Chapter 601: This Celestial Mansion Is Off!

Outer Heavens Sea of Light.

Lu Yang’s figure silently emerged, his entire qi aura extremely weakened—concealed under the cover of 【Worry-Free Heaven】, it barely reached the level of an external path cultivator, at the strength of a Grade Five True Lord.

Immediately after, his appearance also changed. Tendons were drawn, bones reshaped, and muscles restructured. His formerly youthful and handsome look was swapped for a more trustworthy and steady square face. His figure also became taller and broader—at a glance, he looked full of righteous bearing.

Only then did he fix his gaze forward.

“Mm, no mistake.”

What entered his eyes was an enormous pit, lying right within the Outer Heavens Sea of Light. Such a vast scale—it could only be the 【Celestial Mansion】.

‘Still not as broken as that place.’

That broken place—more precisely, the scale of the Immortal Pivot—could no longer be called a pit. It was a chasm, one that nearly tore the Outer Heavens Sea of Light apart.

Lu Yang looked around, silently sensing everything nearby.

In a daze, he seemed to glimpse six great dragons within the 【Celestial Mansion】, coiling around the entire Realm Heaven—among them were the Lesser Yin and Great Yang he had once seen.

‘Feels unfamiliar, and there’s a sense of separation.’

Lu Yang’s brows furrowed. Even putting aside the fruit position, he could still sense a subtle repulsion between himself and this Realm Heaven.

Yet their imagery was clearly quite close.

Indeed, Lu Yang felt that the Celestial Mansion and the Immortal Pivot shared similar fruit-position concepts—both depicted the Five Elements, only through different methods.

But the problem was, their Dao cultivations did not connect.

‘Rather than say they’re unconnected, it’s more like different aspects of the same entity. Though there’s conflict and estrangement, they can complement each other to some extent!’

Gradually, Lu Yang grew excited.

‘In other words, if I can cultivate within the Celestial Mansion and learn their understanding of the Five Elements, mastering their Daoist knowledge—it’ll benefit me immensely.’

Pushing further—could he attain a Celestial Mansion fruit position himself? Ideally, the Taiyin or Solar path, as they were the most compatible with his 【Heavenly Flame Above】. This would also greatly enhance his 【Celestial Pillar Siyan Cave Heaven】. Doing so was like dining at two households alone—he profited no matter how you looked at it!

He even had a shortcut to rapidly absorb the Celestial Mansion’s Dao cultivation.

‘Colored Talent: 【A Model Teacher】!’

‘As long as I use this talent to take in many disciples within the Celestial Mansion, as their cultivation grows, the insights and Dao knowledge they acquire—I’ll be able to synchronize it all!’

In an instant, Lu Yang reached enlightenment: ‘This is the optimal use of this colored talent—to steal the Dao cultivation of other supreme Realm Heavens and supplement my own!’

At that thought, Lu Yang couldn’t wait to get started.

‘Should I go in now?’

He thought about it, but didn’t act rashly. Instead, he slightly released his aura and waited quietly in the Outer Heavens Sea of Light.

Sure enough, before long—

A streak of flowing light flew out from the 【Celestial Mansion】, then quickly split open. Out walked a person, with a qi aura around the Grade Five True Lord level.

Another external-path True Lord?

The next second, the person called out loudly: “Which Immortal Lord might this be?”

Standing amidst the Sea of Light, Lu Yang immediately put on a cautious expression and cupped his hands toward the newcomer: “This humble one, Ming He, greets the Immortal Lord of the Celestial Mansion.”

Perhaps due to the sudden appearance and help of the Master of Demon-Subduing in his past life, Lu Yang felt a lingering resonance. Plus, the names Lu Yang and Du Huan had already been exposed and were too heavily burdened by karma. So, he simply used the Dao title the Master of Demon-Subduing had once given him.

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Ming He.”

The other person chuckled lightly upon hearing this: “I am Banshan, serving as a 【Observation Realm Patrol Envoy】 of the Celestial Mansion. May I ask what brings Fellow Daoist Ming He to our Celestial Mansion?”

Lu Yang sighed: “To tell the truth, I am a refugee.”

His expression turned mournful: “I lived in a remote Realm Heaven in the Outer Heavens. By grace of Heaven and Earth, I attained position and cultivated some Dao.”

“But that devil from the Immortal Pivot—he’s tyrannical and merciless.”

“He dragged my Realm Heaven into the conflict, and all forces rose against us. I sensed something was wrong in advance and escaped, narrowly avoiding death.”

“Even so, I was gravely injured. Only by hearing the great name of the Celestial Mansion did I seek this place—not asking for much, just a brief refuge to heal. I swear I won’t bring harm to the Celestial Mansion or allow that Immortal Pivot devil to do so.”

With that, Lu Yang sighed again.

Unexpectedly, Banshan appeared understanding: “So that’s how it is... Hah, which of the external-path Immortal Lords here isn’t the same?”

‘What the hell?!’

Lu Yang’s face remained composed, but his heart tensed—so similar incidents to the Xuanling Realm had happened many times before? The four major villain factions of the Immortal Pivot had done this repeatedly?

Meanwhile, Banshan continued to console him:

“Don’t worry, the chance for vengeance is coming. The Millennium Catastrophe approaches. The Immortal Pivot is resurfacing in the mortal world—and the Taiyin Immortal Venerable has resolved to go on the expedition!”

“Since you’re sworn enemies of the Immortal Pivot, I’ll recommend you to the Immortal Venerable to serve as a vanguard!”

“No need for that!”

Lu Yang instantly shook his head, displaying a look of lingering fear: “The Immortal Pivot... those devils are invincible. I don’t wish to see them again.”

“Please rest assured, I only seek a place to rest and heal. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll leave immediately.”

He even coughed a few times, releasing faint traces of sword light. Though weak, they still triggered a subtle sword hum, causing Banshan’s expression to shift slightly:

‘Hm? This is... the Immortal Pivot’s Sword Qi?’

Banshan narrowed his eyes and thought silently: ‘He didn’t ask to go fight on the front lines—then he’s likely not a spy. Just someone who knows his limits.’

Battle? Who’s joking? Does anyone even know the combat strength of an external-path True Lord?

He himself was one, and all he did every day was patrol the outer realms—basically security guard duties. Going to war in the Outer Heavens? Might as well go deliver his soul.

Anyone who volunteers must be suspicious!

If Lu Yang had really expressed a willingness to fight, Banshan would’ve immediately called in the other patrol envoys and arrested this scheming spy on the spot.

But Lu Yang firmly declined, looking traumatized and terrified. This made Banshan believe him more—after all, they had been through the same. The Immortal Pivot devils were brutally violent, completely devoid of immortal virtue. Fear was natural. Not being afraid? That would be suspicious.

Thinking thus, Banshan gestured:

“Come with me, Fellow Daoist.”

After all, just another external-path True Lord couldn’t stir up much trouble in the Celestial Mansion. A few questions were enough.

Besides, having another external-path True Lord around worked to his own advantage.

Following Banshan, Lu Yang cautiously descended toward the Celestial Mansion. Just as he entered, a stream of mysterious light descended from above.

‘Hm?’ Lu Yang raised his brow slightly.

But, trusting in his own peerless cunning, he remained unafraid.

Sure enough, the mysterious light scanned over him briefly and found nothing, then dispersed. Banshan’s smile also grew more genuine.

Seeing this, Lu Yang thought inwardly:

‘This Celestial Mansion is definitely different. That broken place the Immortal Pivot occupies doesn’t have things like this. To reach this level, there must be a unified system behind it.’

Through a narrow glimpse, Lu Yang already understood:

Unlike the four villainous powers of the Immortal Pivot, the Celestial Mansion was most likely unified—otherwise, it couldn’t manage regular Outer Heavens patrols or set up inspection measures.

And judging by this Immortal Lord Banshan’s demeanor, the cultivation environment in the Celestial Mansion must be better than that broken place...

Just as Lu Yang thought this—

“Oh, right.”

The leading Banshan suddenly turned back, pulled a talisman paper from his sleeve densely inscribed with symbols, and handed it to Lu Yang:

“This is a 【Great Dao Immortal Talisman】, worth ten million.”

“Consider it a loan from me to you, pay me back slowly later—only twenty percent interest.”

“After all, once you cultivate in our Celestial Mansion, setting up a cave dwelling or comprehending the Dao costs money. With money in hand, the heart stays calm.”

Lu Yang: “???”

Crap!

This Celestial Mansion seems... off!