Chapter 182: Exercise

The Eldest Disciple Sister recounted what she had witnessed in the secret chamber, which infuriated the Immortal Fairy.

"Which bastard dares to impersonate me? Do they not know that during ancient times, I was invincible throughout the land? Everyone had to make way for me!"

The Immortal Fairy had good reason to be proud. After all, cultivators who had mastered the 'Words Become Law' technique were considered unbeatable among their peers, yet they had died by her hand.

"I sense a familiar aura on the Cult Leader. Could it be from the person impersonating me?"

The more the Immortal Fairy thought about it, the angrier she became, clamoring to go out and confront the Immortal, to expose his true identity!

Yun Zhi stopped the Immortal Fairy. "Senior, please don't be hasty. The one who calls himself the Immortal can freely appear within the statues, and statues of the Immortal are spread across the entire continent. If he escapes, he'll be difficult to catch."

"So, you mean..."

"When the Cult Leader spoke with the Immortal, he mentioned an upcoming selection process. Ostensibly, it's for choosing talents, but in reality, it's to select bodies for the Immortal to possess. If Lu Yang becomes the target for possession, the Immortal will fall into our trap, and then he won't be able to escape."

The Immortal Fairy seemed to awaken from a dream. "Little girl, you have some great ideas!"

"Hmm?" Yun Zhi raised an eyebrow.

Seeing that the scatterbrained fairy was about to annoy the Eldest Disciple Sister, Lu Yang quickly slipped away.

When the Eldest Disciple Sister's soul was disembodied, she wouldn't bother with addressing protocols, but now that her soul was complete, it was hard to say.

Fairy, may you seek your own blessings.

"But what exactly is the situation with the Immortal?"

Lu Yang hadn't expected there to truly be an Immortal. Was the fifth immortal in ancient times the Immortal, or the Immortal Fairy?

Emotionally, Lu Yang leaned towards the latter; in terms of prestige, he leaned towards the former.

"Or perhaps there was a sixth immortal in ancient times?"

Lu Yang opened his eyes, emerging from his cultivation state, and sensed his current realm.

"I should now be at the peak of the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, just half a step away from the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

"What are you even saying?" Meng Jingzhou quipped from the side, having also emerged from his cultivation.

Man Gu pondered, "Is such a detailed classification of realms also one of Brother Lu's strengths?"

Meng Jingzhou quickly stopped Man Gu. "Don't overthink it. Lu Yang is acting crazy; you shouldn't follow suit."

"You three, prepare for the drill!" A cult member at the door reminded them.

Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu were baffled. A drill? What kind of drill?

Amplification formations placed in various locations blared: "Attention everyone, the righteous path is about to attack! Attention everyone, the righteous path is about to attack!"

Additionally, followers outside were screaming to heighten the atmosphere: "The righteous path is here, we're doomed!"

"Quick, run!"

"We'd rather die than surrender!"

"Let's fight them, the righteous path!"

"Hahaha, you scoundrels of the righteous path, don't think you can catch me!"

"May the Immortal protect us!"

Followed by sounds of frantic escape.

Lu Yang: "...You guys are really getting into character."

Lu Yang briefly explained the drill to Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu, who then finally understood what was happening.

The three quickly fled the room, shouting as they ran: "Oh no, the Great Xia Dynasty has allied with the Five Great Immortal Sects and is attacking!"

The people ahead glared at them. "Don't yell nonsense. If the Great Xia Dynasty and the Five Great Immortal Sects actually came, it would become a surrender drill!"

It was evident that the Immortal Cult had very detailed classifications for its drills.

As they fled, Lu Yang saw cult members deftly packing their belongings into storage rings, their practiced movements almost heartbreaking to witness.

Some were wailing loudly, declaring their intent to live and die with the headquarters.

Others were taking advantage of the chaos to steal, making a fortune.

"Hey, what are you doing, you scoundrel!" A cult member spotted a thief.

The person replied without looking back, "It's a drill, so it has to be as realistic as possible. All this could actually happen!"

"Catch the thief!"

The Immortal Cult descended into chaos, the drill's effect extremely realistic.

Lu Yang and the other two left with the cult members, heading towards an exit.

Upon leaving the exit, they found themselves in a completely unfamiliar place, having traversed an unknown distance.

The one who secured the safe passage was Vice Cult Leader Jin. He destroyed the exit and eliminated any causal links, preventing the righteous path from finding them. His actions were seamless, clearly showing frequent practice.

The cult members applauded, happy for the successful conclusion of the drill.

Only Man Gu had a question:

"How are we supposed to get back?"

The entire scene immediately fell silent.

That's right, previous drills never severed the passage, so why did it happen this time?

With the passage severed and causal links erased, going back the same way was impossible!

Vice Cult Leader Jin was a bit embarrassed. He had gotten carried away with the drill, too immersed, making it seem as if the righteous path was truly coming.

However, as a Vice Cult Leader, he quickly found a remedy.

"Don't panic, everyone. I have a flying boat in my storage ring that can accommodate everyone. We'll fly back."

The headquarters was filled with masters; aside from a few like Lu Yang, everyone could fly.

However, a large group of cultivators flying through the sky could easily attract the Great Xia Dynasty's attention. If some constables from Great Xia came to investigate, demanding they stop and show identification, they'd find them all to be major figures on wanted lists, facing at least life imprisonment.

That would be quite the embarrassment.

It would be better to take the flying boat, disguised as low-level cultivators touring by rental boat. This situation was common and wouldn't attract suspicion.

Vice Cult Leader Jin took out a flying boat from his storage ring that looked somewhat old. This was intentional; such a style wouldn't attract official attention.

Everyone present was experienced and understood Vice Cult Leader Jin's thinking. They all sat on the flying boat, suppressing their cultivation to appear as Qi Refinement stage cultivators. Ironically, Lu Yang and the other two, who were at Foundation Establishment, became the highest cultivated individuals on board.

Vice Cult Leader Jin reassured everyone on the flying boat: "Actually, it's not a big problem. At this flying boat's speed, by the time we return, the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement geniuses from the branch division will have almost all arrived. The timing will be just right."

The flying boat drifted leisurely through the sky, completely unaware that danger had already arrived.

Not far from the flying boat, three mysterious figures in grey robes hovered.

"How about this flying boat?"

"It's not from the Golden Money Chamber of Commerce or other major merchant guilds. It looks quite old, probably rented."

"There are quite a few people, but their cultivation isn't great—only three at Foundation Establishment. We can manage to fleece them; who knows, someone might be hiding something good."

"Shall we do it?"

"Let's do it!"

The three grey-robed figures transformed into streaks of light, rapidly approaching the flying boat and forming a formation to trap it.

"Don't move, this is a robbery!" One of them, with a fierce expression and two saber scars on his face, clearly looked like a desperado.

"You've probably heard of the notorious Hu brothers. Just hand over your valuables, and we guarantee you won't be killed!" Another extended a long tongue, licking a sharp blade, appearing somewhat perverse.

"If you don't comply, then don't blame us for being ruthless!" The third person let out eerie cries, like wailing ghosts, which were quite chilling.

"Don't think we're afraid to kill. We've killed more people than you've ever seen!"

They unleashed terrifying auras, intimidating everyone.

These three were, surprisingly, at the early Nascent Soul stage of cultivation!

Generally, as soon as they released their auras, their targets would abandon resistance, hand over their money, and beg for their lives.

Whether they would be spared or not depended entirely on the brothers' mood.

However, the Hu brothers then saw that the passengers on the flying boat showed no fear; instead, they collectively displayed eerie smiles.

One by one, the passengers released their auras: Nascent Soul stage, Soul Transformation stage, Void Refinement stage...

The Hu brothers, sensing auras beyond their comprehension, struggled to swallow.

It's over; it seems they've crashed and burned.

Vice Cult Leader Jin stood up and slowly asked, "I hear you've killed more people than we've seen?"