Standing before the secret realm, Lu Yang carefully comprehended this "Dao Lord's creation" while also pondering how to set up the secret realm to best benefit himself.
‘First, I definitely won't be stepping onto the stage myself.’
‘I only need to scatter the seeds and then wait for them to blossom and bear fruit. If there's no mastermind behind the scenes from the very beginning, naturally no one will investigate!’
‘Second, I don't need a world of peace and order.’
"After all, only a chaotic age can produce heroes, and only in a chaotic age can one fish in troubled waters. Even if a hero who discovers the truth does emerge, they won't be able to make any significant waves."
‘Because I can simply have heroes deal with heroes, and have brave men deal with brave men.’
Just like that, a large number of settings were entered into the secret realm. The next moment, the entire secret realm began to bloom with light, revolving in circles. Within it, Lu Yang seemed to see countless scenes of the mortal world constantly changing.
Seeing this, Luo Wuya took the initiative to say, "Junior Brother is about to enter the secret realm to cultivate, so I won't disturb you. I wish you success in your endeavors."
"I'll take you up on your auspicious words, Senior Brother."
Lu Yang returned the courtesy, "I, Lu Yang, will keep the grace of Senior Brother's guidance firmly in mind. When my work is done in the future, if you have any requests, please do not hesitate to ask." Hearing this, Luo Wuya smiled in satisfaction.
"Junior Brother is destined for great things!"
The next moment, the light of the secret realm swallowed Lu Yang whole.
"It's quite impressive..."
Inside the secret realm, Lu Yang stood atop a mountain peak with curiosity in his eyes. He felt that the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees all seemed so real.
"... But there are still flaws, it's not perfect."
A round light appeared behind Lu Yang's head. As the Supreme Empyrean Pardon Treasured Record operated, he performed a divination and deduction, instantly seeing through the illusion and discovering the flaws that were different from the real heaven and earth. These flaws were very small and all existed in the microscopic domain.
It was only with the power of divination that Lu Yang could understand a little. Ordinary cultivators would be fundamentally unable to see any flaws from a macroscopic perspective. As for the "talent" who had lived in the secret realm since childhood, it was even more impossible for them to notice anything amiss.
"Rather than a world, it's more like a giant stage set..."
The birds and flowers, fish and insects, everything was real. However, the "world" that comprised all of this was a complete fake. In nature, it was no different from a pigsty in a mortal farmer's home.
"So this is the Saint Sect's talent cultivation base."
Lu Yang shook his head, no longer sighing with emotion. He turned to prepare for his great undertaking of "imparting his arts," the most important part of which was the creation of a cultivation system.
"With the Enlightenment Jade Slip, no wonder Luo Wuya said The Sage's Theft is very suitable for me..."
This was because the Enlightenment Jade Slip, this divine artifact of deduction, could reduce the flaws in the cultivation system he created, making it harder for the natives within the secret realm to detect.
‘The cultivation system can't be too complex.’
‘After all, with my abilities, the more complex it is, the less it will stand up to scrutiny. So, simple is best. It should be so simple that even a fool can understand it, so that anyone can cultivate it.’
‘But it can't be too weak either. If the strongest in this system is only at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm, although they wouldn't pose a threat to me, the amount of fortune The Sage's Theft could steal would be pitifully small. That would be detrimental to my own cultivation. So, I should be bold and raise the maximum combat power of the system.’
Thinking of this, Lu Yang suddenly had an epiphany.
‘That True Disciple Senior Brother Luo mentioned before, the one who was counter-killed by someone from the secret realm, probably wanted to maximize his benefits just like me, but ended up failing spectacularly.’
‘No, I must set up a safeguard.’
Lu Yang pondered continuously and finally came up with a framework. With the help of the Enlightenment Jade Slip, numerous details were filled in, ultimately forming a complete system. A moment later, Lu Yang made his decision.
The Sage's Theft was, after all, a body-refining technique. So, since he was going to create a cultivation system, it naturally had to be centered around body-refining. This way, the cultivation efficiency would be higher.
And regarding the physique, the most advanced knowledge Lu Yang possessed was the Supreme Taiyi Primal Essence Jade Flower, which he had obtained from Yun Miaozhen. Therefore, he planned to use this divine ability as the foundation. With this thought, Lu Yang immediately began to activate the divine ability.
Heart-fire, lung-metal, spleen-earth, liver-wood, kidney-water... Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, tendons, bones, flesh, blood, will... Lu Yang calmed his mind and qi, gathering all the brilliant light condensed from his five viscera and every part of his body.
He then guided it to the Heavenly Gate at the crown of his head, causing it to burst forth from his fontanelle! The radiant light blazed, enveloping Lu Yang and washing away all "flaws," making his physique as crystal clear as jade. This was the "Supreme Taiyi Primal Essence Jade Flower."
At the same time, Lu Yang used the Enlightenment Jade Slip to record all the changes of the divine ability. Using this as a foundation, he quickly organized a complete system.
"This art shall be called the Martial Dao!"
"Practitioners of the Martial Dao prioritize blood qi. It is to grasp the five elements within the body, open the nine heavenly apertures, and break through the profound gate of creation! A martial artist at Great Accomplishment... should be comparable to the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm!"
"However, although the Martial Dao strengthens one's divine power, it does not allow for flight..."
This was the safeguard Lu Yang had set up: martial artists cannot fly! This way, even if the worst-case scenario occurred and he suffered a backlash from the people in the secret realm, he could just take to the skies. If he couldn't win, he could at least escape.
An unknown amount of time passed before Lu Yang awoke from his meditation. In his hand, there was now a book recording the "Martial Dao." The next moment, with a thought from Lu Yang, the book suddenly erupted in golden light, split into four parts in mid-air, and then scattered towards the horizon.
"The pieces have been placed. Let's see what changes the future will bring..."
Lu Yang smiled faintly, then turned and returned to the temporary cave residence he had opened up to once again enter secluded cultivation. On his path of cultivation, he still had much unfinished business. For example, he had now mastered the Heavenly Demon Transforming Blood Divine Light, the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art, and the Supreme Empyrean Pardon Treasured Record.
He had gathered all three divine abilities that constituted the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art, making him no different from Yun Miaozhen on that day. However, he still had no clue how to fuse and master them. This wasn't because he didn't know the method.
In fact, the final step of the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art was actually very simple. The secret was just one sentence: "To die by way of the Supreme Yin, temporarily passing the three gates.
The Grand Unity guards the corpse, the three hun souls manage the bones, the seven po souls attend the flesh, and the fetal spirit records the qi. Then, substance is restored and takes form, to be reborn and ascend to the heavens." In short, he needed to "die once."
To shed the mortal coil after death. Although failure meant true death, success would allow him to transform into an immortal fetus, possessing a portion of the mighty power of a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master. For a normal person, this step wasn't actually difficult.
It was merely a matter of whether the cultivator dared to gamble on the odds between life and death, and whether they had the luck to succeed. However, for Lu Yang, this was an insurmountable chasm.
"Because the moment I die, I'll just restart immediately!"
After restarting, everything would return to the starting point. How could there be any talk of shedding the mortal coil after death? Thinking of this, Lu Yang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
All along, the Book of a Hundred Lives had been his greatest support. No matter what danger he encountered, he had the confidence to face it. At worst, he could just start all over again.
He never would have thought that the Book of a Hundred Lives would actually become an obstacle to his further progress