Chapter 393: Lu Yang's Patent Fee

As the preeminent master of Daoist methods in the current age, Yun Zhi owed her stature not only to her extraordinary natural talents, but also to her relentless devotion within the Library of Scriptures, where she had spent untold hours pondering ten thousand esoteric laws.

Reasonably speaking, even if there were techniques in this world she herself could not cast, she should have at least heard whispers of them.

Yet, staring silently at the arm that continued its frantic, ceaseless spinning, Yun Zhi searched her vast reservoir of memories and found absolutely no record of whatever martial art her junior brother was attempting to cultivate.

With a soft, barely audible sigh, she took a single step forward, caught Lu Yang by the wrist, and plucked him clean out of his own palm.

"Heave—huu—blaargh—"

The moment Lu Yang emerged, the world dissolved into a dizzying blur; he swayed on his feet, seeing double as the heavens and earth spun in chaotic tandem, his mind turned to absolute mush. Unable to stand steady, he leaned heavily against the gnarled trunk of the Qiong Dragon Tree, retching violently.

A cultivator of the Golden Core stage could usually suppress the effects of vertigo by consciously regulating their internal organs, but such a feat required rigorous training. Lu Yang, on the other hand, had launched into a frenzied, supersonic spin from the very start, completely denied any buffer time to adapt.

"A self-contained domain within the palm... are you currently studying a divine ability akin to the Buddhist Kingdom in the Hand?" Yun Zhi murmured, having discerned a few clues.

Lu Yang shut his eyes tightly, anchoring himself against the massive tree trunk with his forehead, which brought a modicum of relief to his swimming senses.

"It... it is the Universe in the Palm, taught to me by the Immortal Fairy. I have only managed to grasp its rough outline."

Recalling Lu Yang's peculiar style of comprehension, Yun Zhi could guess with reasonable accuracy what had just transpired.

Mid-stage Golden Core. Not bad at all. It seemed that during her absence, her junior brother had indeed been cultivating with diligent sincerity.

Whuu—

Yun Zhi blew a gentle breath toward Lu Yang, like a vernal breeze brushing across his face. Instantly, Lu Yang felt his mind clear, his vitality restored. "Eldest Senior Sister, you have returned?"

Lu Yang then directed a fierce, internal glare at the Immortal Fairy, who was merrily enjoying the spectacle from the safety of his mental space. Look at Senior Sister—the moment she returns, she saves me from the vortex. Now look at you! For however long I was spinning out here, you were gloating in there!

The Immortal Fairy shifted her gaze away, guilt written all over her face.

Truth be told, she had initially intended to stop Lu Yang, but seeing him spin around so merrily, she found it far too entertaining and had simply stayed to watch the show.

"Go on, ask her about my patent fees right now!" Lu Yang was not about to let the Immortal Fairy off the hook so easily, actively prodding her to take over.

The Immortal Fairy wanted to struggle a bit more, but unable to withstand Lu Yang’s stubborn insistence, she was forced to possess his body.

"Girl Yun, have you finished interrogating that Tribulation Transcension cultivator from the Great Yu?" the Immortal Fairy spoke up with feigned bravado, deciding to employ a tactical detour.

"The interrogation is complete, and there are some yields. The figure standing behind him is the second Grand Preceptor of the Great Yu Dynasty, whose exact cultivation remains unknown. It was this second Grand Preceptor who ordered him to test the might and function of the Great Xia Dynasty’s national destiny; thus, he dispatched two ancient Unity stage cultivators to clash with the Governor of Qingzhou."

"Had my junior brother not summoned me to intervene, his plot would have succeeded."

The system of Grand Preceptors in the Great Yu Dynasty was one of the fundamental roots of its eventual demise, yet it was undeniable that during the dynasty's founding era, the system played a paramount role. The first two Grand Preceptors in particular were geniuses of epochal proportions, possessing the talent to reshape the heavens and earth; they had stabilized the realm and led Great Yu into an era of unprecedented might.

Those first two Grand Preceptors held immense, unshakeable positions within the Great Yu Dynasty, and through generations of oral tradition, they had long since become figures akin to living myths.

"Regrettably, the second Grand Preceptor maintained a strictly one-way, solitary line of contact with him. He is entirely ignorant of the Grand Preceptor’s current location."

"As for exactly how many Tribulation Transcension experts from Great Yu have awakened, he does not know either. However, based on the nature of the tasks assigned to him by the second Grand Preceptor, he deduces that he is certainly not the only one. Aside from himself, there is at least one more."

"He holds a considerable amount of intelligence regarding the Unity stage cultivators of Great Yu. This matter has already been handed over to Junior Brother Dai and the Luoshui Guards of Great Xia to handle. However, those ancient Unity stage cultivators are exceedingly cautious; it is highly likely they noticed the disturbance at the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony and have already fled to the ends of the earth. How many can actually be captured depends entirely on luck."

"According to his confession, there is one individual among his subordinates who poses the greatest danger, known as Perfected Lord Tomb-Bone. His cultivation is not particularly outstanding, but he possesses a damaged Myriad Soul Banner. Originally, the banner was pristine and whole, but during his long slumber, he failed to preserve it properly. Over the vast stretches of time, it gradually decayed, allowing the vicious ghosts trapped within to break free and ravage the mortal realm."

"In the thirty-thousandth year of the Great Xia Calendar, a severe ghost plague erupted in Liangzhou. Malevolent spirits roamed unchecked, plunging the populace into misery. No one dared step outside after nightfall, and the vast expanse of Liangzhou was crawling with phantoms. The imperial court had to dispatch a massive force before the calamity was finally suppressed. Unfortunately, at that time, the court was still oblivious to the awakening of ancient cultivators, so they never looked in that direction, leaving the true cause of the plague a mystery for the longest time."

That ghost plague must have been caused by Perfected Lord Tomb-Bone’s Myriad Soul Banner; the timeline aligns almost perfectly.

Perfected Lord Tomb-Bone is currently mending the Myriad Soul Banner, a process that requires a colossal amount of bloody aura and aggrieved souls to be completed.

"To amass such a colossal amount of bloody aura and aggrieved souls, slaughter is entirely unavoidable."

"The fact that he is currently mending the banner implies he has already found a place capable of generating this aura and these souls, yet we have received absolutely no intelligence regarding such a slaughter."

"If driven into a corner, he might choose to break the Myriad Soul Banner entirely, unleashing all the vicious ghosts to devastate an entire province."

As she reached the end of her explanation, Yun Zhi’s tone carried a rare, heavy gravity.

"If we cannot locate him as soon as possible, once the Myriad Soul Banner is fully mended, even if we manage to apprehend him, it will be too late. He—"

Lu Yang: "..."

The Immortal Fairy: "..."

Why does this Perfected Lord Tomb-Bone sound so incredibly familiar?

The Immortal Fairy hesitated for a brief moment before asking, "What does this Perfected Lord Tomb-Bone you speak of look like?"

Venerable Natural Disaster had already confessed the appearances of all his subordinates. With a sharp flick of Yun Zhi's fingers, a cloud of mist drifted forth, slowly morphing into a withered old face that both Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy recognized instantly.

A shriveled, decrepit old man who looked as though he hadn't eaten a full meal in days, clutching a tattered banner.

"It really is him!" Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy blurted out in perfect unison.

"You know him?" Yun Zhi was perplexed. Perfected Lord Tomb-Bone was a cultivator of the Great Yu era who had consistently hidden in the shadows. They hadn't even determined which province he was hiding in, so where on earth could these two have crossed paths with him?

The Immortal Fairy assumed a grand, inscrutable posture, projecting the aura of a far-sighted, profound historical figure. She pressed her fingers together as if calculating the celestial mechanics of fate, though it looked remarkably like someone suffering a sudden bout of epilepsy.

"This Immortal, through a swift divination of the fingers, deduced that a demonic cultivator was stirring up trouble in Liangzhou. Thus, I commanded the Netherworld Heavenly King of my vanguard to oversee the situation, joining forces with the Nine Serenities Sect to vanquish the demon. We tracked down this rogue, captured him alive, and presented him to the Nine Serenities Sect as a token of eternal friendship between our two organizations!"

Translated roughly by Yun Zhi’s internal filter: For reasons unknown, the Grand Elder and Vice Sect Master Shi had already captured Venerable Tomb-Bone, while Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy had merely stood by as spectators the entire time.

The specific process mattered little, so long as the target was secured.

Yun Zhi cupped her hands in a respectful salute. "Heavenly Venerable Dou’s strategic calculations are truly astonishing."

The Immortal Fairy preened with immense self-satisfaction, shooting Lu Yang a slightly provocative, triumphant glance.

"There is yet one more minor matter concerning Lu Yang that this Immortal wishes to ask you."

"Please speak, Senior."

"Lu Yang submitted a patent for a flying carriage. Elder Wu the Fifth mentioned that the patent fees had already been delivered to you. Why is it that you have not handed those fees over to Lu Yang?" As the master of the Heavenly Court, the Immortal Fairy showed absolutely no courtesy to the acting leader of the Heavenly Court Sect.

Yun Zhi seemed to recall something, her expression remaining entirely flat.

"So it was that matter."

"Why did you not give it to Lu Yang?"

"I forgot."