Outside the cave residence, following Lu Yang's breakthrough, information about him was placed on the desks of interested parties. His origins and background were quickly investigated thoroughly. And just as Lu Yang had predicted, his background could only be described with four words.
His roots were proper, and his lineage was dark. He was a new disciple recruited by the Saint Sect, officially entered the sect after killing a senior sister in the Joyful Union Hall, then made a huge profit by speculating on Death-Substituting Yin Puppets, and had been in seclusion ever since.
"This is an ascetic cultivator."
Looking at the materials on the table, a female cultivator with a fair but stern face and a gaze full of sharp intent couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
This person was also a cultivator in the late Qi Refining Realm, but compared to the newly broken-through Lu Yang, her cultivation level had impressively reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the tenth level of Perfection! The female cultivator's name was "Feixia," and she was quite famous within the Saint Sect.
Not only because of her looks, but also because she was one of the few talisman cultivators in the Saint Sect. With her talisman crafting skills, she had even earned the appreciation of a Saint Sect elder.
"An ascetic cultivator alone can't reach the late Qi Refining Realm."
Beside Fairy Feixia, a young man holding a feathered fan and wearing a silk scarf smiled faintly.
"He clearly made a large sum of money speculating on Death-Substituting Yin Puppets, yet he kept a very low profile."
"From this, we can see he is also a cautious and intelligent person."
"That's normal, and it makes sense."
Hearing this, Fairy Feixia sighed.
"For ordinary disciples like us who want to get ahead, talent, caution, intelligence, courage... none of these can be lacking."
"So, it's settled then."
Fairy Feixia nodded and said, "I will recommend him. This person broke through to the late Qi Refining Realm in just ten years. Our Three Rivers Society needs exactly this kind of talent."
Inside the cave residence, Lu Yang sat on a meditation cushion. Before him, more than ten talisman messages were laid out in a row.
Each one was an olive branch, claiming that if he was willing to join their faction, he would immediately be presented with great gifts, including but not limited to Dao companions, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, treasures, and medicinal pills... they had everything one could wish for.
"I didn't pay attention in my previous life, I never realized there were so many factions within the Saint Sect."
Basically, as long as one had a cultivation level in the late Qi Refining Realm, they could form a sizable team within the Saint Sect. For example, Liu Xin from his previous life was like that. Lu Yang wasn't surprised by this.
After all, a sect without factions would be a strange thing. The Saint Sect was so large, it was impossible for everyone to be of one mind. People would always form groups for their own interests.
Of course, those factions were like rootless duckweed, with no foundation. The ones with the real confidence to recruit him were the factions established by some Saint Sect elders, or even True Disciples. The conditions they offered were also relatively more realistic and credible.
But that was all.
"I still overestimated myself."
Lu Yang shook his head. The conditions offered by those large factions were indeed good, often starting at tens of thousands of contribution points. However, he happened to not be short of money.
After all, he hadn't even finished spending the contribution points he earned from speculating on Death-Substituting Yin Puppets. Compared to money, what he lacked was "access," the access to truly connect with the middle echelons of the Saint Sect and purchase things that couldn't be bought under normal circumstances.
Just as Lu Yang was pondering, the formation outside his door suddenly shook. Lu Yang looked up at the sound, only to see the illumination formation he had set up in front of his cave residence burst into brilliant light. The resplendent light of the formation illuminated a graceful and curvaceous figure.
It was Fairy Feixia.
"Junior Brother Lu, you also know formations?"
Fairy Feixia looked at the formation patterns appearing around her with surprise, a hint of unexpected delight appearing on her pretty face. Lu Yang cupped his hands.
"Senior Sister, may I ask why you have come here?"
Fairy Feixia did not act coy, and returned the gesture with grace.
"I am Feixia, a deacon of the Saint Sect's Three Rivers Society. I have come for you, Junior Brother."
"Oh? Please, Senior Sister."
Lu Yang quickly welcomed her in, his mind racing. The Three Rivers Society, wasn't that the faction behind Zhao Xuhe? Why would they come to recruit him?
Lu Yang actually didn't know much about the Three Rivers Society, but he knew Zhao Xuhe was a member. More importantly, as a disciple of the Heaven Mending Peak Master, Zhao Xuhe seemed to be only in the middle or lower ranks of the Three Rivers Society. This point alone showed the value of the Three Rivers Society.
"I hope Senior Sister will forgive me. This little brother is ignorant and has not heard of the Three Rivers Society...?"
Lu Yang asked very carefully. Fairy Feixia was not surprised to hear this and said with a smile, "The Three Rivers Society was established by three True Disciple senior brothers."
"Among them, the eldest senior brother is already a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master and has established a peak within the sea of clouds."
"Although the second and third senior brothers have not yet reached Foundation Establishment, they have both refined third-grade true qi and are at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. They could reach Foundation Establishment at any time."
"I heard that you, Junior Brother Lu, also came from an ordinary disciple background. You should know how difficult life is for ordinary disciples in the early stages. The three senior brothers, like us ordinary disciples, came from humble beginnings. So, after achieving great success in their cultivation, they established the Three Rivers Society, dedicated to helping ordinary disciples overcome the early difficulties."
"So that's how it is."
Lu Yang showed a look of admiration.
"The three senior brothers' merit is immeasurable."
Pah.
If I hadn't taken out a loan from your Three Rivers Society in my past lives and personally witnessed your 36% annual interest rate, I would have almost believed this nonsense. Lu Yang cursed inwardly.
He was always one to not act without seeing a benefit, so he naturally wouldn't make a rash decision just based on what Fairy Feixia said. He immediately asked cautiously, "To be invited to become a member of the Three Rivers Society is my greatest honor. I just wonder what the benefits of the Three Rivers Society are?"
"You don't need to worry about that, Junior Brother."
Upon hearing this, Fairy Feixia said frankly, "As long as you are willing to join, Junior Brother, I can immediately make the decision to gift you a True Disciple level divine ability and secret art."
"After joining, you will receive an annual stipend of contribution points."
"Furthermore, as long as you have the money, Junior Brother, you can also borrow the True Disciple access within the society to purchase some desired items, and even ask the three senior brothers for guidance in your cultivation."
"Of course, there are also requirements."
Speaking of this, Fairy Feixia took out a jade slip and placed it in front of Lu Yang.
"All who join must sign a contract and leave behind a drop of essence blood."
"That's simple."
Hearing this, Lu Yang glanced at the contract before him. It was nothing more than the usual clauses that all factions had, such as confidentiality obligations and so on. Perhaps some people would feel that doing so meant losing their freedom, with many matters being out of their control, but Lu Yang didn't care at all.
With a wave of his hand, he signed his name. It's only a matter of one lifetime, it won't affect the next one. Lu Yang even wished the binding force was stronger.
That way, he would be more likely to be treated as one of their own, and the resources he received would certainly be better. Seeing Lu Yang be so straightforward, Fairy Feixia also nodded in satisfaction.
"Next, as long as you take out your Saint Sect disciple token, Junior Brother, I will place a restriction on it for you. From then on, the token can be used within the society."
"I've troubled you, Senior Sister."
Lu Yang took out his token, only to see Fairy Feixia form a hand seal with one hand and strike a talismanic seal into it. A brand-new section immediately appeared on it.
"The art of talisman crafting..."
Lu Yang's eyes lit up slightly. He could now be considered a Ninth-Grade Formation Master. By analogy, although he didn't understand talisman crafting, he could understand a little.
In his view, a so-called talisman was just a simple, temporary small formation. What a good thing... I want to learn it.
The next second, looking at this display of talisman crafting, Lu Yang finally remembered who this Fairy Feixia was. He had heard of this person in his previous life.
"She's Zhao Xuhe's Dao companion..."
Lu Yang mused to himself.
"In my previous life, when I was studying formations, I heard that she and Zhao Xuhe became Dao companions. Both were at the Perfection of Qi Refining and shone brilliantly on the righteous-demonic battlefield. They even attempted to reach Foundation Establishment together, but unfortunately, after failing, they both passed away."
Thinking of this, Lu Yang's eyes suddenly lit up. The key point wasn't that they passed away after failing Foundation Establishment, but that they actually had the opportunity to attempt Foundation Establishment. Behind this, there must be an opportunity for Foundation Establishment