Chapter 66: Digging a Pit

At the Haoran Academy, just after Lü Yang had left, Ji Xiongying arrived quietly.

“Bookworm, have you met that immortal?”

As soon as he entered the door, Ji Xiongying was slightly startled in his heart—he had not expected Wang Boyuan, who had been high-spirited just a few months ago, to now look so disheveled.

“What happened to you?”

“Nothing.” Wang Boyuan took another swig of wine and said with a smile, “If you're talking about the one who fought you, then yes, I’ve seen him.”

“He seemed quite interested in my ‘Fate Observation Technique,’ what an honor.”

“Cut the nonsense!” Ji Xiongying sneered coldly and threw the ancient text he had obtained through a ‘fortunate encounter’ in front of Wang Boyuan. “He can help us fulfill our grand ambition!”

“There are immortals in this world—ageless and undying. Kill them and eat their flesh, and one can attain immortality!”

Ji Xiongying shouted, “Weren’t you determined to bring everlasting peace to the world? As long as we kill that immortal and share his flesh, we can live eternally and create an eternal world of peace!”

“An eternal world of peace…”

Wang Boyuan murmured softly, but did not show the excitement Ji Xiongying had imagined. He simply shook his head, then said calmly, “Then let’s give it a try.”

“Good! It’s a deal!”

Ji Xiongying noticed something off about Wang Boyuan’s attitude, as if he was hiding something, but he couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it—so long as Wang Boyuan was willing to act.

Meanwhile, in the capital city of Tianjing.

At this moment, Lü Yang had already regained his composure, because he had suddenly realized something: if it truly was a Foundation Establishment True Person, there would be no need for such trouble.

Because this was different from the incident at Skeleton Mountain.

At Skeleton Mountain, the hidden True Person Yinshin hadn’t intended to kill him, only using him as bait, but this time was different.

This time, it was clear someone truly wanted him dead!

The reason they hadn’t acted yet was probably because his true body was still hidden within layers of formation arrays, and they had only sent an external incarnation to scout.

This indicated that the mastermind's cultivation was definitely not at the Foundation Establishment Realm, because if they were, they wouldn’t need to be cautious—just one palm strike would be enough to kill him.

From this angle, though the opponent could manipulate karma, their strength was probably only at the peak of Qi Refining.

‘A bit strange…’

Able to manipulate karma, but not at Foundation Establishment?

It’s important to note that calculating karma and manipulating karma may only differ by one word, but they are worlds apart—it’s the dividing line between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment.

Calculating karma merely allows some foreknowledge.

But manipulating karma can truly cause events to unfold according to one’s will—normally, only Foundation Establishment True Persons can do this.

Therefore, ‘able to manipulate karma but not at Foundation Establishment’ should be impossible.

Unless…

“Foundation Establishment… reincarnated?”

Lü Yang frowned. After eliminating all other impossible speculations, the only answer surfaced: “There’s a reincarnated Foundation Establishment expert in the secret realm!?”

That’s it—the tribulation of the Saint Thief!

Thinking of this, Lü Yang felt it was ridiculous.

What was this? The tribulation of his perfected Saint Thief technique turned out to be a reincarnated Foundation Establishment cultivator causing trouble?

No way!

By the heavens, he had always been kind and amiable—how could he have provoked a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

‘…Ah.’

The next second, Lü Yang’s eyes suddenly widened.

‘Yun Miaozhen, Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion?’

In this life, there were only two Foundation Establishment cultivators who might bear a grudge against him.

One was the master of Mending Heaven Peak, but he was in the prime of life and nowhere near needing reincarnation.

The other was the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion.

Given the scale of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, it would be perfectly normal for a reincarnated Foundation Establishment to exist there—and since there was already enmity, could this be what drew in the tribulation of the Saint Thief?

Surely it couldn’t be that ridiculous?

At this thought, Lü Yang broke into a cold sweat, nearly so startled he was about to exit the secret realm on the spot and report to True Person Yinshin that there was a villain inside...

But in the end, he resisted the urge to leave the secret realm—because he suddenly remembered the final step of the 『Taiyin Body-Shedding Corpse Liberation True Method』he had previously deduced and prepared to cultivate required a reincarnated Foundation Establishment soul for completion.

On the other hand, he hadn’t perfected the Saint Thief technique yet either.

If he reported now and True Person Yinshin cleared the field, he’d end up with nothing—never mind the Foundation Establishment soul, the Saint Thief would surely be a failure.

‘Though it is a tribulation, it’s also an opportunity!’

As the saying goes, misfortune and fortune often go hand in hand!

Every cause has its effect, and every debt has its payback—if he could survive this tribulation on his own strength, then the tribulation would transform into a monumental opportunity!

Besides, he did have a chance at victory.

Before, the enemy was in the dark and he was in the light, knowing nothing about them—of course, that was a sure-death scenario… But now that he knew the truth, it was a different story!

He could use the situation to his advantage!

‘Since that reincarnated Foundation Establishment expert is scheming against me in secret, this so-called Martial Path of Heaven and Man must’ve also been his creation. I knew there was something off…’

‘…He wants to lure me out!’

‘And since I’ve only sent out an incarnation, he’s clearly unsatisfied—so that’s why Ji Xiongying suddenly showed up to fight me.’

‘If nothing goes wrong, he must have a backup plan—he likely wants to destroy this incarnation to lure me out of seclusion, out of the formation’s protection. But Ji Xiongying is no match for my incarnation, so to kill me… they’ll have to join forces with other Heaven and Man!’

It all made sense now! Completely clear!

Lü Yang’s face remained calm, but in his heart he had already pieced together most of the Yun Clan ancestor’s plot, and his understanding of karma had also deepened.

‘This is Foundation Establishment.’

Foundation Establishment cultivators rarely fight to the death, so they usually strike through karma—whoever can read the opponent’s karma first gains overwhelming advantage!

‘He wants to kill me? Then I’ll let him try!’

After pondering for a long time, Lü Yang quickly came up with a countermeasure—because in fact, he was also planning to battle the Martial Path Heaven and Man, to steer Martial Path back onto the right track.

But not by creating a fifth step.

Here, the Yun Clan ancestor was quite accurate—given Lü Yang’s current cultivation and insight, even with the guidance of the Bright Dao Jade Slip, it was impossible for him to forge a new realm.

However, to break the deadlock, he didn’t actually need to create a new realm.

As long as people ‘believed’ he had created one, that was enough.

After all, the essence of 『Saint Thief』was theft.

And to deceive the world and steal one’s reputation—no true substance was required.

‘First, I need a new identity.’

Since he wanted everyone to believe he had created a new realm, he had to make it convincing—and for that, a high-prestige origin was essential.

‘My true name… mm, I’ll go with Shakra (Emperor Shitian).’

‘I’ve lived for over a thousand years and am the only immortal in this world, having long reached the ultimate limit of this world, now seeking a way to break through.’

‘And the reason I communicate and battle with the Martial Path Heaven and Man is because I believe that when one’s cultivation reaches the peak of the world, the only way to advance further is to fight and kill one another—pushing each other to extremes in life and death, thereby breaking the shackles of heaven and earth!’

‘I call this realm—Shattering the Void!’

‘After shattering the void, one can ascend and drift away—thus, no one knows what really happens, nor can anyone describe the mysteries of this realm.’

‘Because everyone who reaches this realm never comes back—no firsthand accounts.’

The unknown breeds fear—and also hope.

‘I don’t even need to describe this realm in detail, I just need to stage a grand battle and demonstrate it in public. The rest, they’ll fill in themselves.’

This was a massive pitfall!

The Martial Path’s fourth step had already reached a dead end—Foundation Establishment was impossible—but human ambition is boundless, and the Martial Path of Heaven and Man needed something to chase.

And this goal—Lü Yang would give it to them!

As long as he, in front of everyone, performed a sufficiently spectacular act—making the so-called ‘Shattering the Void’ feel ethereal yet plausible…

If no one believed it, no matter how real, it would be false.

If someone believed it, no matter how fake, it would be true!