Chapter 23: The Emergence of the Demon Sect

  "Kill!"

  "Kill!"

  Just as Lü Yang was straining to listen, a chorus of battle cries suddenly erupted from the grasslands not far away. Lü Yang was startled and only then realized that at some point, many people wearing white clothes, white headscarves, and holding sharp blades had appeared on the surrounding grasslands. As soon as they emerged, they charged forward with fierce war cries.

  "This is bad, these are all White Lotus Sect disciples, we have been ambushed."

  Someone recognized their origins and suddenly shouted loudly.

  "What! White Lotus Sect disciples!" Lü Yang was shocked to hear someone reveal the origins of these people, and many things that he hadn't had time to think about earlier surfaced in his mind. "That fairy just now, is actually a member of the White Lotus Sect? Ah, Fourth Miss called her the White Lotus Demoness! She really is a member of the White Lotus Sect!"

  In the current vast and desolate world, it is the heyday of the Xuantian Gate's power. Except for the seven major immortal sects and their subordinate branches that have surrendered to them, all other large and small schools, Taoist temples, are viewed as evil demons and heretics, and are not allowed to travel or preach in Zhongzhou. If they want to enter Zhongzhou, they must apply for a permit from the imperial court of the Great Xuan Dynasty, register and file records, otherwise they will be sent troops to suppress or arrested by the Xuantian Gate disciples who patrol various states and prefectures, and severely suppressed.

  All Taoist masters, either accepted the imperial seal and became national teachers of various countries in Zhongzhou, or were eliminated, killed, drowned in feces and blood, it can be said that those who followed the trend prospered, while those who went against it perished.

  Under such high-pressure measures, within the Great Xuan Dynasty, the scene of hundreds of years ago with numerous sects and temples had long since disappeared. Even Buddhism, which once widely accepted followers and had a profound influence, had also retreated without a trace, leaving only one branch called the White Lotus Sect, which continued to secretly pass down its teachings in the ancient lands of Zhongzhou. They burned incense, recited scriptures, gathered at night and dispersed at dawn, not distinguishing between rich and poor, male and female, old and young, widely accepting followers, omnipresent but hidden beneath the earth, never completely eradicated.

  The scriptures of the White Lotus Society contain teachings that oppose darkness and pursue light, with the ultimate victory of light over darkness. Therefore, it is said to be the supreme sacred teaching that saves the world from great calamity. Its followers consider the four seas as their home, are equal and mutually assist each other, and believe that all people in the world are children of the goddess "Eternal Venerable Mother" who has no birth or death. They all have a common heavenly hometown, so distinctions between nobility and baseness, poverty and wealth, are differences created by the aristocracy to rule the common people, which will ultimately be punished by heaven. When the end of the world's calamity arrives, only those who believe in the White Lotus Teaching can enter the White Lotus Pure Land under the protection of Maitreya Buddha and be reborn in extreme joy.

  For years, the White Lotus uprising has been frequent, and some people have even heard that when Zhao's ancestors first rose to power, they also borrowed the strength of the White Lotus Society and the Xuantian Gate to start their rebellion. After defeating many opponents, they finally established the Great Xuan Dynasty. As for why they later turned against each other, it is another high-level secret that is not something a small person like Lü Yang can understand. All Lü Yang knows is that since the Great Xuan Dynasty declared the White Lotus Society to be an evil cult, the society changed its name to the White Lotus Sect and went underground, starting a thousand-year-long secret transmission of teachings. Now, its influence extends to all secular countries and major sects, and it has become an alliance of remnants from many sects that were previously exterminated by the imperial court. Even many civilian martial arts groups, bandits, and pirates who have nothing to do with the White Lotus Sect are recruiting followers under the banner of the White Lotus Sect. As a result, there is a mixture of good and evil, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false, which has also caused headaches for the Xuantian Gate and the imperial court.

  But one thing is certain, the high-level officials of Xuantian Gate and the Great Xuan Dynasty will never tolerate the existence of such a rebel, they have long regarded it as a thorn in their eyes, a stab in the flesh, insisting on eliminating it, killing without pardon.

  Lü Yang was born into the Lü family and naturally recognized this infamous demonic sect.

  "Hurry! Hurry! Protect the young lady of the manor!"

  In the chaos, the guards and slaves brought by the scholars from Nanling, along with the suddenly appearing White Lotus Sect disciples, began to fight each other. Before Lü Yang's eyes also appeared several White Lotus Sect disciples, who without saying a word, raised their knives and charged at him to kill.

  "Get out!"

  Lü Yang's thoughts were disrupted and he couldn't help but let out a loud roar, throwing a punch at the White Lotus Sect disciple who was charging forward.

  Cough!

  Head cracked and bones fractured! The White Lotus disciple suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream and flew out horizontally!

  Lyu Yang had not been in contact with martial arts for long, and the martial skills he practiced were not some extraordinary techniques. Apart from a somewhat mysterious and incomplete "Bu Tian Jue" (Supplementing Heaven Technique), there was nothing particularly superior to ordinary people.

  However, that mysterious small tripod drilled into his body and sprayed out two hot and cold streams, bringing him a transformative encounter that was too great to be gained. Coupled with infinite energy and diligent practice day and night, Lu Yang's progress has been rapid until now, far surpassing any genius in the Martial Hall.

  He initially laid the foundation and skipped the skin and tendon refinement stages, directly reaching the acquired third stage of bone refinement.

  Having gained the appreciation of Fourth Miss, and with his emotions in turmoil, he broke through to the Acquired Fourth Layer of Divine Intent.

  Then, after months of hard work, he vaguely reached the peak of acquired fourth rank and showed signs of breaking through to acquired fifth rank.

  At this time, one punch could knock a person's head bleeding and even fly the entire body out, showing off Lü Yang's enormous power that was different from ordinary martial artists.

  "This man is fierce, let's join hands and go up together!"

  Several White Lotus followers who had surrounded him were startled, not expecting that Lü Yang looked refined and elegant, with the appearance and temperament of a rich young master, but his actions were so cruel and ruthless.

  The punch just now had a strength of at least three thousand catties.

  "Join hands to deal with me?" Lü Yang sneered, mobilizing his full strength and suddenly charging towards another White Lotus Sect disciple. "You're just some rough and unrefined martial artists who haven't even cultivated your inner energy, yet you think you can take on a true master like me who has already reached the middle stage of martial arts?"

  "How naive!"

  Lü Yang is no longer a young man with boundless energy, but a martial artist. What sets him apart from ordinary people is that after unleashing his full strength in one strike, he can immediately unleash another full-strength strike, without any worries about exhausting his strength.

  So he didn't mind these people's siege at all, and vaguely, there was some excitement. This was his first real battle since practicing martial arts, which can be said to be extraordinary in significance.

  As expected, just as Lü Yang was about to retreat but instead charged forward towards the White Lotus Sect disciples, the mysterious small cauldron rooted in his lower abdomen suddenly surged out a warm current that spread throughout his entire body.

  In the blink of an eye, Lü Yang's physical strength and spirit, which had just been slightly depleted, were completely restored, and even his internal energy was fully recovered!

  Suddenly vigorous and powerful, another full-strength fierce strike!

  But just then, something unusual happened. The warm current that gushed out of the small tripod spread throughout his body, restoring all of Lü Yang's physical strength, spirit and internal energy. However, unlike in the past, it did not disappear but instead continued to flow, faintly resonating with some external thing.

  "This... this..."

  Lü Yang's eyes suddenly widened, revealing an incredulous expression.

  He felt that on the body of the White Lotus Sect disciple who was killed by his own punch, a faint and imperceptible light flashed, and a strand of vital energy rose up and flew straight towards him.

  In an instant, that strand of vital energy merged with the warm current flowing out of the small cauldron, and it was clearly perceptible that the warm current suddenly increased by several degrees, as if oil had been poured onto a fire.

  And all the blood vessels and meridians in the body also surged violently.

  After a surge of energy and blood, the turbulent power, like water without roots, burst out from the void and filled Lv Yang's entire body.

  "Mind and will unite, will and energy unite, energy and power unite! This is the acquired fivefold, three-united realm! I've actually broken through!"

  Lyu Yang had originally reached the bottleneck of the Fourth Stage of the Acquired Realm, and there were faint signs that he was about to break through to the Fifth Stage of the Three Harmonies Realm, but he never thought that he would actually break through like this.

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