Chapter 43: Blood Robe Lord
The invasion of Divine Martial Sect ended abruptly.
As soon as Ouyang Haoze died, Divine Fist Wu Zhichong and Mountain-Moving Daoist Duanmu Yuan didn't even dare to stay, turning around and fleeing without a word, as if a flood beast was chasing them.
In contrast to Divine Martial Sect's panicked retreat, the market was filled with joy and excitement.
After all, after this battle, Skull Mountain Market was already impregnable. As long as a Foundation Establishment True Person didn't make a move, Divine Martial Sect would find it difficult to shake this turtle shell.
As for the corpse tide, that was merely a minor ailment, not worth mentioning.
In short, it was safe!
A safe market would inevitably become a center for Golden Coins. It was conceivable that future transactions here would be more frequent, and there would be more opportunities to earn money.
Good days were still ahead.
However, the excitement belonged to others; Lu Yang only found them noisy.
At this moment, he was still immersed in the palpitations he had just experienced, unable to recover for a long time.
For a long time, or rather, ever since Xiao Shiye was lured away by that Hongyun Taoist, the Foundation Establishment True Person had become a lingering shadow in Lu Yang's heart.
And when he realized that another Foundation Establishment True Person might be plotting against him, the joy of having just slain Ouyang Haoze instantly vanished. He subconsciously gripped the Innate Primordial Qi Talisman around his neck, and only after ensuring it was still functioning did his raised heart finally settle a little.
"The talisman is still working, which means the other party still can't calculate me."
That being said, the efficacy of the Innate Primordial Qi Talisman also had its limits.
Because strictly speaking, it didn't completely sever Karma, but rather obscured it, placing a layer of false Karma lines on Lu Yang to achieve protection.
After all, completely severing Karma would be too conspicuous.
Therefore, when a Foundation Establishment True Person attempted to deduce him, they wouldn't find nothing, but rather a flawless yet completely false result.
The advantage of doing this was greater concealment, while the disadvantage was the inability to completely block the influence from a Foundation Establishment True Person.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang already had the answer in his heart: "So, the other party isn't specifically targeting me, but I was accidentally drawn into it."
This also explained the matter of the Mystic Womb Taiyin Treasure Jade.
It wasn't that he was blessed with good luck, but rather someone deliberately sent this item into his hands, intending to use him to achieve some ulterior motive.
"What purpose?"
Lu Yang shifted his gaze to Ouyang Haoze's corpse, then waved the Myriad Spirits Banner in his hand, pulling the body, which had been split in two, towards him.
Perhaps he could obtain some clues from this person.
Moreover, as a true Disciple of Divine Martial Sect, Ouyang Haoze's collection must have been very rich!
Soon, Ouyang Haoze's corpse was refined into the Myriad Spirits Banner. However, since the body was split in half, the Banner Spirit extracted was incomplete.
The Myriad Spirits Banner's ability to retain the Banner Spirit's combat power, memory, and consciousness from before its death generally depended on the completeness of the corpse. The better the corpse was preserved, the closer the Banner Spirit would be to its living state, like Liu Xin. As for Ouyang Haoze, Lu Yang only barely managed to preserve seven-tenths of his former state.
Nevertheless, he still learned many secrets.
"So this was the purpose of Divine Martial Sect."
"There is a Secret Realm within Skull Mountain, left behind by the Ancient Wizard Ghost Dao Sect. The Yin Qi in the ley lines beneath Skull Mountain leaks from that Secret Realm."
"Divine Martial Sect wants to monopolize the Secret Realm, which is why they planned to eradicate the Primordial Sect's market here."
"This is good news. If it's reported back to the Primordial Sect, I'll definitely receive a lot of contribution point rewards, and the Primordial Sect will also send people to support."
"Although monopolizing this news would yield greater benefits, why should I monopolize it?"
"Anyway, I don't plan to venture into that Witch Ghost Secret Realm. It's better to hand it over to the Primordial Sect, steadily earn some contribution points, and watch others fight to the death!"
Thinking of this, Lu Yang relaxed.
Having already known that a Foundation Establishment True Person was secretly plotting in the current Skull Mountain, he became even more resolute in his idea of hiding in the market and never going out.
Immediately after, Lu Yang began to deal with Ouyang Haoze's belongings.
However, as soon as he picked up Ouyang Haoze's Storage Pouch, a round mirror floated over, trembling, and rubbed affectionately against his hand when it got close.
It was none other than the Heavenly Mirror.
This Spirit Treasure was like an eager puppy, circling Lu Yang while also bouncing twice, its movements full of loyalty.
"Are you abandoning the light for the darkness?"
Lu Yang was a little surprised. To be honest, such a supremely Yang Spirit Treasure actually defecting to him, a Demonic Path Cultivator, indicated that Ouyang Haoze had truly hurt it deeply.
Seeing that Lu Yang's attention finally fell on it, the Heavenly Mirror first shone on the Storage Pouch in Lu Yang's hand, then swayed left and right. Then, a voice sounded in Lu Yang's mind, carrying a hint of childishness, like a newborn child who had just learned to speak:
"They, no good!"
Afterward, the Heavenly Mirror itself emitted a strong light, swayed up and down again, and its voice changed, carrying Innate pride and confidence:
"I, good!"
This was a self-recommendation.
Lu Yang's eyes grew even more surprised. Although he had long known that Spirit Treasures possessed their own spiritual intelligence and were extraordinarily divine, this was the first time he had witnessed it.
"Very well, I'll use you for now."
Lu Yang reached out, and the Heavenly Mirror immediately descended on its own. With its cooperation, he quickly gained complete control over every aspect of this Spirit Treasure.
"Good! It truly is a good treasure!"
Lu Yang's face was full of pleasant surprise; the Spirit Treasure lived up to its reputation!
As is well known, the so-called Qi Refining Great Perfection is a Cultivator who has cultivated the Qi seed within his body to its limit, thereby transforming it into a strand of Perfect True Qi.
For example, his Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Art, after reaching Qi Refining Great Perfection, would transform into a strand of True Dragon Evil Qi.
In other words, Perfect True Qi is the symbol of Qi Refining Great Perfection, and also its strongest means of suppressing all Qi Refining Cultivators below Perfection.
However, the Heavenly Mirror, this Spirit Treasure, actually possessed a strand of Perfect True Qi from birth, named Heavenly Mirror Wind Thunder Qi!
In other words, as long as one wielded this Spirit Treasure, even if they only had Qi Refining First Stage cultivation, they could rival Qi Refining Great Perfection while activating the Spirit Treasure!
"However, this Spirit Treasure seems to have quite a few Restrictions within it."
Lu Yang examined the Heavenly Mirror. Treasures are used by people, and even in the Righteous Path, this is no exception. The Heavenly Mirror clearly contained a large number of Restrictions limiting its actions.
Therefore, if this Spirit Treasure were used in front of a Divine Martial Sect Disciple, perhaps with just a flick of a spell, the Heavenly Mirror would fly back on its own.
This was unrelated to the Heavenly Mirror's will; it was entirely a contingency left by the person who refined the treasure.
"Such a Spirit Treasure would be too much of a waste if it couldn't be used."
Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. Although his Formation level was not enough to break the Restrictions within the mirror, there was a compromise.
The next second, Lu Yang shook the Myriad Spirits Banner, resummoning Ouyang Haoze. He then refined him into a strand of Innate One Qi and injected it into the Heavenly Mirror. He would control Ouyang Haoze, and Ouyang Haoze would then control the Heavenly Mirror, thereby bypassing the Restrictions within the mirror.
Boom!
In an instant, the Heavenly Mirror in Lu Yang's hand erupted with dazzling treasure light, with faint sounds of wind and thunder within the light. Its power had clearly reached Qi Refining Perfection!
"...It really works!"
Lu Yang laughed heartily, then suspended the Heavenly Mirror behind his head. For a moment, even the treasure light it emitted turned crimson, tinged with his color.
"Not bad! Not bad!"
Lu Yang laughed heartily, then put away the Heavenly Mirror and opened Ouyang Haoze's Storage Pouch. Instantly, the surging Spiritual Qi made him squint his eyes.
Inside, a large amount of Spirit Stones were piled up!
Besides that, there were also various precious Medicinal Pills, Magic Treasures, and Materials. Lu Yang roughly calculated that reselling them to the Primordial Sect would be worth at least thirty thousand contribution points.
"It's truly a windfall, but unfortunately, there probably won't be another opportunity like this in the future."
After all, with Ouyang Haoze's precedent, no one below Foundation Establishment should dare to challenge the Formation again.
'Once the news of the Witch Ghost Secret Realm spreads, Skull Mountain will once again be embroiled in a bloody storm. There must be a Foundation Establishment True Person secretly plotting behind this.'
'But as long as I don't go out and don't get involved in this trouble, unless he personally makes a move, what can he do to me?'
Lu Yang made up his mind, then put away his belongings, opened the Formation, and rode a streak of light back to the market, landing on the Blood Robe Tower's platform.
After this day, Skull Mountain fell into an eerie calm.
Divine Martial Sect continued to send more personnel, and the Primordial Sect's reinforcements also arrived one after another, but on the surface, there was not a ripple, only undercurrents surging behind the scenes.
Under these circumstances, Lu Yang's deeds somehow spread and became widely known.
Ten years ago, he joined the Primordial Sect as a Mortal, made a fortune by speculating on substitute yin puppets, broke through to Qi Refining Late Stage after ten years of secluded cultivation, and after becoming a Formation Master, he used a Formation to slay a Divine Martial Sect true Disciple, a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator. Such an inspiring story of a commoner's rise was almost a shot in the arm for all ordinary Disciples of the Primordial Sect.
Gradually, many people, out of reverence, no longer even mentioned Lu Yang's name.
Instead, another honorific title was used:
'Blood Robe Lord'!