Chapter 100: I've Always Been Loyal to the Saint Sect
[You were entangled in karmic debts, lost all merit and fortune overnight, and ultimately took your own life.]
[Current remaining pages in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 93]
[Restarting this life, you may select one reward from the following options based on your previous life's gains:
1: Treasure.
2: Cultivation.
3: Lifespan.
4: Abandon all gains and randomly awaken a talent based on your previous life's experiences.]
"Those whose names are called, step forward."
The familiar voice made Lü Yang feel as though lifetimes had passed in an instant. However, he quickly steadied his emotions and turned his attention to the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes' interface:
[Name: Lü Yang]
[Lifespan: 18]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining, Tenth Layer, Perfected]
[Talents: Dual Cultivation Prodigy (White), Some Skill (Purple)]
[Arts: 《Nine Transforming Dragon Incantation》(Perfected)]
[Divine Abilities: 《Divine Firmament Sword Control True Formula》(Perfected), 《Secrets of Formation Treasures》(Perfected), 《Qi Concealment Technique》(Perfected), 《Great Incarnation Universal Divine Method》(Perfected), 《Stealing Heavenly Secrets》(Perfected), 《Saint's Theft》(Perfected), 《Great Yin Molting Corpse Dissolution True Method》(Minor Achievement), 《Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret》(Minor Achievement)]
[Treasures: Blood Sun Sword Pill (Superior-Grade Magical Treasure), Primordial Qi (Superior-Grade Marvel)]
[Pages in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 93]
After restarting, he retained the initial state from his previous life. In terms of status, only the enhancement from 《Saint's Theft》 remained, while the other two great divine abilities had yet to be mastered.
"I choose treasure."
Lü Yang didn't dare delay and immediately confirmed this life's reward. In the next moment, the Myriad Spirits Banner, dark to the point of appearing purple, abruptly manifested within his dantian.
Then, with a mere thought from Lü Yang, the banner swayed, and a graceful, ethereal figure materialized from its surface, stepping down as if transforming from illusion into reality. Behind her followed eight crimson-clothed vengeful ghosts, swiftly assembling into the reappearance of the [Yama Palace], flattening all karmic threads clinging to Lü Yang.
However, compared to his previous life, the current [Yama Palace] had shrunk considerably.
"Is it because Skeleton Mountain is missing...?"
Lü Yang understood inwardly. In his previous life, the [Yama Palace] had relied on Skeleton Mountain as its foundation, whereas in this life, it could only reside within the banner's dimensional space.
Though the [Yama Palace] still maintained a Foundation Establishment-level status, it now possessed quality without quantity. In this state, it might not even defeat the soul of the Mending Heaven Peak Master from his previous life and could only perform tasks like obscuring karma, which merely required status.
But this was a minor issue.
After all, Skeleton Mountain wasn't going anywhere—it couldn't grow legs and run away. At worst, he could revisit it later to re-establish its foundation.
"......"
Lü Yang looked up at the sky and waited patiently. This time, the Mending Heaven Peak Master did not detect him. After a futile bout of rage, the Peak Master withdrew his divine sense.
Satisfied, Lü Yang nodded before sensing the karmic threads again, revealing a calm expression: "As expected, the banner spirit and the Myriad Spirits Banner are indeed one entity—at least according to the 《Book of a Hundred Lifetimes》's judgment. After selecting it as a reward, all its karma has been erased."
Now, he could no longer sense the Gold Core Sword Qi's karmic ties.
Including the Myriad Spirits Banner and all the banner spirits within it, they had all become entities devoid of cause and effect in Lü Yang's eyes, untraceable by conventional means.
After organizing his thoughts, Lü Yang turned his gaze to Liu Xin on the platform.
This life, he would replicate his actions from two lifetimes ago.
"In my previous life, Fulong ambushed me because I wasn't truly part of the Saint Sect and lacked a sufficiently powerful backer."
The Saint Sect was, after all, the Saint Sect. One could call it wicked, but never weak.
Had he been a true disciple of the Saint Sect in his previous life, Lü Yang believed Fulong Arhat wouldn't have dared abduct him to Jiangxi for Buddhist cultivation, even with ten extra lives.
Thus, in this life, Lü Yang planned to secure a true disciple's identity for himself.
From this perspective, the Three Rivers Association was a suitable choice.
"At the very least, True Person Chongguang and True Person Yinshan should still be somewhat reasonable—after all, they didn't outright kill me and seize the [Heavenly Corpse Sha] in my previous life..."
Lü Yang was certain they had the capability.
They had the power but refrained from using it.
Such individuals were exceedingly rare within the Saint Sect. Moreover, True Person Chongguang, as a Grand True Person at the pinnacle of Foundation Establishment, was himself a formidable backer.
"Truthfully, I've always been loyal to the Saint Sect."
"Everyone in the Saint Sect is exceptional—I absolutely adore it here! Though I didn't join the sect in my previous life, in spirit, I was already a member!"
Soon, the initiation ceremony concluded.
The subsequent events unfolded identically to previous lifetimes. Lü Yang was once again assigned to the Pleasure Hall by Liu Xin and subsequently taken into a cave abode by Yu Suzhen.
Though he had done this many times before, each occasion hardened his resolve anew.
With the Great Dao ahead, how could he afford to be soft-hearted?
Yu Suzhen was swiftly dispatched.
Gazing at Yu Suzhen's corpse, its eyes wide with disbelief, Lü Yang frowned slightly before suddenly having an idea. He retrieved the Myriad Spirits Banner and summoned Su Nu.
"Your servant greets the Master."
The moment Su Nu appeared, she respectfully kowtowed to Lü Yang, her movements causing her ample curves to sway enticingly, her slender waist arching like a crescent moon—all while completely ignoring the corpse beside her.
"Do you recognize her?"
Lü Yang pointed at Yu Suzhen's body on the ground. Only then did Su Nu glance sideways, prompting Lü Yang to focus intently on sensing her thoughts.
What he observed next was Su Nu momentarily freezing at the sight of Yu Suzhen's delicate face—identical to her own—before furrowing her brows in apparent confusion. However, she soon relaxed her expression again: "Master, I recognize her... She was me in life... Does the Master wish to... transcend her?"
Lü Yang immediately scowled. "Don't spout nonsense! I'm an immortal cultivator!"
His curiosity had purely been about what would happen if two versions of Yu Suzhen existed in the same world. All this talk of transcendence was utterly inappropriate!
"It seems the 《Book of a Hundred Lifetimes》 patched this bug for me..."
After restarting, though the banner spirits subjectively remembered everything from before, their self-perception had been forcibly altered following the erasure of their karma.
She knew she had been Yu Suzhen but no longer identified as Yu Suzhen—almost like a shadow of her original self.
As Lü Yang pondered this, Su Nu suddenly waved her hand over Yu Suzhen's corpse, sending out a ripple of eerie karmic fluctuations.
"...What are you doing?"
Lü Yang looked up to see Su Nu equally bewildered. After a moment's hesitation, she reached toward the corpse as if plucking something intangible.
The next instant—
"Huh!?"
Lü Yang's pupils constricted sharply. Su Nu, whose karma had been cleansed by the 《Book of a Hundred Lifetimes》, now bore an additional layer of causality—Yu Suzhen's karma!
"It can do this too!?"
His eyes lit up with realization. Banner spirits whose original selves existed in the present world could borrow their counterparts' karma?
Considering this, he immediately turned to Su Nu and asked, "How did you do that? What are the limits? Are there any restrictions?"
Su Nu blinked before carefully sensing her condition, then replied softly, "There's a distance requirement. If the original is too far away, it might not work. Beyond that, there are no other conditions—physical contact isn't necessary. If the original is dead, the borrowing becomes permanent."
"Fascinating..."
Lü Yang fell into deep thought, glancing at the other two banner spirits within the Myriad Spirits Banner—Chen Xin'an and the Mending Heaven Peak Master's avatar. Could they perform the same feat?
This ability, if used well, held tremendous potential!
If banner spirits could appropriate their originals' karma, it meant that once the original died, the spirit could seamlessly replace them!
At the very least, even without killing the original, they could borrow their karma to commit misdeeds before pinning the blame on them.
"...An unexpected windfall."
Next, he turned his attention to Liu Xin, who was already waiting outside the door.
Instantly, a plan took shape in his mind.
"Chen Xin'an!"
First, eliminate Chen Xin'an's original body, then have the banner spirit Chen Xin'an assume his karma and reunite with the Mending Heaven Peak Master as his son.
This way, Lü Yang would gain a mole planted beside the Peak Master.
Moreover, with Chen Xin'an's identity as a Saint Sect true disciple and a True Person's son—a veritable cultivation aristocrat—many of the sect's resources would become accessible to him.
If he broke through to Foundation Establishment in the future, he could even have the banner spirit Chen Xin'an lure the Peak Master out of the sect, exploit their father-son bond for a betrayal, kill him, and replace him with the banner spirit version!