Chapter 168: Losing Face

"Senior Brother, those moves of yours are quite formidable."

Li Haoran, in his fiery form, slowly returned to his normal state.

He knew that Senior Brother Lu Yang had held back at the last moment; otherwise, he would have been severely injured, if not killed.

Li Haoran recalled that during their trip to the East Sea, the gap between him and Senior Brother Lu Yang wasn't so vast. He wondered why, after this true fight, the disparity had become so immense.

During the fight, he had unleashed several moves, believing that even if he couldn't defeat Senior Brother Lu Yang, he could at least force him into a difficult struggle.

However, the reality was quite the opposite; Senior Brother Lu Yang had brutally countered all those moves.

Lu Yang slowly exhaled, as if recalling his journey, and remarked with emotion, "My Nascent Soul is finally obedient."

It wasn't in vain that he had been bullied by the Invincible Nascent Soul all this time; now he was finally seeing results. Any move could be doubled in power—it was exhilarating.

Li Haoran: "..."

"So, Senior Brother, was your Nascent Soul always out of control?"

"Junior Brother Li, you're also very good. If it were any other Nascent Soul stage cultivator, they wouldn't be able to withstand two of your moves." Lu Yang's words were not flattery, but the truth.

Li Haoran gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Compared to you, Senior Brother, I'm still far behind."

After the battle, the two performed the Tree Planting Art, moved rocks, and diverted rivers, restoring the destroyed forest to its original state before leaving the scene.

Upon returning to Tianmen Peak, Lu Yang saw Senior Sister sitting on the Emperor's Chair, with a piece of paper spread out on the table.

Lu Yang walked over curiously and discovered it was a celestial map, covered in stars. Senior Sister was occasionally circling certain stars.

"Senior Sister, are you studying celestial phenomena?"

"No, I'm marking my Golden Core."

Yun Zhi looked up, scrutinized Lu Yang, and her lips curled into a slight smile that quickly faded. "Have you finally defeated your Nascent Soul?"

Lu Yang nodded with a sense of relief.

"That's good. You're a bit faster than Immortal Senior."

"Huh?"

Lu Yang was puzzled by Senior Sister's words.

"Does that mean Immortal Senior hadn't defeated the Invincible Nascent Soul at my current stage?"

"Immortal Senior, perhaps you'd like to step out and explain?"

The Undying Immortal pouted, puffed out her cheeks, and emerged from Lu Yang's body, glaring at Yun Zhi.

"Yun girl, you know the truth, but you shouldn't spill it!"

Yun Zhi pretended not to notice the Undying Immortal's anger and slowly said, "The Invincible Nascent Soul is your strongest self. Its techniques are exquisite, its power precise, and even the transitions between moves are flawless."

"Even for you, Immortal Senior, it probably wasn't easy to defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul, was it?"

The moment Yun Zhi saw the Invincible Nascent Soul, she knew it represented one's perfect self. No one could possibly defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul right after entering the Nascent Soul stage.

Immortal Senior was no exception.

"So, you also got beaten by the Invincible Nascent Soul, Immortal?" Lu Yang said, gloating.

All this time, the Undying Immortal had acted superior, lecturing him about how he couldn't even defeat a mere Invincible Nascent Soul, and that his cultivation was insufficient.

Who would have thought? Not only had he been beaten by the Invincible Nascent Soul, but its creator couldn't escape a beating either.

"With your guidance, Immortal Senior, Junior Brother's growth speed is faster."

"Immortal Senior, when you had no guidance back then, didn't you defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul slower than Junior Brother?"

"For example, did you only defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul just before breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage?"

Her little secret exposed, the Undying Immortal stomped her foot in anger.

"Yun girl, are you doing this on purpose?!"

This was also why the Undying Immortal felt guilty whenever the Invincible Nascent Soul was mentioned: to defeat it, she had spent her entire Nascent Soul stage being beaten.

This contradicted the lofty image she had built up for herself in front of Little Yang.

To defeat the Invincible Nascent Soul, the Undying Immortal had continuously suppressed her cultivation, preventing a breakthrough. Once she defeated it, her cultivation could no longer be held back, and she immediately broke through to the Soul Transformation stage.

Therefore, she didn't know what could be achieved after defeating the Invincible Nascent Soul; everything was merely theoretical.

Yun Zhi said earnestly, "I'm not trying to expose your shortcomings, Immortal Senior. However, as the creator of the Invincible Nascent Soul, letting Junior Brother know your experience helps him better understand its existence. Everything is for Junior Brother's benefit."

"For Little Yang's good?" The Undying Immortal found some truth in Yun girl's words. After a moment of hesitation, she decided not to pursue the matter of Yun girl revealing her secret.

"Now that you've defeated the Invincible Nascent Soul, Junior Brother, you should calmly cultivate and prepare for breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage." Yun Zhi pointed out Lu Yang's next step, advising him not to run around anymore.

"By the way, Senior Sister, since you've left Prisoner Peak, does that mean Guan Shanhai has confessed everything?"

Yun Zhi shook her head. "After all, he's an immortal. His Dao heart is firm. Even with only three souls left, he's not easily subdued. I merely came out for a temporary rest; I'll go back and continue fighting him shortly."

Lu Yang was only short of spiritual energy accumulation to reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage; this step required time and effort.

A year and a half passed. Lu Yang had been meditating on Tianmen Peak, occasionally borrowing a few breakthrough cultivation insights from the Scripture Pavilion written by seniors, caring nothing for the changes in the outside world.

However, there was nothing to worry about; the outside world had been peaceful for the past year and a half, with not even any battles between Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators.

Finally, Lu Yang felt the abundant spiritual energy flowing within him, a sign that he had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

If it were some ancient Nascent Soul stage cultivator, reaching this point would still require strenuous effort to break through a bottleneck.

But Lu Yang was different; he was now just a single thought away from the Soul Transformation stage.

The transition from the Nascent Soul stage to the Soul Transformation stage was a major hurdle for cultivators. In the past, once a bottleneck was overcome, the next realm would naturally follow, without much danger.

However, breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage was different: it was the first time cultivators directly faced a Heavenly Tribulation. From then on, every major breakthrough would involve a Heavenly Tribulation, making it extremely perilous.

And Lu Yang was in even greater danger. He didn't know if Ying Tianxian was still alive, if he was watching, or if the Heavenly Tribulation could sense the ancient secrets he possessed.

"Don't be afraid, Little Yang! No Heavenly Tribulation dares to disrespect this immortal; nothing will go wrong!" The Undying Immortal confidently gave a thumbs-up, displaying a radiant smile.

An uninformed person seeing the Undying Immortal's actions would surely be greatly encouraged and break through in one go.

Unfortunately, Lu Yang was well aware.

"It's come to this; I must break through."

Lu Yang sighed, released his self-imposed restraints, stirred the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and prepared to face the Heavenly Tribulation.

*Crack*—

Dark clouds covered the summit of Tianmen Peak, with lightning flickering and dancing.

"Hey, look, someone on Tianmen Peak is undergoing a tribulation."

"This lightning tribulation doesn't look very powerful. It's a Soul Transformation stage tribulation, so it must be Junior Brother Lu Yang, right?"

"Senior Brother Lu Yang is breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage? What incredibly fast cultivation speed!"

Upon hearing that Lu Yang was undergoing a tribulation, the Dao-Seeking Sect disciples gathered curiously at the foot of Tianmen Peak to observe the process, with more and more people arriving.

"What kind of lightning tribulation is this?" a junior sister who didn't fully understand tribulations asked, concerned for Senior Brother Lu Yang's safety.

"White lightning tribulation, it should be the Xuanji Divine Thunder. Among the tribulations faced at the Soul Transformation stage, it ranks ninth," a Void Refinement stage senior brother explained.

"The ninth-ranked tribulation lightning, how impressive."

Feeling the pressure overhead, Lu Yang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was only the ninth-ranked Xuanji Divine Thunder; he could get through it.

"Strange, isn't the direction of this lightning tribulation a bit off?" The Void Refinement stage senior brother frowned, noticing something amiss.

Suddenly, a bolt of white lightning pierced the air, not aiming at Lu Yang, but at the disciples gathered at the foot of the mountain.

"Run! The Xuanji Divine Thunder is targeting us!"

Someone yelled, and without time to think, everyone turned and fled.

Only when they reached other peaks did the Xuanji Divine Thunder cease its attack.

Lu Yang's eyelids twitched as he witnessed the scene. Why did the Xuanji Divine Thunder look so much like it was clearing the area?

Logically, at the foot of Tianmen Peak, they should have been beyond the attack range of a Heavenly Tribulation faced when breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

And the ninth-ranked Xuanji Divine Thunder was merely used to clear the area. Thinking of this, Lu Yang swallowed hard. What kind of Heavenly Tribulation awaited him then?