Tying Up Loose Ends

As night fell, after Lu Yang dug up the Heavenly Grass, the Golden Core cultivators lost control and lay quietly in the swamp.

Occasionally, someone might stumble upon this place and, upon seeing the scene of corpses strewn everywhere, become afraid that something strange is amiss and turn and run away.

A gray figure drifted down, and upon seeing the chaotic scene, picked up the useless roots of the Shepherd's Grass and frowned.

"Who did this?!"

Anger surged within him; years of preparation had been destroyed in an instant, and this matter had to be resolved.

He was far away in the Demon Realm, and when he suddenly couldn't sense Mu Tiancao's movements, he immediately rushed over.

Unfortunately, it was too late; the shepherd's purse had already been picked.

"Backtrack!"

His hands formed a complex and ancient hand seal, moving so fast that it created afterimages.

This is a great Divine Ability he has mastered, allowing him to travel back in time and witness past events.

A light screen appeared before him, and within it, a Golden Core cultivator uprooted the Heavenly Grass. This was the limit of time he could rewind.

"How dare you! A mere Golden Core cultivator dares to ruin my plans!"

"I'll remember this face!"

The gray figure gritted its teeth, staring intently at Lu Yang. It was determined to find Lu Yang's whereabouts, retrieve the Shepherd's Grass, and tear Lu Yang to pieces!

"I'm just a nobody, why would you remember me?" a lazy voice rang out from the side.

"Who!" The gray figure was startled. The disappearance of Mu Tiancao had thrown him into disarray. In his haste, he failed to notice anyone beside him.

"It's you! How dare you show your face in front of me!" The gray figure's eyes narrowed when he saw Lu Yang's appearance. He'd ruined his plans, pulled out the Heavenly Grass, and dared to show himself again? Did he really think Lu Yang was harmless, or made of clay?

No, he's only at the Golden Core stage. No matter how anxious I am, there's no way I wouldn't notice a Golden Core cultivator hiding nearby.

It's a trap!

He suddenly rushed into the sky, trying to escape, when a large net descended from the sky, covering the gray figure.

"Secretly cultivating the Heavenly Grass and harming living beings, you must either be executed on the spot or obediently come back with me to face judgment!" Zeng Zhenshou slowly appeared from another space, standing next to Lu Yang, his pupils filled with anger.

Ten Void Refinement cultivators controlled the Heavenly Net, and the gray figure tried every means to break free from its grasp.

Zeng Zhenshou narrowed his eyes slightly. The gray figure was using a rather ancient method, not one used by the current Body Integration Realm.

"It seems to be an ancient Body Integration Realm, secretly cultivating the Heavenly Grass and refining pills to improve their cultivation level."

The Void Refinement stage fluctuate greatly, but that doesn't mean they can't make a move at all.

The cultivation levels of these ten Void Refinement stage cultivators also fluctuate, but they can ensure that two of them are always at the Body Integration Realm.

Adding Zeng Zhenshou, who remained on the ground, makes three cultivators at the Body Integration Realm, enough to activate the Heavenly Net.

The Heavenly Net is a secret treasure in the treasury of the Great Xia Dynasty, placed at Zhenyao Pass as one of its trump cards to defend against the invasion of the Demon Race.

As long as it's not Ask Dao Sect stage elder like the Dao Seeking Body Integration Realm, the Heavenly Net can suppress them all.

The gray figure clearly lacked the skill level of an elder from the Ask Dao Sect; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to cultivate the Shepherd's Grass.

"Take him away!" With a command from the garrison commander, ten cultivators at the Void Refinement stage dragged the gray figure back to the Demon Suppression Pass.

"How did you know that Mu Tiancao had someone backing him?" Zeng Zhenshou wondered on the way back.

"Even Mu Tiancao itself doesn't know that it was cultivated by someone." This was the result that Zeng Zhenshou obtained by personally interrogating Mu Tiancao.

"The Heavenly Grass doesn't know; it's possible that someone behind it altered its memories."

"I suspect Mu Tiancao has someone backing him, for two reasons."

"First of all, the location of the Shepherd Grass is too coincidental. The Shepherd Grass's ability is to control Golden Core cultivators, and the place where it appeared happens to be the place with the most Golden Core demon Demon Beast and Golden Core cultivators in the dense forest. It's as if someone deliberately planted it there to make it easier for it to find food."

"I've thought about that too. Could it really just be a coincidence?"

"This leads to the second reason. What Commander Zeng may not know is that during my battle with Mu Tiancao, it first used an array to interrupt my teleportation talisman. The teleportation talisman was made by the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, while Mu Tiancao controls Golden Core cultivators. It's impossible for it to have learned how to interrupt the teleportation talisman from Golden Core cultivator."

"Furthermore, it used a mountain-moving formation to relocate the swamp, which is also not a formation that Mu Tiancao should be familiar with."

"Someone must have taught Mu Tiancao these skills to save her life, and that person was worried that Mu Tiancao would expose her existence, so they altered Mu Tiancao's memories."

"The fact that the Heavenly Grass can help Integrated Body Realm Cultivator advance a small realm indicates that the other party must be at the Body Integration Realm."

"He must have left a mark on something as important as the Heavenly Grass. Once the mark disappears, he'll definitely come here. That's why I asked Garrison Commander Zeng to take action and have the person behind this ambush us here."

The garrison commander waved his hand. "It's not like you asked me to help. It's my duty as the garrison commander. I should be thanking you. Without you, who knows how long Mu Tiancao and the person behind him would have remained hidden and harmed countless people."

As they spoke, they returned to Zhenyao Pass.

Zeng Zhenshou was to interrogate the gray-clad figure overnight, and then he parted ways with Lu Yang.

When Lu Yang arrived at the inn, Meng Jingzhou and the other two had already bought a good meal to celebrate Lu Yang's advancement to the Golden Core stage.

"Come on, let's celebrate Lu Yang's advancement to the Golden Core stage! Cheers!" The four of them picked up their drinks and gulped them down.

"Lu Yang has advanced to the Golden Core stage, so the three of us need to speed things up. I've made some progress, what about you two?" Meng Jingzhou asked.

"I'm considering forming a Golden Core related to illusions, but as for how to do it, I still need to study it further," Tao Yaoye said.

"I haven't decided what kind of Golden Core I want to form yet." Man Gu, smiling somewhat embarrassedly.

"No rush, there's plenty of time. At our age, besides Lu Yang, the three of us are the fastest cultivators. There's no need to be too hasty," Meng Jingzhou advised Man Gu not to be impatient. Man Gu nodded, indicating that he understood.

"I need to return to my sect to consolidate my cultivation. There's a flying boat available tomorrow, so I won't be going to the dense forest with you."

All three understood that since Lu Yang was already at the Golden Core stage, if he went to the dense forest with them to fight Demon Beast, they wouldn't feel any sense of danger, and the training would be much less effective.

Early the next morning, Lu Yang bought some local specialties from Zhenyao Pass, took some Mutian Grass with him, bid farewell to Meng Jingzhou and the other two, and boarded the flying boat.

Lu Yang did not choose to fly back to the Ask Dao Sect for two reasons. First, the distance between the Demon Suppression Pass and the Ask Dao Sect was too far, and the spiritual energy reserves of Golden Core cultivator were insufficient. It would be not worthwhile to stop and rest for a long time.

Secondly, Lu Yang is afraid of heights.

Of course, the main reason is the first one.

Inside the flying boat, Lu Yang prepared to examine the glittering Invincible Pill before entering his spiritual space, where he found the Immortal Fairy sleeping.

It emphasizes that it is a timeless phenomenon, regardless of day or night.

"Hmm, Lu Yang, you're here?" The Immortal Fairy rubbed her eyes and greeted Lu Yang groggily.

Lu Yang had originally intended to ask the Immortal Fairy what the Invincible Pill was for, but then he changed his mind. "Fairy, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"Okay." The Immortal Fairy fell asleep immediately.

Lu Yang: "..."

I was just being polite.