Chapter 74: The Sixth Life

【You failed to break through to Foundation Establishment and perished, your Dao extinguished.】

【Remaining pages in the Book of Hundred Lives: 94】

【Starting a new life, you may choose one of the following gains from your previous life:

One: A treasure.

Two: Cultivation base.

Three: Lifespan.

Four: Forfeit all gains to randomly awaken a talent based on your previous life's experiences.】

"Those whose names are called, step forward before me."

Liu Xin's voice came from the platform, but Lu Yang remained completely unaware, his mind still lingering on the interface of the Book of Hundred Lives; only after a long while did he come to his senses:

"I choose cultivation base."

The next second, his empty body was filled with surging true qi; the realm of the Tenth Layer of Qi Condensation at Great Perfection from his previous life, the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light, the Profound Yin Soul-Seizing Great Art, the Taiwei Imperial Pardon Precious Talisman, and the numerous divine abilities of the Sage Thief all returned to their places, causing Lu Yang to let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"Taiwei Precious Talisman, Imperial Command of Heavenly Pardon."

The next second, Lu Yang circulated the Taiwei Imperial Pardon Precious Talisman, while simultaneously using the status of the Sage Thief to imbue it, placing a layer of illusory karma upon his own karmic threads.

In his previous life's hundred years of bitter cultivation, he had not wasted a single moment.

With the aid of the Mingdao Jade Slip, his attainments in both arrays and talisman arts had already reached the Seventh Grade, basically the limit a Qi Refining cultivator could achieve.

Among them, talisman arts were his main focus.

And his greatest achievement was successfully recreating the "Primordial Chaos Unity Qi Divine Talisman" he had used in his previous life to obscure heavenly secrets, retaining thirty percent of the original's effect.

"For temporary use, this is enough."

"After all, the original was drawn by a Foundation Establishment True Person, imbued with the status of Foundation Establishment; for me to perfectly recreate it is unrealistic. Having thirty percent is already quite good."

Boom!

The next second, Lu Yang sensed a change within the great karmic web; it was as if a mighty qi mechanism swept past, tracing back along the karmic thread of True Person Panlong's inheritance toward his direction. Lu Yang instantly recognized the owner of this qi mechanism: it was none other than Peak Master Senior Butian!

Such a fast reaction!

In previous lives, Peak Master Senior Butian had only found him several years later, yet now he had arrived almost immediately. Was it because his cultivation base was higher?

"However... times have changed!"

Lu Yang calmed his mind and stilled his breath; since he had chosen cultivation base and accepted the karma of True Person Panlong, being sought out by Peak Master Senior Butian was within his expectations.

However, this time, there was a huge difference compared to before.

He now possessed 'status'!

When a Foundation Establishment True Person divined a mortal without status, it was naturally unstoppable; however, once the target possessed status, the difficulty of divination would immediately skyrocket.

"Hmph! You junior seek death!"

Through the great karmic web, Lu Yang heard Peak Master Senior Butian's slightly angry voice echoing loudly; clearly, he had detected Lu Yang's actions to obscure heavenly secrets, and had even seen through Lu Yang's underlying situation, judging that Lu Yang was not a Foundation Establishment True Person, but a Qi Refining cultivator possessing status.

The next second, Lu Yang felt that Peak Master Senior Butian was getting serious.

Surging spiritual sense swept over, directly breaking through the layer of illusory karma he had set up, pursuing the source directly; it would take less than a quarter of an hour to lock onto him.

"So strong, too strong..."

Lu Yang sighed in his heart, yet he was not panicked; Peak Master Senior Butian needed a quarter of an hour to lock onto him, but the task Lu Yang needed to accomplish would not even require that much time.

The next second, Lu Yang moved.

He left his Primordial Unity Qi Avatar in place, while his true body concealed its form and fled, immediately seeking out Liu Xin to take his authentic divine talisman.

With Lu Yang's current cultivation base, dealing with Liu Xin, who was still at the Mid Stage of Qi Condensation, was naturally effortless; Liu Xin did not detect the slightest anomaly from start to finish. Moreover, to avoid alerting the enemy, after taking the divine talisman, Lu Yang specifically replaced it with a youth version he had crafted himself.

"Who is it!?"

Almost immediately after he took the authentic divine talisman, not long after, Peak Master Senior Butian completely broke through Lu Yang's seal and began to push horizontally across the great karmic web.

Yet he found nothing.

This experience of being practically tricked made Peak Master Senior Butian instantly furious, yet no matter how much he divined the heavenly secrets, he could not find the culprit.

This strange development plunged Peak Master Senior Butian into silence; only after a long while did he speak again: "Hong Yun, is it you?"

"Ah?"

Inside the Sheng Sect, a handsome Daoist priest with a refined bearing and jade-like bones opened his eyes, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face: "Elder Chen, do not slander me with false accusations."

"Hmph! It must be you!"

Peak Master Senior Butian seemed convinced that Daoist Hong Yun was behind all this; he immediately sneered coldly: "Before his death, Panlong entrusted his inheritance to me, agreeing that I would designate his successor. You actually dared to use a junior's hand to secretly fish it away. Do you truly think I would fear your status and dare not make a move?"

Upon hearing this, Daoist Hong Yun narrowed his eyes slightly: "Panlong's inheritance was fished away?"

"Stop pretending to be ignorant here." Peak Master Senior Butian's voice continued to transmit: "This matter between us is not settled. A Nascent Soul reincarnated... is ultimately no longer a Nascent Soul!"

Soon, the fluctuations on the great karmic web dissipated.

Clearly, although Peak Master Senior Butian's words were fierce, he still had reservations and dared not make a direct move; nevertheless, Daoist Hong Yun still felt somewhat vexed.

After all, among the many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Sheng Sect, Peak Master Senior Butian was also one of the outstanding ones, not so easily dismissed. He had been closing himself in his cave dwelling to cultivate in peace, yet suddenly and without cause, a powerful opponent had been brought upon him; naturally, his mood was not good, and at the same time, immense curiosity arose within him.

"Who is plotting against me?"

Daoist Hong Yun counted on his fingers, yet found no result; he couldn't help but frown: "If it is not a plot... then it is an unintentional mistake, accidentally involving me?"

"Interesting!"

"Judging from Senior Butian's words, a junior has taken the Panlong inheritance from his hands, and he still hasn't calculated who it is? Which junior has such great audacity?"

The more Daoist Hong Yun thought about it, the more curious he became, feeling an itch in his heart that was hard to endure: "Pity, this junior seems to possess a secret treasure that obscures heavenly secrets; ordinary methods cannot calculate him... yet to use 'Covered Lamp Fire' for the sake of a mere junior is somewhat excessive, the cost outweighing the benefit... Never mind, attending to official matters is more urgent."

Thinking thus, Daoist Hong Yun shifted his attention elsewhere.

Almost simultaneously, a disciple within the Sheng Sect suddenly lifted his head; his originally muddled thoughts became clear, and his temperament became imposing and dignified.

His name was Xiao Shiye.

"So terrifying..."

Inside the Hehuan Hall, Lu Yang had already been lured into the cave dwelling by Yu Suzhen, unfolding exactly the same as in previous lives, with Liu Xin already waiting at the entrance.

Originally, the next step would be the segment where Yu Suzhen would 'super-kill' him.

However, this time, Lu Yang changed his mind.

"In this life, I intend to cultivate the 'Great Yin Metamorphosis Corpse-Release True Art,' which注定 means I am destined to 'die once'; 然如此，in that case, might as well simply die right here."

This time, Lu Yang planned to be 'super-killed' by Yu Suzhen!

Besides that, he also planned to use Yu Suzhen's hand to test an idea in his mind; the correctness of this idea would determine his goal for this life.

That was the Art of Stealing Heavenly Secrets!

This Foundation Establishment secret art, traded to him by Zhao Xuhe, allowed one to plant one's own qi mechanism through dual cultivation with someone of the opposite sex, causing others to work for one's benefit.

And Lu Yang's idea was very simple: Could this thing be stacked?

Because this secret art was limited to the opposite sex, if he were to use it himself, he could only use it on females, such as Fairy Feixia, Fairy Qinghe, and others.

But whether it was Fairy Feixia or Fairy Qinghe, their talent and strength were very limited, completely unable to meet his needs.

The only one who met the requirements, Yun Yun Miaozhen, was far away in the Jiange.

In comparison, males were different.

Liu Xin, Zhao Xuhe, Xiao Shiye; each was more significant than the last, almost all qualifying as Foundation Establishment seeds, possessing deep fortune, and right beside him.

Thus, Lu Yang formulated a plan:

If the Art of Stealing Heavenly Secrets can be stacked, then I will first use it on Yu Suzhen, turning her into a cauldron; then, let her learn the Art of Stealing Heavenly Secrets and perform dual cultivation with Liu Xin, Zhao Xuhe, Xiao Shiye, and other favored sons of heaven. Would that not allow me to indirectly apply this secret art upon Xiao Shiye and the others?

In the past, Daoist Hong Yun nearly scared him to death; in this life, it was time for revenge.

He had created a favored son of heaven, Xiao Shiye, who surpassed countless disciples; so now, he would create a favored daughter of heaven who surpassed Xiao Shiye: Yu Suzhen!

(End of Chapter)