Chapter 71: You Are Destined for Great Things!

At the very moment Lu Yang reported to Daoist Yinshan, the Yun family patriarch within the Secret Realm suddenly felt his whole body tremble, as if a great calamity were about to befall him.

"... s it that avatar of yours?"

The Yun family patriarch made a quick calculation with his fingers, instantly understanding the cause and effect, whereupon a trace of despair surfaced on his face: "In the end, this karmic tribulation could not be escaped."

His current reincarnation hinged entirely on secrecy.

It was solely due to the Jiange Sect Master concealing the heavenly secrets that he had not been discovered; yet once discovered, even the Jiange Sect Master would be unable to save him.

In other words, his final gamble with his life had failed completely; the Sect Master's mission remained unfulfilled, any hope of returning to Foundation Establishment was gone, and without him, the Yun family's status within Jiange would inevitably plummet, no longer a lofty Foundation Establishment immortal clan, with extinction imminent.

"... o, there is still a chance!"

The Yun family patriarch stared at Lu Yang, a terrifying killing intent suddenly surging in his eyes, his hatred for Lu Yang so profound that all the water of the Three Rivers could not wash it clean.

The next second, his expression turned resolute.

With a single thought, the Taiyi Golden Flowers swirling around him rapidly reversed course, ultimately converging entirely at his fingertips to transform into a sharp sword qi.

This sword qi was a divine ability named "One Strike to Fix the Origin, Coexisting with the World."

Though the sword qi appeared ordinary, it could actually directly lock onto an opponent's karma; once the strike was launched, as long as the target's karma did not disperse, the sword qi would never vanish.

In the past, the Witch-Ghost Path was utterly annihilated by the Sect Master of that generation of Yushu Jiange, a Golden Core True Person, using this very divine ability, leaving not a single survivor; furthermore, because the Witch-Ghost Path had left behind a Secret Realm inheritance, their karma had not dispersed, so the sword qi had persisted for a thousand years.

However, this strike was not something an ordinary cultivator could unleash.

Because it involved karma, it could only be used by a Foundation Establishment expert; having fallen from the position of Foundation Establishment, the only way for the Yun family patriarch to unleash this strike was to sacrifice his entire life.

In other words, he now intended to die together with his enemy!

"With the 'Heaven-Exploring Instrument' shielding the heavenly secrets, if I sacrifice my life to slay this demonic fiend and then reincarnate again, perhaps there is still a sliver of hope to escape alive."

Although this was already his second reincarnation, forcibly beginning a third before even returning to Foundation Establishment would severely damage his cultivation; even if he truly managed to escape, he would inevitably be trapped by the mysteries of the womb in the future, reduced to a mere mortal, never again achieving transcendence.

"... t the very least, I will kill you first!"

The Yun family patriarch stared fixedly at Lu Yang, then activated his divine ability, causing his entire essence, qi, and spirit to explosively disintegrate and merge completely into the sharp sword qi he had condensed.

"Strike!"

With a fierce shout, the sword qi howled forth, descending directly toward Lu Yang's location; in an instant, Lu Yang felt an intense sense of crisis.

"You want to gamble your life against me?"

Lu Yang's mind moved, and his figure completely merged into the Sage Image behind him; he then manipulated the Sage Image to extend two sky-supporting giant hands to grab at the sword qi.

The two became entangled; the Sage Image's hands were torn apart by the sword qi until flesh and bone separated, while the sword qi itself had a large portion forcibly torn away by those hands; however, since Lu Yang's karma remained intact, the sword qi immediately drew upon heaven and earth to replenish itself, and the torn sections instantly restored to their original state.

On the other side, the Sage Image faced the exact same situation.

After all, it was merely a manifestation conjured by Lu Yang borrowing qi, not a true physical entity; the moment he circulated his magic power, the missing flesh and blood were instantly regenerated.

Thus, both sides entered a stalemate.

Witnessing this scene, the Yun family patriarch sighed, harboring no further attachment, for he now possessed no physical body, only a soul remaining in the world.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Sheng Sect's True Persons had not yet arrived, reincarnating as soon as possible was the best strategy.

Just then, the Yun family patriarch suddenly felt a chill sweep through his heart; looking back, he saw Lu Yang in the distance sneering coldly at him:

"Senior, why the rush to leave?"

The next second, he saw a clump of his own qi mechanism appear in Lu Yang's hand, followed by Lu Yang drawing a circle of light and using the qi mechanism to project his image within it.

"... ot good!"

The Yun family patriarch's pupils instantly contracted in shock; amidst his惊rage, he could not comprehend: "The Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art... how did he capture my qi mechanism?"

The Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art allowed one to kill an enemy from afar once their qi mechanism was captured; the Yun family patriarch had long calculated that Lu Yang had learned this divine ability, thus he had been extremely cautious about concealing his qi mechanism during their duel, absolutely giving Lu Yang no opportunity to capture it, which should have been foolproof...

Yet he never expected his qi mechanism to be captured by Lu Yang anyway!

And given his current state of having lost his physical body, leaving only his soul, if this technique struck him, he would immediately suffer soul dispersion, with no chance for reincarnation left!

"Heavenly Lord, save me!"

For a moment, the Yun family patriarch had to temporarily halt his reincarnation, instead using his soul form to activate the 'Heaven-Exploring Instrument', attempting to block Lu Yang's Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art.

"Too late!"

Lu Yang waved his hand, severing the image of the Yun family patriarch within the circle of light; the Yun family patriarch immediately focused his spirit, preparing to resist.

Then, nothing happened.

The Yun family patriarch blinked, stunned in place; the long-distance curse-kill of the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art he had imagined did not occur, appearing entirely fake...

"... rong!"

It was fake! He was buying time!

The Yun family patriarch suddenly woke up, daring not to linger a moment longer; he waved his hand to open a black passage, intending to rush his soul into it.

However, in that very instant, a vast qi mechanism abruptly entered the Dharma Refining Secret Realm!

"Lock Heaven and Earth!"

A majestic voice resonated throughout the interior and exterior of the Secret Realm, a golden decree; the black passage the Yun family patriarch had just opened instantly sealed shut again.

"No—!!!"

The black passage was the realm of reincarnation; seeing this, the Yun family patriarch let out a wail of agony, his soul trembling violently as he glared at Lu Yang with a ferocious expression: "You dare deceive me!?"

"What can you do to me?"

Lu Yang smiled faintly, and just then another giant hand reached in from outside the Secret Realm, grabbing the entangled sword qi and lightly pinching it, instantly crushing it to dust.

No matter how powerful the divine ability, it was utterly useless when facing a higher hierarchy.

'This is Foundation Establishment...'

Lu Yang sighed in his heart; even having witnessed it many times before, the crushing dominance of a Foundation Establishment True Person over a Qi Refining cultivator still compelled him to feel awe.

The next second, Daoist Yinshan's figure appeared beside Lu Yang.

"Well done."

Daoist Yinshan offered a word of praise, then turned his gaze to the soul of the Yun family patriarch, laughing loudly: "So it is you, old scoundrel Yun Qingchuan."

"Yinshan..."

The Yun family patriarch's eyes darted, as if he wished to say something, but before the words could leave his mouth, Daoist Yinshan raised his hand and slapped his palm onto the soul.

Boom!

The next second, all of the Yun family patriarch's consciousness was completely erased by Daoist Yinshan, leaving only a blank soul held in Yinshan's hand.

Having fallen from the position of Foundation Establishment after all, although the soul retained a slight degree of hierarchy, it could not compare to a true Foundation Establishment True Person; moreover, after the incident at Skeleton Mountain, Daoist Yinshan's cultivation had improved, and he was now at the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment, far beyond what the Yun family patriarch could match.

Buzz! Buzz!

With the Yun family patriarch dead, the Heaven-Exploring Instrument lost its master; naturally, Daoist Yinshan showed no courtesy, immediately seizing and suppressing it, holding it in his hand to examine.

"A fine treasure, truly a fine treasure..."

The fact that the Yun family patriarch could use this treasure to conceal heavenly secrets and reincarnate within the Secret Realm without detection spoke to its high quality, enough to make even Daoist Yinshan's heart stir.

However, this matter concerned Yushu Jiange and involved the soul of a Foundation Establishment True Person; according to sect rules, he had to report it upward for the Sect Master to decide, yet once reported, this rare treasure could no longer be hidden and would inevitably become the target of all, and with his current strength and status, he might not be able to protect it...

Just then, Lu Yang suddenly stepped forward, bowing deeply:

"Senior Brother, this junior brother presumes to make an unreasonable request... might I borrow the soul of that righteous Foundation Establishment cultivator for use? I guarantee its return in its original state within ten years."

"Oh? You want this old scoundrel's soul?"

Daoist Yinshan raised an eyebrow, then shook his head: "You certainly dare to dream, but since this concerns Jiange, once I report it, the Sect Master will inevitably inquire, and at that time, neither the soul nor the magic treasure can be kept."

"However... there is perhaps a flexible method."

Speaking thus, Daoist Yinshan suddenly changed his tone, looking at Lu Yang with a ambiguous smile: "Many matters, as long as they are not weighed on the scale, a thousand jin weighs only four liang."

"If you help me conceal this matter, with no one reporting and no one investigating, then both the soul and the magic treasure can be kept."

Hearing this, Lu Yang paused, then displayed a look of confusion: "Conceal what matter?"

"... ood! As expected of my Sheng Sect disciple, you are destined for great things!"

The two exchanged a glance, an unspoken understanding passing between them.

The next second, Daoist Yinshan tossed the soul of the Yun family patriarch into Lu Yang's hand, then stored away the Heaven-Exploring Instrument, before drifting away effortlessly.

(End of Chapter)