Chapter 56: Without Reaching Foundation Establishment, One Is Ultimately a Pawn

For Lu Yang, this was an unprecedented experience.

He was “ascending.”

In a state of utter profundity, his position was constantly rising toward a “high place.” Everything mortal became increasingly insignificant to him.

‘This is the vision of a Foundation Establishment Perfected One.’

‘Is this Ascension!?’

Lu Yang gained some enlightenment. No wonder most Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones were like divine dragons who showed their heads but not their tails, transcending the mundane world. Perhaps this “height” was one of the reasons.

At the same time, he thought of his previous battle with Yun Miaozhen. The “Great Unity Golden Flower” she unleashed at the end gave him a similar feeling to this moment, though not as “high” as now. Thinking about it, Great Divine Abilities might be a simulation of Foundation Establishment.

No wonder it was said that mastering a Great Divine Ability could increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment.

It was like the difference between “climbing a mountain from the foot” and “climbing from halfway up.” With different starting lines, the difficulty of reaching the summit naturally differed.

The next second, Lu Yang’s mind shook violently.

Immediately after, he seemed to fall into a realm where one could not see their own fingers—a place that seemed all-encompassing yet empty and silent, where spiritual consciousness was difficult to expand.

However, the situation soon changed.

“Beasts. You bunch of beasts!”

Accompanying a furious roar, a burst of colorful light suddenly exploded in this inexplicable realm. Around the colorful light, streaks of soaring black Qi sealed off all directions.

Both the colorful light and the black Qi felt as heavy as mountains to Lu Yang. However, judging by the situation, the colorful light was clearly pinned firmly in place by the black Qi. As time passed, large patches of the colorful light were eroded by the black Qi, and the originally powerful roar became increasingly feeble.

‘Is this… a Battle of Foundation Establishment?’

Lu Yang was bewildered. He understood that he was merely hitching a ride with Perfected One Yin Shan and could not truly see this great battle between Perfected Ones.

However, relying on the experience of his previous lifetimes, he still made a judgment.

‘That patch of colorful light is probably the Perfected One of the Divine Martial Sect… I understand now! This is another trap! Except this time, the bait is the entire Skull Mountain!’

Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly felt enlightened.

Because everything before his eyes resolved a doubt he had never been able to solve.

Clearly, Perfected One Yin Shan was fishing in Skull Mountain for the Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm. Judging from his words, this likely concerned his cultivation.

But from beginning to end, Skull Mountain only had one Foundation Establishment cultivator: Perfected One Yin Shan.

Where was the Foundation Establishment of the Divine Martial Sect?

At first, Lu Yang thought Perfected One Yin Shan’s methods were superb enough to lay a trap without the Divine Martial Sect’s Perfected One noticing. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

‘This Perfected One probably didn’t hide it at all. Instead, he openly manipulated karma specifically to lure out the Foundation Establishment of the Divine Martial Sect!’

Perfected One Yin Shan was in Skull Mountain, using himself to fish.

Meanwhile, the Saint Sect was using Perfected One Yin Shan to fish across the entire Northern Frontier! Now, the fish had taken the bait, and all the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Divine Martial Sect had fallen into the jar!

Boom! Rumble!

Instantly, the entire world shook. A Foundation Establishment Perfected One from the Divine Martial Sect shouted loudly: “Demonic Sect, do you truly intend to destroy my Divine Martial Sect’s Dao tradition this time?”

“What else?”

A Perfected One within the Saint Sect sneered: “Let me guess. Are you perhaps still placing your hope on that bunch of lunatics from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion? Let me tell you, they won’t come!”

“As early as ten years ago, during the battle at the Jiangnan Ten-Thousand-Man Pit, the Supreme One of this Sect reached an agreement with the Sect Master of the Sword Pavilion. The Northern Frontier belongs to this Sect, and the Southern Frontier goes to the Sword Pavilion. Therefore, if my Saint Sect destroys your Divine Martial Sect today, the Sword Pavilion will destroy the Myriad Poison Cult of the Southern Frontier in the future. It’s a one-for-one exchange; no one loses out.”

“What… impossible! Chong Guang, you lie to me!”

Facing the angry rebuke of the Divine Martial Sect’s Foundation Establishment, Perfected One Chong Guang chuckled: “Consider it me lying to you. In any case, after today, there will be no more Divine Martial Sect!”

“Kill!”

In an instant, the colorful light surged violently, finally splitting into five brilliant streaks of Qi. However, they did not attack together; instead, they scattered and fled rapidly in all directions.

“Scatter! Escape! Find a way to flee back to the sect…”

“Escape? Wishful thinking!”

It was still Perfected One Chong Guang speaking. This Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Saint Sect appeared especially domineering at this moment, laughing loudly: “In heaven and on earth, you cannot escape anywhere!”

Boom!

With a loud bang, Lu Yang completely lost all sensation and fell into a faint. Unknown how much time passed before he slowly regained consciousness, feeling as if in a dream.

“Awake?”

A voice came from beside his ear. Lu Yang’s pupils shrank abruptly, and he woke up completely. Looking around, he discovered he had returned to the forest of Skull Mountain.

Beside him, Perfected One Yin Shan stood with hands clasped behind his back, looking at him with a faint smile.

“Greetings, Senior Brother!”

Without a second word, Lu Yang immediately performed a grand prostration.

“Rise.”

Perfected One Yin Shan raised his hand and chuckled lightly: “You contributed greatly to my acquisition of the Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm this time, so I will offer you a few words of advice.”

“Please enlighten me, Senior Brother,” Lu Yang said respectfully.

“First, I forcibly raised your Qi destiny earlier and helped you seize the Qi destiny of others. Although this allowed you to advance by leaps and bounds in a short time, the future consequences are severe.”

Perfected One Yin Shan paused intentionally after speaking. Seeing Lu Yang’s expression remain unchanged, appearing unmoved by honor or disgrace, he nodded slightly and continued: “Therefore, according to my calculations, your luck for the next thirty years will be extremely poor. It is best not to cultivate or go out, otherwise, you will be in danger of perishing.”

“I respectfully accept your teaching.”

Lu Yang dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction. After all, although he lost thirty years of luck, Perfected One Yin Shan gained a Shaman-Ghost Secret Realm.

Without reaching Foundation Establishment, one is ultimately a pawn… Does a pawn dare to be dissatisfied?

If a Foundation Establishment Perfected One is willing to use you, that is your blessing!

The fact that Perfected One Yin Shan was even willing to remind him was already giving face to the fact that he had joined the Three Rivers Society and could be considered a subordinate.

Seeing Lu Yang being so “sensible,” Perfected One Yin Shan was quite satisfied and smiled: “ Regardless, helping me achieve success counts as a great merit.”

“I preside over the Three Rivers Society, and I always reward merit.”

“Since you have already broken through to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining, the next step is nothing more than Foundation Establishment… How about I grant you a Foundation Establishment Treasure?”

At these words, Lu Yang’s eyes instantly widened.

A Foundation Establishment Treasure!?

‘That’s it… In my life before the last, Zhao Xuhe likely obtained his first Foundation Establishment Treasure this way. It’s just that now, he has been replaced by me…’

No wonder that despite overseeing the market for so long and sending people to gather information daily, he never saw even a shadow of a Foundation Establishment Treasure. Thinking about it now, the rumors were likely deliberately released by Zhao Xuhe in that past life to fool ambitious people outside and confuse their vision.

Lu Yang’s thoughts raced with excitement and desire.

However, in the end, his expression gradually calmed. After closing his eyes to contemplate for a moment, he actually shook his head and said: “Answering Senior Brother, may I exchange it for another reward?”

“…Oh?”

This time, Perfected One Yin Shan was truly somewhat surprised: “Are you sure? This ‘Ascension Token’ in my hand can increase the probability of Foundation Establishment by at least ten percent.”

“I am sure.”

Lu Yang nodded. A Foundation Establishment Treasure was precious, but he knew very well that with his Qi destiny damaged for the next thirty years, he couldn’t hold onto this treasure!

For him right now, a Foundation Establishment Treasure was not an opportunity but a root of disaster, extremely likely to lead to his violent death… This could be seen from the ending of Zhao Xuhe in his life before the last. Thus, relying on great perseverance, Lu Yang forcibly suppressed the greed in his heart.

‘For me, there is no need to rush…’

‘I have only just reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. I still have much room for growth, such as Great Divine Abilities… It will be the same if I come back for a Foundation Establishment Treasure after a few more lifetimes.’

Lu Yang’s certainty silenced Perfected One Yin Shan.

To be honest, at first, he didn’t intend to pay much attention to Lu Yang. It was mainly because he saw Lu Yang break through two realms in a row, understood how to judge the situation, and was a member of the Three Rivers Society that he developed some thoughts of nurturing him.

After a moment, he spoke again: “What reward do you want to exchange for?”

Lu Yang said without hesitation: “I want a treasure that enhances comprehension.”

After all, for the Great Divine Ability in his hand, the Grand Yin Corpse Liberation Transformation True Method, he still lacked the mastery of the Taiwei Imperial Edict Scripture. And that scripture placed extreme emphasis on comprehension.

If you can’t learn it, you just can’t.

Therefore, without a treasure to enhance comprehension, Lu Yang estimated that he might not be able to master this divine ability even after several more lifetimes.

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