Chapter 1044: Preliminary Fusion of the Primordial Spirit

On the Golden Star, Lu Yang successfully completed his cultivation, revealing an inscrutable smile.

Reaching the late-stage Incarnation Realm meant he was one step closer to transcending the tribulation and becoming a Void Refinement cultivator. Wait, this didn't seem like anything to be happy about.

Yun Mengmeng sat beside Lu Yang, carrying a small stool and happily eating pastries. With a nascent form of the Immortal Dao Fruit, she was unaffected by the Golden Element Qi.

Speaking of which, this was only her second time in space, and it was still so cold.

There was nothing in space—no food, no entertainment, just emptiness and coldness. If not for Second Senior Brother cultivating here, she wouldn't even bother flying up.

"Late-stage Incarnation Realm? Second Senior Brother, you're amazing! Please have a peach."

Yun Mengmeng had just taken a bite of her pastry when she saw Second Senior Brother successfully break through. Unable to finish the pastry but unwilling to put it down, she held it in her mouth as she handed him an immortal peach freshly picked from her hometown. Next, she brought out Senior Sister Gan Tian's borrowed guqin, channeled spiritual energy into it, and grand music filled the air. She quickly clapped, celebrating Second Senior Brother's achievement as a great cultivator in the late-stage Incarnation Realm, bustling about in a flurry of activity.

"Thank you," Lu Yang said, subconsciously taking the immortal peach and eating it. Suddenly, he realized something was off.

"Wait, Mengmeng Sister, what are you doing here?!"

"Oh, I heard you were about to break through, so I waited here to congratulate you."

Lu Yang was deeply touched. He had been in seclusion on the Golden Star for so long, and Mengmeng Sister had actually been waiting here the entire time.

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

"Just arrived."

Lu Yang drew out his Azure Edge Sword. Its sword intent soared to the heavens. With a single strike, he tore through space, leaving behind a spatial rift that lingered and would not heal.

During his cultivation, Lu Yang had continuously absorbed the Golden Element Qi. Now, his sword qi was incredibly powerful.

Lu Yang tossed the immortal peach high into the air. With a gentle push of his thumb on the sword guard, a sword light flashed. The immortal peach fell back into his hand, its skin peeled away, yet the flesh was completely unharmed!

"Amazing!" Yun Mengmeng clapped enthusiastically. Whenever she peeled a peach, some flesh always stuck to the skin. "Help me peel one too."

Lu Yang drew his sword a second time and peeled an immortal peach for Yun Mengmeng. Yun Mengmeng clapped even more vigorously.

After eating the immortal peach, Yun Mengmeng placed a flower crown on Lu Yang's head. The gesture was full of ceremony.

"Let's go back. I still need to consolidate my realm," Lu Yang said. He was still affected by the Golden Element's power and the nascent Seven Emotions Dao Fruit, keeping him laughing and too happy to calm down and consolidate his realm.

Flying back to Wen Dao Sect, Lu Yang headed straight for the Great Snow Mountain behind Tianmen Peak, where he found True Immortal Zhui Yue.

"Senior Zhui Yue, could you please retract your divine ability?" Lu Yang pleaded. He was so happy he would be delighted even if he slapped himself twice.

At that moment, True Immortal Zhui Yue was chatting with Senior Sister Gan Tian, listening to Gan Tian recount her experiences in the Demon Realm. While not as exciting as Lu Yang's adventures, her experiences were certainly rich and varied compared to those of ordinary cultivators.

True Immortal Zhui Yue turned her head to glance at Lu Yang. "Late-stage Incarnation Realm?"

As she spoke, she activated the nascent Seven Emotions Dao Fruit, dispelling its influence.

"Your guqin," Yun Mengmeng said, returning the instrument to Senior Sister Gan Tian.

"Junior Brother, your cultivation speed is faster than both mine and Second Senior Brother's. It should even be faster than Master's," Senior Sister Gan Tian mused as she played her guqin, helping Lu Yang consolidate his realm.

"How about compared to Grand Senior Sister?" Lu Yang asked excitedly. He felt better than ever before; even the Grand Senior Sister, who was in the mid-stage Incarnation Realm, wouldn't be his match!

"I don't know that. Grand Senior Sister has never mentioned her cultivation speed."

"It seems I'm either cultivating faster than Grand Senior Sister or slower than her," Lu Yang said, quite pleased with this answer. This meant he had a fifty percent chance of surpassing Grand Senior Sister.

"Wait, is my way of thinking different from usual?" Lu Yang suddenly realized something was wrong with him.

The Immortal Fairy appeared to clear Lu Yang's confusion. "This is completely normal. You're already in the late-stage Incarnation Realm, and you'll soon reach Void Refinement. Then you'll merge with the Invincible Primordial Spirit and ascend to the Integration Realm. Second Senior Brother, you are uniquely gifted, and you've already shown initial signs of merging, possessing invincible thinking."

Lu Yang was speechless.

Why did I refine the Invincible Pill in the first place?

Bai Ye replaced True Immortal Zhui Yue. She pulled a paper bag from her storage ring. "Senior Brother Lu Yang, these are petals freshly picked from my body."

Ever since Lu Yang praised the taste of petals when he was in the Immortal Palace, Bai Ye had remembered it. After coming to Wen Dao Sect, she regularly gave Lu Yang petals.

Lu Yang had corrected her several times, hoping Bai Ye wouldn't call him "Senior Brother Lu Yang." But Bai Ye was so used to it that she refused to change, so Lu Yang could only let her be.

"Thank you." He put a petal into his mouth. It was as sweet and fragrant as ever.

After eating the immortal peach and the petals from the Moon Laurel Ancestor, and with Senior Sister Gan Tian playing the guqin, Lu Yang had consolidated his realm without needing further seclusion.

"Old Meng, I've broken through to the late-stage Incarnation Realm. What about you?" Lu Yang asked, approaching Meng Jingzhou's cave dwelling. He could smell the pungent spicy aroma from a distance.

Meng Jingzhou emerged from behind a hotpot. His lips and cheeks were pale as he poured duck blood into the pot.

"Of course, I'm a step ahead of you, you brat!" Meng Jingzhou retorted indignantly. He spent his days circling the sun, cultivating while draining his blood, progressing rapidly. He had reached the late-stage Incarnation Realm even before Lu Yang.

The only drawback of this method was severe blood deficiency, requiring dietary supplements.

If he weren't so weak now, he would have dragged Lu Yang into a fight.

"Come on, let me have some too." Meng Jingzhou ate hotpot every meal, but Lu Yang hadn't had it in a long time. The last time he had hotpot was when he first met Yun Mengmeng in the Sword Tower.

Lu Yang treated Meng Jingzhou's cave dwelling entirely as his own. He sat down, pulled out his bowl and chopsticks, and started eating.

"Hey, hey, save some for me!" Meng Jingzhou exploded in anger. "Not only are you so impolite, but you also immediately snatch my duck blood! Don't you know I'm low on blood right now?"

"Look how stingy you are. Add some meat, add some meat," Lu Yang urged. It was only because the pot contained only duck blood.

Meng Jingzhou reached out and tore open space, pulling out a plate of meat and dumping it into the hotpot.

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow and murmured, "Oh? Spatial magic?"

He didn't recall Old Meng possessing such a skill.

"Envious, aren't you? Patriarch Hanhai taught me," Meng Jingzhou said with a triumphant smile.

Dao Monarch Hanhai had taught him spatial magic while drawing his blood.

"You just finished your breakthrough, right? Don't you need to consolidate your realm?" Meng Jingzhou casually asked, rising to place a piece of ginger that resembled meat into Lu Yang's bowl.

"My luck was pretty good this time. After breaking through, Mengmeng Sister gave me an immortal peach, Junior Sister Bai Ye gave me petals, and Third Senior Sister also played the guqin." Lu Yang picked up a slice of meat covered in peppercorns and placed it in Meng Jingzhou's bowl.

*Snap.*

Meng Jingzhou unconsciously applied too much force and snapped his chopsticks. His face flushed with anger.

Lu Yang stared, utterly bewildered. "What's wrong? Can't you control your strength after your breakthrough?"

In Meng Jingzhou's eyes, this brat Lu Yang was purely showing off. He couldn't expose it and let Lu Yang show off even more.

"Nothing, nothing. I just think you're incredibly lucky."

"If I were truly lucky, I wouldn't have met you."

"Get lost."