"Congratulations, congratulations! You've finally reached the late Golden Core stage." The Immortal Fairy clapped her hands, beaming from ear to ear.
"Not bad for cultivation speed. Only a little slower than this immortal—roughly on par with Immortal Jiuchong and Immortal Kirin, I'd say."
Cultivation speed was not the deciding factor in achieving immortality; rather, it was an indication of whether one possessed the aptitude for it.
"Seeing you cultivate so diligently reminds me of how Immortal Jiuchong and the others spent their days in a frantic race against time, cultivating as if a fire were lit under their asses. Truly hardworking."
Lu Yang nodded. The Ancient Era had been fiercely competitive; fall behind by half a step, and you fell behind at every turn. Immortal Jiuchong and the others cultivating so desperately had simply reflected the brutal competition of that era.
In contrast, nowadays, even though everyone said the Golden Age was arriving, with geniuses emerging in droves in a revival of ancient glory, people's drive to cultivate still fell short of antiquity. People like Meng Jingzhou loafed around all day, running off to do missions, squandering their time, and neglecting their cultivation—truly disgraceful.
"A shame that no matter how hardworking they were, their cultivation speed still couldn't match mine, and every time, I defeated them by fighting above my realm."
"Then again, though they couldn't beat me in a fight, their fleeing speed definitely improved every time. There were even a few times where I almost couldn't catch them."
Lu Yang thought to himself that Immortal Jiuchong and the others had probably raced against time to cultivate just to match her cultivation level and take fewer beatings.
"At my current pace, it'll take half a year at most to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage." Ever since he began cultivating, Lu Yang had never run into a bottleneck. Cultivating with a Sword Spiritual Root was all about an irresistible momentum that soared straight into the sky, smashing through any obstacle or bottleneck.
"Actually, you could be considered in the Nascent Soul stage right now," the Immortal Fairy said with calm self-assurance.
"Why's that?"
"What is the hallmark of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage?"
"Cultivating a primordial spirit in the dantian and manifesting an infant." That was the definition of the Nascent Soul stage in the cultivation world; Lu Yang had memorized it long ago.
Eldest Senior Sister had a belly full of Golden Cores. When she chose one of them to shatter the core and form the nascent soul while the rest remained Golden Cores, according to that hallmark, she had belonged to the Nascent Soul stage at that time, not the Golden Core stage.
"Exactly! And this immortal is in a primordial spirit state right now. As long as I stay in your dantian, doesn't that make you Nascent Soul?"
"Besides, once you leave the Dao Seeking Sect, you can challenge above your realm, giving you genuine Nascent Soul stage combat power."
"You have the hallmark of the Nascent Soul stage, and you have Nascent Soul stage combat strength. If you aren't Nascent Soul, who is?"
Lu Yang: "..."
*I don't have a problem with it, but I'm afraid other Nascent Soul cultivators won't agree.*
"Don't scoff. When the ancient ancestors were exploring cultivation realms, this was the original Nascent Soul stage."
"Back when the ancient ancestors reached the Golden Core stage and couldn't find a way forward, someone refined a demon beast's primordial spirit into their dantian, gaining unrivaled strength enough to crush all Golden Cores. So, the ancient ancestors named this realm the Nascent Soul stage."
"However, that kind of Nascent Soul came at a price: their lifespan was too short, and a demon beast's primordial spirit was incompatible with a human body, making sudden death common."
"Gradually, someone shattered their Golden Core and discovered a tiny figure leaping out of it—that little figure was their own primordial spirit."
"And that was how the modern Nascent Soul stage of cultivation came to be."
Just as the earliest Golden Cores were substituted with demon cores, humanity had also relied on the power of the demon race when exploring the Nascent Soul stage.
The method of replacing a Golden Core with a demon core still existed today; in the cultivation world, this was referred to as the fake core stage.
"So that's how it was."
Realization dawned on Lu Yang. The Fairy had finally shared a tale that, while completely useless, was genuinely an authentic piece of ancient secret history.
Suddenly, Lu Yang faintly heard the sounds of fighting in the distance.
"That direction... the mountain gate?"
Lu Yang was surprised. Why would there be fighting at the mountain gate? Was someone attacking the Dao Seeking Sect?
Not even the Imperial Preceptor would dare pull off such a blatant assault.
"Let's go take a look!" the Immortal Fairy suggested excitedly, eager for a good spectacle.
Lu Yang went down the mountain and ran into Meng Jingzhou, who was also heading to check out the situation.
"What happened?"
"No idea. I'm on my way to see for myself."
"Let's go together."
"Alright."
The sounds of fighting were fierce. Not just the two of them, but many senior brothers and sisters were rushing toward the mountain gate to see what was happening, forming a bustling sea of heads.
The closer they got to the mountain gate, the more intense the clash sounded.
When they reached the mountain gate, they discovered that several Body Integration stage cultivators were battling in midair. Their methods were ruthless, their strikes fierce and decisive without the slightest hesitation, fully displaying the grandeur of the Body Integration stage.
Lu Yang recognized one of the Body Integration cultivators—it was Daoist Buyu.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's the meaning of this? I'm just dropping by my sect! Is it really worth camping outside my front door just to jump me?" Daoist Buyu yelled, dodging repeatedly. Though he looked thoroughly disheveled, his movements were nimble and agile, and not a single attack landed cleanly.
"Who has nothing better to do than camp for you? You threw yourself into our net!" The other Body Integration cultivators attacked with seamless teamwork, their strikes relentless, giving Daoist Buyu no breathing room.
"Arise, great wind!"
A violent gale swept through, whipping up boundless dust and sand, blowing even massive boulders off the ground into the sky.
A roaring sandstorm tornado hurtled forward, pouncing toward Daoist Buyu.
Daoist Buyu flicked his whisk, slashing the sandstorm in two.
"Then what did you come to my Dao Seeking Sect for?"
"We originally came to propose a marriage for your disciple Lu Yang, but since we happened to run into you at the gates, this seat decided proposing marriage isn't so important after all—beating you up takes priority!"
The other Body Integration cultivators nodded in agreement; they felt the exact same way.
Lu Yang understood. His master had finally returned to the sect, only to bump right into a marriage proposal party. The moment the delegation saw Daoist Buyu, fury overwhelmed them, and they joined forces to beat him down.
Suffice it to say, Lu Yang had zero intention of helping his master.
The other senior brothers and sisters were watching the battle as well, showing no sign of intervening. It was probably because Body Integration stage battles were a rare sight, so everyone was immersed in an atmosphere of learning and had no time to step in.
Tao Yao, in particular, was studying most earnestly. This was an authentic Body Integration battle, and the moves were far more ruthless than ordinary duels—exceptionally well-suited for use in the Dream Bubble.
Tao Yao had demonstrated the usage of the Dream Bubble during the grand celebration and received widespread praise. After the celebration ended, with the sect's assistance, she had been aggressively promoting the Dream Bubble, and it had already begun to take shape on a significant scale.
The Dream Bubble's target audience consisted of mortals and low-level cultivators, and the admission tickets were inexpensive. Yet when all was tallied up, it was vastly more profitable than the patent royalties from Lu Yang's flying cars.
Among the younger generation, Meng Jingzhou possessed the most spirit stones, followed by Tao Yao, with Lu Yang ranking only third.
As the cherished darling of the Barbarian clan, Man Gu received a generous allowance, placing him fourth.
Ranking fifth was Li Haoran, though this was only temporary. Once he married Su Yiren and they shared their marital property, his wealth ranking would swiftly leap to second place.
In the end, Daoist Buyu seized a gap between attacks, transformed into a ray of sword light, and flew inside the sect grounds. Only then did the Body Integration cultivators proposing marriage abandon the pursuit and depart with lingering regret.
Covered in dust and looking thoroughly disheveled, Daoist Buyu struggled to catch his breath.
He had merely passed by the sect and dropped in on the way; who could have imagined finding enemies right at the entrance?
"Master, what grudge did they have against you?" Lu Yang asked curiously.
"Hard to say."
"Hard to say?"
"I have too many enemies. I can't remember."
Chapter 508