Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Innate Ability

In the newly risen, majestic Immortal Mountain.

Lü Yang rode his Flying Light and landed on the mountain’s peak in a single step. His eyes were met with a vast expanse of Spiritual Mist, from which a rosy glow ascended, coalescing into an Array Spirit.

”This servant pays her respects to the Perfected Person.”

The Array Spirit had the appearance of a beautiful woman with a graceful, noble, and elegant bearing. She gave Lü Yang a slight bow, her voice warm and pleasant as she spoke.

Lü Yang’s eyes lit up at the sight.

Of course, he had no interest in her beauty.

What truly interested him was that this Array Spirit was remarkably similar to the one on Holy Fire Cliff, as if they were cast from the same mold!

”What grade is this array?”

”In response to the Perfected Person,” the Array Spirit replied respectfully to Lü Yang’s inquiry, ”this servant is a Sub-array differentiated from the Main Array on Holy Fire Cliff. I am responsible for guarding this Immortal Mountain for the Perfected Person, mastering spiritual mechanism fluctuations, and observing Qi Fortune Merits. As for my grade... I should be around the Fifth Grade.”

Hearing this, Lü Yang was filled with eager anticipation.

Arrays were divided into nine grades. A Seventh-Grade Array was the limit of Qi Refining, while Fourth to Sixth Grade arrays were already in the Foundation Establishment category. If he could study this one in depth, it would be of immense use to him!

Although he was already a Seventh Grade Array Master, the prestige of that title had diminished significantly after he stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm.

This was because for a Perfected, the Hundred Skills of Cultivation—including Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Arrays, and Talismans—were all things they would naturally master after reaching the stage.

The Seventh Grade was merely a basic qualification for a Foundation-Stage Cultivator.

Therefore, if Lü Yang could advance even further in his study of arrays and become a Foundation Establishment Array Master, he would gain another trump card for the future.

”You. Come find me tonight.”

”This servant understands.”

After giving his instructions to the Array Spirit, Lü Yang continued to stroll through the Immortal Mountain. At his waist, the Profound Token gifted to him by Perfected Chong Guang began to glow.

Engraved upon the Profound Token was his Daoist title: Yuan Tu.

As Lü Yang activated the Profound Chapter, the surrounding Spiritual Mist began to surge. Under the power of the array, the Spiritual Qi gathered and solidified into bricks, laying themselves down one by one.

Before long, the surrounding Spiritual Mist had thinned considerably, settling into a hazy state that was misty but not opaque. Before Lü Yang’s eyes, a magnificent hall constructed entirely of Spiritual Qi had appeared. From this day forward, this would be his place of seclusion!

Condensing Spiritual Qi into a Cave Mansion—what an extravagance!

In a cultivation environment like this, even the air tasted sweet. Recalling his old days of renting a Cave Mansion on Heaven Mending Peak, Lü Yang couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

’I guess I’ve finally made it,’ he thought.

With this in mind, Lü Yang took out the Myriad-Soul Banner.

The next moment, the Banner unfurled, and the figures of Su Nu and Progenitor Tingyou appeared. Progenitor Tingyou, in particular, was slightly taken aback when he saw Lü Yang.

But he quickly recovered and let out a sigh. ”So you’ve reached Foundation Establishment. Not bad.”

”You praise me too much, Progenitor.”

Lü Yang cupped his hands and then said suddenly, ”Progenitor, this disciple has established his Dao Foundation and received a generous gift from the Stain Sect: special permission to establish a personal domain here in the Cloud Sea.”

”I was thinking, perhaps I could use this opportunity to re-establish the Wu Ghost Sect.”

At these words, Progenitor Tingyou was stunned. ”...What?”

Then, his expression twisted visibly, and his voice trembled. ”Re-establish the Wu Ghost Sect? Are you serious?”

”Of course not.”

Lü Yang said readily, ”I was always a disciple of the Wu Ghost Sect. Now that I’ve finally reached Foundation Establishment and have the chance to reopen the Sect, why wouldn’t I take it?”

Besides, it was a favor that cost him nothing.

Lü Yang highly valued a quality, skilled asset like Progenitor Tingyou, so he naturally didn’t mind providing him with a bit of emotional satisfaction.

Progenitor Tingyou let out a long breath, seeming to have finally composed himself. He looked at Lü Yang again and said suddenly, ”The Dao Foundation you’ve established far surpasses anything from my Wu Ghost Sect. My past experience in Condensing Innate Ability will be useless to you. You can only rely on yourself.”

”Innate Ability?”

Lü Yang’s eyes flickered. He knew his investment in emotional satisfaction had paid off; Progenitor Tingyou was clearly about to reveal some exclusive, valuable information.

”I ask for the Progenitor’s guidance,” Lü Yang immediately said, cupping his hands.

Seeing this, Progenitor Tingyou explained, ”The Innate Ability is unique to Foundation-Stage Cultivators.”

”Techniques are the borrowing of the Majestic Power of Heaven and Earth.”

”Whether it’s a Lower Grade, Middle Grade, Upper Grade, or even a Legendary Technique, the essence is borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth. It is an external force, not your own.”

”However, the Innate Ability is different. It belongs completely to you.”

”This is because an Innate Ability is a special kind of ability derived from a Foundation-Stage Cultivator merging their own Soul with their Dao Foundation, like the blending of Yin and Yang.”

”For a Foundation-Stage Cultivator, Legendary Techniques and the like are just ordinary combat methods. The Innate Ability is their true ace in the hole. It’s tied to their Dao Foundation and future Dao path, so they won’t reveal it lightly. When one is used, it’s often in a moment that decides life and death.”

”The same applies to cultivation within the Foundation Establishment Realm.”

At this point, Progenitor Tingyou’s gaze flickered. ”You’ve actually seen it before. A Foundation-Stage Cultivator’s ’Dao path’ requires gathering four ingredients of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.”

”These ingredients are drawn from the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches.”

”Furthermore, they are all manifestations of the concepts of Heaven and Earth, revealed through Qi. Thus, they can also be called ’Skills,’ and each one is divinely mysterious.”

”The so-called ’Dao path’ is actually the method by which a Foundation-Stage Cultivator uses their personal Innate Abilities to accommodate four Skills. They use these four Skills to nurture their one Innate Ability, which ultimately elevates the Soul to seek the Golden Position. Though the expression of this differs between Dao Sects, the final destination is the same for all paths.”

This was what they meant by the saying, ”An elder in the family is a priceless treasure.”

Progenitor Tingyou, a former Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator, was holding nothing back, teaching Lü Yang everything he knew. In an instant, the cultivation path of the Foundation Establishment Realm became clear to Lü Yang.

No wonder the ’Abilities’ section in the Centome had been wiped clean.

It seemed that from the Centome’s perspective, only the Innate Ability and Skills had enough value to be worth recording for him now.

”In that case, Progenitor, how does one go about Condensing an Innate Ability?”

”To Refine an Innate Ability, the first prerequisite is achieving Dao Foundation Perfection,” Progenitor Tingyou said, glancing at Lü Yang with some emotion. ”You have already met this condition.”

”After that, it is simply a matter of merging your Soul with your Dao Foundation.”

”This is where your Enlightenment is tested. Some get stuck at this step until the end of their lifespan and achieve nothing, while others reach Major Mastery of their technique after just a few decades of cultivation.”

”Enlightenment...”

Lü Yang frowned at this. It wasn’t that he lacked confidence in his own Enlightenment, but rather that his particular brand of it might not be very effective here. ℴℴ𝘮

”Progenitor, you can’t have this epiphany for me, can you?”

Progenitor Tingyou looked speechless. ”Of course not.”

’Just as I thought, it’s not going to be easy,’ Lü Yang thought.

”If you could obtain an Artifact that can perform calculations of celestial secrets to assist you, it would also increase your chances of success,” Progenitor Tingyou added helpfully.

Hearing this, Lü Yang was immediately relieved.

’By my calculations, in thirty years, the Ancestor of the Yun Family will reincarnate into the Simulation Realm, bringing my Divination Artifact with him... It’s about time it returned to its rightful owner!’

Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately rose to his feet with a flick of his sleeve.

As it happened, there was also something he planned to take care of in the Simulation Realm.

A Jade Box appeared in Lü Yang’s hand. Lying inside was a Demon Insect, entirely black except for a single golden line running from its head to its tail.

The Qi-Eating Insect King!

The offspring of this Extraterrestrial Alien Species had all been slaughtered by World Purger Fei Xue. Only this main body had survived, gifted to him by Perfected Chong Guang.

To nurture it back to the point where it could harm even Foundation-Stage Cultivators, he would undoubtedly need to provide it with a massive amount of blood and flesh.

Looking across the world, where could he possibly satisfy such a condition?

”Without a doubt, the Simulation Realm.”

”One hundred and forty million living people, their bodies brimming with qi and blood, will surely be enough to let the Qi-eating Insect have its fill.”