Chapter 50: The Favored Daughter of Heaven

Skeleton Mountain Market, inside the Blood Clothing Pavilion.

Lu Yang had just withdrawn his consciousness from the Myriad Spirit Banner when he suddenly felt a darkness wash over his vision, as if dust had settled upon his spiritual platform. Frowning slightly, he gazed toward the distant sky.

In the next second, he had already mounted a streak of遁光 (escape light) and arrived at the edge of the market.

A brilliant light shot across the horizon, flying like fire and lightning, only tapering off upon reaching the market gates. A tall, heroic woman stepped forward.

"...So it is a fellow Daoist from the Sword Pavilion."

Lu Yang had also practiced the "Divine Firmament Sword Control True Art" and recognized her lineage at a glance. He immediately cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Lu Yang. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Yu Shu Yunmiao Zhen."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed. After all, the names Yunmiao Zhen and Yunmiao Qing were so similar that associations were far too easy to make.

"Has the fellow Daoist come to bring back a fellow disciple?"

Thinking this, Lu Yang did not hesitate. With a casual wave of his hand, he directly pulled Yunmiao Qing out from the Blood Clothing Pavilion and tossed her in front of Yunmiao Zhen.

"Miss Miaqing has not suffered any grievances within the Saint Sect. Although she is nominally my servant, I have never mistreated her over the years, so she remains a maiden of pure virtue. If the fellow Daoist wishes to take her back, please feel free. My cultivation is shallow, so I shall not see you off outside the formation."

In Lu Yang's view, he held no enmity with the Sword Pavilion.

After all, he had not only preserved Yunmiao Qing's life but also her chastity. As the leader of the righteous path, the Yushu Sword Pavilion would surely not go out of its way to make things difficult for him.

However, he soon realized he was wrong.

"Miaqing... is still a maiden of pure virtue?"

Yunmiao Zhen lowered her beautiful eyes, her gaze falling upon Yunmiao Qing. Instead of any hint of joy, she showed a trace of disdain and helplessness.

In the next second, she let out a long sigh.

"A pity! Miaqing, you simply cannot pass through this tribulation."

As her voice fell, not only was Lu Yang stunned, but even Yunmiao Qing was left speechless, her face filled with disbelief. "Sister... what do you mean by that?"

"You did not receive the true inheritance, so you do not understand."

Yunmiao Zhen shook her head. "Your fortune is thin, and your natural lifespan is insufficient, yet you forcefully pursued immortal fate. Originally, you would have faced the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations; if you failed to pass even one, you would have instantly perished. Therefore, back then, I specifically begged Master to merge your Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations into a single ten-year Great Tribulation."

"This ten-year Great Tribulation is precisely the decade you spent trapped in the Demonic Sect."

"During these ten years, if you had suffered every possible humiliation—if your lips had been tasted by ten thousand men—yet your Dao heart remained steadfast and unswerving, then the tribulation would have been considered passed."

"A pity... you are actually still a maiden of pure virtue!"

"A maiden of pure virtue, untouched by humiliation—the tribulation will naturally not be reduced at all; it might even intensify!"

At this point, Yunmiao Zhen looked toward Lu Yang, her eyes flashing with killing intent. "This demon has ruined your cultivation. He appears benevolent, but in truth, he harbors a malicious heart. He must be executed!"

"..."

Lu Yang had to admit, he was stunned into silence.

Yunmiao Qing was even more unable to accept it, her lips trembling. "So, the reason I fell into the hands of the Demonic Sect and became their slave back then..."

"Was naturally my own design."

Yunmiao Zhen nodded. "If I hadn't done this, you would have had no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime. You are my younger sister; naturally, I must consider your best interests. This was for your own good."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang was rendered speechless.

*Holy shit, there are actual lunatics in the righteous path!*

If Lu Yang had previously held aspirations toward the world-renowned Yushu Sword Pavilion, he now felt absolutely nothing for them.

*Better to stay in the Saint Sect for now.*

*The disciples of the Saint Sect are all talents; I super love it here!*

"Come, return with me."

On the other side, Yunmiao Zhen paid no heed to the expressions of Lu Yang and Yunmiao Qing. She said loudly, "I will find another way to help you pass this Great Tribulation..."

"I won't!"

Facing Yunmiao Zhen's persuasion, Yunmiao Qing instinctively took a step back, looking at her biological sister as if she were a stranger.

After all, she could never have imagined that the experience ten years ago—falling into the hands of the Demonic Sect and nearly driving her to despair—was actually orchestrated by her own sister. If she hadn't met Lu Yang and preserved her life and purity, she might have been refined into medicinal dregs and died in some corner!

"...Behave."

Seeing Yunmiao Qing's reaction, Yunmiao Zhen's brows furrowed slightly. "You do not practice great divine powers, nor do you understand karma. Naturally, it is difficult for you to understand my painstaking efforts."

"...Painstaking efforts?"

Yunmiao Qing took another step back, her tone full of resentment. "Setting a trap to throw me into a Demonic Sect and letting me be humiliated by others—is that your 'painstaking effort' for me?"

"I am merely following karma and acting on behalf of Heaven. Once your immortal path is successful in the future, you will naturally thank me."

Yunmiao Zhen's tone was calm. In her view, her actions were not in the slightest improper; everything was as it should be, an arrangement of karma and fate.

Seeing that Yunmiao Qing still intended to argue, she simply waved her hand. A burst of light enveloped Yunmiao Qing, knocking her unconscious before casually dropping her to the side.

"A single word too many when we are not of one mind. I will not argue this with you now."

Having finished this, she turned her gaze back to Lu Yang.

"Why is Fellow Daoist Yun looking at me?" Lu Yang raised an eyebrow.

Yunmiao Zhen's beautiful eyes met his, her expression cold. She said indifferently, "You have calculatedly ruined Miaqing's cultivation. I intend to borrow an item from you to compensate."

Hearing this, Lu Yang laughed loudly. "You aren't planning to borrow this fine head of mine, are you?"

His words were laced with heavy mockery.

Yunmiao Zhen nodded slightly, not appearing angry, but her phoenix eyes narrowed, revealing a chilling killing intent. "If you are unwilling, then do not blame me for eliminating demons to protect the Way."

With that, she raised her slender hand!

In an instant, a clear light illuminated the surrounding ten miles. It was a crystal-clear, glass-like dharma sword, its blade reflecting the mountains and rivers for miles around.

"Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

Lu Yang laughed proudly. He then turned and leaped, instantly transforming into a streak of light to hide within the market, immediately activating the Hundred Bones True Formation and the Sword Array Diagram.

*A hidden dragon in the abyss—who can kill me?*

Seeing this, Yunmiao Zhen gave a cold smile. Without hesitation, a streak of light soared into the sky, crashing directly through the formation and charging into the market!

In an instant, countless gazes from inside and outside the market converged.

Given the precedent set by Ouyang Haoze, everyone knew that the Master of the Blood Clothing Pavilion was a Ninth-Grade Array Master; possessing a great formation meant being virtually invincible.

Under such circumstances, where did Yunmiao Zhen get the confidence to charge into the market alone?

Almost simultaneously, several figures appeared outside the market, including the Elder of the Divine Martial Sect, Ouyang Feng, and the Second Senior Brother of the Three Rivers Society, Luo Wuya.

However, both of these men were at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refinement stage, and their expressions were quite solemn.

Their gazes, however, were focused on another direction in the market—on the plain-looking middle-aged man who had arrived alongside Yunmiao Zhen.

"'Taiyi Sword' Yun Zhiqiu?"

Luo Wuya's face was grave; he was clearly no stranger to the middle-aged man. "Skeleton Mountain is not in your Jiangnan. The Yushu Sword Pavilion is overstepping its bounds."

Yun Zhiqiu gave a light chuckle. "My Yushu Sword Pavilion only protects the righteous path, and the righteous path knows no regional boundaries."

"What arrogance!"

Luo Wuya was moved to laughter by the sheer audacity. "You'd better pray your little junior sister can make it out alive first."

Hearing this, Yun Zhiqiu glanced at Lu Yang and Yunmiao Zhen, then shook his head. "A Demonic Sect after all; they only possess such low-level tricks."

"How can heterodox paths contend with my righteous divine powers?"

Before his voice had even faded, Yunmiao Zhen within the market performed a hand seal. The glass dharma sword she had summoned instantly erupted with a dazzling, breathtaking brilliance.

"That is..."

Seeing this, Luo Wuya and Ouyang Feng seemed to realize something, their expressions changing drastically. "The Heaven-Escape Sword!? This woman actually possesses such a heavy treasure?"

In the next second, the sword light encompassed the entire world within its radius.

Lu Yang activated his formations, but whether it was the Hundred Bones True Formation or the Blood-Washing Heavenly River Sword Array, the sword light seemed to pass through them as if they were non-existent.

*BOOM!*

When the sword light dissipated, only the two still-operating great formations remained in the market. The formations were empty; only a single glass dharma sword hung high in the sky!