Chapter 26: Worthy of the Saint Sect
The mountains and rivers were picturesque, the setting sun red like blood.
Standing on the cloud sea, Lu Yang waited for quite a while without seeing a palm strike descend from the heavens to smash him into powder. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“That just now… was a Foundation Establishment Perfected One.”
Lu Yang didn’t even dare to mutter to himself, only pondering in his heart. His face was ugly to the extreme. After all, the gap between them was simply too vast.
Not just his body, but even his thoughts were frozen. He only reacted after Daoist Hong Yun had left. That feeling was like a mouse caught in the paws of a cat. It wasn’t just a gap in so-called strength anymore, but a difference in level of existence. It instantly extinguished all the arrogance in Lu Yang’s heart.
“I am still too weak. I have no power…”
Originally, after defeating Liu Xin and the others despite being outnumbered, Lu Yang had swept away the haze from his previous life and felt high-spirited. Now, his mindset had flattened once again.
The path to immortality is long; one still needs to forge ahead with diligence.
Lu Yang sighed with emotion, then recalled the matter of Xiao Shiye. Panic resurfaced in his eyes. “Luck… is actually bestowed by others?”
By now, he also remembered.
Before heading to the [Merit Pool], Xiao Shiye had once said: “Since I’ve suddenly been quite lucky recently, I want to take this opportunity to try my hand.”
Suddenly been quite lucky recently.
At the time, Lu Yang just thought it was the modesty of the Son of Heaven’s Mandate. But looking at it now, perhaps that was the honest truth. He really only got lucky recently.
Because of that Daoist Hong Yun!
“The Multi-Colored Fish in the [Merit Pool] must refer to the Multi-Colored Merit Fish. Did Daoist Hong Yun want to use Xiao Shiye’s hand to fish it out of the [Merit Pool]?”
“If that’s truly the case, then in the previous life, he succeeded. However, having said that, in the previous life, after Xiao Shiye fished out the Multi-Colored Merit Fish, he announced secluded cultivation to the outside world and was never heard from again…”
Thinking carefully, Lu Yang felt a terrifying chill. Fishing, fishing… once the fish is caught, the bait is naturally useless, right?
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly raised his head.
Primordial Saint Sect, Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.
Perhaps to those high-level figures of the Saint Sect who were as elusive as divine dragons, these so-called disciples were all just a school of fish raised in a pond?
“Worthy of the Saint Sect…”
Lu Yang took a deep breath, somewhat understanding why no one had slapped him to death.
A single fish—so what if it jumps a bit more lively or has some unspeakable secrets? They might even think you are a talent.
“Regardless, at least the secret of the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] wasn’t exposed.” Lu Yang rejoiced in his heart. Not only that, but the karma related to the Book also seemed to have deceived Perfected One Hong Yun, to the point where the other party didn’t suspect at all why he possessed cultivation at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining before even entering the sect.
“No time to lose. Let’s go back and eat first.”
Fortunately, although the [Primordial Dao Scripture] was taken away by Daoist Hong Yun, Lu Yang had memorized the entire content of the technique before that.
This was a good habit Lu Yang had developed because of the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].
Whenever he encountered a good technique or Divine Ability, he would memorize it immediately. This way, he could utilize it in the next life without spending Contribution Points to exchange for it again.
Moreover, Daoist Hong Yun took the [Primordial Dao Scripture] but didn’t take Fairy Qing Chen’s [Secret Explanation of Formations and Treasures].
“Admittedly, the two are not comparable at all. Fairy Qing Chen’s things clearly didn’t catch that person’s eye… but for me, it has great use.”
Actually, Lu Yang didn’t place much importance on the [Primordial Dao Scripture] because he had already set his sights on Zhao Xuhe’s Third Grade True Art. The [Primordial Dao Scripture] was dispensable. On the contrary, he was very interested in the [Secret Explanation of Formations and Treasures], which involved the cultivation arts of formation setup and artifact refining.
As for the [Primordial One-Qi Myriad Spirits Banner]…
“There will always be a chance. We’ll talk about it in the next life.”
Returning to his Cave Abode, Lu Yang first calmed his temper and cultivated peacefully. While pondering the [Secret Explanation of Formations and Treasures], he slowly repaired the damage to his Sword Pellet.
It wasn’t until half a month later that he emerged from seclusion again.
This time, he sought out Zhao Xuhe.
When he arrived at Zhao Xuhe’s Cave Abode, he saw Zhao Xuhe arguing with a dignified-looking young man dressed in Law Enforcement Hall attire.
“Senior Brother, believe me. Don’t you understand my, Zhao Xuhe’s, reputation? It’s been very good for over ten years. Isn’t it just 1000 Contribution Points? I will definitely pay it back… What? Interest!? You… Fine, no problem. Senior Brother, give me a few more days of grace. I will definitely pay back both principal and interest…”
After the two entangled for a while, the Law Enforcement Hall disciple left with a sneer.
Zhao Xuhe stood in place with a gloomy expression, his aura fluctuating wildly. Seeing the timing was good, Lu Yang immediately revealed himself and walked over.
“Senior Brother Zhao, long time no see.”
Zhao Xuhe looked up at the voice and immediately sensed Lu Yang’s undisguised aura. His pupils contracted sharply. “Junior Brother Lu, you broke through to the Late Stage of Qi Refining!?”
“Lucky, just lucky.”
Lu Yang smiled slightly. “This humble one has dull aptitude. I secluded myself for several months and spent quite a few Contribution Points to break through by luck. I’ve made Senior Brother laugh.”
Hearing this, Zhao Xuhe’s expression became even stiffer, vaguely twisted. After all, they both speculated on Substitute Death Yin Puppets. He lost his entire fortune and went bankrupt, even his lover ran off with someone else. Yet Lu Yang earned a pot full of money and even relied on the earned Contribution Points to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Refining.
Even more infuriating was that he might not even be Lu Yang’s opponent now!
“Although I obtained Perfected one Coiled Dragon’s opportunity, because my luck was insufficient and my merit inadequate, I only got half of that Third Grade True Art…”
For this, he had specifically asked his Master once.
His Master deduced the karma and concluded that it was because he speculated on Substitute Death Yin Puppets, exhausting the merit accumulated over three lifetimes in advance, leading to falling short of success at the final stage.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xuhe almost crushed his teeth.
Half a Third Grade True Art—only the Qi Refining Realm [Nine Transformations Dragon Art], but missing the Foundation Establishment Realm technique. It was basically useless to him!
Not to mention he now owed external debts. He didn’t even dare to disperse his cultivation to switch techniques, fearing that debt collectors would come knocking during the transition. Seeing him powerless to resist after dispersing his cultivation, they might transform into robbers, strip him clean, and then kill him to silence him. That would truly be unspeakable suffering.
“Junior Brother looked for me; is there something the matter?”
“It’s a long story.” Lu Yang sighed. “To be honest with Senior Brother, this humble one came to seek guidance from Senior Brother. Junior Brother has encountered trouble recently.”
“Trouble?” Zhao Xuhe’s eyes lit up.
Hearing this, Lu Yang sighed. “Previously, this humble one focused solely on cultivation. Only after breaking through to the Late Stage of Qi Refining did I learn about the issue of True Qi Grades. Regret fills my heart…”
Hearing Lu Yang say this, Zhao Xuhe suddenly felt much better.
“So it’s about True Qi Grades.”
Zhao Xuhe offered a few hypocritical words of comfort. “Most disciples of the Saint Sect actually don’t realize this point, so it’s normal for Junior Brother not to know…”
“Sigh, worldly affairs are hard to predict.” Lu Yang shook his head helplessly. “That is why I came to find Senior Brother this time: to ask if there is any way to improve True Qi Grade. If there is a superior technique, that would be even better… Senior Brother need not worry about the price. I can still afford one or two thousand Contribution Points.”
“…Oh?”
Hearing Lu Yang say this, Zhao Xuhe’s mind instantly became active. One or two thousand Contribution Points—he happened to urgently need exactly such a sum right now.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Xuhe’s thoughts spun rapidly, then he suddenly said:
“Junior Brother Lu, since you put it that way… I actually do have a technique in hand that suits you. As long as you cultivate it, you can absolutely improve your True Qi Grade.”
“Really?” Hearing this, Lu Yang immediately showed a look of anticipation. “What technique is it?”
Zhao Xuhe hesitated slightly, having a strange feeling for some unknown reason. But on second thought, this technique was only a half-volume; it was already useless waste.
Rather than keeping it, better to utilize the waste and use it to pay off his debts.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xuhe gritted his teeth, directly took out the [Nine Transformations Dragon Art] he obtained from [Coiled Dragon Island] from his bosom, and handed it to Lu Yang.
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