Out of respect for the Phoenix Clan's Old Ancestress, as well as the world's romantic illusions about phoenixes, Lu Yang felt it unnecessary to reveal the ancient secret he had just learned.
Lu Yang felt he was shouldering far too much. He was only in the Foundation Establishment stage, after all.
Logically speaking, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator knew so many ancient secrets, they ought to be able to use them to reap all sorts of fortuitous opportunities.
For instance, if some ancient race had lost its heritage, Lu Yang could smile faintly and casually name the place where the inheritance lay, allowing them to reclaim it. Astounded by his celestial genius, that ancient clan would then insist on offering their Saintess to him as his wife.
Or when entering an ancient mystic realm where others fought tooth and nail through every trial, he would understand the underlying mechanics and stroll through at his leisure, claiming the ultimate prize and leaving a crowd of heaven-chosen prodigies flabbergasted.
Or at an auction, a treasure nobody cared about would appear; no one could discern its purpose, and it would nearly go unsold, only for Lu Yang alone to recognize it as a priceless ancient treasure of so-and-so, snatching it up for dirt cheap.
Lu Yang had never encountered a single one of these miraculous situations.
Lu Yang felt that knowing a whole mountain of ancient secrets was utterly useless—not a single one came in handy.
Lu Yang pondered: where had things gone wrong?
...
The matter of the Phoenix Blood Stones came to an end. After a night of commotion, the greatest rewards were inadvertently foiling the Nine Nether Cult's devious scheme and Li Haoran discovering that Su Yiren was a body cultivator.
When Father Li and Mother Li woke up and saw a person-wide bottomless pit in the courtyard, they fell into deep thought.
Everything had been fine before they went to bed, so how was there such an enormous hole the moment they woke up?
Su Yiren had been worried that the commotion during the night would wake Father Li, Mother Li, and Qin Yanyan, so she had laid down a sound-isolating array for them.
Truth be told, the noise from Su Yiren pinning down and pummeling the old phoenix's corpse last night had not been small at all. Only Li Haoran's household had heard nothing; everyone else in Luofeng Commandery had heard it clearly.
The Commandery Governor publicly announced that underground operations had been underway during the night, and failure to properly control the force used had caused inconvenience, asking for everyone's understanding.
He couldn't very well admit that he, the Commandery Governor, was incompetent, that the Nine Nether Cult had slipped right under his nose, and that everyone would have been doomed if not for Su Yiren.
If he said that, his days as governor would be numbered.
"A minor accident happened last night—a villain tried to sneak in, but fortunately Senior Su intervened," Lu Yang explained briefly about the events of the previous night, omitting everything about the Phoenix Blood Stones, the Commandery Governor, the Mo Family Patriarch, the Nine Nether Cult, and the old phoenix.
In short, nothing had happened last night.
Qin Yanyan rolled her eyes at the rambling Lu Yang. If her mother had been forced to step in and had pounded out such a huge pit, whatever happened last night was definitely no small matter.
However, it wasn't convenient to ask in front of Father Li and Mother Li, so she let Lu Yang spout his nonsense.
Father Li and Mother Li nodded half-understandingly. After Lu Yang promised to fill in the pit, they didn't pursue the matter any further.
Inside the hole, it was pitch-black. If someone could see through the darkness, they would find an old phoenix lying at the bottom of the pit.
According to Jiang Shan, this deceased senior phoenix had willingly chosen to be buried here; as for the hidden circumstances behind it, even he did not know.
"Senior Su, I think..."
"Call me Yiren." Su Yiren finally found an opportunity to correct how Li Haoran addressed her. Her tone was gentle, like a tender haven capable of ensnaring any hero. No one could ever associate her with the body cultivator from last night.
Although Su Yiren was a body cultivator, she didn't have the explosive, bulging muscles of Third Elder. Her physique was well-proportioned and aesthetically pleasing to ordinary tastes, resembling a fitness influencer from Lu Yang's past life.
"Yi... Yiren..." Li Haoran stammered.
"Yes?" Su Yiren beamed.
"I think we might not be..."
Before the words "a good match" could leave his lips, Su Yiren placed her index finger gently against Li Haoran's lips.
"Haoran, I know you can't accept this truth all at once. We're both cultivators with very long lifespans. Let's try to start accepting each other and adjust slowly. If we truly aren't a good match, you can bring up breaking up then, all right?"
Unable to voice a refusal, Li Haoran nodded gently.
Su Yiren smiled and released her hand, while Qin Yanyan stomped her feet in frustration from the side.
While Su Yiren's index finger had seemed to rest lightly on Li Haoran's lips, only Li Haoran knew just how much force was behind that finger—so much that he couldn't open his mouth at all.
Even so, even if Su Yiren hadn't silenced him, he had still wanted to give things a try with her.
Having achieved her purpose for this trip, Su Yiren stayed no longer. She worried that being overly affectionate might make Li Haoran uncomfortable, so it was better to keep some distance and give each other space.
Su Yiren and Qin Yanyan spent the day there. After dinner, they took their leave. Before departing, Su Yiren secretly set up various formations beneficial to Father Li and Mother Li, then waved to Li Haoran: "When you have free time, I'll come find you."
Another day passed, and Li Haoran, as usual, demonstrated his cultivation for his parents, throwing punches and meditating.
Yet as he cultivated, he noticed something amiss. Spiritual energy surged within his body in wave after wave; his fingers and toes reflexively flexed and curled—a clear sign that spiritual energy was overflowing.
*Am I about to advance? That makes sense. Counting the time, it's about time for a breakthrough.* This wasn't the first time Li Haoran had encountered this; he had experienced something similar during Qi Refinement.
At present, he was in early Foundation Establishment. Because he had soaked in magma for so long, his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment had been over a month later than Lu Yang and the other three.
Among the top five of their batch, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had just entered late Foundation Establishment, while Tao Yao and Man Gu had been in middle Foundation Establishment for some time. Li Haoran was progressing the slowest.
Now, he was finally catching up to the four of them.
Li Haoran sent a voice transmission asking Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to stand guard for him.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had already woken up but were lazing in bed refusing to get up. Hearing that their good brother was about to advance, they didn't even bother washing up, hurrying out of bed and into the courtyard to protect Li Haoran.
Li Haoran sat cross-legged and took two deep breaths. A small vortex formed above his head, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy. Crackling sounds echoed within his body—he was tempering his physique the way one forged artifacts, hardening his blood vessels, meridians, acupoints, and organs.
His skin turned bright red like a piece of red-hot iron. Sweat was expelled to the surface with a sizzling hiss, forming fine beads that instantly evaporated into steam.
Fortunately, this change did not last long. With a muffled grunt, his aura surged drastically. Having completed a full heavenly circuit, he successfully entered middle Foundation Establishment.
As he reached middle Foundation Establishment, a wave of memories he had never lived through appeared in his mind. They felt extraordinarily familiar, as if he had experienced them in person.
"Huh?"
He slowly opened his eyes, a bewildered expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Lu Yang asked with concern, thinking something had gone wrong with his cultivation.
"My past life... seems to have been the Nine Nether Cult Master."
Li Haoran's voice was full of uncertainty.
"What?!"
Chapter 231