[Your lifespan dwindled as you focused solely on refining the array treasure. You succeeded at the moment of your death.]
[Current remaining pages in the Hundred Lifetimes Book: 96]
[Reborn, you may choose one reward from your previous life:
1. Treasures.
2. Cultivation.
3. Lifespan.
4. Abandon all gains and randomly awaken a talent based on your previous life's experiences.]
The one whose name was called walked toward him.
Lü Yang opened his eyes. After a long moment, he let out a deep breath, the visions of past and present lives receding. "I choose the treasure."
In the next second, his dantian stirred.
A crimson sword pellet, intricately engraved with dazzling array patterns that shimmered like captured starlight, materialized within his dantian. A clear, resonant sword cry echoed in his mind.
Lü Yang was satisfied. This sword pellet was the culmination of over twenty years of work in his past life. Not only were the materials top-grade, but it had also been tempered by the Heavenly Demon Blood Transformation Divine Light. Most crucially, before his death, he had succeeded in embedding a superior-grade array formation into the pellet, transforming it into a true Array Treasure.
This meant that in battle, Lü Yang could directly pull his enemies into the array's domain.
The advantage was obvious—no cultivator, no matter how powerful, could easily overcome a pre-set formation of equal rank.
The reason Qingchen Fairy hadn't been formidable was simply her mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation. From Lü Yang's current perspective, her years of array study paled in comparison to his two decades of dedicated research.
"It's time to give you a name."
A thought crossed his mind, and a chilling blood-shadow instantly coalesced on the surface of the sword pellet—a figure identical to his own. Two bodies, one mind, one heart. He chuckled.
"Forged from my past life's sacrifice and blessed by the Blood Transformation Divine Light. From now on, you shall be called Blood Sun."
The sword pellet vibrated softly in response.
Setting aside distractions, Lü Yang glanced at Liu Xin, who was still lecturing passionately on the stage, then looked away. The Innate Qi Myriad Spirit Banner could wait.
He then began retracing the steps of his past life.
He went on stage, was assigned to the Hehuan Hall, and became the "Super Death Jade" Su Zhen once more.
He stopped borrowing from Zhao Xuhe. Instead, he directly sold the White Bone Flying Sword and other newcomer benefits, then quietly began purchasing Substitute Death Puppets.
Soon, the price of the puppets skyrocketed.
Lü Yang secretly fueled the surge, buying low and selling high, constantly expanding his capital before aggressively buying more. However, to avoid drawing excessive attention, he didn't wait for the peak price from his last life. He exited the market when the price hit 3,000 contribution points per puppet.
By then, he had amassed a full twenty Substitute Yin Puppets.
His total profit was a staggering 60,000 contribution points.
After completing all this, Lü Yang purchased a large quantity of spirit pills, sealed his cave dwelling, and took out his greatest harvest from four lifetimes of reincarnation:
The "Nine Transformations Dragon Technique" and the "Myriad Chariots Dragon Ascension Treasure Scroll."
The former was a Qi Refining method, the latter a Foundation Establishment technique. Together, they formed a complete path to the Golden Core realm capable of refining third-grade True Qi—perfectly matching Lü Yang's requirements.
"The Nine Transformations Dragon Technique has ten layers, corresponding to the ten levels of Qi Refining. As the name implies, each layer triggers a transformation of True Qi, including the Heavenly Serpent, Divine Eagle, Azure Ox, and Brocade Tiger Transformations. After nine transformations, one transforms into a dragon, increasing the chance of a Foundation Establishment breakthrough by thirty percent."
Lü Yang was captivated. He immediately decided to disperse his current cultivation and start anew.
Bang!
As the True Qi in his dantian rapidly dissipated, Lü Yang's cultivation level plummeted, swiftly dropping from the fourth level of Qi Refining back to that of a mortal.
However, he didn't waste the dispersed energy. He fed it all to the strand of "Primordial Qi."
This external Qi, which he had sacrificed a life to refine, was now nourished by the cultivation of this life, making it practically an extension of himself. With it guarding him during seclusion, he wouldn't be completely defenseless.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed.
Inside the cave, Lü Yang sat upright on his meditation mat, silently circulating his profound arts. The dantian that had been emptied was now filled with an even vaster and more potent True Qi.
He could sense his energy flowing freely, shifting and changing form: one moment a rabbit leaping through the eight extraordinary meridians, the next a great python lying dormant in his dantian, then a striped tiger roaring at the heavens, followed by a graceful eagle soaring through the air—its transformations were truly endless.
After a long while, Lü Yang finally let out a deep exhale.
His breath, like a solid white arrow, did not dissipate upon leaving his body. Instead, it transformed into a powerful azure ox that moved with a slow, monumental grace, as if carrying a divine mountain.
"It is done!"
Joy lit up Lü Yang's face. These three years of arduous cultivation had progressed far more smoothly than in his previous three lifetimes. After all, he had ample contribution points now, and every kind of auxiliary pill was readily available.
Thus, in just three years, he had climbed back to the sixth level of Qi Refining—the peak of the mid-stage.
Although he was currently stuck at the mid-stage bottleneck, Lü Yang was utterly confident he would break through again within three to five years, returning to the late stage of Qi Refining!
Moreover, despite being at the sixth level again, his combat power was likely not inferior to his past life's peak, simply because the quality of his True Qi was now on a completely different level.
"The Nine Transformations of the Dragon: Each transformation grants a corresponding mystical ability. The Brocade Tiger Transformation increases the destructive power of True Qi; the Azure Ox Transformation enhances physical divine strength; the Divine Eagle Transformation grants thousand-mile vision; the Heavenly Serpent Transformation allows aura concealment; the Jade Rabbit Transformation boosts speed; the Mountain Camel Transformation accelerates True Qi recovery…"
These six transformations alone almost bridged the gap between mid and late-stage Qi Refining!
However, what truly captivated Lü Yang was the "Flying Fish Transformation" among the nine, for its effect was straightforward: Breaking through bottlenecks!
"If I cultivated the sixth transformation now, I could probably break through to the late stage in an instant."
"But that would be too wasteful."
Lü Yang's ambitions were lofty. He would not waste such a precious breakthrough opportunity on the late stage of Qi Refining; he planned to save it for the peak of Qi Refining.
His plan for this life was simple: Cultivate.
"I will cultivate in silence, seamlessly transition to the Myriad Chariots Dragon Ascension Scroll upon reaching Qi Refining Great Perfection, and continue seclusion until Foundation Establishment—then astonish the world!"
With this thought, Lü Yang casually swallowed a spirit pill and sank back into meditation.
Then, merely a few days later.
BOOM!
A violent tremor shook Lü Yang from his meditation. Opening his eyes, he found that the Primordial Qi avatar he had left outside had been shattered.
A powerful enemy?
Lü Yang was completely baffled. In this life, he had been secluded in his cave, focusing solely on cultivation and completely cut off from the outside world. How could someone suddenly come knocking?
Puzzled, he stepped out of his cave dwelling, only to come face-to-face with an unexpected acquaintance.
"It's you?"
Outside the cave, Zhao Xuhe's eyes were bloodshot. He was accompanied by several imposing cultivators, all glaring at Lü Yang with undisguised fury.
"Senior Brother," Lü Yang cupped his hands in greeting, "I am Lü Yang. May I ask—"
"So it really is you!" Zhao Xuhe cut him off, his voice thick with resentment. "Panlong Island has vanished without a trace! The opportunity I painstakingly cultivated across three lifetimes has suddenly disappeared! I paid a great price to have my master trace the threads of karma. He told me the opportunity was stolen by a disciple of the Sacred Sect here… a disciple surnamed Lü!"
He took a step forward, his pressure intensifying.
"Speak! Is the inheritance of the True Lord Panlong in your hands?!"
"..."
As Zhao Xuhe finished, Lü Yang was first stunned. Then, as if realizing something, his expression visibly darkened.