Immortal peaches were rare celestial treasures that both Lu Yang and Immortal Fairy agreed were delicious. One could only imagine how exquisite their flavor truly was.
Lu Yang had suffered possession at the hands of Immortal Fairy, yet Eldest Senior Sister remained completely unfazed, even showing a faint smile. What a terrifying scene that was.
"Fairy, don't eat them all! I still want to let Junior Sister Tao and the others have a taste."
With a whole basket of immortal peaches sitting right before him, Lu Yang felt too embarrassed to keep them entirely to himself.
"As if this Immortal intended to eat them all! I'm merely having one to reminisce about the flavor." Immortal Fairy wiped her mouth and handed his body back to him.
"Eldest Senior Sister, can I give these immortal peaches to others?"
"These immortal peaches are all yours. Whether you wish to eat them yourself or share them is entirely up to you," Eldest Senior Sister agreed pleasantly.
It was a fine thing that her junior brother was willing to share. After all, she had gathered these peaches from the secret realm herself; if her junior brother wanted more later, she could simply pick more.
"Once you finish consolidating your cultivation stage, don't forget to continue writing your cultivation method," Yun Zhi reminded him.
Hearing that, Lu Yang immediately pulled a long face. All the good cheer from breaking through and eating peaches vanished into thin air.
Just thinking about continuing the cultivation method gave him a massive headache. It was too difficult; who knew how many days he would have to hole up in the Scripture Pavilion this time?
"Third Senior Sister, I brought you something good." Lu Yang first sought out Senior Sister Gan Tian, who also lived on Tianmen Peak.
Senior Sister Gan Tian sat by the stream playing her zither, a strip of black cloth covering her eyes as always, seeming entirely at one with nature.
She was currently meditating on the state of the unity of heaven and man.
"What a sweet peach fragrance." Senior Sister Gan Tian smelled the aroma of the immortal peach from far away. She had tasted countless wondrous fruits in the Demon Domain, but none compared to this.
"Supposedly it's the product of a heaven-and-earth spiritual root, a true immortal fruit."
Senior Sister Gan Tian felt a bit embarrassed. "Junior Brother, you broke through, yet as your senior sister I didn't even prepare a celebratory gift for you. Instead, you're the one bringing a gift to me.
"How about this? I'll play 'White Snow in Sunny Spring' for you to help you commune with heaven and earth. What do you say?"
"Then many thanks, Senior Sister."
Senior Sister Gan Tian's slender, jade-like fingers gently brushed across the strings. A faint fragrance seemed to drift through the air, and even the surrounding birdsong fell silent. As she played, the melody of "White Snow in Sunny Spring" flowed forth gently. The zither notes were clear and melodious, trickling like a mountain spring through a stream, yet soft and gentle like a warm spring breeze brushing against the skin.
Lu Yang closed his eyes, his perception expanding outward of its own accord. He felt the rustling wind and grass in the mountain forest, sensing every subtle shift of nature. Following his breakthrough to the Soul Formation stage, his grasp of communing with heaven and earth had still been hazy, but now, guided by the music, he tangibly experienced this sensation of controlling his surroundings, and his entire soul felt elevated.
"Oh, right! Zither cultivators have this kind of use! Later on, we should have Zhu Tian play a tune for you too." Seeing this, Immortal Fairy was reminded of Zhu Tian, who was well versed in all sorts of instruments and singing.
"Where did this immortal peach come from?" Gan Tian asked, holding the peach.
"Eldest Senior Sister said she grew it."
Gan Tian pondered. *Grown by Eldest Senior Sister?*
She recalled Eldest Senior Sister mentioning in the past that the secret realm where she stayed was full of peach blossoms and peaches. Could there be any connection between the two?
...
Mission Hall.
Lu Yang walked familiar paths straight into the innermost quarters, without anyone stopping him along the way.
Senior Brother Dai had already stated that Lu Yang could come find him at any time.
"Senior Brother Dai, are you busy?" Lu Yang knocked and stepped inside.
Seeing Lu Yang, Dai Bufan shuddered on pure instinct.
Even though he had watched Lu Yang's entire breakthrough process and had returned from Tianmen Peak not long ago, seeing Lu Yang show up in his own room never failed to give him an ominous premonition.
It felt as though any second, Lu Yang would announce what sort of "grand feat" he had pulled off in the outside world.
From Tribulation Transcendence experts to immortals, there were precedents for everything.
Even though Lu Yang hadn't left the sect this time, that didn't guarantee nothing was amiss.
Dai Bufan eyed Lu Yang warily. "You didn't run all the way here just to tell me you ran into an immortal while facing your heavenly tribulation, did you?"
Lu Yang: "..."
*Senior Brother Dai, after breaking through to the middle stage of Body Integration, did you acquire the ability to see the future?*
Lu Yang laughed it off and pulled out an immortal peach from behind his back. "Senior Brother Dai, look at what you're saying! How could I cause trouble every single time? I just know how hard you work managing the Mission Hall, and since I happened to have something good on hand, I brought one for you to enjoy."
"Is this the immortal peach rumored to be capable of extending lifespan?"
Intelligence gathered from the Imperial City had mentioned this immortal peach.
"That's the one."
Though a bit sheepish about accepting a gift from his junior brother, Dai Bufan weighed the matter carefully and accepted the immortal peach anyway. "If you ever need any intelligence in the future, don't hesitate to ask me."
After Lu Yang left, Dai Bufan examined the peach for a moment, then exited the Mission Hall and made his way to an ancient tomb concealed within the crags deep inside the Dao Seeking Sect.
He entered the main burial chamber, where a jet-black coffin rested.
An empty plate sat before the coffin. Dai Bufan set the immortal peach onto the plate, lit three sticks of incense, bowed three times to the coffin, and planted the incense into a small burner.
"Master, if you wake up, remember to eat it."
This was the Great Elder's seclusion spot. Back when Lu Yang had first learned Inches to the Ends of the Earth, this was precisely where he had landed.
...
After delivering an immortal peach to Man Gu, Lu Yang headed to Wuchen Peak to meet Tao Yaoye.
Tao Yaoye held the immortal peach, unable to tear her gaze from it. Her surname was Tao—Peach—and Senior Brother Lu Yang was gifting her a precious immortal peach. Was he trying to hint at something?
"Junior Sister Tao, immortal peaches have the effect of consolidating one's cultivation realm. If possible, I suggest waiting until you break through to the Soul Formation stage before eating it."
Tao Yaoye nodded obediently again and again, moving Lu Yang to inwardly sigh with emotion. Among all the female cultivators he knew, only Junior Sister Tao was this compliant.
When it came to the likes of Immortal Fairy or Eldest Senior Sister, when did he ever get any say?
Lu Yang decided to give the final immortal peach to Li Haoran.
"Old Meng is cultivating alongside an immortal, so he must be living quite the heavenly life, eating no shortage of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. He won't miss this one bite."
"For me?" Li Haoran was deeply moved. He hadn't expected Senior Brother Lu Yang to still think of him when encountering such good fortune.
He had assumed Senior Brother Lu Yang only ever sought him out when he needed a sparring partner.
Lu Yang adopted a solemn air. "Junior Brother Li, I'm a Soul Formation cultivator now. When I have good things, how could I possibly forget about you?"
Li Haoran: "..."
*You just purely wanted to show off that you reached the Soul Formation stage, didn't you?*
"Smelling this immortal peach, do you feel any sense of familiarity?" Lu Yang tried to awaken Li Haoran's first life.
The Five Ancient Celestials had frequently eaten immortal peaches. Especially Immortal Suiyue and the other three—after being subjected to Immortal Fairy's cooking, eating immortal peaches must have tasted like the ultimate earthly delicacy and left an indelible impression.
If his first life could be awakened, it would prove immensely beneficial both regarding what transpired near the end of the Xinhuo Dynasty and for Li Haoran himself.
"A sense of familiarity?" Li Haoran was completely baffled by Lu Yang's question.
"Are you asking whether Qin Haoran ever ate an immortal peach, Senior Brother Lu? How could that be possible? If he'd been able to get his hands on an immortal peach, he wouldn't have had to resort to taking out loans."
A treasure that extended lifespan without limitations would be a coveted grand finale piece even at an auction for the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
Lu Yang felt somewhat disheartened. True enough, even now Junior Brother Li hadn't finished assimilating all of Qin Haoran's memories, let alone those of his first life. Chances were that even if a living, breathing Immortal Fairy were set right before him, he wouldn't recall a single shred of his first life's memories.
Chapter 972