Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Blood-clothed Tower Master
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The Divine Martial Sect's invasion ended just as abruptly as it began.
With Ouyang Haoze dead, Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan didn't dare to linger. Without a second thought, they turned and fled as if some great calamity was chasing them.
In stark contrast to the Divine Martial Sect's hasty retreat, the marketplace was filled with joyous celebration.
After all, following this battle, the Skull Mountain marketplace was now as secure as a fortress. As long as a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being didn't intervene, the Divine Martial Sect would find it difficult to crack this turtle shell.
As for the corpse tide, that was a mere trifle, not even worth mentioning.
In short, it was safe!
A safe marketplace was bound to become a hub of wealth. One could imagine that future trade here would be even more frequent, with more opportunities to make money.
Good days were still ahead!
But the excitement belonged to others; Lu Yang only found them noisy.
He was still immersed in the lingering palpitations from a moment ago, unable to recover his senses for a long time.
For a long time, or rather, ever since Xiao Shiye was lured away by that Daoist of Great Fortune, Foundation Establishment Perfected Beings had become a persistent shadow in Lu Yang's heart.
And when he realized that another Foundation Establishment Perfected Being might be plotting against him, the joy of having just slain Ouyang Haoze vanished in an instant. He subconsciously gripped the "Innate Primordial Primal Qi Divine Talisman" around his neck, and only after confirming it was still active did his anxious heart settle slightly.
"The divine talisman is still active, which means they still can't divine me."
Even so, the Innate Primordial Primal Qi Divine Talisman had its limits.
Strictly speaking, it didn't sever causality but rather obscured it, draping a layer of false causal threads over Lu Yang to achieve its protective effect.
After all, completely severing causality would be far too conspicuous.
Therefore, when a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being tried to scry him, they wouldn't get no result at all, but rather a flawless yet completely false one.
The advantage of this was greater stealth, but the disadvantage was that it couldn't completely shield him from the influence of a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being.
Thinking this, Lu Yang already had an answer in his heart: "Does this mean they weren't specifically targeting me, but I was accidentally swept into their plans?"
If so, that would also explain the matter of the Profound Feminine Grand Yin Treasure Jade.
It wasn't that he was incredibly lucky, but that someone had deliberately placed this item in his hands, intending to use him to achieve some ulterior motive.
"What motive?"
Lu Yang's gaze shifted to Ouyang Haoze's corpse. With a wave of the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner in his hand, he pulled the bisected body over.
Perhaps he could find some clues from this person.
Besides, as a true disciple of the Divine Martial Sect, Ouyang Haoze's collection was surely substantial!
Soon, Ouyang Haoze's body was refined into the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner. Unfortunately, since the body had been split in two, the extracted true spirit was incomplete.
When the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner absorbed a banner spirit, its ability to retain the spirit's former combat power, memories, and consciousness depended on the completeness of the corpse. The better preserved the body, the closer the banner spirit would be to its state in life, like Liu Xin. As for Ouyang Haoze, Lu Yang had only managed to preserve about seventy percent of his former state.
Nevertheless, he still learned many secrets.
"So that was the Divine Martial Sect's true goal."
"There is a secret realm within Skull Mountain, a remnant of the ancient Witch-Ghost Dao. The terrestrial yin qi beneath Skull Mountain is leaking from that very secret realm."
"The Divine Martial Sect wants to monopolize the secret realm, which is why they planned to eliminate the Primal Saint Sect's marketplace here."
"This is good news. If I report it back to the sect, I'll surely receive a handsome contribution point reward, and the sect will send reinforcements."
"Although the benefits of keeping this information to myself would be greater... why should I?"
"I have no intention of venturing into that Witch-Ghost secret realm anyway. It's better to hand it over to the sect, earn a stable sum of contribution points, and watch others fight to the death!"
With this thought, Lu Yang's mind was at ease.
Knowing now that a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being was secretly scheming in Skull Mountain, he became even more determined to hide in the marketplace and never step outside.
Next, Lu Yang began to sort through Ouyang Haoze's belongings.
But just as he picked up Ouyang Haoze's storage pouch, a round mirror trembled and floated over, affectionately rubbing against his hand as it drew near.
It was the Supreme Empyrean Mirror.
The spirit treasure was like an eager puppy, circling Lu Yang and even hopping a few times, its movements filled with the intent of pledging allegiance.
"Are you forsaking the light for the darkness?"
Lu Yang was a bit surprised. Honestly, for such an ultimate yang spirit treasure to side with a demonic cultivator like him, it seemed Ouyang Haoze had truly hurt it deeply.
Seeing that Lu Yang's attention was finally on it, the Supreme Empyrean Mirror first shone on the storage pouch in his hand, then swayed from side to side. A voice then echoed in Lu Yang's mind, tinged with a childish tone, like a newborn toddler just learning to speak:
"They are... no good!"
Then, the Supreme Empyrean Mirror itself burst forth with a brilliant light and bobbed up and down. Its voice changed, now filled with innate pride and arrogance:
"I... am good!"
It was recommending itself.
Lu Yang's expression grew even more astonished. Although he had long known that spirit treasures possessed their own intelligence and were wondrously unique, this was the first time he had witnessed it firsthand.
"Very well, I'll use you for now."
Lu Yang beckoned with his hand, and the Supreme Empyrean Mirror immediately descended of its own accord. With its cooperation, he quickly gained complete mastery over every aspect of the spirit treasure.
"Excellent! It truly is a fine treasure!"
Lu Yang's face was filled with pleasant surprise. Spirit treasures truly lived up to their reputation!
It was common knowledge that the so-called peak of the Qi Refining Realm was reached when a cultivator nurtured the qi seed within their body to its absolute limit, thereby transforming it into a strand of "perfected true qi".
For example, his *Nine Transformations of the Dragon Art*, upon reaching the peak of Qi Refining, would produce a strand of "True Dragon Baleful Qi".
In other words, perfected true qi was the hallmark of a peak Qi Refining cultivator and their strongest means of suppressing all other cultivators below that level.
However, the Supreme Empyrean Mirror, this spirit treasure, was naturally born with a strand of perfected true qi, named "Supreme Empyrean Wind-Thunder Qi"!
This meant that as long as one wielded this spirit treasure, even a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining could rival a peak Qi Refining master while activating it!
"But it seems there are still quite a few restrictions within this spirit treasure..."
Lu Yang studied the Supreme Empyrean Mirror. Treasures were made to be used by people, and even the righteous sects were no exception. The mirror clearly contained numerous restrictions to limit its actions.
Therefore, if he were to use this spirit treasure in front of a Divine Martial Sect disciple, they might just have to form a hand seal, and the Supreme Empyrean Mirror would fly right back to them.
This had nothing to do with the mirror's own will; it was a failsafe left by its creator.
"It would be a terrible waste not to be able to use such a spirit treasure."
Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. Although his skill in formations wasn't enough to break the restrictions within the mirror, there was a workaround.
The next second, Lu Yang shook the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner and summoned Ouyang Haoze once more. He then refined him into a strand of "Innate Primal Qi" and drove it into the Supreme Empyrean Mirror. By controlling Ouyang Haoze, who would in turn control the mirror, he could bypass the restrictions within.
Boom!
In an instant, the Supreme Empyrean Mirror in Lu Yang's hand erupted with a dazzling light, within which the faint sounds of wind and thunder could be heard. Its power had clearly reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm!
"...It really works!"
Lu Yang laughed heartily and then suspended the Supreme Empyrean Mirror behind his head. For a moment, even the treasure light it emitted turned crimson, tinged with his color.
"Not bad! Not bad at all!"
Lu Yang laughed freely, then put away the Supreme Empyrean Mirror and opened Ouyang Haoze's storage pouch. Instantly, a gush of spiritual energy made him narrow his eyes.
Inside was a massive pile of spirit stones!
In addition, there were various precious pills, magical treasures, and materials. Lu Yang made a rough calculation: selling them to the Primal Saint Sect would net him at least thirty thousand contribution points.
"What a huge haul. A pity there probably won't be another chance like this in the future."
After all, with Ouyang Haoze's cautionary tale, no one below the Foundation Establishment Realm would likely dare to challenge his formation again.
'Once news of the Witch-Ghost secret realm spreads, Skull Mountain will be plunged into another bloody storm. There must be a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being pulling the strings from behind the scenes.'
'But as long as I don't go out and don't get involved in this mess... unless he acts personally, what can he do to me?'
Having made up his mind, Lu Yang put everything away, parted the formation, and rode a streak of light back to the marketplace, landing on the balcony of the Blood-clothed Tower.
From that day on, Skull Mountain fell into an eerie calm.
The Divine Martial Sect continued to send more people, and reinforcements from the Primal Saint Sect arrived one after another, yet on the surface, there wasn't the slightest ripple. Only a dark undercurrent surged behind the scenes.
Under these circumstances, Lu Yang's story somehow spread and became widely known.
Joining the sect as a mortal ten years ago, making a fortune by speculating on Death-Substituting Yin Puppets, breaking through to the late Qi Refining Realm after a decade of seclusion, becoming a formation master and then slaying a true disciple of the Divine Martial Sect at the peak of Qi Refining... such an inspirational story of a commoner's rise was like a shot of adrenaline for all the ordinary disciples of the Primal Saint Sect.
Gradually, out of reverence, many people stopped mentioning Lu Yang's name.
Instead, they used another honorific:
'The Blood-clothed Tower Master'