A round of push and pull had solidified Lu Yun’s determination to choose Argent Snow, resulting in a mission to retrieve its legacy and cultivation methods for the Star Sect.
He wasn’t opposed to this as he was now as a sect disciple. When he’d overseen the Dao Academy in the world of immortals, he’d often used similar methods to reward his disciples. A sect could nurture disciples and give them resources that most suited them if they possessed the appropriate potential. At the same time, however, disciples must work for the benefit of the sect.
Only then did a positive feedback cycle form.
But from this, Lu Yun could tell that Ah Zhi had kept his background and many other things about him from Xing Chen. All the world sovereign knew was that he’d shaken off his destiny and forged his own path.
The young man smiled and put Argent Snow away, then left the treasury.
He returned to closed door cultivation in his nameless abode. This time, he focused on training with his soul weapon instead of the legacies of the original Hongmeng and Dragonquake Scripture.
“Though the Three Thousand Soul Daos are the most basic soul force cultivation method in the fourth realm, it’s a jack of all trades.”
All sects and factions had their own ways for cultivating soul force; the strongest eight schools of thought were derived from the eight soul weapons. Only when practicing the proper soul force method could one wield the corresponding soul weapon.
Of course, there were always exceptions. The Three Thousand Soul Daos applied to all schools of thought. Those who practiced it could later specialize in any soul weapon, so many sects and factions used it as their fundamental soul force method.
There were three major soul weapon legacies in the Star Sect—the Profound Method, Serene Method, and Lunar Method.
Argent Snow wasn’t a Star Sect weapon, but if Lu Yun could obtain its method, the sect’s strength would take a momentous step forward.
“There are three major domains in Argent Snow—Domain of First Snowfall, of Glorious Snowdrift, and of Eventide Snow. But these three domains are just surface-level knowledge. The truly powerful requires the soul weapon’s method to unlock.”
Leveraging the Three Thousand Soul Daos, Lu Yun easily accessed the three major domains. This was a depth that had eluded even the sect master of the sect that Xing Chen had destroyed.
Despite that, he wasn’t satisfied with this level of strength.
“Xing Chen purposefully suggested I visit Ingress Sword Island because she knows I’m connected to them. I think I should visit the sect she destroyed first… The Sword Clan established it.” Lu Yun rose to his feet and walked out of the residence.
“Junior brother Feifan!” Xing Wuliang greeted him as soon as he emerged. He brimmed with joy and there was a short silver staff in his hand—another soul weapon.
Apart from the Profound Pagoda in the shape of a pagoda, all of the other soul weapons appeared as a one meter long staff.
“Congratulations to senior brother on truly reaching grandmaster and obtaining a soul weapon!” Lu Yun laughed heartily.
“It’s all thanks to the venerable Alchemist Sovereign. He used a marvelous formation to raise my mentality to the proper level.” A merry Xing Wuliang bounded up to Lu Yun and winked at him. “You’re quite something, junior brother, to refine even a Principal Seventh Rank Lotus into a pill. But you can’t tell others about this, or you’ll attract fatal attention.”
Lu Yun started.
“If you can refine the Principal Seventh Rank Lotus, that means you can refine other taboo spirit roots. Any sequence expert will covet your skill, so the venerable Alchemist Sovereign will be making sure that no word gets out about this. He wanted me to pass the message along because we are on good terms,” Xing Wuliang conveyed mysteriously.
Lu Yun blinked, then nodded. Formula dao was not yet popularized in the fourth realm, but it could still theorize all things. That was indeed worthy of attention from sequence experts.
“Ah, also, don’t go wandering around outside either. Xing Lingkong of Jade Mountain wants to beat you up to salvage senior sister Xing Lan’s dignity,” Xing Wuliang continued.
“Just… just because I didn’t invite her in? He wants to beat me up because of that??” Lu Yun didn’t really understand how this Xing Lingkong’s brain worked. It’d be bad if he had invited Xing Lan in, no?
“Then why isn’t he here yet?” Lu Yun asked.
“He doesn’t know where you are, haha! I wouldn’t have found your residence either if I didn’t ask master,” Xing Wuliang chuckled wryly. Who would make this place off the beaten path their residence? If it wasn’t for the fact that fourth realm denizens didn’t make use of qi, this area would be labeled as completely barren.
“…he wants to beat me up on Xing Lan’s behalf, but she didn’t tell me where I am?” Lu Yun was taken aback.
“No… In fact, she hung him up and gave him a beating. Xing Lingkong seems to hate you even more after that.”
Lu Yun: ……
“My soul force has reached grandmaster level and I want to seek out some trials. Do you want to come with me?” Lu Yun couldn’t be bothered with such ridiculous trivialities. The fourth realm was still extremely foreign to him, so he needed a guide if he wanted to stretch his legs. Xing Wuliang had been journeying through the realm and tempering himself, so it would be quite advantageous to bring him along.
“That’s perfect!” The man brightened. “We can avoid Xing Lingkong that way.”
Lu Yun’s expression darkened slightly. “Do you think it’s that inevitable he’ll beat me up?”
“He was the foremost disciple of the entire sect in his time. If it wasn’t for senior sister Xing Lan’s sudden appearance, he’d be the one beating up everyone,” explained Xing Wuliang. “He didn’t fight back when she hung him up either, probably because he knew the truth about her a long time ago. He purposefully gave up the position of head disciple.”
“I see.” Lu Yun nodded. “Let’s head out, then. Sovereign Chen obtained Argent Snow from a sect she destroyed back in the day, do you know which one?”
“What are you asking about that for? Did you choose Argent Snow??” Xing Wuliang’s eyes widened.
“Yep, that’s the one.” Lu Yun waved the silver staff in his hand.
“The Snowsword School!” came the immediate reply. “It’s not a supplemental dao sect, but a sword sect created by the Sword Clan.
“I don’t know why Sovereign Chen destroyed it, but I recommend you give up on the idea of finding Argent Snow’s legacy in its ruins. It’s become a den of ghosts and the Star Sect’s lost ten Nihil World Sovereigns there already. That’s why we forewent the idea of finding the weapon’s inheritance.” Xing Wuliang shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. It’s infinitely more dangerous than the Tomb of the Hallowed Emperor.”
“Oh?” Lu Yun paused in contemplation. Xing Chen had indeed not directed him to the ruins of the Snowsword School, instead wanting him to go to Ingress Sword Island or even the Sword Clan. She didn’t tell me the faction’s name because she didn’t want me to take the risk, but why has it turned into a den of ghosts?
Does it have something to do with why Xing Chen destroyed the faction?
If there was anything he wasn’t afraid of, it was ghosts.
“You’re not really going to the Snowsword Sect, are you?” Xing Wuliang asked carefully as he studied Lu Yun’s expression.
“We’re going!” Lu Yun nodded. “Since I train with Argent Snow, I need to find its legacy.”
He wasn’t planning on going to Ingress Sword Island just yet. He didn’t know its true state of affairs—whether it’d been corrupted or deviated from its original purpose. He’d already sent them Immortal’s End. If they harbored ulterior motives, then not only him, but also Daoist Ingress would be in danger.
It might even drag in the world of immortals.
“If you’re not planning on traveling with me, you can tell me what you know about the sect,” Lu Yun said.
“Fine then, it doesn’t look like I can talk you out of it,” Xing Wuliang responded with resignation. “I’ll go with you. My master once visited that den of ghosts and was lucky enough to survive. I’ve read his notes, so I should be of some help.”
“That’s perfect, let us be on our way!” Lu Yun smiled and happily accepted his offer. If there were only ghosts in the sect ruins, they would still come under the Tome of Life and Death’s sway.
Now that Lu Yun’s soul force was grandmaster level, his usage of the book had entered an entirely new level. He also didn’t need to hold anything back like he had in the Tomb of the Hallowed Emperor. If he met with an overwhelming enemy, all he needed to do was to immediately utilize the six hellfires.
“Where do you think you’re going, junior brothers?” A figure appeared in front of Lu Yun.
