Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Igniting the Flame of Rebellion
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The "candy beans" fed to the villagers were actually quite simple—just the eggs of the Qi-devouring insects.
He had once derived a similar cultivation method in the Refining Law Secret Realm. Now, he had merely refined it further and applied it to the villagers.
"The wonder of the [Villager] lies in their ability to eat anything, but they can only consume without truly digesting it. The eggs of the Qi-devouring insects make up for this flaw. These insects devour both meat and vegetables alike, helping the [Villager]s digest their food and in turn nourishing their vitality and physique."
After being transformed by the Qi-devouring insects,
the villagers no longer had to go hungry. They could even subsist on dirt and tree bark, growing their physiques to a level comparable to that of [Martial Soldiers].
The gap between them was merely one of Life Stars.
Under the suppression of a Life Star, even a dozen [Villager]s charging together would lose their nerve with just a glare from a [Martial Soldier] channeling their full essence, energy, and spirit.
But that was the extent of it.
When the number of [Villager]s swelled to dozens, the suppression from a [Martial Soldier] was no longer absolute. Numerical superiority overwhelmed qualitative advantage.
Thus, Lu Yang passed the Qi-gathering method to the villagers.
"The Qi-gathering secret art from the *Dry Heaven Primordial Unification of All Heavens Divine Method* is specifically designed to harvest the qi of the [Ten Thousand Martial Realm], and Life Stars are naturally part of that."
Of course, the Qi-gathering method itself was far too profound for the villagers to comprehend. So Lu Yang unleashed his world-shaking intellect, simplifying it to the extreme with the aid of the Listening幽 Ancestor Master. He stripped away all complexities, removed superfluous functions, and retained only the "qi consumption" aspect.
In this way, the villagers could use the Qi-gathering method to harvest Life Star qi.
"Kill a [Martial Soldier] and absorb their qi—you become the next [Martial Soldier]! Or do you plan to remain exploited villagers forever?"
Soon, the spark was lit.
Nearly every villager's eyes turned bloodshot, and amid the crowd, the burly man stared at Lu Yang—who was speaking eloquently before them—with a look of horror.
Rationally, he refused to endorse Lu Yang's words.
Yet in that moment, he recalled his own ambitions: his refusal to accept the fate of a mere [Martial Soldier], his drive to rise, only to end up gravely wounded and forced into retirement.
What if he joined them?
No need for merits, no fawning over superiors, no bribes—just kill a higher-ranking [Martial General] and claim their Life Star.
His eyes gradually reddened.
What followed was straightforward.
When the lords of Reclamation City set up porridge sheds to dispense a bit of charity—and conveniently select a few servants from the villagers like picking livestock—
they were met instead by a swarm of locusts.
At that precise moment, the city's garrison had been pulled away by City Lord Wu Changkong to pursue extraterritorial heavenly demons, leaving the entire city unprecedentedly vulnerable.
"Kill! Kill! Yes, just like that—this is who you are!"
"Come, let me make your killing even more satisfying!"
Lu Yang scattered the eggs of the Qi-devouring insects directly. It wasn't just the [Villager]s—this world's underclass teemed with Life Stars, far more abundant than the eggs.
Chaos rapidly spread.
Next, Lu Yang began disseminating the Qi-devouring insect eggs and the Qi-gathering method across the borderlands of the [Ten Thousand Martial Realm], igniting the same flames in one place after another.
And as the instigator of the turmoil, Lu Yang naturally faced no punishment.
After all, from start to finish, it was the natives of the [Ten Thousand Martial Realm] doing the Qi-gathering. To this realm, it was merely money shifting from one pocket to another.
Moreover, with the [Ten Thousand Martial Realm] coveting the earth vein qi in Lu Yang's possession, they turned a blind eye to his actions as long as he didn't harvest qi personally and occasionally fed a bit of earth vein qi to the realm.
Under these circumstances, Lu Yang's forces swelled at once.
Once the most numerous [Villager]s were roused, growth was no longer in the tens of thousands—it exploded exponentially.
A hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, four hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand, one million six hundred thousand!
A tidal wave instantly swept across the entire [Ten Thousand Martial Realm].
And Lu Yang, who wielded the Qi-devouring insect eggs allowing people to survive on dirt and grass without starving, naturally became their leader.
Only then did someone finally notice something amiss.
Even so, the rotten, backward feudal system failed to recognize the threat of the [Villager]s in time, merely dispatching troops casually to suppress them.
That turned into a tactic of pouring oil on the fire.
Lu Yang didn't even need to lift a finger—the villagers alone easily annihilated the suppression forces, claiming their Life Stars and equipment.
In a mere few months, the prairie fire was unstoppable.
Meanwhile, in a deep mountain forest, Perfected Being Miaoyin—who had fled early—had just emerged from seclusion, a smug expression on her face.
"Success!"
"Though there are still some issues, the forged [Life Star] can now fool most people, letting me infiltrate this world's interior."
Perfected Being Miaoyin had her own plan for the [Ten Thousand Martial Realm]. Though their military array arts were formidable—reaching 'ten thousand troops' scale could spell doom even for her—she had no need to clash head-on. Assassinating a few leaders would suffice.
Her idea was simple.
Disguise as a local, then assassinate those enhanced by devil stars to harvest qi. Dangerous, yes, but with the greatest rewards.
Yet upon emerging, she found things amiss.
The city she had previously targeted was utterly changed: scorched earth everywhere, blood floating adrift, the city lord's head dangling from the gates.
What had happened?
Perfected Being Miaoyin immediately divined the heavenly secrets, but with Lu Yang's Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument concealing causality, her cultivation couldn't uncover the cause or effect.
Some things, however, were clear without divination.
"It must be Lu Yang!"
Though she didn't know how he'd done it, creating such upheaval in months stirred unease in Perfected Being Miaoyin.
"No time to delay—better summon Suo Huan quickly."
With that thought, Perfected Being Miaoyin abandoned further qi-gathering and returned to her seclusion site. She set up an array and produced a glazed treasure mirror.
This mirror, named the [Void Heaven Mirror], was a superior spiritual treasure.
She had long used it to contact and trade with Suo Huan. Its sole wonder: long-distance communication and item transmission.
With array augmentation, it could even send people.
Soon, as the array activated, brilliant light bloomed on the mirror, and Suo Huan's figure appeared within, wearing his usual amiable smile.
The next instant, Suo Huan chuckled lightly. "Fellow Daoist, are you prepared?"
"As long as you're willing to sign the contract."
Perfected Being Miaoyin said gravely, "I help you kill Lu Yang, you help me pass my tribulation—no mutual harm. Once the contract forms, I'll summon you at once."
"Naturally."
Suo Huan nodded without hesitation, accepted the contract she sent, imprinted his mana, and Perfected Being Miaoyin smiled in satisfaction.
She then activated the incantation. As the mirror's glow intensified, Suo Huan's image sharpened until, with a flicker, he strode forward from the mirror, truly crossing the realm barrier!
Perfected Being Miaoyin hurried forward, swaying her hips in welcome. "Fellow Daoist Suo Huan—"
Before the words finished—
"Finally, you've taken the bait."
In that instant, as Suo Huan materialized, an invisible wave surged outward, locking heaven and earth, instantly binding Perfected Being Miaoyin!
