Internal Strife and the Illusory God Red Lotus Demonic Sect

Normally, as one's cultivation realm increases, a cultivator's lifespan becomes longer.

Every cultivator above the Golden Core stage is a living fossil, capable of easily witnessing the rise and fall of dynasties and the changing of seas into mulberry fields. They are genuine ancient artifacts themselves.

In this environment, Lu Yan never expected that there would be cultivators forging and selling fake ancient books.

After a brief thought, Lu Yan immediately understood that He Dongsheng was taking advantage of his low cultivation to trick him under the guise of selling ancient texts.

Perhaps even the stall owner next to them had already made a deal with He Dongsheng.

A book completely unrelated to cultivation that had been artificially aged, let alone ten Spirit Stones, even if it were just one Spirit Stone, He Dongsheng could make a huge profit.

Artificial female cultivators, fake cultivators – these consecutive encounters made Lu Yan realize that the place he was in was not a proper cultivation world at all.

It was just that he had been an ordinary person before, and the level he had access to was too low to understand these things.

However, Lu Yan was not in a hurry to expose him. He Dongsheng was a Mid-Stage Qi Refinement cultivator after all. Rashly provoking such a well-informed cultivator right after arriving at Azure Valley Market was not a good thing for Lu Yan.

Casually throwing out a soundproofing talisman to prevent outsiders from eavesdropping, Lu Yan half-squatted down, took the book from He Dongsheng's hand, flipped through the pages, and said with a light chuckle:

"I want to make a deal with Fellow Daoist He."

"What kind of deal?" He Dongsheng subtly glanced at the soundproofing talisman, quite curious.

Lu Yan shook the Heavenly Dao Treatise in his hand and said:

"Fellow Daoist He gives me this book, and I'll tell Fellow Daoist He how to cover up the tea smell on these papers."

He Dongsheng's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, and the smile on his face disappeared.

Lu Yan mentioning the tea smell clearly indicated that he already knew the book was artificially aged, but he hadn't exposed it on the spot.

After carefully observing Lu Yan for a while, He Dongsheng suddenly smiled brightly:

"Alright!"

Before being exposed, under his flattery, this book might have been worth one or two Spirit Stones, but once exposed, it would be worthless.

Compared to the useless book, He Dongsheng was more curious about the method Lu Yan mentioned.

Waving the Heavenly Dao Treatise in his hand, Lu Yan said casually:

"Find a sealed room, light candles, and smoke the paper for several days. The resulting paper won't have a noticeable special smell. Even if there's a smoky smell left, it's far more reasonable than the tea smell that has seeped into the paper."

He Dongsheng immediately showed a surprised expression.

Lu Yan's words didn't stop; he continued:

"However, simply aging paper is too low-level.

If Fellow Daoist He truly wants to earn Spirit Stones, you can find some bronze artifacts, engrave a few words on them, and then age them.

Mix vinegar with salt water, soak the bronze artifacts in the salt water for three days, take them out, put rust pieces into the salt water, and after the salt water turns rusty, immerse them in water again, expose them to the scorching sun for three days, and then take out the bronze artifacts and let them dry.

Bronze artifacts made this way are enough to pass off as genuine. As long as Fellow Daoist He's methods are more skillful, the profit will be more than ten times that of these broken books!"

If the smoke aging method only surprised He Dongsheng a little, then the bronze aging method Lu Yan described completely plunged He Dongsheng into deep shock, as if a door to a new world had been opened.

After a long time, He Dongsheng bowed to Lu Yan with a face full of shame:

"Fellow Daoist is truly talented!"

"For me to try and show off my meager skills in front of Fellow Daoist is truly like showing off an axe before Lu Ban."

Lu Yan smiled indifferently.

Methods like aging paper or bronzeware could be found with a simple search in the Urban Version, they weren't secrets at all. Even Lu Yan himself had learned them from watching short videos.

But in the Xianxia Version, the master-disciple inheritance system led to extremely limited information flow. Even cultivators like He Dongsheng, who specialized in selling fakes, might not have mastered these techniques.

He shook the Heavenly Dao Treatise in his hand and asked, "The Heavenly Dao's blessing that Fellow Daoist He mentioned just now, does it come from this book?"

Actually, Lu Yan was quite interested in the Heavenly Dao's blessing He Dongsheng had mentioned earlier.

Although not entirely accurate, it subtly aligned with the changes of the version update to some extent, which greatly surprised Lu Yan.

If not for this, Lu Yan would have left the moment he discovered He Dongsheng was trying to trick him into buying a fake book. Why would he have the leisure to stay and chat?

He Dongsheng coughed dryly. Having received tips on faking from Lu Yan, He Dongsheng naturally felt embarrassed to hide anything, though his expression was a bit awkward as he spoke:

"Since Fellow Daoist already knows the truth, I won't hide it from you."

"Every new customer who comes to me, as long as they talk to me, I will deliberately steer the conversation towards the Heavenly Dao, saying some seemingly profound information about the Heavenly Dao and such, to attract the customer's attention. Then I'll promote the Heavenly Dao Treatise to them.

Coupled with a friend deliberately lowering the price, bringing the book's price down to around two Spirit Stones, with this series of operations, it sells nine times out of ten. This is why the Heavenly Dao Treatise has become a bestseller here."

"As for the Heavenly Dao Treatise itself, it can indeed be considered an ancient book to some extent, but it was written by a madman from a mortal dynasty several hundred years ago.

It looks like it expounds on the ultimate truths of the Heavenly Dao, but it's mixed with a lot of heretical nonsense that cannot be verified at all. Even a Foundation Establishment grand cultivator who read it once refuted this book as utter nonsense."

Lu Yan frowned slightly upon hearing this, his interest in the Heavenly Dao Treatise dissipating by more than half.

However, it was a book he got for free after all, so Lu Yan casually stuffed it back into his Storage Bag.

After a brief conversation, He Dongsheng cupped his hands in greeting towards Lu Yan:

"I haven't yet asked for Fellow Daoist's esteemed name."

Lu Yan cupped his hands in return and said, "Lu Yan."

"Fellow Daoist Lu's guidance today, I will surely keep it in mind.

Although my cultivation is not high, I know a little about market rumors and sect news. If Fellow Daoist Lu has anything you want to ask, feel free to speak up, and I will certainly tell you everything I know!"

He Dongsheng patted his chest and guaranteed.

Lu Yan smiled on the surface, but in his heart, he knew that He Dongsheng was just speaking pleasantries.

How could a cultivator specializing in aging and faking show genuine sincerity after just a few words? When the time came to trick someone, he would definitely still do it, just not as obviously as this time.

However, He Dongsheng did indeed provide Lu Yan with a channel to inquire about information. The version update only had three months, and Lu Yan had too many things to do, he couldn't afford to waste any time.

"It just so happens that I have something I want to inquire about, and I'd like to ask Fellow Daoist He."

He Dongsheng immediately waved his hand grandly: "Just say it!"

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist He knows of a Demonic Path sect that specializes in the method of karma?"

He Dongsheng was immediately stunned, his eyes looking at Lu Yan filled with an indescribable strangeness:

"Is Fellow Daoist Lu asking about the Red Lotus Demonic Sect?"

"Please elaborate, Fellow Daoist He."

He Dongsheng sat back down at his stall and began searching through the miscellaneous books while explaining:

"This Red Lotus Demonic Sect can be considered a rising sect within the Demonic Path. It was established only a few thousand years ago and is also one of the many major sects of the Demonic Path.

However, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect is not well-known in our Southern Border region. Besides the great distance, it is also related to the reputation of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect."

"During the internal conflicts among the various Demonic Path sects, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's Karma Method can be said to have shaken the Demonic Path.

Most Demonic Path cultivators are deeply sinful, and the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's Karma Method is the most effective against Demonic Path cultivators, even having the chance to kill enemies beyond their cultivation level.

But in the struggle against the righteous sects, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's Karma Method is difficult to restrain righteous cultivators and can instead be countered by certain Profound Light Righteous Methods and Buddhist Divine Powers. They are often chased around by cultivators from various sects, forced to flee with their heads in their hands, and can only rely on their cultivation to suppress others.

Over time, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect became a laughingstock for both the righteous and demonic paths."

Lu Yan blinked, a sentence almost slipping out.

Does the cultivation world also have internal conflict illusions?