True Method of Yin-Transformation Corpse-Dissolution

"This True Method of Yin-Transformation Corpse-Dissolution is a little difficult."

After a night of secluded cultivation, Lu Yang stared at the divine ability manual before him, his brows tightly furrowed. "A great divine ability cannot be wielded without great dharma power. It is the pinnacle of divine abilities."

So-called great divine abilities were not actually a rank of divine ability, but rather a method of application.

Simply put, combining several compatible superior divine abilities and making them erupt with dozens of times their original power was called a great divine ability.

The True Method of Yin-Transformation Corpse-Dissolution was precisely such a thing. To master this great divine ability, one first had to learn three superior divine abilities: Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light, Mysterious Yin Form-Capturing Great Art, and Taiwei Imperial Pardon Treasure Repository. Every one of these three divine abilities was extraordinarily difficult to cultivate, and none could be mastered without immense fortune.

This was also common to all great divine abilities.

It was not something one could cultivate merely by wanting to. First came comprehension, second came fortune, and third came merit. Lacking any one of them would only result in failure at the last step.

Take the first divine ability, Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light.

This divine ability alone had stymied who knew how many cultivators. After all, peeling off one's own skin to cultivate was equivalent to severing one's own Immortal path. Even if one succeeded, it would be meaningless.

As for the second divine ability, Mysterious Yin Form-Capturing Great Art, its side effects were not nearly so severe. Its difficulty lay primarily in external materials. To cultivate it, one had to use a Mysterious Female Yin Jade as a medium. Without this wondrous treasure, no matter how high one's cultivation or how great one's comprehension, it could not be mastered.

Yet Mysterious Female Yin Jade was exceptionally rare.

How rare? One sentence was enough to describe it: it was not listed in the Sacred Sect's exchange catalog. Even Contribution Points could not buy it.

Even with the Sacred Sect's vast lands and abundant resources, it did not possess such a rare treasure.

It was clear that cultivating this divine ability depended entirely on a cultivator's fortune. Without that fortune, even searching the whole world would only be futile labor.

Thus, Lu Yang took one look and decisively gave up on it, turning instead to study the third divine ability, Taiwei Imperial Pardon Treasure Repository.

Yet to his helplessness, although this divine ability neither required precious external materials nor carried enormous side effects, it was truly far too difficult.

Lu Yang studied it all night and gained very little.

"It's somewhat like a formation, and somewhat like a talisman, yet it's classified as a divine ability. Whether one can learn it depends entirely on comprehension. If you can't learn it, then you simply can't learn it."

Thinking of this, Lu Yang scratched his head again, unwilling to accept it.

"I've already ground my teeth against formations, no matter how difficult they were. How long can a mere divine ability stop me? At worst, I'll spend another twenty years. Sooner or later, I'll learn you!"

The reason the True Method of Yin-Transformation Corpse-Dissolution made Lu Yang so determined to gnaw at it was mainly because this great divine ability was simply too enticing. He could not bear to let it go.

There was no need to mention how formidable Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light was. Mysterious Yin Form-Capturing Great Art was equally tyrannical. As long as one captured a person's Aura and used it to condense a Soul Shadow, one could kill the Soul Shadow and directly slay that person from thin air. Even if the two were separated by a thousand miles, it would still be a dead end.

Taiwei Imperial Pardon Treasure Repository was even more outrageous.

Once the Treasure Repository was formed, it did not sever the fleshly body or kill the soul. It specialized in breaking merit and fortune. Even a Son of Destiny struck by this divine ability would become a walking jinx.

Of course, the most formidable part was still the union of all three divine abilities.

It was also the effect of the True Method of Yin-Transformation Corpse-Dissolution that stirred Lu Yang's heart the most: it could increase a cultivator's chances of breaking through to Foundation Establishment!

For this point alone, Lu Yang was determined to obtain this great divine ability!

The years flowed on, swift as a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, five springs and autumns had passed.

Within Blood Garment Pavilion, Lu Yang leaned against the railing and gazed at the sky, silently circulating the Nine Transformations Dragon Art. With every breath, he swallowed and exhaled clouds and mist, transforming them into countless wondrous phenomena.

The eighth transformation, Phantom Mirage Transformation!

Although Skull Mountain's spirit vein was poor, Lu Yang had plenty of money and had stockpiled a great quantity of spirit stones beforehand. Thus, his cultivation had not been delayed.

And after five years of bitter cultivation, although his cultivation of Taiwei Imperial Pardon Treasure Repository still showed no progress whatsoever, a sudden flash of inspiration came to him while researching divine abilities. His true qi spontaneously broke through its barrier. By the time he came back to himself, the Qi Seed within his dantian had transformed once more, faintly taking on the shape of a dragon.

Qi Refining Eighth Layer!

"Although the improvement from Qi Refining Seventh Layer to Qi Refining Eighth Layer isn't as exaggerated as the jump from the sixth layer to the seventh, my true qi and dharma power have still nearly multiplied several times."

"In the end, realm is the foundation!"

"So what if I don't have a great divine ability? With my current strength, even against a true disciple at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, I can kill them across realms!"

"Not to mention there's still the ninth transformation."

Lu Yang's heart burned with excitement. The ninth transformation, Flying Fish Transformation, could break through bottlenecks. In other words, once he broke through to Qi Refining Ninth Layer, he could immediately assault the Great Perfection!

The Immortal path is in sight. This calls for celebration!

At that thought, Lu Yang's mood immediately brightened, and the gloom from failing to cultivate Taiwei Imperial Pardon Treasure Repository was swept away. He then happily walked out of the quiet chamber.

Before that, however, Lu Yang first used the Breath Concealment Art.

The next instant, the vast Aura from his recent breakthrough was completely restrained, returning him to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer—only a little stronger than he had been five years ago.

"When attacking an enemy, reveal three parts and keep seven parts of your hand hidden. You can never have too many trump cards."

Not long afterward, the Sacred Sect Disciples under Blood Garment Pavilion's jurisdiction came swarming over. The moment they saw Lu Yang, they bowed in solemn salute without a word.

"Congratulations on leaving seclusion, Pavilion Master!"

"Rise." Lu Yang waved his hand casually, then asked, "During the five years I was in seclusion, did anything happen around Skull Mountain?"

"Reporting to Pavilion Master, nothing happened."

An elderly Sacred Sect Disciple stepped forward and said, "Only once did disciples from the Divine Martial Sect of the Northern Border come to provoke us. Fairy Feixia sent them away."

"What about the Mysterious Female Yin Jade? Any news?"

"Not yet."

After learning about the changes over the past five years, Lu Yang dismissed everyone and planned to enter seclusion once more, remaining there until the Foundation Establishment opportunity of the Righteous-Demonic War appeared.

However, just then, a rainbow-like streak of escaping light suddenly descended beside Blood Garment Pavilion.

"Junior Brother Lu, please come out and meet me."

Hearing this, Lu Yang swept out with his spiritual sense, then hurriedly rose to greet her with a smile. "For Senior Sister to come in person, I should have been the one to visit you."

"Junior Brother, something has happened."

Fairy Feixia wore a grave expression as she said solemnly, "Recently, the Earth Observation Instrument discovered that the Corpse Tide, which should only have erupted fifteen years from now, has arrived early."

"At this moment, over ten thousand zombies are heading toward the Marketplace!"

"There was no sign of such an anomaly beforehand. There must be someone pulling the strings behind it. I suspect it may very well be those barbarians from the Divine Martial Sect of the Northern Border."

"What?"

Lu Yang frowned upon hearing this. When he noticed Fairy Feixia staring straight at him, his frown deepened. "Senior Sister needs my assistance?"

"Correct. Is Junior Brother willing to brave the Corpse Tide with me?"

Fairy Feixia smiled. "The Corpse Tide is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity. Whoever is behind it must be relying on a rare treasure to trigger the Corpse Tide ahead of time."

"If you and I join hands, perhaps we can seize it and gain a stroke of fortune."

"Even if something goes wrong and we become trapped in the Corpse Tide, with your and my cultivation, the risk is not great!"

As she spoke, Fairy Feixia's brows flew upward, and she shone brilliantly, looking exceptionally high-spirited.

Yet Lu Yang shook his head.

"My apologies, Senior Sister. I am not like you. My strength is meager, and I haven't learned any divine abilities. I only understand a little about formations, so it would be better for me to remain behind and hold the fort."

No matter how small the risk was, it was still a risk.

A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall. As long as he cultivated step by step, he would certainly break through to Qi Refining Great Perfection. Why risk his life?

It was not worth it!

The foremost goal of this life was to break through to Qi Refining Great Perfection. If he wanted to take risks, he could wait until after his breakthrough. Before then, it was better to act prudently.

"Junior Brother, you don't intend to go?" Seeing Lu Yang refuse, Fairy Feixia's delicate brows immediately drew together. Her normally frosty face showed such difficulty that she seemed all the more pitiful. "The Immortal path is bitter and short. If one wishes to achieve something, one can only smash the cauldrons and sink the boats. I thought you understood this."

Lu Yang's Dao Heart was iron, utterly unmoved. "Times are different now. I hope Senior Sister understands."

"Junior Brother, you've changed."

Fairy Feixia shook her head in disappointment. "In that case, remain in the Marketplace and hold the fort. But when the time comes, the opportunity will have no share for you."

"..."

Lu Yang smiled when he heard that, but did not answer.

To be honest, he felt that Fairy Feixia did not seem much like a Sacred Sect Disciple. How should he put it? She possessed a kind of innocence that had never been beaten out of her by the Sacred Sect.

With a Corpse Tide outside, even if you obtain an immense opportunity, won't you still have to flee back to the Marketplace I'm guarding?

When that time came, you'd say the opportunity had no share for me? Then don't blame me for saying that you fought heroically and ultimately sacrificed yourselves on the front line against the Corpse Tide.