Chapter 342: Great Progress

Upon learning that two percent of the draft he had meticulously labored over was approved by his Eldest Senior Sister, Lu Yang felt a rush of genuine delight.

To receive any modicum of approval from her was rare indeed; even a mere two percent was a hard-won victory and a promising beginning.

It was certainly a grand improvement over his previous attempt, which had been utterly discarded.

His efforts had not been in vain, having spent over half a month strictly sequestered in the Scripture Library, forgetting to eat and sleep, followed by two agonizing days of scratching his head in creative torment.

If he could secure two percent of her approval this time, it could be forty percent the next, and before long, he would be fashioning cultivation techniques on par with the Eldest Senior Sister herself.

The future lay before him, brilliant and untethered!

Just as Lu Yang composed his features to modestly suggest that he still had much to learn, he heard his Eldest Senior Sister continue in an even tone:

"As for the remaining two percent, you simply quoted lines that I wrote myself, so I saw no need to alter them."

Lu Yang fell utterly silent.

Could you perhaps, Eldest Senior Sister, manage not to pause so long between breaths when you speak next time?

Deep within the spiritual domain, the Immortal Fairy was doubled over with mirth, rolling across her bed in absolute hysterics, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

Noticing her Junior Brother's visibly deflated posture, Yun Zhi offered a word of consolation: "It is quite commendable. At the very least, you have quoted my words correctly."

Lu Yang did not find himself particularly consoled.

Seeing that her Junior Brother remained disheartened, Yun Zhi realized that perhaps she was not naturally suited to comforting others.

She recalled the Grand Tournament of the Five Great Immortal Sects, where she had vanquished every opponent to claim an undisputed first place. The sect masters, seeking to humble her and ensure she did not grow arrogant, had challenged her under the guise of offering standard martial guidance.

The outcome required little elaboration; it was the five sect masters who received the guidance, thoroughly routed by Yun Zhi.

Feeling it unseemly to be defeated so soundly by a junior, the masters bore expressions of profound melancholy and frustration.

Beholding their sullen spirits, Yun Zhi had sought to comfort them, saying, "I merely possess a slightly higher realm of cultivation. Had I suppressed my realm to match your own, I would not have been able to defeat you in a single blow."

The sect masters' faces had turned significantly darker upon hearing this.

The Taoist Master Buyu, witnessing the plight of his peers, had gleefully gloated from the sidelines.

As Yun Zhi’s master, he knew only too well the absolute, invincible might of his disciple; anyone who stepped forward was destined to lose.

The sect masters glared fiercely at Buyu. They could not best the disciple, but surely they could best the master?

Converging in unison, they gave Buyu a thoroughly sound thrashing.

In a fair duel, Buyu feared no one, but who would choose a duel when a collective beating was an option?

Thus, the Great Immortal Tournament had concluded with Buyu covered in a tapestry of injuries.

"Your comprehension of cultivation techniques remains shallow, which inevitably drives you to mimic the creations of others. Yet, those creators themselves do not truly understand what they have written; they fancy themselves omniscient, but they exist merely in a state of half-baked comprehension."

"As I told you at the dawn of your cultivation, the central theme of the Scripture of Clarifying the Heart and Manifesting Nature was your own conception, and it was a superb choice."

"A cultivator must attend not only to their realm but also to their state of mind. Upon reaching the Golden Core stage, one is bound to encounter the Tribulation of the Inner Demon, a monumental hurdle for any practitioner."

"Demons are born of the heart and strike directly at the spirit, leaving one defenceless. Countless cultivators find themselves stranded at this very threshold, their progress halted forever."

"Why does an inner demon manifest? It is because the heart lacks a definitive measure, leaving one paralyzed by doubt. To choose one path is to forever ponder what might have been on the other."

"If your betrothed and your mother fell into a river simultaneously, the agonizing inability to choose whom to save stems from the absence of a clear internal standard. Should you save your mother and allow your betrothed to drown, regret will consume you, providing perfect fodder for the Inner Demon Tribulation."

"Cultivating the Scripture of Clarifying the Heart and Manifesting Nature allows you to perceive your true intent, rendering you immune to the disturbances of the Inner Demon."

Previously, Yun Zhi had only praised Lu Yang's choice of technique without explaining why. Now, seeing that his Golden Core was formed—an achievement that would command great respect in the wider world—she finally saw fit to share her reasoning.

Catching the drift of the conversation, the Immortal Fairy chimed in to offer Lu Yang her own succinct interpretation: "To put it simply, you just need a healthy, positive, and optimistic heart."

"If you are entirely heartless and mindless, where could an inner demon possibly find purchase?"

Lu Yang stared silently at the Immortal Fairy, thinking to himself that she indeed looked like someone who had never known the touch of an inner demon.

"I shall revise the technique for you, and let you know when it is finished," the Eldest Senior Sister murmured, turning to vanish into her immortal cave.

Once she had departed, a puppet poked its head out, inspecting Lu Yang from top to bottom before shaking its head, seemingly unimpressed by his progress.

"Ha, you again!"

The puppet had been an indispensable fixture on Lu Yang’s path of cultivation. From the very beginning, it had operated under the Eldest Senior Sister’s command to spur his progress. During that grueling period, Lu Yang had been battered by the puppet by day, only to suffer nightmares of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable by night, living a thoroughly miserable existence.

In the past, as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, Lu Yang had been utterly powerless against it. Now, however, he was a grand master of the Golden Core stage, capable of matching Nascent Soul experts—a figure who could serve as the venerable ancestor of a great clan in the mortal realm, receiving the veneration of thousands.

Lu Yang knew the puppet was capable of speech; it refrained from doing so only out of sheer disdain for him.

"I am no longer the man I once was. Watch as I defeat you this day!"

Lu Yang’s fighting spirit surged, a wave of perceived invincibility washing over him. A mere puppet could surely be overturned with a flick of his wrist!

The puppet hooked its finger in a mocking gesture, beckoning Lu Yang forward.

Just as Lu Yang prepared to strike, the Invincible Pill inside him flashed a sudden warning.

"This is an opponent you cannot defeat. To preserve your victory rate, you may choose to flee or commit suicide."

Lu Yang stood frozen.

"Fairy, what manner of Invincible Pill is this? Ever since I formed my Core, I have not won a single battle using it!"

His solitary victory since achieving the Core had been against Tao Yaoye, a battle in which the Invincible Pill had merely advised him to employ the Lu Style Arhat Fist.

The Immortal Fairy spread her hands helplessly. "You cannot blame me for that. Back in my day, with the aid of the Invincible Pill, I breezed through Foundation Establishment and the Golden Core stages. No one could match me, not even Ying Tianxian."

"Unlike you, who seems to run into either Unity stage masters or your own monstrous senior martial brothers and sisters at every turn."

Lu Yang began to feel that residing within a supreme sect was not an unmitigated blessing.

Had he been in an ordinary sect, his senior peers would have bullied him, mocking his lack of pedigree and humble origins. He could then have defeated a late Golden Core senior before a stunned crowd while only in the early stage himself, causing a sensation that would bring the sect elders and master rushing out to claim him as a core disciple.

Yet within the Dao Querying Sect, such a tale was an impossibility.

There was one detail the Immortal Fairy had withheld from Lu Yang: it was the Invincible Pill that had initially filled him with the supreme confidence to challenge the puppet, only for the very same pill to issue the warning of his inevitable defeat.

The positive and negative effects had effectively canceled each other out.

"No great matter, after all," the Immortal Fairy murmured to herself.

Seeing that Lu Yang did not advance, the puppet took the initiative and struck. Lu Yang spun on his heel and fled.

Knowing a fight was unwinnable, only a fool would stand his ground.

He remained ignorant of the puppet's true grade, but its speed was calibrated to be exactly one notch faster than his own. No matter how desperately Lu Yang exerted himself, he could not outrun it.

Just as he was on the verge of despair, the Invincible Pill spun furiously, mobilizing his spiritual energy. Lu Yang’s strides became as swift as flight, his speed rising higher and higher.

"Wait a moment! If this Invincible Pill is utterly useless in combat, why is it so incredibly efficient at running away?"