The invasion of the Divine Martial Sect ended as abruptly as it began.
With Ouyang Haoze dead, Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan didn't dare linger for a second. Without a word, they turned and fled as if escaping a monstrous calamity.
In stark contrast to the panicked retreat of the Divine Martial Sect, the market erupted in jubilation.
After this battle, Skull Mountain Market was now impregnable! As long as no Foundation Establishment expert personally intervened, the Divine Martial Sect could forget about cracking this iron-clad fortress. As for the zombie horde? A minor nuisance, not even worth mentioning.
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In short: Safety was assured!
A safe market naturally becomes a hub of wealth. Future transactions here would boom, and money-making opportunities would multiply.
The good days were just ahead!
However, the excitement belonged to the crowd. For Lü Yang, their noise was just a distraction. He was still reeling from the shock of what had just happened, his mind struggling to catch up.
For a long time—ever since Xiao Shiye was lured away by that Hongyun Daoist—Foundation Establishment cultivators had become an inescapable shadow looming over Lü Yang's heart. The momentary joy of killing Ouyang Haoze vanished the instant he realized another Foundation Establishment expert might be targeting him. Instinctively, his hand flew to the "Innate Primordial Qi Talisman" around his neck. Only after confirming its active protection did his heart settle slightly.
"The talisman is still working. That means the other party still can't pinpoint me."
But even the Innate Primordial Qi Talisman had its limits. Strictly speaking, it didn't sever cause and effect; it obscured it. It wove a false thread of causality around Lü Yang for protection. After all, completely isolating cause and effect would be too conspicuous.
Thus, when a Foundation Establishment cultivator tried to divine him, they wouldn't get nothing—they'd receive a flawless, yet completely fabricated, result. The advantage was greater stealth. The drawback? It couldn't fully shield him from a Foundation Establishment expert's influence.
Thinking it through, Lü Yang found his answer. "So, they weren't specifically targeting me. I just got accidentally dragged into their scheme?"
This also explained the Mysterious Yin Jade. It wasn't incredible luck—someone had deliberately delivered it to him, intending to use him as a pawn.
"For what purpose?"
Lü Yang's gaze fell on Ouyang Haoze's bisected corpse. With a wave of the Myriad Spirits Banner, he collected the remains. Perhaps clues lay within. Besides, as a true disciple of the Divine Martial Sect, Ouyang Haoze's collection had to be impressive!
Soon, Ouyang Haoze's corpse was refined into the banner. However, because the body was split, the extracted true spirit was incomplete. The Myriad Spirits Banner's ability to preserve a spirit's combat power, memories, and consciousness depended on the corpse's integrity. Well-preserved corpses yielded spirits closer to their living state, like Liu Xin. Ouyang Haoze retained only about seventy percent.
Even so, Lü Yang learned many secrets.
"So this is the Divine Martial Sect's true goal..."
"There's a secret realm within Skull Mountain, a legacy of the ancient Witchcraft and Ghost Path. The earth vein's Yin energy leaking beneath the mountain originates from there."
"The Divine Martial Sect wants to monopolize the secret realm. That's why they plan to wipe out the Holy Sect's market here."
"This is good news. Reporting this to the Holy Sect will net me a hefty sum of contribution points, and they'll send reinforcements."
"Monopolizing the intel would be more profitable... but why bother? I have no intention of venturing into that Witch Ghost Secret Realm anyway. Better to hand it over to the Holy Sect, secure my contribution points, and watch others fight to the death!"
The thought eased his mind. Knowing a Foundation Establishment expert was secretly scheming against Skull Mountain made Lü Yang even more determined to bunker down in the market and never leave.
Next, he turned to Ouyang Haoze's belongings. But as he picked up the storage bag, a round mirror—the Taixiao Mirror—floated over, trembling, and nuzzled his hand like an affectionate puppy.
The spiritual treasure circled him, hopping lightly, its movements brimming with loyalty.
"Abandoning the light for darkness, are you?" Lü Yang was surprised. For such a supremely Yang-aligned spiritual treasure to pledge itself to a demonic cultivator like him... Ouyang Haoze must have hurt it deeply.
Seeing it finally had Lü Yang's attention, the Taixiao Mirror first shone its light on the storage bag in his hand, then shook side to side. A voice, touched with childishness like a newborn learning to speak, rang in his mind:
"They... no good!"
Then, the mirror itself blazed with light, bobbed up and down, and its voice shifted to one of innate pride and confidence:
"Me... good!"
It was recommending itself.
Lü Yang's eyes widened in amazement. He'd known spiritual treasures possessed sentience, but witnessing it firsthand was a first.
"Fine. I'll use you for now." He beckoned.
The Taixiao Mirror obediently descended. With its full cooperation, Lü Yang quickly gained complete mastery over the spiritual treasure, inside and out.
"Excellent! Truly a fine treasure!" Delight spread across his face. It lived up to its reputation!
As all cultivators knew, the so-called Great Perfection of Qi Refining meant nurturing one's Qi seed to its limit, transforming it into "Perfect True Qi." For instance, his "Nine Transformations Dragon Art" would become "True Dragon Fiend Qi" upon reaching Great Perfection.
In other words, Perfect True Qi was the mark of Great Perfection and his ultimate trump card against all lesser Qi Refining cultivators.
Yet, the Taixiao Mirror naturally contained a Perfect True Qi within itself—the "Taixiao Wind and Thunder Qi"!
This meant that wielding this spiritual treasure, even a first-layer Qi Refining cultivator could rival a Great Perfection expert while the treasure was active!
"However, this treasure seems to have many internal restrictions." Lü Yang examined the mirror. Treasures are tools for people, and even righteous path artifacts often came with safeguards. The Taixiao Mirror clearly contained numerous restrictions limiting its free movement. If used before a Divine Martial Sect disciple, a simple hand seal might summon it back.
This wasn't the mirror's will—it was a failsafe left by its creator.
"Such a treasure would be wasted unused." Lü Yang pondered, then his eyes lit up. While his formation skills weren't enough to break the internal restrictions, there was a workaround.
He shook the Myriad Spirits Banner, summoning Ouyang Haoze's spirit. He refined it into a stream of "Primordial Qi" and fed it into the Taixiao Mirror. By controlling Ouyang Haoze, who in turn controlled the mirror, he could bypass the restrictions entirely.
Boom!
Instantly, the Taixiao Mirror in his hand erupted with dazzling light, carrying the roar of wind and thunder—its power clearly at the peak of Qi Refining!
"As expected!" Lü Yang laughed heartily. He then suspended the Taixiao Mirror behind his head. Even its precious light tinged crimson, dyed with his aura.
"Not bad! Not bad at all!"
Chuckling again, he put away the mirror and opened Ouyang Haoze's storage bag. A surge of dense spiritual energy made his eyes narrow.
Inside was a small mountain of spirit stones!
Plus, various precious pills, magical instruments, and materials. A rough estimate put their value at no less than 30,000 contribution points if sold to the Holy Sect.
"What a windfall! Pity there won't be another chance like this."
After Ouyang Haoze's example, no one below Foundation Establishment would dare challenge the formation again. Once news of the Witch Ghost Secret Realm spread, Skull Mountain would become a battleground once more. A Foundation Establishment expert was surely pulling strings behind the scenes.
But as long as I stay inside and avoid the chaos, what can he do unless he acts personally?
His mind made up, Lü Yang packed his gains, dispersed the formation, and rode a beam of light back to the market, landing on the platform of the Blood-Clad Pavilion.
From that day forth, Skull Mountain fell into an eerie calm.
The Divine Martial Sect continued to send more men. Reinforcements from the First Saint Sect arrived one after another. Yet, on the surface, not a ripple stirred—only undercurrents surged in the shadows.
Amid this silence, Lü Yang's deeds spread far and wide.
A mortal who joined the Holy Sect a decade ago... made his first fortune trading substitute Yin Puppets... secluded himself for ten years to break through to late Qi Refining... became a formation master... and slew a true disciple of the Divine Martial Sect. This saga of a commoner's rise to Great Perfection of Qi Refining inspired countless ordinary disciples of the Holy Sect.
Graduately, out of awe, many stopped uttering Lü Yang's name directly.
Instead, they used another title:
The Blood-Clad Lord.