Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: A First Glimpse into the World's Cultivation Paths
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"To be honest, my name is Chen Xin'an. I am a disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
On the Myriad Spirits Banner, Chen Xin'an spoke with a sincere and righteous expression.
"I was killed by that evil cultivator, Liu Xin. I must be a laughingstock to you, fellow Daoist."
"Oh?" Lu Yang's eyes narrowed upon hearing this.
*Young man, you're not being honest!*
Compared to the other banner spirits, Chen Xin'an's state was clearly abnormal. He seemed to have genuinely retained a portion of his autonomy and could think normally.
He could even lie!
Looking at Chen Xin'an, Lu Yang grinned.
"Fellow Daoist, please be at ease. I will now destroy this malevolent treasure so that you may all return to the cycle of reincarnation."
"Wait, wait!"
Before Lu Yang could finish, Chen Xin'an hurriedly stopped him. Seeing Lu Yang's questioning gaze, his eyes darted around before he sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist, you don't understand. This treasure has refined our true spirits. If you destroy it, not only will we be unable to reincarnate, but we will also be buried along with it."
—That was a lie.
In his past life, Lu Yang had spent a hundred years in bitter cultivation, nearly wearing the Myriad Spirits Banner smooth. His understanding of it surpassed even Liu Xin's, and he was crystal clear on its secrets.
So, he could tell at a glance that Chen Xin'an was lying.
But why was he lying?
Lu Yang's thoughts raced. Logically, the banner spirits on the Myriad Spirits Banner were no different from the dead. Being able to reincarnate was already a blessing from the heavens; who could hope for more?
Could it be that this Chen Xin'an had another way to return to the world of the living?
"Interesting."
Lu Yang smiled and, without any reservation, spoke directly, "Fellow Daoist, you're deliberately deceiving me. Do you have some kind of secret? I wonder if you'd be willing to share it?"
At these words, Chen Xin'an was momentarily stunned.
In a flash, he had already thought of a reply, but before he could speak, his vision suddenly went black, and his consciousness grew hazy.
"Trying to soul-search me?"
Chen Xin'an was calm at first. He quickly activated a divine ability to protect his mind and even prepared to fabricate a memory to fool Lu Yang.
The next second, however, his expression froze.
He was horrified to see a towering golden body, standing between heaven and earth, that brutally and unstoppably crashed into his sea of consciousness, instantly suppressing all of his divine abilities!
"Status!?"
How is this possible!
As a true disciple of the Primal Saint Sect, Chen Xin'an naturally knew what he was seeing. And Lu Yang, by directly using the Status from the Sage's Plunder to suppress him, had no intention of giving him any chance at all.
"Tell me, what are you plotting?"
Lu Yang chuckled, easily taking control of Chen Xin'an's sea of consciousness. He quickly extracted streams of the information he wanted from the man's memories.
The next moment, Chen Xin'an's lips moved, and he spoke uncontrollably.
"I cultivate a grand divine ability called the *Heavenly Silkworm Secret: Severing Thoughts to See the Self*. It allows me to divide my spiritual sense and perform possession. I planned to deceive you first, then find a way to possess you, and thus be reborn."
"Interesting..."
Looking at the now sweat-drenched Chen Xin'an, Lu Yang smiled faintly and continued to ask, "For a banner spirit to overpower its master is as difficult as ascending to heaven. How did you originally plan to possess me?"
"It's simple. I would have passed the *Heavenly Silkworm Secret: Severing Thoughts to See the Self* on to you."
"It is a grand divine ability; there's no way you wouldn't be tempted."
"However, this grand divine ability is extremely special. A cultivator must sever nine divine spirits from their own mind and then use a secret method to unify them..."
"But I would not have taught you the secret method to unify the divine spirits."
"Therefore, as long as you cultivated it, you would inevitably split into nine different consciousnesses, each wanting to be the master. The result would be a fight between the snipe and the clam, allowing me, the fisherman, to reap the benefits."
After hearing Chen Xin'an's description, Lu Yang was somewhat tempted.
Suddenly, a thought stirred in his mind, and he asked again, "Are you really Chen Xin'an?"
At this question, Chen Xin'an immediately fell silent, a look of struggle on his face. In the end, however, he could not resist the suppression of Lu Yang's Status.
"...Strictly speaking, no."
"The real 'Chen Xin'an' is already dead. I am merely one of the divine spirits he severed in the past... But since he is dead, I am now Chen Xin'an!"
Lu Yang clicked his tongue in amazement. He was quite tempted by the grand divine ability Chen Xin'an spoke of, the *Heavenly Silkworm Secret: Severing Thoughts to See the Self*. According to Chen Xin'an's description, once this grand divine ability was mastered, it could not only elevate one's Status but even allow one to condense 'spiritual sense'—something only Foundation Establishment Perfected Beings possessed—ahead of time!
This point was especially crucial. The breakthrough to Foundation Establishment was a process of transforming one's spiritual awareness into spiritual sense. If you could achieve this transformation in advance, it would be immensely helpful for building your immortal foundation.
"Senior Brother Chen, what a good death you had."
"I was right to look for you in this life!"
It had to be said, this 'Status' was a divine tool for crushing weaker opponents. Otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible for Lu Yang to dig so much information out of Chen Xin'an.
And now, with the power of his Status, Chen Xin'an held nothing back, telling him everything he knew. Lu Yang even managed to extract the complete, original text of the *Heavenly Silkworm Secret: Severing Thoughts to See the Self*. After doing all this, Lu Yang finally withdrew his divine ability and looked at Chen Xin'an, whose expression was miserable now that he had regained his autonomy.
"...You're a disciple of the Primal Saint Sect, aren't you."
After a long silence, Chen Xin'an finally spoke, his tone firm. "Only a disciple of our Primal Saint Sect would do something like this."
Thinking of this, Chen Xin'an glanced at Lu Yang again, his tone complicated.
"You killed Liu Xin, but you're not at the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea. Could it be that you also plan to betray the sect?"
At these words, Lu Yang's eyebrows raised slightly.
"...Also?"
Chen Xin'an, on the other hand, tilted his head, looking puzzled. "Is that so strange? Given the Primal Saint Sect's culture, it's perfectly normal for disciples to betray it."
"However, you should be the strongest one to do so thus far."
"It's simply unbelievable."
Speaking of this, even Chen Xin'an found it hard to understand. "Disciples who are taught grand divine abilities are usually placed under a restriction to prevent them from betraying the sect in the future."
"I didn't have a restriction because my father is the Peak Master of Heaven Mending Peak. But what about you?"
Lu Yang did not answer.
What Chen Xin'an said was true. In his previous life, he had obtained the legacy of a grand divine ability only by selling himself to the Three Rivers Association, but that was all in the past.
What does that have to do with me in this life?
But he definitely couldn't let anyone know that he was 'using a cheat'. So, Lu Yang proactively changed the subject.
"Fellow Daoist, do you know much about the world?"
Chen Xin'an was taken aback. "The world?"
Lu Yang nodded. "To be honest, this is my first time traveling. For a moment, I wasn't sure where to go, so I thought I'd ask you, fellow Daoist."
"...Don't go south."
After a moment of silence, Chen Xin'an said honestly, "The lands north of the Great Dragon River are the territory of my Primal Saint Sect. All sects, large and small, look to us for leadership. South of the river, the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion leads the orthodox path. Besides these, the northern frontiers and the southern barbarian lands are remote and desolate, without any powerful factions."
"If I had to name others, Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and the overseas regions are somewhat respectable."
"Oh?" Lu Yang asked with a curious expression, "Why do you say that?"
"Because their Daos are different," Chen Xin'an explained. "Whether it's the Primal Saint Sect or the Sword Pavilion, north of the river or south, what we actually cultivate is the 'Path of Refining the Form to Ascend'."
"However, Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and the overseas regions are different."
"Jiangdong cultivates the 'Path of Patrolling the Heavens on Behalf of the Divine', Jiangxi cultivates the 'Path of Deep Joy in Nirvana', and the overseas regions are a hundred flowers blooming. Although none can compare to our orthodox path, they have their own clever aspects."
As a true disciple and a blood relative of the Heaven Mending Peak Master, Chen Xin'an's knowledge was far greater than Lu Yang's. His unhurried explanation immediately unveiled a corner of the world for Lu Yang. His descriptions of Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and even the overseas regions, in particular, were enough to make one's heart yearn for them.
Soon, however, he reined in his thoughts and calmed down.
"...I know where I need to go."
The most urgent task was still to find a secret method to increase his chances of Foundation Establishment. The *Heavenly Silkworm Secret: Severing Thoughts to See the Self* was an unexpected surprise, but it couldn't disrupt his plans.
Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and the overseas regions could wait.
He planned to make another trip to Skull Mountain.
"The Shamanic Ghost Mystic Realm... a place where the ancient Shamanic Ghost Path left its legacy. For a great sect like that, their legacy couldn't possibly stop at the Qi Refining Realm, right?"
In his last life, the mystic realm was destroyed before he could even enter it.
In this life, he would enter it ahead of time to see if there were any opportunities related to Foundation Establishment.
Moreover, the Shamanic Ghost Mystic Realm was extremely well-hidden and a perfect place to lie low. If the matter with Yu Suzhen were to be exposed, hiding in the mystic realm would provide him with greater security.
(End of Chapter)