The Purpose of the Invincible Core

Lu Yang remained silent for a long time before asking, "Fairy, isn't this different from the function you described?" "This involves the second purpose of the Invincible Core. If you can't beat someone, it explicitly tells you not to fight." "Think about it: why do people sometimes win battles and sometimes lose? What is the cause of defeat? Isn't it simply that you couldn't beat them?!" "Now the Invincible Core directly tells you that you can't beat them. Doesn't that prevent you from being defeated?" The Immortal Fairy spoke with utter conviction, clear logic, and sound reasoning. This time, Lu Yang fell silent for even longer—mainly because he actually found her explanation quite reasonable. Lu Yang used the Invincible Core to inspect his senior brothers and senior sisters one by one, and the answers were entirely identical: he couldn't beat any of them. "The lowest cultivation among your senior brothers and sisters is the late Golden Core stage, and every single one of them can fight above their level. You're just an unsolidified early Golden Core cultivator, yet you want to defeat them? That might only be possible if I took control of your body." The Immortal Fairy urged Lu Yang not to aim too high. "Just wait for Meng Jingzhou to form his core and come back; you can fight him then." "Back when you fought Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Kirin, what weaknesses did the Invincible Core tell you they had?" "Oh, that? The Invincible Core told me they were just Foundation Establishment cultivators and advised me to improvise freely." "..." Only after arriving at the commercial street did Lu Yang recover a bit of his confidence. The commercial street was not exclusively populated by retired Body Integration cultivators passing their golden years; there were also visiting Golden Core cultivators running businesses. These Golden Core cultivators possessed formidable combat strength, but compared to Lu Yang, they paled significantly. "Owner of the savory meat bun stall: early Golden Core stage cultivation. Divine sense is relatively weak; vulnerable to mental attacks." "Waiter of Baixiang Restaurant: you can't beat him. Choose someone else." "Six-winged duck: cooking ingredient, early Golden Core stage cultivation. Weakness is fear of fire; can use Three-Flavor True Fire to engage, or simply order a roast duck and let the kitchen handle it." "Owner of the tea stall: you can't beat him. Choose someone else." "Tailor shop owner: mid Golden Core stage cultivation. No shortcomings; can be overcome by brute force." The essence of a Golden Core was the unity of Lu Yang's essence, energy, and spirit. In other words, the Invincible Core was inherently part of Lu Yang's own body, capable of formulating effective counter-strategies based on his own knowledge and perception—essentially providing Lu Yang with an extra brain. "Master Liu of the barbecue restaurant: you can't beat him. Choose someone else." "Master Gao of the barbecue restaurant: you can't beat him. Choose someone else." "Huh?" Lu Yang only then realized that without noticing, he had arrived at the headquarters of the Immortal Cult. The barbecue shop was bustling. The Cult Master and the Immortal Celestial were busy delivering goods, hauling freshly slaughtered beef and mutton out of their storage rings. "Lu Yang!" Seeing Lu Yang, the Cult Master wore a complicated look: thirty percent conflicted, thirty percent regretful, and forty percent relieved. Master Liu and Master Gao had similar reactions. If not for Lu Yang, how could the Immortal Cult have fallen to such a state? Who would have believed that just two months after joining, this brat would bring about the destruction of the entire Immortal Cult?! "Lu Yang? Come, come, come! Come inside and take a seat!" When the Immortal Celestial spotted Lu Yang, his expression was completely different from that of the Cult Master and the others, radiating immense warmth. He had no choice but to be welcoming. Never mind that the Immortal Fairy resided inside the boy—the fountainhead of the Immortal Lineage, innately superior to him in rank. Just looking at the boy's standing alone, he was the favorite of both the Immortal Fairy and Yun Zhi. Neither of those identities was someone the Immortal Celestial could afford to offend. Naturally, he had to curry favor. "What a pity it's still morning and the meat hasn't been marinated yet, otherwise I'd grill a few skewers for you myself," the Immortal Celestial said regretfully. It was obvious he genuinely wanted to grill skewers for Lu Yang. Having the Immortal Celestial personally grill skewers for someone was a privilege on par with having imperial attendants pull off one's boots in his past life. Lu Yang also felt somewhat uneasy. The upper echelons of the Immortal Cult were all gathered here. If not for the fact that the Cult Master, Master Liu, and Master Gao had all been refined into chang ghosts by Eldest Senior Sister and were incapable of harboring malice toward disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect, Lu Yang suspected he wouldn't make it out of this barbecue shop alive. The Cult Master belonged to the same generation as the elders of the Dao Seeking Sect, possessing peak Body Integration cultivation. "I have an urgent matter to discuss with Eldest Senior Sister, so I won't come in." Lu Yang declined. The moment the Immortal Celestial heard he was going to see Eldest Senior Sister, he hastily let go, no longer trying to detain him. After Lu Yang left, the Immortal Celestial narrowed his eyes slightly. "Lu Yang has formed his core. Could you tell what kind of Golden Core he formed?" The Cult Master shook his head. "Judging by its grade, it is a first-grade Golden Core. But as for which specific type, forgive my lack of insight; I cannot tell." "It ought to be an entirely new kind of Golden Core. That would certainly fit the Dao Seeking Sect's style." After staying in the Dao Seeking Sect for so long, the upper ranks of the Immortal Cult had caught on to some of the sect's patterns. For instance, Dao Seeking Sect disciples never followed ordinary paths when forming their cores, resulting in all sorts of bizarre Golden Cores. "Should we initiate that plan targeting Lu Yang?" the Cult Master asked softly after erecting a boundary barrier, acting as if terrified of being overheard. The Immortal Celestial nodded. "Since he has already formed his core, we proceed as planned and catch Lu Yang completely off guard. Remember, we must execute the plan when Yun Zhi is not around!" "If Yun Zhi shows up, all our plans will go down the drain, and none of us will meet a good end!" "This matter must be kept strictly confidential. Only if it succeeds will we have a future!" The Immortal Celestial said in a deep voice, "Although we do not know what kind of Golden Core Lu Yang formed, knowing he formed one is enough. We can use this as an excuse to deliver gifts and win his favor as much as possible!" "Remember, there must be no flaws in our gift-giving plan! This concerns whether we will ever be able to open branches outside the Dao Seeking Sect!" "Understood!" ... Lu Yang returned to Tianmen Peak. As usual, Eldest Senior Sister was meditating in cultivation. Sensing his arrival, she slowly opened her eyes and examined him closely. "You've formed your core?" A rare look of confusion crossed her face; she could not identify the type of Lu Yang's Golden Core. "What kind of Golden Core did you form?" Lu Yang answered honestly, "The same kind of Golden Core as the Immortal Fairy. It's called the Invincible Core." Yun Zhi gave a slight nod. "It seems to be a Golden Core that faded into the river of history. The name certainly carries the Fairy's style. As for its might, since it is the same Golden Core as the Fairy's, it should rank among the top three of first-grade Golden Cores." "What effects does this Golden Core possess?" "It can see through an opponent's weaknesses and formulate targeted tactics to achieve victory." "Oh?" Eldest Senior Sister's interest was piqued, and her tone softened slightly, no longer cold as ice. "If I were your opponent, could your Invincible Core see my weaknesses?" Cold sweat instantly broke out across Lu Yang's forehead. "I... I'll give it a try." Lu Yang activated the Invincible Core to pry into Eldest Senior Sister's weaknesses. Unsurprisingly, the Invincible Core's response was identical to before: *You can't beat her. Choose someone else.* Lu Yang relayed the result to Eldest Senior Sister, only for her to follow up with, "What if I insist on fighting?" Since battle was unavoidable, the Invincible Core quickly provided a follow-up answer: *Commit suicide right now, and you can still preserve your undefeated record.* Lu Yang: "... Is it too late for me to re-form my core right now?" People always said a Golden Core left no room for regret. Lu Yang didn't know how others felt, but he was certainly full of regret. To hell with this celestial-edition Golden Core!