Thanks to the Dao Court and the Pure Land, following that earth-shattering battle of perfected lords, the news of Lu Yang establishing a sect spread instantly across the five regions under heaven.
[Righteous Dao]!
Overnight, this name became the topic of conversation for all rogue cultivators. Not only were foundation establishment perfected ones discussing it, but even the mortal world had heard of it.
As for Lu Yang, he leaped to become the top figure of the five regions. Busybodies even regarded him as one of the top perfected lords of the current age. After all, lower cultivators knew nothing about early-stage or mid-stage Golden Core; they only knew that all were perfected lords, so naturally, whoever had the biggest reputation was the most powerful.
For a time, the masses were stirred.
Some yearned to go and cultivate at the mountain, while others were disdainful, thinking this was just a flash in the pan and that the Pure Land buddhist cultivators would soon make a comeback.
Most of these were mediocre people.
The truly smart ones had already taken action.
...
Jiangxi, [Righteous Dao].
As a brilliance descended, the [Garden of Eternal Joy] opened. A figure was guided by it, landing directly outside the mountain gate of the [Righteous Dao].
This was the disciple recruitment mechanism set by Lu Yang. Any cultivator who wanted to join the [Righteous Dao], whether mortal, rogue cultivator, or even a disciple of another sect, only needed to recite silently in their heart to immediately trigger the [Heavenly Fire]'s sense, and then be guided by the [Garden of Eternal Joy].
Only after a long time did the figure gradually wake up.
This was a young-looking cultivator with cultivation at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. His appearance was gloomy. The moment he woke up, he looked around vigilantly.
But soon, enlightenment dawned in his heart:
Righteous Dao. It's actually real. I just recited silently in my heart, wanting a way to live, and I was really guided here, breaking through space to Jiangxi?
But in the next second, he looked suspiciously at the mountain gate of the [Righteous Dao] in front of him, hesitating. Not doubting, just feeling a bit weird:
Is it my illusion?
Why is this mountain gate emitting black qi?
According to what he heard, the [Righteous Dao] was established by a great master. Because the sect was newly founded, the mountain gate was wide open to teach all without discrimination.
From the rumors, this great master was obviously benevolent.
As a rogue cultivator, he knew all too well how harsh the living environment was for rogue cultivators. Divine abilities and cultivation methods depended entirely on luck. A slight carelessness meant the end of the path.
Even if one hit the jackpot and reached foundation establishment, they would still be at the bottom of foundation establishment perfected ones. Not understanding karma, nor understanding the combination of heavenly stem and earthly branch divine abilities... possessing only brute force. If trapped in one place, dying in comfort would be fine, perhaps enjoying a few lifetimes of freedom. The more motivated one was, the faster they died instead.
Thinking of this, the cultivator instantly cast aside all concerns.
Since he was discovered possessing a supreme treasure, he had been hunted in Jiangbei with no way out. He was at rock bottom anyway; any way he went was up!
Risk it!
In the next second, the cultivator's expression tightened. He took a step into the mountain gate emitting black qi, and his originally clear consciousness instantly fell into haziness.
Meanwhile, inside the [Righteous Dao].
Lu Yang sat upright in the great hall, looking with satisfaction at the space within the Myriad Spirits Banner. In just a few months, he had gained tens of thousands of rogue cultivator banner spirits who came attracted by his fame.
And all entered the banner voluntarily!
Things having reached this stage, the Myriad Spirits Banner should also be re-refined.
Lu Yang pondered. He had to admit, the Myriad Spirits Banner refined by Perfected One Primordial was a masterpice, even capable of hiding Dao Fruits, worthy of being called a supreme grade item below true treasures.
But as he attained the stature of a perfected lord, it was foreseeable that the utility of the Myriad Spirits Banner would decrease. In fact, as Empress Xiao, Suo Huan, and Patriarch Nether Whisper attained the stature of perfected lords, Lu Yang could clearly feel that the Myriad Spirits Banner was overloading, even reaching its limit.
This is still because there are two unorthodox dao.
Of the three perfected lord souls, only Suo Huan was an orthodox perfected lord, whose soul merged with golden nature, undergoing a qualitative change. Patriarch Nether Whisper and Empress Xiao only represented a quantitative increase.
Otherwise, the Myriad Spirits Banner would have exploded long ago.
So in Lu Yang's view, reforging the Myriad Spirits Banner was urgent. And it couldn't be a simple reforging and it had to be done once and for all.
True Treasure!
Lu Yang planned to refine the Myriad Spirits Banner into his first true treasure. Just right, the Myriad Spirits Banner governing banner spirits itself fit the concept of the [Heavenly Fire].
However, ideals were one thing.
Lu Yang had tried three times in a row, but couldn't even take the first step: that is, cutting the Dao Fruit concept out from the Dao Fruit.
Insufficient dao comprehension, insufficient cultivation...
Lu Yang frowned tightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. Suddenly his heart moved, seeing another banner spirit break through space and fall into the Myriad Spirits Banner.
"Another shipment arrived."
Lu Yang smiled slightly upon seeing this. Habitually, he performed a soul search first. Fortunately, this was a Qi Refining cultivator, so there was no need for the Heaven-Mending father and son to go into battle together.
But soon, Lu Yang raised his eyebrows slightly.
"This person..."
Lu Yang focused his mind and sat up straight, beginning to seriously examine the young cultivator in front of him. Through the soul search, he learned that this cultivator was named Han Qingyun.
A Jiangbei rogue cultivator.
Originally just ordinary, one among thousands of rogue cultivators. His cultivation lingered at the early stage of Qi Refining, unable to even cross the bottleneck of the third layer.
However, an opportunity changed his fate. It was a round mirror. As long as an object was reflected in that mirror, a copy could be made out of thin air and then taken out from the mirror. Pills, talismans, cultivation methods, weapons—all could be copied. Thanks to this, he rose abruptly within three months.
Three months ago, he was still at the early stage of Qi Refining.
Three months later, he had already become a great cultivator at Qi Refining Perfection. The speed was so fast that even Lu Yang was somewhat surprised; not far from him back in the day.
"Heaven-Observing Mirror?"
With a move of Lu Yang's divine thought, a dressing mirror-like object immediately flew out from Han Qingyun's bosom, landing in his palm, yet showing no divinity.
Immediately after, he glanced at the unconscious Han Qingyun again.
"Too young..."
Although a Jiangbei native, he was ultimately just a rogue cultivator who hadn't trained in the Saint Sect. He actually didn't understand the karmic truth that where there is an opportunity, there must be a trap.
But this was normal.
After all, for Han Qingyun, the Heaven-Observing Mirror was the foundation of his rise. Who would doubt their foundation before rising? Rise first, talk later.
Good thing it fell into my hands. Entering my [Righteous Dao], I'll check it for you first. From now on, you won't have to worry about being pitted by those with ulterior motives...
Thinking of this, Lu Yang looked at the Heaven-Observing Mirror in front of him again:
"Whose handiwork is this exactly?"
Lu Yang rubbed his chin with interest. Being able to hide the clues even from his current self showed it definitely wasn't a treasure made by a foundation establishment perfected one.
It could only be a perfected lord.
As for this divine wonder of copying and replicating, it was a bit like a Water Element Dao Fruit, but holding it in hand didn't feel like it. Instead, it felt a bit like an unorthodox Dao Fruit.
"Trying to hide from me?"
Lu Yang smiled, then extended his palm. Overlapping concepts turned into a patch of phantom colors blessing his palm, reflecting a brilliant golden light:
[Deprivation]!
No matter what secret this treasure had, as long as it was deprived, it would be his treasure. Then wouldn't all secrets have to open up to him?
Boom!
At this moment, the originally plain and unadorned Heaven-Observing Mirror shook violently. Then on the originally smooth mirror surface, a blurred human figure gradually appeared.
"Hm?"
The other party didn't reveal their true face but conveyed a thought of surprise. Then without a word, the entire mirror surface was about to shatter.
"Want to leave?"
Lu Yang flicked his sleeves and stood up, suddenly laughing loudly: "Interesting, come back here!"
Intuition told Lu Yang that his act of mingling with lower cultivators and enjoying with the people this time had inadvertently led to a great success. He feared he had caught a big fish!