Chapter 58: The Sacred Sect Is Full of Talent

Wang Song meant little to Lu Yang; at most, he sighed that an old friend from previous lives, Wang Bairong of the Library Tower, had descendants.

Perhaps in the next life he could offer some care—right now, he had more important matters to attend to.

Summoning a streak of light, Lu Yang left his cave dwelling and retrieved the Mingdao Jade Slip to study "The Saintly Thief."

An ancient saying goes: "As long as sages do not die, great thieves will never cease."

This does not mean sages are thieves, but that sages establish laws for the world—though these laws regulate conduct, they also provide convenience for great thieves.

Yet this is the orthodox view; the interpretation in "The Saintly Thief" is entirely different:

"The Saintly Thief" says: Sages use their own rules to benefit themselves; those who refuse are labeled bandits—thus, the so-called sage is a great thief who steals the world.

Therefore, to cultivate this body-refining art, one must establish a cultivation method for all under heaven; when all people follow this method, the cultivator may steal the collective fate of the world to nourish his own body—this is the true meaning of "The sage is the great thief; the great thief is the Dao."

Forge the Saint's Golden Body from the smoke and fire of mortal society.

Once the Golden Body is forged, the body's resilience becomes as unyielding as "The Sage's Law, unchanging for ten thousand ages," placing it among the top ten body-refining arts in the Sacred Sect.

Seeing this, Lu Yang was utterly awestruck.

"Turning all people under heaven into cultivation fodder—this is still the Sacred Sect. Every time I feel a flicker of fondness for it, it always shocks me anew."

Honestly, since meeting Ming Chan, Yun Miaozhen, and others, Lu Yang's view of orthodox sects had plummeted drastically.

True, orthodox sects like the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion treat their own people very well, meeting all orthodox standards—but this applies only to "their own people."

Who counts as "their own people"?

The orthodox speak of cause and effect, past and present lives; if in a past life you accumulated good karma and merit, you are one of their own, worthy of their favor.

Conversely, if in a past life you committed evil and incurred karmic debt, even if in this life you are spotless, you cannot enter the orthodox fold—and they will kill you outright under the pretense of "doing you good," "cleansing your karma," or "you'll have opportunity in your next life." Yun Miaozhen, that madwoman, is a prime example.

Comparing the two, Lu Yang saw the dividing line between orthodox and demonic.

To the Sacred Sect, disciples are all talent; thus, they accept students without discrimination, regardless of past lives or accumulated merit.

The orthodox preach "acting on heaven's behalf."

Reincarnation, karma, fate—the orthodox place extreme importance on merit, karma, and past lives, often recruiting disciples based on these criteria.

Both have merits and flaws; the difference lies merely in which is more human.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang felt utterly exasperated: "No normal sects at all—what's wrong with this world? It must be the system's fault!"

As he pondered, Lu Yang arrived deep within the Cloud Sea.

Soon, a towering, majestic black mountain range came into view—Yinshan, the headquarters of the Sanhe Alliance.

At that moment, a loud laugh suddenly rang out:

"Young Brother Lu, you've finally emerged from seclusion!"

The next instant, a figure identical to the one thirty years ago appeared outside Yinshan; Lu Yang smiled faintly and bowed respectfully:

"Greetings, Senior Brother Luo."

"No need for formalities between us."

Luo Wuyi laughed and clapped Lu Yang on the shoulder; he had always held Lu Yang in high regard, otherwise he wouldn't have specially sent him "The Saintly Thief."

And Lu Yang's purpose, he had already guessed at least partially.

"Young Brother, you came for 'The Saintly Thief,' didn't you?"

Lu Yang nodded: "This art is indeed mysterious and profound, but its scope is vast and its cultivation time extremely long—it won't be accomplished overnight."

"Hahaha!" Luo Wuyi laughed loudly: "Young Brother, you don't seriously plan to leave the Sacred Sect and start from scratch in the mortal world to cultivate this art, do you? The Sacred Sect is vast and rich, brimming with talent—why go through such trouble? The Sacred Sect has long had a perfected method for cultivating 'The Saintly Thief.'"

Lu Yang bowed: "Please instruct me, Senior Brother."

"Follow me."

Luo Wuyi led Lu Yang to a grand hall within Yinshan, where at its center stood a massive crystal sphere.

"This place is called the 'Refining Art Secret Realm.'"

Seeing Lu Yang's puzzled expression, Luo Wuyi pointed to the crystal sphere and explained: "Don't be fooled by its size—it's a creation of the Dao Lord!"

"Dao Lord…?!"

Lu Yang's heart trembled violently: Foundation Establishment cultivators are True Persons, Jin Dan cultivators are True Jun, only Nascent Soul cultivators earn the title Dao Lord—this artifact was forged by such a being?

"The 'Refining Art Secret Realm' contains one hundred and forty million living beings, each with powerful bloodline and pure soul—each equals more than ten ordinary mortals from the outside world. Whether for refining treasures or cultivating arts, they are top-grade materials; you're perfectly suited to use them for cultivating 'The Saintly Thief.'"

Lu Yang drew a sharp breath: "One hundred and forty million talents…"

It seemed that with his breakthrough to Qi Condensation peak and joining the Sanhe faction of Foundation Establishment cultivators, he now had the standing to glimpse the Sacred Sect's true depth.

At that moment, the secret realm suddenly blazed with light.

The next instant, a young man in black robes stepped out, his face furious: "Damn these unruly peasants—they failed again!"

After speaking, the youth glanced at Luo Wuyi, said nothing, and left immediately.

Lu Yang naturally said nothing; only when the youth was far away did he turn to Luo Wuyi—and saw Luo Wuyi wearing a look of malicious amusement.

"That's another inner disciple—he's the only son of Master Chongguang, named Chongming. Ignore him; he just failed again at cultivating 'The Saintly Thief.'"

"I won't hide it from you, Young Brother—'The Saintly Thief' isn't easy to cultivate."

Here, Luo Wuyi's expression turned solemn again: "Don't underestimate the people in this realm—they may be talent, but they're not fools."

"You know as well as I do: 'The Saintly Thief' requires creating a cultivation method from nothing for the world, then cultivating it. The more brilliant the method, the greater the return. But we are not Dao Lords—our created methods are mostly shallow and easily exposed."

"This is why 'The Saintly Thief' fails."

"In the past, some cultivators were discovered by the living, feigned compliance, and were ultimately killed—becoming a laughingstock of the Sacred Sect."

"So, Young Brother, think carefully before cultivating this art."

With that, Luo Wuyi pulled out a jade slip and handed it to Lu Yang: "I once cultivated this art myself—I have some meager experience to share."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

"It's all for the Sanhe Alliance—I'm waiting for you to complete it and emerge. If you truly master 'The Saintly Thief,' you'll rank among the top inner disciples."

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow, catching Luo Wuyi's implied meaning.

Only by cultivating the Saint Thief could one be considered not weak.

So, what I am now is still not good enough?

Lu Yang remained expressionless, offered a respectful bow as before, and then approached the 'Law Refining Secret Realm'. He swept his spiritual sense across it, and a multitude of information flowed into his mind.

One should say, no wonder it is a creation of the Dao Lord; this Secret Realm can actually be "configured"!

Human history, topography, and architecture could all be shaped according to his thoughts. This mighty power to alter heaven and earth with a single thought made Lu Yang feel both awe and immense dread.

For in his heart, a thought persisted, refusing to fade.

The Secret Realm is a creation of the Dao Lord. Since the Dao Lord can accomplish such terrifying feats within the Secret Realm, does he possess equal might in reality?

The living beings within the Secret Realm are talents to him.

But what are the cultivators of the Saint Sect to the Dao Lord?

Lu Yang dared not think further and could only sigh helplessly: "Damn it, the Saint Sect is full of talents everywhere!"

(End of this chapter)