Chapter 77: First Glimpse of Worldly Cultivation
Chapter 77: First Glimpse of the Cultivation World
"To be frank, I am Chen Xin'an, a disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
On the Myriad Spirits Banner, Chen Xin'an spoke with an earnest expression, his tone righteous and solemn: "I was killed by that evil cultivator Liu Xin during my lifetime, making a fool of myself in front of you, fellow Daoist."
"Oh?" Lü Yang narrowed his eyes slightly.
Young man, you're not being honest!
Compared to the other banner spirits, Chen Xin'an's condition was clearly abnormal—he seemed to retain a degree of autonomy and could think independently.
He could even lie!
Looking at Chen Xin'an, Lü Yang grinned: "Fellow Daoist, stay calm. I'll destroy this wicked treasure right away so you can all return to the cycle of reincarnation..."
"W-Wait!"
Before Lü Yang could finish, Chen Xin'an hurriedly stopped him. Seeing Lü Yang's puzzled gaze, he rolled his eyes and sighed: "Fellow Daoist, you don't understand. This treasure has refined our True Spirits. If you destroy it, not only will we fail to reincarnate, but we'll perish along with it."
—That was a lie.
In his previous life, Lü Yang had cultivated for a hundred years and practically worn out the Myriad Spirits Banner. His understanding of it surpassed even Liu Xin's, and he knew its intricacies inside out.
So he immediately recognized Chen Xin'an's deception.
But... why was he lying?
Lü Yang's thoughts raced. Logically, the spirits on the Myriad Spirits Banner were no different from the dead. Being able to reincarnate was already a stroke of luck—who could escape such a fate?
Could it be that Chen Xin'an had another method to return to life?
"Interesting."
Lü Yang chuckled, then bluntly asked without hesitation: "Fellow Daoist, why deceive me? Do you have some secret? Care to share?"
The moment these words left his mouth, Chen Xin'an froze.
In that split second, he had already formulated a response. But before he could speak, his vision suddenly darkened, and his consciousness grew hazy.
"Trying to soul-search me?"
Chen Xin'an remained calm at first, swiftly stabilizing his divine sense with a divine ability to protect his mind. He even prepared to fabricate a memory to deceive Lü Yang.
Yet in the next moment, his expression stiffened.
Because he suddenly saw a towering golden figure, towering between heaven and earth, violently crashing into his Sea of Consciousness and instantly suppressing all his divine abilities!
"Rank suppression!?"
How was this possible!
As a true disciple of the Saint Sect, Chen Xin'an naturally recognized such things. Lü Yang's direct use of the Saint's Theft's rank suppression left him no room to resist.
"Tell me, what are you scheming?"
Lü Yang chuckled lightly, effortlessly grasping Chen Xin'an's Sea of Consciousness and swiftly extracting the streams of information he desired from his memories.
The next moment, Chen Xin'an's lips moved uncontrollably as he spoke: "I cultivated a great divine ability called the 'Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret,' which allows me to split my divine sense and perform soul possession. My plan was to deceive you first, then find a way to possess you and be reborn."
"Interesting..."
Looking at Chen Xin'an, who was now drenched in sweat, Lü Yang smiled and continued questioning: "For a banner spirit to devour its master is as difficult as ascending to heaven. How did you originally plan to possess me?"
"It's simple—I would pass the 'Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret' to you."
"It's a great divine ability. You couldn't possibly resist it."
"However, this divine ability is extremely unique. The cultivator must sever nine strands of consciousness from their own mind and then unify them with a secret method..."
"But I wouldn't teach you the method to unify them."
"So once you cultivated it, you would inevitably split into nine different consciousnesses, each vying to be the master. The result would be like the snipe and clam fighting—only for me, the fisherman, to profit."
After hearing Chen Xin'an's explanation, Lü Yang felt intrigued.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he asked again: "Are you really Chen Xin'an?"
The moment these words were spoken, Chen Xin'an immediately fell silent, his face twisting with struggle. Yet in the end, he couldn't resist Lü Yang's rank suppression.
"...Strictly speaking, no."
"The real 'Chen Xin'an' is already dead. I'm just a strand of consciousness he severed in the past... But since he's dead, I am Chen Xin'an!"
Lü Yang clicked his tongue in amazement, deeply intrigued by the great divine ability Chen Xin'an mentioned—the 'Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret.' According to Chen Xin'an's description, mastering this divine ability could not only elevate one's rank but even allow one to condense the 'divine sense' that only Foundation Establishment True Persons possessed—in advance!
This was especially crucial.
Because breaking through to Foundation Establishment was inherently a process of transforming spiritual sense into divine sense. If one achieved this transformation early, it would greatly aid in constructing the immortal foundation.
"Senior Brother Chen, your death was truly fortuitous."
"Coming to find you in this life was definitely the right choice!"
It had to be said—rank suppression was practically a cheat against weaker opponents. Otherwise, extracting so much information from Chen Xin'an would have been nearly impossible for Lü Yang.
But now, with the advantage of rank suppression, Chen Xin'an spilled everything he knew, including the original contents of the 'Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret.' After extracting all this, Lü Yang finally withdrew his divine ability and looked at Chen Xin'an, whose expression was now bleak after regaining autonomy.
"...You're a disciple of the Saint Sect, aren't you?"
After a long silence, Chen Xin'an finally spoke again, his tone firm: "Such behavior—only a disciple of our Saint Sect would do something like this."
Thinking this, Chen Xin'an glanced at Lü Yang again, his tone complicated: "You killed Liu Xin, yet you're not in the Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds... Are you planning to defect from the sect too?"
Lü Yang raised an eyebrow: "...Too?"
Chen Xin'an tilted his head, puzzled: "What's so strange about that? Given the Saint Sect's traditions, disciples defecting is perfectly normal."
"Though you're probably the strongest one so far."
"It's practically unbelievable."
At this point, Chen Xin'an seemed genuinely baffled: "Disciples who receive great divine abilities are usually implanted with restrictions to prevent future defection."
"I was exempt because my father is the master of Mending Heaven Peak. But why weren't you restricted?"
Lü Yang didn't answer.
Chen Xin'an wasn't wrong—in his previous life, Lü Yang had to sell himself to the Three Rivers Association to obtain the inheritance of a great divine ability. But that was his past life.
What did that have to do with him in this life?
However, admitting "I cheated" was out of the question, so Lü Yang changed the subject: "Fellow Daoist, do you know much about the world?"
Chen Xin'an blinked: "The world?"
Lü Yang nodded: "To be honest, this is my first time traveling. I'm not sure where to go, so I thought I'd ask you."
"...Don't go south."
After a moment of silence, Chen Xin'an answered honestly: "North of the Great Dragon River is our Saint Sect's territory, where all major and minor sects defer to us. South of the river, the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion leads the righteous path. Beyond that, the Northern Frontier and Southern Barbarian lands are remote and desolate, with no powerful factions."
"If I had to name places worth noting, it'd be Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and the overseas regions."
"Oh?" Lü Yang feigned curiosity: "Why's that?"
"Because their paths differ." Chen Xin'an explained: "Whether it's the Saint Sect or the Sword Pavilion, Jiangnan or Jiangbei—what we cultivate is the 'Path of Physical Ascension.'"
"But Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and the overseas regions are different."
"Jiangdong cultivates the 'Path of Heaven's Proxy,' Jiangxi the 'Path of Profound Joy in Nirvana,' and the overseas regions are even more diverse. Though none match our orthodox path, they have their own ingenuity."
As a true disciple and blood relative of the Mending Heaven Peak master, Chen Xin'an's knowledge far surpassed Lü Yang's. His detailed explanation immediately unveiled a corner of the world for Lü Yang—especially his descriptions of Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and the overseas regions, which stirred Lü Yang's imagination.
But soon, Lü Yang reined in his thoughts and regained his composure.
"...I know where to go now."
The top priority was still finding a secret method to increase his chances of Foundation Establishment. The 'Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret' was a pleasant surprise, but it couldn't disrupt his plans.
Jiangdong, Jiangxi, the overseas regions—these places could wait.
He planned to return to Skeleton Mountain.
"The Witch-Ghost Secret Realm... a legacy site left behind by the ancient Witch Ghost Path. For a major sect like that, surely their legacy wouldn't stop at Qi Refining, right?"
In his previous life, the secret realm was destroyed before he could enter.
This time, he would enter early and see if there were any opportunities related to Foundation Establishment.
Moreover, the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm was extremely well-hidden, making it an ideal place to lay low. If Yu Suzhen's matter came to light, hiding inside the secret realm would offer better protection.