There Are No Shortcuts in Cultivation

Lu Yang was completely blown away by Second Senior Brother's wisdom. What a stroke of genius! Why hadn't he thought of that? "Fairy, could this method work?" he asked, looking expectantly at the Immortal Fairy. "It works great for fooling yourself." "Your Second Senior Brother's Nascent Soul possesses sentience—he could just brush it off with a few glib excuses. But your Invincible Nascent Soul has no mind of its own. How are you going to bluff it?" Lu Yang's head drooped in dejection. It seemed this method was out of the question; his only option was to defeat his Nascent Soul fair and square. Lu Yang returned to the "Yun Zhi Section" and pored over Eldest Senior Sister's writings word by word. The more he read, the deeper they felt, containing profound wisdom in few words. Reading them proved immensely rewarding. "As expected of Eldest Senior Sister. Every insight she wrote makes utter sense, and upon closer reflection, even deeper truths unfold." This was vastly more useful than the Immortal Fairy's guidance. The more Lu Yang read, the more he felt these writings spoke straight to his heart—it was almost as if he had written them himself! In the blink of an eye, two months passed. During this period, Lu Yang remained camped in the Scripture Pavilion, never leaving the second floor. He forgot food and sleep to study these Nascent Soul stage cultivation arts, reaping a rich harvest. He sat cross-legged on a straw mat, the soles of his feet, palms, and crown facing the heavens, his breathing even and gentle. He looked as if he were asleep, yet also as if he had entered a profound state of enlightenment. Various cultivation philosophies and diverse cultivation methods swirled through his mind like a jumbled mess of tangled hemp. What he needed to do was unravel the threads from this chaotic tangle of insights, extract the elements he could use, and adapt them to his own situation, thereby completing a cultivation art uniquely his own. Studying so many different cultivation arts placed a massive burden on a cultivator's spiritual power. It was only because Lu Yang's spiritual power was unmatched among his peers; practically any other Nascent Soul cultivator would have passed out long ago from the overwhelming clash of cultivation philosophies. Lu Yang opened his eyes, his gaze brilliant and a confident smile gracing his lips. He wielded his brush swiftly, penning a brand-new chapter. "Surely, this is the cultivation art Eldest Senior Sister wanted me to produce." ... "An improvement over last time. Only eighty percent of the content needs my revisions." So remarked Eldest Senior Sister after carefully reading the Nascent Soul chapter of the Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature written by Lu Yang. Last time, when Lu Yang wrote the Golden Core chapter, eighty percent had needed revision too. However, back then, the remaining twenty percent hadn't needed changes simply because he had directly copied Eldest Senior Sister's own words. This time, at least, the remaining twenty percent was genuine original work recognized by Eldest Senior Sister. "What does your condensed Nascent Soul look like? What special traits does it have? Bring it out for me to see." Before modifying the technique, Eldest Senior Sister wanted to observe the appearance and traits of Lu Yang's Nascent Soul so she could tailor her revisions accordingly. "Uh... that's a bit difficult." An embarrassed look crossed Lu Yang's face. Until he could defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul, he couldn't summon it outside. Eldest Senior Sister raised a brow slightly. "Where can it be seen?" "In my spiritual space." Without a second word, Eldest Senior Sister projected her soul and flew into Lu Yang's spiritual space. Jiang Lianyi was also curious about Lu Yang's Nascent Soul. According to Lu Yang, his Golden Core was identical to Elder Sister Immortal's, so his Nascent Soul ought to be identical as well. However, she had forgotten what Elder Sister Immortal's Golden Core and Nascent Soul looked like. Over the past two months in the Scripture Pavilion, she had gained a general grasp of the current cultivation world, so there was no further need to remain there. Lu Yang's spiritual space suddenly grew lively, home now to native inhabitant Immortal Fairy, visitor Eldest Senior Sister, visitor Jiang Lianyi, and tenant Lu Yang. With practiced ease, Lu Yang severed his connection with the Invincible Nascent Soul, took a savage beating from it with practiced ease, and reconnected with it with practiced ease. The performance concluded. Both Eldest Senior Sister and Jiang Lianyi wore magnificent expressions. Eldest Senior Sister was reminded of Second Junior Brother, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, while Jiang Lianyi cursed her amnesia for making her forget that Elder Sister Immortal had once undergone such an amusing ordeal. Still, Eldest Senior Sister was Eldest Senior Sister after all; she discerned that Lu Yang's Nascent Soul was fundamentally different from Second Junior Brother's. "The Immortal Fairy told me that theoretically, as long as I defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul, it can be used for my own purposes." Eldest Senior Sister cast a meaningful glance at the Immortal Fairy. "Theoretically, is it...?" As if her little scheme had been laid bare, the Immortal Fairy shifted her eyes guiltily, avoiding Eldest Senior Sister's gaze. Eldest Senior Sister turned back and said solemnly, "To defeat your Invincible Nascent Soul, you cannot rely on trickery. Just as there are no shortcuts in cultivation, you must cultivate with your feet firmly on the ground and surpass your Nascent Soul in every respect!" Lu Yang humbly inquired, "Then Eldest Senior Sister, how did you manage to reach this realm in under a thousand years?" "Talent." "..." "Enough. I already know how to revise your cultivation art. It will take only two hours." Eldest Senior Sister exited the spiritual space and waved her hand, signaling Lu Yang and Jiang Lianyi to leave. She was accustomed to drafting cultivation arts in solitude. In truth, it was mainly to get the Immortal Fairy to leave—she was far too noisy. As the youngest junior brother, Lu Yang was very obedient to Eldest Senior Sister. As a well-matched rival, Jiang Lianyi respected the Cult Master. The two descended the mountain. "Oh, right. Since your arrival, I haven't made introductions yet—our Immortal Lineage still has one more member Senior hasn't met." Lu Yang remembered that the Immortal Lineage still had a Third-in-Command. Privately, Lu Yang had asked the Immortal Fairy whether Jiang Lianyi counted as part of the Immortal Lineage, and the Immortal Fairy had given a firm no. 'Though Lianyi and Xiao Ling studied under me, they achieved nothing in the Dao of Immortality. Furthermore, their Dao fruits were already destined—they belong to the survival of the fittest lineage.' The Immortal Lineage had strict criteria of division. It was currently afternoon and not yet mealtime, so the barbecue stall was not yet open. The shop assistants were skillfully using formations to skewer the food. After numerous upgrades, the formation had evolved from only being able to skewer meat into a professional skewering formation that integrated multiple functions, handling enoki mushrooms, green beans, and more. Under the Immortal Celestial's grand strategy of attacking from afar and befriending those near, the barbecue shop's influence had flourished in the underground world, secretly taking control of multiple restaurants as a veritable commercial titan! In front of the barbecue shop, Lu Yang unexpectedly bumped into someone. "Junior Brother Man, what brings you here?" "Long time no see, Senior Brother Lu! It's been over half a year, hasn't it?" Man Gu chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I just broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, so I came to have some grilled skewers to celebrate." "Congratulations, congratulations! Your cultivation progress hasn't been slow at all, Junior Brother Man," Lu Yang congratulated him with a smile. "Shall we go eat together then?" Man Gu naturally agreed. Jiang Lianyi noticed Man Gu's identity and let out a soft "Huh?" "Is this little fellow the last of the Ancient Barbarian race?" "Speaking of which, since the Immortal Fairy's existence was erased, how does Senior remember the Ancient Barbarian race coming into being?" According to the Immortal Fairy, the Barbarian clan had lived on the North Star, and it was she who had cast a hex upon their bloodline to form the Ancient Barbarian race, one of whose bloodline traits was restraining the demon race. Since the mastermind had erased the Immortal Fairy's existence, the origin of the Ancient Barbarian race must have changed accordingly. Jiang Lianyi's expression turned odd. "It is said that Immortal Ying Tian had a fondness for women regardless of beauty or ugliness. One of them happened to be a female ancestor of the Barbarian clan, and thus the first generation of the Ancient Barbarian race was born."