Chapter 106: Do you still want to be released like this?

The Fourth Elder dressed like a typical Confucian cultivator. He wore an immaculate white robe, carried a paper fan, and walked with a steady gait. He was gentle towards others, handled matters meticulously, and treated all disciples equally. He spoke to Lu Yang: "You must stay far away from Old Ninth. It's a good thing he disappeared recently; otherwise, he would have brought you trouble."

"You should cherish the opportunity to learn from Yunzhi. There's no future in learning from Old Ninth."

"As the sages say, a gentleman possesses five virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Old Ninth doesn't embody a single one of them. He's involved in every kind of swindle and trickery; I don't know how many times I've had to bail him out of the Celestial Prison."

"Do you know what your master's ultimate sword technique is?"

Lu Yang replied, "I heard from Senior Sister that it's 'One Sword Transforms into Ten Thousand Swords.' When fully unleashed, a single sword can manifest into ten million swords, overwhelming everything like a dark cloud engulfing a city, sweeping all before it. After slaying the enemies, the ten thousand swords return to one, without a single drop of blood."

At the time, Lu Yang yearned for this, imagining that the elegance and grace of a sword cultivator couldn't be surpassed.

The Fourth Elder nodded. "Yes, 'One Sword Transforms into Ten Thousand Swords.' Old Ninth, possessing a Sword Spirit Root, is indeed a rare sword-wielding genius. Few living sword cultivators can reach his level."

Lu Yang found it strange. He always felt that the Fourth Elder's tone had a certain… what was the word? A grinding-teeth, ashamed-to-be-associated, exasperated-disappointment kind of feeling? Yes, something like that.

The Fourth Elder continued, "Once, Old Ninth performed his sword technique, manifesting ten thousand swords from one. He then sold these ten thousand swords to the Fallen Gold Merchant Guild. After getting the money, he used 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to One.' If I hadn't stepped in and talked things over with them, and if the guild's head hadn't calmed down, your master would still be locked up in prison right now!"

Lu Yang: "..."His master was indeed currently locked up, so perhaps it was a case of karma.

"Also, have you heard of the spell, 'Size as Desired (Partial Edition)'?"

"I just heard about it from the Third Elder."

"Don't spread word of this spell's existence. Nowadays, young disciples don't know about it. If you went back a hundred years, new disciples would be scrambling to become Old Ninth's students just to learn this spell."

"Fortunately, Nephew Yunzhi understood the bigger picture and destroyed copies of this spell, leaving the original in the upper levels of the Scripture Pavilion. Thanks to deliberate concealment, no disciples are clamoring to learn this spell now."

The Fourth Elder wore a pained expression. "The world is truly deteriorating."

Lu Yang was too embarrassed to tell the Fourth Elder that he actually wanted to learn that spell too. He thought, 'I need to reflect on this.'

The Fourth Elder's tone softened slightly. "However, Old Ninth does have his merits. At the very least, ever since he became the Sect Master, our Dao-Seeking Sect has become significantly stronger overall than before. Of course, this isn't his achievement alone; the eight of us have contributed greatly."

Lu Yang didn't quite grasp whether the Fourth Elder was praising his master or himself.

"By the way, why are you suddenly curious about what kind of person Old Ninth is?"

Lu Yang chuckled evasively, "Oh, nothing, nothing. I just haven't met him since I became his disciple, so I'm a bit curious."

"Curiosity is a good thing, but don't waste it on Old Ninth."

After asking three different people, Lu Yang had a fairly good idea of what kind of person his master truly was. And he still wanted to be released?

The Heaven's Strategy Sect was located on the eastern side of the continent, occupying a vast area. From the sky, the sect resembled an inverted Bagua diagram, creating a remarkable sight.

The Heaven's Strategy Sect was quiet and sparsely populated, like a reclusive sect hidden deep within ancient mountains—peaceful, yet awe-inspiring.

However, the main reason for the Heaven's Strategy Sect's tranquility was that they had sent most of their disciples out to repay debts, leaving very few people in the vast sect. Reducing expenses and tempering the mind in the mundane world, it could be said to kill two birds with one stone.

A shout broke the serene atmosphere of the Heaven's Strategy Sect.

"Master, Master, I'm back!" Luo Bu ran into the sect and immediately sought out his master.

The Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy heard his disciple's call and emerged from his cave dwelling. "My good disciple, why are you back so soon? Have you found a way to repay our debts?"

Luo Bu, out of breath, replied, "Not... not yet. While traveling, I was fortune-telling for people and encountered a troublesome individual. I wanted to return and inform the sect to be more vigilant."

"Sit down and tell me slowly."

Luo Bu regulated his breathing before speaking. "I traveled to Yanjiang Prefecture. At the time, I was penniless, so I decided to do some casual fortune-telling and trick a few unlucky people out of their money."

"Coincidentally, I met three disciples from the Dao-Seeking Sect and one from the Moon-Osmanthus Immortal Palace. They were all ripe for the picking."

"Originally, I didn't intend to take it seriously, just to go through the motions. But what I didn't expect was that one of them was very extraordinary."

"That person was named Lu Yang. Although his cultivation wasn't high—he had just begun cultivating—his future was extraordinarily terrifying."

The Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy felt a stir in his heart. "Are you saying we should invest in him now, and then when he becomes prosperous, he'll help us repay our debts?"

Luo Bu quickly extinguished his master's terrifying idea. "No, no, no. I saw that Lu Yang's future is destined to be entangled in karma with several immortals."

"Entangled in karma with several immortals?!" The Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy exclaimed. Generally, being entangled with even one immortal in karma could easily lead to death and the destruction of one's cultivation path. This Lu Yang would have major karmic entanglements with several immortals and *not* die?

Their Heaven's Strategy Sect most abhorred interacting with individuals bearing heavy karma, as it hindered transcendence. The heavier the karma, the more difficult cultivation became, and struggling to break free would only tighten the karmic binds.

"And that's not all! I also discovered that Lu Yang will spread the bad practices of the Dao-Seeking Sect throughout the entire cultivation world."

The Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy gasped sharply. "Why didn't you tell me something this important sooner? Compared to this, what's a little karmic entanglement with immortals? Being entangled with immortals suggested he would achieve great things in the future, but spreading the Dao-Seeking Sect's bad practices meant he had a screw loose!"

"In short, we must try to avoid contact with the Dao-Seeking Sect, especially that Lu Yang. The farther away, the better!"

Suddenly, the Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy's expression changed.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"An extremely arrogant aura is flying towards our Heaven's Strategy Sect! I estimate the visitor means no good! Activate the grand defensive formation immediately!"

The Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy acted decisively, activating the sect-protecting grand formation.

The formation nodes lit up, like starlight in the night sky, forming the shape of a Bagua diagram. A gigantic Bagua diagram covered the Heaven's Strategy Sect, making it impregnable. Its eight directions were intricate and complex, with no discernible exit. Once trapped within the formation, even exhausting one's entire life's effort wouldn't unravel its mystery. Many Integration stage mighty cultivators had returned in vain, and some with malicious intentions were even trapped and died within it!

The power of the Heaven's Strategy Sect's sect-protecting grand formation was evident!

The newcomer saw the Heaven's Strategy Sect activate its sect-protecting grand formation but showed no sign of stopping, displaying extreme arrogance.

Facing the intricate grand formation, the newcomer simply reached out and clapped, and the formation instantly shattered.

Only then did the Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy see the newcomer's appearance: graceful and charming, like a deity or immortal, inviolable.

"Yunzhi of the Dao-Seeking Sect has come to pay respects to the Grand Elder of the Heaven's Strategy Sect. I request an audience."

The Sect Master of Heaven's Strategy's face went pale. Speak of the Dao-Seeking Sect, and here they come.