Chapter 138: Lu Yang in the Fantasy Stage

None of the five individuals, including Daoist Buyu, had anticipated that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou would successfully leave the town. Not only was a Body Integration stage cultivator stationed in Buyi Town, but the town's overt and covert rules were also beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Simply surviving in Buyi Town was difficult enough, let alone escaping. How did these two manage it?

Daoist Buyu didn't ponder it further. He seized the moment when the four Body Integration cultivators were spitting blood, their aura weakened, and their attention shifted to Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. He suddenly unleashed his power. Azure sword qi materialized around him, rippling lightly like a clear pond. The sword qi, nimble as snakes, arced gracefully through the air, and two heads were severed. The Undying Immortal remarked on Daoist Buyu's formidable skill, stating that his mastery was comparable to the greatest sword cultivators of her ancient era. She noted that his single strike had severed the physical bodies and the three souls and seven spirits of two Body Integration cultivators, utterly destroying them. Lu Yang marveled. Fighting one against four, and even killing two while they were unprepared—his master truly lived up to his title.

The initial appearances of the Undying Immortal and Daoist Buyu had been so unfortunate—one suppressed and the other confined in a cave for ten years—that Lu Yang had unconsciously overlooked their true identities. One was an ancient immortal, one of the five most powerful beings who ascended during the chaotic ancient era. The other was the Sect Master of one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, whom the current emperor would receive with the highest etiquette. Among the Nine Sons of the Dao-Seeking Sect, he was the youngest and started cultivating the latest, yet possessed the highest combat prowess. Ordinary cultivators who formed even a slight connection with these two would surely prosper and live a life free of worries, yet Lu Yang felt none of this.

Lu Yang mused, wondering if Eldest Senior Sister was the reason. He felt he had found the root cause: both had suffered setbacks during their first appearances precisely because of Eldest Senior Sister. Now that she was absent, they finally had a chance to showcase their abilities.

Daoist Buyu raised his sword, gathering power, his spirits high, as if preparing to unleash another strike. The other two, seeing the dire situation, abandoned their companions' bodies and turned to flee. Daoist Buyu did not pursue them. While he could indeed unleash another sword strike, the two would now be on guard and might be able to defend against it. If they managed to defend, they would counterattack. He himself wasn't afraid of another fight, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou couldn't withstand the aftershocks of a Body Integration stage battle.

Daoist Buyu quickly descended, asking if they were alright. He found they had no injuries and seemed to have fared quite well in Buyi Town over the past few days. They waved him off, saying they were fine. Feeling the spiritual energy around them, they couldn't help but sigh with emotion; it felt wonderful to successfully leave Buyi Town and regain control over spiritual power. Their inability to use spells in Buyi Town had somewhat limited their abilities.

"It's good that you're alright," Daoist Buyu sighed in relief, though regretting that the other two had escaped. "Speaking of which," he continued, looking at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with curiosity, "wasn't there also a Body Integration cultivator in Buyi Town? How did you deal with them?" He thought perhaps Xiao Yun had given Lu Yang a life-saving method, or the Meng family had given Meng Jingzhou one.

Trusting Daoist Buyu, Lu Yang explained that an ancient immortal was sealed within his body. This immortal guided his cultivation daily and could provide immense power at critical moments, making even the defeat of a Body Integration stage cultivator seem effortless.

Daoist Buyu looked at Lu Yang with pity, patted his head, and, considering his age, felt a sense of relief. Right, sixteen or seventeen-year-olds were in their fantasy phase. When he was sixteen, he too had fantasized about an ancient fierce beast sealed within him. If others angered him, the seal would loosen, the beast's energy would leak out, harming the innocent, and in severe cases, even destroying heaven and earth, causing irreparable damage. Therefore, to keep the beast sealed, he had to constantly maintain a cold demeanor. Who hadn't gone through such a phase? An ancient immortal? He had lived for two thousand years and had never encountered one. Was Lu Yang so lucky as to not only meet an ancient immortal but also have one reside within him? It was probably a life-saving measure left by Xiao Yun for Lu Yang.

Daoist Buyu asked if the ancient immortal he spoke of was an old man or a beautiful woman. Lu Yang, recalling the Undying Immortal's appearance—a stunning beauty when quiet, no less than Eldest Senior Sister—replied that it was a beautiful woman. Daoist Buyu silently confirmed his suspicions, believing that at Lu Yang's age, an imagined immortal would almost certainly be either an old man or a beautiful woman, rather than a young man, a middle-aged man, or an old lady.

Looking at Buyi Town, still shrouded in its restrictive rules, he paused before stating, "Let's first visit the nearest government office and let them handle the subsequent matters." There were too many residents in Buyi Town. While his cultivation was outstanding, such a situation couldn't be resolved by cultivation alone; it needed to be handed over to professionals.

The matter of Buyi Town involved five ancient Body Integration stage cultivators, which was beyond the scope of what a prefect could handle. Therefore, Daoist Buyu needed to find the Inspector responsible for this province. The Great Xia Dynasty divided the Central Continent into seventeen regions, commonly known as the Seventeen Provinces. Below the provinces were prefectures, and below prefectures were counties and towns.

Knowing he didn't know the way, Daoist Buyu went to a nearby prefecture to inquire about their location. He learned that they were in Qing Province, in the western part of the Central Continent. "Wait," Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou asked, looking at Daoist Buyu suspiciously, "why are we in the western part of the continent? Didn't we say we were flying south when we left the Dao-Seeking Sect?"

Daoist Buyu gave a noncommittal chuckle, not explaining much, simply telling the two to follow him. After inquiring and navigating their way, the three finally found the Inspector of Qing Province.

As soon as the Inspector of Qing Province heard that the Sect Master of the Dao-Seeking Sect had arrived, he immediately set aside all his duties and personally welcomed Daoist Buyu. As the Inspector of Qing Province, he controlled countless resources across the entire province and was widely respected and flattered. However, in terms of status and cultivation, he was far inferior to Daoist Buyu.

Daoist Buyu did not engage in excessive pleasantries. He directly explained the situation in Buyi Town, letting Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou fill in the specific details. As soon as the Inspector of Qing Province heard what had happened in Buyi Town, cold sweat broke out on his brow. Five ancient Body Integration stage cultivators reviving—it was fortunate that the Dao-Seeking Sect Master had discovered and handled it promptly and properly. If these five had fully revived and infiltrated some part of the dynasty, they could have annihilated several prefectures at any time, leading to countless deaths.

The Inspector of Qing Province immediately made a decision. He mobilized local Nascent Soul stage and Body Integration stage officials and dispatched letters to the army stationed in Qing Province and to the imperial court, informing them that two ancient Body Integration stage cultivators had revived and escaped, urging vigilance. As for memorializing the imperial court to commend the Dao-Seeking Sect, there was no time for that at the moment. The immediate priority was to resolve the issues concerning the residents of Buyi Town.

Lu Yang noticed that the Inspector of Qing Province had not mobilized any Void Refinement stage cultivators. Daoist Buyu explained that the Void Refinement stage was a very peculiar phase where a cultivator's strength was highly unstable, fluctuating drastically. At their strongest, they could reach the pinnacle of the Body Integration stage, but at their weakest, they might only possess Qi Cultivation stage power. Therefore, Void Refinement stage cultivators typically chose to remain stable in one location and rarely took action. He added that no one would lightly provoke a Void Refinement stage cultivator, as one never knew what realm they might be in the next moment.