Chapter 59: An Unexpected Problem

Standing before the Secret Realm, Lu Yang carefully contemplated this "Creation of the Dao Lord" while pondering how to configure the realm to maximize his own benefit.

'First, I certainly will not step into the spotlight.'

'I only need to scatter the seeds and then sit back waiting for them to bloom and bear fruit. If there is no mastermind from the very beginning, naturally no one will investigate!'

'Second, I do not need a peaceful world.'

"After all, only in chaotic times do heroes emerge; only in chaotic times can one fish in troubled waters. Even if a hero truly appears who discovers the truth, they won't be able to stir up great waves."

'Because I can simply let heroes fight heroes, and let brave men contend with brave men!'

Just like that, vast amounts of settings were input into the Secret Realm.

The next second, the entire Secret Realm burst forth with light, rotating in circles; within it, Lu Yang seemed to see countless scenes of the mortal world constantly shifting.

Seeing this, Luo Wuya voluntarily said, "Junior Brother wishes to enter the Secret Realm to cultivate, so I shall not disturb you; I wish you success in your endeavors."

"I thank Senior Brother for your kind words," Lu Yang replied with a bow. "I will keep Senior Brother's guidance firmly in mind; should I succeed in the future and you have any requests, feel free to speak."

Hearing this, Luo Wuya immediately smiled with satisfaction:

"Junior Brother is destined to accomplish great things!"

The next second, the light of the Secret Realm swallowed Lu Yang whole.

"It actually looks quite convincing."

Inside the Secret Realm, Lu Yang stood atop a mountain peak, curiosity in his eyes; he felt that the flowers, grass, trees, and everything around him appeared so real.

"... evertheless, there are still flaws; it is not perfect."

A halo of light manifested behind Lu Yang's head as the Taiwei Imperial Edict Treasure Register operated; through divination and deduction, he instantly saw through the illusion, discovering flaws that differed vastly from the real world.

These flaws were minute and existed only within the microscopic domain, meaning only Lu Yang, relying on his power of divination, could perceive a fraction of them; ordinary cultivators viewing from a macroscopic perspective would see no flaws at all, and as for those "talents" who had lived in the Secret Realm since birth, discovering anything amiss was even more impossible.

"Rather than a world, it is more like a massive stage set..."

The flowers, birds, fish, and insects were all real.

However, the "world" composing all of this was thoroughly fake; its nature was no different from a pigsty in a commoner's rural home.

"So this is the Holy Sect's talent training base."

Lu Yang shook his head, ceasing his sighs, and turned instead to preparing his grand undertaking of "transmitting the Dharma," the most crucial part of which was creating a cultivation system.

"With the Mingdao Jade Slip present, no wonder Luo Wuya said the Sage Thief suited me..."

Because this artifact of deduction, the Mingdao Jade Slip, could allow the cultivation system he created to have fewer flaws, making it less likely to be detected by the locals within the Secret Realm.

'The cultivation system cannot be too complex.'

'After all, with my abilities, the more complex it is, the less it can withstand scrutiny; therefore, simple is best—it must be understandable even by fools, cultivable by anyone...'

'Yet it cannot be too weak; if the strongest practitioner of this system only reaches the First Layer of Qi Condensation, although it would pose no threat to me, the fortune the Sage Thief could steal would be pitifully small, which would actually be detrimental to my own cultivation; so, let us be bold—we can fully elevate the system's peak combat power.'

Thinking thus, Lu Yang immediately gained an insight.

'That core disciple whom Senior Brother Luo mentioned earlier, who was counter-killed by someone within the Secret Realm, probably sought to maximize benefits just like me, but unexpectedly crashed and burned...'

'No, I must set up an insurance policy.'

Lu Yang continued to ponder until he finally had a framework, and with the aid of the Mingdao Jade Slip, numerous details were filled in, eventually forming a complete system.

Moments later, Lu Yang made his decision.

Since the Sage Thief was ultimately a body-refining technique, if he were to create a cultivation system, it naturally had to focus primarily on body refinement, thereby achieving higher cultivation efficiency.

Regarding the physical body, the highest-level knowledge Lu Yang possessed was the "Taiyi Yuanjing Yuhua" he had obtained from Yun Miaoqing.

Therefore, he planned to use this divine ability as the foundation.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately began to activate the divine ability.

Heart fire, lung metal, spleen earth, liver wood, kidney water...

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, tendons, bones, flesh, blood, intent...

Lu Yang calmed his mind and stilled his breath, gathering all the brilliant light condensed from his five viscera and throughout his entire body into his interior, then guiding it toward the Heavenly Gate atop his head, where it burst forth from his crown!

Brilliant flames blazed, adding their power to Lu Yang, dissolving all "flaws" and making his physical body crystal clear like jade.

This was "Taiyi Yuanjing Yuhua."

Simultaneously, Lu Yang used the Mingdao Jade Slip to record every variation of the divine ability; using this as a basis, he quickly organized a complete system.

"This method shall be named the Martial Dao!"

"The Martial Dao prioritizes blood and qi above all; it governs the five elements within the body, opens the nine orifices connecting heaven and earth, and breaks through the mysterious pass of creation! A Grand Completion martial artist... shall be comparable to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation!"

"However, although the Martial Dao strengthens divine power, it cannot enable flight..."

This was the insurance policy Lu Yang had established: martial artists cannot fly!

In this way, even if the worst-case scenario occurred and he was backlashed by those within the Secret Realm, at worst he could simply take off; even if he could not win, he could at least escape.

It was unknown how much time passed before Lu Yang finally awakened from his meditation.

In his hand, there now appeared a booklet recording the "Martial Dao."

The next second, with a mere thought from Lu Yang, that booklet suddenly soared with golden light, split into four parts in mid-air, and then scattered separately toward the horizon.

"The chess pieces have been placed; let us see what changes the future will bring..."

Lu Yang smiled slightly, then turned and returned to the temporarily opened cave dwelling to resume his secluded cultivation, for in terms of cultivation, he still had many unfinished matters.

For instance, he had now successfully cultivated the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light, the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art, and the Taiwei Imperial Edict Treasure Register; the three divine abilities comprising the "Great Yin Metamorphosis Corpse-Release True Method" were all complete, identical to Yun Miaoqing back then, yet he still had no clue how to integrate and master them.

This was not because he did not know the method.

In fact, the final step of the "Great Yin Metamorphosis Corpse-Release True Method" was actually very simple; the secret could be summed up in one sentence:

"Die passing through the Great Yin, temporarily crossing the three passes; the Great One guards the corpse, the three souls nourish the bones, the seven poaches serve the flesh, the fetal spirit records the qi, thus restoring substance and forming the body, reborn to soar into the sky."

In short, one needed to "die once."

Die and then metamorphose; although failure meant true death, success would allow one to transform an immortal fetus, possessing a portion of the mighty power of a Foundation Establishment True Person.

For normal people, this step was actually not difficult; it merely depended on whether the cultivator dared to gamble on the probabilities between life and death, and whether they had the luck to succeed.

However, for Lu Yang, this was an insurmountable chasm.

"Because the moment I die, I immediately restart!"

After restarting, everything returns to the starting point; how could one even talk about dying and then metamorphosing?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang was instantly caught between laughter and tears.

All along, the 【Book of Hundred Lives】 had been his greatest reliance; no matter what danger he encountered, he had the confidence to face it, for at worst he could start over.

He never expected that the 【Book of Hundred Lives】 would become an obstacle to his further progress!

(End of Chapter)