Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: In Cultivation, One Loses Track of the Years
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Primal Saint Sect, Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea.
When Lu Yang returned to Heaven Mending Peak, there was hardly an uninjured patch of skin on his entire body. His injuries were even more severe than those from the great battle at Skull Mountain.
While returning to the sect on his flying vessel, he was ambushed by an orthodox sect. A peak Qi Refining cultivator used a divine ability to strip his left hand down to the bone. His face was covered in festering wounds, the result of a sneak attack by a scorpion demon beast's tail stinger as he passed through a forest.
And those were just the visible injuries.
Beneath the surface, his meridians, acupoints, and Dantian's Purple Mansion had all suffered varying degrees of damage, all inflicted by people weaker than him.
"So this is what it means for a hero to be shackled by ill fortune."
Lu Yang looked helpless. His next thirty years of fortune had been fished out and depleted in advance by Perfected Being Yin Shan. Now, plagued by misfortune, nothing he did went smoothly.
At first, Lu Yang tried to fight back.
However, whenever he engaged someone in battle, all sorts of accidents would occur—old injuries would flare up, he'd use too much force, his divine abilities would backfire, and so on.
In the end, he could only flee.
Still, he was a peak Qi Refining cultivator. Though his luck was gone, his life was tough enough that he managed to survive until he returned to the sect.
As for the war of annihilation the Primal Saint Sect launched against the Divine Martial Sect after the Skull Mountain incident, Lu Yang didn't dare participate. In his current state, where he could fall into the latrine just by using it, he worried that if he went to the Divine Martial Sect, a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being might slap him to death from eight hundred miles away.
The moment he returned to the sect, Lu Yang immediately hid himself away in his cave residence.
He then set up the Blood-Washed Celestial River Sword Array diagram outside and plastered all kinds of talismans inside and out, completely sealing the cave to block off all external interference.
"I'm not leaving for the next thirty years!"
Not only that, but plagued by misfortune, even cultivation was a luxury. Forget about advancing his cultivation; the only result would be qi deviation.
Fortunately, he had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, so there was no need to continue cultivating anyway.
Lu Yang sat on a prayer mat and took out a jade slip from his storage pouch. But this was no ordinary jade slip; it was a brilliant gold.
This item was called the "Dao-Illuminating Jade Slip."
As a substitute for a Foundation Establishment wondrous treasure, Perfected Being Yin Shan had bestowed this upon him. Just as he had wished, it was a secret treasure that could help one comprehend the principles of the Dao.
If he encountered any difficulties in his cultivation, he only needed to infuse his question into the jade slip, and it would provide an answer. Within the Qi Refining Realm, its answers were one hundred percent accurate. Its effect was almost equivalent to having a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being deduce divine abilities for him, which was a timely solution to his urgent problems.
"In my current state, comprehending divine abilities is a dead end."
"After all, with my terrible luck, I'd never figure out the correct path and might even go astray. But this Dao-Illuminating Jade Slip is different!"
"Perfected Being Yin Shan said this wondrous item has faintly touched the threshold of Foundation Establishment, so the answers it gives won't be affected by my misfortune."
Despite this, Lu Yang wasn't in a hurry to use it to comprehend the Supreme Tenuosity Imperial Edict Treasure Register. Although it was the last part of his grand divine ability, the *True Method of Corpse-Shedding under the Lunar Yin*, he valued another gain from Skull Mountain even more: the *Supreme Yi Golden Splendor Pill Scripture*!
Of course, he hadn't obtained the complete *Supreme Yi Golden Splendor Pill Scripture*.
After all, he wasn't a true disciple of Heaven Mending Peak, and the grade of his dual cultivation technique was limited. So even though he had almost drained Yun Miaoqing to death, he hadn't managed to harvest the entire text.
He had only obtained a third of it, a divine ability called "Supreme Yi Primal Essence Jade Splendor."
As its name suggested, mastering this divine ability allowed one to condense a jade-colored "essence light," which, when applied to the body, could make it indestructible.
It also had the effect of repairing physical injuries.
This was especially important for Lu Yang right now. Due to his misfortune, his body was in pieces, severely damaged.
"Once my injuries and luck recover, I might need to find a body-refining technique to cultivate."
At this thought, Lu Yang immediately took out his disciple token and contacted Second Senior Brother Luo Wuya of the Three Rivers Association, intending to ask about a suitable technique.
As a peak Qi Refining cultivator, he now had the qualifications to speak with Luo Wuya as an equal.
Soon, Luo Wuya sent a reply:
"There is indeed a technique that would suit you well, Junior Brother, but it cannot be cultivated right now. Why don't you wait a few years? I'll notify you when the time is right."
Lu Yang naturally agreed with pleasure and then entered meditative seclusion.
A few years later, a spirited and heroic-looking youth arrived outside Lu Yang's cave residence.
The youth's name was Wang Song. He had just joined the Primal Saint Sect a few days ago and, through his grandfather Wang Bairong's recommendation, had also joined the Three Rivers Association and accepted a commission from Luo Wuya.
"Senior Brother Luo and Senior Brother Lu had an agreement regarding a body-refining technique. However, Senior Brother Luo fought bloody battles against the Divine Martial Sect for years and earned great merit. He was rewarded with a Foundation Establishment wondrous treasure by a Perfected Being and is now preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. He couldn't come personally, so he specifically sent me to deliver the technique."
"But now Senior Brother Lu is in seclusion too. What should I do?"
Wang Song's face was etched with worry. In the end, he had no choice but to find a cave residence near Lu Yang's and settle in. He was young, anyway; he had time to wait for Lu Yang to emerge.
Thinking this, Wang Song glanced at Lu Yang's cave residence again, his eyes filled with anticipation.
As far as he knew, this Senior Brother Lu had also been an ordinary disciple before, yet he had distinguished himself and become a peak Qi Refining cultivator, with Foundation Establishment now within his grasp.
"If Senior Brother Lu can do it, so can I!"
"I'm already at the first level of Qi Refining. As long as I study and train diligently and strive tirelessly, I will surely become a figure like Senior Brother Luo and Senior Brother Lu in the future!"
"Fortunes change over thirty years. Never look down on a poor young man!"
In cultivation, one loses track of the years. In the blink of an eye, thirty years had passed.
Heaven Mending Peak, Scripture Repository Pavilion.
Now over fifty years old, Wang Song had been stuck at the bottleneck of the third level of Qi Refining for more than a decade. With no progress in his cultivation, signs of old age had already appeared on his face.
The old man from the Scripture Repository Pavilion who had recommended him to the sect, Wang Bairong, had long since passed away. He had only left his grandson a stable job as a deacon in the pavilion and a cave residence with a thirty-year mortgage still to be paid. Fortunately, his luck wasn't too bad; after thirty years of diligent work, he was finally about to pay off the loan.
The sharp edges of his youth had long been worn smooth.
Now, Wang Song's face only showed the numbness of someone who had been beaten down by the Primal Saint Sect. His mindset had changed from the initial "Never look down on a poor young man!" to "Let the dead be honored."
Just get by, day by day.
On the bright side, at least he had almost paid off the loan on his cave residence. That way, when his son joined the Primal Saint Sect, he would have a foundation to start with.
Just then, a loud bang suddenly echoed from the distance.
"Hm?"
Wang Song looked up in a daze, only to see that the cave residence—the one he loved, hated, and felt helpless about, the one he had once cursed at but had never opened—was suddenly stirring.
"He's... Senior Brother Lu is coming out of seclusion!?"
The next second, the cave residence opened, and Wang Song saw a handsome, spirited youth, as young as he himself had been thirty years ago, strolling out.
Thirty years had passed, yet time had not left a single trace on him.
Then, as if sensing his gaze, the handsome youth suddenly turned his head. His calm eyes seemed capable of piercing right through a person's heart.
"You are...?"
Lu Yang wore a curious expression. With a thought, a halo of light appeared behind his head like a full moon, within which flowed extremely complex registers.
The registers resembled dragons and phoenixes, giving off a contradictory feeling. At first glance, they were as small as mustard seeds, but if one focused on them, one would be drawn in, as if seeing a whole world in a grain of sand. And as time passed, these registers constantly changed, displaying images of all living things, like flowers, birds, fish, and insects.
The Supreme Tenuosity Imperial Edict Treasure Register!
The final divine ability of the *True Method of Corpse-Shedding under the Lunar Yin*. It was completely different from the Heavenly Demon Blood Transformation Divine Light and the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Grand Art; it was not used for combat.
But for divination.
Therefore, the moment Lu Yang's gaze fell upon Wang Song, the treasure register activated, and the cause and effect of the situation were no longer a secret to him.
Wang Song's identity, his eighteen generations of ancestors, the technique he cultivated, his cultivation level, the divine abilities he excelled at, and even the reason he was waiting outside his cave—Lu Yang learned every detail. This feeling of seeing everything as clearly as the lines on his own palm made Lu Yang sigh with emotion:
'Perhaps this is what it feels like to be a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being?'
Of course, this was also due to the vast difference in cultivation between him and Wang Song. If he tried to divine a peak Qi Refining cultivator, it certainly wouldn't be so effortless.
From this, it was clear he was still a long way from being a Foundation Establishment Perfected Being.
Meanwhile, Wang Song had finally met the Senior Brother Lu he had been thinking of for decades. He stumbled forward, about to pay his respects, but only heard a sigh:
"No need to bow. Just give me the item."
Wang Song didn't dare to delay. He quickly took out the jade slip he had been holding onto for thirty years. Lu Yang swept it with his spiritual sense, the restriction on the slip dissolved, and its contents appeared.
Luo Wuya hadn't lied to him. He had indeed sent a body-refining technique, and it was indeed very suitable for him.
Its name was: *The Sage's Theft*.
(End of Chapter)