Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Foundation Establishment and the Chains of Karma
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Blood-clothed Tower, another morning.
Fairy Feixia leaned against the balcony. Sunlight passed through her thin clothes, which swayed in the wind, casting an enchanting silhouette that sparked the imagination.
"Thank you for everything during this time, Junior Brother Lu."
The two had just finished a night of exchange. After Lu Yang had taught her everything he could, Fairy Feixia had reached her limit and would find it difficult to make any further progress in the short term.
"Today, I plan to leave the market city."
Turning back, Fairy Feixia looked straight at Lu Yang. "My state of mind is not as good as yours, Junior Brother, nor is my talent. Yet, I am unwilling to simply fade into obscurity like a mortal."
"After I leave, I fear it will be a long, long time before we meet again."
Fairy Feixia's gaze was full of longing, her expression pitiable. She suddenly sighed softly. "In the future, I might see the path of the Dao, or my bones may be buried in a foreign land. The immortal path is a lonely one, especially within the Saint Sect... Feixia only hopes to see an old friend again then."
After speaking, Fairy Feixia gave Lu Yang a radiant smile.
Her beautiful face and lovely smile seemed to open her heart to Lu Yang for the first time. "Junior Brother... are you willing to be that old friend of Feixia's?"
"..."
Lu Yang was silent for a long time.
A peerless beauty was gazing at him with endless affection, like a great net of fine threads winding around him, enough to make any man lose his mind.
However, Lu Yang resisted.
He calmly raised his hand. "Senior Sister is welcome back for tea anytime."
A clear dismissal.
In an instant, the light in Fairy Feixia's eyes flickered, showing an emotion that was hard to tell if it was disappointment or resignation. Then, she put away her smile and became cold and aloof once more.
"I shall take my leave."
As her voice fell, a streak of light shaped like a rosy cloud soared into the sky and vanished over the horizon.
Only after she had left did Lu Yang let out a breath. He turned and returned to the quiet room in the Blood-clothed Tower, hid within the formation, and gripped the Innate Primordial Primal Qi Divine Talisman...
...finally stopping the trembling of his body.
"Damn it, a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being must be plotting against me!"
With Fairy Feixia, Lu Yang had always been physical, never emotional. They were simply engaged in pure academic exchange; dual cultivation was just one method of learning.
But just now, he had actually been moved!
He had been momentarily infatuated with Fairy Feixia, almost saying "I am willing" several times. This emotion was clearly wrong and did not align with his true heart at all!
With the experience of his previous lives, Lu Yang quickly came to a conclusion. "The Foundation Establishment Perfected Being behind the scenes is getting impatient and has started using crude methods. They're using Fairy Feixia as bait, trying to forcibly tie me to her... they want to lure me out of the market city!"
"Seclusion... I must go into seclusion!"
Thinking of this, Lu Yang immediately announced that he was entering a death seclusion, refusing to see anyone for the time being, to avoid his own karma from being entangled with others as much as possible.
"...Impressive."
Outside the Skull Mountain market city, on a cliff, a figure stood with his hands behind his back. Behind him stood a young man in blood-red clothes with a respectful expression.
The next second, the figure with his hands behind his back laughed. "An ordinary disciple with no background, yet he has such a firm Dao heart. Truly rare. I've cast my line several times, but he never took the bait... Second Brother, I really don't know whether to say your judgment was good or bad."
"Please forgive me, Senior Brother."
The blood-clothed youth bowed respectfully, his tone a bit helpless. "My original intention was just to find a cannon fodder. I never expected a flood dragon to emerge from shallow waters..."
The blood-clothed youth's name was Luo Wuya, the "Second Senior Brother" of the Three Rivers Association.
His cultivation was at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, and he had mastered a great divine ability. He was, on the surface, the strongest expert of the Saint Sect in Skull Mountain, a true big shot.
For someone to command such respect from him, the identity of the man with his hands behind his back was obvious.
The leader of the Three Rivers Association!
His Daoist title was Yin Shan. After successfully establishing his foundation ten years ago, he became a high-ranking member of the Saint Sect. He received the Sect Master's permission to establish the Yin Shan lineage within the Cloud Sea.
"But Senior Brother, I still don't understand. Does it have to be a disciple of the Saint Sect?"
"Second Brother, there are things you don't know."
Perfected Being Yin Shan shook his head. "The ancient Witch Ghost Dao was a major sect of the demonic path. Its secret realm is heavy with karma, something even I am unwilling to be easily tainted by."
In this world, karma is everywhere.
If you receive a benefit and form a karmic bond, you must repay it.
The ancient Witch Ghost Dao set up the secret realm precisely to find someone with great fortune, to plant the seed of karma with the sect's legacy, seeking a chance to revive their lineage.
"If I were to act personally, finding the Witch Ghost secret realm would be easy. I wouldn't even have to look for it; it would reveal itself on its own. But if that happened, the karma of the Witch Ghost Dao would fall upon me. Who knows how much trouble that would bring? It would hinder my cultivation..."
To put it bluntly, Perfected Being Yin Shan wanted the goods but didn't want to pay the price.
"That's why I need someone to open the Witch Ghost secret realm for me. The Witch Ghost Dao was a major sect of the demonic path, so choosing a disciple from our Saint Sect is the most suitable."
"I had originally chosen that 'Blood-clothed Tower Master.' I even specifically drew some significant enemies to him. As long as he was willing to step out of the market city, I would have been his backer, helping him slay his foes and accumulate destiny. Once his destiny was sufficient, the Witch Ghost secret realm would be drawn out by it..."
If Lu Yang were here, he would surely find these words familiar.
Because that was how Xiao Shiye had died back then.
An artificially created Son of Heaven's Mandate, seemingly blessed with boundless luck, invincible in every battle, was in reality just bait used by a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being to fish for opportunities.
And once the opportunity was caught, the bait would be useless.
Behind Perfected Being Yin Shan, the blood-clothed youth Luo Wuya bowed his head deeply, his heart trembling in secret at the terrifying methods a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being could use to manipulate karma and fate.
"...Forget it."
Suddenly, Perfected Being Yin Shan shook his head. "Since that 'Blood-clothed Tower Master' is unwilling to cooperate, we'll just find another. It's not like it has to be him."
At this point, Perfected Being Yin Shan chuckled lightly. "Second Brother, do you remember how the ancient Witch Ghost Dao was destroyed?"
"I do. It was the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
Luo Wuya nodded. "The Pavilion Master of that generation, a Golden Core True Lord, struck with his sword from the Seven Stars Cliff of the Pavilion. The gate of the Witch Ghost Dao immediately sank into the earth..."
"Correct. Just one strike."
Perfected Being Yin Shan said with emotion, "In its heyday, the ancient Witch Ghost Dao had a double-digit number of Foundation Establishment Perfected Beings, and even a fourth-grade formation to suppress its destiny."
"Even so, they still couldn't block a single sword strike from a Golden Core True Lord from tens of thousands of miles away."
"In fact, that very sword strike is still within the Witch Ghost Dao's secret realm to this day!"
Speaking of this, a trace of fear appeared in Perfected Being Yin Shan's eyes. "A True Lord's decree, the sword qi remains in the world. As long as the Witch Ghost Dao is not extinguished, the sword qi will naturally not dissipate."
This was also the reason he was unwilling to get involved personally.
The sword qi of a Golden Core True Lord, and from the leader of the righteous path, the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, no less. What if he went to open the secret realm and the sword qi inside decided to cut him down too?
So it was much safer to find a stepping stone.
"That sword qi and the Witch Ghost secret realm have been entangled for countless years and have long since become one. So, since we can't open the secret realm through a disciple of the Saint Sect, we can try another approach. If we can manage to lure a disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion here to obtain that sword qi, the effect would actually be the same..."
At this point, Perfected Being Yin Shan's gaze shifted, and he finally left the market city.
Almost at the same time, Lu Yang, who was in seclusion within the market city, suddenly felt his body lighten, as if an immense burden had been lifted, revealing a look of astonishment.
(End of Chapter)