Time flew by, the years passed like a shuttle. In the blink of an eye, another thirty years had passed. When Lu Yang opened his eyes once more, although his face still showed no signs of age, a strand of white frost had appeared amidst his once-thick black hair.
"In a flash, I'm already eighty years old."
Although Qi Refining cultivators lived longer than mortals, their lifespan was only one hundred and fifty years, not much longer. At eighty years old, one was already past middle age. In another twenty years, Zhao Xuhe's Stealing Heaven's Secrets would be unlocked.
"Although there is no hope of Foundation Establishment in this life, once I've mastered The Sage's Theft, I can very well attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment to accumulate experience ahead of time."
The Path of the Dao was in sight, truly in sight. Even for the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art, after thirty years of secluded research, he had successfully used the Enlightenment Jade Slip to figure out a clever secret art to get around the requirements.
"To truly master the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art, one must undergo 'transformation after death.' But if I die, it will trigger the Book of a Hundred Lives to restart. However, this 'death' is not so absolute. The Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art couldn't possibly make the cultivator truly die."
"The so-called 'death' is actually limited to the physical body."
"After the body dies, it is reshaped underground. The claws and hair grow hiddenly, the corpse appears as if alive, and over a long time, one attains the Dao. It's just that for others, when the physical body dies, they are truly dead."
"After all, the physical body is the raft for the soul. Once the body dies, the soul will also gradually dissipate. Death is only a matter of time."
"But to put it another way, as long as I can keep my soul clear and prevent it from dying at the same time I let my physical body die, it won't trigger the Book of a Hundred Lives."
"This way, perhaps there is a chance for 'transformation after death'."
This was the solution given by the Enlightenment Jade Slip, and Lu Yang felt it was highly feasible. The only problem was the clever secret art created for this purpose.
"Although according to the Enlightenment Jade Slip's deductions, this secret art is sufficient to keep my soul stable and from dissipating after my body dies, I've never seen a soul that can truly exist separately from the body. If I could see one just once and record it with the Enlightenment Jade Slip, with that data, the secret art would then be considered complete."
More importantly, Lu Yang knew that such existences were in this world. Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters! A Foundation Establishment Daoist Master had a natural lifespan of three hundred years, but this was only the lifespan of the physical body.
The soul's lifespan was far greater, so they often chose to be reincarnated after death. Although a reincarnated Foundation Establishment Daoist Master had to start all over, with their cultivation level dropping from the Foundation Establishment status, they did not suffer from the confusion of the womb. They were bound to awaken their past memories before the age of eight.
Thereafter, their cultivation would advance by a thousand miles a day. As long as they could ascend to the Foundation Establishment status again, they would gain another three hundred years of natural lifespan. Of course, this could not continue indefinitely.
Because every reincarnation was a depletion of one's own Dao fruit. If the Foundation Establishment Daoist Master's Dao attainment did not grow, they would only become weaker and weaker in the end. The first reincarnation would surely be a favored son of heaven.
The second reincarnation could still be a dragon among men. The third reincarnation would make them an ordinary genius. By the fourth or fifth life, if the Foundation Establishment Daoist Master's cultivation level had not improved, they would completely blend in with the mortals, losing their former transcendence.
This was known as: The Dao fruit of a Daoist Master is severed after five lifetimes. Moreover, it was not a one hundred percent guarantee that one could return to Foundation Establishment after reincarnation. Once a Daoist Master reincarnated, they could not suppress their fortune, and the karma from their past lives would follow one after another.
A single misstep could easily lead to a premature death. Therefore, every Daoist Master was extremely cautious when reincarnating, concealing the heavenly secrets and rarely telling outsiders, to avoid unexpectedly suffering a karmic tribulation. Under these circumstances, how difficult it was to see the reincarnated soul of a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang instantly felt another headache. He could only set it aside for the time being and instead began to divine whether his great undertaking of spreading the arts had made any progress.
"Supreme Empyrean Treasured Record, by imperial decree, a heavenly pardon..."
Lu Yang pinched his fingers and recited the art. The Supreme Empyrean Treasured Record began to divine the heavenly secrets, and his mind quickly sank into the great net of karma that was everywhere between heaven and earth, beginning a search based on keywords.
Soon, corresponding information emerged in his mind: "In the last years of the Great Zhou, a fatuous ruler was without virtue, and the common folk suffered immensely. Thus, a heavenly scripture appeared in the world, divided into four volumes and scattered among the mortal realm, for a time causing all the hidden dragons under heaven to rise."
"By the time the great chaos was pacified, the four volumes of the heavenly scripture had found their owners. One volume was held by the Vast Righteous Academy, copied by generations of scholars. One was obtained by the Hanging Temple, becoming the highest scripture of the Buddhist Sect. One was annotated by the Heavenly Master Mansion, serving as the token for successive Heavenly Masters. Only the last volume was lost in the mortal world, its whereabouts unknown."
Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, the three schools divided the world, becoming the source of the current Martial Dao.
"Good, very good!"
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Lu Yang's face. He immediately activated The Sage's Theft. In the next second, he felt a vast and powerful fortune sweep over, instantly submerging his body.
In an instant, Lu Yang's body actually exploded with a boom. However, the strange thing was that after his body exploded, it did not turn into flesh and blood, but into fine dust that filled the sky. Lu Yang's consciousness was situated right in the center of the dust.
He could feel that every speck of his physical body was currently being burned and refined by the fortune. The smoke and fire of the mortal realm refine the Sage's golden body! This went on for a long time, until that vast fortune was completely consumed.
Only then did the fine dust re-gather, and then re-manifested Lu Yang's body. However, this time, his body had undergone a world-shaking change.
"The Sage's Theft golden body, minor completion!"
A glint of essence light flashed in Lu Yang's eyes. He then stomped his foot, and in that instant, a terrifying ripple, powerful enough to shake mountains, spread out with a boom! Under the impact of this terrifying ripple, the mountain cliff cave residence where Lu Yang was located seemed to have experienced an earthquake.
Boulders rolled down one after another, as if an invisible storm was raging. Countless fierce birds and savage beasts were startled into looking at the mountain peak where Lu Yang was in seclusion, and then fled in panic.
"... Feels pretty good."
Lu Yang exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of "solidity" from his body for the first time. Right now, he could probably match a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with his physical body alone! However, in the next second, his expression turned grave.
"According to Senior Brother Luo's experience, The Sage's Theft uses the people of the world as cultivation resources and is extremely detrimental to merit. Minor completion can still be fudged, but great completion will surely attract a tribulation."
"Many who cultivate The Sage's Theft fail precisely because of this tribulation. The lucky ones might escape with their lives, but the unlucky ones, like that True Disciple who was counter-killed by the secret realm's natives, will die a violent death. But now that I am behind the scenes, who in the secret realm could become my tribulation?"
Thinking of this, Lu Yang could not help but fall into deep thought. South of the River, Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion. Yun Zhiqiu stood on a pavilion.
However, compared to his heroic spirit of sixty years ago, he now looked like an old man on the verge of death. Just then, a flying message tore through the air. Yun Zhiqiu took the flying message and looked at it closely.
His expression immediately changed drastically. He at once rode an escaping light and, not long after, arrived at the Yun family's ancestral home. As soon as he entered, a youth with a dismal expression walked out.
Upon seeing Yun Zhiqiu, he cried out, "Grand Martial Uncle! Old Ancestor... he's about to pass. To see you one last time, he has already lit the seven-star lamp.
When the lamp goes out, he will have to reincarnate. There isn't much time, you must go in and see him now!"
"How could this be!"
Hearing this, Yun Zhiqiu's face immediately showed a look of sorrow. Beyond that, there was also panic. The Yun family's Old Ancestor, the only Foundation Establishment Daoist Master in the Yun family at present, the pillar of support for the Yun family in the Sword Pavilion for hundreds of years, had actually reached the end of this life