Chapter 363: Moon Worship Pool

Long Yue ultimately yielded.

After all, her earlier toughness before Lu Yang stemmed ultimately from her status as a True Person, which gave her absolute dominance over him.

But now it was different.

Though only for an instant, Lu Yang had indeed revealed the aura of a True Person—he was now on the same realm as her, and when two were on the same realm, matters changed entirely.

Sword cultivators were nearly invincible at the same realm!

At least against a minor sect like the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, he was certainly invincible; even if Long Yue believed her own cultivation was higher, she had only a fraction of confidence in escaping alive.

"Please, my fellow cultivator."

Long Yue stepped aside willingly and disbanded the sect's protective mountain array, allowing Lu Yang to summon a blade of light and surge straight into its depths.

Upon entering the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, Lu Yang immediately unleashed his spiritual sense, recklessly scanning every inch of the sect's mountain grounds; the sight left the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's elders with faces dark as storm clouds, as if their beloved goddess had been defiled, burning to rush forward and fight Lu Yang to the death.

"What is it my fellow cultivator seeks?"

Long Yue flew over, her expression calm. One thing Lu Yang had not been wrong about was that the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect had indeed sent people to abduct civilians from the Jiangnan region.

But that was not done on their own initiative.

It was at the invitation of someone within the Yushu Jiange, who used those civilians as test material for cultivating poison insects, exchanging them for rare spiritual materials and herbs unique to the Southern Wastes.

This trade had been going on for over a hundred years!

Otherwise, with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's strength, they would have preferred to huddle deep in the Southern Wastes, as far from the Yushu Jiange as possible—why would they deliberately provoke the Yushu Jiange in Jiangnan?

Yet despite this, Long Yue dared not voice this well-known transaction; after all, the reputation of the Pacifying Demon True Person was known even to her within the sect—he was unlike any other Yushu Jiange True Person, so she could only swallow her humiliation silently and let Lu Yang investigate at will.

Thus, much time passed.

As Lu Yang grew increasingly brazen, searching not just surface structures but also underground chambers, Long Yue finally could not hold back and spoke in a low voice:

"My fellow cultivator, have you finished your search?"

"Not even close!"

Lu Yang's expression was cold; he lowered his blade of light and walked straight into the sect leader's residence—a grand hall: "My fellow cultivator Long Yue, I request a private audience."

At these words, Long Yue's expression changed instantly.

'Could it be… exposed?'

As a cultivator outside the Four Great Powers, her attainment of late Foundation Establishment had come through several unique methods, the greatest of which was her body constitution.

It was called the 【Kan Li Dao Miao Jade Body】.

This constitution combined the subtleties of water and fire—cold on the outside, hot within—perfect for nurturing poison insects; after ascending to True Person, she had pushed it to its utmost limit.

Yet conversely, this constitution was also ideal for dual cultivation, especially for nourishing cultivators who had established a Metal Dao foundation—particularly Yushu Jiange sword cultivators. The saying "water and fire temper the blade's edge" arose from this: the sword cultivator's sword foundation, nourished by her constitution, could gain an extra three-tenths of sharpness.

This had always been her secret.

After all, such a superior constitution, if exposed, would inevitably lead the Yushu Jiange to seize her and force her to serve as their furnace for sword refining.

Thinking of this, Long Yue's beautiful face grew even colder.

'In the end… I cannot escape.'

Yet she dared not refuse—not only because of Lu Yang's strength, but because the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's grand plan had reached a critical moment.

'He who cannot endure small humiliations will disrupt great plans.'

'As long as I complete the 【Wan Jie Insect】, I will attain Foundation Establishment's peak—and then, I will repay every humiliation I suffer today a hundredfold!'

'For now, I endure it—as if bitten by a dog.'

With this thought, Long Yue's face hardened with resolve, and she walked into the hall, watched by the enraged eyes of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's followers.

"Boom—!"

The hall doors slammed shut heavily.

"Come here."

Lu Yang sat firmly in the main seat and looked at Long Yue, who followed closely: "I prefer initiative—my fellow cultivator had best speak first."

At these words, Long Yue's face darkened further.

She had to speak first? How outrageous!

But soon Long Yue regained her composure; she was a True Person, not a fool—she had merely been distracted, which caused her momentary disarray.

'Wait… is his target not me?'

'Could he have learned of the 【Wan Jie Insect】 from the Long Centipede and the Cicada? Impossible—soul-searching a Foundation Establishment True Person is no easy feat…'

Thinking of this, Long Yue felt a pang of helplessness; the 【Wan Jie Insect】 was the core of her Dao path and the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's most treasured artifact—she would never allow anyone to take it. Indeed, if forced to choose, she would rather let Lu Yang take her body than the 【Wan Jie Insect】!

Long Yue remained silent for a moment.

But Lu Yang, who had been watching her expression closely, narrowed his eyes; though his face showed no change, doubt stirred within him:

'This reaction… is off.'

'Though my goal this trip is 【Xin Jin】, on the surface, as a sword cultivator I have no use for it—she should not be this cautious.'

'Why is she hesitating?'

'In truth, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect has nothing worth my seeking—she ought to be open and cooperative.'

With this, a conclusion naturally arose:

'Unless… there is something else in this sect besides 【Xin Jin】—something so valuable that even at my current realm, I would surely covet it?'

Unexpected gain!

Lu Yang had already devised eight hundred schemes, while Long Yue had only just gathered her thoughts; she spoke softly: "I, Long Yue, do not know what my fellow cultivator wishes me to say."

Lu Yang paused, then raised his brows and gave a light laugh:

"Naturally—the Moon Worship Pool."

"That is merely our sect's secret realm, used to condense Celestial Qi and Earth Sha—of little use to a sword cultivator of your realm, is it not?"

Long Yue's tone was calm, betraying no emotion.

Lu Yang nodded at the sight, deliberately letting a hint of mockery show on his face: "I have long admired your sect's Moon-Worshipping Pool, for I enjoy gazing at the moon."

"Why not lead me there for a tour, Daoist friend?"

"I promise, I will only look from the outside and not enter."

"This—"

What sort of person was Lu Yang? As soon as Long Yue wavered for an instant, showing a trace of hesitation, he precisely captured it and drew his conclusion:

'Whether it is 【Xin Metal】 or some hidden treasure, it is all inside that Moon-Worshipping Pool!'

Thinking this, his mind shifted once more.

'【Fate-Divining Lot】!'

【Event: Explore the hidden opportunity and secret of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect.】

【Great Misfortune: Your dominance and tyranny finally enraged True Person Long Yue. She would rather destroy the divine artifact herself than hand it over to you. She would then exhaust the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's strength to fight you to a mutual ruin. Although you would ultimately win, you would be left with grievous injuries for no gain.】

【Minor Misfortune: You pay the price of grievous injuries to obtain the "Xin Metal," yet still miss the supreme treasure.】

【Minor Fortune: You use both soft and hard tactics, first managing to stabilize True Person Long Yue, only to turn hostile after securing the "Xin Metal." Whether you can obtain the divine artifact remains uncertain.】

"."

With this lot drawn, the fortune Lu Yang had extracted from the entire Divine Martial Gate was nearly exhausted, yet the result left him quite surprised.

'This Ten Thousand Poisons Sect truly has a trick up its sleeve!'

After all, given the combat power of this avatar of his, for Long Yue to fight him to a mutual ruin showed that even a small sect or minor school must never be underestimated.

'After all, the Witch-Ghost Path could still produce Ancestral Master Ting You.'

With this thought, Lu Yang drew the 【Minor Fortune】 lot, intending to see how things unfolded. If the matter truly proved impossible, he would not recklessly force it.

However, in the very next second—

"Boom—!"

A violent tremor erupted from beneath the mountain gate of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, impossible to conceal, causing the normally composed Long Yue to lose color in her fair face.

Lu Yang looked out and saw her expression seemed both startled and delighted.

The startle naturally came from Lu Yang having seen through the clue.

As for the delight, it was because

'【Ten Calamities Gu】... has actually been refined and emerged into the world at this very moment!?'

(End of this chapter)