You have failed to break through to Foundation Establishment. Your body has perished and your Dao has dissipated. Current remaining pages of the Book of a Hundred Lives: 94 Upon starting a new life, you can choose one of the following gains from your past life: One: Treasures.
Two: Cultivation level.
Three: Lifespan.
Four: Forfeit all gains and awaken a random talent based on your previous life's experiences.
"Those whose names are called, come before me."
Liu Xin's voice came from the platform, but Lu Yang was completely oblivious. His consciousness was still lingering on the interface of the Book of a Hundred Lives. It was a long time before he came back to his senses: "I choose cultivation level."
The next second, his empty body was filled with boundless True Qi.
His cultivation at the Perfection level of the tenth layer of the Qi Refining Realm from his past life, as well as his numerous divine abilities like the Heavenly Demon Transforming Blood Divine Light, the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art, the Supreme Empyrean Pardon Treasured Record, and The Sage's Theft, all returned to him.
Lu Yang couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.
"Supreme Empyrean Treasured Record, a heavenly pardon by decree."
The next second, Lu Yang activated the Supreme Empyrean Pardon Treasured Record, simultaneously empowering it with the status of The Sage's Theft to place a layer of illusory karma over his own karmic line. In his hundred years of bitter cultivation in his past life, he hadn't wasted a single moment.
With the help of the Enlightenment Jade Slip, his attainments in formations and talisman arts had both reached the seventh grade, which was basically the limit a Qi Refining cultivator could reach. Among them, talisman arts were his main focus.
And his greatest achievement was successfully recreating the Innate Primordial-Unity Qi Divine Talisman used in his previous life to conceal heavenly secrets, retaining thirty percent of the original's effect.
"It's enough for temporary use."
"After all, the original version was drawn by a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master and was empowered by a Foundation Establishment status. It's unrealistic for me to perfectly recreate it. Achieving thirty percent is already quite good."
Rumble!
The next second, Lu Yang felt a shift in the great net of karma. It was as if a powerful aura was sweeping through, tracing along the karmic line of Daoist Master Panlong's inheritance and heading in his direction. Lu Yang instantly recognized the owner of the aura—it was none other than the Heaven Mending Peak Master.
Such a fast reaction! In his past few lives, the Heaven Mending Peak Master only found him after several years. But now, he had found him almost instantly.
It was because his cultivation level was higher.
"However... things are different now!"
Lu Yang calmed his mind and qi. Since he had chosen cultivation level and accepted the karma of Daoist Master Panlong, it was within his expectations to be sought out by the Heaven Mending Peak Master. However, this time, there was a huge difference compared to before.
He had 'status'! When a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master performed divination on a mortal without status, they would naturally be successful every time. However, once the target had status, the difficulty of divination would skyrocket immediately.
"Hmph! Junior, you're courting death!"
Through the great net of karma, Lu Yang heard the slightly angered voice of the Heaven Mending Peak Master thundering and echoing. Clearly, he had noticed Lu Yang's act of concealing heavenly secrets and had even seen through his true background, judging that Lu Yang was not a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master, but a Qi Refining cultivator who possessed status.
The next second, Lu Yang felt that the Heaven Mending Peak Master was getting serious. A boundless spiritual sense swept over, directly breaking through the layer of illusory karma he had set up. It headed straight for the source and would lock onto him in less than a quarter of an hour.
"So strong, far too strong..."
Lu Yang marveled in his heart, but he wasn't flustered. The Heaven Mending Peak Master needed a quarter of an hour to lock onto him, but the things he needed to do didn't even require that long. The next second, Lu Yang made his move.
He left the Innate Primordial Qi clone in its place, while his true body concealed its form and slipped away. Then, he went straight to Liu Xin and took his genuine divine talisman.
With Lu Yang's current cultivation level, dealing with Liu Xin, who was still in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, was naturally as easy as turning over his hand. From beginning to end, Liu Xin didn't notice anything amiss.
Moreover, to avoid alerting the enemy, after taking the divine talisman, Lu Yang even specially replaced it with a simplified version he had made himself.
"Who is it!?"
Almost right after he took the genuine divine talisman, it wasn't long before the Heaven Mending Peak Master completely broke through Lu Yang's blockade and began to sweep across the great net of karma. However, he found nothing.
This experience of being played for a fool instantly enraged the Heaven Mending Peak Master, but no matter how he divined the heavenly secrets, he could not find the culprit. This strange turn of events made the Heaven Mending Peak Master fall silent. A long time later, he spoke again: "Hongyun, is that you?"
"Ah?"
Within the Saint Sect, a handsome Daoist with a divine bearing and jade-like bones opened his eyes, a helpless look on his face.
"Old Freak Chen, don't you go making baseless accusations."
"Hmph! It must have been you!"
The Heaven Mending Peak Master seemed certain that Daoist Hongyun was behind all this and immediately sneered, "Before his death, Panlong entrusted his inheritance to me, saying it would be up to me to designate his successor. How dare you use a junior to secretly fish it away?
Do you really think I'm intimidated by your status and wouldn't dare to make a move?" After hearing this, Daoist Hongyun's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Panlong's inheritance was fished away?"
"Stop playing dumb with me."
The Heaven Mending Peak Master's voice continued, "This matter between us isn't over. A reincarnated True Monarch... is not a True Monarch after all!" Soon, the fluctuations on the great net of karma dissipated.
Apparently, although the Heaven Mending Peak Master spoke fiercely, he still had his misgivings and didn't dare to act directly. However, Daoist Hongyun still felt a bit vexed. After all, the Heaven Mending Peak Master was a prominent figure among the many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Saint Sect and was not someone easy to deal with.
He was cultivating peacefully in his cave residence, yet he had provoked a powerful opponent for no reason at all. Naturally, his mood wasn't very good. At the same time, an immense curiosity arose in him.
"Who is scheming against me?"
Daoist Hongyun pinched his fingers to perform a divination but came up with nothing. He couldn't help but frown.
"If it isn't a scheme... then it was an unintentional mistake, and I was accidentally caught in the crossfire?"
"Interesting!"
"According to Butian, some junior made off with the Panlong inheritance he was holding, and he still hasn't figured out who it was? Which junior is so bold?"
The more Daoist Hongyun thought about it, the more curious he became. He felt an unbearable itch in his heart.
"Unfortunately, this junior seems to possess a secret treasure that conceals heavenly secrets. Ordinary methods can't divine him... But to use 'Overturning Lantern Flame' for a mere junior would be excessive, the loss would outweigh the gain... Forget it, my own business is more important."
Thinking of this, Daoist Hongyun shifted his gaze. Almost at the same time, a disciple within the Saint Sect suddenly raised his head. His once ignorant thoughts became clear, and his disposition became imposing and high-spirited.
His name was Xiao Shiye.
"That was truly terrifying..."
Inside the Joyful Union Hall, Lu Yang had already been lured into a cave residence by Yu Suzhen. The situation unfolded exactly as it had in his past few lives. Liu Xin was also already waiting at the entrance.
Originally, the next step was the part where he would turn the tables and kill Yu Suzhen. This time, however, Lu Yang had a different idea.
"In this life, I need to cultivate the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art, which means I am fated to 'die once.' Since that's the case, I might as well just die here."
This time, Lu Yang planned to let Yu Suzhen plunder his primal energy! In addition to that, he also planned to use Yu Suzhen to test an idea in his mind. Whether this idea was right or wrong would determine his goal for this lifetime.
And that was the secret art of Stealing Heaven's Secrets! This secret art for Foundation Establishment, which he had gotten in a trade with Zhao Xuhe, allowed one to plant their own aura in a person of the opposite sex through cultivation, making the other person toil for their benefit.
And Lu Yang's idea was very simple: could this thing be stacked? Because this secret art was limited to the opposite sex, if he used it himself, he could only use it on women, like Fairy Feixia, Fairy Qinghe, and others.
But whether it was Fairy Feixia or Fairy Qinghe, their talent and strength were very limited and completely unable to satisfy his needs. The only one who met the requirements, Yun Miaozhen, was far away in the Sword Pavilion. In comparison, the men were different.
Liu Xin, Zhao Xuhe, Xiao Shiye—each one more of a heavyweight than the last. Almost all of them could be considered Foundation Establishment seeds, possessing deep fortune and destiny, and they were right beside him.
And so, Lu Yang came up with a plan: If Stealing Heaven's Secrets could be stacked, then I'll first use it on Yu Suzhen, turn her into a puppet, and then have her learn Stealing Heaven's Secrets and cultivate with favored sons of heaven like Liu Xin, Zhao Xuhe, and Xiao Shiye.
Wouldn't that allow me to indirectly use the secret art of Stealing Heaven's Secrets on people like Xiao Shiye? Back then, Daoist Hongyun nearly scared him to death. This life was the perfect opportunity for some payback.
He created a Son of Heaven, Xiao Shiye, who surpassed countless disciples. Then I will create a Daughter of Heaven who surpasses Xiao Shiye—Yu Suzhen!
(End of this chapter)