After putting away the bronze mirror and sorting through the storage rings of Dugubao Feng and Li Lianshan, Yang Hong finally left the secluded cultivation chamber.
"Husband, you're out."
"That's great~ Husband, I'm glad you're okay."
"Husband, you're amazing!"
"Yeah, Husband, you actually killed an immortal."
"Husband..."
As soon as Yang Hong stepped out of the chamber, his women were all waiting outside, extremely excited.
But as he listened to their fervent exclamations, Yang Hong's face changed drastically.
"How do you know I killed an immortal? And that Dugubao Feng didn't have immortal strength; he had sealed his cultivation."
He raised his hand, silencing Li Lizhi and the others, and then asked, "Who told you I killed an immortal?"
"It was Budong Temple!"
The women answered almost in unison.
"Strange, why would Budong Temple be the one to spread this? And how would they know I killed an immortal?"
Yang Hong was deeply suspicious of Budong Temple's source of information.
"We're not sure, but three days ago, the entire Wufang Domain was abuzz with the news of you killing an immortal. They even said that immortal came from the Upper Realm and was named Dugubao Feng."
"Three days ago?"
Yang Hong's brow furrowed even deeper. This was clearly a conspiracy. Budong Temple was trying to instigate conflict between him and the Tianji Sect and other Daoist cultivation forces. Furthermore, Yang Hong was certain that Budong Temple didn't know he had actually killed Dugubao Feng. They had merely obtained some intelligence, made a deduction, and then presented their speculation as fact.
Understanding this, Yang Hong clapped his hands, signaling everyone to quiet down.
"Alright, what are you all so excited about? Killing an immortal is not a good thing. If those cultivation sects find out, they might all attack us."
"Oh, right. There's really no need to be happy."
The women nodded in realization, having been so focused on their joy that they forgot to consider the danger.
"You all go and release a statement immediately, declaring that I did not kill any immortal. In fact, aside from those bald donkeys from Budong Temple, I haven't killed any other cultivators. The news of me killing an immortal is a frame-up by Budong Temple. It was Budong Temple that killed the immortal."
Blame shifting was essential, and it had to be a strong one.
"Tell the public that we have sealed our mountain after the great changes in heaven and earth. Other than our own disciples, we haven't received any outsiders. As for immortals, that's utter nonsense."
Hearing Yang Hong's words, Zhu Yuyan, a former sect leader, immediately understood his intentions.
"Husband, don't worry, I'll go release the statement now. Fortunately, disciples from the Xuanyin Sect and the Qingyun Sword Sect are nearby, and we can use them."
"However, there's a problem. That giant mirror that appeared on our mountain that day might not be so easy to explain."
Zhu Yuyan accepted the blame-shifting task but raised a new question. After all, that bronze mirror had expanded to a diameter of 300 li and was clearly visible in the sky.
"That is indeed troublesome. My artifact refining skills are too poor to create a high-grade mirror artifact, otherwise, I could use a fourth or fifth-grade mirror to fool them."
Yang Hong frowned and began rummaging through his storage equipment for mirror artifacts. He was a ruthless individual; those over a dozen massive storage rings represented how many cultivators had met their end at his hands.
Bang~ Bang bang~
Mirror after mirror was brought out by Yang Hong, totaling over a hundred. Zhu Yuyan and the others' eyes twitched, and their mouths watered. They knew Yang Hong had killed many people, but they hadn't expected so many. Judging by the storage rings alone, many high-level cultivators had perished.
"Here's a mirror. Its function seems to be expelling evil and gathering yang. It's also a Buddhist mirror."
Finally, Yang Hong selected a seventh-grade precious mirror, an artifact of an eighth-grade Buddhist cultivator, which was perfect for shifting the blame. He just wasn't sure if it would be convincing enough.
"Yuyan, take these artifacts and distribute them. Use Buddhist artifacts openly, and try to avoid using Daoist ones. Since we've already fallen out with Budong Temple, there's no need to save face for them."
"Hehe~ Husband, you're truly devious."
Before Zhu Yuyan could speak, Li Lizhi pounced on the pile of mirrors and began selecting them, with the others not hesitating either.
Meanwhile, Yang Hong had already begun activating the seventh-grade precious mirror.
"Go~"
The precious mirror flew out of the Five Elements Primal Chaos Formation and began to rapidly expand. However, this mirror expanded much slower than Dugubao Feng's immortal artifact mirror. Furthermore, it consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual power.
"Bald donkey's item. Using it seems to consume even more spiritual power?"
After an hour, the mirror had only expanded to a diameter of 100 li, and Yang Hong's vast spiritual power was almost depleted.
"Xiao Jin, come here. I'll give you a power infusion."
Seeing his spiritual power running low and the mirror only at 100 li, Yang Hong immediately instructed the ninth-grade spiritual plants to temporarily leave their positions and infused them with power, allowing himself to recover.
Upon hearing Yang Hong's summons, the Golden Thunder Bamboo, Xiao Jin, transformed into a delicate young man and flew over. Yang Hong's power infusion was a shortcut for their rapid cultivation advancement.
"Ding~ You infused the ninth-grade Golden Thunder Bamboo with 2700 days of cultivation, receiving a ten-thousandfold cultivation return, gaining 27 million days of cultivation."
"Ding~ Cultivating the 'Top-Tier Body Tempering Technique' for 27 million days, the Top-Tier Body Tempering Technique has advanced to level 115."
Surprisingly, the first infusion resulted in a tenfold return, an unexpected pleasant surprise. Without further thought, Yang Hong poured the recovered spiritual power into the precious mirror in the sky.
Powerful spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, simultaneously driving his cultivation to climb steadily. Even controlling the mirror felt easier. However, expanding the mirror to 300 li was not easy. As the mirror's area increased, so did the spiritual power it consumed. Fortunately, Yang Hong had a cheat system with him.
"Ding~ You infused the ninth-grade Nine-Star Sword Grass with 2700 days of cultivation, receiving a ten-thousandfold cultivation return, gaining 27 million days of cultivation."
"Ding~ You infused the ninth-grade Purple Rhyme Profound Sun Ginseng with 2700 days of cultivation, receiving a ten-thousandfold cultivation return, gaining 27 million days of cultivation."
"Ding..."
There were too many unexpected pleasant surprises. It seemed that after the great changes in heaven and earth, the cultivation return system had also mutated. His seven consecutive spiritual plant infusions all yielded a tenfold return. Finally, with the push from the returned cultivation from seven infusions, Yang Hong's cultivation, which had been lowered to help Li Lizhi and the others re-cultivate, rose back to ten thousand years of cultivation in the Integration stage. Simultaneously, the precious mirror in the sky finally expanded to 300 li.
"Bright Light Technique!"
Immediately, Yang Hong unleashed a Bright Light Technique through the precious mirror. A faint white light emanated, resembling the white light that Dugubao Feng had unleashed with his immortal artifact that day.
Seeing this light, and the mirror, Li Lizhi approached Yang Hong, who had finally stopped, and asked with confusion.
"Husband, is there any point in doing this? Isn't this just covering our ears while stealing the bell?"
"Heh heh~ We've already covered our ears, so whether we're the ones stealing the bell is no longer important. What matters is whether the conflict between the immortal and Buddhist sects is big enough, and if the stepping stone I've provided for them is sufficient for them to tear each other apart."
In response to Li Lizhi's question, Yang Hong smiled with a hint of profound mystery.