Chapter 43: The Master of the Blood-Robed Tower

The invasion by the Divine Martial Gate ended abruptly like this.

With Ouyang Haoze dead, Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan did not even dare to linger; without a word, they turned and fled as if something like a flood or a fierce beast were behind them.

In contrast to the Divine Martial Gate's head-in-hands rat-like flight, the marketplace was filled with joy and celebration.

After all, after this battle, the Skull Mountain marketplace had become as solid as gold; as long as a Foundation Establishment True Person did not act, the Divine Martial Gate would find it difficult to shake this turtle shell.

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

In short, it was safe!

A safe marketplace would inevitably become the center of money; one could imagine that future transactions here would be even more frequent, and opportunities to make money would be greater.

The good days are still ahead!

However, the excitement was all for others; Lu Yang only felt they were noisy.

At this moment, he was still immersed in the recent palpitation of his heart, not returning to his senses for a long time.

For a long time, or rather since Xiao Shuye was hooked away by that Daoist Hong Yun Daoist, the Foundation Establishment True Person had become a shadow that could not be shaken from Lu Yang's heart.

And when he realized that another Foundation Establishment True Person might be plotting against him, the joy of just killing Ouyang Haoze instantly vanished; subconsciously, he gripped the "Primordial Hunyuan One Qi Divine Talisman" around his neck, and only after ensuring it was still operating did the lifted heart settle down slightly.

"The talisman is still operating, which means the opponent still cannot calculate me."

Although that was the case, the effect of the Primordial Hunyuan One Qi Divine Talisman also had its limits.

Because strictly speaking, it did not isolate cause and effect, but rather obscured it, placing a layer of false cause-and-effect lines around Lu Yang to achieve protection.

After all, completely isolating cause and effect would be too conspicuous.

So when a Foundation Establishment True Person calculated him, the result would not be nothing, but rather a result with no flaws yet completely false.

The benefit of doing this was greater concealment; the drawback was the inability to completely block the influence from a Foundation Establishment True Person.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang already had an answer in his heart: "So, the opponent was not specifically targeting me, but accidentally dragged me into it?"

In this way, the matter of the Xuanpin Taiyin Precious Jade could also be explained.

It was not that he was having great luck, but that someone had specifically sent this object into his hands, just to use his hand to achieve some undisclosed purpose.

"What purpose?"

Lu Yang's gaze shifted, looking at Ouyang Haoze's corpse, then he waved the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner in his hand, drawing the corpse, which had been split in two, over.

Perhaps some clues could be obtained from this person.

Moreover, as a true disciple of the Divine Martial Gate, Ouyang Haoze's collection must have been very rich!

Soon, Ouyang Haoze's corpse was refined into the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner; however, since the corpse had been split into two halves, the extracted true spirit was not complete.

Whether the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner could maintain the combat power, memories, and consciousness of the banner spirit before its death generally depended on the completeness of the corpse; the better the corpse was preserved, the closer the banner spirit would be to its state before death, such as Liu Xin. As for Ouyang Haoze, Lu Yang only barely preserved seventy percent of his pre-death state.

However, even so, he still learned many secrets.

"So this is the purpose of the Divine Martial Gate."

"There is a secret realm within Skull Mountain, left by the ancient Wugui Dao; the underground vein's yin qi under Skull Mountain leaks out from that secret realm."

"The Divine Martial Gate wants to monopolize the secret realm, so they planned to uproot the Holy Sect's marketplace here."

"This is actually good news; if reported back to the Holy Sect, I would surely receive a considerable reward of contribution points, and the Holy Sect would also send people to support."

"Although the benefit of monopolizing this news is greater, why should I monopolize it?"

"Anyway, I don't plan to venture into that so-called Wugui secret realm; it's better to hand it over to the Holy Sect, earn a steady batch of contribution points, and watch others fight to the death!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang relaxed his heart.

Now that he knew there was a Foundation Establishment True Person secretly plotting in Skull Mountain, he became even more determined to hide in the marketplace and never go out.

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

However, as soon as he picked up Ouyang Haoze's storage bag, a round mirror trembled and floated over; after approaching, it affectionately rubbed against his hand.

It was none other than the Taixiao Mirror.

This spiritual treasure seemed like an eager little dog; while circling Lu Yang, it did not forget to jump twice, its movements full of loyalty.

"Are you trying to abandon the bright for the dark?"

Lu Yang was somewhat surprised; to be honest, such a supremely yang spiritual treasure actually submitting to a demonic path cultivator like himself; it seemed Ouyang Haoze had truly hurt it deeply.

Seeing that Lu Yang's attention finally fell on itself, the Taixiao Mirror first shone on the storage bag in Lu Yang's hand, then shook left and right; next, a voice sounded in Lu Yang's mind, carrying a bit of milkiness, as if from a child who had just been born and just learned to speak:

"They, no good!"

Afterwards, the Taixiao Mirror itself radiated intense light, shook up and down again, and its voice changed, carrying an innate pride and self-esteem:

"I, good!"

This was recommending oneself.

Lu Yang's eyes became even more astonished; although he had long known that spiritual treasures possessed their own spiritual intelligence and were incredibly divine, this was the first time he had witnessed it.

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

Lu Yang reached out and beckoned; the Taixiao Mirror immediately fell down voluntarily, and under its accommodation, he very quickly completely mastered the ins and outs of this spiritual treasure.

"Good! Truly a good treasure!"

Lu Yang's face was full of surprise; the spiritual treasure lived up to its name!

As everyone knows, the so-called Qi Refining Great Perfection refers to a cultivator who has nurtured the qi seed within their body to its limit, thereby transforming a "Perfect True Qi."

For example, his "Nine Transformations Dragon Art," upon reaching Qi Refining Great Perfection, would transform a "True Dragon Fiendish Qi."

In other words, Perfect True Qi is the mark of Qi Refining Great Perfection, and also its strongest means to suppress all Qi Refining cultivators below perfection.

However, the Taixiao Mirror, this spiritual treasure, actually possessed a Perfect True Qi from birth, named "Taixiao Wind and Thunder Qi"!

In other words, as long as one wields this spiritual treasure, even with only Qi Refining First Layer cultivation, while activating the treasure, one can rival Qi Refining Great Perfection!

"However, it seems there are still many prohibitions within this spiritual treasure."

Lu Yang examined the Taixiao Mirror; treasures are used by people, and even in the righteous path, this was no exception; the Taixiao Mirror clearly retained a large number of prohibitions restricting its actions.

Therefore, if this spiritual treasure were used in front of a Divine Martial Gate disciple, perhaps the opponent would only need to form a hand seal, and the Taixiao Mirror would fly back on its own.

This had nothing to do with the will of the Great Sky Mirror; it was entirely a backdoor left by the one who refined the treasure.

"Such a spiritual treasure would be a terrible waste if left unused."

Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly brightened. Although his array formation skills were insufficient to break the prohibitions within the mirror, there was still a compromise.

The next second, Lu Yang shook the Banner of Ten Thousand Spirits, summoning Ouyang Haoze back out. He immediately refined him into a "Primordial One Qi," then drove that qi into the Great Sky Mirror. Lu Yang would control Ouyang Haoze, and Ouyang Haoze would control the Great Sky Mirror, thereby bypassing the prohibitions within the mirror.

Boom!

In an instant, the Great Sky Mirror in Lu Yang's hand erupted with dazzling treasure light. Within the light, the sounds of wind and thunder were faintly audible; its power had clearly reached the peak of Qi Refining!

"Indeed, it works!"

Lu Yang laughed heartily, then immediately suspended the Great Sky Mirror behind his head. In that moment, even the treasure light it emitted turned crimson, dyed with his own color.

"Excellent! Excellent!"

Lu Yang laughed heartily once more, then finally stored away the Great Sky Mirror. He turned to open Ouyang Haoze's storage bag. Instantly, the gushing spiritual energy made him squint slightly.

Inside lay a massive pile of spirit stones!

Besides that, there were various precious pills, magical treasures, and materials. Lu Yang made a rough calculation; selling them to the Holy Sect would be worth at least thirty thousand contribution points.

"Truly a windfall. Pity there likely won't be another chance."

After all, with Ouyang Haoze as a warning, no one below the Foundation Establishment realm would dare to breach the array again.

'Once news of the Wraith Ghost Secret Realm spreads, the Skeleton Mountain will be a scene of bloody turmoil. Someone behind the scenes, surely a Foundation Establishment True Person, must be plotting this.'

'However, as long as I do not go out and do not get involved in this conflict, what can he do to me unless he personally comes to strike?'

Lu Yang made up his mind, then stored everything away, parted the array formations, rode a beam of escape light back to the market district, and landed on the pavilion of the Blood-Robed Tower.

From that day on, the Skeleton Mountain fell into an eerie calm.

The Divine Martial Gate continued to send more personnel, and reinforcements from the Initial Holy Sect arrived one after another, yet there was not a single ripple on the surface; only undercurrents surged behind the scenes.

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

Ten years ago, he joined the Holy Sect as a mortal, made a huge profit by trading substitute death yin puppets, secluded himself for ten years to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, and after becoming an array master, he slew a direct disciple of the Divine Martial Gate with an array. Such an inspiring counterattack by a commoner at the peak of Qi Refining was like a shot of adrenaline for almost all ordinary disciples of the Holy Sect.

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

In its place came another honorific title:

'Lord of the Blood-Robed Tower'!

(End of this chapter)