemy, eager to carve him into pieces, abruptly halted—then changed its attitude entirely:

". Earth Vein Qi?"

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow, realizing the reason for the world's sudden shift; after a brief calculation, a strange smile appeared on his face:

"You want this Earth Vein Qi I hold?"

"Of course—Earth Vein Qi is foreign to this world; if it could be devoured, it would bring considerable benefit."

"But what do I gain?"

"Though I'm not subject to heavenly punishment now, once I return, if the heavens discover I took Earth Vein Qi out and didn't bring it back—won't they kill me?"

In other words—

". Need more payment!"

The world's Qi stirred violently, then fell into a deathly silence. After a long while, Lu Yang suddenly felt a beam of starlight land upon him.

"Hm?"

He looked up and immediately sensed it—the heavens' killing intent had vanished entirely; a single star in the dome now glowed brightly.

"Is this… trying to bribe me?"

Lu Yang frowned—this world's heavenly positional wisdom was far too high, utterly unlike the Dao fruits in his own world.

Yet its offer was genuinely favorable.

In this world, every being possesses a Fated Star—a celestial ID card; those without one are clearly outsiders.

Conversely, if he obtained a Fated Star, it would be like acquiring a 【Wan Wu Jie】 green card—making interaction with locals far easier, future actions smoother; otherwise, he'd be forced to hide, enduring the heavens' killing intent to seize the world's essence.

There was only one problem.

"How do I know you won't renege?"

Lu Yang judged by his own nature—if he were in their place, he'd first trick them into handing over the Earth Vein Qi, then immediately turn on them the moment he got it.

"Fine—I'll give you a little now, then gradually give you more."

The moment Lu Yang finished speaking, the world's Qi responded instantly, eager and impatient.

Seeing this, Lu Yang immediately split off one percent of the Earth Vein Qi and infused it into the world; simultaneously, a sensation arose within him.

"Whoosh!"

Above, a Fated Star instantly ignited, and a divine insight descended along the starlight into Lu Yang's heart, forming two characters:

【Villager】.

"The divine insight says when hungry, you can eat anything—bran, dirt, tree bark… this is no 'Villager'—it's a disaster victim waiting to happen!"

Lu Yang calculated with his fingers; the cosmic karma immediately returned the heavens' response: more Earth Vein Qi was needed to unlock stronger Fated Stars.

In short: need to pay more.

Lu Yang sneered, then decisively sealed away the remaining Earth Vein Qi and began activating the 【Qian Tian Yi Yuan Supreme Divine Art of Governing All Heavens】.

Clearly, these Fated Stars were a form of heavenly essence; the starlight now falling upon him was entirely absorbed, and soon, a shadowy image slowly formed behind him—a towering, three-headed, six-armed phantom with blue face and fangs, its every motion wreathed in swirling mystic flames.

"Good, good, good."

Lu Yang's face lit up with joy: "Initial Qi gathering succeeded—I now have the true foundation to fully cultivate this 【Wan Xiang Fa Shen】!"

The Fa Shen is the root of Dao protection.

Divine abilities, Dao arts, spiritual treasures—all are external; when facing the heavenly thunder tribulation after breaking through late Foundation Establishment, they shatter at the first touch, unable to resist.

Only the Fa Shen is different.

"Cultivating the Fa Shen to protect the Dao grants at least a thirty percent higher chance of surviving the heavenly thunder tribulation—but this mere 【Villager】 Fated Star is nowhere near enough."

Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but form a thought: if even a single thread of earth vein qi could make the positions of the Wan Wu Jie drool with desire, what if it were an entire earth vein? Could it provide enough external qi to allow him to instantly gather the materials needed to cultivate the Qian Tian Zong She Wan Xiang Fa Shen?

"No matter what, I must cultivate this Fa Shen!"

What solidified Lu Yang's resolve was not merely the power of the Fa Shen, but more importantly—

"This Fa Shen is called 'Wan Xiang' because it possesses the ability to encompass all phenomena; once cultivated, it can continuously ascend by refining external objects."

"In other words, once cultivated, I can fuse all these spiritual treasures—the A Ni Jian, the Wan Ling Fan, the Di Fu Jin Zhuan Dou Lu Zhen Chi—into the Fa Shen itself!"

Before this, Lu Yang had always been troubled by how much he had acquired in this life, unsure what to choose after rebirth.

But if his Immortal Embryo avatar cultivated the Qian Tian Zong She Wan Xiang Fa Shen, and then used the Fa Shen to bundle all his gains from this life, he could, upon rebirth, select the Immortal Embryo avatar and carry everything back in one go!

The A Ni Jian? The Wan Ling Fan? The Di Fu Jin Zhuan Dou Lu Zhen Chi?

I want them all!

(End of Chapter)