Chapter 54: When Fortune Strikes, Heaven and Earth Unite in Support
Outside the Skull Mountain Market, inside a temporarily excavated Cave Abode.
Seven-colored rosy clouds rose and steamed like mist. Within the clouds, a woman of national beauty sat cross-legged, regulating her breath. With each inhalation and exhalation, the rosy clouds gathered around her.
A moment later, all the rosy clouds finally merged into one.
Immediately after, the colors of the seven-hued clouds gradually blended, finally transforming into a ray of pure white Divine Light, devoid of any impurities, which shone down illuminating everything.
“I succeeded!”
As the pure white Divine Light condensed, the woman within the clouds immediately opened her eyes, joy revealing itself on her face: “Seven-Color Pure Light Qi. I have reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.”
The technique she cultivated was passed down by an elder of the Saint Sect. The “Seven-Color Pure Light Qi” appeared pure white, but in reality, it was formed by merging the seven rosy clouds of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Purple. Each ray of rosy light signified a purification. After seven purifications, the True Qi’s grade reached a full Grade 4!
“With this, Foundation Establishment is hopeful.”
Fairy Feixia sighed with emotion. As for Grade 4 True Qi having no destiny with the Golden Core, it didn’t affect her much; she had never extravagantly hoped for the Great Dao of the Golden Core anyway.
“Finding a piece of Rosy Cloud Gathering Stone this time can be considered a stroke of destined luck.”
“It is a pity about Junior Brother Lu. Cultivation acts against the will of Heaven. If he had also left the market with me, perhaps he might have had some hope of reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.”
Once she broke through, Fairy Feixia’s mindset changed.
Previously, she had committed herself to Lu Yang because he presided over the market and could rival a Great Perfection of Qi Refining cultivator. But now that she had broken through, Lu Yang was no longer that important.
After all, “rivaling” was ultimately inferior to being.
Without his formations, Lu Yang’s strength seemed somewhat insufficient in her eyes.
Moreover, regarding Lu Yang’s overly cautious behavior earlier, Fairy Feixia harbored dissatisfaction, feeling it was merely an excuse for his lack of strength…
Boom!
Just then, the ground shook violently. Above the dome of the sky, a spirit tide surged. Rolling Spiritual Qi swept over, nearly causing Fairy Feixia to stumble and fall.
“What is happening…!?”
Fairy Feixia hurriedly rode her escape light, flying into mid-air. She looked from afar toward the center of the anomaly where the spirit tide surged, and her pretty face changed abruptly.
“It’s the market?”
Boom! Rumble!
A second loud noise, another wave of spirit tide, as if someone had detonated a Spiritual Qi bomb. Fairy Feixia hurriedly used her Seven-Color Pure Light Qi to protect herself.
However, compared to that vast might of heaven and earth, her Seven-Color Pure Light Qi ultimately lacked the most critical step. Grade 4 True Qi was difficult to hold firm; for a moment, she was like a lonely boat in a storm, constantly rocking. The originally pure white Divine Light was beaten until it gradually revealed its seven colors…
“This is… the aftershock of a Battle of Arts!?”
Fairy Feixia, while sacrificing the Rosy Cloud Smoke Net to stabilize her figure, revealed a look of horror: “To trigger such an anomaly… someone is fighting intensely in the market?”
Could Junior Brother Lu be dead?
Fairy Feixia’s heart turned cold. She immediately flew toward the market. From a distance, she saw a figure under siege by everyone in the center of the spirit tide.
There were three attackers. Upon recognizing them, Fairy Feixia’s expression became even more shocked.
“Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion’s ‘Taiyi Sword’ Yun Zhiqiu, Divine Martial Sect’s ‘Heaven-Overturning Strongman’ Ouyang Feng, Rogue Cultivator ‘Demon-Subduing Zen Master’ Ming Chan… They are joining forces!?”
Looking over, above the Skull Mountain Market, a blood-colored sword formation covered the sky and earth. Thousands of blood lights transformed into a vivid, lifelike eight-clawed True Dragon. It charged left and right, whipping its tail and thrusting its horns. Finally, it let out a sudden dragon roar—it was this roar that had whipped up the spirit tide.
“Break!”
Every time the spirit tide erupted, it forced Yun Zhiqiu, Ouyang Feng, and Ming Chan to retreat temporarily. However, the three would soon regroup and press forward again.
“Amitabha. I did not expect Benefactor Lu to possess such destiny… Grade 3 True Qi!”
Ming Chan clasped his hands together. A trace of strangeness appeared on his usually calm face. Grade 3 True Qi… this was already at the level of a True Disciple of the major sects!
Thinking of this, Ming Chan’s expression became increasingly compassionate: “Benefactor indeed has a destiny with this poor monk. Before sending Benefactor to reincarnation this time, this poor monk must ask for Benefactor’s Grade 3 True Art. When Benefactor returns from reincarnation in the future, this poor monk will return the cultivation method intact to Benefactor, fulfilling the master-disciple destiny between you and me.”
“Bald donkey, you seek death!”
Lu Yang sneered. The great dragon formed by his True Qi roared again. At the same time, the Blood Sun Sword Pellet emerged, and the sword formation upon it expanded with a boom.
“Excellent, excellent… We are enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven. Why must Benefactor struggle in vain?”
Seeing this, Ming Chan did not fight head-on. He immediately shook the kāṣāya on his body, and the seven treasures upon it—such as the Ruyi Jewel, Mani Jewel, and Dust-Repelling Jewel—instantly emitted a burst of Buddha light.
Relying on this protective Buddha light, he retreated calmly, avoiding being swept into Lu Yang’s sword formation.
In fact, the Blood Sun Sword Pellet contributed greatly to Lu Yang being able to persist until now.
After all, the grand formation within the Sword Pellet ensured the Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light would hit without fail. Its power was extremely strong; whenever he fell into a disadvantage, he could use this to turn the tide.
Of course, if he truly failed, there was also the Hundred-Bones Restoration Grand Formation to save his life, allowing him to stage a comeback…
Aside from that, there was another reason: none of the three were willing to go all out.
‘They are afraid of my Mystic Yin Seizing Form Great Art…’
Lu Yang knew perfectly well that the fiercer the battle, the more likely one’s aura would leak. Once he caught it, it would inevitably be a fatal strike.
Therefore, the plan of Yun Zhiqiu and the other two was simple: wear Lu Yang down. They were, after all, three Great Perfection of Qi Refining cultivators with considerable combat power. Joining forces to deal with a cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining gave them a ten-out-of-ten chance of winning, even if Lu Yang relied on two grand formations.
“If I were only at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, that would indeed be true…”
Lu Yang’s gaze shifted slightly. He looked up at the sky, and a sudden enlightenment arose in his heart: It is today, it is now… I should charge through the bottleneck!
The next second, Lu Yang let out a long howl toward the sky.
His True Qi expanded violently at this moment—he was actually charging toward the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining!
Seeing this scene, Yun Zhiqiu and the others were momentarily stunned, then immediately sneered: “Ignorant fool! Breaking through during a battle of arts? Have you read too many novels?”
Breaking through during a battle was no different from seeking death!
Which cultivator didn’t sit in seclusion when breaking through?
Because breaking through required an explosion of True Qi and absolute concentration. If you were fighting, with external enemies distracting you, how could you focus your mind on the breakthrough?
However, just then, above Skull Mountain.
From a place “high above the high,” a gaze lowered, overlooking everyone within Skull Mountain as if examining dolls on a sandbox.
“Interesting. Gutsy… and he knows how to judge the hour and size up the situation. Not bad.”
Perfected One Yin Shan chuckled lightly. Then, he extended a hand and flicked his finger gently, as if plucking a zither string. The situation, originally destined for death, suddenly changed!
Only Lu Yang felt this change most deeply.
Just a moment ago, he felt his True Qi was chaotic, his forced breakthrough ill-prepared, and he was extremely likely to suffer Qi Deviation. But suddenly, everything changed.
The True Qi was ‘chaotic’ in just the right way, as if by sheer luck, perfectly matching the requirements for the breakthrough. The bottleneck was also ‘surprisingly’ not as difficult as imagined; he broke through it in one rush. Even his state was blessed with sudden insight, stabilizing his post-breakthrough cultivation as if by ‘instinct’.
Coincidence? Good luck beyond belief!
Is this what it feels like to be a “Child of Destiny”? When fortune strikes, Heaven and Earth unite in support. He didn’t even need to do anything deliberately to achieve the desired result!
Boom!
The next second, under the stunned gazes of Yun Zhiqiu and the other two, Lu Yang brazenly broke through, mastering the final Flying Fish Transformation of the Nine Transformations Dragon Art.
And the Flying Fish Transformation governed “Breaking Barriers”!
Therefore, Lu Yang did not pause at all. His newly broken-through True Qi expanded once more. With the blessing of the Flying Fish Transformation, he launched a charge against the bottleneck of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining (Great Perfection)!
Then, he broke through again as a matter of course!
Nine Transformations into a Dragon, Great Perfection of Qi Refining!
“Roar!”
For a moment, a clear dragon roar resounded through the entire Skull Mountain! The sound brushed past Yun Zhiqiu and the others, revealing faces stiff with shock.
“This is impossible… No! Is a Perfected One stirring karma?”
The next second, Yun Zhiqiu and the other two finally reacted, panic appearing on their faces.
They saw Lu Yang standing proudly in the air. He turned to look at the three of them and revealed a grim smile: “Do you understand now? This is what I call enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven!”
When a Foundation Establishment Perfected One has a thought, Heaven and Earth become vastly different!
For Qi Refining cultivators, a Foundation Establishment Perfected One is Heaven. Whoever has a Perfected One as a backer is the Child of Destiny; whoever they support is enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven!
“Amitabha…”
The next second, Ming Chan said nothing more. With a shake of his kāṣāya, Buddha light exploded, and his figure was the first to vanish.
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