Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Lu Yang was completely dumbfounded. He wouldn’t utter such absurd words even if he was in a heart tribulation.

“Big Senior Sister, are you saying that even though you could scare off the Midheaven Emperor-Lord, beat the Yu Emperor Wu Yao to death, defeat the Four Ancient Immortals, and even beat Hui Doudou and the Immortal Fairy, your path is still wrong?”

Yun Zhi nodded, confirming that he hadn’t misheard.

“Hey, hey, hey, this immortal and Lass Yun are evenly matched!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy took issue with Lu Yang’s words and corrected him. What does Lass Yun’s affairs have to do with me?

“Lass Yun, since you didn’t walk the Dao Fruit path, does that mean your ultimate realm isn’t ‘Omniscience’ or ‘Transcendence?’”

Yun Zhi hadn’t expected the Everlasting Immortal Fairy to infer this much information. Should I say that this is not surprising for the founder of the Dao Fruit path?

“Little Zhi, is that true?”

Yun Zhi hadn’t wanted to share so much. Taking the wrong path wasn’t something to boast about. But with the people close to her asking repeatedly, she had no choice but to tell them. “Senior Immortal Fairy is right. My realm cannot be measured with Dao Fruits. One step further, and it will be ‘Dao Union.’”

“Dao Union?” It was Lu Yang’s first time hearing this term.

“Dao Union is about replacing heaven with one’s heart,” Yun Zhi said with a complicated expression. “Uniting one’s being with the Dao and letting one’s heart take the place of heaven sounds appealing. But Heaven is heartless. After attaining Dao Union, I will become the supreme Heaven, devoid of selfish motives or stray thoughts, and lose all desires.

“At that point, all of you would be nothing more than the countless living beings under heaven to me.”

Lu Yang stared blankly. He hadn’t expected this outcome.

“I-Is that even still human?” He immediately wanted to slap himself twice. That sounded like an insult.

Yun Zhi smiled bitterly. “Of course not. Didn’t I just say? After Dao Union, I will be Heaven. How could Heaven be human?”

“Why did you walk this path?” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy asked curiously. Isn’t the Dao Fruit path pretty nice? With Lass Yun’s talent, she could have become an existence comparable to me if she had taken this path instead.

Yun Zhi invited everyone to sit and poured a cup of Wudao Enlightenment Tea for each of them before explaining.

“Originally, I wanted to walk the Dao Fruit path too.

“Back then, I had reached the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, and the next step was condensing an Incipient Dao Fruit. At the time, I didn’t even know a half-immortal. I only learned of Founding Ancestor Vast Sea’s matters through Grand-Shifu.

“Coincidentally, Founding Ancestor Vast Sea was in seclusion then, so I had no one to consult.

“As such, I figured I could explore on my own while waiting for him to emerge from seclusion. When he came out, I could bring my questions to him, which would make learning easier.

“However, I didn’t expect Founding Ancestor Vast Sea’s seclusion to last so long.”

“How long was he in seclusion?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy couldn’t help but interject.

“That’s not important... In any case, while he was in seclusion, I devised a completely new path, though I wasn’t aware of it at the time.

“When he emerged from seclusion, I proposed to spar with him. After I defeated him cleanly, I finally realized that I wasn’t on the Dao Fruit path.”

Everyone was speechless.

Lu Yang felt that the Vast Sea Daoist Lord was quite unfortunate. He’d painstakingly spent so much time in seclusion, only to step out and have Big Senior Sister ask him, “How should one walk the Dao Fruit path?” then get thoroughly trounced.

Founding Ancestor, what was the point of your seclusion?

No wonder he kept himself in seclusion and refused to see anyone afterward. Who wouldn’t shut themselves in?

“My path and the Dao Fruit path are incompatible. At first, I didn’t think much of it. The Dao Fruit path was created by predecessors. If they could forge a path, so could I. Regardless of the path, as long as I could become stronger, that was enough.

“Later, I continued cultivating on this path until I reached its end, which I call ‘Dao Union.’

“With the end right before me, there was no reason not to approach it. Once I confirmed it, I set out to try it. The golden cores that now fill the sky in place of stars are the result of that attempt.

“It was also then that I realized the problem with Dao Union. This was a path that would ultimately lead to the loss of my human nature and turn me into Heaven. It was impassable.

“Fortunately, that was my first attempt. My Dao Union was shallow, and I hadn’t truly become Heaven, so I could still break away. But it also made me afraid to try again.”

Yun Zhi looked at Lu Yang seriously. “That’s why I said I took the wrong path. Don’t follow my example, Little Junior Brother.”

Lu Yang nodded. Indeed. If I follow in Big Senior Sister’s footsteps, I’ll eventually reach Dao Union, becoming the heartless Heaven. That’s absolutely not what I want.

Wait... if I’m thinking like this, doesn’t that mean I believe I can cultivate until Dao Union? Have I always been this confident?

Lu Yang suddenly remembered something the Everlasting Immortal Fairy had said.

“After the Fusion Stage, the Unbeatable Primordial Soul will truly merge with you, and you’ll become extremely confident.”

Lu Yang quickly examined his internal self, searching for the Unbeatable Primordial Soul, but it was nowhere to be found.

Oh crap, it must have merged during the tribulation.

~~~

Lu Yang’s direct advancement to the Transcendent Tribulation Stage was big news. Cultivation Monthly was rushed into print, with Guan Shanhai and the Fate Arbiter working overtime.

Soon, Cultivation Monthly successfully spread the news across the entire cultivation world, shocking everyone.

Last time, when Lu Yang challenged Yang Kongtong, who was beyond his level, the common folk had seen it as nothing special. But this time, even they were astounded. Streets and alleys, taverns and teahouses, flying vessels and large ships—wherever people gathered, discussions about Lu Yang could be heard.

“Goodness gracious, one hundred sixty-two lightning strikes?! Who else but Prodigy Lu could survive that?”

“That’s why he could go straight to the Transcendent Tribulation Stage.”

“I already knew he was special back when he was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but you all insisted it was fake news. It came right from the Dao-Seeking Sect; how could it have been false?!”

~~~

Jiang Ping’an was farming in the imperial palace’s forbidden grounds when he heard the news. He slapped his thigh in regret. With such talent, he’s a surefire immortal, and I reckon he’ll become one at an absurd rate.

The Battle of the Great Era is the battle for Lu Yang. My prediction is right.

“If I’d known, I wouldn't have been afraid of Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi. I should have dragged this kid to marry into our Jiang Family at all costs!

“At the very least, I should have sent a few imperial princesses to the Dao-Seeking Sect to build a connection with him!”

Jiang Ping’an thought of Meng Jingzhou and grew indignant. “How did Meng Junzi’s descendants turn out so well?!”

The more he thought about it, the more he felt his own descendants were lacking. He threw down his hoe and woke the sleeping Xia Emperor like he was chasing a donkey.

“You’re a Divine Transfiguration cultivator, and you’re still sleeping? Get up and cultivate! Look at Lu Yang—he’s so young, yet he’s already at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage.”

“Ah?”

The Xia Emperor woke in a daze. Isn’t it too late for me to start cultivating diligently now?

~~~

If there was one person considered to be the happiest to hear this news, it was Lu Baqian, the leader of the Corpse-Driving Sect. His hearty, triumphant laughter could be heard throughout the sect.

“Haha, my title of number one below the Transcendent Tribulation Stage is safe!”