Chapter 1188: Yun Zhi's Road

Lu Yang was completely stunned. He couldn't have uttered such absurd words, even during his mental tribulation.

"Senior Sister, do you mean that even though you can scare away Emperor Zhongtian, kill Emperor Wu Yao, defeat the Four Ancient Immortals, and overcome Gray Bean and the Immortal Fairy, your path is wrong?"

Yun Zhi nodded, confirming to Lu Yang that he hadn't misheard.

"Hey, hey, hey! This Immortal is evenly matched with that Yun girl!" The Immortal Fairy was displeased with Lu Yang's last remark, pointing out his mistake and questioning what Yun girl's matters had to do with her.

"Yun girl, you're not on the Path of Dao Fruit. That means your ultimate realm isn't 'omniscience' or 'transcendence,' right?"

Yun Zhi was surprised the Immortal Fairy could discern so much. Perhaps it was to be expected from the founder of the Path of Dao Fruit.

"Xiao Zhi, is that so?"

Yun Zhi hadn't originally intended to say so much. It was enough for her to know in her heart that she had taken the wrong path; it wasn't something glorious. But with her close acquaintances repeatedly asking, she could only speak up.

"Senior Immortal is correct. My realm cannot be measured by Dao Fruit. One more step forward, and it would be 'Harmonizing with the Dao.'"

"'Harmonizing with the Dao'?" Lu Yang heard this term for the first time.

"'Harmonizing with the Dao' means using one's mind to replace Heaven," Yun Zhi said with a complex expression.

"'Harmonizing one's body with the Dao, using one's mind to replace Heaven' — it sounds good. However, the Heavens are merciless. After harmonizing with the Dao, I would become the supreme Heavens, devoid of selfishness, worldly thoughts, and desires."

"At that point, you all would be nothing more than ordinary beings under the Heavens to me."

Lu Yang stared blankly, not expecting such a result. "Is—is this even human?"

After saying it, Lu Yang immediately wanted to slap himself. Wasn't that insulting?

Yun Zhi offered a wry smile: "Of course not human. Didn't I say that after harmonizing with the Dao, I would be the Heavens? How could the Heavens be human?"

"Why did you embark on this path?" the Immortal Fairy asked curiously. "Isn't the Path of Dao Fruit quite good? With Yun girl's talent, she could become an existence comparable to me on that path."

Yun Zhi invited everyone to sit down and poured each person a cup of Enlightenment Tea before explaining the full story.

"Originally, I also wanted to follow the Path of Dao Fruit."

"At that time, I had cultivated to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, and the next step was to condense the prototype of the Dao Fruit. Back then, I didn't even know any Half-Immortals; I only heard about Patriarch Hanhai from my grand-master."

"Coincidentally, Patriarch Hanhai was in seclusion during that period, and I had no one to consult."

"So, I thought, before Patriarch Hanhai came out of seclusion, I might as well ponder it myself. Then, when he emerged, I could approach him with specific questions, which would make learning easier."

"Unexpectedly, Patriarch Hanhai's seclusion lasted too long, and he never emerged."

"How long was he in seclusion?" the Immortal Fairy couldn't help but interject.

"...That's not important. In short, while Patriarch Hanhai was in seclusion, I deduced a completely new path, though I wasn't aware of it at the time."

"After Patriarch Hanhai came out of seclusion, I suggested we spar a bit. After I cleanly and decisively defeated him, that's when I realized I wasn't on the Path of Dao Fruit."

Lu Yang felt Patriarch Hanhai was quite unlucky. He had painstakingly cultivated in seclusion for a long time, only to emerge and be met by Senior Sister asking, "How should one walk the Path of Dao Fruit?" and then getting soundly defeated by her.

Patriarch, what was the point of your seclusion, truly?

No wonder Dao Lord Hanhai remained in seclusion and never appeared after that; who wouldn't become reclusive in such a situation?

"My path was incompatible with the Path of Dao Fruit. Initially, I didn't think much of it. The Path of Dao Fruit was created by predecessors; if they could create a path, so could I. As long as it made me stronger, any path would do."

"Later, I continued cultivating along this path until I reached its end, which I called 'Harmonizing with the Dao.'"

"The end was right before my eyes, and there was no reason not to approach it. Once I confirmed the end, I began to experiment. These golden cores, like countless stars, scattered across the sky, are the result of those attempts."

"It was during that attempt that I realized the problem with Harmonizing with the Dao: it was a path that ultimately led to losing one's humanity and becoming the Heavens, making it unfeasible."

"Fortunately, it was my first attempt, and my integration with the Dao was still shallow. I hadn't truly become the Heavens and could still withdraw. But it also made me dare not attempt it a second time."

Yun Zhi looked at Lu Yang seriously and said, "That's why I said my path was wrong. Little Junior Brother, don't follow my example."

Lu Yang nodded. Indeed, if he were to imitate Senior Sister, he would also eventually reach Harmonizing with the Dao and become the merciless Heavens, which was definitely not the outcome he desired.

...Wait a minute, thinking like this, didn't it imply that he *could* cultivate to Harmonizing with the Dao? Was he this confident before?

Lu Yang suddenly recalled what the Immortal Fairy had said.

"After the Integration Stage, the Invincible Primordial Spirit will truly merge with you, and then you will become extremely confident."

Lu Yang quickly looked inward, searching for the Invincible Primordial Spirit, but it was nowhere to be found.

Confound it, it must have merged during the tribulation.

Lu Yang's direct promotion to the Tribulation Transcendence stage was a monumental event. The Cultivation Monthly was swiftly printed, with Guan Shanhai and Si Ming working overtime.

Soon, the Cultivation Monthly successfully spread the news throughout the entire cultivation world, astonishing everyone.

Last time, Lu Yang's leapfrog challenge against Yang Kongtong seemed commonplace to ordinary mortals who didn't understand cultivation. This time, even mortals were astonished.

Streets and alleys, taverns and teahouses, flying ships and grand vessels... wherever there were people, there were discussions about Lu Yang.

"Goodness gracious, it's incredible! One hundred and sixty-two heavenly lightning bolts—who could withstand that besides Lu Tianjiao?"

"No wonder they say he could directly reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage."

"When Lu Tianjiao, at the Foundation Establishment stage, single-handedly defeated a Spirit Transformation cultivator, I knew he was extraordinary. You all insisted it was fake news, but this came from the Dao Seeking Sect! How could it be false?"

Jiang Ping'an, who was gardening in the imperial palace's forbidden grounds, slapped his thigh in regret upon hearing that Lu Yang had advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Such talent! This was a sure-fire immortal, and he'd likely achieve immortality at an unbelievably fast pace.

"The great contention of the age is for Lu Yang." His conjecture was indeed correct.

"If only I had known earlier, I shouldn't have been afraid of Daoist Yun Zhi! I should have forcefully brought this boy into our Jiang family as a son-in-law!"

"At the very least, I should have sent a few princesses to the Dao Seeking Sect to foster a relationship with this boy!"

Jiang Ping'an then thought of Meng Jingzhou and grumbled indignantly, "Why are the descendants of Gentleman Meng so outstanding!"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt his descendants were not living up to expectations. He immediately threw down his hoe and woke the sleeping Emperor Xia as if chasing a donkey.

"What are you sleeping for at the Spirit Transformation stage? Get up and cultivate! Look at Lu Yang, he's so young and already at the Tribulation Transcendence stage!"

"Huh?"

Emperor Xia woke up groggily, wondering if it was too late for him to start cultivating diligently now.

The happiest person to hear this news was undoubtedly Sect Master Lu Baqian of the Corpse Driving Sect.

His hearty, triumphant laughter could be heard throughout the entire Corpse Driving Sect.

"Haha, my title as the 'number one under the Tribulation Transcendence stage' is safe!"