Covering the Sky: A Guide to Proving the Dao Without Cheats

Of course, this wasn't the reason he almost burst out laughing.

What truly broke him was the content that followed.

The plan of the Ruthless Lineage itself is not problematic, but the "seed players" selected during its execution are truly... speechless.

In fact, every major power has its own sphere of influence, and the geniuses born within it belong to that power.

If the Holy Son of Yao Guang were to frequently cross borders to hunt, he would easily be exposed. However, by passing on his demonic arts to the geniuses within these forces and letting them "do it themselves," the secrecy would be greatly enhanced.

And look at their chosen targets: Hua Yunfei of the Tai Xuan Sect and Jiang Yifei of the Jiang family.

These two are considered the cream of the crop among the younger generation in their respective factions, and their status and position allow them to effectively conceal their behavior. But these two are, in a way, "oddballs."

Hua Yunfei was a man of quiet temperament, with a deep love for music, and almost indifferent to worldly affairs.

Jiang Yifei is a refined and easy-going person who dislikes fighting with others.

These two can be considered rare "Buddhist" geniuses in the world of "Covering the Sky".

The ruthless lineage chose them to cultivate the most murderous and predatory "Devouring Heaven Demon Art," which was simply asking the impossible.

As a result, Hua Yunfei's cultivation was sporadic, requiring constant coercion and urging from the ruthless lineage.

The scene was somewhat absurd, reminiscent of a teacher holding a knife to a student's family member's neck to force the student to study.

Luo Hengzhen wanted to say to Hua Yunfei on behalf of the Ruthless Clan: "Are you cultivating to help me? Who's worried about your combat strength being lacking? It's your own path! Do you know how many people you can leave behind by crossing each barrier in every major battle?"

That's a difference of thousands, even tens of thousands! The laziness you indulge in now will have to be paid back tenfold in the future. Don't wait until later to regret not cultivating properly...

Of course, Luo Heng knew these were just jokes. He also understood that, in the end, it was indeed the Ruthless Clan who had tricked Hua Yunfei.

Because if Hua Yunfei were really just an ordinary cultivator, then teaching him such a heaven-defying technique as the Devouring Heaven Demon Art might be considered a stroke of good fortune.

But what is Hua Yunfei's identity? He is the youngest grandson of Xingfeng of the Tai Xuan Sect, and his future is already bright.

With his status and talent, even without cultivating this demonic art of plundering others, he was destined to go far in the future and even become famous in the Eastern Wilderness.

On the contrary, while cultivating the Devouring Heaven Demon Art enhanced his combat power in the short term, it came at the cost of sacrificing countless possibilities for the future.

No wonder... Hua Yunfei was so resistant.

In short, this is quite outrageous.

Imagine if the Ruthless lineage had chosen Wang Teng, the one who said, "My son Wang Teng has the potential to be an emperor," instead. They probably wouldn't have needed to urge him at all; Wang Teng would have trained to a great degree on his own and would have been eager to take the initiative and hunt down the world.

It can only be said that the cultivation method and the person's personality are seriously incompatible.

As for Jiang Yifei, he went even further—he had his family kill the ruthless envoy who came to impart his skills.

And this envoy who was killed by the Jiang family happened to be the main architect of this "sowing plan".

He ultimately ruined himself because of his bizarre "talent selection criteria," which also brought the project to an abrupt end.

If this guy hadn't died, Luo Heng really wanted to call him over and ask him what kind of mentality he had when he chose Hua Yunfei and Jiang Yifei.

The whole process seemed quite comical to Luo Heng.

……

Suddenly, the jade pendant hanging from his waist began to vibrate slightly. Luo Heng picked up the pendant, glanced at it, replied to a message, and then waited quietly.

Before long, the Holy Lord of Yaoguang led a beautiful young girl dressed in blue into the courtyard.

The girl was like an elf under the moon, with a graceful and otherworldly appearance, as if she did not belong to this mortal world. She was a combination of spiritual energy and beauty.

Especially her bright eyes, which shone like stars in the night sky, belonged to Luo Heng's former senior sister, Weiwei.

Leaving aside Luo Heng's situation, Weiwei, who had just entered the courtyard, appeared outwardly calm, but inwardly she was in turmoil.

She had already learned of the unexpected death of the former Holy Son, and that her junior brother, Luo Heng, whom she had picked up outside the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, had become the new Holy Son of Yao Guang. Although she was shocked by this, she quickly accepted the fact.

She also knew that her assignment to go to the Northern Region on this mission was arranged by the new Holy Son of Yao Guang.

She hadn't thought much of it when the Holy Lord of Yaoguang said he would bring her to see the Holy Son of Yaoguang.

But upon entering the courtyard, one sees Luo Heng sitting calmly in the distance, seemingly with no intention of getting up to greet him.

Looking at the calm face of the Holy Lord Yaoguang beside her, she had a vague feeling that she might be about to touch upon some astonishing truth.

As the two approached, Weiwei twitched her nostrils, and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted into her nose. With just a light sniff, she felt a jolt to her soul, instantly regaining some clarity.

She was startled; this was actually the Spirit Nourishing Incense, a rare spiritual incense that could nourish a cultivator's soul, its value comparable to a divine source of equal size.

Therefore, lighting this incense is essentially equivalent to burning divine essence. Such an act can only be described as extravagant.

Surprised, Weiwei couldn't help but glance at the bronze incense burner beside the Holy Son of Yaoguang out of the corner of her eye before turning her gaze to Luo Heng and scrutinizing him again.

Upon seeing this, they were even more astonished. The Holy Son of Yao Guang before them was adorned with artifacts of the highest level, making him incredibly wealthy.

As the two approached, Weiwei bowed and said softly, "Greetings, Holy Son."

As the greetings rang out, Luo Heng waved his hand, indicating that the two of them did not need to be so polite.

"Two sounds?"

The question flashed through Weiwei's mind first, and then she turned her head to look at the Holy Lord Yaoguang beside her.

Her already bright eyes widened even more instantly, and her small mouth opened slightly, her face filled with disbelief. She had actually seen the Holy Lord of Yao Guang bow to Luo Heng.

At this moment, Weiwei's mind was in complete chaos.

Why did the Holy Lord of Yaoguang bow to the Holy Son of Yaoguang?

"Does the Holy Son of the Yao Guang Holy Land hold a higher status than the Holy Lord?"

"Have I discovered some terrible secret? Will I be silenced because of it?"

Weiwei's mind was filled with these random thoughts. She stared blankly at the Holy Lord Yaoguang for a while before she came to her senses and her expression became very strange.

The Holy Lord of Yaoguang and Luo Heng, who were standing nearby, ignored Weiwei's strange behavior.

The Holy Lord of Yaoguang directly handed over three items: a small furnace and two ancient jade pieces engraved with the character "Emperor".

Luo Heng smiled with satisfaction upon seeing the three items. This was, in fact, a test of the Holy Lord of Yao Guang.

The Holy Lord Yaoguang might not recognize the two ancient jade pieces engraved with the character "Emperor," but with his keen eyesight, he could easily discern that the small furnace was actually a quasi-Emperor weapon.

If the Holy Lord of Yaoguang were to become greedy, he would not hesitate to kill one as a warning to others.

In fact, the Holy Lord of Yaoguang had indeed considered taking the furnace for himself.

However, even with this quasi-emperor weapon, he was still no match for Luo Heng and the sage behind him.

Secondly, the Holy Lord of Yaoguang could naturally tell that this quasi-emperor weapon belonged to the Jiang family.

If he were to use it today, the Jiang family would likely come knocking on his door with their supreme imperial weapon tomorrow. And since the Yao Guang Holy Land no longer possesses any supreme imperial weapons, it could very well be annihilated by the Jiang family.

Therefore, he ultimately suppressed his greed.

Luo Heng took the three items and, with a flick of his wrist, retrieved the complete Devouring Demon Jar.

The jar was dark, and the lid was slightly ajar, from which two swirling, ethereal yellow clouds, one large and one small, floated lightly to the Holy Lord of Yao Guang and Weiwei respectively.

"I believe in rewarding merit and punishing wrongdoing. You did a great job this time, and I must reward you handsomely. This primordial energy is a reward for you."

"By the way, Weiwei, from now on you will be under my command. This is an extra reward for you."

After saying that, Luo Heng released another small ball of Xuanhuang Qi, which, together with the one he had given to Weiwei earlier, amounted to about a quarter of a cubic meter.

Although Yao Guang Saint Lord felt that Luo Heng's statement was a bit strange, he still happily accepted the Xuanhuang Qi.

At this moment, Weiwei was still a little dazed. It wasn't until she saw the Holy Lord of Yaoguang signal to her with his eyes that she could accept it that she hurriedly withdrew the Xuanhuang Qi in front of her.

Then, the Holy Lord of Yaoguang reported the progress of several matters to Luo Heng.

Luo Heng mostly listened casually, only occasionally asking a question or two when something he cared about was mentioned.

After the Holy Lord finished speaking, Luo Heng waved his hand, indicating that if there was nothing else, he could go about his business.

However, the departing Holy Lord of Yao Guang was unaware of this. The Holy Son, who had maintained a calm expression throughout, was watching his retreating figure, a hint of contemplation flashing in his eyes.

As the Holy Lord walked away, Luo Heng suddenly remembered someone: Elder Liu, who was still presiding over the Yaoguang Stone Archway.

Prior to this, having read the original novel, Luo Heng subconsciously viewed things from the perspective of the protagonist, Ye Fan.

Therefore, even though they outwardly controlled the Yao Guang Holy Land, they remained vigilant and wary of it, harboring mostly thoughts of exploitation.

But now, after reading through many secret records from within the Yao Guang Holy Land, especially from the Ruthless lineage, he is finally able to re-examine everything from their perspective.

Only now did Luo Heng realize that he might have been too prejudiced beforehand.

He despised the Yao Guang Ruthless Clan largely because they were Ye Fan's enemies in the original story.

However, from their perspective, what they do is essentially no different from all other major forces in the Beidou system: all aim to cultivate a supreme power capable of suppressing the current world.

However, due to the special nature of its techniques, the process appears exceptionally cruel and extreme.

Furthermore, he also discerned from those words that the Yao Guang Holy Land was not a monolithic entity.

Although the true "Yaoguang" lineage and the "Ruthless" lineage both govern the Holy Land, they are actually clearly distinct and have their own lineages.

If the records in the secret manual he read were all true, then it would not be difficult to understand why Elder Liu had changed his attitude towards him.

The other party probably truly regards him as the successor of the Ruthless Great Emperor.

In that case, perhaps... it's worth trying to win over this ruthless faction hidden in the shadows within the Yao Guang Holy Land.

Offering them tangible benefits and demonstrating sufficient sincerity and goodwill may gradually win them over to our side.

Thinking of this, he glanced subtly at the departing Yao Guang Holy Lord out of the corner of his eye.

—At least, he seems more worthy of trust than the "holy lord" before him.