Chapter 354 : The Sword Pavilion is Truly Sinister!

Chapter 354: The Sword Pavilion is Truly Sinister!

"If that's the case, then it all makes sense!"

With the cautionary tale of Ancestor Ting You as a precedent, the Ye Clan's 【True Lord of Inherited Heaven and Upright Virtue】 would certainly take extreme precautions against anything that might threaten his Foundation Establishment.

Even those of his direct lineage would be no exception.

‘Daoist Dangmo might have been one of them. Though he had achieved mastery in cultivating【Wall Earth】, he still wasn't accepted by the True Lord and was thus forced to switch to a first-class cultivation method.’

He might not even have realized it himself.

After all, the Sword Pavilion possessed secret arts capable of erasing past lives. If a True Lord personally made a move, subtly tampering with you during reincarnation, you might even end up thanking him!

‘【Sword Dao Fruit Position】. What a massive trap!’

Lü Yang came to a conclusion: ‘As of now, this cultivation method is already extremely refined at the Foundation Establishment level, which is why the Sword Pavilion’s disciples are so powerful during this stage.’

Otherwise, they wouldn't dare claim to be number one in the world in combat arts.

But what about at the True Lord level?

‘At least judging from the previous life of the【True Lord of Inherited Heaven and Upright Virtue】, the Sword Pavilion’s combat power at the True Lord level clearly isn't as high as expected.’

‘This might be because the【Sword Dao Fruit Position】has not yet been established and therefore cannot augment True Lord-level power. So even if Sword Pavilion cultivators are dazzling at Foundation Establishment, they would regress to normal standards upon reaching True Lord level. But once the【Sword Dao Fruit Position】is validated, everything would change.’

At that time, the power of the sword path would undoubtedly soar, possibly even amplifying True Lord-level strength.

‘However, this also means that the True Lords of the Sword Pavilion would absolutely never allow the【Sword Dao Fruit Position】to be monopolized by a single person.’

Just like the Netherworld back in the day.

Reincarnation was far too important to be monopolized by one party. So the only fate for the person who validated it was to be besieged and killed, leaving only the fruit position behind.

‘In other words, no matter who it is, as long as they cultivate the『Profound Discourse of the Sword Sovereign’s Golden Edict』, there are only two possible outcomes. Either become a disposable offering to fill the fruit position, or be incredibly talented and help the True Lords establish the【Sword Dao Fruit Position】—then fall, just like the Lord of the Netherworld did.’

‘. It’s truly sinister!’

Lü Yang was truly astonished by the Sword Pavilion’s tactics, and to make matters worse, they made everything look legitimate on the surface. A first-class cultivation technique! Free upon sign-up!

Did the Jiangbei Demon Sect offer such benefits?

This was what they called righteousness!

As for the cultivation method’s pitfalls, if you couldn’t reach the Golden Core, sometimes you had to blame yourself. Did you have enough talent? Did you put in the effort?

‘You’re practically sold off and still end up counting money for the Sword Pavilion!’

But most people wouldn’t even reach the level to pursue Golden Core in their entire lives, and without reaching that stage, they’d never discover the problem.

‘I can see it only because I have enough talent and effort.’

Without Ancestor Ting You’s help analyzing it, Lü Yang probably wouldn’t have noticed the insidiousness hidden within this so-called first-class cultivation method. He would have thought he got lucky!

‘Good thing my main body didn’t cultivate this method. Sending a clone into the Sword Pavilion was indeed the right decision. Although the『Profound Discourse of the Sword Sovereign’s Golden Edict』is a trap, I never planned for the clone to pursue Golden Core. So cultivating it is fine—as long as my main body avoids it, there’s no real danger.’

Moreover, times have changed.

Back then, no matter how strong a Sword Cultivator was, they were still in Foundation Establishment, easily crushed by a True Lord with a single palm strike. Even reaching perfected Foundation Establishment couldn’t spare them from death.

But now, the True Lords have gone into seclusion!

‘Under such circumstances, the effects of this first-class cultivation method are instead magnified. After all, it does provide immense combat power at the Foundation Establishment stage.’

With that in mind, Lü Yang felt relieved.

‘Though it’s a big trap, this technique is indeed top-tier at the Foundation Establishment level. It has already developed into a complete cultivation system.’

Ordinary cultivators used the three realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core.

Sword Cultivators were the same, except they called it the【Three Realms of the Sword Dao】:【Sword Qi Thunder Sound】,【Clear Sword Heart】, and【Sword Intent Refines Spirit】!

‘Sword Qi, Sword Heart, Sword Intent!’

‘Among them, Sword Intent clearly aimed to rival Golden Core True Lords. However, since the【Sword Dao Fruit Position】hasn’t been validated, Sword Intent also falls short of reaching True Lord level.’

‘At best, it just greatly enhances combat power, like with Daoist Dangmo.’

Daoist Dangmo’s power was the strongest Lü Yang had ever seen among perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even Uncle-Master Chong Guang in his prime was slightly inferior.

‘But Uncle-Master Chong Guang pursued the Dao itself.’

Overemphasizing combat strength is like mistaking the means for the end. No matter how powerful you are at the same realm, if your cultivation falls behind, it’s still nothing but an illusion.

“Hm? What’s this?”

Suddenly, Lü Yang’s eyes flickered as they fell upon a page in the Dao Book:

“A Sword Cultivator’s cultivation technique—the Sword Box Secret Art?”

Everyone knew that Foundation Establishment was a step-by-step process, collecting the Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend energies in order. This was universal cultivation theory.

But Sword Cultivators were completely different.

According to the『Profound Discourse of the Sword Sovereign’s Golden Edict』, once a Sword Cultivator reached Foundation Establishment, the first thing they needed to do was collect various external medicinal ingredients to forge a Sword Box.

The so-called Sword Box was, in essence, a secret treasure. The cultivator carried it at all times and, through duels with others, gathered the qi of slaughter and weapon clash within the box, refining it over time. Eventually, this would form a【Sword Divine Power】. Once merged, the cultivator could immediately break through to the next realm!

A look of amazement spread across Lü Yang’s face: ‘Incredible!’

‘This isn’t a breakthrough technique—it’s clearly an attempt to replace the uniqueness of the Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend energies, and it’s probably part of the【Kong Zheng】process!’

After all, if the【Sword Dao Fruit Position】were truly validated, it would certainly exist outside the natural order.

In that case, how could it possibly still rely on “Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend” for breakthroughs? This was already evident from the Netherworld and No-Such-Heaven systems.

However, this method had significant drawbacks.

‘Battling others to determine victory or death—how could that be without risks? You either kill or get killed. It doesn't suit my style at all.’

But as the saying goes, every perilous checkpoint has a shortcut.

There was another secret technique recorded in the『Profound Discourse of the Sword Sovereign’s Golden Edict』—using the Sword Box to convert inherited divine powers from past lives.

After all, innate divine powers were once proven and always proven. When the Dao Foundation of a past life was transformed, the remaining divine powers became incompatible and also needed conversion.

‘As long as I send the inherited divine powers from a past life into the Sword Box, aided by external medicine, I can still condense a Sword Divine Power without life-and-death duels.’

‘This method suits me!’

Of course, Lü Yang would never use the divine powers of his immortal main body for conversion.

What he wanted to convert were the two Taixu Divine Powers:【Essence of All Fragrances】and【Sea of Pouring Sorrow】. Since they were obtained by his clone, he wouldn’t feel bad sacrificing them.

Moreover, unlike the Taixu Divine Powers, Sword Divine Powers had status!

‘Innate divine power from the Dao Foundation, two Sword Divine Powers, and combined with the mysterious【Law Holding】technique, I can still have the clone pose as a Great True Person!’

And without any hidden risks!

‘Using Taixu Divine Powers to link with the Myriad Spirits Banner would not only result in backlash, but also be unsustainable. Switching to Sword Divine Powers is actually more beneficial for me!’

Jiangnan, Hidden Sword Manor.

Lü Yang’s main body opened his eyes. His Dharma body then stepped out, stretching under the sunlight, while beginning to lay out his next plan.

‘The clone has already gotten on track.’

‘But the clone is only eight years old this year. Whether it’s forging the Sword Box, converting Sword Divine Powers, or re-entering Foundation Establishment, it’ll all take time—no need to rush.’

“By my calculations, it should be about time.”

Lü Yang calculated with his fingers and soon smiled.

Skeleton Mountain!

Based on past life experience, around this time, Ancestor Ting You—who in this life was still struggling for survival in the Witch Ghost Secret Realm—should be about to escape!

“It’s time to pave the way for my talent!”