Chapter 43: Master of the Blood Robe Tower

The invasion by the Shenwu Sect ended just as abruptly as it had begun.

With Ouyang Haoze dead, Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan did not even dare to linger; without a second word, they turned and fled as if chased by some monstrous flood or ferocious beast.

In stark contrast to the Shenwu Sect's panicked rout, the market town was filled with jubilation.

After all, following this battle, the Skull Mountain Market Town had become impregnable; unless a Foundation Establishment True Person intervened, the Shenwu Sect would find it difficult to shake this tortoise shell.

As for the corpse tide, that was merely a minor ailment, not worth mentioning.

In short, it was safe!

A safe market town would inevitably become a hub of wealth; one could imagine that trade here would become even more frequent in the future, offering more opportunities to make money.

Better days were still ahead!

However, while the excitement belonged to others, Lu Yang found only their noise irritating.

At this moment, he was still immersed in the lingering palpitations from earlier, unable to regain his composure for a long time.

For a long time, or rather, ever since Xiao Shiye had been lured away by that Daoist Hong Yun, Foundation Establishment True Persons had become a lingering shadow in Lu Yang's heart.

When he realized that another Foundation Establishment True Person might be plotting against him, the joy of having just slain Ouyang Haoze vanished instantly; subconsciously, he gripped the "Primordial Mixed Unity One Qi Divine Talisman" around his neck, and only after confirming it was still operating did his raised heart settle slightly.

"The Divine Talisman is still operating, which means the other party still cannot calculate my whereabouts."

Even so, the efficacy of the Primordial Mixed Unity One Qi Divine Talisman had its limits.

Strictly speaking, it did not isolate karma but rather obscured it, wrapping a layer of false karmic threads around Lu Yang to achieve protection.

After all, completely isolating karma would be far too conspicuous.

Therefore, when a Foundation Establishment True Person calculated his fate, they would not get no result; instead, they would derive a flawless yet entirely false outcome.

The advantage of this approach was greater concealment, while the disadvantage was the inability to completely block the influence of a Foundation Establishment True Person.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang already had the answer in his heart: "Does this mean the other party was not specifically targeting me, but accidentally dragged me into their schemes?"

If so, the matter of the Xuanyin Taiyin Precious Jade could also be explained.

It was not that he was blessed with great fortune; rather, someone had deliberately delivered this item into his hands, intending to use him to achieve some ulterior motive.

"What motive?"

Lu Yang's gaze shifted, falling upon Ouyang Haoze's corpse; immediately, he waved the Myriad Souls Banner, drawing the bisected body toward him.

Perhaps he could glean some clues from this person.

Moreover, as a true disciple of the Shenwu Sect, Ouyang Haoze's collection must have been substantial!

Soon, Ouyang Haoze's corpse was refined into the Myriad Souls Banner; however, since the body had been split in two, the extracted true spirit was incomplete.

Whether the Myriad Souls Banner could maintain a banner spirit's combat power, memories, and consciousness generally depended on the completeness of the corpse; the better preserved the body, the closer the banner spirit resembled its living state, as with Liu Xin. In Ouyang Haoze's case, Lu Yang had barely managed to preserve seventy percent of his former state.

Nevertheless, even so, he had learned many secrets.

"So this was the Shenwu Sect's goal all along."

"There is a Secret Realm within Skull Mountain, left behind by the ancient Witch-Ghost Path; the yin qi leaking from the earth veins beneath Skull Mountain originates from that Secret Realm."

"The Shenwu Sect wanted to monopolize the Secret Realm, which is why they planned to eradicate the Holy Sect's market town here."

"This is good news; if reported back to the Holy Sect, I will surely receive a substantial reward in contribution points, and the Holy Sect will send people to provide support."

"Although monopolizing this information would yield greater benefits, why should I monopolize it?"

"In any case, I have no intention of venturing into that so-called Witch-Ghost Secret Realm; it is better to hand it over to the Holy Sect, earn a steady sum of contribution points, and watch others fight to the death!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang felt reassured.

Now that he knew a Foundation Establishment True Person was secretly plotting behind the scenes at Skull Mountain, he became even more determined to hide within the market town and never venture out.

Immediately after, Lu Yang began to deal with Ouyang Haoze's belongings.

However, just as he picked up Ouyang Haoze's storage pouch, a round mirror trembled as it floated over, nuzzling affectionately against his hand upon approaching.

It was none other than the Taixiao Mirror.

This magic treasure behaved like an eager little dog, circling around Lu Yang while hopping about, its every movement filled with an intent to pledge loyalty.

"Are you abandoning the light to join the darkness?"

Lu Yang was somewhat surprised; to be honest, for such an extremely yang magic treasure to defect to a demonic cultivator like himself suggested that Ouyang Haoze must have hurt it deeply.

Seeing that Lu Yang's attention had finally fallen upon it, the Taixiao Mirror first shone its light on the storage pouch in Lu Yang's hand, then shook left and right; immediately, a voice sounded in Lu Yang's mind, carrying a childish tone, like an infant who had just learned to speak:

"Them, no good!"

Afterwards, the Taixiao Mirror itself emitted a brilliant light, shaking up and down, its voice changing to one filled with innate pride and arrogance:

"Me, good!"

This was clearly a self-recommendation.

Lu Yang's eyes grew even more astonished; although he had long known that magic treasures possessed their own spiritual intelligence and were incredibly mystical, this was his first time witnessing it firsthand.

"Very well, I shall use you first then."

Lu Yang reached out and beckoned; the Taixiao Mirror immediately descended voluntarily, and with its cooperation, he quickly mastered every aspect of this magic treasure inside and out.

"Excellent! Truly an excellent treasure!"

Lu Yang's face was filled with delight; the reputation of magic treasures was well deserved!

As everyone knew, the so-called Great Perfection of Qi Condensation referred to cultivators who had nurtured the qi seed within their bodies to its limit, thereby transforming it into a strand of "Perfect True Qi."

For instance, his Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Art, upon reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, would transform into a strand of "True Dragon Sha."

In other words, Perfect True Qi was the hallmark of the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, and also the strongest means by which such cultivators suppressed all Qi Condensation practitioners below that level.

However, the Taixiao Mirror, this magic treasure, naturally possessed a strand of Perfect True Qi named "Taixiao Wind Thunder Qi"!

In other words, as long as one wielded this magic treasure, even with only the cultivation base of the First Layer of Qi Condensation, one could rival a Great Perfection of Qi Condensation expert while activating the treasure!

"However, there seem to be many restrictions within this magic treasure..."

Lu Yang examined the Taixiao Mirror; treasures were made for human use, and this held true even for the righteous path; clearly, numerous restrictions limiting its actions remained within the Taixiao Mirror.

Therefore, if used in front of Shenwu Sect disciples, the other party might merely form a hand seal, and the Taixiao Mirror would fly back on its own.

This had nothing to do with the Taixiao Mirror's will; it was entirely a contingency left by the person who refined the treasure.

"With such a magic treasure, it would be too great a loss if I couldn't use it."

Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up. Although his array mastery was insufficient to break the restrictions within the mirror, there was still a compromise.

The next second, Lu Yang shook the Myriad Souls Banner, summoning Ouyang Haoze forth once more; immediately, he refined him into a strand of "Primordial One Qi" and injected it into the Taixiao Mirror... By controlling Ouyang Haoze, who in turn controlled the Taixiao Mirror, he could thus bypass the restrictions within the mirror.

Boom!

In an instant, the Taixiao Mirror in Lu Yang's hand erupted with dazzling treasure light, within which the sound of wind and thunder could faintly be heard; its power had clearly reached the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation!

"... t really works!"

Lu Yang laughed heartily, then suspended the Taixiao Mirror behind his head; for a moment, even the treasure light it emitted turned crimson, dyed with his color.

"Not bad! Not bad!"

Lu Yang laughed heartily once more, then put away the Taixiao Mirror and turned to open Ouyang Haoze's storage pouch; instantly, the surging spiritual energy made him squint his eyes.

Inside was clearly a massive accumulation of spirit stones!

Besides that, there were various precious elixirs, magic treasures, and materials; Lu Yang roughly calculated that selling them to the Holy Sect would be worth at least thirty thousand contribution points.

"Truly a windfall! What a pity; I'm afraid there won't be such opportunities in the future."

After all, with Ouyang Haoze serving as a cautionary tale, no one below Foundation Establishment should dare to challenge the array again.

'Once news of the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm spreads, Skull Mountain will see another bloody storm... There must be a Foundation Establishment True Person plotting behind the scenes.'

'However, as long as I do not go out and do not get involved in this trouble... unless he personally makes a move, what can he do to me?'

Having made up his mind, Lu Yang packed everything away, dispersed the array, rode a beam of遁 light back to the market town, and landed on the terrace of the Blood Robe Tower.

From that day onward, Skull Mountain fell into an eerie calm.

The Shenwu Sect continued to send more personnel, and reinforcements from the Chusheng Sect arrived one after another, yet on the surface, there was not the slightest disturbance; only undercurrents churned behind the scenes.

Under these circumstances, Lu Yang's deeds inexplicably spread, becoming widely known.

Ten years ago, he had joined the Holy Sect as a mortal, made a huge profit by flipping substitute death puppets, closed himself in seclusion for ten years to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, became an array master, and then slew a true disciple of the Shenwu Sect with his arrays while at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation; such an inspiring commoner's counterattack was like a strong shot of adrenaline to nearly all ordinary disciples of the Holy Sect.

Gradually, many people, out of awe, ceased even mentioning Lu Yang's name.

In its place, another honorific title emerged:

'Master of the Blood Robe Tower'!

(End of Chapter)