Chapter 95: Let Senior Sister Yu Suffer a Bit More
Chapter 95: Making Senior Sister Yu Suffer a Bit More
Thinking it, Lü Yang acted immediately, transforming into a streak of light that shot into the heavens.
The Myriad Spirits Banner soared high, its flag fluttering as it blotted out the sky. A vast shadow rapidly expanded outward from Lü Yang, covering the eight-hundred-mile Skeleton Mountain—especially the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm.
One after another, the witch-ghosts were converted into banner spirits by Lü Yang, including the eight red-clothed ghosts that formed the [Yama Palace], as well as the guardian deity Su Nu.
"Even the color has changed."
As countless witch-ghosts poured into the Myriad Spirits Banner, its originally pure white hue gradually darkened to a deep purple, matching Su Nu's appearance.
This way, as long as he restarted with the Myriad Spirits Banner, the [Yama Palace] could be perfectly inherited, ensuring that from the very beginning of his next life, he would have a Foundation Establishment guardian deity to obscure heavenly secrets. The effect shouldn't be any worse than the Innate Primordial Qi Divine Talisman, preventing another disturbance that would alert the Mending Heaven Peak Master.
"Oh right, almost forgot about you."
At this thought, Lü Yang suddenly shook the Myriad Spirits Banner and retrieved a numb-faced, vacant-eyed old Daoist with white hair and youthful features—the Mending Heaven Peak Master!
To be precise, it was a severed strand of the Mending Heaven Peak Master's consciousness, which he had personally carved from his own soul to escape the suction force of the [Yama Palace].
Next, Lü Yang summoned Chen Xin'an.
This was also a severed strand of the real Chen Xin'an's consciousness, not his true body. Upon appearing, he stared wide-eyed at the Peak Master's strand, disbelief written all over his face.
"How is this possible...?"
"Nothing's impossible." Lü Yang smiled faintly. "You two share such a deep father-son bond. Kind-hearted as I am, I specially invited him into the Myriad Spirits Banner to reunite with you."
At this point, Lü Yang thought of an intriguing question: now that both Chen Xin'an and the Mending Heaven Peak Master's strand had become his banner spirits, if he restarted with the Myriad Spirits Banner, would they still be there? And if so, would it affect the real Mending Heaven Peak Master and Chen Xin'an?
"Interesting."
Lü Yang's mind raced, instantly conjuring numerous clever ways to exploit this. In his next life, he might just pin a massive black mark on the Mending Heaven Peak Master...
But that was a matter for the next life.
Shaking off these thoughts, Lü Yang turned to Chen Xin'an and the Peak Master's strand: "I plan to cultivate the Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret. You two will guard me."
......
The Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret was a great divine ability that transformed Qi Refining spiritual sense into Foundation Establishment divine sense. To master it, one had to sever nine strands of consciousness from their own soul.
According to the divine ability's description, these strands represented nine extreme emotions that troubled Lü Yang's "Original Self": the joy of sight, the anger of hearing, the love of scent, the thought of taste, the desire of opinion, the sorrow of body, the greed of form, the hatred of resentment, and the ignorance of folly—collectively called the "Three Poisons and Six Desires." Only by severing them all could one glimpse their true self.
"The first strand: the joy of sight."
Lü Yang silently recited the incantation, transforming his spiritual sense into a blade. Then, leveraging Su Nu's calculating power, he precisely severed the first strand from his soul.
The next moment, Lü Yang felt his soul lighten as a strand of spiritual light was cleaved away, taking root upon the ground and transforming into a spectral figure identical to him in appearance.
"Hahahahaha!"
The moment this specter appeared, it covered one eye with a hand, planted the other on its hip, tilted its head back, and burst into indescribable maniacal laughter.
Simultaneously, an overwhelming surge of emotion flooded Lü Yang's mind.
The joy of cultivation, the joy of breakthroughs, the joy of dual cultivation, the joy of successful schemes... joys from past and present lives all surfaced at once!
Though Lü Yang had prepared himself, the sheer intensity of these emotions still left his eyes bloodshot.
At this critical moment, Chen Xin'an and the Peak Master, who had been tasked with guarding him, suddenly acted. With a thunderous shout, they unleashed a heaven-shaking sound:
"Silence!"
The sonic wave cascaded like a clear spring, instantly soothing the inexplicable euphoria surging in Lü Yang's heart and restoring his expression to calm.
"Soul-based divine abilities... truly bizarre."
Lü Yang frowned slightly. He could tell this was merely a temporary fix—the influence of the severed strand had been suppressed for now, but it would erupt even more violently later.
This was the challenge of cultivating the Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret. The severed strands would continuously project extreme emotions to influence the cultivator. Only by suppressing all these emotions through sheer willpower, reaching a state of "heart as clear as ice," could one truly master the divine ability.
"These emotions are too troublesome."
Lü Yang's frown deepened. There was a karmic connection between the severed strands and himself, meaning even if suppressed, these emotions would keep pouring in...
...Hmm? Karmic connection?
After a moment of silence, Lü Yang turned to Su Nu standing guard beside him. If he recalled correctly, guardian deities could transfer karma, couldn't they?
He tested the idea, and the karma abruptly shifted.
The next second, Su Nu suddenly grinned widely for no apparent reason before hurriedly composing herself, panic flashing across her face:
"Master...?"
"Endure it! Don't let it out!"
Lü Yang commanded sternly, unhesitatingly transferring the karma of "joy of sight" to Su Nu, making her bear the emotional onslaught in his stead.
"Continue!"
Wasting no time, Lü Yang swiftly cleaved eight more strands, severing all remaining specters before transferring their karmic burdens to Su Nu as well.
In an instant, Su Nu collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat, her silken hair plastered to her exquisite face. The noble solemnity she once held as a guardian deity had vanished without a trace, her once-alluring eyes now vacant and dull.
She was practically drooling.
Watching Su Nu writhe under the chaotic emotional assault of the severed strands, Lü Yang suddenly felt much better.
This was exactly what guardian deities were for!
What use was she otherwise?
"And the [Corpse Dissolution Immortal] technique also requires Su Nu's Foundation Establishment-level support to accelerate progress... Very well, let Senior Sister Yu suffer a bit more."
With Su Nu's assistance, Lü Yang was confident that the Moonlight Transformation Corpse Dissolution True Method and the Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret—each originally requiring decades to master—could now be perfected within three months at most. His chances of breaking through to Foundation Establishment would skyrocket to seventy percent!
"With the agreement regarding the Heavenly Corpse Sha, I can also claim that Ascension Token from True Person Yinshan."
"Then, my odds rise to eighty percent."
Not bad at all!
The thought stirred a flicker of excitement in Lü Yang. After all, he wasn't aiming for something as lofty as "Perfect Foundation Establishment"—an eighty percent chance was more than enough to go all-in.
......
Saint Sect, Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds.
The Mending Heaven Peak Master quietly returned to his peak, first activating its protective formation before fashioning a new body from clay.
Yet before he could steady himself, a bell-like voice rang out:
"Father, weren't you going to capture someone? Why have you returned empty-handed?"
"......"
The Peak Master stiffened, then turned helplessly to his daughter Chen Shuqian: "I slipped up. The target got away."
Shuqian blinked, then arched an eyebrow. "Father... you lost?"
"I didn't lose."
After a pause, the Peak Master said gravely, "That junior deceived and ambushed me, ruining my physical form and leaving me with less than ten percent of my usual power."
"Father, you really lost?"
"I didn't lose!"
The Peak Master gritted his teeth. "Let that junior gloat for a few days. Do you think he'll fare well? He'll understand true suffering when attempting his Foundation Establishment breakthrough."
"That junior schemed endlessly, but his one miscalculation was coveting so-called Third-Grade True Qi."
The Peak Master sneered. "Qian'er, you're still young and don't understand how wicked human nature can be... Every opportunity in this world demands a price."
"If Panlong's legacy were truly so magnificent, why would I leave it for others instead of reserving it for you and Xin'an? Moreover, Panlong was merely a wandering Foundation Establishment cultivator in life. Do you truly believe his techniques could rank as Third-Grade and lead directly to the Golden Core Great Dao?"