Chapter 48: Foundation Establishment Determines Causality
Blood Garment Tower, another early morning.
Fairy Feixia leaned against the tower balcony, sunlight filtering through her wind-swayed thin garments, casting a graceful silhouette that stirred endless imagination.
"During this time, thank you, Junior Brother Lü."
The two had just concluded a night of interaction, and with Lü Yang's wholehearted guidance, Fairy Feixia had reached her limit, making further progress difficult in the short term.
"Today, I plan to leave the market."
Turning back, Fairy Feixia looked intently at Lü Yang: "My state of mind can't compare to Junior Brother's, nor my talent, yet I refuse to fade into mediocrity."
"Feixia's departure may mean a long time before we meet again." Fairy Feixia raised her eyes, her expression evoking pity, then sighed softly: "The path ahead may lead to enlightenment or to a foreign grave. The immortal road is lonely, especially in the Primordial Saint Sect. Feixia only hopes to see old friends again."
After speaking, Fairy Feixia smiled sweetly at Lü Yang.
Her beautiful face and elegant smile seemed to open her heart to Lü Yang for the first time: "Junior Brother... would you be willing to be that old friend for Feixia?"
"..." Lü Yang remained silent for a long time.
A stunning woman gazed at him affectionately, like a web slowly entangling him, enough to make any man lose himself.
However, Lü Yang resisted.
He calmly raised his hand: "Senior Sister is always welcome to return for tea."
A polite farewell.
In an instant, Fairy Feixia's eyes flickered, revealing a mix of disappointment and helplessness, then she withdrew her smile, returning to her usual cool demeanor.
"I take my leave."
As her words fell, a light resembling colorful clouds soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.
Only after she left did Lü Yang exhale deeply, turning back into the quiet room of the Blood Garment Tower, hiding within the formation, clutching the Innate Primordial True Qi Divine Talisman.
Finally, he stopped his body from trembling.
"Damn it, this must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator scheming against me!"
Regarding Fairy Feixia, Lü Yang had always been emotionally detached, their interactions purely for learning, with dual cultivation merely a method of study.
But just now, he had been moved!
Towards Fairy Feixia, he had been momentarily confused, nearly saying "willing" several times. Such emotions were clearly wrong and inconsistent with his true intentions!
With experiences from previous lives, Lü Yang quickly concluded: "The Foundation Establishment cultivator behind the scenes is getting impatient, starting to use forceful methods, using Fairy Feixia as bait to bind me to her... trying to lure me out of the market!"
"Seclusion... I need to go into seclusion!"
Thinking this, Lü Yang immediately announced a closed-door retreat, refusing visitors for the time being, to minimize entanglement in others' causality.
"...Impressive."
Outside the Skeleton Mountain market, on a cliff, a figure stood with hands behind his back, a respectful blood-clad youth standing behind him.
The next moment, the figure smiled: "An ordinary disciple, without background, yet able to develop such a firm Dao heart, truly rare. I've tried several times to lure him, but he never took the bait. Junior Brother, I don't know whether to praise your insight or question it."
"Please forgive me, Senior Brother."
The blood-clad youth bowed respectfully, his tone somewhat helpless: "I originally intended to find a scapegoat, but I didn't expect a dragon to emerge from shallow waters..."
The blood-clad youth was named "Luo Wuya," the "Second Senior Brother" of the Three Rivers Society.
His cultivation had reached the peak of Qi Refining, and he mastered a great divine ability, making him the strongest openly in the Skeleton Mountain area of the Primordial Saint Sect, a veritable big figure.
And the person he treated with such respect, the figure with hands behind his back, had an identity that was self-evident.
The leader of the Three Rivers Society!
His Dao title was "Yinshan." After successfully establishing his foundation ten years ago, he became a high-ranking member of the Primordial Saint Sect, authorized by the sect master to establish the Yinshan branch within the Sea of Clouds.
"But Senior Brother, I still don't understand. Must it be a disciple of the Primordial Saint Sect?"
"Junior Brother, you don't understand."
True Person Yinshan shook his head: "The Ancient Witch Ghost Path is a major demonic sect, its secret realm heavily laden with causality. Even I am reluctant to get involved lightly."
In this world, causality is everywhere.
Receiving benefits and forming causality means one must repay.
The Ancient Witch Ghost Path set up a secret realm to find someone with great fortune, planting causality through sect inheritance, seeking a chance for the sect's revival.
"If I personally took action, finding the Witch Ghost Secret Realm would be easy. It might even reveal itself to me. But in doing so, the causality of the Witch Ghost Path would fall upon me, bringing unknown troubles and hindering my cultivation."
In essence, True Person Yinshan wanted the goods without paying the price.
"That's why I need someone to open the Witch Ghost Secret Realm for me. Since the Witch Ghost Path is a major demonic sect, choosing a disciple from the Primordial Saint Sect is most suitable."
"I initially chose that 'Blood Garment Tower Master,' even attracting several significant enemies for him. As long as he was willing to leave the market, I would back him, help him eliminate his enemies, accumulate fortune, and once sufficient, the Witch Ghost Secret Realm would be drawn out by his fortune."
If Lü Yang were here, hearing this would surely feel familiar.
Because that's exactly how Xiao Shiye died.
A man-made child of destiny, seemingly blessed with great fortune, invincible in battle, but in reality, merely bait used by a Foundation Establishment cultivator to lure out opportunities.
Once the opportunity was drawn out, the bait was no longer needed.
Behind True Person Yinshan, blood-clad youth Luo Wuya lowered his head deeply, secretly alarmed by the terrifying methods of Foundation Establishment cultivators manipulating causality and fate.
"...Forget it."
Suddenly, True Person Yinshan shook his head: "Since that 'Blood Garment Tower Master' is unwilling to cooperate, let's choose another. It's not necessarily him."
At this point, True Person Yinshan chuckled: "Junior Brother, do you remember how the Ancient Witch Ghost Path was destroyed?"
"I do, by the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
Luo Wuya nodded: "The sect master of that generation, a Golden Core True Lord, struck a sword from the Seven Star Cliff of the Sword Pavilion, causing the Witch Ghost Path's mountain gate to collapse instantly."
"Correct, with just one sword."
True Person Yinshan sighed: "At its peak, the Ancient Witch Ghost Path had over ten Foundation Establishment cultivators and even a fourth-grade formation suppressing its fortune."
"Even so, they couldn't withstand a single sword strike from a Golden Core True Lord across thousands of miles."
"Moreover, that sword still resides within the Witch Ghost Path's secret realm!"
At this point, True Person Yinshan's eyes revealed a hint of dread: "The decree of a True Lord, sword energy lingering in the world. As long as the Witch Ghost Path isn't destroyed, the sword energy remains."
This was also why he was unwilling to personally intervene.
The sword energy of a Golden Core True Lord, especially from the righteous leader Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion—what if he went to open the secret realm and that sword energy struck him?
Therefore, finding a scout was a safer approach.
"That sword energy and the Witch Ghost Secret Realm have intertwined over countless years, becoming inseparable. So, if we can't open the secret realm through a disciple of the Primordial Saint Sect, we can try another approach—lure a disciple from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion to obtain that sword energy. The effect would be the same."
At this point, True Person Yinshan's gaze shifted, finally leaving the market.
Almost simultaneously, Lü Yang, who was in seclusion within the market, suddenly felt his body lighten, as if shedding an immense burden, revealing a look of surprise.