The [Arctic Exorcism Court].
Lu Yang sat upright in the grand hall. The clear mirror hung high above his head, and the seven cauldrons circled him. He was wreathed in profound, radiant light when suddenly, a streak of dark brilliance shot upwards.
"Mm."
The next second, he abruptly opened his eyes, sensing a resonance. He then clapped his hands and laughed. "As expected of Senior Uncle, his ability to take action is truly beyond question!"
Just a moment ago, [Disciple Becomes the Master's Standard] had transmitted a response. It was feedback from Chong Guang—a full three divine abilities, all comprising Dao comprehension related to inner demons! This was Dao comprehension that could only be mastered by personally enlightening an inner demon and battling against it, yet now, he had obtained it entirely for free.
'[Heaven of Sovereign], [Formless Realm], [Five Poisons of the Heart].'
Lu Yang carefully chewed over the three inner demon divine abilities Chong Guang had condensed, feeling increasingly satisfied. "Three divine abilities are enough to elevate inner demons to another level."
Just as cultivators could elevate their realms through cultivation...
Inner demons could also be elevated.
'The methods of current inner demons are actually still too weak. In most cases, they can only deploy some harmless illusions to bully lower-tier cultivators.'
'However, if Senior Uncle Chong Guang can attain the Golden Core through the Inner Demon Dao and draw a response from the [Tribulation], I can use that momentum to reflect these inner demon divine abilities onto all inner demons, making inner demons truly become a species of their own. By doing so, inner demons will inevitably become a massive scourge to the entire cultivator population!'
At this thought, Lu Yang's smile grew even wider:
'When that time comes, it will be the perfect opportunity for me to sell lightning arts on a massive scale. Over there, inner demons will be wreaking havoc on the world; over here, lightning arts will be shattering the demons. Standing right in the middle, I'll ride the wave and make an absolute fortune...'
With this plan, why worry about the Righteous Dao not flourishing?
'Grow up quickly, Senior Uncle. I'm counting entirely on you!'
Lu Yang thought to himself. As for the names of these inner demon divine abilities, while Chong Guang felt they resembled the Buddhist cultivator methods of the Pure Land, Lu Yang didn't find them particularly special.
After all, he was the one who had stitched them together in the first place.
The next second, Lu Yang opened his hand, and a thick book appeared in his palm. On it were five large characters: [Great Derivation Spirit Refining Art]!
This was the method the World Honored One had imparted to him at the very end of his lifetime in the Celestial Court. However, at the time, the [Immortal Nexus Survival Guide] had identified it as a massive trap that was best left uncultivated, so he had abandoned it. Yet today, when he looked at it again, the appraisal result had changed to a medium-level trap.
'It has nothing to do with perfecting the Dao Heart.'
'It's more because my cultivation base has risen and my Dao comprehension has increased. A considerable portion of the traps the World Honored One buried in this method can no longer be hidden from me.'
Of course, he still wasn't going to cultivate it.
But stitching it together—extracting some concepts from the method, verifying them as harmless using the [Immortal Nexus Survival Guide], and then stitching them into his own method...
That was perfectly fine.
After all, his comprehension was low. When one's comprehension is low, one must stitch things together more often. Only by stitching the essence of other profound methods into his own could he elevate the grade of his cultivation technique.
'From this perspective, my [Sovereign Heart-Demon Scripture] can almost rival a Grade Three True Art now. This is largely thanks to the World Honored One's sponsorship; his methods are truly very useful. I also referenced a tiny bit of Si Sui's methods. It can be considered a culmination of the strengths of a hundred schools.'
However, it was merely taking reference. After all, the karma of copying something outright was far too heavy.
If he wasn't careful, the World Honored One might descend across space and stomp him to death... It was also out of consideration for this factor that he had tossed it to Chong Guang.
'Do your best, Senior Uncle.'
Lu Yang cheered Chong Guang on in his heart, his eyes full of anticipation. "Whether I strike it rich this time depends entirely on whether you can carry this heavy burden forward, Senior Uncle!"
Jiangnan, Gantang Channel.
Chong Guang, who was in the middle of meditation, abruptly opened his eyes. For some reason, he felt a wave of coldness circling within his body. A moment later, it inexplicably vanished.
'Is someone plotting against me?'
Chong Guang instinctively wanted to perform a deduction, but he deliberately stopped himself. 'No, there are no fluctuations in the vast karmic net. This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.'
Originally, with his stature at Foundation Establishment Perfection, he would be as conspicuous as a brightly colored butterfly on a spider's web. Setting up a trap in Gantang Channel should have been impossible to hide from the current Perfected Lords, and other Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones would inevitably sense it and realize something was wrong. Yet, the reality was that the vast karmic net showed absolutely no reaction to his appearance.
Chong Guang didn't know the reason why.
But he knew this was a hard-won opportunity. And if he proactively plucked the strings of the vast karmic net, it was highly likely he would break this rare state.
'This is a tribulation...'
For no apparent reason, this thought suddenly surfaced in Chong Guang's mind. Since karma was obscured, outsiders naturally had no way of detecting him, but he similarly had no way to pursue fortune and avoid disaster.
In the end, everyone would have to rely on their own methods.
Lu Yang wasn't surprised by this. Although, pushed by his hand, this minor tribulation leaned more in Chong Guang's favor, the [Tribulation] itself had no inherent bias.
In other words, it only wanted cultivators dead.
As for whether the one to die was Chong Guang, Hong Yun, or Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde, it couldn't care less.
At this thought, Chong Guang simply released his hand seal, abandoning his usual habit of deducing karma. Instead, he called Perfected One Xiaohai and Ye Guyue in.
Soon, two streaks of light descended one after another, transforming into a man and a woman who walked into the quiet room. Compared to before, Perfected One Xiaohai and Ye Guyue showed absolutely no anomalies. However, when Chong Guang looked at them using his inner demon divine ability, he could see that what occupied their seas of consciousness were no longer souls.
They were two shadows.
'Inner demons devour souls and spirits. Cultivators swallowed by them cannot even reincarnate; it's no different from having one's soul scattered and perishing. What a truly vicious and brutal entity.'
Chong Guang sighed inwardly, then spoke:
"How many people have come outside?"
The reason Perfected One Xiaohai had gathered his clan members for a meeting earlier was because Saint Sect disciples were springing up everywhere in Jiangnan, and they had now fought their way right to the gates of Gantang Channel.
"Only one came."
Perfected One Xiaohai spoke in a low voice, "Judging from his cultivation base, he should be at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. However, he didn't attack immediately. Instead, he set up a formation, completely surrounding Gantang Channel."
With that, he channeled his spiritual power to sketch a portrait. Chong Guang focused his eyes on it, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "So it's Martial Nephew Tuan Xu."
Perfected One Tuan Xu was considered quite young even within the Saint Sect.
But what truly made Chong Guang smile with delight was this person's identity: he was Hong Ju's disciple, and Hong Ju was the Dao Protector Hong Yun had enlightened for himself.
'It seems Hong Yun couldn't hold back anymore!'
'Sending a grand-disciple over first to test the waters, hoping to quietly take the Grotto-Heaven fragment back without alerting anyone? He certainly has a beautiful imagination!'
Of course, this couldn't be considered Hong Yun underestimating the enemy.
After all, if he hadn't been here, a direct disciple of the Saint Sect like Perfected One Tuan Xu would have been more than enough to easily slay Perfected One Xiaohai and reclaim the Grotto-Heaven fragment.
But he was here.
So the situation was bound to change.
'One grand-disciple isn't enough. I have to find a way to lure the man himself down into the fray.'
Chong Guang pondered inwardly. It was just like fishing; one needed to have sufficient patience. Fortunately, as a Perfected One of the Saint Sect, he was equally adept at this sort of thing.