A Hidden Dragon Does Not Leave the Abyss

Perhaps he was a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring; perhaps he was worrying that the sky would fall. But no matter what, Lu Yang now remained wary of every force with a Foundation Establishment background.

Especially those forces capable of taking notice of him.

Unlike before, this life I have the Divine Talisman protecting me. Mending Heaven Peak cannot scheme against me, and as a righteous sect, the Divine Martial Sect probably would not harm one of its own. In that case, that Foundation Establishment True Person still lurking in the shadows and plotting over Skull Mountain might really be the one behind the Three Rivers Society!

The more Lu Yang thought about it, the more suspicious the Three Rivers Society seemed. Yet his expression remained unchanged.

"So that's how it is. Could it be that Second Senior Brother wishes to see me?"

"Correct." Fairy Feixia nodded. "Second Senior Brother has come to Skull Mountain and is short of a few capable assistants, so he hopes that you can lend him a hand, Senior Brother."

Assistants? More like cannon fodder!

Lu Yang decisively shook his head. "I may know a little about formations, but put another way, my strength plummets once I leave a formation. How could I possibly deserve Second Senior Brother's high regard?"

"Second Senior Brother should seek another worthy candidate."

Lu Yang spoke with considerable confidence.

Though he had joined the Three Rivers Society and signed a Dharma Contract, he was not the Three Rivers Society's slave. He still had this much autonomy. Who could force him?

Fairy Feixia clearly thought the same, which was why she had merely come to deliver a message.

Now that the message had been delivered, her expression gradually turned ambiguous. Two rosy clouds bloomed across her fair, lovely face, and every glance she cast brimmed with a thousand charms and ten thousand graces.

"Junior Brother, I have recently encountered a few things in formations that I do not understand. I hope Junior Brother will enlighten me generously."

"That would be splendid."

Lu Yang immediately perked up.

Over the next three months, Lu Yang's pace of life slowed.

Every day, he either discussed the Dao with Fairy Feixia or studied the Hundred-Skeleton Return-to-Truth Formation outside. Sometimes, when the mood struck, he simply did both at once.

Yet while his days passed in tranquil peace, Skull Mountain beyond the Marketplace was thrown into utter chaos.

Not only had the Divine Martial Sect and the First Saint Sect arrived, but so had their subordinate affiliated sects. Even some Rogue Cultivators with astonishing divine abilities had been drawn over.

When the three sides met, they naturally descended into a tangled melee.

During this time, several ruins of the ancient Witch Ghost Sect were unearthed, further confirming the existence of the Witch Ghost Secret Realm.

It was at this time that Fairy Feixia brought him news: Zhao Xuhe had been using Lu Yang's name to snatch quite a few opportunities outside the Marketplace.

"I never thought my name would be this useful."

Lu Yang was somewhat surprised after hearing this. Zhao Xuhe had competed with others for opportunities several times and fallen into dangerous situations, yet every time, he had escaped danger only by invoking Lu Yang's name.

Clearly, Ouyang Haoze's death had indeed made many people wary of Lu Yang.

Of course, Zhao Xuhe was also clever and knew when to advance and when to retreat. He had not yet provoked anyone truly formidable, which was why he could borrow the tiger's might to frighten the foxes.

"Junior Brother, are you truly going to ignore this?"

Baleful intent filled Fairy Feixia's lovely face, and her words were icy. "That man borrows your name and brings Karma upon you. If you ask me, we should kill him first!"

"No need to bother with him."

Lu Yang shook his head. Zhao Xuhe no longer returned to the Marketplace. He was wholeheartedly searching Skull Mountain for remnants of the ancient Witch Ghost Sect, as well as that Witch Ghost Secret Realm.

If Lu Yang wanted to kill him, he would have to leave the Marketplace.

But how could that be possible?

"Let him do as he pleases. Back then, he took out a loan of Contribution Points from me using collateral, and I also promised that he could borrow my name. There is nothing more to say."

After seeing Fairy Feixia off, the expression on Lu Yang's face gradually faded.

"Heh heh!"

"Interesting. Over these past few months, everything I have heard and seen seems to be urging me, trying to make me leave the Marketplace?"

A word unconsciously surfaced in Lu Yang's heart: Tribulation!

He was merely a minor Qi Refining cultivator, yet a Foundation Establishment True Person had set sights on him, deduced Karma, and plotted against him in every possible way. If that was not a Tribulation, then what was?

"Karma, you damned thing!"

"No matter what, with Tribulation looming overhead, I absolutely cannot let nameless anger stir within me. Only by tightly shutting my cave door and quietly reciting two or three volumes of the Yellow Court can I hope to evade this calamity."

First came the Three Rivers Society, applying pressure from without.

Now came Zhao Xuhe, dragging him in through internal causes.

"No matter how you fish for me, I will not bite the hook. A hidden dragon does not leave the abyss—what can you do to me?"

At that thought, Lu Yang suddenly felt his state of mind clear. His previously restless thoughts settled once more, and his whole body relaxed, as though he had shaken off another layer of Karma.

Time flowed onward, and another month passed.

Skull Mountain Market, more than a thousand li to the east.

A streak of escaping light fled for its life, seemingly using some technique that burned vital blood. Seven or eight streaks of escaping light followed close behind it.

"Zhao Xuhe! Where do you think you're running?!"

Every pursuer was clad in sturdy armor and armed to the teeth, their blood and qi soaring into the heavens. They were unmistakably disciples of the Divine Martial Sect, generally at Qi Refining Late Stage, with none at Qi Refining Great Perfection.

Had it been otherwise, Zhao Xuhe's cultivation would never have allowed him to escape.

Even so, fleeing all the way here had brought him close to his limit. The only reason he had not yet collapsed unconscious was because he still clung to hope.

"I can still be saved!"

"I already sent Lu Yang a flying letter. As long as I can... as long as I can reach that place, reach the area around the Marketplace, Lu Yang will definitely save me!"

Zhao Xuhe ran for his life, desperately trying to convince himself.

"There is still a restriction I placed on Heaven-Stealing Secret. As long as he still wants to break through to Foundation Establishment instead of waiting until he is decrepit and gray eighty years from now, he must come save me!"

"He will save me!"

"He definitely will!"

At that moment, something that thrilled Zhao Xuhe beyond measure happened: a resplendent streak of escaping light finally rose from the direction of the Marketplace, apparently having discovered that he was trapped in a deadly situation.

"He's here! I knew he wouldn't abandon me!"

At the sight, Zhao Xuhe's spirits soared. The pursuers behind him also hurriedly slowed down, as though they too were waiting for something.

Yet as time passed, everyone realized something was wrong.

That resplendent streak of escaping light was clearly still on its way, yet it simply never arrived.

At last, Zhao Xuhe could run no farther. The pursuers from the Divine Martial Sect, somewhat unwillingly, surrounded him, and the two sides began to fight.

The battle lasted for nearly half a day.

By the end, the Divine Martial Sect pursuers scarcely dared to strike hard, afraid that a single move would kill Zhao Xuhe. Every so often, they glanced toward the escaping light.

Looking carefully... wasn't that escaping light getting farther and farther away?

In the end, Zhao Xuhe completely broke down.

"No! Why?!"

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of heart's blood, then dropped to his knees. He had utterly exhausted his last shred of strength, and even his life force began to dissipate rapidly.

Before death, only one thought remained in his heart.

Could it be that Lu Yang no longer wanted the Heaven-Stealing Secret technique?

"Why didn't you save me?!"

Little did he know, this was also the thought of the person behind the pursuit.

In the shadows, Divine Martial Sect Elder Ouyang Feng was equally unable to understand it. Looking toward the distant Skull Mountain Market, his eyes revealed a trace of unwillingness and helplessness.

"Why didn't he save him?"

"Only a fool would save him!"

Retracting his escaping light, Lu Yang looked at who knew which pleading flying letter Zhao Xuhe had sent him and casually tossed it aside. "Did he really think he could use a secret technique to threaten me?"

"Isn't it just eighty years? I can afford to wait!"

"Once your restriction naturally dissipates, the secret technique will still be mine! If it does not work in this life, I can simply make use of it in the next."

At that thought, Lu Yang could not help sighing over Zhao Xuhe's poor luck. If Zhao Xuhe had truly managed to flee all the way into the Marketplace, Lu Yang would not have minded helping him.

But outside the Marketplace? Then all that could be said was that they were not fated.

"Senior Brother Zhao, go in peace. You sacrificed yourself in peril for the Sacred Sect. One day, I will surely petition the Peak Master of Heaven Mending to grant you a grand burial."

"As for your debt, let it go for this life. I'll come collect it from you in the next!"