Walking into the Scripture Pavilion, he was greeted by the sight of an old man past sixty, lying listlessly in a rocking chair. He was basking in the sun, seriously flipping through a Daoist book. The moment Lu Yang stepped through the door, the old man looked over.
"Another new disciple?"
The old man said flatly, "Go on in and choose for yourself. Remember, follow the rules written inside. If you die, don't blame me for not reminding you."
"Many thanks for your guidance, Senior."
Lu Yang cupped his hands in salute and then walked toward the bookshelves. Sure enough, as soon as he got close, the disciple token at his waist seemed to sense something. A faint light appeared, then transformed into lines of text that materialized in the air.
"Lu Yang, disciple of Heaven Mending Peak."
"You may receive the Heaven Mending Peak secret art, the 'Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Pleasure Ode', for free. Additionally, for your first technique exchange, you are eligible for a loan with no down payment."
Lu Yang did not hesitate and claimed it directly. In the next moment, the contents of the cultivation technique appeared on the disciple token. Lu Yang's mind was quickly immersed in it, and only after a long while did he come back to his senses.
"This cultivation technique, why is it split into two parts just like the Innate Dao Scripture?"
Recalling the outcome of his previous life, Lu Yang's expression turned a little ugly.
"The Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Pleasure Ode... upon mastery, one can refine a strand of Yin-Yang Dragon-Tiger Qi, ranking it at the fifth grade. In theory, it is also a cultivation technique that leads directly to Foundation Establishment."
"But, I was only given the Qi Refining section!"
With the lesson from his past life, Lu Yang was extremely wary of this kind of incomplete cultivation technique, and for a moment, he even had the thought of giving up on cultivating it. However, after pondering for a long time, he sighed, "I still have to practice it!"
If I practice it, there might be hidden dangers in the future. If I don't practice it, I might not even have a future! Besides, this 'Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Pleasure Ode' was indeed profoundly mysterious.
Not only could it plunder a target's primal energy, but it could also plunder their knowledge! Cultivation techniques, Divine Abilities, experience—he could plunder them all!
"On top of that, a cultivator who has been plundered by this technique will gradually have their mind controlled by the practitioner, becoming utterly devoted and unable to extricate themselves. In the end, they will be reduced to the practitioner's puppet, even willing to die for them. It is truly an exceedingly treacherous demonic art."
Lu Yang studied the cultivation technique, silently comprehending it. Half an hour passed like this before he tried to circulate the technique. Two streams of True Qi flowed at his fingertips, forming a dragon and a tiger, faintly about to merge into a brand new True Qi.
"Ugh!"
In the next second, Lu Yang's face paled, and the True Qi at his fingertips dissipated.
"It failed? That's right. Although I've mastered the theory, I haven't put it into practice yet. After all, a dual cultivation technique isn't meant for one person to practice alone."
Lu Yang was not discouraged. He turned his gaze to the dazzling array of bookshelves before him. According to the rules of the Scripture Pavilion, as a newly initiated Formal Disciple, he had one more chance to exchange for a cultivation technique or Divine Ability with a loan that had no down payment.
And to Lu Yang's surprise, the Scripture Pavilion contained more than just demonic arts. There were also many cultivation techniques that clearly originated from famous righteous sects, and they covered an extremely wide range of fields: divination, sword arts, Five Elements arts—one could say it had everything.
"Lesser Heaven-Intercepting Art, Supreme Taiyi Five Elements Righteous Art, True Explanation of Long Life, Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art..."
Lu Yang spent a long time choosing before finally making a decision.
"'Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art'. Price: 1000 contribution points."
"It has been detected that this is your first exchange. You are eligible for a loan with no down payment, with an annual interest rate of thirty-six percent, to be paid off over ten years. Do you wish to proceed with the exchange?"
How much???
Lu Yang almost cursed out loud. An annual interest rate of 36% meant that with principal and interest, he would have to repay 460 contribution points every year. In ten years, that would be 4600 points!
A loan of 1000, to be repaid with 4600? This is sucking the marrow from my bones!
"Wait... I'm different!"
Lu Yang's eyes suddenly lit up. A high-interest loan with no down payment might be a bottomless pit for others, but to him, it didn't matter at all. If worse comes to worst, I'll just restart.
What does the loan from a past life have to do with me? So, as long as he wanted to, he could get all the cultivation techniques and Divine Abilities in the Scripture Pavilion for free! Since he had no intention of repaying, Lu Yang became much calmer.
With a wave of his hand, he took out the loan and bought the 'Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art' without even blinking. Then, something unexpected happened. When he had obtained the 'Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Pleasure Ode' previously, the contents of the technique were given to him directly.
This time, however, Lu Yang only received a message: "The cultivation technique is being delivered. It is expected to arrive at your cave residence within three days."
"Please wait patiently."
Looking at the message on his disciple token, Lu Yang was a bit puzzled. What did it mean that the cultivation technique was being delivered? Could it be that this technique was a unique copy that hadn't been transcribed?
Despite this, Lu Yang believed the Primordial Saint Sect wouldn't go so far as to just swallow his cultivation technique. Before leaving, he approached the old man at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion again.
"Senior..."
Just as Lu Yang began to salute, the old man in the rocking chair spoke, "You can't call me Senior. I am also a disciple of the sect, just a bit older than you."
Lu Yang was taken aback for a moment, then corrected himself, "Senior Brother, do you know if there are any cultivation cauldrons in the sect suitable for us to practice dual cultivation techniques?" Being in a Demonic Sect, Lu Yang naturally had no thoughts of remaining pure amidst the filth. He certainly had no taboo against dual cultivation.
He would use anything that could make him stronger.
"Cultivation cauldrons, you say..."
Hearing this, the old man glanced at Lu Yang and suddenly asked, "Did you take out a loan to buy a cultivation technique?" Lu Yang paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Then you don't need to worry about that."
At this point, a meaningful smile appeared on the old man's face.
"This cultivation technique loan may be infuriating, but it's not without its benefits..."
"Go back and wait!"
Lu Yang returned to his cave residence, completely bewildered. But soon enough, he understood why the 'Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art' needed time for delivery, and what the "benefits" the old man spoke of really were. Three days later, a box was delivered to the entrance of Lu Yang's cave residence.
Lu Yang carried the box into his cave residence and opened it. And then he saw her—a curvaceous and heroic-looking woman with sharp, imposing phoenix eyes, her hands and feet bound, stuffed in the center of the box. Although the woman couldn't be described as a world-toppling beauty, she was naturally beautiful.
Her plain face, untouched by makeup, instead revealed a kind of transcendent elegance. And because she had been in the stuffy box for too long, her body was now covered in glistening beads of sweat, which trickled down her fair neck and into her robes.
"Demonic fiends!"
The woman looked at Lu Yang, her eyes filled with a hatred that wished it could slice him into a thousand pieces. At the same time, she seemed to have realized her own fate, and despair appeared on her pretty face. Seeing this, Lu Yang's brow furrowed.
"Are you... a disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion?"
"What if I am?"
The woman closed her beautiful eyes as two streams of clear tears slowly flowed down her fair cheeks.
"Just kill me!"
Only then did Lu Yang come to a sudden realization. The 'Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art' was the secret Divine Ability of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, the leader of the Righteous Path in the south. He had been curious before about where the Primordial Saint Sect had obtained it.
Now he understood. The Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Pleasure Ode could plunder a target's knowledge and experience, and the Primordial Saint Sect had directly brought him a Formal Disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion. In other words, if he wanted the 'Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art', he just had to plunder it from her.
"This way, they've not only passed on the cultivation technique but also solved the disciple's need for a cultivation cauldron. Killing two birds with one stone, truly maximizing her value..."
Making the best use of everything. This was indeed the style of the Saint Sect. Compared to the arduous training of the famous righteous sects, who trained through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, this was the Demonic Sect's method of cultivation.
(End of this chapter)