Jie Secret

Zhuo Peak, this day.

Above the peak, a phantom realm appeared out of thin air, manifesting scenes of fish, insects, birds, and beasts, flying sand and moving stones, and flowers in full bloom.

The evolution of the primitive and natural Natural Dao did not feature many rare or strange phenomena; this was the very essence of the Natural Dao of Zhuo Peak—great wisdom appears as folly, and great skill appears as clumsiness.

Li Ruoyu and Ye Fan, one old and one young, were situated within Zhuo Peak and were the first to sense the opening of the inheritance, beginning to attempt to comprehend the Dao rhymes.

Having practiced the techniques of Zhuo Peak for hundreds, if not thousands of years, Li Ruoyu was the first to grasp the true meaning of the Natural Dao, walking with a stumbling gait into a palace within the phantom realm.

Ye Fan was only a cultivator in the Divine Bridge Realm and had little insight into the Natural Dao of Zhuo Peak, but by relying on the Bodhi Seed to enlighten himself later, he was also able to comprehend the Jie Secret hidden within the natural changes.

Fang Yang remained hidden in the shadows, watching the various natural changes flash before his eyes; this was the inheritance of the fundamental mental cultivation method of Zhuo Peak, the Natural Dao, now fully revealed.

He compared it to the Yaoguang Scripture, and for a moment, he could not distinguish the superiority or inferiority of the two methods.

Time was tight.

Fang Yang stopped trying to comprehend the Natural Dao and instead focused on the natural changes atop Zhuo Peak, peeling back the layers to dismantle the inheritance of the Jie Secret from within.

No matter how profound the Natural Dao might be, it could not be an Emperor Scripture, and since he was already primarily cultivating the Yaoguang Scripture, this inheritance was of little consequence.

A light breeze, sand and stone, withered wood, an old crow, flowing water, a wooden hut...

Everything on Zhuo Peak served as a vessel for the Jie Secret, deeply hidden and buried.

Fang Yang realized that relying solely on his own comprehension, it would take a long time to completely extract the inheritance of the Jie Secret.

Thus, he chose to cheat.

He placed a Bodhi Leaf into his mouth; this leaf, which came from the Bodhi tree on Mars, had long since lost much of its divinity after being soaked in the Divine Spring many times.

As Fang Yang chewed, the juice of the Bodhi Leaf mixed with the sweetness of the Divine Spring, causing the scene before his eyes to instantly become more vivid.

The Jie Secret was right before his eyes.

Six hours passed, and Fang Yang finally comprehended the complete Jie Secret from the natural changes of Zhuo Peak.

However, his expression was solemn, and he did not appear particularly joyful.

The reason was simple.

An old man stood before him, his eyes unfocused and his face full of confusion. A tremendous pressure shrouded this area, as if a thunderous strike might descend at any moment.

"Greetings, Senior Li."

Fang Yang stood up and bowed, shedding the invisibility effect of the Snake Talisman and appearing before Li Ruoyu.

"A fine method. If I were not one with Zhuo Peak, I fear I would never have detected your presence."

Seeing a handsome and dashing youth appear, Li Ruoyu could not help but sigh, noting that even face-to-face, he could not see a single flaw.

He pondered for a moment and said:

"Does the little friend have a master?"

"I dare not hide the truth from you, Senior. I am a Candidate Holy Son of the Yao Guang Sacred Land, a disciple of Li Daoming, and the Holy Lord of Yaoguang is my martial uncle."

Even though Fang Yang knew that the previous Master of Zhuo Peak had perished together with a Supreme Elder of the Yao Guang Sacred Land, he still chose to be honest with this old man.

On one hand, the Yao Guang Sacred Land had many Supreme Elders, and the one who perished with the Master of Zhuo Peak had little to do with the Holy Lord's lineage.

On the other hand, Li Ruoyu cultivated the Natural Dao, and his murderous intent was far less than that of an average cultivator; it was impossible for him to kill out of spite for this reason.

Li Ruoyu seemed not to have expected such honesty from the youth before him, and for a moment, he did not know how to handle the matter.

In his eyes, Fang Yang was a good seedling; his vitality was like the morning sun, and he was consistent inside and out—truly just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old cultivator in the Four Extremities Realm.

If he had no master, it would naturally be a joyous occasion, providing Zhuo Peak with an excellent successor.

Unfortunately, the other party came from the Yao Guang Sacred Land.

"Regardless of the extent to which you have comprehended it, you must never pass on the inheritance of Zhuo Peak in the future."

In the end, Li Ruoyu could not bring himself to be ruthless enough to keep the youth who had stolen the inheritance of Zhuo Peak here forever.

It was both out of fear of the Yao Guang Sacred Land behind him and the belief that in just a few hours, Fang Yang could not have comprehended much of the inheritance, at most touching the surface of the Natural Dao.

"Many thanks for your magnanimity, Senior."

Fang Yang bowed.

"Do not be in such a hurry to thank me. I am merely not making things difficult for you, but that does not mean this matter is settled."

"Although our Taixuan Sect is not as powerful as the Yao Guang Sacred Land, there must be an explanation for you stealing the inheritance of Zhuo Peak. You will stay in the Taixuan Sect for this period, waiting for the Yao Guang Sacred Land to come and redeem you."

Li Ruoyu flicked his large sleeve, sweeping Fang Yang up and moving him from the side peak to Zhuo Peak.

If a student is not strictly taught, it is the teacher's fault.

He was now an Immortal Second Realm Mighty Figure, so he had the confidence to demand an explanation from the Yao Guang Sacred Land.

As for how much the ransom should be...

Forget it, let the Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect have a headache over that.

I am just a worn-out old man who only wants to cultivate in peace and quiet, while incidentally nurturing a few excellent disciples for Zhuo Peak.

Li Ruoyu sighed at this thought.

Such a fine young man, why did he have to be a disciple of the Yao Guang Sacred Land?

Because the matter of Fang Yang involved the Yao Guang Sacred Land, a hegemon of the Eastern Wasteland, the Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect arrived immediately upon receiving Li Ruoyu's message, followed by a large group of elders.

"Do you have any token to prove your identity?"

The Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect asked.

He asked this as a precaution, to avoid being deceived by a mere stripling, which would be a laughingstock.

"Does this jade tablet count?"

Fang Yang took out his Candidate Holy Son Token and displayed it to the Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect and the many elders gathered in a circle.

"It is a token from the Yao Guang Sacred Land."

"Indeed, it is genuine."

"He is truly a Candidate Holy Son of Yao Guang."

The many elders of the Taixuan Sect spoke one after another, confirming Fang Yang's identity as a Candidate Holy Son without a doubt.

With his identity confirmed, the situation became difficult to handle.

The Yao Guang Sacred Land was not to be trifled with.

Five hundred years ago, a Supreme Elder of the Yao Guang Sacred Land stirred up trouble, leading to the death of the then Master of Zhuo Peak.

Logically, the Yao Guang Sacred Land was in the wrong.

But in terms of raw power, the Taixuan Sect was the weaker party.

In the end, the matter was left unsettled.

No one spoke a word of justice for the Master of Zhuo Peak, and many even felt that it was a great blessing that the Yao Guang Sacred Land had not caused them further trouble.

Might makes right.

The Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect hesitated.

He did not actually want to follow Li Ruoyu's idea of detaining Fang Yang and forcing the Yao Guang Sacred Land to pay a ransom.

If he did that, and the Yao Guang Sacred Land sent a powerful elder, the situation could easily spiral out of control.

Furthermore, Fang Yang's cultivation was still shallow; he could not have comprehended the fundamental secret techniques of Zhuo Peak, learning at most a mere surface-level understanding, so the Yao Guang Sacred Land would not offer much compensation.

Most importantly, even if compensation were obtained, it would not go to the entire Taixuan Sect, but to Li Ruoyu of Zhuo Peak.

It would be better to let the younger generation resolve this.

Thinking of this, the Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect had a good idea.

He could reasonably let Fang Yang go without offending the lineage of the Holy Master of the Yao Guang Sacred Land.

At the same time, he could preserve a shred of dignity for the Taixuan Sect.

"Young friend, I see this was an unintentional mistake, so how about this?"

"Our Taixuan Sect will put forward six disciples. As long as you can defeat one of them, this matter will be considered settled. How about it?"

The Sect Master of the Taixuan Sect said.

He had already discerned that Fang Yang's cultivation was only at the first level of the Four Extremities Secret Realm.

Yet, the disciple he prepared to send was at the fourth level of the Four Extremities Secret Realm!

Since both were cultivators of the Four Extremities Secret Realm, who could say this was bullying the weak?

He would have Fang Yang defeated five times in the first five matches, using the fame of his status as a Candidate Holy Son to boost the reputation of the Taixuan Sect's younger generation, which would serve as the price for his theft of their heritage.

In the final match, he would slightly ease up and toss this hot potato away.

Thus, the task would be successfully completed!