Don't misunderstand; although Lu Yang went to the Imperial Harem, his heart held no wicked thoughts. It was purely because his destination was inside the Imperial Harem.
This was all Emperor Jiayou's fault.
Although Emperor Jiayou had three palaces and six courtyards with three thousand concubines, he was wholeheartedly devoted to cultivation. So he moved many cultivation classics from outside into the Imperial Harem.
These included dao arts, scriptures, and many Daoist books on the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation. It could be said to cover everything. Emperor Jiayou proudly called it the Four Treasuries Daoist Canon, claiming it encompassed all cultivation methods under heaven. Because of this hobby, the many concubines in the Imperial Harem also followed suit.
From the Empress down to the lowest ranking concubine.
All concubines had read the Daoist books in the Four Treasuries Daoist Canon. Some even had unique insights into certain Daoist books, using this to please Emperor Jiayou.
Of course, these weren't important.
What was important were the dao arts within the Four Treasuries Daoist Canon. Lu Yang was very interested. Now that he controlled the Tianwu Hall, it was the perfect time to browse the Daoist Canon thoroughly.
Soon, Lu Yang arrived in front of the palace complex where the Imperial Harem was located.
He saw a benevolent-looking eunuch waiting for him. Seeing this, Lu Yang smiled, stepped forward, and cupped his hands: "Greetings, Fellow Daoist An."
"Lord Du Huan is too polite."
Eunuch An waved his hand upon hearing this and said seriously, "I heard Lord Du Huan wants to enter the Imperial Harem. This is against the rules. I ask Lord Du Huan to conduct himself with dignity."
"Eunuch An is right."
Lu Yang laughed. "But I came this time to investigate a case... I suspect there is a spy from the Demonic Sect within the Tianwu Hall who has been secretly sending information out!"
"...What?"
Hearing this, Eunuch An instantly narrowed his eyes. "Lord Du Huan, you can't say such things carelessly. The Inner Court is loyal only to His Majesty; how could we collude with the Demonic Sect?"
"That's all the more reason to investigate."
After speaking, Lu Yang looked around, then lowered his voice: "Fellow Daoist... to be honest, His Highness the Crown Prince takes the matter of His Majesty's assassination very seriously. The Crown Prince intends to stay in the Tianwu Hall hereafter. If the Inner Court cooperates well with the investigation, it will also give His Highness more peace of mind."
"This..."
Eunuch An frowned tightly upon hearing this, his expression already wavering. After all, these Inner Court eunuchs existed entirely dependent on the Tianwu Imperial Family.
With Emperor Jiayou in seclusion, Crown Prince Longxing was their master.
If the master wanted to investigate, could they stop him?
Of course, Eunuch An could also see that Lu Yang was using the pretext of investigating a case to browse the Daoist Canon, abusing power for personal gain... but so what?
If one didn't seek personal gain, were they still a Dao Court official?
Besides, he still needed Lu Yang to put in a good word for him in front of Crown Prince Longxing.
With this thought, a smile appeared on Eunuch An's face: "So that's how it is. Then please come in and investigate, my Lord. The Imperial Harem is open for your investigation!"
"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist An."
Lu Yang nodded with satisfaction, then strode into the palace hall housing the Four Treasuries Daoist Canon. What met his eyes was a magnificent sight.
The enormous palace hall was filled with bookshelves stuffed with Daoist books, categorized into various sections. The sheer number was even more exaggerated than the Saint Sect's Hall of Manifested Laws!
That's right, after all, the Dao Court is Jiangdong.
In Jiangbei, besides the Saint Sect, there were many large and small sects, each possessing their own trump card techniques, which might not be inferior to the Saint Sect's dao arts.
However, in Jiangdong, the Dao Court was the only one.
All dao arts and divine abilities were under the Dao Court's rule. Under such circumstances, it was only natural that the Daoist Canon built with the full power of the Dao Court would contain more than the Saint Sect.
How should I choose?
A look of contemplation appeared on Lu Yang's face. Although he had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, he actually wasn't skilled in combat. Most of the time, he relied on his cultivation foundation and brute realm advantage to suppress his opponents.
Although relying solely on these two, the number of cultivators in the world who could defeat him could be counted on one's fingers, he hadn't forgotten that there was currently a Foundation Establishment Perfected One whose cultivation foundation and power surpassed his. If he fought him with only his present strength, he would undoubtedly lose.
Master Vanquishing-Demon...
In his previous life, Lu Yang had never actually seen Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon go all out from beginning to end. He solved almost all opponents with a single sword strike.
After all, those were two titled-level Sword Intents.
Besides Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, only [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] in the entire Sword Pavilion had comprehended one Titled Sword Intent, and that person was a late-stage Golden Core Great Perfected Lord!
Too overpowered!
Lu Yang sighed. In terms of Sword Intent, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had reached the ultimate limit. Lu Yang knew he couldn't compare, so he could only find another way.
If I can't compare in quality, then I'll compare in quantity!
He wanted to select a few Dao arts with considerable power, then use the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] to bless and quickly master them, thereby improving his combat strength.
Regarding this, Lu Yang also had a plan in mind:
My current five divine abilities: the Life-Bound [Dual-Radiance Sovereign Decree Mountain-and-Sea Diagram], and the innate Divine Abilities [Imperial Controller of Fate], [Palace of Returning Boundaries], [Heaven and Earth Union], and [Coiled Dragon Root].
Leaving the Life-Bound Divine Ability aside for now, among the Innate Divine Abilities, the effect of [Imperial Controller of Fate] is closer to support, mainly enhancing the power of the Life-Bound Divine Ability. [Palace of Returning Boundaries] leans towards defense, containment, and suppression. [Heaven and Earth Union] works in conjunction with [Palace of Returning Boundaries] to refine the suppressed objects.
As for [Coiled Dragon Root], its divine wonder lies mainly in resolving injuries and fierce malevolence.
This entire divine ability system was similar to the concept of [Heavenly Fire], focusing mainly on "governing." It actually lacked specific means for combat and killing.
But this was normal.
After all, a son of a thousand gold does not sit under dangerous eaves. Bloody combat is for generals. Within the concept of [Heavenly Fire], doing so would actually be inferior.
But there are exceptions.
Even the Son of Heaven has times when he leads the army personally and treads on dangerous ground. The key lies in whether the Dao art can fit this kind of concept and perfectly display my power.
Lu Yang spread his divine sense and began rummaging through the Four Treasuries Daoist Canon. However, the entire Daoist Canon was just too vast. He couldn't possibly glance through every single book. He had to read carefully to determine the concept within to understand if it suited him, which consumed a lot of energy.
After a long time, he barely found two Dao arts he liked.
Wu Fire Dao Art: [Beacon-Fire Sun Scripture]
Bing Fire Dao Art: [Manifesting Yang Emperor's Radiance Register]
Wu corresponds to beacon tower, so the [Beacon-Fire Sun Scripture] fits its Dao perfectly. It is a technique of driving troops and fires of war to overcome the enemy head-on. The drawback is that it's too clumsy.
Powerful indeed, but not fast enough.
If he encountered a divine ability or Dao art adept at dodging disasters and avoiding tribulations, the opponent could easily escape. As a result, he would waste a huge amount of spiritual power without achieving victory.
[Manifesting Yang Emperor's Radiance Register] is to fill this defect. This method borrows the divine wonder of Bing Fire. Bing corresponds to the Sun, hanging high in the sky. It makes those who see it feel like staring directly at the rising sun, immediately stripping away their divine sense perception. If it's hard to observe objects, naturally they won't detect my attack, let alone dodge it.
Even so, Lu Yang was still unsatisfied.
Although both Dao arts were decent, they only touched the edge of [Heavenly Fire]'s concept. Wanting to use these to fight Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon was still too whimsical.
"Its a pity, I don't understand the Four Treasuries Daoist Canon well."
If there was someone who had read the entire Daoist Canon, perhaps they could help him select his desired Dao arts. But even among the Imperial Harem concubines, few could do that.
Just then—
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"