At this moment, the entire island fell into silence.

Lü Yang floated in midair, lost in thought, without saying a word, while the others did not even dare to breathe, with some even fainting from fright.

After all, just moments ago, the renowned Ancestor Qing Ting, famous across several surrounding islands, had been lifted by this fearsome demon like one would lift a dead dog.

One must know that Ancestor Qing Ting was a great cultivator of the Nascent Soul Realm, a mid-level figure even in the Immortal Alliance, yet he was utterly powerless before this man.

What realm had he reached?

Spirit Refining? Void Return? Dao Integration?

No one knew, but everyone understood that Lü Yang could decide their life or death with just a single thought.

“.Eh.”

After a long while, Lü Yang let out a deep sigh.

Naturally, the thoughts and intentions of these mortals below could not escape his perception; he had seen through them all.

“Being a good person is truly difficult.”

“I clearly intended to be a good person this time, yet just because of a small mishap, I’ve once again become the great demon who exterminates entire sects at the slightest provocation.”

Thinking of this, Lü Yang glanced once more at the Ancestor Qing Ting in his hand.

“This is all your fault!”

He had originally planned everything carefully—kill a few Qi Refining cultivators to demonstrate his strength, then negotiate with a Foundation Establishment cultivator, giving everyone a chance to save face.

In this way, he could establish his reputation overseas as a benevolent protector, and at the same time preserve the “Golden Core Sect.”

There would surely be considerable benefits afterward.

He had even considered using a bitter ploy to make the “Golden Core Sect” owe him a favor, preparing for future opportunities.

As for the dead Qi Refining cultivators, Lü Yang had never cared about them.

Were Qi Refining cultivators even considered human?

However, who could have expected that a misleading name for a realm would ruin all these plans, turning him back into a great demon in an instant!

‘Should I just kill them all…’

Lü Yang glanced around at the people nearby.

Then, a shiver ran down his spine.

How could he have such a terrifying thought?

Would killing them all really silence the news?

It was utterly meaningless!

‘It must be the fault of the Primordial Saint Sect. Staying too long in such a place corrupts the mind…’

Lü Yang reflected deeply.

He then snapped back to his senses and turned to look at the trembling Lady Xiao behind him.

“From today onward, the Shenxiao Sect will be under my control.”

“Do you have any objections?”

How would Lady Xiao dare to object?

She immediately prostrated herself, her delicate body trembling slightly, creating ripples.

“The Shenxiao Sect will obey senior’s every command.”

Seeing this, Lü Yang gazed deeply at her.

His Dharma Eyes were like torches, as if a blaze of fire surged through Lady Xiao’s entire body, making her fair face flush with two rosy patches.

She felt as if she had no secrets before Lü Yang.

“Senior, your divine might is unparalleled!”

At this moment, a figure suddenly rushed out and knelt before Lü Yang without a second word.

It was none other than Liu Chi, who had just betrayed the Shenxiao Sect.

“This junior possesses a mutated Lightning Spiritual Root, a top-grade talent.”

“Today, I wish to take senior as my master, to serve you faithfully and without hesitation, willing to die if needed!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Chi respectfully kowtowed three times, his head striking the ground loudly.

However, upon seeing this, Lady Xiao suddenly raised her head, her face filled with intense hatred.

“Traitor who betrays master and sect… do you really think you have a chance to live?”

Liu Chi remained silent, continuing to kowtow relentlessly.

Lü Yang, however, looked at him with great interest.

He had to admit that this Liu Chi was somewhat clever, recognizing the situation almost instantly.

With Lü Yang’s strength, escape was impossible.

His only option was to beg for mercy.

Yet his weak cultivation gave him little bargaining power to catch Lü Yang’s attention.

After much consideration, the only things he could offer were his spiritual root talent and loyalty.

As for Lady Xiao, her opinion was irrelevant.

The choice Liu Chi had made was already the best he could possibly make.

“Not bad, you have potential.”

Lü Yang smiled slightly.

The moment he finished speaking, Liu Chi’s eyes filled with overwhelming joy.

But before that joy could fully bloom, his body turned into a puddle of blood.

A lightning-infused root shot out from the blood and landed in Lü Yang’s hand.

Liu Chi’s assessment had not been wrong.

The so-called “mutated Lightning Spiritual Root” was indeed useful to Lü Yang.

However, what was useful was only the root itself.

“You, come with me.”

After giving Lady Xiao this instruction, Lü Yang transformed into a streak of light and flew into the Shenxiao Sect.

Lady Xiao did not dare to be slow and followed closely behind.

Fortunately, Lü Yang was currently using the body of Su Nu, appearing as an extraordinarily beautiful woman.

Otherwise, Lady Xiao would have surely grown suspicious, thinking that Lü Yang was interested in her body.

Of course, Lü Yang indeed had his eyes on Lady Xiao’s body—or more precisely, on the top-grade Water Spiritual Root within her.

It was perfect for in-depth study.

After all, the so-called “Spiritual Root” was a unique product of the Biyang Cultivation World.

If one wished to uncover the truth of this world, one had to start with the Spiritual Roots.

One day later.

As the frightened cultivators gradually left, news about Lü Yang quickly spread, causing great panic among the sects on the surrounding islands.

“He casually captured Ancestor Qing Ting and left him completely unable to resist?”

“He must be a Spirit Refining cultivator!”

“But aren’t all Spirit Refining cultivators supposed to be within the Immortal Alliance? Why is one here with us?”

“Could it be a secret mission of the Immortal Alliance, and Qing Ting violated some taboo?”

All kinds of rumors spread like wildfire.

However, Lü Yang, who was now in the Shenxiao Sect, paid no attention to these rumors.

Instead, he directly ordered Lady Xiao to bring him all the scriptures and manuals in the Shenxiao Sect.

Most of them turned out to be worthless.

Only one Dao Manual piqued Lü Yang’s interest.

It was the Shenxiao Sect’s sect-guarding cultivation method, titled 『Ren Gui Fusion Shenxiao True Method』.

“So that’s how it is…”

Lü Yang frowned as he finished reading the entire manual.

Along the way, he summoned Lady Xiao into his secluded chamber and directly performed a soul-search, thoroughly extracting information.

After all, she was an ancestor of a sect, and through her, Lü Yang finally gained a complete understanding of the Biyang Cultivation World.

“In this Cultivation World, only those who possess a Spiritual Root can cultivate immortality!”

“However, Spiritual Roots are not innate from birth.”

“Instead, they descend from the heavens and merge into a baby’s body after birth, based on the baby’s destiny and fortune.”

“Because of this, there have long been conspiracy theories suggesting that Spiritual Roots are a means for the Immortal Alliance to control the number of cultivators.”

“As for these true yet baseless rumors, the Immortal Alliance officially denies them while simultaneously cracking down on those who spread them.”

Only with a Spiritual Root could one embark on the path of cultivation.

As for the cultivation path itself, it involved the continuous absorption and refinement of the world’s spiritual energy through the Spiritual Root, purifying one’s True Qi.

This path was roughly divided into seven realms.

“Ancestor Qing Ting claimed to be at the Nascent Soul Realm.”

“But in reality, this term ‘Nascent Soul’ is merely an informal title and is not officially recognized by the Immortal Alliance.”

“According to the Immortal Alliance’s official classification, the seven realms are Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Refining, Void Return, and Dao Integration.”

This made much more sense.

Previously, Lü Yang had thought that Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation were overseas terms.

But now it seemed these were names deliberately altered to avoid invoking fear from higher beings.

After all, a true Golden Core Lord could perceive all of heaven and earth.

If one day such a being noticed that cultivators in Biyang Cultivation World dared to call themselves Golden Core, what if he got upset and slaughtered the entire realm?

What level did they think they were, daring to bear the same title?

The more Lü Yang delved into the system of Biyang Cultivation World, the more he felt something was amiss.

“The cultivation methods here never seem to elevate one’s status or essence.”

Above Nascent Soul was Spirit Refining.

Originally, Lü Yang had assumed that Spirit Refining was comparable to Foundation Establishment, which made him somewhat wary.

However, the Shenxiao Sect had previously produced a Spirit Refining expert.

『Ren Gui Fusion Shenxiao True Method』 also described Spirit Refining and even Void Return cultivators.

After reviewing these descriptions, Lü Yang realized that whether it was Spirit Refining or Void Return, both were essentially about further purifying True Qi, rather than elevating one’s essence.

In other words, there was no qualitative change.

In the Biyang Cultivation World, even the strongest Dao Integration cultivator was still equivalent to a Qi Refining cultivator at the peak of their realm!

With such a low essence, Lü Yang could wipe them all out with a single breath!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep