Foundation Establishment Sets Karma

Blood Garment Pavilion, another morning.

Fairy Feixia leaned against the balcony rail. Sunlight passed through the thin garments fluttering around her, casting the reflection of a graceful figure that stirred endless fantasies.

"Junior Brother Lu, thank you for everything during this time."

The two had just concluded a night of exchange. After Lu Yang had imparted all he knew, Fairy Feixia had already reached her limit; it would be difficult for her to make any further progress in the short term.

"Today, I intend to leave the Marketplace."

Turning around, Fairy Feixia looked straight at Lu Yang. "My state of mind cannot compare to yours, Junior Brother, and my talent also falls short. Yet I am unwilling to simply fade away into obscurity as a mortal."

"Once Feixia leaves, I fear it will be a long, long time before I see Junior Brother again." Fairy Feixia lifted her eyes, her appearance heart-wrenchingly pitiable, then suddenly gave a soft sigh. "Perhaps the Dao Path lies ahead; perhaps I will leave my bones in some foreign land. The immortal road is lonely, all the more so within the Sacred Sect. Feixia only hopes that, when the time comes, I may still see an old friend again."

Having said that, Fairy Feixia gave Lu Yang a radiant smile.

Her beautiful face and clear, lovely smile seemed, for the first time, to reveal her heart to Lu Yang. "Junior Brother. Would you be that old friend of Feixia's?"

"..." Lu Yang remained silent for a long while.

An unparalleled beauty gazed at him with tender affection, like a great net winding around him thread by thread, enough to make any man lose his soul.

Yet Lu Yang held back.

He calmly raised a hand. "Senior Sister is welcome to come back for tea at any time."

He was seeing her off.

In an instant, the light in Fairy Feixia's eyes flickered uncertainly. It was impossible to tell whether she was disappointed or helpless. Then she put away her smile and became aloof once more.

"This one takes her leave."

As her words fell, a rainbow-like streak of escaping light soared into the sky and vanished beyond the horizon.

Only after she had left did Lu Yang let out a breath. He turned and returned to the quiet chamber within Blood Garment Pavilion, hid himself inside the formation, and gripped the Primordial Primordial-Breath Divine Talisman.

At last, he managed to stop his body from trembling.

"Fuck, this has to be some Foundation Establishment True Person plotting against me!"

Lu Yang had always kept things physical, never emotional, with Fairy Feixia. They were merely engaging in pure exchange and study; dual cultivation was simply one method of learning.

Yet just now, he had actually been moved!

Before Fairy Feixia, his mind had been thrown into chaos several times, and he had nearly said "I do" on more than one occasion. There was clearly something wrong with those feelings—they utterly contradicted his true heart!

With the experience of his previous lives, Lu Yang swiftly reached a conclusion. "That Foundation Establishment True Person behind the scenes is getting impatient and has begun using crude methods. He is using Fairy Feixia as bait, forcibly trying to bind me to her. He wants to fish me out of the Marketplace!"

"Seclusion. I'm going into seclusion!"

With that thought, Lu Yang immediately announced that he was entering closed-door seclusion and would see no outsiders for the foreseeable future, avoiding to the greatest extent possible having his Karma entangled by others.

"...Impressive."

Outside Skull Mountain Market, atop a cliff, a figure stood with his hands behind his back. Behind him stood the Blood Garment Youth, his expression respectful.

The next moment, the figure standing with his hands behind his back smiled. "An ordinary disciple with no backing, yet he has produced someone with such a steadfast Dao Heart. Truly rare. I have cast my methods to fish for him several times, yet he has never taken the bait. Second, I truly do not know whether your eye for people is good or bad."

"Please forgive me, Senior Brother."

The Blood Garment Youth gave a respectful salute, his tone somewhat helpless. "I had only intended to find cannon fodder. I never expected even shallow waters to yield a Flood Dragon."

The Blood Garment Youth was named Luo Wuya, the "Second Senior Brother" of the Three Rivers Society.

His cultivation was at Qi Refining Great Perfection, and he had also mastered a great divine ability. He was the strongest person Skull Mountain had on the surface from the Sacred Sect, a true major figure.

And the identity of the man whom even he treated with such respect was plain for all to see.

The Three Rivers Society's leader!

His Daoist title was Yin Shan. After successfully establishing his foundation ten years ago, he had become one of the Sacred Sect's upper echelon in a single stroke. With the Sect Master's approval, he had established the Yinshan Lineage within the Cloud Sea.

"But Senior Brother, I still do not understand. Must it be a Sacred Sect Disciple?"

"Second, there are things you do not know."

True Person Yinshan shook his head. "The ancient Witch Ghost Sect was a great demonic sect, and the Karma of its secret realm runs deep. Even I am unwilling to become entangled with it lightly."

In this world, Karma was everywhere.

If one gained benefits and formed Karma, one had to repay it.

The ancient Witch Ghost Sect had established its secret realm precisely to seek out one of great Fortune, plant Karma through the sect's inheritance, and seek a chance for its orthodoxy to rise again.

"If I acted personally, finding the Witch Ghost Secret Realm would naturally be effortless. I would not even need to seek it—the Witch Ghost Secret Realm would take the initiative to manifest in the Real World. But then the Witch Ghost Sect's Karma would fall upon me. Who knows how many troublesome matters that would bring, hindering my cultivation."

To put it bluntly, True Person Yinshan wanted the goods without paying the price.

"That is why I need someone to open the Witch Ghost Secret Realm in my stead. The Witch Ghost Sect was a great demonic sect, so choosing a Sacred Sect Disciple is naturally most appropriate."

"I initially selected that 'Blood Garment Pavilion Master.' I even drew quite a few formidable enemies to him. So long as he was willing to leave the Marketplace, I would become his backer, help him slay his foes and accumulate Fortune. Once his Fortune was sufficient, the Witch Ghost Secret Realm would be drawn out by it."

Had Lu Yang been there, these words would surely have sounded familiar to him.

Because that was how Xiao Shiye had died back then.

A manufactured Son of Destiny, seemingly blessed by Heaven and invincible in every attack and battle, was in truth merely bait used by a Foundation Establishment True Person to fish out opportunities.

And once the opportunity had been caught, the bait was no longer useful.

Behind True Person Yinshan, the Blood Garment Youth Luo Wuya deeply lowered his head, secretly chilled by the terrifying methods with which a Foundation Establishment True Person manipulated Karma and Destiny.

"...So be it."

Suddenly, True Person Yinshan shook his head. "Since that 'Blood Garment Pavilion Master' is unwilling to cooperate, we shall simply choose another. It does not have to be him."

At this point, True Person Yinshan chuckled. "Second, do you remember how the ancient Witch Ghost Sect was destroyed?"

"I do. It was the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."

Luo Wuya nodded. "The Sword Pavilion's headmaster of that generation, a Golden Core True Lord, struck out with a single sword from Seven Star Cliff of the Sword Pavilion, and the Witch Ghost Sect's mountain gate immediately sank into the earth."

"Correct. Just one sword."

True Person Yinshan sighed. "At the height of its prosperity, the ancient Witch Ghost Sect had more than ten Foundation Establishment True Persons, and even possessed a Fourth Grade formation to suppress its Fortune."

"Even so, it still could not block the sword of a Golden Core True Lord, struck from tens of thousands of miles away."

"Moreover, that sword strike remains within the Witch Ghost Sect's secret realm even now!"

As he spoke, a trace of wariness appeared in True Person Yinshan's eyes. "A True Lord's decree—the sword qi remains in the world. So long as the Witch Ghost Sect endures, that sword qi will naturally endure as well."

That was also why he refused to enter the fray personally.

The sword qi of a Golden Core True Lord, no less, and from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, Leader of the Righteous Path. What if he went to open the secret realm and the sword qi casually cut him down as well?

It was therefore safer to find a pathfinder.

"That sword qi has wrestled with the Witch Ghost Secret Realm for countless years and long since become one with it. Thus, since we cannot open the Witch Ghost Secret Realm through a Sacred Sect Disciple, we can change our approach. Find a way to lure over a Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion disciple and have them obtain that sword qi—the effect is actually the same."

As he spoke, True Person Yinshan's gaze shifted, and he finally departed from the Marketplace.

Almost at the same time, Lu Yang, who was in seclusion within the Marketplace, suddenly felt his body grow lighter, as though he had cast off an immeasurable burden. A look of astonishment appeared on his face.