Gan Tian’s melody was not only directed at enemies, but it also had supportive properties. As Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou fought to their heart’s content, hearing her melody allowed their strength to soar.

Typically, Meng Jingzhou could only sustain his Dharma Manifestation for a short while, but under the music’s influence, the duration was significantly extended.

Lu Yang’s sword qi and spells seemed inexhaustible, pouring forth without end.

Gan Tian licked a stray potato crumb stuck on her lips. “The dried potato slices taste pretty good, but they lack a bit of flavor. Do you have honey?”

“Yes, yes, I do.” Yun Mengmeng’s storage rings might lack other things, but seasonings were abundant—sesame oil, soy sauce, cumin, chili...

“Here. This is honey I brought from my hometown, made from peach blossoms. It’s delicious.”

Yun Mengmeng produced a small bottle of honey, drizzling it over the potato slices before sealing the paper bag and shaking it vigorously. The thick, golden liquid gave off an immensely sweet fragrance, and its spirit energy concentration was so dense that only those at the Fusion Stage or above could digest it properly.

Gan Tian ate a honey-coated potato slice and nodded with satisfaction. “Mmm, now it tastes right.” 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Yun Mengmeng licked the honey from her fingertips. “So sweet. Little Zhi, want some?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Yun Mengmeng looked at her “childish” friend in surprise. “You’re still afraid of tooth decay at this age?”

“I’m just not fond of overly sweet things.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Yun Zhi was rendered speechless.

Two fought, three watched. It was a scene of peace and harmony atop Heaven’s Gate Peak.

“When will this fight end?” Lu Yang transmitted an auditory message to Meng Jingzhou.

“No idea.”

It could be said that their cultivation had no weaknesses. Both possessed formidable offensive power and robust physiques and were unrivalled among those at the same level.

In terms of offensive moves, Lu Yang had the edge; in terms of physical resilience, Meng Jingzhou held the advantage. Now bolstered by Gan Tian’s music, their offensive might and bodily strength were enhanced, and their rate of healing was astonishing.

At this rate, it would be difficult to determine a victor.

And this is so exhausting...

“Y-you, just give up...”

“Y-you should give up...”

“Dream on...”

In the end, they were utterly spent, their movements weak and sluggish. Although they could still muster some spirit energy, they were too exhausted to care, yet neither was willing to concede, so they resorted to throwing punches. Seeing that they could barely continue fighting, Gan Tian kindly stopped playing her qin.

Without the music’s support, the two had no strength left to prop themselves up. They took two steps toward each other, then collapsed, their heads knocking together with a thud before they fell fast asleep on the ground.

From a distance, Yun Zhi performed a spell, levitating Lu Yang back to his cave abode and sending Meng Jingzhou back to his.

With Meng Jingzhou gone, Lu Yang could finally return to cultivating in peace.

~~~

Three years passed in a flash.

As agreed upon, Bai Ye relocated a peak from the Great Snow Mountain and settled at the Dao-Seeking Sect. Sharing the same body as her, the Moonchaser True Person came to reside at the sect as well.

Behind Heaven’s Gate Peak now stood the Great Snow Mountain, making it convenient for Lu Yang to visit Bai Ye.

To outsiders unaware of Bai Ye’s existence, they simply assumed that the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace was attempting to transplant moon laurel trees.

After cultivating for so long, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou wanted to go to the outside world for a stroll. Inadvertently, they stumbled upon a string of murders. Investigating the identities of the six victims, they discovered all had been biaoshi armed escorts for a particular shipment. Following this lead, they identified the seventh person, also the last target.

By the time they arrived, the seventh person had already been assassinated. However, using a symbol the victim had traced in blood with his finger in his final moments, along with their formidable spiritual consciousness, the two successfully uncovered an encrypted ledger hidden within a secret compartment in the study.

What followed was an endless stream of pursuers sent to silence Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, all of whom were naturally cut down in turn. These sacrificial soldiers bore restrictions that prevented their souls from being searched.

The two turned their attention back to the ledger. After deciphering it, they discovered it recorded the smuggling operations between the Demon Kingdom and Great Xia, involving a spirit stone shortfall with far-reaching interests.

Lu Yang reasoned that such a vast operation must involve one of the great Transcendent Tribulation demon tribes, all of whom now resided in the Demon Kingdom’s Demon City.

Subsequently, they disguised themselves as rogue cultivators and sneaked into the Demon City. By chance, they bumped into Zhu Tian, who was traveling incognito. After a series of carefully staged events, with Zhu Tian pretending not to know them, they finally identified the Jiuying Tribe as one of the smuggling parties.

The two pretended to pick a fight and wreak havoc in the Jiuying Tribe, fighting their way from the Foundation Establishment members up to forcing a Fusion great demon to take action.

Seeing that they were no match, they feigned escape, luring out the Jiuying Tribe’s Transcendent Tribulation old ancestor to pursue them. At the critical juncture, Zhu Tian intervened and subdued him.

Following the trail, they extracted confessions from the Jiuying Tribe and ascertained that the smuggler from Great Xia was Duke Qin, Jing Yansong.[1] When Great Xia’s imperial court learned of this, they cooperated in the arrest, dismantling Duke Qin’s long-standing smuggling network and forces. The illicit proceeds were then used to replenish the treasuries of both nations.

This case became the largest smuggling scandal since the Demon Kingdom’s founding and was enshrined by the Great Xia’s Ministry of Justice as a model case to be passed down for generations.

During Lu Yang’s clash with the Jiuying Tribe’s Fusion great demon, he had accidentally obtained a fragmented map from the other party’s robes. Poring over ancient texts, he uncovered that it was a key to the legendary Cloudscape Secret Domain, a place said to contain countless treasures. Only by gathering all nine fragments could one unlock it.

Lu Yang also realized that the fragments allowed communication among their owners. All nine pieces of the map had owners, but mutual distrust prevented them from gathering. With a lack of other options, Lu Yang enlisted the help of the Heaven Strategy Sect, who used the fragment in his possession to calculate the locations of the other eight. He then sought them out one by one. Among them, the strongest was at the Fusion Stage, and the weakest was at the Golden Core Stage.

After assembling all the fragments, they opened the Cloudscape Secret Domain. However, it would only admit Golden Core cultivators. Lu Yang had no choice but to request the Vast Sea Daoist Lord’s assistance. Using the power of his Space Incipient Dao Fruit, he loosened the secret domain’s entry conditions, allowing all nine people to enter.

However, it turned out that the Cloudscape Secret Domain was a trap left by a Transcendent Tribulation cultivator from the late Great Qian era. Upon realizing that, the Vast Sea Daoist Lord engaged the Great Qian cultivator and captured him alive.

As for the treasures within the secret domain, the most valuable one was none other than the Great Qian cultivator himself.

Apart from these incidents and a scattering of trivial matters, these three years had passed uneventfully.

Atop Heaven’s Gate Peak, a Spirit-Qi Gathering Array constructed by high-grade spirit stones radiated outward. Lu Yang pressed his hands together and sat cross-legged on a lotus platform formed by nine sharp swords.

Forming seals with his hands, he regulated his breath. His essence, qi, and mind merged into one, like a spirit sword splitting apart the heavens. As his momentum rose, the high-grade spirit stones were rapidly depleted, becoming hollow shells as their power flowed ceaselessly into Lu Yang.

His meridians expanded, his dantian enlarged, and his primordial soul grew vividly lifelike... his body underwent world-shaking transformations.

The momentum that had soared to its zenith suddenly plummeted. Lu Yang exhaled a pure breath. His mind, soul, and body were now purified, with all acquired turbidity expelled.

He stretched, his joints popping and cracking. “At last, Intermediate Divine Transfiguration Stage.”

1. Fun fact: this person was first mentioned in chapter 145. ☜