"To be frank, I am Chen Xin'an, a disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
On the Myriad Spirits Banner, Chen Xin'an spoke with a sincere and righteous expression, "I was harmed by that evil cultivator, Liu Xin, when I was alive. I must be a laughingstock to you, Daoist friend."
"Oh."
Lu Yang's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. This young man isn't being honest! Compared to the other banner spirits, there was clearly something wrong with Chen Xin'an's state.
It seemed he had truly retained a portion of his autonomy and could think normally. He could even lie. Looking at Chen Xin'an, Lu Yang grinned, "Daoist friend, calm yourself.
I shall destroy this harmful Evil Treasure right now, so that all of you can return to the cycle of reincarnation."
"Wait, wait!"
Before Lu Yang could finish, Chen Xin'an hurriedly stopped him. Seeing Lu Yang's questioning gaze, his eyes darted about before he sighed and said, "Daoist friend, there is something you do not know. This treasure refines our true spirits.
If you destroy it, not only will we be unable to reincarnate, but we will also perish along with it." This was a lie.
In his previous life, Lu Yang had cultivated bitterly for a hundred years and had become so familiar with the Myriad Spirits Banner that his understanding of it even surpassed Liu Xin's. He was incomparably clear about its secrets. Therefore, he could tell at a glance that Chen Xin'an was lying. But why was he lying?
Lu Yang's thoughts raced. Logically, the banner spirits on the Myriad Spirits Banner were no different from dead men. To be able to reincarnate was already a blessing from the heavens.
Who could be an exception? Could it be that this Chen Xin'an had some other method to return to life?
"Interesting."
Lu Yang smiled and then, without any hesitation, spoke directly, "Daoist friend, you deliberately deceived me. Do you have some kind of secret? I wonder if you would be willing to share?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Xin'an was momentarily stunned. In a flash, he had already thought of an answer. However, before he could speak, his vision suddenly went black, and his consciousness grew hazy.
"You want to Soul Search me?"
At first, Chen Xin'an was quite calm. He quickly activated a divine ability to protect his mind and was even prepared to fabricate a memory to fool Lu Yang. However, in the next second, his expression froze.
Because he was shocked to see a towering golden body, standing between heaven and earth, that brutally and unstoppably crashed into his Sea of Consciousness, instantly suppressing all his divine abilities!
"Status!?"
How is that possible! As a True Disciple of the Saint Sect, Chen Xin'an naturally recognized what he was seeing. And Lu Yang, by directly using the status from The Sage's Theft to suppress him, had no intention of giving him even the slightest chance.
"Tell me, what are you plotting?"
Lu Yang chuckled softly, easily taking control of Chen Xin'an's Sea of Consciousness. He quickly extracted torrents of the information he desired from his memories.
The next second, Chen Xin'an's lips moved, and he began to speak uncontrollably, "I cultivated a Great Divine Ability called the 'Secret of the Heavenly Silkworm by Severing Thoughts to See the Self,' which can divide one's spiritual sense and perform Possession. I planned to deceive you first, then find a way to possess you.
That way, I could be reborn."
"Interesting."
Looking at the sweat-drenched Chen Xin'an, Lu Yang chuckled and continued to ask, "For a banner spirit to turn on its master is as difficult as ascending to heaven. How did you originally plan to possess me?"
"It's simple. I would have imparted the 'Secret of the Heavenly Silkworm by Severing Thoughts to See the Self' to you."
"This is a Great Divine Ability; you couldn't possibly not be tempted."
"However, this Great Divine Ability is extremely special. The cultivator needs to sever nine clone souls from their own mind and then use a secret art to unify them."
"But I wouldn't have taught you the secret art to unify the clone souls."
"Therefore, as long as you cultivated it, you would inevitably split into nine different consciousnesses, each wanting to be the master. The result would be a fight between the snipe and the clam, allowing me, the fisherman, to reap the rewards."
After hearing Chen Xin'an's description, Lu Yang felt a little tempted. Suddenly, a thought stirred in his mind, and he asked again, "Are you really Chen Xin'an?" At these words, Chen Xin'an immediately fell silent, a look of struggle on his face.
In the end, however, he was unable to resist the suppression from Lu Yang's status.
"... Strictly speaking, no." "The real 'Chen Xin'an' is already dead. I am just a clone soul he severed in the past... But since he is dead, that makes me Chen Xin'an!"
Lu Yang clicked his tongue in amazement. He was quite tempted by the Great Divine Ability Chen Xin'an had mentioned, the 'Secret of the Heavenly Silkworm by Severing Thoughts to See the Self'.
According to Chen Xin'an's description, once this Great Divine Ability was mastered, not only could it raise one's status, but it could even allow one to condense the 'spiritual sense' that only Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters possess ahead of time! This point was particularly crucial.
Because breaking through to Foundation Establishment was fundamentally a process of transforming one's spiritual sense into a divine one. If you could complete this transformation ahead of time, it would be of immense help in building your Dao foundation.
"Senior Brother Chen, it's a good thing you died."
"I was truly right to look for you in this life!"
It had to be said, this 'status' was a peerless tool for dominating the weak. Otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible for Lu Yang to dig so much information out of Chen Xin'an. And now, empowered by his status, Chen Xin'an held nothing back, telling him everything he knew.
Even the complete text of the 'Secret of the Heavenly Silkworm by Severing Thoughts to See the Self' was dug out by him. Only after doing all this did Lu Yang retract his divine ability and look at Chen Xin'an, whose expression was miserable now that he had regained his autonomy.
"... You're a disciple of the Saint Sect, aren't you."
After a long silence, Chen Xin'an finally spoke, his tone firm, "Such methods... only a disciple of our Saint Sect would be capable of them." At this thought, Chen Xin'an glanced at Lu Yang again, his tone complex.
"You killed Liu Xin, but you are not at the Heaven-Linking Cloud Sea. Don't tell me you also intend to betray the sect?"
At these words, Lu Yang's eyebrows raised slightly.
"... Also?"
Chen Xin'an, on the other hand, tilted his head with a puzzled look.
"What's so strange? Given the culture of the Saint Sect, it's a very normal thing for disciples to betray the sect."
"However, you should be the strongest one to do so thus far."
"It's simply inconceivable."
Speaking of this, Chen Xin'an found it a little hard to understand.
"Disciples who are granted a Great Divine Ability are usually placed under a restriction to prevent them from betraying the sect in the future."
"I don't have a restriction because my father is the Heaven Mending Peak Master. But what is your reason?"
Lu Yang did not answer. What Chen Xin'an said was not wrong. In his last life, he had relied on selling himself to the Three Rivers Society to obtain the inheritance of a Great Divine Ability, but that was all in the past.
What did that have to do with the him of this life? But he certainly couldn't let others know that he was using a cheat, so Lu Yang took the initiative to change the subject.
"Daoist friend, do you know much about the world?"
Chen Xin'an was taken aback.
"The world?"
Lu Yang nodded.
"To be honest, this is my first time traveling the world, and for the moment, I'm not sure where to go. So, I thought I'd ask you, Daoist friend."
"... Don't go south."
After a moment's silence, Chen Xin'an spoke honestly, "North of the Great Dragon River is the territory of my Saint Sect, where all sects, large and small, follow our lead. South of the River, the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion is the leader of the righteous path.
Beyond that, the Northern Frontier and the Southern Barbarians are all remote and desolate places, with no powerful factions to speak of."
"If I have to name some, then East of the River, West of the River, and the overseas regions are still somewhat noteworthy."
"Oh?"
Lu Yang asked with a curious expression, "Why do you say that?"
"Because their Daos are different," Chen Xin'an explained.
"Whether it's the Saint Sect or the Sword Pavilion, north or south of the river, what we cultivate is actually the 'Path of Body-Refining and Ascension'."
"However, East of the River, West of the River, and the overseas regions are different."
"East of the River cultivates the 'Path of Heaven's Sentinel', West of the River cultivates the 'Path of Profound Joy and Nirvana', and the overseas regions are even more diverse. Although none can compare to our orthodox path, they have their own ingenuities."
As a True Disciple and a blood relative of the Heaven Mending Peak Master, Chen Xin'an's breadth of knowledge was much greater than Lu Yang's. As he spoke eloquently, he unveiled a corner of the world for Lu Yang.
His descriptions, especially of the lands East of the River, West of the River, and even overseas, could not help but make one's heart yearn to see them. But very quickly, he gathered his thoughts and regained his composure.
"... I know where I need to go."
The most pressing matter was still to find a secret art to increase his chances of Foundation Establishment. The 'Secret of the Heavenly Silkworm by Severing Thoughts to See the Self' was an unexpected surprise, but he couldn't let it disrupt his plans. The lands East of the River, West of the River, and overseas could wait.
He planned to make another trip to Skull Mountain.
"The Witch Ghost Secret Realm... the place where the Ancient Witch Ghost Sect left its inheritance. For a great sect like that, its inheritance couldn't possibly stop at the Qi Refining Realm, could it?"
In his previous life, the secret realm had been destroyed before he could even enter it. In this life, he would enter it early and see if there were any opportunities related to Foundation Establishment. Moreover, the Witch Ghost Secret Realm was extremely well-hidden and a perfect place to hide.
If the matter concerning Yu Suzhen was ever exposed, his safety would be much more secure if he hid inside the secret realm.
(End of Chapter)