That Is an Immortal Venerable

With the matters of the Dharma Assembly concluded, Yang Lingrui's injuries were also mostly healed.

The two then began to sort through the harvest from his journey.

They first planted the Purple Firmament Flower that Yang Guanfeng had sent back into the Spirit Field. Next came the pitch-black Strange Stone that Yang Lingrui had obtained from the Dharma Assembly.

The two reverently placed it as an offering beside Chen Yang.

"This child Lingrui has such good fortune. Every time he goes out, he brings back something good for me!"

Chen Yang released his consciousness, wrapping it around the Strange Stone to slowly perceive its internal structure.

"It looks ordinary, but it's unexpectedly solid."

Chen Yang discovered that the surface of this little lump of coal had undergone some unknown evolution, forming an incredibly strong protective layer.

Even relying on his late-stage Qi Gathering consciousness, it took a fair amount of effort to probe into the Strange Stone's interior.

This only made him more curious about what the Strange Stone could do, so he roused his spirit and released his full consciousness.

As the vast power of his consciousness spread outward, Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui, who were standing in the ancestral hall, both felt a faint, looming pressure in their hearts.

"As expected of an Immortal Venerable. Just the overflowing power of his Divine Sense brings such immense pressure!"

The two thought to themselves.

Under Chen Yang's full effort, the defenses of the little lump of coal were finally breached. His consciousness drove straight in, arriving at its core.

"Ah? This..."

Upon seeing the Strange Stone's internal structure clearly, Chen Yang was stunned.

"It's actually hollow!"

The interior of this coal-like Strange Stone was entirely empty. There was nothing inside. In other words, the entire stone consisted of nothing but its outer shell.

In all his years as a stone, this was the first time Chen Yang had ever encountered such a thing.

"Interesting, interesting! Let me see what this outer shell is good for! I'm eating it!"

Chen Yang mobilized his spiritual power, pulled the lump of coal to his side, and began to devour it.

Crunch...

Crunch...

"Hmm... the flavor is alright, and the texture isn't bad. Crispy, just a little hard, kind of like..."

Chen Yang chewed as he pondered what this familiar sensation reminded him of.

Searching through the memories of his past life, a certain food surfaced in his mind.

"Brother! You taste just like crispy rice crust!"

The more Chen Yang ate, the more enthusiastic he became. After swallowing the entire lump of coal, he actually found himself wanting more.

Once the devouring was complete, a mass of pitch-black energy appeared within Chen Yang.

At first, this mass of energy seemed somewhat unstable, darting wildly inside him. Later, he mobilized his spiritual power and forcibly suppressed it into his white space.

Here, the pitch-black energy was fully catalyzed by his spiritual power, gradually transforming from a gaseous state into a fluid.

After the black liquid finished transforming, it flowed back into Chen Yang's body. Finally, half an inch beneath his surface, it solidified into a gel-like protective film.

Chen Yang perceived it briefly. Even without being activated by spiritual power, this protective film retained the ability to ward off probing from Divine Sense.

But when Chen Yang mobilized his spiritual power to activate it, the gel-like film seeped outward and rapidly hardened over his surface!

Within a single breath, it completely covered his exterior, forming a protective outer shell akin to black armor.

This was also the first time Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui had ever seen Chen Yang's form undergo such a drastic change. Both revealed astonishment, a deep curiosity rising in their hearts.

"What kind of divine ability has the Immortal Venerable recovered this time?"

Chen Yang touched this black shell with his consciousness. After a brief perception, his heart leapt with joy, for he discovered that the defensive capability of this shell was quite astonishing.

Thus, he transmitted a thought to Yang Lingqing, instructing her to bring him into the mountains and use the flawed Mountain-Splitting Talisman on her person to test its defensive power.

"Sister Qing, will this be alright? The Immortal Venerable won't be harmed, right?"

As the two entered the depths of Song Mountain together, Yang Lingrui watched Yang Lingqing take out the Mountain-Splitting Talisman and felt a twinge of worry.

He was all too familiar with the power of a Mountain-Splitting Talisman. Even knowing the Immortal Venerable possessed formidable divine abilities, he still felt a bit nervous.

"What are you thinking? That is an Immortal Venerable. How could a trifling Talisman possibly harm him?"

When it came to their Immortal Venerable, Yang Lingqing had always held absolute trust.

The reason was simple. Without the Immortal Venerable, the Yang family would have been wiped out in the Beast Tide long ago. Everything they had now would be nothing but an empty dream.

With her clear and intelligent mind, she naturally recognized that the Immortal Venerable must have some unknown motive for continuously helping the Yang family.

However, this was all built upon the foundation of him preserving the Yang family's safety and repeatedly saving the lives of their cultivators.

She had read a saying in a book long ago.

"A gentleman is judged by his deeds, not his intentions. If judged by intentions, there are no perfect men in this world."

If one always considered matters from the dark side of human nature, then even her own family's two ancestors-or even herself-could not withstand scrutiny if one dug deeply enough.

Whether the Immortal Venerable was using the Yang family, whether he would sacrifice them in the future, and numerous other possibilities-these all remained purely in the realm of conjecture.

But his saving the Yang family, and his saving Lingrui and Linghu-these were facts that had already occurred.

Between the Yang family and the Immortal Venerable, the contributions he had made far exceeded the offerings the Yang family had provided.

Precisely because of this, Yang Lingqing refused to maliciously speculate about the Immortal Venerable's motives.

In her view, such behavior was not only meaningless, but also incredibly foolish.

"Step back a little."

Yang Lingqing pinched the Talisman between her fingers and instructed Yang Lingrui to retreat to the side.

Chen Yang was placed at the foot of the mountain, his back against the rock wall. He activated the armor shell to cover his body.

"Rise!"

Yang Lingqing activated the Talisman. As Dharma light surged, a sharp cutting force erupted outward, hurtling straight toward Chen Yang.

Swoosh-

Crack!

The mountain-splitting force landed squarely on Chen Yang. Yet, the two merely touched for a brief instant before the technique was deflected. It flew diagonally, slashing into the rock wall behind him.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, a smooth slash mark about two meters long and two zhang deep appeared on the rock wall.

Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui hastily stepped forward. Looking at this slash mark, a trace of dread rose in their hearts.

If such power had landed on the two of them, they would not have been able to withstand even the slightest bit of it.

Their gazes then fell on Chen Yang. They saw that their family's Immortal Venerable had not only effortlessly blocked and deflected the Mountain-Splitting Talisman, but this immensely powerful technique had not left a single scratch on his black outer shell!

"The Immortal Venerable's divine ability is truly incredible!"

"I told you earlier. How could a mere Talisman possibly harm the Immortal Venerable?"

Chen Yang was equally amazed by the defensive power of this armor shell.

Judging from the force just now, he inferred that if he had been in his former, unprotected state, he still could have blocked it. However, it absolutely would not have been this easy, and his body would have definitely suffered some minor chipping.

"The defensive power of this armor shell far exceeds the late Qi Gathering stage. It has already reached the level of Qi Gathering Perfection!"

Chen Yang was extremely satisfied with this. With this divine ability, he now possessed self-preservation means that transcended his cultivation realm, putting his mind at ease.

The test complete, the two people and one stone returned to the ancestral hall in the Yang family's Restricted Grounds.

Next came the spoils Yang Lingrui had acquired on his return journey. Yang Lingqing opened the scholar cultivator's two Storage Bags and brought out Spiritual Ink, an Inkstone, and drawing paper.

Combined with the Spiritual Brush he already carried, it formed a perfect, complete set.

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