“This 『Taiyin Body-Shedding Corpse Liberation True Method』 is kind of difficult.”

After a night of closed-door cultivation, Lü Yang looked at the mystical scroll before him and furrowed his brows. “Great divine ability — only those with great power can practice it. It is the pinnacle of all mystical arts.”

The so-called “Great Divine Ability” was not a rank of divine abilities, but rather a method of combining them.

Simply put, by merging several top-tier, compatible mystical arts together to unleash dozens of times their usual power — that was called a Great Divine Ability.

『Taiyin Body-Shedding Corpse Liberation True Method』 was such a technique. To master this Great Divine Ability, one must first learn three top-tier arts: Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light, Profound Yin Form-Capturing Grand Art, and Taiwei Pardon Talisman.

Each of these three mystical arts was extremely difficult to master, and without heaven-sent opportunities, success was impossible.

This was a common trait among all Great Divine Abilities.

It wasn’t something that could be learned just by wanting to. One needed perception, luck, and merit — lacking even one would lead to failure.

Take the first art, the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light, for example.

That alone had stumped countless cultivators, as the process of skin-stripping cultivation was equivalent to severing one’s path to immortality.

Even if completed, it held no meaning.

As for the second, the Profound Yin Form-Capturing Grand Art, it didn’t have such severe drawbacks.

The difficulty lay in the required item: a “Mysterious Female Taiyin Treasure Jade.”

Without this rare treasure, no matter how high your cultivation or how keen your perception, you couldn’t master the art.

And this “Mysterious Female Taiyin Treasure Jade” was extremely rare.

How rare? One phrase summed it up — it didn’t even appear on the exchange list of the Saint Sect. You couldn’t buy it even with Contribution Points.

Considering how vast and resource-rich the Saint Sect was, yet still lacked such a treasure, it was clear how rare it was.

Thus, mastering this mystical art depended entirely on fate. Without that luck, even scouring the entire world would be fruitless.

Because of this, Lü Yang gave it up after just a glance and instead turned his focus to the third art — the Taiwei Pardon Talisman.

However, what frustrated him was that although this mystical art didn’t require rare items or have severe side effects, it was just too difficult.

Lü Yang studied it the entire night, yet gained very little.

“It’s kind of like an array, and also like a talisman, yet it’s classified as a mystical art. Whether it can be learned depends entirely on comprehension. If you can’t learn it, you simply can’t.”

Thinking this, Lü Yang scratched his head again, unwilling to concede.

“Even arrays, as hard as they are, I’ve fought through them. How long can a single divine art block my way? At worst, I’ll spend another twenty years — I’ll learn you eventually!”

The reason why 『Taiyin Body-Shedding Corpse Liberation True Method』 held Lü Yang so tightly was because it was simply too tempting — he couldn’t bear to give it up.

The power of the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light went without saying.

The Profound Yin Form-Capturing Grand Art was equally domineering — once a person’s qi mechanism was captured and condensed into a “Soul Shadow,” killing that shadow would instantly kill the person, even from thousands of miles away.

And the Taiwei Pardon Talisman was even more outrageous.

Once mastered, it didn’t target the body or soul, but directly broke merit and luck. Even a Heaven’s Chosen would become unlucky if struck by it.

But of course, the most powerful effect lay in the union of all three arts.

This was also the most tempting part of 『Taiyin Body-Shedding Corpse Liberation True Method』 — it could increase the chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm!

That alone made Lü Yang determined to obtain it at any cost.

Time flew like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

Inside Blood Garment Tower, Lü Yang leaned on the railing, gazing at the sky, silently operating the 『Nine Transformations Dragon Art』. With each breath, he inhaled and exhaled clouds and mist, conjuring all kinds of illusory visions.

The eighth transformation — Mirage Transformation!

Although the spirit veins in Skeleton Mountain were poor, Lü Yang was wealthy and had stockpiled large amounts of spirit stones in advance. Thus, his cultivation remained unhindered.

After five years of bitter cultivation, even though his progress in the Taiwei Pardon Talisman remained stagnant, he suddenly experienced a stroke of insight while studying divine arts. His true qi broke through on its own, and by the time he regained his senses, the qi seed in his dantian had transformed again, vaguely taking the shape of a dragon.

Qi Refining, Eighth Layer!

“Though going from seventh to eighth layer isn’t as drastic as from sixth to seventh, the true qi and power have nearly doubled.”

“In the end, realm is the foundation!”

“So what if I haven’t learned a Great Divine Ability? With my current strength, even a mid-stage Qi Refining core disciple, I can defeat across realms!”

“Not to mention, there’s still the ninth transformation.”

Lü Yang’s heart burned with passion.

The ninth transformation — Flying Fish Transformation — would break his bottleneck.

In other words, once he reached the ninth layer, he could immediately attempt full perfection!

“The Immortal Path is in sight. This calls for celebration!”

Thinking this, Lü Yang felt cheerful.

The shadow of failure in mastering the Taiwei Pardon Talisman was swept away, and he joyfully walked out of his secluded chamber.

But before that, Lü Yang first performed the Qi Concealment Technique.

In the next second, his newly elevated and surging aura was fully concealed, returning to that of a Qi Refining Seventh Layer — just slightly stronger than five years ago.

“Always keep three parts for attacking, seven parts as a trump card. One can never have too many aces.”

Not long after, the disciples under the Blood Garment Tower of the Saint Sect rushed in. Upon seeing Lü Yang, they saluted without hesitation.

“Congratulations to Tower Master on emerging from seclusion!”

“Rise.” Lü Yang waved casually and asked, “In the five years I’ve been in seclusion, has there been any trouble near Skeleton Mountain?”

“Reporting to Tower Master, there has been none.”

An elderly Saint Sect disciple took the initiative to respond, “Only once — a disciple from the Divine Martial Sect of Northern Frontier came to provoke, but was sent away by Fairy Feixia.”

“What about the Mysterious Female Taiyin Treasure Jade? Any news?”

“None yet.”

After learning of the events over the past five years, Lü Yang dismissed the others, planning to enter seclusion again until the opportunity for Foundation Establishment emerged during the righteous-demonic war.

But just then, a streak of multicolored light descended beside the Blood Garment Tower.

“Junior Brother Lü, may I have a word?”

Upon hearing this, Lü Yang swept his divine sense over and quickly rose to greet her with a smile. “Troubling Senior Sister to come in person — I should’ve been the one to visit.”

“Junior Brother, something has happened.”

Fairy Feixia looked serious and solemn. “Recently, the Terrain Observation Device detected that the corpse tide, originally set to erupt in fifteen years, has advanced.”

“At this moment, tens of thousands of zombies are heading toward the market!”

“This sudden anomaly came with no signs beforehand. There must be someone behind the scenes. I suspect it may be those brutes from the Divine Martial Sect in the Northern Frontier.”

“What?”

Lü Yang frowned at her words. When he noticed her staring intently at him, he frowned deeper. “Senior Sister needs my assistance?”

“Indeed. Junior Brother, would you dare to challenge the corpse tide with me?”

Fairy Feixia smiled. “The corpse tide is a crisis, but also an opportunity. Whoever triggered it early must be relying on some rare treasure.”

“If we join forces, we might seize it and create our own fortune.”

“Even if something unexpected happens and we are caught within the tide, with our cultivation levels, the risk is minimal!”

As she spoke, Fairy Feixia’s brows danced, her aura radiant, exuding bold confidence.

However, Lü Yang shook his head.

“Apologies, Senior Sister… I’m not like you. My strength is low, and I haven’t learned any divine arts — only some basic formations. It’s best I stay behind and hold the fort.”

Even if the risk was small, it was still a risk.

A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. He was currently on a steady path to breakthrough. Why take unnecessary risks?

It wasn’t worth it.

His foremost goal this lifetime was to reach the peak of Qi Refining. He could afford to take risks after that — for now, caution was the key.

“You’re not going?”

Seeing Lü Yang’s refusal, Fairy Feixia frowned slightly. Her usually cold expression softened into something almost pitiable. “The Immortal Path is short and bitter. To succeed, one must cut off all retreats. I thought you understood this.”

Lü Yang remained unmoved, his Dao heart like iron. “This is not the past. I ask for Senior Sister’s understanding.”

“You’ve changed.”

Fairy Feixia shook her head in disappointment. “In that case, stay and guard the market. But the opportunity, when it comes, won’t be yours.”

“.”

Lü Yang only smiled at her words and said nothing.

To be honest, he felt that Fairy Feixia didn’t quite act like a Saint Sect disciple. How should he put it — she seemed like someone who had never been beaten by the Saint Sect before.

With the corpse tide approaching, even if she got some great opportunity, wouldn’t she still have to flee back to the market he was guarding?

At that time, saying the opportunity wasn’t his?

Then don’t blame him for saying: you all died bravely on the front line fighting the corpse tide.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep