Chapter 71: You Can Accomplish Great Things!
At the very moment Lu Yang reported to Perfected One Yin Shan, the Yun Family Ancestor inside the secret realm suddenly felt his whole body tremble, as if a great disaster were imminent.
“…It was that avatar of yours.”
The Yun Family Ancestor pinched his fingers to calculate and instantly understood the causes and consequences. Immediately, a trace of despair appeared on his face: “In the end, tribulation cannot be escaped.”
His reincarnation this time relied entirely on secrecy.
It was all thanks to the Sect Master of the Sword Pavilion obscuring the heavenly secrets that he wasn’t discovered. But once discovered, even the Sect Master of the Sword Pavilion couldn’t possibly save him.
In other words, his last gamble, staking his life, had completely failed. The Sect Master’s task was not completed, and there was no hope of returning to Foundation Establishment. The Yun Family, having lost him, would inevitably plummet in stature within the Sword Pavilion, no longer a high-ranking Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan, perhaps even facing imminent destruction…
“…No, there is still a chance!”
The Yun Family Ancestor looked at Lu Yang. A terrifying killing intent suddenly appeared in his eyes. His hatred for Lu Yang was such that even the waters of three rivers could not wash it clean.
The next second, his face showed resolve.
With a thought, the Great Unity Golden Flower originally surrounding him rapidly rolled back. Finally, it all converged at his fingertips, transforming into a sharp streak of Sword Qi.
This Sword Qi was a Divine Ability, named “Fixing Origin One Slash, Ending With the World.”
Don’t let the plain appearance of the Sword Qi fool you; in reality, it could directly lock onto the enemy’s karma. Once slashed out, as long as the target’s karma did not disperse, the Sword Qi would not perish.
The Shaman-Ghost Dao of the past was exterminated entirely by that generation’s Sect Master of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, a Golden Core Perfected Lord, using this very divine ability. Not a single person was left. Because the Shaman-Ghost Dao left behind a secret realm inheritance and the karma had not dispersed, the Sword Qi also remained for a thousand years.
However, this slash was not something ordinary cultivators could unleash.
Because it involved karma, it could not be used by anyone below Foundation Establishment. Now that the Yun Family Ancestor had fallen from the Foundation Establishment rank, to unleash this slash, he had to sacrifice his entire life.
In other words, he wanted to perish together with the enemy right now.
“With the ‘Investigating Heaven Instrument’ shielding the heavenly secrets, if I sacrifice my life to slay this demon and then reincarnate again, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope to escape alive…”
Although this was already his second reincarnation, forcing a third reincarnation before returning to Foundation Establishment would cause severe wear on his Dao conduct. Even if he truly escaped successfully, in the future, he would inevitably be trapped by the Mystery of the Womb, reduced to an ordinary mortal, never to transcend again.
“…At least, I’ll kill you first!”
The Yun Family Ancestor stared straight at Lu Yang. Then, circulating the divine ability, his entire Essence, Qi, and Spirit disintegrated with a boom, all flowing into the sharp Sword Qi he had condensed.
“Slash!”
With a violent shout, the Sword Qi whistled out, falling directly toward Lu Yang. Instantly, Lu Yang felt an intense sense of crisis.
“Want to fight me with your life?”
With a thought, Lu Yang’s figure completely merged into the Sage Aspect behind him. Then, manipulating the Sage Aspect, he extended two heaven-supporting large hands to grab the Sword Qi.
The two entangled. The hands of the Sage Aspect were churned by the Sword Qi until bone and flesh separated. The Sword Qi was also forcibly torn apart by his hands. However, on the Sword Qi’s side, since Lu Yang’s karma had not dispersed, the Sword Qi immediately swallowed and spat heaven and earth to replenish itself, instantly restoring the torn parts to their original state.
On the other side, the Sage Aspect was in the same situation.
After all, it was only manifested by Lu Yang borrowing Qi; it wasn’t a true physical entity. Circulating his spiritual power at this moment, he immediately regenerated the missing flesh and blood.
The two sides fell into a stalemate just like that.
Seeing this, the Yun Family Ancestor sighed, but he didn’t linger. At this moment, he had lost his physical body; only a soul remained in the world.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Perfected One of the Saint Sect hadn’t arrived yet, reincarnating as soon as possible was the best policy.
Just then, the Yun Family Ancestor suddenly felt a chill sweep through his heart. Looking back, he saw Lu Yang in the distance sneering at him: “Why is Senior in such a hurry to leave?”
The next second, he saw a cluster of Aura belonging to him appear in Lu Yang’s hand. Lu Yang drew a circle of light, using the Aura to reflect his figure.
“…Not good!”
The Yun Family Ancestor’s pupils shrank instantly. Amidst his shock and rage, he was utterly baffled: “Mystic Yin Seizing Form Great Art… How did he capture my Aura?”
With the Mystic Yin Seizing Form Great Art, as long as one captured the Aura, one could kill the enemy from a distance. The Yun Family Ancestor had long calculated that Lu Yang had learned this divine ability, so he paid extreme attention to restraining his Aura during the battle, absolutely not giving Lu Yang any chance to capture it. It should have been foolproof…
But he didn’t expect that his Aura was still captured by Lu Yang!
And given his current state of losing his body and remaining only as a soul, once hit by this technique, he feared his soul would scatter immediately, with no chance of reincarnation!
“Please, Heaven Lord, save me!”
For a moment, the Yun Family Ancestor had no choice but to postpone reincarnation. Instead, he urged the ‘Investigating Heaven Instrument’ in his soul form, wanting to block Lu Yang’s Mystic Yin Seizing Form Great Art.
“Too late!”
Lu Yang waved his hand, severing the figure of the Yun Family Ancestor within the round light. The Yun Family Ancestor immediately focused his attention, preparing to resist.
Then, nothing happened.
The Yun Family Ancestor blinked, frozen in place. The remote curse-killing of the Mystic Yin Seizing Form Great Art he imagined did not appear. It was almost as if it were fake…
“…No!”
It was fake! He was stalling for time!
The Yun Family Ancestor woke up with a start. He dared not stay any longer. With a wave of his hand, he opened a black channel, and his soul was about to rush into it.
However, in that very instant, a vast Aura shockingly entered the Refining Arts Secret Realm!
“Lock Heaven and Earth!”
A magnificent voice resounded inside and outside the secret realm. Words of gold and jade; the black channel the Yun Family Ancestor just opened was instantly sealed back up.
“NO—!!!”
The black channel was the place of reincarnation. Seeing this, the Yun Family Ancestor let out a miserable scream. His soul shook violently as he looked at Lu Yang with a ferocious face: “You dare trick me!?”
“What can you do to me?”
Lu Yang smiled faintly. Then, another large hand reached in from outside the secret realm, grabbed the Sword Qi that was entangled with him endlessly, and squeezed gently, instantly crushing it into powder.
No matter how strong a divine ability is, it is useless when facing a higher stature.
‘This is Foundation Establishment…’
Lu Yang sighed in his heart. Even though he had seen it many times, the crushing power of a Foundation Establishment Perfected One over a Qi Refining cultivator still made him feel awe.
The next second, Perfected One Yin Shan’s figure appeared beside Lu Yang.
“Well done.”
Perfected One Yin Shan praised. Then he turned to look at the Yun Family Ancestor’s soul and laughed loudly: “So it’s you, Yun Qingchuan, you old knave.”
“Yin Shan…”
The Yun Family Ancestor rolled his eyes, seeming to want to say something. But before he could speak, Perfected One Yin Shan raised his hand and landed a palm on his soul.
Boom!
The next second, all of the Yun Family Ancestor’s consciousness and thoughts were completely erased by Perfected One Yin Shan. Only a blank soul remained, held in Perfected One Yin Shan’s hand.
He had fallen from the Foundation Establishment rank after all. Although a soul still retained some stature, it couldn’t possibly compare to a true Foundation Establishment Perfected One. Moreover, after the Skull Mountain incident, Perfected One Yin Shan’s cultivation had improved. He was now at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, even less comparable for the Yun Family Ancestor.
Buzz! Buzz!
With the Yun Family Ancestor dead, the Investigating Heaven Instrument lost its master. Perfected One Yin Shan naturally didn’t stand on ceremony; he captured and suppressed it on the spot, also holding it in his hand to examine.
“Good treasure, truly a good treasure…”
That the Yun Family Ancestor could use this treasure to obscure heavenly secrets and reincarnate into the secret realm without anyone noticing showed its high quality, making even Perfected One Yin Shan’s heart flutter.
However, this matter concerned the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion and involved the soul of a Foundation Establishment Perfected One. According to sect rules, he had to report it for the Sect Master to decide. But once reported, this wondrous treasure couldn’t be kept hidden. It would inevitably become a target for all. With his strength and stature, he might not be able to keep it…
Just then, Lu Yang suddenly stepped forward and bowed: “Senior Brother, Junior Brother is bold to ask an unreasonable favor… I wonder if I could borrow the soul of that Orthodox Foundation Establishment for use? I will return it to its original owner within ten years.”
“Oh? You want this old knave’s soul?”
Perfected One Yin Shan raised his eyebrows, then shook his head: “You certainly dare to think. However, since it concerns the Sword Pavilion, after I report it, the Sect Master will inevitably question it. At that time, neither this soul nor the spiritual treasure can be kept.”
“But… it’s not that there is no workaround.”
Speaking to this point, Perfected One Yin Shan suddenly changed his tone, looking at Lu Yang with a faint smile: “Many things, as long as they aren’t put on the scale, a thousand jin only weighs four liang.”
“If you help me conceal this matter so no one reports it and no one investigates, then both the soul and the spiritual treasure can be kept.”
Lu Yang was stunned for a moment, then revealed a look of confusion: “Conceal what matter?”
“…Good! Worthy of being a disciple of my Saint Sect. You can accomplish great things!”
The two exchanged a glance, a tacit understanding formed.
The next second, Perfected One Yin Shan threw the Yun Family Ancestor’s soul into Lu Yang’s hand, then put away the Investigating Heaven Instrument, and drifted away.
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