Chapter 236: The Mirage Dragon Pearl

Swish!

The sword light pierced through dozens of feet of soil, instantly tearing a fist-sized hole in the humanoid corpse ahead, and then, with a flash like a swimming dragon, the sword light twisted, instantly severing the corpse's head from its body.

Despite such a wound, the corpse's head continued to hiss within the soil, while its headless body, under the sealing power of the Immobilization Technique, struggled to reach out an arm to retrieve the head; however, Lu Yuan did not give it any chance, and with a light flick of his sword art, lightning burst forth from the Sword Pill, shuttling through once more to nail itself fiercely into the center of the head's brow.

Deep underground, the four types of thunder within 【Mastering Five Thunders】—Heaven Thunder, Water Thunder, Divine Thunder, and Society Decree Thunder—were all greatly restricted, but the Earth Thunder, which is used for delivering dead souls and restraining the earth's depths, was not among them.

Although this thunder was not primarily for killing, it still possessed the fundamental characteristic of restraining yin-evil monsters, and under this strike that pierced the head, it immediately annihilated the humanoid corpse on the spot.

And the reason Lu Yuan could be certain this corpse was annihilated.

Was because he clearly felt at this moment that, in the dark, a large amount of Heavenly Dao Merit had suddenly surged into the Heavenly Book, the quantity appearing to be in the hundreds!

Feeling the Heavenly Dao Merit rapidly surging in from the void, Lu Yuan revealed a look of joy, his figure flashed over, and he then used a hand of Dharma Power to grab the corpse from the soil and quickly return to the surface.

Immediately, he saw under the starlight and moonlight that what he had brought up was, surprisingly, the withered corpse of an old monk wearing monk's robes and skin stretched over bone.

This old monk was clearly the former abbot of the Pudu Sect; not only was he wearing tattered monk's robes, but a string of Buddhist beads was also wrapped around his withered, claw-like hands, and although his features were withered and ferocious, they still largely maintained their original appearance, making it impossible to imagine that the previously monstrous Corpse Bone Giant Buddha was a manifestation of him.

"This so-called Four-Tier, it doesn't seem that difficult to deal with... Or is it that I am simply too strong now?"

Gazing at this powerful Heavenly Corpse that had brought immense trouble to Longshan Immortal City for the past hundred-plus years and which even two Nascent Soul Great Cultivators like True Monarch Huanglong could only repel but not kill, Lu Yuan couldn't help but stroke his chin:

"That's right, my current cultivation base itself is comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm, and I possess several Heavenly Gang Divine Abilities, plus over a dozen Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities; ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators could not possibly be my match, let alone a Corpse Demon like this."

His deep foray into the Yin Corpse Mountain Range was, aside from harvesting Heavenly Dao Merit experience, also to find a Four-Tier Heavenly Corpse as an opponent to verify his current cultivation and methods.

And the result was that he had easily slain it under his sword without even using all his methods and strength.

This also meant that even if the opponent were changed from the Corpse Bone Giant Buddha to the master of Longshan Immortal City, True Monarch Huanglong, the other party would meet the same fate~

"With this, I can be completely at ease and begin my plan..."

Amidst a slight feeling of emotion in his heart, sensing that the Heavenly Dao Merit brought by killing the Corpse Bone Giant Buddha had been fully captured by the Heavenly Book, Lu Yuan moved his mind and received feedback:

【Luck Power】: 13,324 units

【Heavenly Dao Merit】: 271 wisps

Previously, when he had wantonly harvested thousands of Corpse Soldiers, Corpse Generals, and even two or three Corpse Kings, the Heavenly Dao Merit he harvested was only sixty or seventy wisps, but just now, by killing the Corpse Bone Giant Buddha, he had obtained over a hundred wisps of Merit Power in one go!

Converting it, that was over ten thousand units of Luck Power.

It didn't sound like a lot or very astonishing, but the method of acquisition was much simpler and faster compared to the acquisition of Luck Power; it all depended on one's personal ability, and as long as one had sufficient methods and courage, one could easily harvest a large amount of Merit Power in this Yin Corpse Mountain Range every day, and in a month, one might be able to harvest Merit Power equivalent to over a hundred thousand units of Luck Power!

"There is plenty of time; it is better to let the water flow long..."

He still had to be stationed at this frontline position for quite some time, and there would be plenty of time in the future to come in and harvest experience.

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan did not continue to search for targets, but instead put away the corpse of the Corpse Bone Buddha and headed back.

Meanwhile.

Inside Longshan Immortal City.

"Oh?"

On Linglong Peak, inside a cultivation hut, True Monarch Huanglong looked with slight surprise at his disciple, True Person Liuyun, who had come to report:

"You say that this Lu Yuan possesses formidable thunder techniques, and as soon as he arrived at the frontline, he displayed great might, single-handedly annihilating thousands of Corpse Demons, and that even Xingtian Ding cannot compare to him in the attainment of thunder techniques?"

True Person Liuyun's expression was extremely grave as he nodded and said:

"That is exactly so, Master, please look."

As he spoke, an Image Stone appeared in his hand, and under the stimulation of Dharma Power, it immediately formed a lifelike light screen in the void, and what appeared on the light screen was the scene of Lu Yuan arriving at the frontline and displaying his great might that day.

The Image Stone naturally came from the team of cultivators led by Lu Yuan that day; their leader was an informant planted by True Person Liuyun, who had recorded the scene he witnessed with the Image Stone on the spot and secretly sent it back.

At this moment, on the Image Stone's screen, the sky was filled with surging dark clouds covering a radius of several miles, and thunderbolts like wild dragons were tearing the sky and earth apart, causing the heavens to be startled and the earth to tremble; swaths of Corpse Demons were reduced to ashes, and even the powerful Third-Tier Corpse King level could not withstand a few strikes before being buried in the terrifying thunder light.

Having watched the Image Stone recording from beginning to end, even the knowledgeable True Monarch Huanglong frowned:

"What a formidable thunder technique; this is almost no longer an ordinary thunder technique, but nearly a Divine Ability..."

True Person Liuyun's grave gaze also revealed a trace of eagerness:

"Master, such a thunder technique is earth-shattering and must be a top-tier thunder technique of the current age; its grade might even be comparable to the great Dharma of the Zixiao Dao Sect. If you could master this thunder technique, why worry about the corpse plague? Let alone the Corpse Bone Giant Buddha, even those two more powerful Heavenly Corpses in the Yin Corpse Mountain Range would surely flee in terror upon seeing you!"

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Huanglong frowned again.

Thunder techniques are known as the number one method of attack in Yuanling Heaven, and the Zixiao Dao Sect, which specializes in thunder techniques, is now the number one sect of the Immortal Alliance in the entire Xiyan Continent.

Thunder techniques are extremely rigid and yang, specifically restraining yin-evil; as a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, True Monarch Huanglong naturally also mastered this type of Dharma Technique, but he was not very proficient in it, and when dealing with high-level or even Heavenly Corpse-level Corpse Demons, it was difficult to use it effectively, and it was not as good as using Dharma Artifacts or other Dharma Techniques and Supernatural Powers.

However, he was a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator after all and had his own pride; his expression remained calm as he said slowly:

"This person's thunder technique is indeed extraordinary, but what kind of person is this seat? How could I covet the methods of a Golden Core Cultivator?"

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, True Person Liuyun quickly said:

"Master, you have misunderstood; this disciple absolutely did not have that intention. It is just that I remembered how Hall Master Xing voluntarily offered his family's thunder technique to fill the Immortal City's Dharma treasury, and if this Lu Yuan were also willing to offer the thunder technique he has learned, it would surely provide great assistance to the Immortal City in resisting the Corpse Tide."

True Person Huanglong clearly understood his disciple very well and said with a half-smile:

"Liuyun, although this person is an outsider and his identity is a mystery, forcing others to offer their techniques or even robbing them of treasures and opportunities is a great taboo in every Immortal City. Once it spreads, it will cause panic and the collapse of credibility; cultivators from the inner regions will not come here to enlist if they hear rumors. Do you understand?"

True Person Liuyun quickly said:

"Master, you have misunderstood; this disciple has absolutely no such intention."

True Person Huanglong nodded, then changed the subject and said with an amused smile:

"However, this person's background is a mystery, and he seems to have other motives for deliberately breaking through in Longshan Immortal City. You may continue to observe him, and if there is anything amiss, you can report it in time."

True Person Liuyun immediately understood the intent and bowed:

"Yes, this disciple understands."

Naturally, he did not know about the conversation between the master and disciple far away in Longshan Immortal City.

In the time that followed.

Lu Yuan officially began his garrison life on this defensive frontline, where he could wantonly harvest experience.

Compared to the caution and constant vigilance of other Golden Core Cultivators, his garrison life appeared relaxed and easy; he would cultivate in his dwelling at the frontline base during the day, and at night, he would charge into the Yin Corpse Mountain Range to wantonly annihilate Corpse Demons and harvest experience.

Of course, the Corpse Demons in the Yin Corpse Mountain Range were not inexhaustible, so to avoid over-harvesting, after the first month, he only entered the Yin Corpse Mountain Range to harvest once every half month on average.

Even so, the Heavenly Dao Merit accumulated within the Heavenly Book was gathering at a truly astonishing speed.

Just like Qi Luck, Heavenly Dao Merit can also be used to light up and upgrade Heavenly Gang Arts and Earthly Fiend Arts; even Supernatural Powers that have already advanced to the Divine Communication or Divine Seed level can have their progress improved by consuming Merit Power.

For example, for the Heavenly Gang Great Divine Ability 【Nine Breaths Serving Qi】, Lu Yuan has currently only condensed a Divine Seed by relying on the Heavenly Book; the Divine Seed needs to grow and advance into a Dao Fruit to be considered a complete mastery of this Supernatural Power.

However, starting from the Divine Seed stage, the progress of upgrading a Supernatural Power becomes extremely slow, often only increasing by about 1% over the course of a year; without a hundred years or so, one shouldn't even think about advancing it.

But if one directly irrigates it with Qi Luck or Heavenly Dao Merit, as long as the accumulation is sufficient, a large amount of time can be saved, accelerating the growth of the Divine Seed.

Of course, this method is a massive consumption of Qi Luck. Lu Yuan has already experimented: one hundred strands of Heavenly Dao Merit can only increase the mastery progress of one Supernatural Power by 10%; a full one thousand strands of Merit—which is one hundred thousand units of Qi Luck—are required to promote a Divine Seed directly to a Dao Fruit.

The key is that this is only for one Supernatural Power; for the dozen or so major and minor Supernatural Powers Lu Yuan has mastered, the Qi Luck and Merit required to upgrade them all is simply incalculable!

Therefore, even though he now has such a way to reap Merit on a massive scale like mowing grass, Lu Yuan still dares not spend it recklessly; most of the harvested Merit Power has been saved, kept for future use.

Just like that, more than half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

It was an evening on this day.

Atop a mountain peak more than two hundred miles outside the main camp, two figures descended one after another from different directions.

"Hall Master Xing."

Having just landed on the ground, True Monarch Liuyun scanned with his divine sense and found Xing Tianding, who had summoned him, and could not help but ask:

"What important matter do you have for summoning me here? Is there some unusual movement from that person?"

The so-called "that person" naturally refers to Lu Yuan.

Although they had offered generous conditions to recruit Lu Yuan into the Immortal City, in reality, the observation of him had never ceased, especially after Lu Yuan displayed his incredibly powerful lightning techniques, which caused the secret surveillance of him to escalate even further.

Even Xing Tianding, as the War Hall Master, had received a secret order from True Monarch Huanglong to keep a close watch on him in secret.

At this moment, Xing Tianding did not answer, but instead looked back into the distance and spoke with a grave expression:

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Liuyun has brought the Mirage Dragon Pearl?"

The Mirage Dragon Pearl is a relatively rare Fourth-Rank Spirit Treasure in the hands of True Monarch Huanglong, specialized in casting illusions and concealment; with this treasure, even a Golden Core Cultivator can completely hide their own Dharma Power aura, and it can even deceive the divine sense scans of Nascent Soul cultivators.

True Monarch Liuyun nodded, flipped his wrist, and a bead overflowing with spiritual light and looking exquisite appeared, and he asked in confusion:

"My master has already lent it to me temporarily. Could it be that you want to use this bead to monitor that Lu Yuan?"

Xing Tianding nodded solemnly and said:

"Indeed. True Monarch Liuyun may not know, but that Lu Yuan has indeed been law-abiding since he settled in the sub-camp I arranged, keeping to himself and rarely going out except for cultivation. However, over this past half year, I have discovered something very strange."

"It is that the number and frequency of Corpse Demons and Corpse Tides appearing at the exit of the mountain range blocked by that sub-camp have plummeted, which is completely different from the past."

True Monarch Liuyun's gaze narrowed slightly:

"Why is this? Could it be because of that Lu Yuan?"

Xing Tianding shook his head and said:

"I do not know either, but some time ago, an informant in the sub-camp discovered that every ten days or half a month, that Lu Yuan seems to secretly leave the defensive line in the dead of night and head in the direction of the Yin Corpse Mountain Range."

"What? What is he doing alone in the Yin Corpse Mountain Range?"

True Monarch Liuyun's expression changed slightly:

"This matter is of great importance. Can Hall Master Xing be certain?"

Xing Tianding nodded:

"I naturally know the gravity of this and would not speak lightly. After receiving the news, I once went to lurk and observe outside the sub-camp for a while, and sure enough, one night in the dead of night, I saw that Lu Yuan fly out from his own cave dwelling and fly into the Yin Corpse Mountain Range."

"He is a Jiedan Late Stage cultivator, and I am not skilled in concealment. Fearing that I might startle the snake, I did not follow him inside. Now that True Monarch Liuyun has brought the Mirage Dragon Pearl, the two of us can go together to see whether this person is human or ghost, and what he is plotting."

True Monarch Liuyun's expression became murderous and grave, and a cold killing intent naturally leaked out:

"Good. We shall do as Hall Master Xing says and see whether this person is human or ghost!"

Just like that.

After a conversation.

True Monarch Liuyun immediately activated the Mirage Dragon Pearl. With a ripple of light and shadow, his figure completely vanished into the void. Xing Tianding repeatedly scanned with his Jiedan Late Stage divine sense but failed to discover the trace of True Monarch Liuyun.

Such outstanding results put both of them at ease. They then returned to the main camp, one in the open and one in the dark; no one knew that such an official as True Monarch Liuyun, a commander of the Immortal City, had actually come to the front-line position.

And that night.

These two Jiedan Late Stage cultivators used the power of the Mirage Dragon Pearl to secretly head to the sub-camp, and hid not far outside Lu Yuan's cave dwelling to begin monitoring and waiting.

This first night was naturally calm, and nothing happened.

But a few days later, on one night.

The dim light of the stars and moon spread across Heaven and Earth. Under the secret surveillance of the two, Lu Yuan's station cave dwelling opened quietly, and then a pitch-black figure that blended into the night flew out without a sound, quickly flying toward the Yin Corpse Mountain Range.