Lu Yang felt what the Immortal Fairy said made a lot of sense, but when he gave it some careful thought, something felt amiss.
The Immortal Fairy continued explaining the principle behind the Invincible Nascent Soul to him. "The Invincible Nascent Soul is a part of you. It knows every move you know, and it doesn't know any move you don't."
"The Invincible Nascent Soul cannot think; it can only rely on instinct to make the optimal choice."
"The difference between you and it is that it can execute the most suitable move with the most suitable force at the most opportune moment, whereas you fall short in all those aspects."
"In other words, the Invincible Nascent Soul is you at your strongest."
"If you want to defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul, you must break through your limits and surpass your Nascent Soul in every respect!"
"...Fairy, save that for later. Can you first get this Nascent Soul to stop beating me?"
Lu Yang was getting pummeled by his Nascent Soul while listening to the Immortal Fairy's lecture—he really couldn't take it anymore!
"Use your imagination. Just reconnect the thread that snapped earlier."
Lu Yang had no choice but to close his eyes amidst the beating and imagine that thread reconnecting to reestablish the bond with the Invincible Nascent Soul. Only then did the Invincible Nascent Soul stop and fall into a dormant state.
Lu Yang looked at his Nascent Soul, lingering fear still gripping his heart. Had this not taken place inside his spiritual space, he would have long been beaten black and blue, incapacitated with grievous injuries.
"So while other Nascent Soul stage cultivators can control their Nascent Souls in battle, I have to fight on my own until I can beat the Invincible Nascent Soul?"
"You can't say that. Let me ask you: what is the definition of a Nascent Soul?"
Lu Yang thought for a moment and said, "Something born in the dantian, resembling an infant, formed of the twin qi of purity and turbidity, possessing formidable power, and capable of possessing another's body."
"An immortal has boundless lifespan, and this immortal is only sixteen—practically an infant. My soul is also composed of the twin qi of purity and turbidity. My strength goes without saying, evenly matched with Girl Yun, and I can possess you as well."
"According to this definition, whenever this immortal is inside your dantian, I am your Nascent Soul."
"In other words, you have twin Nascent Souls."
"If this immortal is in a good mood, I can step out and fight for you."
Lu Yang: "..."
*Fairy, thank you for your good intentions, but you'd better just lie peacefully in the spiritual space and not make a mess of things.*
"So this Invincible Nascent Soul is completely useless for now?"
"Not necessarily. Unbeatable or not, the Invincible Nascent Soul is one with you after all. If you die, it ceases to exist. If you run into an enemy you can't beat..."
Lu Yang's face lit up. "The Invincible Nascent Soul will step in and handle them for me?"
"It will eject from your body and run for its life."
"..."
Lu Yang rubbed his brow in agony, only to remember that this was his soul form—rubbing his brow did nothing.
Seeing Lu Yang engrossed in studying the changes of the Nascent Soul stage, Meng Jingzhou was consumed with envy and burning with jealousy.
The Phoenix Ancestor was found by Lu Yang; the limelight was stolen by Lu Yang; the Nascent Soul was formed by Lu Yang. All in all, he'd spent the entire time in the Demon Domain as a mere spectator!
Lu Yang opened his eyes and saw Meng Jingzhou's disgruntled expression. Guessing his thoughts in a glance, he kindly offered some comfort: "Look on the bright side. Now that I've reached the Nascent Soul stage, the title of Strongest Golden Core Stage Cultivator falls onto your shoulders. Doesn't that make you feel a lot better?"
Meng Jingzhou nodded subconsciously, then abruptly realized something was off.
"Get lost! Even when you were at the Golden Core stage, I could still beat you!"
Lu Yang shook his head. "I don't believe it. Unless we have a spar right now. If you can beat me, I'll acknowledge you as the strongest Golden Core."
"Where's your shame?!"
Amidst their bickering, they finally arrived at the border of Great Xia.
Entering Great Xia required identity verification and security checks to prevent prohibited items from being brought in. For instance, when Great Xia was first established and regulations were still rudimentary, a certain cultivator had smuggled a massive amount of seawater out of the East Sea.
Hence, Jiang Lianyi decisively chose to sneak across the border.
Her identity was too sensitive. If she were exposed at the border, she could easily imagine the chaotic scene that would unfold without even thinking twice—the entire city would be thrown into turmoil, with factions and onlookers rushing to gawk at her like some rare beast. It would be utterly obnoxious.
Moreover, her public identity was one of the Heavenly Court's Four Imperials. If she appeared alongside the members of the Dao Seeking Sect, their identities would be blown.
After crossing the border illegally, Jiang Lianyi sped along at breakneck speed and arrived smoothly at the Dao Seeking Sect.
"Not a bad place," Jiang Lianyi remarked. The Dao Seeking Sect possessed vast territory, guarded by a Tribulation Transcendence-level grand formation, with exceptionally abundant spiritual energy. At a glance, its foundation seemed comparable to the Phoenix Clan.
With five elders vouching for her, the river spirit let Jiang Lianyi inside without inspecting her identity.
Once inside the sect, Jiang Lianyi was genuinely astonished.
Genius disciples gathered like clouds, far beyond anything the Phoenix Clan could match.
In ancient times, groups were tribal, bound by ties of kinship—whether for humans or the demon race. Sects were a development that arose after the end of the Ancient Era, so Jiang Lianyi had never seen one before.
Earlier, when she heard Lu Yang describing it, she hadn't paid much attention. Only now did she realize she had underestimated the concept of a sect.
Why did the demon race revere pure bloodlines? In the end, pure blood represented power. Every race poured its utmost effort into nurturing pure-blooded demons to unleash the potential latent in their bloodlines.
The sect, on the other hand, focused not on bloodlines, but on aptitude. They taught students in accordance with their natural gifts, developing each person's unique strengths—evidently far more advanced than the demon race's approach.
"Little Dai is probably waiting for us to bring back intelligence on the founding of the Demon Empire. Little Lu, Little Meng, you two understand the affairs of the Demon Empire best. Go and brief Little Dai."
After entering the sect, the five elders eagerly went off in search of the other three elders to boast about everything they had seen and heard in the Demon Domain.
That's what they got for not coming this time—they missed out big time.
By the time Lu Yang came to his senses, only he, Third Senior Sister, Meng Jingzhou, and Jiang Lianyi remained.
"Third Senior Sister, why don't you take Senior Lianyi over to Tianmen Peak to rest for a bit?"
"Alright."
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou entered the Mission Hall and navigated familiarly to Senior Brother Dai's office.
The two had frequently made outstanding contributions to upholding justice, and Dai Bufan was full of praise for their character, specifically granting them permission to see him without formal announcement whenever they had business.
*Knock, knock, knock.* Lu Yang politely rapped on the door.
"Come in," Dai Bufan's voice called from inside.
Dai Bufan was in high spirits. With demonic path activity slowing down recently, his burden was much lighter, and he sat in his chair humming a little tune.
Then he saw Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou walk in.
"Oh, it's you two. It's been over half a year, hasn't it? I heard Junior Sister Gan Tian invited you both to the Demon Domain. Counting the days, you must have arrived just in time for the Demon Empire's founding ceremony. Did you head straight back after attending the celebrations? That was quite fast."
He had been waiting for intelligence from the Great Elder upon his return from the Demon Domain. To his surprise, the Great Elder hadn't shown up yet, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had arrived first. He figured his master and the other elders were being lazy and had dumped the reporting duty onto these two brats.
"Yes. The two of us learned a lot following Third Senior Sister in the Demon Domain and gained quite a bit. The Great Elder just told us to brief you on what happened there, Senior Brother."
Dai Bufan chuckled softly, not taking it too seriously, and casually asked, "Alright, tell me then. What did you see in the Demon Domain? Did you see the legendary Ancient Dijiang, Supreme Zhu Tian?"
"We did."
"And? Did he look majestic?"
Lu Yang confessed honestly: "Here's what happened. I awakened the Phoenix Clan's Ancient Ancestor, Jiang Lianyi, and inducted her into the Heavenly Court Cult. Senior Lianyi and I went to observe the founding ceremony, and while we were at it, Senior Lianyi gave Senior Zhu Tian a beating. There was a battle between half-immortals, and six Tribulation Transcendence stage Demon Emperors joined the fray as well."
Hearing this, Dai Bufan stood up in silence, vacated his chair, and extended an inviting gesture:
"Please, Junior Brother Lu. From now on, you're the Hall Master of the Mission Hall."
Chapter 626