Chapter 56: If One Does Not Achieve Foundation Establishment, One Is Ultimately a Pawn

For Lu Yang, this was an unprecedented experience.

He was "ascending."

In some profound and mysterious realm, his position was constantly climbing toward the "heights," and all mundane things grew increasingly insignificant to him.

'Is this the vision of a Foundation Establishment True Person?'

'Is this ascension!?'

Lu Yang gained a realization; no wonder most Foundation Establishment True Persons are like dragons that show their heads but not their tails, transcending the mundane. Perhaps this "height" is one of the reasons.

At the same time, he thought of the "Taiyi Golden Flower" that Yun Miaozhen had unleashed last when they dueled; that great divine ability had given him a feeling similar to this moment, yet not as "high" as now. Now that he thought about it, great divine abilities might just be a simulation of Foundation Establishment.

No wonder everyone says that mastering a great divine ability can increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment.

This is like the difference between "climbing a mountain from the foot" and "climbing a mountain from the waist"; the starting lines differ, so naturally the difficulty of reaching the summit differs too.

The next second, Lu Yang's spirit suddenly trembled violently.

Immediately after, he seemed to fall into a place where one could not see a finger even with an outstretched hand, a realm that seemed to encompass everything yet was void and empty, where spiritual sense could hardly expand.

However, very soon, the situation began to change.

"Beasts! You bunch of beasts!"

Accompanied by a furious roar, the mysterious realm suddenly exploded with a burst of colorful light, while around the colorful light, streams of black qi reaching the sky sealed off the four directions.

Whether the colorful light or the black qi, both gave Lu Yang a feeling as heavy as mountains; however, judging by the situation, the colorful light was clearly firmly pinned in place by the black qi, and as time passed, large patches of the colorful light were being eroded by the black qi, and the originally vigorous roar grew increasingly feeble.

'Is this... a Foundation Establishment battle?'

Lu Yang's heart was filled with shock and doubt, and he understood that he had merely hitched a ride on Yinshan True Person's wind, unable to truly witness this great battle between True Persons.

Nevertheless, relying on the experience of his previous lives, he still made a judgment.

'That patch of colorful light is probably the True Person of the Divine Martial Gate... I know! This is another scheme! Only this time, the bait is the entire Skeleton Mountain!'

Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly felt everything become clear.

Because everything before his eyes had solved a doubt he had never been able to unravel.

Clearly, Yinshan True Person fishing at Skeleton Mountain was for the Wugui Secret Realm, and judging by his words, this very likely concerned his cultivation.

Yet from beginning to end, Skeleton Mountain had only one Foundation Establishment: Yinshan True Person.

Where were the Foundation Establishments of the Divine Martial Gate?

At first, Lu Yang thought it was because Gao Chao's methods were superior, allowing him to deceive the True Persons of the Divine Martial Gate while setting the trap, but now it seemed that was not the case.

In fact, it was exactly the opposite.

'This True Person probably never hid anything at all, but openly manipulated cause and effect, with the sole purpose of luring out the Foundation Establishment of the Divine Martial Gate!'

Yinshan True Person was at Skeleton Mountain, using himself as bait to fish.

And the Holy Sect was using Yinshan True Person as bait across the entire Northern Frontier! Now, the fish had taken the hook; the Foundation Establishments of the Divine Martial Gate were already all trapped in the pot!

Boom!

In an instant, the entire heaven and earth trembled; a Foundation Establishment True Person of the Divine Martial Gate shouted loudly, "Mo Sect, do you truly intend to destroy our Divine Martial Gate's lineage this time?"

"What else?"

A True Person within the Holy Sect sneered, "Let me guess, do you still pin your hopes on that group of madmen from the Yuchu Yushu Jiange? Let me tell you, they will not come!"

"Ten years ago, during the battle at the Ten Thousand People Pit in Jiangnan, our Sect's Supreme and the Zhang Sect of the Yushu Jiange reached an agreement: the Northern Frontier belongs to our Sect, and the Southern Frontier goes to the Yushu Jiange. So today, our Holy Sect destroys your Divine Martial Gate, and in the future, the Yushu Jiange will destroy the Ten Thousand Poison Sect of the Miao Frontier. Everyone trades one for one; no one loses out."

"What... Impossible! Chongguang, you lied to me!"

Facing the angry rebuke of the Divine Martial Gate's Foundation Establishment, Master Chongguang chuckled coldly, "Just consider it a lie then; anyway, after today, there will be no more Divine Martial Gate!"

"You kill!"

In an instant, the colorful light surged violently, finally transforming into five magnificent auras, but instead of combining their attacks, they scattered and fled rapidly in all directions.

"All scatter, escape! Try to flee back to the sect!"

"Escape? Wishful thinking!"

It was still Master Chongguang; this Foundation Establishment from the Holy Sect appeared particularly domineering at this moment, laughing loudly, "From heaven to earth, there is nowhere you can escape to!"

Crack!

Hearing a single deafening roar, Lu Yang completely lost all sensation, fell into unconsciousness, and did not know how much time passed before he slowly regained his senses, feeling as if he had just woken from a dream.

"Awakened?"

A voice came from beside his ear; Lu Yang's pupils suddenly contracted, and he became fully alert. Looking around, he realized he had returned to the forests of Skeleton Mountain.

And beside him, Yinshan True Person stood with hands clasped behind his back, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Greetings, Senior Brother!"

Without a second word, Lu Yang immediately performed a great bow of worship.

"Rise."

Yinshan True Person raised a hand and smiled lightly, "You assisted me in seizing the Wugui Secret Realm this time; your merit is great, so I will give you a few words of advice on some matters."

"Please instruct me, Senior Brother," Lu Yang said respectfully.

"First, I previously forcibly raised your fortune and also helped you seize others' fortune. Although this allowed you to make rapid progress in a short time, the aftermath is extremely severe."

After finishing, Yinshan True Person deliberately paused. Seeing that Lu Yang's expression did not change, appearing indifferent to glory or disgrace, he nodded slightly and continued, "Therefore, according to my calculations, your luck will be very poor for the next thirty years. It is best not to cultivate and not to go out; otherwise, there is a danger of death."

"I humbly accept your teaching."

Lu Yang dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction; after all, although he had lost thirty years of luck, Yinshan True Person had gained a Wugui Secret Realm.

If one does not achieve Foundation Establishment, one is ultimately a pawn. Does a pawn dare to be dissatisfied?

If a Foundation Establishment True Person is willing to use you, that is your blessing!

In fact, Yinshan True Person was even willing to remind him of this, already doing so out of the face of his having joined the Sanhe Association; in some way, he was considered a subordinate.

Seeing that Lu Yang was so "sensible," Yinshan True Person was quite satisfied and smiled, "Regardless, you assisted me in accomplishing the matter, so you have established a great merit."

"I preside over the Sanhe Association, and I have always rewarded merit without fail."

"I see you have already broken through to the tenth layer of Qi Condensation; the next step is nothing but Foundation Establishment. Very well, I shall bestow upon you a Foundation Establishment treasure. What do you think?"

At these words, Lu Yang's eyes instantly widened.

A Foundation Establishment treasure!?

'Indeed. In the life before the last, Zhao Xuhe very likely obtained his first Foundation Establishment treasure this way; it is just that now he has been replaced by me.'

No wonder, even though he had been stationed at the market for so long and sent people to gather news every day, he still could not see a shadow of a Foundation Establishment treasure; now that he thinks about it, that was probably just a rumor deliberately spread by Zhao Xuhe from the life before the last to deceive those with ulterior motives in the outside world and confuse their vision.

Lu Yang's thoughts raced in his heart, filled with both excitement and longing.

However, in the end, his expression gradually calmed down; after closing his eyes and meditating for a moment, he even shook his head and said, "Replying to Senior Brother, may I exchange this for a different reward?"

"... Oh?"

This time, True Person Yinshan was truly somewhat surprised: "Are you sure? The 'Ascension Token' in my hand can at least increase the probability of Foundation Establishment by ten percent."

"I am sure."

Lu Yang nodded; a Foundation Establishment treasure was indeed precious, but he knew very well that with his fate damaged for the next thirty years, he could not protect this treasure!

For him at present, a Foundation Establishment treasure was not an opportunity but rather a root of disaster, very likely to lead to his untimely death in the end; this point could be seen from the ending of Zhao Xuhe in the life before the last, so Lu Yang still relied on great willpower to forcibly suppress the greed in his heart.

'For me, there is no need to rush for the moment.'

'I have just reached the perfection of Qi Condensation; there is still much room for growth, such as Great Divine Arts. Taking a Foundation Establishment treasure after a few more lives would be the same.'

Lu Yang's affirmation left True Person Yinshan silent.

To be honest, at the beginning he actually did not intend to pay attention to Lu Yang; it was mainly because he saw him break through two realms in a row, understand the times and circumstances, and be a member of the Sanhe Association that he developed a bit of the intention to cultivate him.

After a moment, he spoke again: "What reward do you wish to exchange for?"

Lu Yang said without hesitation: "I want a treasure that enhances comprehension."

After all, among the Great Divine Arts in his hand, the 'Great Yin Transformation Corpse Liberation True Method' was still missing one 'Taiwei Decree and Pardon Treasure Register' to be completed, and it happened to place extreme importance on comprehension.

If one cannot, then one cannot.

So if there were no treasure to enhance comprehension, Lu Yang estimated that wanting to complete this Great Divine Art would probably be impossible even after several more lifetimes.

(End of this chapter)