"Senior Brother Liu? He's come to my door!?"
Hearing the voice from outside his cave residence, Lu Yang's pupils shrank, and his expression instantly turned grim to the extreme. Not only did he not respond, but he even concealed his aura.
"... Junior Brother?"
The voice came again, but Lu Yang still did not answer. Although he had no proof, he was already certain that there was a problem with the Innate Dao Scripture he was cultivating!
"I still suffered from a lack of experience. I can't believe I wasn't suspicious before."
"The Joyful Union Hall and Heaven Mending Peak have a close relationship, so the cultivation technique should have something to do with dual cultivation. Yet, the Innate Dao Scripture has nothing to do with dual cultivation at all."
"He tricked me!"
"But why would he want to harm me? Even though the Primordial Saint Sect is demonic, it still has rules. Private fights between Formal Disciples are strictly forbidden. Once discovered..."
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly slapped his head.
"How could I have been foolish enough to trust the Demonic Sect!"
"Once discovered, once discovered... If it's not discovered, then it doesn't count as a private fight?"
The more Lu Yang thought, the uglier his expression became. In the end, it was a matter of habit. Liu Xin's every word and deed before had fulfilled the duties of a guiding disciple.
Besides introducing the situation in the inner sect, he had also detailed the benefits due to an inner sect disciple, such as magical artifacts, medicinal pills, spiritual beasts, and so on.
He could be said to have been conscientious and selfless, not holding anything back, especially at the Treasure Refining Hall, where he had even instructed the deacon there to give him the best. It turned out it was all a facade!
Everything before was just a prelude to that final step of handing him the Innate Dao Scripture, all to make him lower his guard and completely trust his goodwill!
"Thinking about it now, he probably had thoughts of pocketing everything for himself."
"After all, if I'm dead, all the magical artifacts, medicinal pills, and spiritual beasts I received would naturally belong to him... No wonder he specifically said he wanted the best for me!"
That animal!
Just then, the voice from outside the cave residence came once more. In the next second, with a cracking sound, the formation around Lu Yang's cave residence exploded, and the main gate was torn apart by a streak of sword light! The gate was flung open.
Liu Xin, his robes fluttering, strode inside. Upon seeing Lu Yang, a joyful look, like that of a bountiful harvest, appeared on Liu Xin's face. He nodded in satisfaction, "Junior Brother is indeed a talent..."
Boom!
Before Liu Xin could finish his sentence, Lu Yang directly erupted! The boundless Innate True Qi, wrapped around the magical artifact Bone Jade Sword, transformed into a sharp sword light and slashed towards Liu Xin with an indomitable momentum. However, in the next second, the sword light came to a sudden halt.
"... A desperate struggle."
Liu Xin didn't dodge or evade. He simply formed a hand seal, and Lu Yang's body instantly lost control, as if he had become someone else's puppet!
"This Innate Dao Scripture is truly a good thing."
Witnessing this scene, Liu Xin couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"A cultivator transforms their physical body and primordial spirit into a strand of Innate Primordial Qi. It can be used in pills, for refining treasures, or even to increase one's cultivation level. With this wondrous treasure, I have hope of reaching the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm!"
"By helping me break through, your death will not be in vain, Junior Brother."
As his voice fell, Liu Xin immediately began to change the hand seal. Lu Yang discovered that his consciousness was gradually dissipating, seemingly being forcibly erased! At this moment, a flash of insight came to Lu Yang: "This is the second half of the Innate Dao Scripture!"
"The first half is a trap for people to cultivate, and the second half is the true method. It's just waiting for someone to cultivate the first half and then do all the work for his benefit!"
This was less a cultivation technique and more a treasure refining art. It was just that it didn't use objects to refine treasures, but people. It even had the person refine themselves, while the true cultivator hid in the shadows, saving time and effort.
Called a Dao Scripture, it was in fact a demonic art!
"You're a clever one. I'll give you this life."
Thinking this, Lu Yang simply stopped resisting and allowed his consciousness to fade. After the initial shock and anger, he had actually regained his calm and composure.
"A lesson learned. You can fool me once, but I have countless more chances."
"I'll remember this grudge!"
In the next second, Lu Yang's consciousness plunged into darkness. In the void, only the sound of pages turning could be heard, rustling softly.
[You were refined by Liu Xin, your consciousness completely transformed into a strand of Innate True Qi.]
[You died.]
[Current remaining Book of a Hundred Lives Pages: 98] [Restarting a new life, you may choose one of the following rewards from your previous life: One: Treasures. Two: Cultivation. Three: Lifespan. Four: Forfeit all rewards and awaken a random talent based on your previous life's experience.]
"Those whose names are called, come before me."
The familiar voice came from the platform. Lu Yang clenched his jaw to control his emotions. He did not look up, but instead focused his thoughts on the panel before him.
Treasures, cultivation, lifespan. If he could, Lu Yang would of course want to choose cultivation, but he worried that others might see through it, and he wouldn't be able to explain where his cultivation came from. As for lifespan, he skipped it directly.
"Is my only choice treasures..."
Lu Yang's brows furrowed deeply. As for treasures, the only thing he had that was halfway decent was the Bone Jade Sword, but without cultivation, he couldn't wield a magical artifact even if he had one. Just then, Lu Yang's gaze suddenly paused.
Because just a moment ago, the Book of a Hundred Lives had given him a piece of feedback.
"This... can also be considered a treasure?"
Lu Yang was first astonished, then a thoughtful look appeared on his face. Finally, he gritted his teeth and made a decision: Choose one, and keep one treasure obtained in his previous life. The next second, a sudden change occurred!
Without alerting anyone, all the changes were confined within Lu Yang's Dantian. The source of it all was a wisp of steaming white Qi. Innate True Qi!
The Innate True Qi that Lu Yang had refined from his five viscera and six bowels, his flesh, muscles, and bones in his previous life, was actually considered a treasure, and he had now redeemed it!
"Incredible..."
Lu Yang lowered his eyelids, concealing the pleasant surprise in his eyes. It was because he discovered that not only could he control this ball of Innate True Qi as easily as his own limbs, but he could even use it to cast the magical arts from his previous life!
"Under normal circumstances, this should be impossible."
"Because to control the Innate True Qi, one must use the secret art from the second half of the scripture. But I am different, because this strand of Innate True Qi is me!"
The two were originally one and the same. For Lu Yang, it was like having an extra clone at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm.
"And before I died in my last life, I heard Liu Xin say that this Innate True Qi, when used in alchemy, could help break through realms... This strand of True Qi will have great use in the future!"
After sorting out his gains, Lu Yang began his plan for this new life. First, he was once again assigned to the Joyful Union Hall. Then, he went to absorb Yu Suzhen.
This time, however, to avoid attracting attention, Lu Yang did not use Senior Sister Yu's Primal Yin to break through to the Qi Refining Realm himself. Instead, he fed it all to the Innate True Qi.
"This life, I'm going to lie low and not be reckless!"
Sure enough, Liu Xin, who was waiting outside the door, saw that Lu Yang had not broken through after dual cultivating with Yu Suzhen and immediately lost interest in him. Following that, Lu Yang waited patiently. About ten days later, a Joyful Union Hall disciple named "Qin Yu" broke through.
Lu Yang saw Liu Xin rush over upon hearing the news and joyfully lead him away. A few days later, Liu Xin announced he was going into seclusion, and the senior brother responsible for guiding new disciples was replaced. But Lu Yang still kept his head down.
"Heaven knows what kind of person this new senior brother is. What if he's just like Liu Xin... Mmm, I'd better not be the one to stick my neck out."
"To be safe, I'll wait another month."
Another half a month passed like this. Only after another outer sect disciple broke through to the inner sect and remained safe and sound did Lu Yang choose to make his breakthrough. With the boost from the Innate True Qi, Lu Yang could actually break through without dual cultivation.
But for the sake of appearances, he still casually found a few outer sect disciples to absorb. This time, the Formal Disciple responsible for guiding him was much more perfunctory, completely lacking Liu Xin's enthusiasm, and there was even a hint of disdain in his expression.
"This is the Scripture Pavilion."
After collecting his benefits, the person led him to a pavilion and said casually, "Take your token and go in. Use your contribution points to exchange for whatever cultivation technique you want." After speaking, the person turned and left without a second glance.
Lu Yang, however, felt a great sense of ease at this. Being a minor figure had its advantages. The fact that this person didn't think much of him was exactly what he wanted.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang turned to look at Heaven Mending Peak in the distance.
"Liu Xin... Hmph!"
Several days ago, Liu Xin had emerged from his seclusion, officially breaking through to the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. He had even become a direct disciple of the Heaven Mending Peak's Master and was now riding a wave of success. Lu Yang snorted coldly, retracted his gaze, and strode into the Scripture Pavilion.
Although he was eager for revenge, he was too weak right now. Without power, the most urgent task was to cultivate diligently. Everything else could wait until he was stronger.
For a gentleman, ten years is not too late for revenge. This was a temporary measure; there was no rush