Chapter 83

Inside the cave dwelling, as Lu Yang finished speaking, the Master of Buxian Peak seemed to finally take serious notice of this audacious young man, and suddenly let out a light laugh:

"You're quite impressive. Interested in becoming my son-in-law?"

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow: "I recall, Senior, you already have a son-in-law."

"Zhao Xuhe's Panlong inheritance was taken by you, and I wish the inheritor of Panlong to become my son-in-law. As for who exactly that inheritor is, I don't care."

The Master of Buxian Peak waved it off with a smile: "Your proposal is intriguing—but it also reveals your true strength. It seems you have no Foundation Establishment True Person backing you. How about it? Become my son-in-law, and we'll be family. Then I won't mind lending you a hand."

Before he finished speaking, the Master of Buxian Peak swept his hand.

In an instant, the world spun wildly, and Lu Yang found himself surrounded by an entirely new environment—the sky above him was a moonlit starfield; he had been transported to the peak of Buxian Peak!

"Qian'er, come out."

No sooner had the Master spoken than a brilliant light flashed, and from within it stepped a graceful woman, breathtakingly beautiful, with a red dot on her forehead.

"Dad, another one?"

The woman had been languid moments before, but upon seeing Yu Suzhen, she froze: "Dad, I don't mind, but a woman? That's a bit—"

"You," the Master sighed, glancing at her, then shifted his spiritual sense, directly imprinting the entire sequence of events into her mind.

Only then did he turn back to Lu Yang:

"This is my daughter, Chen Shuqian. She cultivates the Six Paths Nirvana Phoenix Scripture. You cultivate the Nine Transformations Dragon Scripture—you two are destined to be cultivation partners."

"When the two of you practice together, Six and Nine unite, yielding an effect equal to a Foundation Establishment miracle treasure!"

Lu Yang did not answer immediately, but fell into deep thought.

To be fair, the Master of Buxian Peak's offer was tempting; on the surface, accepting it would seem a mutual boon.

But this was the Holy Sect.

How could a Holy Sect's opportunity come without hidden costs?

Yet in the end, he nodded with a smile: "Mutual benefit. I accept, but only after I attempt Foundation Establishment."

"Naturally," the Master laughed heartily. "The higher your cultivation, the better the effect of your dual cultivation with my daughter. I can even lend you a hand with your fortune. Don't worry—I'll conceal the heavenly patterns. I guarantee nothing he casts will catch a thing!"

"Then thank you, Senior."

Lu Yang bowed slightly: "Pleasant cooperation?"

The Master of Buxian Peak grinned: "Pleasant cooperation."

As his words faded, Lu Yang cleanly withdrew his consciousness. After his departure, the Master waved his hand and sent Yu Suzhen back to her cave dwelling.

As for everything that had just occurred, she remained completely unaware.

The relevant memories had been casually erased by the Master of Buxian Peak.

Only now did Chen Shuqian, the Master's daughter, open her eyes and whisper: "Dad, this man has ulterior motives. Are you really going to cooperate with him?"

The Master of Buxian Peak now smiled coldly: "Ulterior motives? Good—that's exactly what they should have! Which Holy Sect disciple doesn't have ulterior motives? As for cooperation… I was just speaking offhand. I'm merely keeping him steady, so he doesn't become a startled bird and flee somewhere I can't reach."

Chen Shuqian asked curiously: "So you don't intend to help him?"

"No, I do intend to help him."

The Master shook his head: "Daoist Hong Yun's current state isn't good—otherwise he wouldn't need to periodically fish for fortune within the Holy Sect."

"Otherwise, Chongguang wouldn't dare covet 'Extinguished Lampfire.'"

"Under these circumstances, if I manipulate Daoist Hong Yun once, causing him to fail this fishing attempt and lose his fortune, I can easily repay Chongguang a favor."

"Why not?"

"Moreover, if this man truly intends to use the Theft of Heavenly Mechanism to swap heaven and earth, I can use the spiritual connection to locate his true body."

"He previously blocked me for a moment on the Web of Cause and Effect—he must possess a high station. His quality is dozens of times better than Zhao Xuhe. Once I find his true body and bring him here, you can use the Buxian True Scripture to drain him dry—this alone could increase your Foundation Establishment chance by thirty percent!"

In his tone, Lu Yang was already treated as meat on the chopping block.

Chen Shuqian still seemed worried: "But my brother is still in his hands…"

"Relax," the Master said coolly. "As long as Chen Xinan enters my sight, he won't come to harm—even if his soul is scattered, I can reassemble it!"

"That old bastard has no good intentions!"

Outside the Wu Gui Secret Realm, Lu Yang opened his eyes, his gaze icy: "He's definitely scheming against me—trying to find my true body to use as a cultivation vessel for his daughter."

"And Chen Xinan isn't safe either."

"After all, he's a peak lord of the Holy Sect—even among Foundation Establishment True Persons, he's an absolute top-tier figure. Can such a person truly care about family ties?"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but rub his head.

This was too hard. How on earth did others manage to break through to Foundation Establishment?

Surely they didn't just gather a great technique, a Foundation Establishment spiritual item, a secret cultivation method, and then gamble their lives on a thirty percent chance?

"Too bad… now I have no choice but to gamble."

Lu Yang turned his gaze to the Wu Gui Secret Realm before him. Though he was currently hidden well, it was obvious he couldn't hide forever.

"Moreover, the Theft of Heavenly Mechanism was created by the Master of Buxian Peak. Once I activate it to drain Yu Suzhen, he'll likely trace me by the spiritual thread. At that moment, only the Wu Gui Secret Realm will offer me a sliver of hope—perhaps I can even use the Jin Dan sword qi to strike him a devastating blow."

With the Jin Dan sword qi, the Wu Gui Secret Realm was Lu Yang's natural sanctuary.

As long as he hid inside, even if discovered, neither the Master of Buxian Peak nor Daoist Hong Yun Dao Ren would dare enter.

There, he could slowly cultivate, gather the 【Xuanming Fu Jun Se You Wei】, perfect the 【Severing Thoughts, See My Heavenly Silkworm Secret】, and attain the Corpse Liberation Immortal.

At worst, he could enter Foundation Establishment with a sixty percent chance of success!

As for the Wu Gui Secret Realm's restriction—entry only, no exit—it meant nothing to him. If he achieved Foundation Establishment, he could simply kill himself and restart.

The only problem was the Jin Dan sword qi—a ticking time bomb.

Based on his past-life experience, this Jin Dan sword qi would eventually slaughter every living thing within the Wu Gui Secret Realm. Lu Yang didn't know why.

"The answer to this problem likely lies with the You Sect."

Lu Yang recalled the ancestral statue of the You Sect he had seen earlier, and pondered: "That You Sect Ancestor was almost certainly a Foundation Establishment cultivator who survived the Wu Gui Dao."

"Could it be that he did something, which triggered the Jin Dan sword qi to slaughter the Secret Realm?"

The more Lu Yang thought, the more solemn his expression became:

"So it seems, if I want to cultivate safely within the Secret Realm, I must first resolve the You Sect issue; otherwise, I will sooner or later be killed by a Jin Dan sword qi."

Upon this thought, Lu Yang finally made his decision.

Enter the Secret Realm with his true body!

Take a gamble!

(End of this chapter)