Chapter 103: First Hearing of the Dao-Seizing Battle

“Gather!”

Inside the cave dwelling, as the Master of Mending Heaven Peak uttered a Dao incantation, his mana surged wildly.

The nearly dissipated soul of “Chen Xin’an” finally regained stability.

“Am I still alive? Father?”

Seeing Chen Xin’an gradually regain consciousness, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak wore a gentle smile and said, “I knew my son wasn't an ordinary person.”

Apparently, while helping Chen Xin’an reassemble his soul, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak had already deduced the cause and effect.

After Liu Xin lost the protection of the divine talisman, past events naturally couldn't be concealed.

The banner spirit Chen Xin’an had adopted the karma of the original body and carried the divine talisman, perfectly obscuring the heavenly secrets.

After all this, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak didn't detect anything amiss.

In his calculations, the sequence of events was that Chen Xin’an was schemed against by an Innate Daoist, became a banner spirit controlled by Liu Xin, but managed to outwit and kill him.

“In any case, it's good that you're alright.”

The Master of Mending Heaven Peak sighed.

Although the banner spirit Chen Xin’an outwardly displayed a touched expression, inwardly, he felt no emotional stir.

‘Sorry, Father.’

‘I already belong to the Master.’

The Master of Mending Heaven Peak held Chen Xin’an's soul and took a step back to the peak of Mending Heaven Peak.

Then he molded earth into a human form and carefully placed the soul into it.

“Don't worry, this is only temporary. This time, you were schemed against by that Innate Daoist, leading to this incident. With me here, as long as you recuperate for a decade or so, you can restore your peak cultivation. I can also remold your physical body. In time, you'll still have the chance to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm!”

The Master of Mending Heaven Peak patiently said.

Apparently, he mistook Chen Xin’an's silence for despondency after a setback, prompting him to offer comfort.

At first glance, his fatherly affection was evident.

Chen Xin’an responded casually, but his mind recalled Lü Yang's mission.

“Father, in my current state, can I really aim for Foundation Establishment?”

Chen Xin’an looked up, his face showing just the right amount of dejection.

“Of course you can!”

The Master of Mending Heaven Peak smiled slightly and said, “I have a rare treasure for Foundation Establishment called Creation Jade Mud. I plan to use it to remold your physical body.”

“With this, you have a ten percent chance of achieving Innate Foundation Establishment.”

“Next, as long as you cultivate the Thought-Severing Heaven-Seeing Silkworm Secret Art, combined with the third-grade true qi from the Mending Heaven True Scripture, you'll have a thirty percent chance of successfully establishing your foundation.”

These are all ordinary methods.

Chen Xin’an, having been repeatedly refined by Lü Yang, was now utterly loyal to him.

At this moment, he only thought about whether he could help the Master gather precious resources within the Saint Sect.

“Thirty percent... isn't that too low?”

Chen Xin’an sighed, “Father, I don't want to gamble on a thirty percent chance. If possible, I'd like to have a higher success rate before attempting Foundation Establishment.”

“Oh?”

The Master of Mending Heaven Peak was taken aback, then showed a gratified expression and nodded, “Good, with such determination, how could I blame you? Speaking of other ways to increase the success rate, there are indeed some. I recall that a True Lord recently emerged from seclusion and issued an order to restart the righteous and demonic war.”

“The righteous and demonic war?”

Chen Xin’an was stunned.

Inside him, Lü Yang's divine consciousness also overheard this conversation and was equally curious.

How is the righteous and demonic war related to breaking through to Foundation Establishment?

Seeing Chen Xin’an's puzzled look, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak immediately smiled and said:

“It's normal that you don't know about this. After all, you grew up in the Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds and are my son, so you haven't been exposed to such matters.”

“Do you think we fight fiercely with Jiangnan for what reason?”

Chen Xin’an instinctively said, “Because righteousness and evil cannot coexist.”

“That's nonsense!”

The Master of Mending Heaven Peak shook his head, “Both Jiangnan and Jiangbei follow the 'Path of Refining Form and Ascending,' differing only in style. Righteousness and evil are just labels.”

“Would you risk life and death over a label?”

At this point, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak pointed upward, “The so-called righteous and demonic war is essentially a power struggle among the True Lords, vying for their respective Dao lineages!”

“If our Saint Sect wins and advances a step into Jiangnan, the positions of the True Lords can extend into Jiangnan, and their cultivation will strengthen. If the Sword Pavilion wins and invades Jiangbei, the positions of our True Lords will weaken. Rather than calling it a righteous and demonic war, it's more of a Dao-seizing battle!”

“For this reason, most of the True Person in our Saint Sect are stationed throughout Jiangnan.”

“This includes disciples in the Qi Refining Realm. The Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds is merely a place to train new disciples. The battlefield of the Dao-seizing battle is the true breeding ground!”

“Most of our Saint Sect's True Person also emerged from there.”

“Because the outcome of the Dao-seizing battle affects the positions of the True Lords, which is beneficial not only to them but also to us who rely on them.”

“Among these benefits are opportunities that help increase the chances of Foundation Establishment.”

“For example, that youngster from Yinshin suppressed many cultivators in the Dao-seizing battle over a decade ago, helping a True Lord seize the Jiangnan Mass Grave, and thus broke through.”

However, in the end, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak shook his head again, “That said, the battlefield is still too dangerous, almost a nine-death situation. With me here, there's no need for you to take such risks. At worst, I can find a way to ask the True Lords for a Foundation Establishment Pill for you.”

At this point, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak patted Chen Xin’an's shoulder.

“In short, what you need to do now is rest well and recover quickly. I look forward to the day you establish your foundation and inherit my mantle.”

As he finished speaking, the Master of Mending Heaven Peak smiled slightly.

His smile was kind and warm, like an old farmer eagerly awaiting the day the seeds sprout, bloom, and finally bear fruit.

Mending Heaven Peak, inside a cave dwelling.

Lü Yang reflected on the intelligence he had just eavesdropped through Chen Xin’an, his face showing contemplation: “The righteous and demonic Dao-seizing battle, the struggle for Dao lineages, opportunities for Foundation Establishment.”

This information resolved a long-standing doubt he had.

He always felt that the Saint Sect had too few disciples.

Take Mending Heaven Peak, for example.

Most were early and mid-stage Qi Refining disciples.

Late-stage Qi Refining disciples were rare, and those at the peak of Qi Refining were even rarer.

This was clearly unreasonable.

After all, the success rate of breaking through to Foundation Establishment is so low that a large number of peak Qi Refining disciples are needed to have a chance of cultivating enough Foundation Establishment True Person.

So, theoretically, late-stage and peak Qi Refining cultivators shouldn't be so scarce.

However, in reality, this wasn't the case.

Now it seems that it's not that the Saint Sect lacks such disciples, but because they're not in the Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds—they're on the front lines of the righteous and demonic war!

“So, the Sky-reaching Sea of Clouds is actually the rear area.”

“Those at the peak of Qi Refining still here are basically like Luo Wuya and Chen Xin’an, who have True Person as their backing and don't need to risk their lives on the battlefield.”

The more Lü Yang thought about it, the brighter his eyes became.

“In the righteous and demonic war, True Lords must personally oversee the battle. They wouldn't allow Foundation Establishment True Person to bully Qi Refining cultivators!”

“In other words, the Fulong Arhat wouldn't dare to come.”

“If I can break through on the righteous and demonic battlefield, it would be the most secure!”

After all, compared to the Fulong Arhat, the Qi Refining cultivators on the righteous and demonic battlefield are insignificant.

If I can't defeat Foundation Establishment cultivators, can't I defeat you?

“Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix!”

Looking back, who have I faced?

The reincarnated Foundation Establishment Master of the Ghost Ancestor; the Master of Mending Heaven Peak, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with injuries; the Fulong Arhat, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator at full strength—each more outrageous than the last!

“I've become overconfident, truly overconfident!”

At this thought, Lü Yang deeply reflected:

“Actually, from the beginning, I wasn't someone good at magical duels. Challenging higher levels with superior cultivation is what I'm best at.”

Lü Yang's eyes were firm, deciding to follow his true nature.

I want to return to the novice village and show off!