Dao Seeking Sect, Herb Garden.
Under the shroud of night, Old Ba was guarding the Herb Garden as usual. He had split off an avatar, who sat across from him playing chess against himself.
"Old Ba," a familiar voice reached Old Ba's ears.
"Little Lu? What brings you to the Herb Garden so late?"
Cultivators kept no strict distinction between day and night for their activities, but few disciples ever visited the Herb Garden at night.
Looking embarrassed, Lu Yang said, "Do you have any particularly precious..."
"Medicinal herbs?"
"Mud."
"What do you want mud for?"
"To eat."
Old Ba: "..."
He had long heard that Yun Zhi was out of touch with worldly affairs and always ended up tormenting people intentionally or unintentionally. Had she finally tormented Lu Yang to this extent?
"No, it's not that. I've cultivated a technique that lets me eat dirt, so I wanted to find some dirt to taste and see how it is."
Old Ba rubbed his chin and looked Lu Yang up and down. "I recall the last time you came to the Herb Garden, you had learned the Shrinking the Earth technique. This time you come having learned to eat dirt. Did you inherit the legacy of an earthworm?"
Shrinking the Earth and eating dirt—those were the signature specialties of the Silver-ringed Heavenly King Earthworm.
Lu Yang said solemnly, "Mine is an ancient inheritance."
"An ancient earthworm?"
Old Ba didn't delve into the matter. Nothing the disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect did was surprising; he had lived through it all himself. "Forget it, it's not your first time here anyway. One pair of earthworms is resting, and the other pair has gone on their honeymoon. Go on in and look for dirt yourself. It's over by the Little Medicine Kings."
Just as Lu Yang was about to enter the Herb Garden, Old Ba called out to stop him. "By the way, have you ever been in love?"
"No."
Old Ba murmured an acknowledgment and asked again, "Then do you know what girls like hearing the most?"
Lu Yang turned his mind to ask the Immortal Fairy in his spiritual space: "What do you like people saying to you?"
"Praising me for being pretty and smart."
Lu Yang turned back and said to Old Ba, "Praising her for being pretty and smart."
Old Ba said thoughtfully, "Got it. Go on in."
...
Returning to the Herb Garden after a long absence, Lu Yang familiarly made his way toward the dwelling of the Little Medicine Kings.
Beneath the towering Enlightenment Tree, the Little Medicine Kings held hands, singing and dancing around a bonfire.
"What's that smell? It smells so good..."
"Ginseng King, your root whiskers caught fire!"
"Quick, help me put it out!"
The Little Medicine Kings swarmed forward, stomping and kicking Ginseng Baby, finally managing to beat Ginseng Baby up before the flames were extinguished.
"Lu Yang, you're here?" The Enlightenment Tree was the first to notice Lu Yang's arrival and greeted him with a chuckle.
"It's Lu Yang?"
Hearing the Enlightenment Tree speak, the Little Medicine Kings also noticed Lu Yang's arrival.
The Little Medicine Kings bounced around at Lu Yang's feet, looking utterly delighted.
Lu Yang shrank his body down and looked over the Little Medicine Kings he hadn't seen in months: Ginseng Baby, the Three-Leaf Star Herb, the Flower of Time's Demise, and the Kirin Immortal Herb.
Seeing that Lu Yang was still willing to shrink to their height, the Little Medicine Kings were even more delighted. "How is it going? How far along is the plan to counterattack that female demon?"
When they parted last time, Lu Yang had tricked the Little Medicine Kings by claiming that he too detested the female demon Yun Zhi and would join hands with them to counterattack Yun Zhi.
At the time, Lu Yang hadn't known Eldest Senior Sister's true strength, thinking she was merely at the peak Body Integration stage and that after several thousand years of cultivation, he might actually have a shot at overtaking her.
Looking back now, forget cultivating for several thousand years—even if he cultivated for several millennia and the Immortal Fairy was fully resurrected, they still might not be a match for Eldest Senior Sister.
"I knew you had ideas about teaching that Yun girl a lesson too, Lu Yang!" The Immortal Fairy, feeling like she had found a kindred spirit, excitedly emerged from the spiritual space.
"Huh? A soul body, human? Who are you?" Ginseng Baby planted two root whiskers on its hips, looking very assertive.
It had heard of and seen instances of powerful souls lodging inside human cultivators, but those powerful souls were at most at the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
What did the Tribulation Transcendence stage count for? Could they live as long as Medicine Kings?
"Little medicine baby, show some respect to this Immortal! Do you know who I am?" As the leader of the Five Ancient Celestials, what hadn't the Immortal Fairy seen? They were just Medicine Kings; she could have them whenever she wanted. Who knew how many Little Medicine Kings had voluntarily followed her back then, only she had been too lazy to raise them.
The Immortal Fairy released just a sliver of her aura, and it startled the Little Medicine Kings so much that they collapsed onto their bottoms. It was as if the being before them held an innate suppression over them.
"Y-Y-You, who are you?!"
The Enlightenment Tree was also greatly alarmed. It didn't know who this soul body was, but instinct instilled within it an inexplicable panic toward the Immortal Fairy.
Beneath that panic lay a faint trace of yearning.
The Little Medicine Kings could live for a very long time, but ultimately they could not break free of the shackles of lifespan; one day they would reach the end of their lives.
Yet the Immortal Dao fruit was synonymous with eternal existence and everlasting life—the lifelong pursuit of the Little Medicine Kings. It held an innate suppressive effect over them.
For instance, with the Heaven Herding Grass that had previously forced Lu Yang into a grueling fight in the dense forest, when the Immortal Fairy saw Lu Yang being bullied, she had initially thought of teaching it a lesson and releasing her immortal aura to suppress it. It was only because Lu Yang subsequently entered a state of sudden enlightenment that she hadn't followed through.
"This Immortal is the leader of the Five Ancient Celestials from three hundred thousand years ago, the Immortal Fairy! Now, I am the Dao Seeking Sect's sole guest elder, invited with utmost respect by that Yun girl!"
"This Immortal is also the very first being to attain immortality in ancient times! I founded the Heavenly Court and am the Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court—Dou Tianzun!"
"S-So amazing!" The Little Medicine Kings were stunned by the Immortal Fairy's myriad titles, gazing up at her in worshipful awe.
"Hehe, now you know how incredible this Immortal is, don't you?"
"This Immortal has not fully recovered yet. Once I return to my peak power, I will lead you all to attack Yun Zhi and let her know who is truly the strongest!"
The Little Medicine Kings clapped enthusiastically, thinking the Immortal Fairy was so formidable, so confident.
"Then Fairy, are you currently recovering your strength inside Lu Yang's body?"
"You got a small part right! Not only is this Immortal recovering strength inside Lu Yang's body, but I have also set down all manner of tests for Lu Yang's trials. Once the trials are complete, this Immortal shall designate him as my successor!"
"This Immortal let Lu Yang taste the feeling of holding power, making him the Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect for three days to wield absolute authority in unparalleled glory! After three days, Lu Yang's senior brothers and sisters lined up to see him!"
"This Immortal guides his cultivation, recounts ancient secrets to him, imparts to him the great divine abilities Inches to the Ends of the Earth and Heaven-Swallowing Earth-Devouring, and uses his body to challenge foes across realms, cultivating his invincible momentum!"
"The fact that Lu Yang successfully formed the number one Golden Core of all time, the Invincible Core, is entirely thanks to this Immortal's expert guidance!"
The Little Medicine Kings listened with wide eyes and open mouths, marveling at how lucky Lu Yang was to become an immortal's successor and have an immortal pass down everything to him without holding back.
What a tremendous stroke of fortune this was!
Although they had never heard of any Invincible Core, for it to be proclaimed by an immortal as the number one Golden Core of all time, its might naturally went without saying.
Lu Yang opened his mouth, wanting to call nonsense on the Immortal Fairy, but on second thought, it seemed everything she said was actually true.
Who had she learned this from?
Lu Yang cut off the Immortal Fairy's boasting and said, "We came to the Herb Garden to ask if there's any particularly precious dirt here. It's needed for cultivation."
Chapter 321