Chapter 69: Saint Body Grand Completion
Chapter 69: Saintly Body Perfected
Inside the Refinement Secret Realm.
Lü Yang's true form remained unharmed, seated calmly within the cave abode. As for Ji Xiongying's furious curses before death, they didn't trouble him in the slightest—his heart was filled only with joy.
"The Saint's Theft... has succeeded!"
Lü Yang stood up and gazed skyward. What met his eyes was a vast river of purple qi—the condensed Fate's Breath gathered from all 140 million living beings within this secret realm!
The Fate's Breath of martial arts!
At this moment, Lü Yang bathed in this fortune. The resplendent purple qi poured over him, making him seem instantly like the center of heaven and earth.
Simultaneously, all 140 million beings within the Refinement Secret Realm—from mortals below to Heaven and Man Realm experts above—felt something stir within them. One by one, they looked up at the sky, faintly glimpsing a majestic golden figure rising from the earth, solemn and dignified, lifted upward by the churning tides of mortal dust...
"Laws embodied, Saintly Body perfected!"
Lü Yang opened his eyes, once again sensing that profound Dao resonance akin to 'ascension'—a feeling he'd only previously experienced when encountering Great Divine Abilities or Foundation Establishment True Persons.
His 'height' was increasing!
The infinite Fate's Breath was completely devoured by Lü Yang, not a wisp remaining. Within his body, this fortune slowly constructed an incredibly intricate Ritual Formation.
"...Hmm?"
Just then, Lü Yang suddenly raised his head to look at the sky.
Meanwhile, in Tianjing City, as Lü Yang shattered the void and Ji Xiongying followed closely behind, the Yun Family Patriarch's face abruptly twisted with shock and fury.
"Disaster!"
Only now did he understand Lü Yang's scheme. Lü Yang had fabricated a "Shattering the Void" realm beyond the Heaven and Man Realm—with himself as proof, and now Ji Xiongying added as further evidence. From this point onward, people would firmly believe this path feasible, rushing forward one after another to pursue it!
The entire system formed a seamless whole!
Even the fourth step of martial arts he himself had created was perfectly encompassed within it. Far from disrupting Lü Yang's cultivation, this had instead amplified its power!
Because relying solely on Lü Yang, martial arts could reach at most Qi Refining late stage.
Yet with the Yun Family Patriarch's 'assistance', the pinnacle of martial arts had astonishingly reached Qi Refining perfection. Thus, the Fate's Breath fed back by the Saint's Theft would reach unprecedented magnitudes!
Worst of all, at this stage, even he couldn't dismantle the martial arts system anymore.
Because theoretically speaking, martial arts practitioners at the Heaven and Man Realm—equivalent to Qi Refining perfection—represented a dead end. This applied not just to Lü Yang, but equally to himself!
As for the 'Shattering the Void' realm—he couldn't find any flaws in it.
After all, those who shattered the void were gone—dead men told no tales. Such matters always became cases of "each sticks to his own version." What evidence could he possibly find to disprove it?
To break this deadlock, he'd need to create a method distinct from void-shattering that could genuinely allow martial arts to break through to Foundation Establishment.
But before reincarnating, he'd only been at Foundation Establishment early stage himself—his capabilities were limited. How could he possibly devise a method to elevate martial arts to Foundation Establishment?
A Golden Core True Lord might manage it!
Alternatively, he could kill everyone who witnessed Lü Yang shattering the void... but what purpose would that serve? It would only needlessly expose his own existence.
In other words, Lü Yang's completion of the 'Saint's Theft' had become an unstoppable tide!
"Bastard! Bastard!"
Thinking this, the Yun Family Patriarch gnashed his teeth in fury. Never had he imagined his carefully laid plans would not only fail but end up aiding his enemy!
After painstakingly manipulating karma, only to dress the bride for another's wedding?
He couldn't accept this!
Filled with resentment, the Yun Family Patriarch once again stirred the threads of karma, attempting one final gambit.
Activating the 'Heavenly Instrument', he amplified his Influence over causality: "The Saint's Theft inevitably faces a Tribulation. Originally, this calamity should have fallen upon me. But if I can peel it away and employ substitution methods—replacing human tribulation with heavenly tribulation—I can harness the power of heaven and earth to slay him!"
"Stealing the Fate's Breath of all under heaven—such defiance of heaven's will must incur divine retribution!"
With the Yun Family Patriarch's furious shout, the clear skies above Lü Yang's secluded cultivation site abruptly darkened. Serpentine lightning crisscrossed the thunderclouds.
Boom!
Thunder emerged from the mountains, whitening all between heaven and earth!
A massive bolt of lightning descended from the clouds with blinding speed—impossible to evade—striking Lü Yang in the blink of an eye.
When the lightning dispersed, Lü Yang's figure gradually became visible again.
Yet to the Yun Family Patriarch's disbelief, facing this heavenly thunder that could potentially slay even a Qi Refining perfected cultivator, Lü Yang emerged completely unscathed!
"This is... the Laws of the Saint's Theft?"
Information about 《Saint's Theft》 flashed through the Yun Family Patriarch's mind. The minor and major accomplishments of this body refinement method were entirely different entities.
Minor accomplishment of Saint's Theft merely enhanced physical constitution.
But major accomplishment could condense 'Laws'.
In immortal cultivation, 'height'—or 'rank'—often symbolized absolute disparity. With sufficient rank, those beneath might as well be ants.
Just as Foundation Establishment True Persons viewed Qi Refining cultivators.
The 'Laws' of Saint's Theft were essentially a form of rank.
Thus, the current Lü Yang no longer shared the same rank as ordinary cultivators. Any attack from ranks 'below' his couldn't possibly harm him!
Take the heavenly thunder summoned by the Yun Family Patriarch through karma—while tremendously powerful, it lacked corresponding rank. The result was like two dimensions attacking three—no matter its might, it remained theoretical, utterly meaningless. Forget harming Lü Yang—it couldn't even fray his sleeve.
Of course, Laws varied in strength—not everyone achieved such potency.
The Primordial Saint Sect nurtured countless talents; Lü Yang wasn't the only disciple to master Saint's Theft. Yet the Laws he'd condensed were the most formidable thus far!
Because the strength of 'Laws' was determined by the system established through practicing Saint's Theft.
If a system stopped at Qi Refining mid stage, its 'Laws' could only nullify attacks from that level—encountering Qi Refining late stage would breach them.
Yet thanks to the Yun Family Patriarch's 'assistance', Lü Yang's martial arts encompassed Qi Refining perfection!
Thus his 'Laws'—unless opponents below Foundation Establishment possessed similarly rank-elevating Great Divine Abilities—were utterly impregnable!
Boom!
Lightning strikes rained down continuously, yet Lü Yang remained unmoved, treating them as nothing. Even the surrounding formations shattered while he stayed unharmed.
Witnessing this, the Yun Family Patriarch's eyes nearly burst from their sockets, yet he remained powerless.
"At this point, we must let him go." The Yun Family Patriarch sighed. "Very well, allow him to depart... the Sect Master's mission takes precedence..."
"Senior, you're watching me, aren't you?"
A calm voice echoed. The Yun Family Patriarch stiffened in shock—through the lens of karma, he saw Lü Yang suddenly turn his head, gazing placidly in his direction.
He can see me... No, he knows of my existence!?
Instinctively, the Yun Family Patriarch retreated a step, horror-stricken. He instantly severed the karmic connection, then concealed his breath, obscuring all traces of his heavenly secrets.
Yet the present Lü Yang was vastly different!
"Trying to flee..."
Lü Yang lowered his eyelids, ripples shimmering in his eyes. Now with his Saintly Body perfected—though not yet reaching Foundation Establishment—the Yun Family Patriarch similarly wasn't at that realm either.
At this moment, their ranks held little disparity!
The next instant, Lü Yang's soul departed his body, soaring into the heavens to gaze down upon the entire Refinement Secret Realm. The boundless earth momentarily lay fully within his sight.
Protected by the 'Heavenly Instrument', the Yun Family Patriarch's concealment of heavenly secrets had been flawless—thus Lü Yang couldn't calculate his location through divination. Yet having perfected Saint's Theft here, this was Lü Yang's domain. He needed no calculations—he merely had to identify which aura hadn't been stolen by him!
Whoosh!
With a thought, myriad auras reflected within Lü Yang's Sea of Consciousness, rapidly filtered until only one seemingly frail aura remained—located in Tianjing City.
Then, the void split open.
Believing his heavenly secrets safely hidden, the Yun Family Patriarch looked up in astonishment as ripples formed overhead. A black-robed figure stepped forth from the disturbance.
"...Found you."