Chapter 605: The Assimilated True Lords

【Dear user, your credit advance has been deposited.】

In the end, Lu Yang still chose to take out a loan.

What was unexpected was that although the Great Dao Immortal Talisman was essentially just a piece of scrap paper, the difficulty of refining it was quite high—mainly due to the numerous anti-counterfeiting features.

“If it were an ordinary person, from borrowing money to purchase the refinement method, to learning it, and finally starting to refine, they’d likely waste a lot of time. By the time they were able to produce their own Immortal Talisman, the one billion debt would have accumulated so much interest that it’d be nearly impossible to pay off.”

At that point, one would be completely ensnared.

‘Fortunately, I have exceptional comprehension and needn’t worry too much.’ Thinking this, Lu Yang immediately passed the Immortal Talisman Refinement Method to Ancestor Ting You of the Righteous Dao Banner.

“Sorry to trouble you, Ancestor,” Lu Yang said with a sheepish grin.

“You… hand it over then.”

Ancestor Ting You shook his head, though he did not refuse. In fact, had Lu Yang not given him the method, he would have brought it up himself.

After all, they were now in the same boat.

Moreover, Ancestor Ting You had his own considerations: ‘I’m still too weak. Though 【Worry-Free Heaven】 was considered top-tier among the External Dao,’

In the end, External Dao was still the External Dao.

Its fruit positions, refined through the ages, had hollow foundations. In terms of rank and roots, how could they compare to the orthodox fruit positions backed by Dao Lords?

They weren’t even on the same level.

‘In the end, I still need to figure out a way to obtain an orthodox position.’

‘Alas, though External Dao fruit positions are easy to attain, they also to some extent sever one's path. Returning to the orthodoxy is even harder than reaching Foundation Establishment.’

Originally, Ancestor Ting You had given up.

However, after coming to the Celestial Mansion Great World and witnessing the system known as the "Great Dao Immortal Talisman," where even fruit positions could be bought and sold, he was once again filled with hope.

‘If I succeed… perhaps I’ll be of help to Lu Yang once more.’

In Alliance Prestige City, Lu Yang descended with a flash of light.

After handing over the Immortal Talisman Refinement Method to Ancestor Ting You for study, he thought briefly, then returned—not for any other reason than to gather information.

‘Master, Suohuan, and Empress Xiao are still in critical condition. I’ve only barely suppressed their injuries with the Righteous Dao Banner. To truly recover, they’ll need Supreme Treasures—ones effective on True Lords. After thinking it over, the External Dao Alliance might be the easiest to infiltrate. Hopefully, I can obtain something useful.’

In the next second, a stream of light rushed toward him.

The light parted, revealing Ban Shan, who looked at Lu Yang with surprise in his eyes. “Fellow Daoist… you haven’t received your credit advance yet?”

In Ban Shan’s view, Lu Yang clearly hadn’t had time to contact him.

After all, anyone in the Celestial Mansion needed to spend money to survive. As a True Lord, if one didn’t refine their own Immortal Talisman, there was no way to survive just by working odd jobs.

But to refine a talisman, a loan was necessary. And to pay off the loan quickly and avoid excessive interest, one had to study and use the Refinement Method as soon as possible. The longer one delayed, the more debt piled up, until eventually one became a full-time debtor.

And this guy… was just running around?

At that thought, Ban Shan suddenly shuddered: ‘They say newborn calves fear no tiger. This outsider… could it be he doesn’t even intend to repay the loan?’

Unacceptable!

Repaying debts was every External Dao True Lord’s duty, the very basis for their survival. If people could just say “I won’t repay” and get away with it, what law and order remained?

What’s more… I loaned him ten million!

Ban Shan’s brow furrowed. Staring at Lu Yang, he said sternly, “Fellow Daoist, the Celestial Mansion is harsh on debt defaulters. Don’t do anything foolish.”

Lu Yang’s eyes flickered at his words, but he deliberately put on a righteously indignant face. “Still, one billion for an External Dao Immortal Talisman is way too much. If I take out the loan, won’t I be enslaved by it for life? We cultivators pursue the Great Dao and freedom—how can we willingly live under others’ thumbs?”

Ban Shan actually laughed.

“Fellow Daoist’s words are quite amusing. Back in the day, some of our External Dao Ancestors said the same, even tried taking their disciples and leaving for the Outer Heavens.”

“Oh? And what happened to them?” Lu Yang asked curiously.

Ban Shan replied indifferently, “They defaulted. The tax officials from the Ninth Level descended and beat them until their souls were scattered, and their fruit positions were confiscated.”

“Fortunately, my great-grandfather was resourceful. He and a few other True Lords formed the External Dao Alliance, consolidated all their talismans, and began issuing them under a unified system. My grandfather took over and worked tirelessly to recover the seized fruit positions.”

“It’s thanks to the contributions of my ancestors…”

“That today’s External Dao Alliance chose me to serve as Alliance Leader and entrusted me with the most important post: 【Observation Realm Patrol Envoy】.”

At this point, Ban Shan sighed again.

‘Fine, just my bad luck. I lent out ten million after all. If it goes down the drain, my working capital will take a big hit too.’

“Come with me, Fellow Daoist.”

As they spoke, the two arrived at the depths of Alliance Prestige City, where a vast, formation-shrouded cemetery awaited them.

Lu Yang looked out and saw countless tombstones.

From outermost to innermost, the deeper into the cemetery, the stronger the residual auras became. Especially the dozens of gravestones at the center—they shocked Lu Yang:

‘External Dao True Lords… no, wait, they were True Lords, but had likely fallen in rank before death. What remained was just a trace of divine anomaly.’

“These… are all our External Dao Alliance’s Ancestors.”

Ban Shan gestured and said solemnly, “Every generation, after an Ancestor’s spiritual disintegration, their fruit position is left for successors, and their body is buried here in this Dao Mausoleum.”

“This was built by my great-grandfather at great expense. He bought 【Taiyin Soil】 from a tax official and created this spirit-nurturing sacred ground. With a body buried here, after seven or eight hundred years, there’s a thirty percent chance it’ll reawaken into a new life.”

“Seeing this must stir some feelings, right?”

Ban Shan advised earnestly, “Fellow Daoist, would you want to be someone who, a thousand years later, can’t even afford a proper burial?”

If not, then you’d better hurry up and study the Immortal Talisman Refinement Method, forge your talisman, and pay back that ten million you owe me.

At the same time, Lu Yang finally realized:

‘No wonder something felt off… External Dao True Lords aren’t immortal. Without Metal Nature, they age and die too.’

In other words, Ban Shan—or rather, all seven External Dao True Lords of the current Alliance—were successors of earlier fruit positions. They weren’t the original generation that first achieved enlightenment. No wonder their scheming and techniques felt off. To Lu Yang, they didn’t even seem like cultivators—they seemed more like—

‘More like mortals.’

Yes, even though the mighty External Dao Alliance appeared formidable, in Lu Yang’s eyes, it resembled a mortal organization wearing a veneer of immortality.

Did they fight?

Did they engage in spell combat?

No.

Their job was to manipulate Immortal Talisman prices, outspend their enemies into bankruptcy, draft yin-yang contracts, and dodge taxes “legally.”

As for cultivation? Too inefficient.

Using Immortal Talismans to buy power was far more effective.

Their battlefield was on an entirely different plane—one built wholly upon the Celestial Mansion system, fundamentally different from the cultivation battlefield Lu Yang understood.

In that domain, each of them might indeed be a prodigy, possessing world-shaking talents. But when it came to enlightenment, combat arts, and scheming among cultivators, they displayed shocking ignorance. Not because they were stupid, but because their mindset had long been set in stone.

For a moment, Lu Yang felt a chill run down his spine:

‘These External Dao True Lords… have long since been assimilated by the Great Dao Immortal Talisman system. They’re no different from trained dogs!’