"Your title is a bit too long."
Grand Master Xuandu smiled as he exposed Li Yang's little scheme. "But are you really that unsure I'm Xuandu?"
Li Yang hadn't introduced himself that way to be clever. He needed to confirm whether this person was Grand Master Xuandu.
Because the moment he introduced himself, he had already removed every measure that could conceal the workings of fate. Then he had brought up the Human Teachings, the Grand Pure Sage, and True Man Du'e precisely so that the Grand Pure Sage, True Man Du'e, and Grand Master Xuandu would sense something.
If the person before him was an impostor pretending to be Grand Master Xuandu, he would surely suffer a calamity and be reduced to dust.
So even after his little scheme was exposed, Li Yang wasn't afraid. He wasn't even embarrassed.
"Heh heh. If you really are Grand Master Xuandu, then naturally you wouldn't be afraid of me saying that."
"Indeed!"
Grand Master Xuandu nodded in confirmation. Then a figure suddenly rose in Li Yang's heart. In some mysterious way, the Human Teachings' Destiny resonated with him, and he knew that this figure was Grand Master Xuandu.
The figure looked exactly like the person before him.
When he looked at the person standing before him, he saw the figure in his heart nod at him too, and say, "Good!"
That wasn't all. A vague, supremely exalted, incomprehensibly sacred figure also gave him a slight nod and spoke a single word: "True!"
He knew that this person was the Grand Pure Sage.
Then, an immortal light appeared out of nowhere. To his astonishment, Li Yang discovered that Taiqing Immortal Light had enveloped him, while passage after passage of scripture flowed into his mind. This was the Grand Pure Sage's inheritance.
Yet even then, it still wasn't over.
A small, black-and-yellow pagoda appeared in his heart. Strands of black-and-yellow light hung down, seeming to suppress space and time, and also seeming to be the endpoint of the Human Teachings' Destiny.
Li Yang understood that this was the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Black Yellow Pagoda. He even saw a figure appear within it and bow to him with clasped hands.
Next, a Taiji Diagram that suppressed space and time appeared in his heart. In the outside world, another identical Taiji Diagram whirled rapidly around him, and together they spoke.
"Be on your guard, Little Mage. Don't blow up your Cavern Heaven."
Li Yang paused. He really had been preparing to blow up his Cavern Heaven, but who was this cautious Little Mage?
Me?
"Yes, you!"
Grand Master Xuandu had noticed Li Yang's puzzled expression, so he smiled and confirmed it for him. Li Yang was startled.
What was going on?
How had he become a Little Mage?
Wasn't that Senior Brother's title?
"I don't know why, either. But since Teacher is willing to take you as a Personal Disciple, then naturally you're the Little Mage of our Human Teachings."
Li Yang opened his mouth helplessly. He wanted to ask why, but couldn't bring himself to—after all, even Grand Master Xuandu had said he didn't know.
"Then... I... Shi..."
Li Yang stammered, clearly unsure how he should address him.
"You can call me Senior Brother. You don't need to call Teacher 'Master'; just address him as Teacher."
Grand Master Xuandu was kind and patient with Li Yang, so Li Yang didn't stand on ceremony.
"Li Yang pays his respects to Senior Brother!"
Grand Master Xuandu returned the salute solemnly. "Xuandu pays his respects to Junior Brother!"
At last, Li Yang felt at ease. He had deactivated the measures to blow up his Cavern Heaven, and had also restored the various measures that concealed the workings of fate. Then he looked at the frozen formation.
"Pop!"
With a crisp sound, the formation resumed its operation. Li Yang hurriedly formed a hand seal and returned the array to its proper state.
Then he apologized to Grand Master Xuandu. "Please don't take offense, Senior Brother. I was in a bit of a panic, and I offended you."
"Think nothing of it." Grand Master Xuandu waved a hand, seeming quite interested in the formations.
"The Demon Race's Grand Formation of Celestial Stars and the Witch Race's Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Great Formation. Although both are simplified to the utmost, they're still full of ingenuity.
"From the way you've set them up, you're probably trying to open up a Small World. But these formations alone won't be enough."
Li Yang scratched his head. Grand Master Xuandu's assessment might have sounded dismissive, but one had to consider who was making it.
Li Yang knew very well that if even Grand Master Xuandu praised a formation, then it truly had its merits.
He simply couldn't get his hands on the Grand Formation of Celestial Stars, and the same went for the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Great Formation. He had deduced his versions from scraps of information, along with the star formations and Witch Race baleful-qi formations he had found.
"They're crude works, unworthy of the grand stage. I'm embarrassed to have shown them to you, Senior Brother."
"No, your formations are quite good."
Grand Master Xuandu's words genuinely surprised Li Yang. Then Grand Master Xuandu took out something that made Li Yang's eyes burn with desire.
"Your formations are mainly limited by your knowledge and resources. As it happens, I have the Demon Race's Grand Formation of Celestial Stars and the Witch Race's Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Great Formation here. You can have them."
As he spoke, Grand Master Xuandu handed Li Yang the Jade Slips that recorded the knowledge and diagrams, reminding him, "But these things come with severe limitations. You can use them for reference, but you absolutely won't be able to set them up yourself."
Li Yang took them and happily turned them over in his hands, unwilling to let go for even a moment. Still, he knew how these formations worked.
"I understand, Senior Brother. I never planned to set them up myself. I just want to study them. Even gaining a little insight would be an immeasurable benefit to me."
"Mm, as long as you understand."
Grand Master Xuandu was very pleased. His Junior Brother knew what he was doing. Good.
Then he took out two more things. They were two streams of qi, seemingly in constant interplay like Yin and Yang.
"These are Solar True Fire and Lunar True Water. They can help your Cavern Heaven form a sun and a moon."
Li Yang's eyes widened. He stared at the two treasures, practically drooling, but didn't dare accept them.
"Take them. They're no use to me."
Without waiting for Li Yang to refuse, Grand Master Xuandu stuffed them into his arms.
"Also, I have a few things here that I don't need. You can have them all. They'll help you properly arrange your Cavern Heaven. And that Pill Cauldron you're using as the core of both your formation and your Cavern Heaven—refine it properly, too. It should at least become a High-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure."
By then, Li Yang could barely move. Grand Master Xuandu had given him so many things, and all of them were so valuable. It felt like a dream.
If the many precautions he'd put in place hadn't failed to warn him that this was only a Heart Demon's invasion, he would have suspected he'd gone berserk in his cultivation.
And so, in a daze, Li Yang received cultivation resources beyond anything he had ever dared dream of—not to mention two Nine-Turn Golden Pills.
"This... is this for me, too?"
These were Nine-Turn Golden Pills!
Two of them.
Both for him?
"Yes. Teacher gave them to you. One can help you heal, and the other is for when you break through to Golden Immortal.
"Of course, I see that you're already on the verge of comprehending the Great Dao. If you can heal without using a Golden Pill, then don't use one. These many Great Daos are a rare opportunity, and it would be a shame to give them up for nothing.
"As for the second Nine-Turn Golden Pill, it's there in case you fail. Your situation is unusual. If something goes wrong with your Golden Immortal Tribulation, this pill can not only save your life, but also help you break through to Golden Immortal."
After that, Li Yang barely heard anything.
He had been overwhelmed by this immense, unexpected fortune. He didn't even know when Grand Master Xuandu had left.
All he remembered was the last thing Grand Master Xuandu had said: "Once you prove the Dao as a Golden Immortal, you can go to Dachi Heaven Tusita Palace to pay your respects to Teacher."
The Taiji Diagram remained behind. Looking at Li Yang grinning foolishly and drooling as he hugged a huge pile of treasures, it sighed helplessly.
"Is this... really the Little Mage?
"And are these things really that valuable? Valuable enough to make him forget the pain he's in?"
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