"Senior Brother Liu?He's come to my door?"
Hearing the voice from outside the cave dwelling, Lu Yang's pupils shrank sharply, his expression sinking into extreme gloom. He not only failed to respond—he instead fully suppressed his aura.
"…?"
The voice sounded again.
Lu Yang still did not respond.
Although he lacked concrete proof, he was now absolutely certain that there was something wrong with the Innate Dao Scripture he had cultivated.
"I was careless… I trusted my experience too much and never questioned it."
"The Hehuan Hall and Butian Peak are closely connected. Their cultivation methods should revolve around yin–yang harmony—yet the Innate Dao Scripture has nothing to do with that."
"I was deceived."
"But why would he want to kill me? Even though the Initial Saint Sect is a demonic sect, it still has rules. Formal disciples are strictly forbidden from private combat. Once discovered—"
At this point, Lu Yang suddenly slapped his forehead.
"How could I believe in the morality of a demonic sect?!"
"Once discovered… once discovered…"
"If it isn't discovered—then it doesn't count as private combat?"
The more Lu Yang thought about it, the worse his expression became.
In the end, it all came down to habitual trust.
Everything Liu Xin had done before perfectly fulfilled the role of a disciple guide.
He explained the inner sect in detail, provided all the benefits a formal disciple should receive—artifacts, pills, spirit beasts—without holding anything back. Especially in the Artifact Refinement Hall, he had even instructed the steward to give Lu Yang the best items available.
It all looked sincere.
But now he understood.
It was all an illusion.
Everything before had been preparation—for that final step: handing him the Innate Dao Scripture, lowering his guard, and making him fully trust Liu Xin's goodwill.
"Thinking about it now… he probably even planned to take everything I had."
"Once I died, all the artifacts, pills, and spirit beasts I received would naturally belong to him."
"No wonder he insisted on 'the best.'"
What a beast.
At that moment, the voice outside the cave rang out once more.
The next second—
Crack!
The formation protecting the cave dwelling exploded, and the stone gate was violently torn apart by a streak of sword light!
The doors burst open.
Liu Xin stepped inside, robes fluttering.
Upon seeing Lu Yang, a look of harvest-like satisfaction appeared on his face. He nodded approvingly.
"As expected of you, Junior Brother… truly a talent."
Boom!
Before Liu Xin could finish speaking, Lu Yang detonated.
Surging Innate True Qi wrapped around the Bone Jade Sword, condensing into a razor-sharp sword light that slashed forward with unstoppable momentum!
Yet in the very next instant—
The sword light stopped dead.
"…A dying struggle."
Liu Xin neither dodged nor retreated. He merely formed a hand seal—
And Lu Yang instantly lost control of his body, like a puppet seized by invisible strings.
"This Innate Dao Scripture really is a marvelous thing."
Liu Xin burst into laughter.
"By refining flesh and soul into a strand of Innate True Qi, the cultivator becomes perfect material—usable as medicine, as a refinement core, even to enhance cultivation. With this treasure, breaking into the late Qi Refinement stage should be within reach!"
"Helping me break through—Junior Brother, your death is well worth it."
As Liu Xin changed his hand seals, Lu Yang felt his consciousness rapidly dissolving, forcibly erased.
At that moment, realization struck him like lightning.
"So this is the second half of the Innate Dao Scripture!"
"The first half is a trap for others to cultivate.The second half is the real method—waiting for someone else to finish refining themselves… and then harvesting them."
Rather than a cultivation manual, it was actually a refinement technique.
Not refining objects—
But refining people.
Worse still, it made people refine themselves, while the true cultivator hid in the shadows, effortless and efficient.
A Dao Scripture in name.
A demonic art in truth.
"Well played. This life is yours."
Lu Yang stopped resisting altogether.
As his consciousness faded, after the fury passed, he instead became calm.
"Fall once—learn once."
"You can deceive me once."
"But I have countless lives."
"I'll remember this grudge."
The next instant, Lu Yang's consciousness plunged into darkness.
In the void, only the sound of turning pages remained—soft, rustling.
[You were refined by Liu Xin. Your consciousness was erased, and you were completely transformed into a strand of Innate True Qi. You are dead.]
[Remaining pages of the Hundred Lives Book: 98]
[Restarting life. You may choose one reward from your previous life:]
Treasure
Cultivation
Lifespan
Abandon all rewards and awaken a random talent based on past experiences
"Those whose names are called, step forward."
The familiar voice echoed from the platform.
Lu Yang clenched his teeth, suppressing his emotions. He did not raise his head—instead, he focused on the panel before him.
Treasure. Cultivation. Lifespan.
If possible, he would have chosen cultivation.
But that would be too conspicuous—he wouldn't be able to explain where the cultivation came from.
Lifespan was discarded immediately.
"…So only treasure?"
Lu Yang frowned.
As for treasures, the only thing he had was the Bone Jade Sword. Without cultivation, even a magic artifact would be useless.
Then—
His gaze froze.
Because just then, the Hundred Lives Book sent him a feedback notification.
"…This also counts as a treasure?"
Lu Yang was stunned, then thoughtful—before finally gritting his teeth.
"I choose option one. Retain one treasure from my previous life."
In the next instant—
A mutation occurred.
No one noticed. Everything happened entirely within Lu Yang's dantian.
At the source was a swirling, misty white qi—
Innate True Qi.
The strand of Innate True Qi Lu Yang had refined by dissolving his organs, flesh, tendons, and bones in his previous life—
It counted as a treasure.
And now, it had been reclaimed.
"Unbelievable…"
Lu Yang lowered his gaze, hiding the joy in his eyes.
Because he discovered that not only could he control this strand of Innate True Qi as easily as his own limbs—
He could also cast the spells from his previous life through it.
"Normally, this should be impossible."
"To control Innate True Qi, one must use the secret methods of the second half of the scripture."
"But I'm different."
"Because this Innate True Qi… is me."
The two were originally one.
To Lu Yang, it was equivalent to having an extra Qi Refinement Level One clone.
"And before I died, Liu Xin even said that this Innate True Qi could be used as medicine to assist breakthroughs…"
"This strand of qi will be extremely useful in the future."
After organizing his gains, Lu Yang began acting in this life.
First—he was once again assigned to Hehuan Hall.
Then—
He counter-killed Jade Su Zhen.
This time, to avoid drawing attention, Lu Yang did not use her vital qi to break through Qi Refinement.
Instead, he fed all of it to the Innate True Qi.
"This life, I'll stay low. No recklessness."
As expected, when Liu Xin saw that Lu Yang failed to break through after plundering Jade Su Zhen's cultivation, he immediately lost interest.
Lu Yang waited patiently.
More than ten days later, a Hehuan Hall disciple named Qin Yu broke through. When Liu Xin heard the news, he happily took Qin Yu away.
A few days later, Liu Xin announced he was entering seclusion, and the disciple guide was replaced.
Still, Lu Yang did not show himself.
"Who knows what kind of person the new senior brother is. What if he's another Liu Xin?"
"Better not stick my head out."
"To be safe… I'll wait another month."
Half a month passed.
Only after another outer disciple safely advanced into the inner sect did Lu Yang finally choose to break through.
With Innate True Qi assisting him, he didn't actually need to cultivate demonic arts at all.
But to avoid suspicion, he still found a few outer disciples to cultivate with.
This time, the formal disciple responsible for guiding him was far more perfunctory—completely lacking Liu Xin's enthusiasm, even showing a hint of disdain.
"This is the Scripture Pavilion."
After distributing the benefits, the guide brought him to a tower and said casually:
"Take the token inside. Exchange whatever techniques you want with contribution points."
Then he left without another word.
Lu Yang, however, felt completely at ease.
Being a nobody had its advantages. Being ignored suited him perfectly.
He turned his gaze toward Butian Peak in the distance.
"Liu Xin… hmph."
A few days earlier, Liu Xin had emerged from seclusion, officially breaking into late Qi Refinement, and had become the personal disciple of the Butian Peak master.
He was riding high.
Lu Yang snorted, withdrew his gaze, and strode into the Scripture Pavilion.
Revenge could wait.
He was still too weak.
For now, strength came first.
A gentleman may wait ten years for revenge.
This was merely a temporary measure—
There was no need to rush.