In Heavenly Capital City, the very instant Lu Yang appeared and spoke, the world turned black and white. An indescribable wave expanded in all directions. Wherever the wave passed, all ten directions were annihilated.
Buildings vanished, pedestrians vanished, everything seemed as if it had never existed. Whether you were a beggar on the street or a Martial Dao Celestial, all were treated the same!
"How can this be..."
A Martial Dao Celestial roared in terror, unable to accept it. Yet no matter how they reacted, whether they fled, stared blankly, or screamed hysterically, they could only dissipate silently within that wave. There was but one exception: the ‘Sage Heart Scholar’ Wang Boyuan.
This peerless genius, who had pioneered the fourth step of the Martial Dao, was unexpectedly calm at this moment. He simply gazed up at the sky, a hint of relief on his face.
"Gazing at fortune to observe the heavens... Heh, how can a frog at the bottom of a well speak of gazing at fortune, let alone observing the heavens?"
As early as when he broke through to the Celestial realm, Wang Boyuan had noticed something was wrong. Wang Boyuan had created the "Three Powers Fortune Gazing Art," using human calculations to fathom the heavens. However, when he exhausted all his life's learning to peer at heaven and earth, a great change occurred.
Because he saw that heaven and earth were flawed! Though exquisite, it was not self-consistent, like a meticulously crafted counterfeit! He once thought he had miscalculated, that his Fortune Gazing Art was incomplete.
Yet no matter how many times he recalculated, the result never changed. Were heaven and earth truly flawed, and the mortal world but an illusory dream? From then on, the once dashing and elegant ‘Sage Heart Scholar’, with his feathered fan and silk turban, became a slovenly man who spent his days drinking and wasting his life away.
Now, he saw the truth. Only at this moment did Wang Boyuan finally recover some of the heroic spirit of his former self, the ‘Sage Heart Scholar’. Gazing at the sky, he looked relieved, yet tinged with regret.
"What a pity... If I could just glimpse the real heaven and earth, it would surely be a joyous matter."
The next second, his form dissipated into nothingness. The entire Heavenly Capital City vanished from the face of the earth. Everyone was gone, leaving only the courtyard where the Yun family's Old Ancestor was and Lu Yang floating in mid-air.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Yang had used his authority over the secret realm to erase the entire Heavenly Capital City. All living beings were taken into the deepest part of the Refining Arts Secret Realm, waiting for the next disciple to reactivate them.
As for the secret realm space where Heavenly Capital City had been, he had compressed it around the Yun family's Old Ancestor. This way, the space was highly condensed, and the Yun family's Old Ancestor could no longer use Void Evasion to escape.
"Lu Yang."
The Yun family's Old Ancestor's voice was laced with wariness and resentment. He was wary because Lu Yang's current strength was no longer something he could underestimate. He was resentful because he himself was the cause of all this!
Without him, even if Lu Yang had cultivated The Sage's Theft, it could not possibly have been so perfect! How could this not make him feel resentful?
However, the Yun family's Old Ancestor quickly suppressed all his negative emotions and said in a low voice, "By erasing Heavenly Capital City, are you not afraid that The Sage's Theft will lose the support of fortune?"
"Senior is overthinking things."
Lu Yang smiled faintly upon hearing this.
"Since The Sage's Theft has already reached Great Completion, the fortune of the world is no longer important to me. After all, since it is a 'theft', how could I possibly return it? In comparison, Senior should be more concerned about your own current situation."
"... Are you threatening me?"
The Yun family's Old Ancestor's face grew darker. The aura he had been restraining was gradually released, brimming with killing intent.
"With you alone, you dare to speak so brazenly to me?"
"A mere reincarnated Foundation Establishment cultivator, what's so amazing about that?"
Lu Yang met his challenge head-on, not yielding an inch.
"I happen to be in need of the soul of a reincarnated Foundation Establishment cultivator to research a secret art. It is quite a coincidence that Senior is here to help me with my cultivation."
"Junior, you're courting death!"
In his rage, the Yun family's Old Ancestor also cleared his mind about the current situation. He was even somewhat glad that Lu Yang hadn't left the secret realm and had instead chosen to fight him. If he had left the secret realm and reported him, he would surely die.
But now that he had come alone, perhaps there was still hope of turning things around! The Yun family's Old Ancestor furiously channeled his magical power, and a brilliant golden light rose from the crown of his head. The light split into three colors—gold, silver, and jade—shining together, instantly illuminating the sky!
Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower! Unlike Yun Miaozhen's half-baked version, the Yun family's Old Ancestor's Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower was a complete version that had long been successfully refined, a Great Divine Ability in the truest sense! In an instant, the golden light surged mightily.
Wherever it passed, heaven and earth followed, sweeping up the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into a monstrous wave that came crashing down directly toward Lu Yang. Immediately after, Lu Yang's vision was filled with a golden glare, as if he had been instantly isolated in another world.
Then followed the draining of his essence, his body becoming withered, his True Qi depleted, his magical power gradually weakening, his spirit scattering, and his spiritual sense losing its sharpness. His essence, qi, and spirit were all being swept away by the golden light! However, in the next second, Lu Yang stomped his foot.
Rumble!
In that moment, the entire secret realm seemed to tremble violently, like a person jumping from a high place to a low one, causing an inevitable tremor upon landing. Almost simultaneously, the Yun family's Old Ancestor's spiritual sense was also violently shaken.
The condensed Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower, at the instant Lu Yang stomped his foot, unexpectedly burst apart in all directions. The essence, qi, and spirit that had been swept away previously rapidly returned to Lu Yang's body. The next second, Lu Yang moved.
He gave a cold smile, then flung open his sleeves. Countless wisps of smoke and fire flew from his body, spiraling and coiling, before a loud bang erupted from within, causing the Yun family's Old Ancestor's ears and eyes to ache with pain.
He looked up to see a magnificent golden body rising from the ground, its form like a mountain, wreathed in smoke and fire.
"Steal the world's fortune, forge a Sage's golden body!"
Only now did Lu Yang truly bring out the true power of The Sage's Theft at Great Completion. The 'Law' borrowed qi to take form, actually manifesting a 'Sage's Aspect'! Seeing this, the Yun family's Old Ancestor urgently channeled his Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower.
For a time, golden light filled the sky, splitting into three lights of essence, qi, and spirit. Arranged in the formation of the sun, moon, and stars, and weighing as much as a mountain, it came crashing down toward Lu Yang.
But before the Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower could land, the 'Sage's Aspect' that stood like a pillar between heaven and earth stretched out a magnificent, large hand. The palm was full and round, as translucent as jade.
It simply descended from the sky, and with a clench of its five fingers, it captured the majestic Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower, along with the Yun family's Old Ancestor, in its palm!
"Such audacity!"
The Yun family's Old Ancestor let out a muffled grunt. The Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower continuously expanded, growing ever more radiant, almost turning into a golden sun, trying to pry open the 'Sage's Aspect's' hand. However, on the other side, Lu Yang also formed a hand seal upon seeing this.
His original body gradually became illusory, while the 'Sage's Aspect' behind him grew more and more real, solemn and dignified, and increasingly unmoved by external forces. When the Yun family's Old Ancestor's explosive Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower landed on it, it could at most scrape off a layer of flesh.
But no sooner had he scraped it off than Lu Yang regenerated it. The result was a battle of attrition where one side consumed magical power and the other consumed blood qi. He couldn't gain any advantage at all.
"Delays will bring complications... I must take this person down as quickly as possible!"
The Yun family's Old Ancestor's thoughts raced. He knew that Lu Yang had obtained a great opportunity with his help. The Sage's Theft was near its apex, already comparable to a Great Divine Ability.
To take him down, he would have to use some more powerful means. With this thought, the Yun family's Old Ancestor immediately took out a round, ball-shaped magical artifact. It was none other than the 'Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument' that the Sword Pavilion Sect Master had bestowed upon him before his reincarnation.
The Yun family's Old Ancestor offered this Spiritual Treasure up into the air and then bowed respectfully.
"I request the Lord of Heaven to act."
As his voice fell, the Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument immediately began to rotate, bringing the surrounding space along with it. Up, down, left, right, front, and back were all reversed in one go! Within the range of the 'Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument,' all positional changes were thrown into chaos.
Forward was actually backward, left was actually up, up was actually forward... all according to the will of the artifact's wielder. The moment he deployed it, the 'Sage's Aspect's' qi slackened and its strength dissipated, allowing the Yun family's Old Ancestor to escape. Immediately after, he held the 'Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument' and aimed it at Lu Yang.
In an instant, Lu Yang felt a violent tremor throughout his body. The 'Sage's Aspect' seemed to be fixed in place by a vast magical power, unable to move, frozen on the spot. The Yun family's Old Ancestor had thrown all of Lu Yang's directional movements into chaos, making them all result in 'staying in place.'
After immobilizing the 'Sage's Aspect', the Yun family's Old Ancestor didn't stop. The Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower continuously rained down, clearly intending to use this method of death by a thousand cuts to break it.
"So strong, too strong..."
Lu Yang smiled in admiration. The Yun family's Old Ancestor's strength was unquestionable. After all, he was a reincarnated Foundation Establishment cultivator who possessed a supreme treasure like the Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument.
In terms of strength alone, if they fought a hundred times, he would probably lose a hundred times. However, a battle of arts is not decided by strength alone. Just as a chess player can defeat an opponent on the board, there are also ways to win outside the board.
At the same time, outside the Refining Arts Secret Realm, Lu Yang's Innate Primordial Qi clone had been rushing nonstop and had arrived directly before the door of Daoist Master Yinshan's seclusion cave residence.
"Daoist Master! I want to report something!"
"There's a bad guy inside the secret realm!"
(End of this chapter)