True Lord Earth Mao

Fang Yang stayed in his dojo to consolidate his cultivation, paying no attention to anything outside. He had even turned away the East Sea Dragon King when he came to visit. While consolidating his cultivation, Fang Yang began studying World Creation and Transformation, one of the Thirty-six Heavenly Spirits.

After joining the Interception Sect, he had only heard Sect Master Tongtian preach once.

At the time, he had just broken through to the Heavenly Immortal Realm. As a Heavenly Immortal, he knew well that trying to swallow too much would only leave him choking. He focused on comprehending three divine abilities: Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder, Nine Heavens Ten Earths Divine Roaming Technique, and Three Thousand Universes Ascension Art.

Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder was an offensive skill, Nine Heavens Ten Earths Divine Roaming Technique was a speed skill, and Three Thousand Universes Ascension Art was a spatial ability.

His plan was to hit an enemy with a skill first and see if he could leave them badly wounded. If he could, he would finish them off. If he couldn't put a dent in their health bar, he would run at once.

He had a bright future ahead of him. There was no need to get tangled up with an enemy. Killing one was only natural; being killed by one would be a terrible loss.

Besides those three Daoist arts, he had also found time to listen in on World Creation and Transformation. Practiced to a profound level, this art could alter the very nature of all things and laws, even creating something from nothing.

In the past, my root foundation held me back. My body couldn't bear the divine ability's runes, so every attempt to cultivate it failed. But things are different now. I can give it another try.

Fang Yang had taken the Sky Mending Creation Pill, and his body had been cleansed by Creation Power. That made World Creation and Transformation far easier to cultivate.

In fact, the Saint Great Sects possessed countless divine abilities, but many required a particular constitution or fate to cultivate. Some were even custom-made by the Saints for their disciples. Apart from that one person, no one else in the world could cultivate them.

World Creation and Transformation wasn't a custom-made divine ability, but its requirements were still extremely high. If a cultivator's root foundation wasn't up to standard, they couldn't master it, no matter how well they understood its mysteries.

Even the best software was useless without the hardware to run it. If the hardware couldn't keep up, no amount of cultivation would help.

Fang Yang reached out and drew a cobblestone the size of an egg into his hand. It was utterly ordinary, neither a spirit stone nor an immortal stone, just a common rock.

Holding the cobblestone, he wove dense runes of the divine ability between his hands and wrapped them around it.

One day, two days, a hundred days passed. The bluestone remained unchanged.

Fang Yang wasn't discouraged. Profound Daoist arts of the orthodox Xuanmen were never easy to master. Many of his senior brothers and sisters had found them too difficult and gone off to cultivate Heterodox Paths instead.

"Dark and mysterious, yet within lies essence. Its essence is true, and within it lies certainty. As the Dao De Jing says, life is the product of matter combined with vital essence. To give matter life, I must join it with the vital essence of heaven and earth. The first step of World Creation and Transformation is to guide the vital essence of heaven and earth into matter."

Three months later, Fang Yang reached out and grasped a mass of essence from the sun, moon, and stars. He raised a finger, and the essence arranged itself into countless runes before slowly sinking into the cobblestone.

In an instant, the cobblestone trembled slightly, and several cracks appeared across its surface.

With a sharp crack, a fluffy little chick hatched from the stone. As soon as it emerged, the stone chick flapped its wings and flew into the air.

A flying stone chick—the fighter jet of stone chicks—had been created by Fang Yang.

"It worked!"

Fang Yang was delighted. He had finally taken his first steps in World Creation and Transformation. Once a divine ability had been entered, there was hope of mastering it.

After that, he found the process easier and easier.

Under his hands, a thousand-year-old dead tree gained a spirit, ten-thousand-year-old ice and snow began to speak, and even the Earthly Fiend Two Forms Array gave birth to a formation spirit.

After appearing, the formation spirit decided its body wasn't complete enough. It shifted one of the formation's foundations, and the array's power increased by a significant margin.

Fang Yang could only marvel at the sight.

After all, he had only just begun to master World Creation and Transformation. He was nowhere near proficiency. If a cultivator truly reached that level, any divine ability or cultivation method they practiced would cultivate itself, and their cultivation would increase with every passing moment.

"What a divine ability! Teacher has mastered countless divine arts and wondrous techniques. The next time I hear him preach, I must learn more. A broad skill set never hurt anyone. The more orthodox Mystic Gate Laws I cultivate, the more abundant my magic power will be."

Just as Fang Yang had begun to master World Creation and Transformation, a steady voice suddenly pierced the Earthly Fiend Two Forms Array and entered the dojo.

"I am True Lord Earth Mao of the Interception Sect. May I ask whose dojo this is?"

Fang Yang raised his brows, surprised. He had joined the Interception Sect years ago, but had always kept to himself. He had only met Zhao Gongming, the senior brother of the outer sect, once. Why would a fellow disciple come looking for him?

He didn't immediately withdraw the array. Instead, he circulated his Divine Sense and peered beyond the island through a gap in the Earthly Fiend Two Forms Array.

He saw a Daoist standing outside the island, dressed in a blue-gray robe. His face was unremarkable, and pure Supreme Purity Dao Method energy lingered around him.

Once he had confirmed the man was a fellow disciple, Fang Yang didn't hesitate. He raised a hand, and ripples spread across the Earthly Fiend Two Forms Array's barrier, opening a passage.

"Please come in, Senior Brother."

True Lord Earth Mao was a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. In the cultivation world, those who had attained greater mastery were respected as senior, so Fang Yang addressed him as Senior Brother.

True Lord Earth Mao stepped into the dojo and looked around. When he saw the purity of Fang Yang's magic power and the Supreme Purity Dao Method he cultivated, a trace of almost imperceptible satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

By then, Fang Yang had risen to greet him. "Your junior brother Fang Yang pays his respects to Senior Brother Earth Mao. I am devoted to cultivation and have little to offer in hospitality. I hope you'll forgive me."

As he spoke, Fang Yang casually conjured a pavilion, complete with stone tables and chairs. A plate of spirit fruit was already waiting on the table.

Fang Yang was a typical ascetic cultivator. Apart from a pile of Immortal Grass, immortal herbs, and immortal fruit, there was little on Ningzhen Island to offer a guest.

True Lord Earth Mao didn't mind. He waved a hand. "It's nothing. Don't let such a small matter trouble you, Junior Brother. I haven't come on personal business, but on the orders of Senior Brother Zhao Gongming to investigate something."

Fang Yang's heart stirred. Could this be about Nuwa? But there was nothing to hide about that, and he had no reason to feel guilty.

"Senior Brother heard some talk in the Primordial Wilderness that the outer sect has become a mixed lot, full of people who are unworthy of their reputation. They abuse the sect's prestige to do as they please throughout the world and harm living beings. Have you heard anything about this, Junior Brother?"

As he finished, he watched Fang Yang closely, as though he counted him among the unworthy.

Fang Yang was taken aback. He hadn't expected Zhao Gongming to step in and manage the matter. But could this True Lord Earth Mao really be trusted?

"Junior Brother, is this really happening in our outer sect?"

True Lord Earth Mao seemed to see right through Fang Yang's thoughts. There was a power in his eyes that made Fang Yang feel as though his thoughts had just been laid bare.

Since things had come to this, Fang Yang stopped playing dumb and nodded. "Of course. Many of our senior brothers and sisters are bold and unconstrained. They sometimes let their true natures show. Out here on the sea, it's no secret."

"True nature? Do you believe that what our fellow disciples do comes from their hearts and is an expression of their true nature?"

A mocking glint appeared in True Lord Earth Mao's eyes. He seemed to have caught the meaning behind Fang Yang's words. "If all things in heaven and earth were to follow their hearts and always give free rein to their true natures, what would be the point of our sect enlightening all beings?"