The immortal peach truly lived up to being the fruit nurtured by a Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Root. Plump, large, and brimming with juice, the moment Lu Yang took a bite, the sweet nectar burst across his palate. Sweet without being cloying, it felt as though every drop danced upon his tongue, awakening every single taste bud.
With each chew, the fragrant aroma of the peach suffused his lips and mouth with an intoxicating sweetness.
This was without a doubt the most delicious peach Lu Yang had ever eaten.
Beyond extending one's lifespan, the immortal peach could also purge impurities and purify a spiritual root. However, Lu Yang's body had long since been tempered through countless trials and cleansed of every impurity, and his sword spiritual root had no room left for improvement, so he was purely savoring his half of the fruit.
Compared to Lu Yang, Yun Zhi ate far more elegantly. After carefully savoring the other half of the immortal peach, she stored the pit away with great care, intending to plant it once they returned.
Under the Immortal Fairy's resentful gaze, Eldest Senior Sister and her junior brother made a smooth return to the sect.
In recent years, following Lu Yang's entry into the Dao Seeking Sect, Prison Peak had grown livelier by the day.
If anyone wished to reflect upon the past, reminisce about history, and build a Great Yu History Museum, Prison Peak would unquestionably be the best choice.
Within Prison Peak, one could find cultivators spanning every era from the middle to the late Great Yu Dynasty, ready to recount tales of that distant age in their own words.
And today, the single most pivotal figure in Great Yu arrived at Prison Peak, filling in the missing chapter of the early dynasty.
……
Deep inside Prison Peak, beneath the dim glow of an oil lamp, Child Grandmaster Tang Shengyi hovered in midair. Scattered around him were depleted spirit stones, one after another, alongside heaps of medicinal dregs.
Ever since Daoist Lord Wanfa's attack on the Dao Seeking Sect, the child grandmaster had vaguely sensed a tremendous crisis looming in the future. To prepare for it, he cultivated with ever-increasing diligence.
Cultivation begins with the mind. Previously, while guarding Prison Peak, he had constantly sought to comprehend his own mind. Through conversing with the prisoners, exchanging cultivation insights, and listening to stories of their pasts and the purposes driving their cultivation, the child grandmaster's state of mind had been polished until it was smooth and crystal clear.
And now, he had begun his formal cultivation.
Once one's mental fortitude passed muster, cultivation progress could advance by leaps and bounds—a truth that eluded many high-level cultivators.
To grow stronger as quickly as possible, the child grandmaster had exchanged his contribution points and retirement pension for a vast hoard of spirit stones, precious herbs, and spirit pills. Now, all of these were transforming into his strength.
"Unfortunately, even though my cultivation progresses smoothly, I still don't have a clue when it comes to forming a rudimentary Dao fruit."
One did not need to reach the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage to begin condensing a rudimentary Dao fruit. As long as one reached Tribulation Transcendence, it could be formed, and even after condensing it, one could continue cultivating to advance their Tribulation Transcendence progress. The two did not conflict.
It was just that very few people managed to condense a rudimentary Dao fruit and become a half-immortal right after entering Tribulation Transcendence.
The child grandmaster had always yearned to condense a rudimentary Dao fruit, but regrettably, he had made no progress on that front.
"Hm? Xiaoyun and Xiaolu are here?" Sensing two figures at the entrance of Prison Peak, the child grandmaster descended to the ground, paused his cultivation, and went to welcome them with a chuckle.
"Grandmaster, long time no see! Eldest Senior Sister and I came to visit you," Lu Yang greeted him politely. His good manners drew a hearty laugh from the elder, showing just how much his seniors adored him.
"Grandmaster," Eldest Senior Sister said with a nod, offering her greeting.
"All right, enough with the visiting talk. If I had to guess why you two came here, it's definitely to deliver another prisoner." The child grandmaster only looked like a child, but his temperament was anything but; he was sharp as a tack.
"Not at all! We just figured Grandmaster might be running into a few hurdles in your cultivation, so we specially brought back a top-notch cultivator from the Imperial City who can guide your cultivation in the long run."
The moment the prisoners in Prison Peak heard that Lu Yang had captured another person, every single one of them craned their necks to look out, dying to know what big shot had been dragged in this time.
Virtually every renowned figure in Prison Peak was connected to Lu Yang in one way or another.
The child grandmaster waved his hand. "What do I need some top-notch cultivator to guide me for? Prison Peak already has plenty of Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, and even three half-immortals. That's more than enough."
"Out with it. Who did you catch this time?"
What sort of grand storms hadn't the child grandmaster weathered? He had made it through the chaotic era of the Nine Sons of the Dao Seeking Sect without a scratch, and every last one of those nine little brats had been whipped into obedience under his hand.
Back when Daoist Buyu and his peers wreaked havoc in the Imperial City, what a colossal mess that had been! Ministers' sons, the Right Prime Minister's grandsons, imperial princes, and royal grandsons had all been swindled by Buyu and the others. It escalated until several ministers filed joint petitions, the Left and Right Prime Ministers joined forces, and even Emperor Xia of that era was disturbed.
Yet what of it? In the end, wasn't it still Tang Shengyi who had stepped forward to settle the whole matter?
"You could say... half an immortal," Lu Yang said hesitantly, couching it delicately. He worried that the title of Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor was so overwhelming that it might frighten his grandmaster, which would be dreadfully unfilial.
"Oh, a half-immortal." The child grandmaster didn't pay it any mind. Prison Peak already held three half-immortals; what was one more?
Seeing that the child grandmaster's nerves were holding up just fine, Yun Zhi felt assured. She tore open a spatial rift and retrieved the prisoner's three ethereal souls.
With his three ethereal souls separated from his seven corporeal souls, the prisoner was utterly listless, his head drooping.
"Who is this?" The child grandmaster uttered a soft gasp of curiosity. He felt as though the figure looked familiar, like a full-body portrait he had seen in some history book.
He walked over, tilting his head up to get a better look. Just at that moment, the prisoner abruptly raised his head and locked eyes with him!
A violent jolt went through the child grandmaster. Thud, thud, thud—he scrambled back several steps, panting heavily, his heart still in his throat.
He hadn't been startled by the prisoner suddenly looking up; he was terrified by what the prisoner looked like!
Trembling, he pointed at the prisoner's soul, his vocal cords quivering.
"Gr-Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor, Guan Shanhai?!"
This was a genuine, bona fide immortal!
Locking up half-immortals in Prison Peak was one thing—after all, a half-immortal merely possessed a rudimentary Dao fruit over him. But an immortal was an entirely different story! That was a supreme realm that completely transcended Tribulation Transcendence. How many immortals had there even been since ancient times?
How on earth was a mere Tribulation Transcendence cultivator like him supposed to watch over an immortal?!
"The Imperial Preceptor?!"
Daoist Lord Wanfa's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets—presuming a soul form even had eyes.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the peerless Imperial Preceptor would also fall into the hands of the Dao Seeking Sect.
"Guan Shanhai, you have a day like this too!" Seeing his former rival reduced to a fellow inmate, Nightmare Supreme gloated, so thrilled he practically danced for joy.
Venerable Black-White, Venerable Xuanlei, and the other Great Yu Tribulation Transcendence cultivators stared at the scene in utter disbelief.
Wu Youdao looked completely despondent. He had previously clung to the thought that even if he had been reduced to a prisoner, as long as the Imperial Preceptor remained free out in the world, the day would eventually come when they were liberated.
Now, that hope was shattered. Great Yu had suffered a total defeat, with everyone locked away inside Prison Peak.
In an instant, all order vanished from Prison Peak. The cavern erupted in an uproar, top to bottom, everyone reeling in shock at the new prisoner's identity.
"Grandmaster, please don't be afraid. Guan Shanhai only has three ethereal souls left now, so his strength has plummeted. Besides, I have placed seals upon him; he definitely won't cause trouble or escape," Yun Zhi said.
The child grandmaster shook his head like a rattle-drum, adamantly refusing.
A storm of this scale was something he truly had never seen before.
He hurriedly pulled a spatial talisman from his robes and tore it open.
This was a talisman Daoist Lord Hanhai had left him, telling him to use it if anything happened, and he would come over.
Once the talisman was torn, a spatial gateway opened, and a figure slowly stepped through, glancing left and right.
Seeing him, the child grandmaster threw himself forward to plead for help.
"Patriarch, there's no way to run this Prison Peak! Locking up a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator or two, or even a few half-immortals, was one thing, but now even an immortal has arrived! This is completely beyond this junior's capabilities!"
"Why don't you be the one to guard Prison Peak instead, Patriarch!"
Daoist Xiantian looked down at the child grandmaster hugging his thigh, then raised his head to survey the prisoners of Prison Peak.
Finally, he pointed at himself with hesitation.
"Me? Guard Prison Peak?"
With his middle Foundation Establishment cultivation, wasn't that asking just a bit too much?
Chapter 959