Chapter 58: The Saint Sect Overflows with Talent
Chapter 58: The Saint Sect—Where Every Corner Hides Talent
Lü Yang didn't pay much attention to Wang Song. At most, he sighed inwardly about how Wang Bairong, the old man from the Library Pavilion and his friend from previous lifetimes, actually had descendants.
If there's a next life, I'll look out for him. Right now, I have more important matters to attend to.
Summoning his escape light, Lü Yang left his cave dwelling while simultaneously retrieving the Bright Dao Jade Slip to study the Saint's Theft.
An ancient saying goes: "As long as saints exist, great thieves will never cease."
This doesn't mean saints themselves are thieves, but rather that saints establish laws for the world. While these laws regulate society, they also create opportunities for great thieves.
However, this is the orthodox interpretation. The Saint's Theft offers a completely different perspective:
The Saint's Theft states: Saints use their own rules to benefit themselves, branding those who disobey as bandits. Thus, so-called saints are nothing but thieves who plunder the world.
Therefore, to cultivate this body-refining technique, one must establish a cultivation method for the world. When all under heaven follow this method, the cultivator can then steal the Fate's Breath of the masses to nourish themselves. This is the true essence of the technique—"Saints are great thieves, and great thieves embody the Great Dao."
Forge a saint's golden body with the fires of mortal life.
Once the golden body is forged, its resilience becomes as unshakable as "the laws of saints, immutable for eternity." Even among the Saint Sect's many body-refining techniques, this one ranks within the top ten.
Reading this, Lü Yang was utterly awestruck.
"Turning all under heaven into cultivation resources... The Saint Sect remains the Saint Sect. Just when I start feeling slightly favorable toward it, it always manages to widen my horizons..."
To be honest, after encountering Ming Chan, Yun Miaozhen, and others, Lü Yang's impression of orthodox sects had plummeted.
Admittedly, sects like the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion treated their own people well, meeting all the standards of righteousness—but this only applied to "their own people."
Who counted as their own people?
Orthodox sects emphasized karma and past lives. If you accumulated good karma and merit in your previous life, you were considered one of their own and could receive their favor.
Conversely, if you committed evil deeds in your past life, incurring bad karma, then even if you lived blamelessly in this life, you would never be accepted by the orthodox sects. Instead, they would kill you under pretexts like "for your own good," "cleansing your karma," or "you'll have opportunities in your next life." Yun Miaozhen, that lunatic, was a prime example.
Comparing the two, Lü Yang saw the fundamental difference between orthodox and demonic paths.
For the Saint Sect, all disciples were talents. Thus, they accepted disciples without discrimination, teaching all equally. Past lives and merit were irrelevant.
Orthodox sects, however, upheld "acting on heaven's behalf."
Reincarnation, karma, destiny... Orthodox sects placed great importance on merit, karma, and past lives when recruiting disciples.
Both approaches had their pros and cons. The only difference was which one was slightly more humane.
Thinking this, Lü Yang could only sigh in resignation: "Not a single normal sect in this world... What's wrong with this place? It must be a systemic issue!"
As he pondered, Lü Yang arrived deep within the sea of clouds.
Soon, a towering black mountain range came into view—Yinshan, also the headquarters of the Three Rivers Association.
Just then, a loud laugh suddenly rang out:
"Junior Brother Lü, you've finally left seclusion!"
In the next moment, a figure identical to the one from thirty years ago appeared outside Yinshan. Seeing this, Lü Yang smiled faintly and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Greetings, Senior Brother Luo."
"No need for formalities between us."
Luo Wuya patted Lü Yang's shoulder with a grin. He had always held Lü Yang in high regard—otherwise, he wouldn't have specially delivered the Saint's Theft technique to him.
He also had a rough idea of Lü Yang's purpose for coming.
"You're here about the Saint's Theft, aren't you?"
Lü Yang nodded. "This technique is indeed profound and unfathomable, but its scope is vast, and the time required is immense. It's not something that can be mastered overnight..."
"Hahaha!" Luo Wuya laughed heartily. "Don't tell me you were actually considering leaving the Saint Sect to cultivate this technique from scratch in the mortal world? The Saint Sect is vast and rich in resources, overflowing with talent. Why trouble yourself like that? Regarding the Saint's Theft, the sect already has a well-established cultivation method."
Lü Yang cupped his hands again. "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."
"Follow me."
Luo Wuya led Lü Yang into a grand hall within Yinshan, at the center of which stood an enormous crystal sphere.
"This place is called the 'Refinement Secret Realm.'"
Seeing Lü Yang's confusion, Luo Wuya pointed at the crystal sphere and explained, "Don't be fooled by its size—this is actually the creation of a Dao Lord!"
"A Dao Lord...!?"
Lü Yang's heart trembled violently. Foundation Establishment cultivators were called True Persons, Golden Core cultivators were True Lords, and only Nascent Soul cultivators bore the title of Dao Lord. This object was crafted by such an existence?
"The 'Refinement Secret Realm' contains 140 million living beings, each with robust vital energy and pure souls. A single one is equivalent to more than ten mortals from the outside world. Whether for refining treasures or cultivating techniques, they are top-tier materials. Perfect for your Saint's Theft cultivation."
Lü Yang inhaled sharply. "140 million talents..."
It seemed that after breaking through to Qi Refining's Great Perfection and joining the Three Rivers Association—a Foundation Establishment faction—he had finally gained the qualifications to glimpse a fraction of the Saint Sect's true depths.
Just then, the secret realm suddenly erupted with radiant light.
In the next moment, a black-robed youth stormed out, his face twisted in fury: "Damn peasants... Failed again!"
After cursing, the youth glanced at Luo Wuya but didn't exchange a single word before leaving.
Naturally, Lü Yang remained silent as well. Only after the youth had gone far did he turn back to Luo Wuya—only to see a hint of schadenfreude on the latter's face.
"That was another true disciple of the sect—Chongming, the only son of True Person Chongguang. Pay him no mind. He failed at cultivating the Saint's Theft yet again."
"Let me be frank with you, Junior Brother. The Saint's Theft isn't easy to master."
At this point, Luo Wuya's expression turned solemn once more. "Don't underestimate the people in this secret realm. Though they are talents, they are no fools."
"As you know, the Saint's Theft requires creating a cultivation method out of thin air for the masses before one can cultivate it. The more profound the method created, the greater the rewards upon success. However, we are not Dao Lords—most of the methods we devise are shallow and easily exposed as flawed."
"This is why many fail at the Saint's Theft."
"In the past, some disciples were even discovered by the living beings inside, feigned cooperation, and were later counter-killed. They became laughingstocks of the sect."
"So how you choose to cultivate this technique requires careful consideration."
With that, Luo Wuya retrieved another jade slip and handed it to Lü Yang. "I also cultivated this technique back in the day and have some humble experience to share."
"Many thanks, Senior Brother!"
"All for the Three Rivers Association. I'll be waiting for you to emerge in triumph. If you truly master the Saint's Theft, you'll be formidable even among true disciples."
Lü Yang's eyebrows rose slightly, catching the implication in Luo Wuya's words.
Only by mastering the Saint's Theft will I be considered strong.
In other words... Right now, I'm still not enough?
Keeping his thoughts hidden, Lü Yang bowed respectfully once more before approaching the 'Refinement Secret Realm.' With a sweep of his divine sense, a flood of information poured into his mind.
As expected of a Dao Lord's creation—this secret realm could be customized!
Culture, history, geography, architecture—all could be shaped according to his will. Such power to reshape heaven and earth with a single thought filled Lü Yang with both reverence and deep wariness.
Because one thought lingered stubbornly in his mind:
If the secret realm was a Dao Lord's creation, and Dao Lords could accomplish such terrifying feats within it... Did they possess the same power in reality?
The living beings inside were talents to him.
But to a Dao Lord... what were Saint Sect cultivators?
Lü Yang dared not dwell on it further. All he could do was sigh helplessly:
"Damn Saint Sect... Every corner hides talent!"