Chapter 118: Immortal Fairy Awakens

"Since you went on an undercover mission, Dai Bufan must have given you some contribution points?" Yun Zhi asked after their meal.

"Yes, quite a lot." Lu Yang beamed with joy; his contribution points were the highest among his peers.

"Three days from now, the sect will hold a market, and most people will attend. If you are interested, you can go wander around; you might just happen upon something to your liking."

Lu Yang nodded. He had long heard that internal item exchanges within the sect were held in the form of a market. In the past, to keep Lu Yang focused on his cultivation, Yun Zhi had never allowed him to attend.

Now that Lu Yang had established his foundation and achieved modest success in his cultivation, there was no need to interfere so much anymore.

The Central Sect held a market every three months, encompassing everything from bartering and purchasing with contribution points to eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Disciples of the Central Sect traveled across the world to execute missions, and they always came across local specialties and encountered all kinds of novel things; once they obtained them, some chose to use them themselves, while others chose to bring them to the market to exchange for what they needed.

"Also, Master is currently meditating in peace. Do not go to Master's place lately," Yun Zhi enjoined him.

Lu Yang did not understand why, but he hadn't planned on visiting Master anyway. At any rate, Master would definitely come out in three days.

"Oh." Regardless, listening to Eldest Senior Sister was always the right choice.

Three days later, the market was held as scheduled. The Central Sect had set up an arena, allowing disciples to engage in spells and martial combat at will.

The arena was crafted from rock of a special material, making it indestructible, and its exterior was wrapped in an array to ensure the aftermath of the battles would not affect the spectators.

At this moment, battling on the arena were two Golden Core senior brothers. The Golden Cores of both men were full and flawless, completely natural, and were clearly the top-grade Golden Cores that were impossible to obtain in the outside world.

"Shattered Moon Slash!" a Golden Core senior brother bellowed. His broad saber, like a half-moon and driven by brute force, cleaved straight down, making Lu Yang's eyelids twitch.

If Helmsman Chu had possessed this senior brother's strength back then, they would probably have faced grim prospects.

The other Golden Core senior brother refused to be outdone. His entire body radiated a golden light, depositing a thin golden film over the surface of his skin: "Buddhist Golden Body!"

The other senior brother had learned the Buddhist Golden Body from somewhere unknown and had already achieved minor mastery in it, forcefully withstanding the saber strike.

The saber techniques and spells executed by the two were superb and switched seamlessly. Lu Yang watched with rapt attention; it was a rare opportunity to witness top-tier Golden Core experts locked in combat.

In fact, Lu Yang had seen higher-level combat before—a great cultivation power taking on an immortal.

Unfortunately, Eldest Senior Sister's palm techniques were far too fierce. The newly awakened Immortal Fairy had been utterly powerless to fight back, making it essentially a one-sided beating, and Lu Yang had learned absolutely nothing from it.

"The Immortal Fairy is unreliable," Lu Yang sighed. If he could just learn a fraction of a move from Eldest Senior Sister, wouldn't he be able to walk sideways among those of the same rank?

"Wait, that's not right. Eldest Senior Sister seems to have taught me Shrunk Earth and Samadhi True Fire."

"Boy, I advise you to watch your mouth! What do you mean by saying I am unreliable!" A woman's voice resounded within Lu Yang's heart.

"Senior, you're awake?" Lu Yang was surprised. The Immortal Fairy had slept for several days; had she finally woken up now?

"Calling me 'Senior' feels comfortable enough," the Immortal Fairy said lazily, and Lu Yang felt as though she was stretching.

"Let me tell you, right now I am nowhere near my peak and still need to recover slowly. That one named Yun Zhi can only beat me right now. Once I recover my strength, I could beat her with one hand tied behind my back," the Immortal Fairy said fiercely. As Huang Doudou, she had stirred up storms in the ancient era; how could she possibly fail to defeat a junior?

Lu Yang thought about it and felt what the Immortal Fairy said made a lot of sense: "I will pass that on to Eldest Senior Sister exactly as you said."

"Don't, don't, don't, we can talk things out nicely." The Immortal Fairy's tone softened instantly.

Lu Yang: "...Senior, are you actually reliable or not?"

Logically speaking, with the soul of an ancient immortal inside his body, he should be slaying gods and Buddhas alike wherever they stood, with continuous fortunes rolling in, upgrading like drinking water, invincible among his peers, and slaying those of higher levels without any trouble at all.

But the way the Immortal Fairy behaved always gave off an unreliable feeling; it seemed better to cling tightly to Eldest Senior Sister's thighs.

"Heh. Who do you think I am? I am the Immortal Fairy, Huang Doudou!"

"How come I remember you previously referring to yourself as 'this seat'?" Lu Yang still remembered the initially overbearing Immortal Fairy.

The Immortal Fairy fell silent for a moment before speaking anew: "This seat is the Immortal Fairy, Huang Doudou... No, calling myself 'this seat' is too cringe."

The Immortal Fairy explained: "Mainly, I heard others say that referring to oneself as 'this seat' makes one appear very powerful. When I had just woken up back then, my mind wasn't clear, so I wanted to try out what it felt like. Now I think it's too unfamiliar; I'll stick to 'I'."

Lu Yang was curious: "Who did you hear it from?"

"Those in the Tribulation Transmutation Stage and immortals alike. Having painstakingly cultivated to the highest realm, everyone avoids fighting if they can help it, but without fighting, how do you know who is stronger or weaker? So someone started it, talking in an incredibly arrogant way that was very good at bluffing people."

"Then everyone thought this way of speaking was pretty good. Every time they opened their mouths, it was 'This seat was born in accordance with heaven,' 'Those who defy this immortal shall be executed,' 'How dare mere mortals defy an immortal,' 'This seat contains a powerful energy within, do not force this seat to break the seal,' and the like."

"Let me think who started it... Oh right, it was the Yingtian Immortal!"

"At the time, I thought their way of speaking was quite interesting, so I recorded all their words and compiled them into a small booklet called 'Quotations of the Immortals.' I don't even know where that book is lost now."

Lu Yang: "..."

He felt he had found the reason why the Immortal Fairy had been stabbed in the back.

"I will show you some immortal capabilities, lest you think I just coasted my way up." The Immortal Fairy believed it was necessary to display some true power to make Lu Yang look up to her and be more respectful toward her.

"Come, give me control of your body, and let me give you a taste of what it feels like to fight above your level."

This was the territory of the Central Sect, so Lu Yang was not worried about the Immortal Fairy taking the opportunity to seize his soul, and he voluntarily gave up control of his body.

At this moment, the arena was empty. Controlling Lu Yang's body, the Immortal Fairy leaped onto the arena, cupped her hands, and said, "Elders, villagers, heroes, and brave men, I have had some insights in my cultivation today. I wonder which Golden Core initial-stage senior brother or senior sister would like to come up and offer some guidance?"

The Immortal Fairy explained to Lu Yang: "The geniuses of the ancient era were just like this, provoking everyone and relying on a pair of fists to carve out an illustrious reputation, laying the foundation for their own path of invincibility. Today I will demonstrate it for you once; learn it well!"

"I'll do it!" A bald senior brother leaped onto the stage, his entire body radiating the golden light of merit.

The Immortal Fairy drew in a sharp breath. A supreme-grade Golden Core, invested with merit, possessed by an Arhat, with a minor mastery of the Boundless Golden Body—how was she supposed to fight that?

"C-Change, let's change to another one."

That bald senior brother was not annoyed either; he leaped off the stage with a chuckle, and another scholar senior brother leaped onto the stage.

The scholar senior brother wore a gray long robe, held a bamboo book, and carried an unhurried smile.

The Immortal Fairy froze once more. A natural scholar, blessed by a great power, speaking with heavenly authority, holding a supreme treasure—how was she supposed to fight this?

"Change again!" the Immortal Fairy said through gritted teeth.

"I'll come." The scholar senior brother stepped down, and a simple, honest fat senior brother took the stage.

The Immortal Fairy could tell at a glance that the fat senior brother's core was formed of the five elements, making it of the highest grade, with providence invested in him, bloodline protection, and a cultivation method that was top-tier without a single flaw.

Only then did the Immortal Fairy realize that among the Golden Core stages present, she couldn't beat a single one of them.