Chapter 88: Imperial Hunting Dao – Exterior Manifestation Method

Chapter 88: Imperial Hunting Dao – Exterior Manifestation Method

The Wugui Secret Realm was empty.

The Yanluo Patriarch had slaughtered everyone during his Soul Possession, only to be shattered himself when the Golden Core Sword Qi descended. Now, only Lv Yang remained within the realm.

Yet the Sword Qi did not strike him down. Instead, it returned to hover above the Secret Realm, swallowing heavenly and earthly energies like a dormant beast, showing no sign of dissipating.

Lv Yang’s expression, however, was anything but relaxed. In fact, it had never been more grave. He could clearly sense a karmic thread binding him—one that the Sword Qi had locked onto. In other words, even if he fled a million miles away, the Sword Qi could still sever his head in an instant.

“Is this because I took the Wugui Sect’s inheritance?”

Lv Yang glanced at the Yanluo Patriarch’s Soul Fragment he had sealed away. If he abandoned these soul fragments, he might escape the Sword Qi’s karmic entanglement.

“But… I refuse.”

This was a Foundation Building Soul—a mighty cultivator from the demonic path, the former leader of an entire sect. Its value dwarfed even the soul of the Yun Clan Patriarch from his past life. After all, the Yun Clan Patriarch’s soul had been purified by the True Man Yinshan.

The Yanluo Patriarch’s soul, however, contained a thousand years of experience—divine abilities, cultivation techniques, and profound secrets of Foundation Building itself.

“I’ll bear this karmic burden.”

With a thought, Lv Yang activated a teleportation technique and vanished, reappearing nearby to hastily construct a cultivation cave for closed-door practice.

Several days later, inside the cave, Lv Yang opened his eyes. Before him lay the Yanluo Patriarch’s soul fragments—all of which he had completely refined.

Through this process, he had come to understand the Yanluo Patriarch far more deeply.

“This man truly was a genius beyond generations.”

Sighing, Lv Yang picked up one particular soul fragment. Unlike the others, this one radiated brilliant light, brimming with sentience.

This fragment did not contain memories—it held the Yanluo Patriarch’s final testament.

As the saying went: “A cunning rabbit has three burrows.” Though the Yanluo Patriarch had been confident in his Soul Possession, he had still prepared contingencies for unforeseen circumstances.

This testament revealed his plan to preserve the Wugui Sect’s inheritance within his soul fragments. If Lv Yang survived, the inheritance would pass to him, ensuring the continuation of the Wugui Sect’s legacy.

Of course, there were conditions.

To claim the inheritance, Lv Yang had to accept the Wugui Sect’s karmic burden, vowing to rebuild the sect’s mountain gate and cultivate a Foundation Building expert for them. Without this, the soul fragment would self-destruct.

As the Yanluo Patriarch had once declared, his life’s sole purpose was to preserve the Wugui Sect. He would never allow it to perish under his leadership, in this life or the next.

The testament even stated that accepting the inheritance would grant Lv Yang the combat power of a Foundation Building cultivator in a short time.

How could Lv Yang refuse?

“I’ll take the benefits first. Even if the Wugui Sect’s karma weighs heavily on me, it’s only a problem for this lifetime. What does it matter to my next reincarnation?”

The Yanluo Patriarch—last patriarch of the Wugui Sect and its most gifted disciple ever—had Foundation Built at a young age. Within two centuries, he had combined the “Shangzhang,” “Kundun,” “Chongguang,” and “Chifenruo” to harmonize the celestial and terrestrial forces, reaching the pinnacle of Foundation Building to pursue the “Wall-Earth” position.

But heaven envied talent.

Just as he was about to succeed, a True Junzi from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion had claimed the “Wall-Earth” position first, instantly sealing the Yanluo Patriarch’s path to transcendence.

How could the Yanluo Patriarch or the Wugui Sect accept this?

Yet the Yanluo Patriarch, true to his genius, forged a new path. He pioneered the [Yanmo Hall] technique.

Eight Foundation Building experts at their peak could transform into Black Bai Wuchang, Wen Wu Panguan, Ox-Head & Horse-Face, and Day-Night Guardian Spirits. Under his leadership, they could temporarily assume the Golden Core position and manifest a false core fruit. What seemed like an impossible fantasy became reality with aid from a third party.

But this very achievement brought catastrophe to the Wugui Sect.

The Golden Core Junzi who had claimed the “Wall-Earth” position sat in the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion. From tens of thousands of miles away, he had slashed a sword strike that annihilated the entire Wugui Sect.

Lv Yang’s heart pounded as he read further. Suddenly, he slammed the soul fragment shut, refusing to delve deeper. He could feel a karmic thread growing clearer on his body—the other end vanishing into the karmic net like an unfathomable abyss.

F*ing hell—the Golden Core Junzi from a thousand years ago was still alive!

Lv Yang was certain the thread connected to that Junzi. The moment he learned the truth, the Junzi would know of him too.

“What the hell is this place? A total disaster zone.”

After calming himself, Lv Yang abandoned further investigation into the ancient tragedy and turned to studying the Yanluo Patriarch’s inheritance.

Besides divine abilities like the “Nine Heavens Supreme Secret Demon Yin Thunder,” the most critical technique was the 【Xuan Ming Fu Jun She You Wei】 the Yanluo Patriarch had used. Though the Wugui Sect lacked the resources of the Primordial Sacred Sect, this single divine ability had been refined to perfection.

After reading, Lv Yang’s expression turned increasingly awed:

“No wonder he claimed in his testament to help me reach Foundation Building combat power.”

【Xuan Ming Fu Jun She You Wei】 required nine Foundation Building experts at their peak to cultivate the technique together, forming the [Yanmo Hall] to temporarily assume the Golden Core position.

Of course, nine Foundation Building experts were impossible to find.

But if he settled for nine Refining Qi Perfection cultivators instead, and infused them with vast amounts of fortune energy, they could temporarily assume the Foundation Building position!

The Tingyou Sect’s eight elders had been used this way. The Yanluo Patriarch had passed down this technique specifically for collaborative cultivation. The eight Red-Robed Ghosts existed to form the [Yanmo Hall] with him, allowing him to ascend to Foundation Building after escaping his crisis.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Though this technique was extraordinary, it had flaws. Its foundation relied entirely on the Wugui Secret Realm.

“This ‘temporary Foundation Building’ isn’t a true breakthrough to Foundation Building.”

“It transforms a region into a domain matching the ‘Foundation Building stage’ and lets one dominate that territory to manifest Foundation Building power.”

This was not the path of physical transcendence.

“This is the philosophy of the ‘Imperial Hunting Dao’!”

Lv Yang quickly recalled that the Yanluo Patriarch had received help from a third party while refining this technique, borrowing from their Dao lineage.

Their name—Tian Wu Dao Court. Located in Jiangdong!

“Chen Xin’an told me that Jiangdong’s Dao lineage is entirely different. Cultivators of the ‘Imperial Hunting Dao’ don’t seek transcendence but instead transform their environment.”

“In Jiangdong, the Dao Court governs the world as Tian Wu, commanding a hundred tribes. They built twelve administrative posts, each with its own duties, to manage the people. Under the Dao Court, cultivators don’t cultivate magical energy or learn divine abilities. Those who hold official posts naturally possess energy and innate divine abilities. Those who hold high posts rival True Junzi.”

Frowning deeply, Lv Yang realized their paths were incompatible. He was already a cultivator of the physical transcendence path. Even if he wanted to switch to the Imperial Hunting Dao, it would be impossible.

“So if I use this technique to reach Foundation Building, my future progress would be blocked.”

In Jiangdong, there was still room for advancement beyond Foundation Building. But the [Yanmo Hall] was merely a replica created by the Yanluo Patriarch—there would be no further progress.

This was only one of the side effects.

Another was that since the Foundation Building relied on a specific region, it would be bound to that land. If the land’s energy veins were damaged, his cultivation would plummet.

“This method isn’t for me… but there is a clever alternative.”

The Yanluo Patriarch had anticipated Lv Yang’s reluctance to sever his Dao path and prepared a substitute plan.

“Grand Multiform Divine Convergence Method!”

Lv Yang’s eyes gleamed. This secret technique’s effect was simple: it transformed living beings into guardian deities, allowing him to borrow their karmic merit, fortune energy, and even their thoughts while turning them into puppets—without creating karmic entanglements.

“Using this method to refine a clone, I can cultivate 【Xuan Ming Fu Jun She You Wei】!”

“And I can transfer the Wugui Sect’s karmic burden to them.”

“Even the nine Refining Qi Perfection experts required for cultivation, the Yanluo Patriarch has arranged. Eight Red-Robed Ghosts plus myself—everything is ready.”

Only one thing remained: vast amounts of fortune energy.

Suddenly, a bold idea struck Lv Yang:

“Yushuzhen!”

If she could surpass Xiao Shiye and seize the fortune energy of that colorful Karma Fish, it might fulfill the requirements to construct the [Yanmo Hall].

Even she herself could be refined into a Dharma Guardian.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end