To tell the truth, Yun Zhi had been taken aback when she first laid eyes on the Primordial Soul. It looked eighty percent like her junior brother and twenty percent like the Immortal Fairy. Her first reaction had been that her junior brother and the Immortal Fairy had something going on—like spiritual communion, for instance.
Later, she realized this was merely because the Immortal Fairy had assisted in his cultivation.
Even so, looking at this Primordial Soul still gave her a bizarre feeling.
She suspected that if the Immortal Fairy helped him cultivate any further and the Primordial Soul's appearance shifted again, that eerie sensation would only grow stronger.
Back in the Nascent Soul stage, it hadn't been an issue. After all, the Invincible Nascent Soul was still tiny; aside from Lu Yang himself, no one could tell whom it resembled.
But a Soul Formation stage Primordial Soul was another matter entirely.
It was with this in mind that Yun Zhi had stepped in to forbid the Immortal Fairy from helping her junior brother cultivate.
Of course, continuing to let her help did carry a very real risk of a gender change.
Pressured by Eldest Senior Sister's earnest admonitions, Lu Yang had no choice but to abandon his vindictive exploitation of his Primordial Soul. He treated it better and set it to assisting him with his study of cultivation manuals.
With Lu Yang and his Primordial Soul studying techniques at the same time, their efficiency doubled instantly.
His exhaustion was also double what it had been before.
Still, with Spirit Recovery Pills on hand, a mere doubling of fatigue was hardly a problem.
These were Spirit Recovery Pills specially refined to restore mental vigor, complete with pill patterns and pill clouds—the absolute pinnacle of their kind.
Lu Yang had contributed so much to the Dao Seeking Sect that his astronomical store of contribution points was virtually bottomless. He bought top-grade Spirit Recovery Pills by the jin, utterly lavish and unrestrained.
Considering that the pills had a monotonous taste and taking them continuously could easily breed aversion, Lu Yang had lined up numerous small saucers before him, filled with broad bean paste, fermented bean curd, chili paste, chive flower sauce, and more... Whatever flavor he fancied, he could have it.
If he craved a dipping sauce that wasn't stored in his identity jade pendant, he would dispatch his Primordial Soul to the commercial street to buy some—exceedingly convenient.
When the Primordial Soul returned, it was even stopped at the door and denied entry on the grounds that it was carrying outside food.
Lu Yang went downstairs to look, only to discover his Primordial Soul clutching a handful of grilled skewers—which definitely had not been part of his orders.
Needless to say, members of the Immortal Cult must have thrust them into the Primordial Soul's hands to curry favor with him.
Lu Yang remained inside the Scripture Pavilion the entire time, resting only thrice throughout the whole period.
Top-grade Spirit Recovery Pills were not omnipotent; taking them over an extended span diminished their efficacy. Lu Yang had no choice but to pause his study and lie down on a chair to sleep.
The Primordial Soul was fortunate enough to rest alongside its master.
The Immortal Fairy also uncharacteristically refrained from making a racket in the spiritual space, granting Lu Yang a quiet environment in which to rest.
In the blink of an eye, a month and a half slipped by. A dazzling array of Soul Formation cultivation principles had gathered in Lu Yang's mind. Spanning from ancient arts to the present day, he had practically become a walking treasury of cultivation techniques.
Lu Yang spent another half a month deconstructing those principles, attempting to bridge them with the Nascent Soul chapter of the Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature.
"Time to write the technique!"
Over these two months, Lu Yang felt as though he had been in conversation with Soul Formation cultivators across three hundred thousand years, discussing the principles of cultivation and exploring the meaning of the Dao. He had gained immensely; renewed from the inside out, even his speech and bearing were distinct from before.
Lu Yang smiled with confidence. The wisdom of the ancients was truly not to be underestimated; it had granted him boundless inspiration.
His Primordial Soul laid out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, ground the ink, and handed him the brush. Holding the wolf-hair brush, Lu Yang wrote as if guided by the divine. The words flowed in a single, exhilarating surge of effortless clarity as all his insights from the past two months coalesced and merged into the technique.
"Done at last!"
***
"Your technique must be completely rewritten," Yun Zhi said, cold and merciless.
"Huh?"
Seeing the shock written across Lu Yang's face, Yun Zhi sighed and explained, "Junior Brother, delving into others' techniques and absorbing their strengths is a good thing, but you have forgotten the unique nature of your own Soul Formation stage."
"Unique nature? My Primordial Soul?"
"Yes. The most crucial aspect of a Soul Formation cultivation technique is how it allows you to communicate with heaven and earth."
"Your technique includes things like tempering in the mortal world, contemplating the myriad facets of life, playing the zither beside a stream, and so forth. Those methods are useful, but you have a better option available to you."
"What is it?"
"Are you aware that on the verge of death, a cultivator's perception is magnified infinitely? Even mortals on their deathbeds can perceive ghosts and spirits they could never sense in life, let alone cultivators."
Lu Yang shuddered. "Are you saying I should keep myself in a near-death state?"
Yun Zhi shook her head. "That would be far too dangerous. According to my observations, after your Primordial Soul returns to your body, its sensations are synchronized with you."
Lu Yang's eyes lit up as he grasped Eldest Senior Sister's meaning. "Eldest Senior Sister, do you mean I should let my Primordial Soul go die in my place?"
"Not go die. Keep your Primordial Soul in a near-death state," Yun Zhi corrected. There was a distinction between the two.
Lu Yang nodded repeatedly. Pretty much the same thing.
"Then shall we give it a try?" Lu Yang said excitedly. He summoned his Primordial Soul and ordered it not to run no matter what danger it faced in a moment.
Yun Zhi gave a slight nod, gestured for Lu Yang to step back, and struck out with a palm at the Primordial Soul remaining in place.
Without Lu Yang's command, the Primordial Soul would have fled far away already.
Before her jade hand even drew near, the Primordial Soul dimmed instantly, turning exceedingly frail as if crushed beneath immense pressure.
Seeing this, Yun Zhi broke off her strike and signaled that Lu Yang could recall his Primordial Soul.
A fraction more force, and her junior brother's Primordial Soul would have shattered.
The instant the Primordial Soul returned, Lu Yang dropped to his knees, panting heavily as he absorbed all of its sensations.
That strike had been utterly terrifying. Even though he had reached the Soul Formation stage, before that palm he remained like an ant gazing up at a towering mountain; the gulf between them was beyond measure.
Lu Yang's consciousness blurred. The world spun violently around him, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly.
In this moment, his perception was magnified infinitely. He could hear the sound of spiritual energy circulating within his body, feel spiritual qi weaving through leaves, and sense the solemnity of Tianmen Peak...
Even when he had listened to Third Senior Sister play the zither, he had never felt anything so clear.
Lu Yang gradually regained his senses and realized that this was indeed communicating with heaven and earth. If he did this a few more times, he would surely be able to perceive the shifts of heaven and earth with even greater clarity.
Yun Zhi retrieved a drop of water from her identity jade tablet, caught it upon a leaf, and fed it to Lu Yang.
He did not know the origin of the water, but after taking it, Lu Yang felt his mind clear considerably.
"How do you feel?"
"It works!" Lu Yang grinned.
A near-death state free of actual danger—how many Soul Formation cultivators would turn green with envy if they heard of this?
The only drawback was that it couldn't be done repeatedly in rapid succession; his Primordial Soul was gravely injured and required a long period of quiet recuperation.
The strong stopped at nothing to become stronger; Lu Yang didn't feel the slightest bit of pity for his Primordial Soul.
"It is good that it works." Yun Zhi nodded, unsurprised. "You must record this method in your cultivation technique. That way..."
"That means my technique will pass?"
"That way, your technique will only have sixty percent left that needs revision."
Lu Yang: "..."
Isn't that still a failing grade?!
Chapter 974