A Great Realm Heaven with a fruit position!
Before the Yun Family Ancestor even finished speaking, Lu Yang immediately grasped the importance of the Mass Grave in Jiangnan. After all, a Great Realm Heaven was equivalent to a new Tier-2 True Art!
"Daoist Dangmo is our Sword Pavilion's Third Elder. He reached the late Foundation Establishment Realm early on and has already attained the cultivation level of a Great Daoist. He's been planning to claim a fruit position for some time. However, the Great Realm Heavens currently under the Sword Pavilion mostly offer Tier-2 True Arts that no longer meet his requirements. Only this newly discovered one suits him perfectly."
"That's why this operation is led by Daoist Dangmo."
"And, most likely, the Demon Sect hasn't yet noticed anything unusual about the Mass Grave. So Daoist Dangmo intends to strike first."
Through the Yun Family Ancestor's explanation, Lu Yang quickly learned the secret behind the Mass Grave.
To understand it fully, one had to trace it back to the Mass Grave's former identity—a small Realm Heaven that had once been seized by True Sovereigns from various factions for their Dao-seizing battles.
That small Realm Heaven had an extraordinary origin.
Although it had no Foundation Establishment cultivators and was only fit for Qi Refining disciples to contest, it was actually a subordinate realm of another Great Realm Heaven.
Its name was [Mystic Spirit Realm].
The former name of the Jiangnan Mass Grave was [Falling Mortal Realm]. Typically, once cultivators in the [Falling Mortal Realm] reached their peak, they would ascend to the [Mystic Spirit Realm].
However, after it was forcibly taken and turned into a Dao battlefield, the [Falling Mortal Realm] was cut off from the [Mystic Spirit Realm]. A day or two might not have mattered, but after ten or twenty years, the cultivators in the [Mystic Spirit Realm] sensed something was amiss and sent people down to investigate.
As it turned out, they walked right into a trap.
The cultivators from the [Mystic Spirit Realm] were not weak. Their cultivation level was equivalent to Foundation Establishment, though they called it "Human Immortal" instead.
Unfortunately, that particular Human Immortal was not lucky.
That very day, Daoist Dangmo of the Sword Pavilion happened to pass by. When the other party attempted a soul search upon seeing him, they were swiftly suppressed and captured by Daoist Dangmo.
And so, the secret of the [Mystic Spirit Realm] could no longer be hidden.
"According to the captured one, the [Mystic Spirit Realm] is a superior Great Realm Heaven, a dwelling place of immortals and deities, structured with five ranks of immortals encircling the Heavenly Court, each with their roles."
"The five ranks of immortals are: Heaven, Earth, Human, God, and Ghost."
"Lower realm cultivators who ascend have their physical bodies destroyed, leaving only their souls purified—this makes them Ghost Immortals, granted fiefs to govern lands and called God Immortals."
"When their merits are complete and their bodies are reformed through incense and wish power, they return to the human path as Human Immortals."
"Traversing the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, they dwell in the world but do not govern it—these are the Earth Immortals."
"With achievements in the Dao and deeds on Earth, they receive the Heavenly Edict and enter the Heavenly Court to rule both world and heavens—these are the Heaven Immortals."
As for what lay beyond the Heaven Immortals, the captured Human Immortal said no more. But Lu Yang could already guess the corresponding cultivation stage.
'Most likely the True Sovereign Realm!'
Lu Yang pondered this. No wonder a single Jiangnan Mass Grave had stirred the attention of both the Sword Pavilion and the Saint Sect's True Sovereigns—the value of the [Mystic Spirit Realm] was evident. ɽåꞐÓᛒЁṠ
After all, it was a Great Realm Heaven containing a fruit position. For True Sovereigns, it was a grand feast. Even leftovers from that banquet could satiate Foundation Establishment cultivators. Sadly, back when this first emerged, Lu Yang's cultivation was too low. He couldn't even catch wind of such matters, let alone participate.
With that thought, Lu Yang's mind came alive.
"A Great Realm Heaven! If I can ride this wave and get inside to loot it thoroughly, it would definitely accelerate the nurturing of my Immortal Spirit Body!"
But how to get in?
Lu Yang's eyes turned, and he quickly formed an idea:
'I can't show my face in the Sword Pavilion, so getting in that way is impossible. But if that route's blocked... I can use the Saint Sect!'
'As long as I inform the Saint Sect of the Mass Grave's secret ahead of time and send word to True Person Chong Guang, once the Saint Sect's True Sovereigns confirm my intelligence, I can establish contact. Then I'll say... I'm a reincarnated Saint Sect True Person, now infiltrating the Sword Pavilion anonymously!'
Although he was currently in the Sword Pavilion, he had always been a Saint Sect member at heart!
More importantly, in his past life, True Person Chong Guang had told Lu Yang how to contact him. A specially made Flying Message Spirit Scroll would go directly to his hands.
That alone should be enough to gain Chong Guang's trust.
'Let's go with that!'
With that decision, Lu Yang sprang into action. He used his magic power to ignite the prepared Flying Message Spirit Scroll, watching it turn into a beam of spiritual light shooting up into the sky.
Only then did he let out a long breath.
At the same time, Yun Miaozhen, who had been kneeling and cultivating under the desk for a long while, also emerged, wiping her mouth. Her Qi Refining Realm cultivation had clearly advanced further.
Immediately after, Lu Yang's expression turned solemn.
If he intended to get a piece of the action from the Mass Grave incident, he couldn't afford to improve his strength at a snail's pace—he needed to speed things up.
'At the very least, I need to restore my cultivation to mid-Foundation Establishment before taking action!'
With that, Lu Yang turned to the Yun Family Ancestor, Yun Miaozhen, and True Person Xiuxin: "Is there any way to obtain more Geng Metal spiritual materials?"
The three exchanged glances.
Then True Person Xiuxin softly said, "Replying to Master, that's actually not too difficult... we just need to find a few more forces that are colluding with the Jiangbei Demon Sect."
"You can find them?"
"I can make arrangements."
The Yun Family Ancestor thought for a moment and said, "As long as we put the word out that we're investigating demonic forces, the nearby sects will all be on edge."
"Using that as a pretense, we should be able to squeeze plenty of spiritual materials from each one."
Lu Yang: "..."
"Isn't that a bit too high-profile?" Lu Yang hesitated—not out of kindness, but because he worried this might attract the Sword Pavilion's attention.
After all, extorting subordinate sects like this didn't seem very righteous.
But the next second, the Yun Family Ancestor looked at him in astonishment: "Master, what's so high-profile about that? It's just routine procedure."
"Huh?"
Lu Yang was dumbfounded. Seeing this, the Yun Family Ancestor explained, "In Jiangnan, our Sword Pavilion didn't stop these forces from rising up, which means they owe us a karmic debt. Now's the perfect time to settle it—it's doing them a favor, really. What's there to fuss over?"
You call this repaying karma?
Lu Yang was speechless. In Jiangbei, the Saint Sect called this robbery—or more politely, "shaking down the countryside." He hadn't expected this interpretation.
The righteous path truly was different.
With the Yun Family Ancestor's explanation, Lu Yang finally understood. In Jiangnan, most sects that managed to rise did so through links with Jiangbei.
It was common knowledge that open trade led to profit.
These forces might not collaborate with the Saint Sect, but they definitely had to deal with Jiangbei, transporting goods and making their first fortune that way.
Yet according to the Sword Pavilion's standards, that counted as colluding with the Demonic Path.
Normally, the Sword Pavilion would turn a blind eye. But when needed, they'd pull this out to "settle karma."
It was an old trick—allow local forces to grow, knowing growth required Jiangbei contact. Contact meant demonic collusion. Ignore it until the sects are fattened up, then strike and claim moral high ground.
Meanwhile, Sword Pavilion disciples only needed to focus on sword training.
As for pills, magical tools, talismans—like the Hidden Sword Villa—they left those to subordinate sects to handle as they pleased.
Others hoarded grain, they hoarded weapons. Their allies were the granary.
This was even more extreme than the Saint Sect. The Saint Sect only descended from the mountains to rob when broke. The Sword Pavilion drained Jiangnan dry.
And they did it beautifully.
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Eliminating evil and upholding justice—the grand moral cause. No one could find fault.
Once Lu Yang fully understood the Sword Pavilion's operations and how all of Jiangnan functioned under it, he couldn't help but sigh:
"What a bunch of sword seedlings!"
Looks like I'll have to reform and develop the Sword Pavilion properly—to return it to the righteous path!