Outside the cave abode, as Lu Yang broke through, information about him was placed on the tables of interested parties. His background and origins were swiftly investigated from top to bottom.
And just as Lu Yang had anticipated, his background could be summed up in four words.
His roots were upright, his seedling black.
He had joined the Sacred Sect through its annual recruitment, formally entered Joyous Union Hall after Transcend Death Senior Sister, made a fortune speculating on Death Substitute Puppets, and had secluded himself ever since.
"He is a bitter cultivator indeed."
Looking over the documents on the table, a female cultivator with powdered cheeks and baleful intent, her every glance brimming with sharpness, could not help praising him. She was likewise a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, yet compared to the newly advanced Lu Yang, her cultivation had already reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. She was only one step away from the tenth layer and completion!
The female cultivator was named Feixia, and she was quite renowned within the Sacred Sect.
Not merely because of her beauty, but because she was also one of the Sacred Sect's rare talisman cultivators. Her talisman-making arts had even earned the appreciation of a Sacred Sect elder.
"A bitter cultivator alone cannot reach the Qi Refining Late Stage."
Beside Fairy Feixia, a young man in a feather fan and silk headscarf smiled faintly. "He clearly made a huge sum speculating on Death Substitute Puppets, yet he neither flaunted himself nor revealed his wealth."
"This shows that he is also a cautious and clever man."
"Only natural. It is only reasonable."
Fairy Feixia sighed at this. "For ordinary disciples like us to rise above the rest, talent, caution, intelligence, and courage are all indispensable."
"So, it is decided?"
Fairy Feixia nodded. "I will recommend him. He reached the Qi Refining Late Stage in barely ten years. Our Three Rivers Society needs talents like him."
Inside the cave abode, Lu Yang sat upright on a meditation cushion.
Before him lay more than a dozen talisman books in a neat row. Every one was an olive branch, promising that if he joined their faction, he would immediately receive lavish gifts, including but not limited to Cauldrons, Cultivation Methods, divine abilities, treasures, and pills. They had everything one could ask for.
"I did not notice in my life before last that there were so many factions within the Sacred Sect."
Basically, anyone with Qi Refining Late Stage cultivation could gather a fairly sizable group within the Sacred Sect. Liu Xin had been just such a person in Lu Yang's life before last.
Lu Yang was not particularly surprised by this.
After all, a sect without factions would be a strange place indeed. The Sacred Sect was so vast that it was impossible for everyone to be of one mind. They would always huddle together for warmth because of their respective interests.
Of course, those factions were rootless duckweed without any foundation.
The ones truly confident enough to recruit him were factions established by certain Sacred Sect elders, or even True Disciples. The terms they offered were correspondingly more genuine and trustworthy.
But that was all.
"I still thought too highly of myself." Lu Yang shook his head. The conditions offered by those major factions were indeed quite good, often amounting to tens of thousands of Contribution Points.
Yet he simply did not lack money.
After all, he had not even spent all the Contribution Points he had earned from speculating on Death Substitute Puppets.
Compared with money, what he lacked was "authority"—authority that would allow him to truly reach the Sacred Sect's middle ranks and purchase things normally unavailable to him.
Just as Lu Yang was pondering this, the formation outside suddenly shuddered.
Lu Yang looked up at once, only to see the Illumination Array he had set up before his cave abode blaze brilliantly. Its grand formation light outlined a graceful, curvaceous silhouette.
It was Fairy Feixia.
"Junior Brother Lu, you understand formations as well?" Fairy Feixia looked in surprise at the formation patterns emerging around them, several traces of unexpected delight appearing on her lovely face.
Lu Yang cupped his hands. "Senior Sister, may I ask what brings you here?"
Fairy Feixia did not put on any coy airs. She returned the salute with poised grace. "I am Feixia, a steward of the Sacred Sect's Three Rivers Society. I have come here for you, Junior Brother."
"Oh? Please, Senior Sister."
Lu Yang hurriedly received her, while his mind began turning swiftly. Three Rivers Society—was that not the faction behind Zhao Xuhe? It had actually come to recruit him?
Lu Yang had never known much about the Three Rivers Society. However, he knew that Zhao Xuhe was one of its members. More importantly, despite being the disciple of the Peak Master of Heaven Mending, Zhao Xuhe seemed to be merely part of the Three Rivers Society's lower-middle ranks. That alone showed its weight.
"Please forgive my ignorance, Senior Sister, but what exactly is the Three Rivers Society?"
Lu Yang asked with great care. Fairy Feixia was not surprised and smiled. "The Three Rivers Society was established by three True Disciple senior brothers."
"Big Senior has already become a Foundation Establishment True Person and opened a peak within the Cloud Sea."
"Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother have not yet achieved Foundation Establishment, but both have cultivated Third-Rank True Qi and stand at Qi Refining Great Perfection. They may establish their foundation at any time."
"I heard that Junior Brother Lu also came from an ordinary disciple background. You should understand how difficult life is for ordinary disciples in the early stages. The three senior brothers, like us ordinary disciples, came from impoverished backgrounds, so after their cultivation attained success, they founded the Three Rivers Society with the goal of helping ordinary disciples overcome their early hardships."
"So that was it." Lu Yang wore a look of admiration. "The Merit of the three senior brothers is immeasurable."
Pah!
If I had not borrowed from your Three Rivers Society in several past lives and personally seen your thirty-six percent annual interest rate, I might have believed that pack of lies.
Lu Yang grumbled inwardly. He had always refused to release the hawk before seeing the rabbit, so naturally he would not make a rash decision merely because of Fairy Feixia's words. He immediately asked cautiously, "It would be my greatest honor to be invited to join the Three Rivers Society, but what benefits does the society offer?"
"Junior Brother, you need not worry about that."
Fairy Feixia answered frankly, "As long as you are willing to join, I can immediately decide to grant you a True Disciple-grade divine ability secret art."
"After joining, you will receive an annual offering of Contribution Points."
"And so long as you have money, you may also borrow the society's True Disciple authority to purchase certain items you desire, or even seek cultivation guidance from the three senior brothers."
"Of course, there are also requirements."
With that, Fairy Feixia took out a Jade Slip and placed it before Lu Yang. "Everyone who joins must sign a Contract and leave behind a drop of essence blood."
"That is simple enough."
Lu Yang glanced at the Contract before him. It was nothing more than provisions common to all factions—confidentiality obligations and the like. Some might feel that doing so meant losing their freedom and becoming unable to act as they wished, but Lu Yang did not care in the slightest. With a broad sweep of his hand, he signed his name.
It was only a matter for one lifetime. It would not affect his next life anyway.
Lu Yang even wished its binding force could be stronger. Only then would they be more likely to treat him as one of their own, and the resources he received would certainly be better.
Seeing how readily Lu Yang agreed, Fairy Feixia nodded in satisfaction.
"Next, Junior Brother need only take out your Sacred Sect disciple token. I will place a restriction upon it for you. From then on, the token may be used within the society."
"I must trouble Senior Sister."
Lu Yang took out his token. Fairy Feixia formed a hand seal with one hand and sent a talisman seal into it. A brand-new section immediately appeared upon its surface.
"Talisman-making arts."
Lu Yang's eyes lit up slightly. He could now be considered a Ninth Grade Formation Master. Though he did not understand talisman-making, he could still grasp a little through analogy.
In his view, a talisman was simply a simplified, temporary little formation.
Good stuff. I want to learn it.
The next moment, upon seeing this display of talisman-making arts, Lu Yang finally remembered who this Fairy Feixia before him was. He had heard of her in his life before last.
She is Zhao Xuhe's Dao companion. Lu Yang pondered inwardly. In my life before last, when I was studying formations, I heard that she and Zhao Xuhe became Dao companions. Both reached Qi Refining Completion and shone brilliantly on the Righteous-Demonic Battlefield. They even attempted Foundation Establishment together, but regrettably, after failing, they both passed away in meditation...
At that thought, Lu Yang's eyes immediately shone.
The important point was not that the two had passed away after failing Foundation Establishment, but that they had actually had the opportunity to attempt Foundation Establishment—there had to be a Foundation Establishment opportunity behind that!
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