When Yun Zhi stated that even she couldn't tell, the Immortal Fairy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Heh heh, told you it's outside our field! No one can see through it."
This proved that her inability to spot what was wrong with Li Haoran wasn't due to poor eyesight, but simply the reality of the situation.
"From my observation, Junior Brother Li's body is no different from an ordinary person's, showing no traces of a Dao fruit's presence."
"So there's nothing wrong with my body?"
Yun Zhi shook her head gently. "No. On the contrary, this proves there is something wrong with your body. If your body is no different from an ordinary person's, where did those memory fragments come from?"
"Matters concerning Dao fruits involve the underlying principles of the world. Even I cannot fully comprehend or elucidate them all. Junior Brother Li's situation requires careful, long-term consideration."
"If Junior Brother Li obtains more memory fragments in the future, you may inform the sect. The more we know, the easier it will be to analyze what is truly happening with you. Moreover, this is also an opportunity to learn about the Nine Nether Cult."
Li Haoran nodded. If he obtained any more memory fragments, he would definitely tell the sect; keeping this bottled up only made him panic.
As a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator who suddenly learned he was the cult master of one of the Four Great Demonic Cults, anyone in his shoes would feel uneasy and need to find a powerful backer.
Fortunately, the Dao Seeking Sect he belonged to was the greatest backer in the world.
"I have one more question."
"Ask away."
"You've all been talking about 'Dao fruit' this and 'Dao fruit' that since earlier. What exactly is a Dao fruit?"
Dai Bufan only then recalled that Li Haoran had no idea what a Dao fruit was.
Thinking about it, that made sense: a Dao fruit was the fundamental basis for achieving immortality, so how could someone in the Foundation Establishment stage be qualified to know about it?
Then why had he instinctively felt earlier that it was completely normal for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to know about Dao fruits?
Dai Bufan looked at the remaining two Foundation Establishment cultivators present—Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
*Why do the two of you know about Dao fruits?*
...
A supreme secret like a Dao fruit was something even ordinary Body Integration cultivators knew little about. Only those at late or peak Body Integration were qualified to encounter and understand matters regarding Dao fruits. Su Yiren, for instance, only had a rough concept of a Dao fruit, knowing even less about it than Lu Yang.
Dai Bufan was an exception. Although he was only at early Body Integration, he managed the Mission Hall and held numerous intelligence channels in his hands, so he knew quite a bit about Dao fruits.
Furthermore, his combat prowess could hardly be treated as merely that of an early Body Integration cultivator.
Theoretically, Li Haoran was not qualified to know about Dao fruits. However, a rudimentary Dao fruit was potentially hidden within his body, and it would be unreasonable not to inform the person involved.
Therefore, Eldest Senior Sister gave Li Haoran a brief rundown on Dao fruits, and only then did Li Haoran realize his importance.
He was not just connected to the Nine Nether Cult now; more importantly, he was tied to a potential path to immortality.
If outsiders caught wind of this, countless people would be sorely tempted. The present Li Haoran was just like Tang Seng's flesh in Lu Yang's past life—never mind whether they could actually obtain the Reincarnation Dao fruit, they would kidnap Li Haoran first and ask questions later!
"Behind the rudimentary Immortal Dao fruit is an immortal. Could it be the same for the rudimentary Reincarnation Dao fruit?" Back at Tianmen Peak, Lu Yang felt some concern for Li Haoran's predicament.
If an immortal were to take action, capturing Li Haoran and extracting the Reincarnation Dao fruit or rudimentary Reincarnation Dao fruit would be effortless; Li Haoran wouldn't have the slightest ability to resist.
"Which is why I advised Junior Brother Li earlier not to leave the Dao Seeking Sect unless under special circumstances. Within the Dao Seeking Sect, he is safe."
Her tone was calm, yet radiated absolute confidence.
Yun Zhi had no such requirement for Lu Yang. Every time Lu Yang went out, she never stopped him; she even encouraged him to leave, telling him not to coop himself up in the Dao Seeking Sect all day and to go out and see the world.
In truth, Lu Yang's situation was far more dangerous than Li Haoran's. Li Haoran merely had a suspected rudimentary Dao fruit, whereas Lu Yang literally had an immortal whom everyone despised inside his body, plus the Immortal Dao fruit that even the Four Ancient Celestials envied.
However, whenever Lu Yang ran into danger, he could execute the ultimate form of Imitation Fist: summoning Eldest Senior Sister.
If Li Haoran was Tang Seng, then Lu Yang was a Tang Seng who could summon the Tathagata Buddha. Their safety margins were on entirely different levels.
"I heard Fairy say that the emergence of a Dao fruit signifies the appearance of a new law in the world. I wonder, after the ancient era, has any Dao fruit ever appeared that affected the entire world?"
Eldest Senior Sister gazed quietly at Lu Yang, her eyes calm as still water. Her stare made Lu Yang's hair stand on end. Not knowing whether several seconds had passed, or several minutes, or perhaps an entire lifetime, Lu Yang finally heard Eldest Senior Sister say slowly:
"Senior, please come out for a talk."
"What is it?" The Immortal Fairy didn't understand the situation.
"Junior Brother is only in the Foundation Establishment stage. Knowing too many secrets that only supreme experts are qualified to know easily breeds an overambitious mindset, which is detrimental to his future cultivation. I ask Senior to take Junior Brother's cultivation realm into consideration when telling him these things."
"Oh, all right."
The Immortal Fairy actually wanted to say she had considered Lu Yang's realm when talking about these things, but she didn't dare talk back in front of Yun Zhi.
*Just wait until the day I recover my power and turn around to suppress this little girl!*
"After the ancient era, there was indeed a Dao fruit that affected the entire world, and you are very familiar with this effect." Eldest Senior Sister felt there was no harm in letting Lu Yang know this.
"I'm very familiar with it?" Lu Yang was slightly surprised. Aside from changes in the stars and continents, what else was different between now and the ancient era?
Not just Lu Yang, even the Immortal Fairy couldn't think of what was different between the present and the ancient era.
"The Great Xia Dynasty," Yun Zhi revealed the answer.
"What about the Great Xia Dynasty?" Lu Yang didn't catch on.
"The entire Great Xia Dynasty."
Lu Yang's eyes widened abruptly. What did she mean, the *entire* Great Xia Dynasty?
Lu Yang repeatedly pressed Eldest Senior Sister about what she meant, but Eldest Senior Sister deemed that saying anything more was not something someone of Lu Yang's cultivation realm should know, and did not explain any further.
The Immortal Fairy was lost in thought, seemingly understanding something.
"Junior Brother, do you have any ideas regarding Core Formation yet?" As Lu Yang's Eldest Senior Sister in name and master in practice, Yun Zhi frequently paid attention to his cultivation progress.
Lu Yang shook his head helplessly. "There are too many kinds of Golden Cores, making it truly difficult to choose. I haven't decided what kind of core to form yet."
Though he could definitely rule out the Immortal Fairy's Invincible Core first.
He had accompanied Li Haoran home initially hoping to gain some insights and epiphanies by encountering different people and experiences along the journey.
After this whole trip, his greatest realization was just how delicious it was to live off a woman.
What, was he supposed to form a Kept Man Golden Core?
Saying that out loud would be completely humiliating.
"There is no need to rush Core Formation. Just let nature take its course."
"By the way, Eldest Senior Sister, I saw the Core Formation insights left by the other senior brothers and sisters in the Scripture Pavilion, but yours alone wasn't among them. How did you form your core back then, and what kind of core was it?"
With the person herself right here, Lu Yang couldn't resist asking out of curiosity.
Who knows, maybe he was just as outstanding as Eldest Senior Sister?
Chapter 234