Xiao Shiye

Nearly three months later, in the earthfire furnace chamber.

Lu Yang trembled as he slowly rose to his feet.

No, "rose" was not quite right. "Floated" would have been more fitting, because he no longer had skin, flesh, sinew, or bone. He was now a scarlet blood shadow!

"I did it!"

The blood shadow had no face. Only amid the swirling Radiance did a slightly distorted voice tremble forth: "Eighty-one days at last, it is complete!"

The next moment, the blood shadow gradually drew itself in. The skin that had been stripped off and left on the ground flew over from thin air, "put on" by the blood shadow. Pale flesh gradually filled with blood, and the shriveled skin and meat slowly plumped back up. Before long, an unscathed Lu Yang stood within the furnace chamber.

At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary person.

He was even more imposing than he had been three months earlier. His vigorous true qi had vaguely condensed into a Qi Seed.

Qi Refining Seventh Layer! Qi Refining Late Stage!

Perhaps the process of cultivating the divine ability had been too agonizing, an unimaginable tempering of his essence, qi, and spirit. That was why he had unexpectedly broken through his cultivation bottleneck.

What was even luckier was that this had happened before he had formally completed the divine ability.

Had it happened afterward, breaking through the bottleneck would have been useless. Like now, his cultivation would forever remain at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

"But it is enough."

Lu Yang murmured softly. Possessing the Hundred Lives Book, he had never been bound by the achievements of a single lifetime. His true goal was how to make use of them in the next life.

"Let's test its power."

With a thought from Lu Yang, an exquisite Sword Pellet appeared between his brows. His figure then transformed into a streak of Blood Light and merged with it.

Boom!

Outside Myriad Treasure Peak, the ground suddenly shook violently. The previously bustling crowd lurched sideways, and several people fell straight to the ground.

"What happened?"

"An Earth Dragon Turn? Impossible! With all the True Persons suppressing the Earth Vein, how could there be an Earth Dragon Turn?"

The disciples looked at one another. Then, some of the more highly cultivated disciples suddenly sensed something and instinctively looked in a certain direction, astonishment gradually appearing in their eyes.

"Look!"

"That is—"

Everyone's gaze turned in response.

Immediately afterward, they all saw a long rainbow piercing the sun shoot out of a furnace chamber. In the blink of an eye, it leaped into the Vault Sky, and wherever it passed, the Cloud Sea churned.

Clang! Clang!

Crisp sword cries rang through the nine heavens. Intense red light dyed Myriad Treasure Peak blood-red, stirring the spiritual qi of heaven and earth into towering waves!

Within such a tide of spiritual qi, most disciples could not even breathe it in and out. They were nearly suffocating!

"Such a display... Qi Refining Late Stage?"

One disciple's face filled with envy. "He has already condensed a Qi Seed. He need only complete the final step of nurturing it to reach perfection, and Foundation Establishment will be within sight from then on."

"I wonder which senior brother has broken through?"

"I have seen senior brothers at the Qi Refining Late Stage before, but none had such spiritual pressure. That Sword Light like a long rainbow is likely an extraordinary Dharma treasure as well..."

Meanwhile, above the Cloud Sea.

Lu Yang had transformed into a blood shadow, his aura merged with the Sword Light. His Spiritual Sense spread in all directions, revealing every detail within a radius of more than ten miles as clearly as lines on his palm.

"At the Qi Refining Late Stage, true qi sinks into the dantian and becomes a Qi Seed, triggering a transformation of essence, qi, and spirit. If I still had a body, my physique should have undergone a qualitative leap by now. Being impervious to blades and spears would be nothing remarkable, and my true qi should have multiplied dozens of times. Unfortunately, all I have left is Spiritual Sense..."

As Lu Yang sighed, his brows suddenly rose.

"Who goes there?"

Before his words had faded, his sword followed his will. Sword Light like a scarlet rainbow tore through the Cloud Sea, revealing a young, handsome figure.

"Senior Brother, do not attack! Do not attack!"

The man cried out loudly, but Lu Yang paid him no heed. The Sword Light pounced upon him, forcing the man to hurriedly pull out a small flag and plant it in the air.

The next moment, the banner fluttered and transformed into a pair of flag gates.

The man slipped into one of the flag gates. After the Sword Light Lu Yang had split off chased after him inside, he emerged from the other gate and immediately beckoned with his hand.

The flag gates vanished and became a small flag once more.

Lu Yang raised his brows, discovering that the Sword Light he had sent out had been trapped in some unknown place, allowing the other man to evade it.

"Interesting."

Lu Yang grinned. The Sword Pellet between his brows shook violently like muffled thunder rolling through the skies. In an instant, it split apart like a peacock spreading its tail, producing dozens—hundreds—of Sword Lights.

At the sight of this, the young man's previously smug expression changed drastically. He hurriedly took out the small flag Dharma treasure again to protect himself, shouting at the same time, "Senior Brother, I am Xiao Shiye. I came only to make your acquaintance and mean no harm whatsoever. Please withdraw your divine ability, Senior Brother!"

"Xiao Shiye?"

Lu Yang froze upon hearing the name. The Sword Lights that were about to erupt abruptly halted in midair, illuminating a face covered in cold sweat.

That preselected rigged winner?

The next moment, Lu Yang withdrew the Sword Lights, took human form, and landed before Xiao Shiye. He laughed heartily. "Junior Brother, do not misunderstand. I was merely playing with you just now!"

Xiao Shiye wiped the sweat from his forehead. Inwardly, he grumbled that Lu Yang had clearly been about to fight for real, but he wore an equally brilliant smile and said eagerly, "Senior Brother's divine abilities are vast, and your dharma power boundless. Xiao admires you greatly. Please do not refuse this trifling gift."

With that, he casually handed over the small flag in his hand.

"How could I possibly accept this?"

Lu Yang shook his head even as he accepted the small flag. Only then did he see two words embroidered on its surface in golden thread: "Void-Escaping."

"This treasure is called the Void-Escaping Flag."

Xiao Shiye introduced it willingly. "Before entering the sect, I bought it from an antique shop. At first, it showed no signs of being extraordinary. Only after I joined the sect did I discover it was a wondrous treasure."

"The flag has two sides. Once activated, it can transform into two flag gates: the gate of death and the gate of life."

"Among those of the same realm, as long as one enters through the death gate and exits through the life gate, one can carve out a path to survival no matter how great the danger. Calamity and tribulation will not touch one's body."

After hearing this, Lu Yang could not help but twitch his cheek.

Such a marvelous Dharma treasure had been casually purchased by this Xiao Shiye from a mortal antique shop before he had even entered the Sacred Sect to cultivate?

At that thought, Lu Yang's heart stirred. He gathered his Spiritual Sense in his eyes.

After reaching the Qi Refining Late Stage, the tremendous increase in Spiritual Sense naturally brought many wondrous uses. What Lu Yang employed now was a marvelous method called the Qi Observation Technique.

It would have been fine if he had not looked. But the moment he did, Lu Yang nearly popped his eyes wide open.

Because in his eyes, everything on Xiao Shiye's body—the crane cloak, boots, robe, headpiece, even the belt around his waist—shone with Precious Light!

In terms of quality, they likely were not inferior to his Sword Pellet!

Even with Lu Yang's current state of mind, he could not help feeling a little unbalanced.

After all, he had spent several months and a vast sum of money to forge his Dharma treasure, while on Xiao Shiye's side, such treasures seemed to be everywhere, as if they cost nothing. It was hard not to turn green with envy.

"This man has such immense Fortune..."

If Lu Yang had previously believed Xiao Shiye drew the Merit Pool grand prize because of some shady backstage manipulation, he now changed his mind.

Could it be that his luck was genuinely that good?

At that thought, Lu Yang's expression gradually turned strange again.

With such tremendous Fortune, following him would surely let one mooch off countless opportunities. Yet his cultivation was not high, making him especially easy to rob...

This Xiao Shiye seemed like quite a talent!