Chapter 47: The Hidden Dragon Does Not Leave the Abyss

Perhaps he was a bird startled by the bow, or perhaps he was worrying unnecessarily, but regardless, Lu Yang now remained wary of all powers with a Foundation Establishment background.

Especially those powers capable of paying attention to him.

'Unlike before, in this life I have the protection of a divine talisman; Senior Butian Peak cannot calculate my fate. As a righteous sect, Shenwu Sect should not harm its own people. If that is the case, the Foundation Establishment True Person who remains hidden in the shadows and plots against Skeleton Mountain might truly be the one behind the Sanhe Society!'

The more Lu Yang thought about it, the more suspicious the Sanhe Society seemed, yet his expression remained unchanged:

"Is that so? Could it be that Second Senior Brother wishes to see me?"

"Indeed." Fairy Feixia nodded. "Second Senior Brother has come to Skeleton Mountain and lacks a few capable assistants, so he hopes Senior Brother can lend a hand."

Assistants? Cannon fodder would be more like it!

Lu Yang decisively shook his head: "Although I understand arrays to some extent, to put it another way, my strength diminishes greatly without them; how can I deserve Second Senior Brother's high regard?"

"Please ask Second Senior Brother to seek someone more capable."

Lu Yang spoke these words with great confidence.

Although he had joined the Sanhe Society and signed a legal contract, he was not a slave to the Sanhe Society; he still possessed this degree of autonomy, and who could force him?

Fairy Feixia evidently thought the same, so she was merely delivering a message.

Now that the message was delivered, her expression gradually became ambiguous; a pair of red clouds rose on her fair, pretty face, and every glance she cast revealed a thousand charms and a hundred graces.

"Junior Brother, I recently have some aspects of arrays that I do not understand; I beg Junior Brother to offer much guidance."

"That would be excellent."

Lu Yang immediately perked up.

For the next three months, Lu Yang's pace of life slowed down.

Every day was spent either discussing the Dao with Fairy Feixia or researching the Hundred Bones Return to Truth Great Array outside; sometimes, when the mood struck, he simply did both things at once.

However, compared to his peaceful days, Skeleton Mountain outside the market town had become a chaotic mess.

Not only Shenwu Sect and Chusheng Sect, but also their subordinate sects, and even some scattered cultivators with astonishing divine abilities, were attracted here.

When the three parties met, naturally, they fought extensively.

During this time, several ruins of the ancient Witch-Ghost Path were unearthed, further confirming the existence of the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm.

It was at this moment that Fairy Feixia brought him news, saying that Zhao Xuhe, under the pretext of Lu Yang's name, had seized many opportunities outside the market town.

"I didn't expect my name to be so useful."

After hearing this, Lu Yang was also somewhat surprised; several times when Zhao Xuhe contested opportunities with others and found himself trapped in danger, he had only turned crisis into safety by invoking Lu Yang's name.

Clearly, Ouyang Haoze's death had indeed made many people wary of him.

Of course, this was also because Zhao Xuhe was very smart, knowing when to advance and when to retreat; until now, he had not provoked any truly powerful figures, which allowed him to borrow the tiger's might to intimidate others.

"Junior Brother, will you truly ignore this matter?"

Fairy Feixia's face was flushed with anger, her words filled with coldness: "This person borrows your name and brings karma upon you; in my opinion, it would be better to kill him first!"

"No need to concern yourself with him."

Lu Yang shook his head; Zhao Xuhe was currently not returning to the market town at all, devoting himself entirely to searching Skeleton Mountain for remnants of the ancient Witch-Ghost Path and that Witch-Ghost Secret Realm.

If he wanted to kill him, he would have to leave the market town.

But how could that be possible?

"Let him be; back then he mortgaged a sum of contribution points with me, and I also promised he could borrow my name; there is nothing more to say."

After seeing Fairy Feixia off, the expression on Lu Yang's face gradually converged.

"Heh!"

"Interesting; over these past few months, everything I have heard and seen seems to be urging me, trying to make me leave the market town?"

Unconsciously, a word arose in Lu Yang's heart: calamity!

He was merely a small Qi Refining cultivator; to be targeted by a Foundation Establishment True Person, having his karma deduced and being plotted against in every way—if this was not a calamity, what could be called a calamity?

"Karma, that damned thing!"

"Regardless, with calamity looming, one must absolutely not act in blind anger; only by tightly closing the cave door and quietly reciting a few scrolls of the Huangting is there hope to evade this disaster."

First, there was the Sanhe Society, applying external pressure.

Now, there was Zhao Xuhe, creating internal entanglements.

"No matter how you try to lure me, I will not bite the hook; the hidden dragon does not leave the abyss—what can you do about my pride?"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately felt his state of mind clear; his previously restless thoughts returned to tranquility, his whole body felt relaxed, as if he had shaken off another layer of karma.

Time flowed, and another month passed.

Skeleton Mountain Market Town, over a thousand li to the east.

A beam of escape light was seen fleeing desperately, seemingly employing some method of burning vital blood, while seven or eight beams of escape light followed closely behind.

"Zhao Xuhe! Where do you think you are running!"

The pursuers were all clad in armor and wielding weapons, their blood qi soaring to the sky; they were clearly disciples of Shenwu Sect, their cultivation bases generally at the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, with none reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation.

If not for this, with Zhao Xuhe's cultivation, it would have been difficult for him to escape.

However, even so, fleeing all the way here had nearly reached his limit; the only reason he had not yet fallen unconscious was due to his lingering hope.

"I can still be saved!"

"I have already sent a flying letter to Lu Yang; as long as... as long as I can escape to that place, to the vicinity of the market town, Lu Yang will definitely save me!"

Zhao Xuhe fled desperately, trying desperately to convince himself.

"There is still my restriction on the Stealing Heaven Secrets technique; as long as he still wants to break through to Foundation Establishment, rather than waiting until he is eighty years old and decrepit, he must come to save me!"

"He will come to save me!"

"He definitely will!"

Just then, to Zhao Xuhe's immense excitement, a brilliant beam of escape light finally rose from the direction of the market town, as if discovering he was trapped in a deadly situation.

"He's coming! I knew he wouldn't abandon me!"

Seeing this scene, Zhao Xuhe's spirits immediately soared, while the pursuers behind him quickly slowed their pace upon witnessing it, as if also waiting for something.

However, as time passed, everyone realized something was wrong.

That brilliant beam of escape light was still on its way, yet it simply could not arrive.

Finally, Zhao Xuhe could run no further, and the pursuers from Shenwu Sect somewhat reluctantly surrounded him; both sides thus engaged in a fierce battle.

This fight lasted for half a day.

By the end, the pursuers from Shenwu Sect did not even dare to use full force, fearing a single strike would kill Zhao Xuhe, and they occasionally glanced in the direction of the escape light.

Looking closely... wasn't that escape light getting farther and farther away?

Until finally, Zhao Xuhe completely broke down.

"No! Why!?"

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of heart blood, then knelt on the ground, having completely exhausted his last bit of strength, with his life force beginning to dissipate rapidly.

Before dying, only one thought remained in his heart.

Could it be that Lu Yang no longer wanted the Stealing Heaven Secrets technique?

"Why won't you save me!?"

Little did he know, this was also the thought of the mastermind behind who had orchestrated this pursuit.

In the shadows, Shenwu Sect Elder Ouyang Feng was equally baffled; looking toward the distant Skeleton Mountain Market Town, a trace of reluctance and helplessness appeared in his eyes.

"Why won't he save him?"

"Only a fool would save him!"

Retracting his escape light, Lu Yang looked at what was who-knows-which urgent flying letter sent by Zhao Xuhe and casually tossed it aside: "Do you really think you can threaten me with a secret technique?"

"Is it not just eighty years? I can wait!"

"Once your restriction naturally dissipates, the technique will still be mine! If it doesn't work in this life, I'll just make use of it in the next life..."

Thinking of this, Lu Yang could not help but sigh at Zhao Xuhe's misfortune; if he had truly managed to flee all the way into the market town, Lu Yang would not have minded lending a hand.

But outside the market town? One could only say they lacked fate.

"Senior Brother Zhao, please rest in peace; you sacrificed your life for the Holy Sect; in the future, I will definitely petition Peak Master Senior Butian to specially grant you a grand burial."

"As for your debt, let it go for this life; I will come to collect from you in the next life!"

(End of Chapter)