Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

The morning light leaked through the gaps in the paper covering the window and fell on Yi Yang's knees.

He opened his eyes, and the "True Yang Scripture of Yi Wood" in his body automatically finished its work. The Xuan Guang Seed in his Qi Sea had expanded by another size compared to last night, and its turquoise light rotated steadily, emitting a much stronger true energy than before he fell asleep.

The numbers on the panel popped up.

【Yi Wood True Yang Scripture - Mysterious Light Realm (440 million/2000 million)】

One-fifth.

Yi Yang was not pleased. The progress of 4.4 million seemed to be rapid, but the perfection value of 20 million was still there. This level of progress was due to his large consumption of resources. According to the current speed, if he did not take pills and relied solely on his own cultivation, it would take at least seven or eight years to break through to the second stage of the Profound Realm.

However, he now has Han Ji's eight bottles of Transcendent Realm pills, plus the True Essence Lotus Seeds and the remaining petals of the Golden Silk Yang Flower. If he put them all in, the time can be reduced by a lot.

"This feeling of constantly getting stronger is so addictive!" Yi Yang couldn't help but sigh to himself, then suddenly his brow twitched.

The divine sense of the "Breaking Illusion" realm detected an aura appearing outside the courtyard gate.

This aura felt somewhat familiar—heavy and sharp, like a spear held in someone's hand but not yet handed over.

Sensing this presence, Yi Yang got up from the edge of the bed, took three steps to the door, opened it, and said:

"Lord Jiang, what brings you here? Please come in."

Standing outside the door at this moment is Jiang Zhongtian, the deputy garrison commander of Hengyue, a key town.

Today, Jiang Zhongtian looked somewhat different from his usual clean and sharp appearance. Several scorch marks from true qi could be seen on his silver-gray narrow-sleeved martial arts uniform, and there was a tear in the fabric on his left shoulder, revealing the same inner garment underneath.

There were no visible injuries on his face, but last time Yi Yang sensed that Jiang Zhongtian's aura was as steady as a mountain, with long and even breathing. But now it was somewhat unstable, clearly indicating that the other party was not as calm as he appeared after a night of fierce fighting.

Jiang Zhongtian was not surprised that Yi Yang could sense him.

Yi Yang led him into the house, poured him a cup of tea, which had been brewed yesterday and was now almost cold.

Jiang Zhongtian took it without hesitation, tilted his head back and took a swig, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "Let me check on you."

He placed the teacup on the table and pulled a flat metal box from his storage pouch at his waist, pushing it towards him.

"I've reported your merit in killing Ye Hanqian and that Wu Kingdom warrior in Wanfeng County. Here's your reward: 120 spirit crystals, plus two 'Profound Origin Strengthening Pills' to slightly improve your foundation. Keep them safe."

Yi Yang opened the iron box and took a look. The spirit crystals were neatly arranged, and two dark gold pills were embedded in the groove of the velvet cloth, with a strong medicinal fragrance.

"Thank you, Lord Jiang."

Yi Yang put the iron box into his storage ring, thanked him aloud, and pondered in his mind:

"Distributing rewards is a task that can be easily accomplished by sending any patrol guard on a trip."

"Jiang Zhongtian, the deputy patrol envoy of the Heavenly Hall, a figure on the Hidden Dragon List at the pinnacle of the Profound Realm, after a whole night of fierce fighting and cleanup, instead of going back to rest, he personally came to this rented courtyard to deliver a reward?"

Yi Yang didn't ask. He picked up the copper kettle on the table and poured Jiang Zhongtian a cup of cold tea. He also poured himself a cup and drank it slowly.

Sure enough, Jiang Zhongtian held his teacup without drinking, his finger lingering on the rim for a moment before he asked:

"You went to the auction last night too?"

"I'm going." Yi Yang nodded.

"Then you should have seen it."

Jiang Zhongtian didn't say what he saw, but Yi Yang knew what he meant.

Blood Illusion Venerable.

A monster with six arms, four legs, and eight scarlet eyes.

Yi Yang's expression darkened: "I saw it. That thing... it can't be considered human anymore."

He paused, his tone genuinely grave: "My lord, in all my years of life, this is the first time I've ever seen such an evil thing. Which Grand Elder actually managed to gain the upper hand against the combined attack of the three of you on the Hidden Dragon Ranking?"

Jiang Zhongtian put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and recalled last night's battle, saying, "That's because he's not just a martial artist at the peak of the Profound Realm."

Yi Yang didn't interrupt, waiting for him to continue.

"The Nine Evil Sects are divided into nine branches, each worshipping a different evil god and cultivating different techniques. The Spirit Blood branch worships the 'Spirit Blood True God,' and Xue Huan is the Great Elder of this branch. He has cultivated for forty years at the Tongxuan Perfection Realm and possesses three supernatural powers."

"His Dharma body was conceived and nurtured using the Spirit Blood True God as a visualization. The six-armed, eight-eyed form you saw at the auction was the result of him fusing his Dharma body with a trace of the Spirit Blood True God's divine power."

Upon hearing such bombshell news, Yi Yang couldn't help but ponder:

"The fusion of the Dharmakaya and the deity?"

The image of the three-zhang-tall blue-faced divine general that Han Ji had conjured up flashed through his mind. It had three eyes, black armor, and a long halberd. At the time, he wondered how a person could transform into that appearance. Now, after hearing Jiang Zhongtian's words, he had some answers.

"Could Han Ji's avatar also be related to some kind of deity?"

"Who is the deity worshipped by the Heavenly Heart Sect?" The doubts swirled in Yi Yang's mind, but he suppressed them. He was not strong enough at the moment, and asking too many questions would only bring trouble upon himself.

"What exactly happened in the city last night?" Yi Yang asked the question he really wanted to know.

Jiang Zhongtian did not evade the question. He stared at Yi Yang with his deep gray eyes and said, "This matter... is a long story. I only figured it out after piecing together all the clues after the chaos subsided last night."

"Do you know that Xia Haoyun, the eleventh prince of the Great Yu Dynasty, is in Hengyue, a crucial town?"

"I know." Yi Yang nodded. "I encountered it once during the evacuation last night."

Jiang Zhongtian did not press for details about the "encounter".

"Xia Haoyun came to Hengyue, a key town, not to inspect the trade routes; he is bait."

Yi Yang's eyebrows twitched; he hadn't expected someone of such high status to be "bait."

"You don't need to know exactly who the big shot in Qingzhou is. He and Xia Haoyun set up a scheme together. Xia Haoyun came to Hengyue, a major town, as a prince, while the people in Qingzhou deliberately leaked the news."

"To ensure the enemy gets involved, they even sent a flawless spiritual weapon to be auctioned at the Treasure Pavilion. This spiritual weapon was the pretext for the arrival of Chu Tiankuo and Bai Yuchen, two experts on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Only with the participation of three experts on the Hidden Dragon Ranking can more people's attention be attracted."

Upon hearing this, Yi Yang was already feeling a sense of awe at such a grand gesture.

The prince is used as bait, the spirit soldiers as lure, and three members of the Hidden Dragon Ranking are involved. This scheme is quite ambitious.

"Is Blood Illusion Venerable not the target?" Yi Yang asked.

Jiang Zhongtian shook his head: "Xue Huan was just a fish that was lured out, but he wasn't the one who was caught."

"The person they really want to hook is Shang Yu."

Business surplus.

Yi Yang's expression remained unchanged, but his mind was in turmoil.

Last night, Helian Zhu knelt on the ground, tearing at his own face, repeatedly shouting those two words.

"Lord Shang Yu... don't come any closer..."

He mentally reviewed Helian Zhu's utterly devastated state before his death. A manifestation expert at the second level of the Profound Realm, after being triggered by the "Heart Prison Burning Body" and experiencing intense inner fear, the first thing that came to mind was not death, nor enemies, but this person named Shang Yu.

That fear was ingrained in his bones. Without batting an eye, Yi Yang asked, "Who is Shang Yu?"

Jiang Zhongtian glanced at him.

"A grandmaster hiding within the territory of the Witch Kingdom."

"Xia Haoyun used himself as bait, and the big shots in Qingzhou laid a trap to lure Shang Yu to Hengyue, a major town."

Upon hearing the word "Grandmaster," Yi Yang couldn't help but think of some descriptions of Grandmasters: "Grandmasters are those who have crossed the five realms of the Profound Realm, comprehended supernatural powers, and stood at the pinnacle of martial arts."

Jiang Zhongtian removed his fingers from the gun barrel, feeling both lingering fear and relief, and said:

"But he didn't show up last night. He only sent a master archer from the Witch Kingdom who had reached the peak of the Profound Realm to participate. You should have sensed that arrow. It pierced through the three layers of restrictions of the Heavenly Rhyme Pavilion from several miles away and accurately locked onto my location."

Yi Yang recalled the crimson arrow that pierced the air from the northeast last night; even his "Breaking Illusion" realm divine sense could only capture a fragment of its tail flame.

"That sharpshooter was chased away by Senior Lu Zui, but Shang Yu himself never showed up, so the plan in Qingzhou failed."

Yi Yang remained silent for a few moments.

He is processing this information.

The prince of Dayu was used as bait, the top forces in Qingzhou laid a trap, and two experts from the Hidden Dragon Ranking acted as ambushes. The target was a grandmaster hiding in the Witch Kingdom—but the other party never came. He only sent a sharpshooter to test the waters.

Just how cautious is this businessman?

"What's so special about this Shang Yu that makes Qingzhou go to such lengths?" Yi Yang asked.

Jiang Zhongtian looked at the silver spear in his hand, his gaze drifting into the distance, and said:

"There are too many unique aspects to Shangyu."

"He was the number one on the previous generation's Hidden Dragon List."

"It is said that he possesses the fortune of a dragon and python, and wherever he goes, the wind and clouds change color."

Jiang Zhongtian withdrew his gaze and looked directly at Yi Yang, saying solemnly:

"More importantly, a major event that shocked the world occurred in the north three years ago."

"The Battle of Dingfeng Mountain"

"Shang Yu participated in that battle," Jiang Zhongtian said, emphasizing each word. "They were besieging and killing a disciple of the Martial Saint."