Standing before the secret realm, Lü Yang carefully studied this "creation of a Dao Lord" while pondering how to configure it for maximum personal benefit.
"First, I absolutely cannot take center stage."
"I'll simply plant the seeds and wait for them to blossom and bear fruit. If there's no mastermind behind it all, naturally no one will investigate!"
"Second, I don't need a peaceful world."
"After all, heroes emerge from chaos. Troubled times create opportunities to fish in murky waters. Even if some hero uncovers the truth, they won't be able to cause real trouble."
"Because I can let heroes fight heroes, let good men battle good men!"
With that, he began inputting a vast array of settings into the secret realm.
The next second, the entire secret realm burst with light, rotating in circles. Lü Yang glimpsed countless scenes of mortal life constantly shifting within.
Seeing this, Luo Wuyai nodded. "Junior Brother is about to enter the secret realm for cultivation. I won't disturb you further. I wish you success."
"Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother." Lü Yang returned the gesture. "I will remember your guidance. If you ever achieve your goals and need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."
Luo Wuyai smiled with satisfaction. "Junior Brother is destined for great things!"
The next moment, the secret realm's light engulfed Lü Yang.
"Quite impressive."
Inside the secret realm, Lü Yang stood atop a mountain peak, curiosity shining in his eyes. He felt that everything around him—the flowers, grass, and trees—seemed utterly real.
"...However, there are still flaws. It's not perfect."
A halo appeared behind Lü Yang's head. He activated the Taiwei Imperial Edict Treasure Register, performing divination and deduction, and immediately saw through the illusion. He discovered flaws completely absent from the real world.
These flaws were minuscule, existing entirely at the microscopic level. Only Lü Yang, with his divination abilities, could detect them. Ordinary cultivators viewing from a macroscopic perspective wouldn't notice at all. As for the "talented individuals" who had lived in the secret realm since childhood, they were even less likely to suspect anything.
"It's less of a world and more of a giant stage."
The flowers, birds, fish, and insects—all were real.
Yet the "world" composing all of this was entirely fabricated, no different in essence from a pigsty on a rural farm.
"This is the Holy Sect's talent cultivation base."
Lü Yang shook his head, setting aside his lamentations. He began preparing for his grand undertaking of "spreading the Dharma." The most crucial element was creating a cultivation system.
"With the Mingdao Jade Slip, no wonder Luo Wuyai said the Saint Thief technique suited me perfectly."
The Mingdao Jade Slip, this divine artifact of deduction, would allow him to create a cultivation system with fewer flaws, making it harder for the secret realm's inhabitants to detect inconsistencies.
The cultivation system can't be too complex.
Given my abilities, the more complex it is, the more it will crumble under scrutiny. Simplicity is best—something even a fool could understand, something anyone could cultivate.
But it can't be too weak either. If the system's strongest practitioner only reaches the first level of Qi Refining, while it won't threaten me, the amount of qi the Saint Thief can steal would be pitifully small. That would hinder my cultivation. So, I need to be bold—I can raise the system's maximum power.
As he thought this, Lü Yang had a sudden realization.
The true disciple Senior Brother Luo mentioned—the one killed by someone inside the secret realm—probably wanted to maximize his gains like me, but his plan backfired.
No, I need to build in safeguards.
Lü Yang continued pondering until a framework finally took shape. With the help of the Mingdao Jade Slip, he filled in countless details, eventually forming a complete system.
After a moment, he made his decision.
The Saint Thief was, after all, a body-refining technique. Since he was creating a cultivation system, it should naturally focus on body refinement—that would make cultivation more efficient.
Regarding physical cultivation, the most advanced knowledge Lü Yang possessed was the Taiyi Yuanjing Yuhua he'd obtained from Yun Miaozhen.
He decided to use this divine ability as his foundation.
With that in mind, Lü Yang immediately began activating the technique.
Heart fire, lung metal, spleen earth, liver wood, kidney water—
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, sinews, bones, flesh, blood, and consciousness—
Lü Yang calmed his mind and breathed. He channeled all the radiant light gathered from his five organs and various parts of his body inward, then guided it to his crown, bursting forth from the top of his head!
Brilliant light blessed Lü Yang, erasing all "flaws" and making his body as clear and lustrous as jade.
This was the Taiyi Yuanjing Yuhua.
Simultaneously, Lü Yang used the Mingdao Jade Slip to record every change of the divine ability. Based on this, he quickly compiled a complete system.
"This method shall be called Martial Dao!"
"Martial Dao prioritizes blood and qi, controlling the five elements within the body, opening the nine orifices, and breaking through the mysteries of creation! A fully mastered martial artist can rival the late-stage Qi Refining realm!"
However, while Martial Dao enhances divine power, it prevents flight.
This was the safeguard Lü Yang had designed: martial artists cannot fly!
Thus, even in the worst-case scenario—if someone within the secret realm attacked him—he could simply take to the air. If he couldn't win, he could at least escape.
After an unknown span of time, Lü Yang finally awoke from his meditation.
In his hand, a book recording the "Martial Dao" had materialized.
The next second, with a thought, the book suddenly emitted golden light. It split into four parts in mid-air before dispersing across the horizon.
"The pieces are in place. Let's see what the future holds."
Lü Yang smiled slightly, then turned and returned to his temporary cave dwelling to begin seclusion once more. He still had many unfinished tasks in his cultivation.
For example, he had already mastered the three divine abilities that constituted the Taiyin Metamorphosis Corpse Dissolution True Method—the Heavenly Demon Blood Transformation Divine Light, the Profound Yin Body-Absorbing Great Technique, and the Taiwei Imperial Edict Treasure Register—making him identical to Yun Miaozhen from that day. Yet he still had no clue how to integrate them.
This wasn't due to ignorance of the method.
In fact, the final step of the Taiyin Metamorphosis Corpse Dissolution True Method was quite simple. The key lay in a single sentence:
"Those who perish through Taiyin, temporarily passing the three gates, have Taiyi guard their corpse, the three souls nourish their bones, the seven spirits serve their flesh, and the embryonic spirit record their qi, thus restoring their physical form and allowing rebirth to ascend."
In short, it required "dying once."
Death, then metamorphosis—failure meant true death, but success allowed one to transform into an immortal embryo, possessing some of the power of a Foundation Establishment True Man.
This step wouldn't be difficult for anyone under normal circumstances. It simply depended on whether the cultivator dared gamble with life and death, and whether they possessed the fortune to succeed.
However, for Lü Yang, it was an insurmountable chasm.
Because if I die, it immediately restarts!
After reopening, everything returned to square one. What use was discussing rebirth after death?
Thinking this, Lü Yang felt both amused and exasperated.
The [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] had always been his greatest asset, granting him the confidence to face any danger and start over.
He never imagined that the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] would become an obstacle to his further progress!
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