Chapter 1059: Initial Integration of the Primordial Spirit

Upon the metallic planet of Gold, Lu Yang attained fulfillment in his cultivation, a mystical and profound smile gracing his lips.

Reaching the late Soul Transformation stage meant he was one step closer to crossing the tribulation and ascending to the Void Refining stage... Wait, that did not seem like something to be happy about.

Yun Mengmeng moved a small stool to sit beside Lu Yang, happily feasting on pastries; possessing the embryonic form of the Immortal Dao Fruit, she remained unaffected by the metallic Qi of Gold.

Speaking of which, this was only her second time venturing into the cosmos, and it was just as cold as before.

The universe was devoid of everything—no food, no entertainment, bleak and desolate—had it not been for the Second Chief cultivating here, she would have been too lazy to fly up.

"Late Soul Transformation stage? You are incredible, Second Chief! Let me treat you to a peach."

Yun Mengmeng had just taken a bite of her pastry when she saw the Second Chief break through successfully. Unable to bear another bite yet unwilling to set it down, she had no choice but to hold the pastry in her mouth while handing over an immortal peach freshly picked from her hometown; following that, she fetched out the sweet Senior Sister Gan Tian’s ancient zither, which she had borrowed, infused her spiritual energy into it, and as the grand melodies resounded, she hurriedly clapped her hands to celebrate the Second Chief becoming a Great Cultivator of the late Soul Transformation stage, thrown into an absolute frenzy of activity.

"Thank you." Lu Yang subconsciously accepted the immortal peach and began to eat, before suddenly realizing something was amiss.

"Wait a moment, Sister Mengmeng, why are you here?!"

"Oh, I heard you were about to break through, so I waited here to offer my congratulations."

Lu Yang was deeply moved; to think that during his long period of secluded cultivation on this metallic planet, Sister Mengmeng had been guarding this place all along.

"Sister Mengmeng, how long have you been waiting here?"

"I just arrived."

"..."

Lu Yang drew the Azure Peak Sword, his sword intent soaring into the skies as a single strike rent the void, leaving behind a spatial rift that could not heal for a long time.

During his cultivation, Lu Yang had constantly absorbed the metallic Qi of Gold, and now his sword Qi was powerful to a truly inconceivable degree.

Lu Yang tossed the immortal peach high into the air and gently nudged the sword guard with his thumb; a flash of sword light flickered, and the peach fell back into his hand, its skin peeled away without the slightest damage to the flesh!

"So powerful!" Yun Mengmeng clapped vigorously, for every time she peeled a peach, some flesh would always be left on the skin, "Help me peel one too."

Lu Yang drew his sword a second time to peel an immortal peach for Yun Mengmeng, prompting her to clap even more enthusiastically.

After eating the immortal peach, Lu Yang was adorned with a flower garland by Yun Mengmeng, completing the sense of ritual.

"Let us head back, I still need to consolidate my realm," Lu Yang said; he was still under the onslaught of the metallic power of Gold, as well as the influence of the embryonic form of the Seven Emotions Dao Fruit, which kept him smiling constantly, far too overjoyed to calm his mind and consolidate his realm.

Flying back to the Ask Unity Sect, Lu Yang headed straight for the Great Snow Mountain behind the Heavenly Gate Peak to find True Person Zhui Yue.

"Senior Zhui Yue, could you please withdraw your divine ability?" Lu Yang was currently so overjoyed that even slapping himself twice did nothing to dampen his spirits.

At this moment, True Person Zhui Yue was chatting with Senior Sister Gan Tian, listening to her recount her experiences in the Demon Territory; though not as splendid as Lu Yang's adventures, compared to ordinary cultivators, her journey could already be considered rich and colorful.

True Person Zhui Yue tilted her head to glance at Lu Yang: "Late Soul Transformation stage?"

With those words, she activated the embryonic form of the Seven Emotions Dao Fruit, dispelling the influence.

"Your zither." Yun Mengmeng returned the ancient zither to Senior Sister Gan Tian.

"Junior Brother, your cultivation speed is faster than both mine and Second Senior Brother's; it should be faster than Master's as well." Senior Sister Gan Tian lamented as she stroked the zither, helping Lu Yang consolidate his realm.

"How does it compare to Eldest Senior Sister?" Lu Yang asked excitedly, feeling that his current state was better than ever before, to the point that even Eldest Senior Sister at the mid Soul Transformation stage would be no match for him!

"That is hard to say, Eldest Senior Sister has never spoken of her cultivation speed."

"It seems I am either faster than Eldest Senior Sister, or slower than her." Lu Yang was very satisfied with this answer, as it meant he had a fifty percent chance of surpassing her.

Wait, was his way of thinking a bit different from usual? Lu Yang suddenly realized something was wrong with himself.

The Immortal Fairy manifested to illustrate the truth, dispelling Lu Yang's confusion: "This is quite normal; you are already at the late Soul Transformation stage, and soon you will reach the Void Refining stage, after which you will fuse with the Invincible Primordial Spirit to ascend to the Body Integration stage. Second Chief, you are exceptionally gifted; the signs of fusion have already begun to appear, granting you the Invincible Mindset."

Lu Yang: "..."

Why on earth did I condense the Invincible Dan in the first place?

Bai Ye replaced True Person Zhui Yue, pulling a paper bag from her storage ring: "Senior Brother Lu Yang, these are petals freshly plucked from my body."

Ever since Lu Yang praised her petals as delicious back at the Celestial Palace, Bai Ye had kept it in mind, regularly offering petals to Lu Yang after arriving at the Ask Unity Sect.

Lu Yang had corrected her several times, hoping Bai Ye would stop calling him "Senior Brother Lu Yang," but she had grown accustomed to it and refused to change, leaving Lu Yang with no choice but to let her be.

"Thank you." He placed a petal into his mouth; it was as fragrant and sweet as always.

Having consumed the immortal peach and the petals of the Laurel Tree Ancestor, and with Senior Sister Gan Tian playing the zither, Lu Yang consolidated his realm without needing a second period of secluded cultivation.

"Old Meng, I have broken through to the late Soul Transformation stage, what about you?" Lu Yang sought out Meng Jingzhou's cave dwelling, smelling the choking, pungent spiciness from afar.

Meng Jingzhou extended his head from behind a hotpot, his lips and cheeks deathly pale as he poured duck blood into the pot.

"Naturally, I am one step ahead of you, grandson!" Meng Jingzhou said testily; he had been surrounding the sun all day, bleeding himself while cultivating, and his progress was meteoric, reaching the late Soul Transformation stage even before Lu Yang.

The only drawback to this method was a severe lack of blood, requiring dietary supplementation.

Had he not been so utterly weak right now, he would have dragged Lu Yang into a fight.

"Come, come, let me have some too." Meng Jingzhou ate hotpot for every meal, whereas Lu Yang had not tasted it in ages; the last time he ate hotpot was when he first met Yun Mengmeng at the Sword Tower.

Lu Yang treated Meng Jingzhou's cave dwelling entirely as his own, sitting down and pulling out his bowls and chopsticks to start eating.

"Hey, hey, leave some for me." Meng Jingzhou was furious; it was one thing for this fellow to dispense with pleasantries, but to instantly snatch his duck blood right off the bat—did he not know he was currently blood-deficient?

"Look at how stingy you are, put the meat in, put the meat in," Lu Yang urged, for it was only because this pot contained nothing but duck blood.

Meng Jingzhou reached out to tear through space, fetching out a plate of meat and dumping it into the hotpot.

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow with an 'oh': "Spatial magic?"

He did not recall Old Meng knowing such a trick.

"Envious, aren't you? Ancestor Han Hai taught me," Meng Jingzhou grinned proudly.

Daoist Master Han Hai had taught him spatial magic while drawing his blood.

"You just finished breaking through, right? Do you not need to consolidate your realm?" Meng Jingzhou stood up, picked up a piece of ginger that looked like meat, dropped it into Lu Yang's bowl, and asked casually.

"My luck was quite good this time; after the breakthrough, Sister Mengmeng gave me an immortal peach to eat, Junior Sister Bai Ye gave me petals, and Third Senior Sister played the zither." Lu Yang picked up a slice of meat coated in Sichuan peppercorns and placed it in Meng Jingzhou's bowl.

Snap.

Meng Jingzhou unconsciously applied force and snapped his chopsticks, his face flushing red with anger.

Lu Yang watched with a bewildered expression: "What is wrong with you? Can you not control your strength after breaking through?"

In Meng Jingzhou's eyes, this grandson Lu Yang was purely flaunting, and he could not expose it, lest it allow Lu Yang to flaunt even more.

"Nothing, nothing at all, I just think you have incredibly good luck, kid."

"If my luck were truly good, I would never have met you."

"Get lost."