Chapter 367: Tao Yaoye's New Script

When Lu Yang arrived at the summit of Hundred Refinements Peak, half of the elders from Dao Seeking Sect were already gathered there. Elders Two, Five, and Eight were present, along with Elder Six, who was there only as a projection.

Elder Five scrutinized Elders Two and Eight, who seemed like strange figures to him. "You two are inventing new things and making me apply for patents?" In his mind, Elder Two usually spent his days tending to the herb garden, seemingly in early retirement. If not for his recent burst of renewed vigor, Elder Five would have thought Elder Two was growing mold. As for Elder Eight, he had been hiding within the sect recently, not venturing out. Elder Five guessed he must have stirred up some trouble outside and was seeking refuge within the sect.

"It wasn't them," Elder Six explained. "It was Tao Tianye who came up with the idea. Elders Two and Eight were responsible for bringing her vision to life."

Elder Five nodded; that made much more sense. "Nephew Tao, what have you invented?" Elder Five asked with a kindly attitude. He always encouraged disciples to think broadly and creatively, urging them to bravely break through mental limitations. In this regard, he had high hopes for Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. Li Haoran's creativity was slightly lacking, but he needed to keep working at it.

"It's a combination of a formation and talismans that allows people to enter an illusion... Senior Brother Lu, how did you get here?" Tao Tianye was about to elaborate when she saw Lu Yang slowly walking over.

Seeing the lively gathering, Lu Yang roughly guessed what they were doing and asked with a smile, "Junior Sister Tao, is the illusion construction complete?"

"Thanks to the assistance of Elders Two and Eight, it's provisionally complete. I was just about to demonstrate it to Elder Five. Senior Brother, would you like to try it?"

Lu Yang readily agreed. He also wanted to see how Tao Tianye's "movie" production had turned out.

Tao Tianye pulled two talismans from her identity jade token, handing one to Elder Five and one to Lu Yang. Then she unrolled a scroll, on which was drawn a formation that Lu Yang couldn't understand.

"Are these talismans designed by Elder Eight? And the formation drawn by Elder Two?" Elder Five recognized the origin of these items. Both the talismans and the formation were designed quite simply.

"Elder Five, Senior Brother, please stand on the formation. Then, tear the talisman in half from the middle. After tearing it, you'll feel a pulling sensation—this is the prelude to entering the illusion." This illusion was designed for mortals and low-level cultivators, and Tao Tianye was concerned that if they exerted even a little effort to resist, the talismans would become useless.

Lu Yang followed the instructions, tearing the talisman. A faint pulling sensation tugged at his consciousness. He offered no resistance and was drawn into another realm.

Boom!

As soon as he entered this new realm, Lu Yang saw countless bolts of thunder rumbling, as if this world knew no other sound. Amidst the lightning and thunder, an unparalleled figure stood tall in the sky, unafraid as the lightning struck him.

"This looks like someone about to ascend to the Tribulation Transcending stage. It's quite realistic," Immortal Fairy whispered into Lu Yang's ear, startling him.

Lu Yang secretly glanced at Elder Five, who had entered the illusion with him, and whispered, "Fairy, why are you here? What if someone finds you?"

Immortal Fairy's lips curled into a smug smile. "This simple illusion? This Fairy can come and go as she pleases. As for being discovered, this Fairy's concealment skills are unmatched in the world! No one can find me!"

Lu Yang breathed a sigh of relief, then recalled what Immortal Fairy had just said. "Fairy, did you say this is about becoming a Tribulation Transcending cultivator?"

"That's right. This is the thunder tribulation one must face to become a Tribulation Transcending cultivator: the Ninety-Nine Grand Celestial Tribulation, designed by Immortal Ying Tian. The person who designed this illusion must have witnessed this tribulation."

Facing the surging heavenly thunder, Grand Master Mitian laughed heartily, choosing to confront it head-on with his most potent sword dao. Each bolt of heavenly thunder was cleaved apart by his sword dao, not harming him in the slightest. Gradually, the heavenly thunder continued relentlessly. Grand Master Mitian became exhausted. With the last bolt of heavenly thunder, his sword dao shattered, and the lightning struck his body.

The heavenly thunder dispersed, and Grand Master Mitian fell from the sky.

Crash!

Grand Master Mitian plunged headfirst into a mountain, creating a large crater. Before losing consciousness, he murmured, "How regrettable! Grand Master Mitian, after cultivating for over two thousand years, was just a step away from the Tribulation Transcending stage, yet I unfortunately failed. My sword dao is shattered, and my cultivation has been sealed by the heavenly thunder, leaving me unable to mobilize even a shred of it!"

After an unknown period, a young woman from a nearby mountain village bravely approached the deep pit. Seeing someone within, she courageously moved Grand Master Mitian back to her home. Grand Master Mitian awoke, but he had lost all his memories. He didn't know who he was or what cultivation was. The woman who rescued him was named Xiuxiu. Seeing that Grand Master Mitian had lost his memory, she named him Ah Lei. The villagers believed Ah Lei was an ill omen and wanted to drive him away. Xiuxiu objected, saying he could stay there until his memory returned.

Ah Lei and Xiuxiu lived in the mountains. He helped Xiuxiu farm, fish, and hunt. During one monster attack, Ah Lei displayed extraordinary strength.

"Ah Lei, what are you...?" Xiuxiu was stunned. Ah Lei, who had been acting like an ordinary mortal, had just killed a Foundation Establishment stage wolf demon that tried to devour her with a single punch.

"I, I don't know what's going on," Ah Lei said, bewildered.

Another half-year passed. A demonic cultivator placed a strange treasure in the mountains and ordered his subordinates to capture all the villagers for sacrifice to improve the treasure's quality. Xiuxiu was among them.

Ah Lei was out when Xiuxiu was captured. When he returned and found she was gone, he searched frantically. Ah Lei found the demonic sect's lair, killed several demonic cultivators, and tried to rescue Xiuxiu. Unfortunately, it was too late. Xiuxiu had been sacrificed, and the strange treasure had been refined, upgrading its quality significantly. The demonic cultivator laughed maniacally. With this strange treasure in hand, he feared no pursuit from the righteous sects and could roam the world freely.

Ah Lei was enraged. His furious emotions reopened the heavenly thunder seal. His shattered sword dao was reconstructed, and heavenly thunder gathered, threatening to strike him down. But his brilliant sword dao shot straight into the sky, dispersing the heavenly thunder. He had regained his original power and memories.

Ah Lei was seething with rage, his endless sword dao overwhelming, covering a hundred thousand mountains. With each step he took, another layer of seal broke, accompanied by an outpouring of boundless spiritual energy. His imposing presence was like a demonic king descending from the heavens to destroy the human world.

"You... are... dead!"

"It, it's you!" The demonic cultivator slumped to the ground in terror, finally recognizing Ah Lei's identity. Grand Master Mitian, the foremost master of the sword dao, the strongest below the Tribulation Transcending stage! No one could afford to provoke him!

"No, no, no! With this strange treasure in hand, I'm no longer what I was!" The demonic cultivator activated his strange treasure. A fierce wind rose abruptly, and the earth trembled as if trying to bury Grand Master Mitian. A single sword light descended like divine judgment, cleaving the strange treasure and the demonic cultivator apart, reducing them to ashes.

"Xiuxiu, I have avenged you..." Grand Master Mitian murmured, holding Xiuxiu's corpse, a single tear falling.

The illusion ended.

"How was it? How was the script this time?" As soon as the illusion ended, Tao Tianye eagerly approached Lu Yang, asking for his impressions. She had taken Lu Yang's advice, meticulously designed it, and added a significant amount of plot. The male protagonist's cultivation is sealed, he loses his memory, lives with a sweet young woman, and a subtle affection develops. Then the woman is killed, the protagonist's seal breaks in a fit of rage, and he slays the mastermind with a single sword strike. Just thinking about it sounds exciting.

Lu Yang's face was conflicted. He didn't know how to comment. "The script is a good script, but why does the male protagonist constantly have Master's face?" Although his Master had an immortal-like aura and a handsome, dignified appearance, Lu Yang hadn't known him for just a day. Seeing his Master's face on the male protagonist just didn't feel immersive, no matter how he looked at it.

Elder Five agreed wholeheartedly. The final scene, which should have been quite touching, almost made him laugh out loud when he saw Elder Nine holding Xiuxiu's corpse.