Inside the Refining Arts Secret Realm. Lu Yang's true body was safe and sound, sitting upright in his cave residence. As for Ji Xiongjing's furious curses before death, he paid them no mind at all.
At this moment, he was filled with nothing but joy.
"The Sage's Theft is complete!"
Lu Yang stood up and looked towards the sky. The only thing he could see was a long river of purple qi. This was the fortune gathered from the one hundred and forty million living beings in the entire secret realm.
The fortune of the Martial Dao! And at this moment, Lu Yang was bathed in this fortune. The brilliant purple qi poured down, making it seem as if he had instantly become the center of heaven and earth.
At the same time, the one hundred and forty million living beings within the Refining Arts Secret Realm, from the mortals below to the Celestials above, all felt something in their hearts.
One by one, they looked up at the sky, and it was as if they could vaguely see a magnificent golden body rising from the ground, majestic and solemn, being lifted slowly upwards by the roiling mortal affairs.
"The Law is upon me, the Sage Body has reached Great Completion!"
Lu Yang opened his eyes, once again feeling that Dao charm akin to 'ascension' which he had only ever sensed from those with Great Divine Abilities and Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters in the past. His 'altitude' was increasing! The boundless fortune was completely devoured by Lu Yang, not a trace left behind.
This fortune then slowly constructed an incomparably complex ritual framework within his body.
"... Hmm."
Just then, Lu Yang suddenly raised his head and looked toward the sky. At the same time, within Heavenly Capital City, as Lu Yang shattered the void with Ji Xiongjing following close behind, a look of shock and anger suddenly appeared on the face of the Yun family's Old Ancestor.
"This is bad!"
Only at this moment did he understand Lu Yang's scheme. He had fabricated the realm of "Shattering the Void" beyond the Celestial realm. With himself as proof, and now Ji Xiongjing as well, the people of the world would henceforth firmly believe this path was viable and pursue it one after another, wave after wave!
The entire system was a seamless whole! Even the fourth step of the Martial Dao that he had pioneered was perfectly incorporated. As a result, not only did it fail to harm Lu Yang's cultivation, but it even enhanced the technique's power!
Because if it relied only on Lu Yang, the Martial Dao would reach the late Qi Refining Realm at most. But with the help of the Yun family's Old Ancestor, the limit of the Martial Dao had impressively reached the Perfection stage of Qi Refining. Therefore, the fortune fed back by The Sage's Theft would also be incredibly immense!
Yet, as things stood now, even he could no longer dismantle the Martial Dao system. Because theoretically, the Martial Dao Celestial, comparable to the Perfection of Qi Refining, was a dead end. This was true not only for Lu Yang, but for him as well!
And he could find no flaw in this 'Shattering the Void' realm. After all, the person is gone after shattering the void. With the key witness dead, it's always a matter of one person's word against another's. How was he supposed to find a flaw?
To break this stalemate, he would have to create a method, different from Shattering the Void, that could allow practitioners of the Martial Dao to truly break through to Foundation Establishment. But his own cultivation level before he reincarnated was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. His abilities were limited.
How could he possibly create a method for the Martial Dao to break through to Foundation Establishment? A Golden Core True Monarch might have a chance! Otherwise, he would have to kill everyone who saw Lu Yang shatter the void.
But what would be the point? It would only expose his own existence for no reason. In other words, Lu Yang's success in cultivating 'The Sage's Theft' was now unstoppable!
"Bastard! Bastard!"
At this thought, the Yun family's Old Ancestor was so furious he could have gnashed his teeth to dust. He never imagined his grand plan would come to nothing, and even end up aiding his enemy! To have worked so hard manipulating karma, only to pave the way for someone else?
He could not accept this! At this thought, the Yun family's Old Ancestor couldn't help but grit his teeth, his heart filled with unwillingness. He then manipulated karma once more, wanting to make one last attempt.
The Yun family's Old Ancestor activated the 'Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument' to enhance his influence over karma.
"The Sage's Theft is fated to face a tribulation. This tribulation was originally meant for me, but as long as I can strip it away and use a substitution art, replacing a human tribulation with a heavenly one, I can draw upon the power of heaven and earth to kill him!"
"To steal the world's fortune is a heaven-defying act, you will surely be struck down by the heavens!"
The Yun family's Old Ancestor let out a furious roar. Instantly, above the land where Lu Yang was in seclusion, the once clear sky became covered in dark clouds, with serpents of lightning slithering through them.
Boom!
Thunder emerged from the mountains, turning heaven and earth white! A massive bolt of lightning struck down directly from the dark clouds, so fast that it was impossible to react. In the blink of an eye, it landed on Lu Yang.
When the light of the lightning faded, Lu Yang's figure slowly came into view. However, to the Yun family's Old Ancestor's disbelief, faced with a bolt of heavenly thunder that could potentially strike down a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, Lu Yang was completely unharmed!
"This is... the Law of The Sage's Theft?"
Information about "The Sage's Theft" suddenly flashed through the Old Ancestor's mind. The minor and great completion stages of this body-refining technique were entirely different things. Minor completion of The Sage's Theft was merely a simple enhancement of one's physique.
Great completion of The Sage's Theft, however, could condense a 'Law'. In the cultivation of the Immortal Path, 'altitude', or 'status', often symbolized an absolute gap. As long as one's status was high enough, those of a lower status were nothing but ants.
Just like a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master compared to a Qi Refining cultivator. And the 'Law' of The Sage's Theft was, in a sense, a kind of status. Therefore, the current Lu Yang was no longer on the same status level as an ordinary cultivator.
Any attack with a status 'lower' than his could not possibly even injure him! For instance, the roiling heavenly thunder that the Yun family's Old Ancestor summoned by manipulating karma was immensely powerful, but it lacked the corresponding status.
The result was like a two-dimensional attack against a three-dimensional target; no matter how powerful, it was meaningless, just an empty threat. It couldn't even graze the corner of Lu Yang's robes, let alone injure him. Of course, these Laws varied in strength; not everyone's was the same.
The Primordial Saint Sect had countless talented individuals, and Lu Yang was not the only disciple to have successfully cultivated The Sage's Theft. However, the Law he had condensed was by far the strongest! Because the strength of the 'Law' was determined by the system created by the practitioner of The Sage's Theft.
If the system only went up to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, then the 'Law' could only ignore mid-stage Qi Refining attacks and would still be broken by late-stage Qi Refining attacks. However, with the 'help' of the Yun family's Old Ancestor, Lu Yang's Martial Dao encompassed the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!
Therefore, for any cultivator below Foundation Establishment, his 'Law' was unbreakable, unless they possessed a Great Divine Ability that could similarly elevate their status!
Rummmble!
Bolts of lightning crashed down one after another, but Lu Yang seemed not to notice, remaining completely unmoved. Even the grand formation around him was shattered to pieces, yet he was still completely unscathed. Seeing this, the Yun family's Old Ancestor was so enraged his eyes could have burst from their sockets, yet there was nothing he could do.
"At this point, I have no choice but to let him off," the Yun family's Old Ancestor sighed.
"So be it. Let him leave. The Sect Master's mission is more important."
"Senior, you're watching me, aren't you?"
An indifferent voice drifted over. The Yun family's Old Ancestor was suddenly stunned. From the perspective of karma, he saw Lu Yang abruptly turn his head and gaze calmly at him.
He can see me... No, he knows I exist!? The Yun family's Old Ancestor subconsciously took a step back, horrified.
He instantly severed his connection to karma, then concealed his breath, hiding all of his own heavenly secrets. But the Lu Yang of today was vastly different!
"Trying to run..."
Lu Yang lowered his eyelids, ripples spreading across his pupils. His Sage Body had now reached great completion. Although he hadn't reached Foundation Establishment yet, neither had the Yun family's Old Ancestor.
At this moment, there was little difference in their status! In the next second, Lu Yang's soul escaped his body and shot straight into the heavens. From high above, he looked down upon the entire Refining Arts Secret Realm, the vast, boundless land filling his vision.
The Yun family's Old Ancestor had the 'Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument' for protection, which was infallible for concealing heavenly secrets, so Lu Yang could not deduce his location. However, this was the place where Lu Yang had achieved The Sage's Theft; it was his home turf. He had no need for deductions at all.
He only had to see which aura had not been stolen by him!
Whoosh—!
With a single thought from Lu Yang, countless auras reflected in his Sea of Consciousness, only to be rapidly eliminated one by one. In the end, only a single, seemingly feeble aura remained, located within Heavenly Capital City. Immediately after, the void tore open.
The Yun family's Old Ancestor, thinking he had already concealed his heavenly secrets, looked up in stunned amazement. He saw a ripple spread across the space above him, and then a black-robed figure strolled out.
"... Found you."
(End of this chapter)