Chapter 1343: The Ignored Talent of Lu Yang

The moment the mastermind saw Lu Yang possess the Immortal Dao Fruit, it felt as though his head had been violently struck by a large bronze bell, his mind thrown into complete disarray.

He suddenly realized a crucial question: On this new timeline, why had he ended up fighting Yun Zhi?

The Immortal Fairy didn't exist on this timeline, so there was no inherent conflict between him and Yun Zhi. Why, then, did Yun Zhi treat him as a mortal enemy?

What exactly had happened on this timeline?!

After annihilating the Immortal Cult, Yun Zhi captured the Immortal Bu Yao Lian and discovered that he possessed a nascent form of the Immortal Dao Fruit.

Yun Zhi recognized the immense potential of this nascent Dao Fruit; if it could fully form, its wielder would be nearly unrivaled among Immortals.

However, Lu Yang was only in the Foundation Establishment stage at the time, his cultivation too low for such high-level concepts. Thus, Yun Zhi didn't share this idea with him.

Subsequent experiences mirrored the old timeline. After Lu Yang acquired the Invincible Pill and an invincible Nascent Soul, he did not encounter Jiang Lianyi, Ao Ling, or Grey Doudou in the Demon Realm or the East Sea.

Nor did he encounter the lingering spirit of Ying Tianxian during his Tribulation of Spirit Transformation.

Because Lu Yang had not revived the Immortal Fairy and had not met the Four Ancient Immortals through time passages, the Four Ancient Immortals had not left behind the historical reflection of the Go-Moku game. Consequently, they were unaware of the Immortal Fairy's demise and did not establish Buddhism as a contingency. Ying Tianxian, therefore, had no reason to leave a remnant thought within the heavenly tribulation.

Without Buddhism, there was naturally no Buddhist Realm. During the late period of the Tinder Dynasty, after the Immortal of Time was ambushed by the mastermind and had nowhere to hide, he ultimately perished at the mastermind's hands.

Although he didn't encounter individuals from ancient history, Lu Yang inevitably met figures such as the Sixth Emperor Yu Wu Youdao, the Void Supremacy, the Nightmare Supremacy, and Tribulation-crossing cultivators from Great Yu during his trials.

After so many unexpected events, Yun Zhi was concerned about Lu Yang venturing out alone. To be safe, she left a protective measure on him.

The memories from both timelines gradually merged, finally giving the mastermind a general understanding of what had transpired on this new timeline.

On the old timeline, the mastermind had paid close attention to Lu Yang because he had revived the Immortal Fairy.

On the new timeline, Lu Yang had not revived the Immortal Fairy, so the mastermind simply regarded him as a somewhat interesting minor cultivator and knew little about his early experiences.

What truly drew his attention to Lu Yang was when the latter visited the Lunar Laurel Immortal Palace.

As the mastermind noticed Lu Yang, Yun Zhi, through her protective measure, also became aware of "Ying Tianxian."

The mastermind was forced to appear and converse with Yun Zhi and Lu Yang.

He was astonished to discover that Lu Yang possessed the Invincible Pill, which initially led him to believe Lu Yang had some connection to the Immortal.

As the conversation deepened, he realized that Lu Yang's Invincible Pill was unrelated to the Immortal; it was merely that they had formed their Golden Cores in the same manner, which brought him a sense of relief.

Lu Yang and Yun Zhi, on the other hand, learned about the mastermind and the Tinder Dynasty from "Ying Tianxian."

When Lu Yang underwent his Tribulation of Void Refinement, Yun Zhi asked "Ying Tianxian" to intervene, strengthening the lightning tribulation to further stimulate Lu Yang's potential.

During his first visit to the Extreme North, Lu Yang did not encounter the Ninefold Immortal.

The second opportunity to enter the Extreme North arose when Xue Shilou passed his test and became the successor to the Snow Emperor. Lu Yang, while attending the congratulatory ceremony, met the schizophrenic Ninefold Immortal.

By the time Lu Yang reached the Tribulation Transcending stage, Yun Zhi, considering that Yun Mengmeng already possessed a nascent Immortal Dao Fruit, was reluctant to see potential competition arise if Lu Yang also acquired one. Therefore, she did not mention the Dao Fruit's nascent form.

Unexpectedly, Yun Mengmeng secretly taught Lu Yang how to condense a nascent Immortal Dao Fruit. By the time Yun Zhi discovered this, it was too late; Lu Yang had already formed it.

At that time, Yun Zhi had not yet taught Lu Yang about Dao Fruits, so Lu Yang was unaware that only one Dao Fruit of a similar type could exist.

"Xiao Zhi, didn't you often say the nascent Immortal Dao Fruit is very strong? If we both have one, can't we progress together and become stronger?"

"We're rivals? No, no, with how amazing younger brother Lu Yang is, he'll definitely be the one to ultimately condense the Immortal Dao Fruit."

With events having unfolded this way, Yun Zhi had no choice but to let things proceed as they were.

Later, Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng encountered Qing He, who ran a restaurant, and a Great Yu cultivator who harbored ill intentions toward her.

This enraged Grey Doudou, who fought the Great Yu cultivator all the way into the sun. Seeing that the Central Heavenly Emperor and Siming favored their own regardless of right or wrong, Grey Doudou proceeded to beat them both as well.

This incident caught Yun Zhi's attention. As the culprit responsible for the demise of the Tinder Dynasty, Grey Doudou had to be apprehended and punished.

It was during that encounter that Yun Zhi first unleashed the power of a half-step integration with the Dao, causing several stellar Golden Cores to extinguish.

"Ha, so those stellar Golden Cores in the sky are yours. How much longer can you remain in the mortal realm?" Grey Doudou laughed even in his dying moments, revealing Yun Zhi's predicament.

Only then did Lu Yang realize that his Senior Sister's situation was dire, and that she would eventually fully integrate with the Dao.

He proposed abolishing his nascent Immortal Dao Fruit and condensing a nascent Source Tracing Dao Fruit instead to extend his Senior Sister's lifespan, but she sternly refused.

This was their first dispute, and Lu Yang even became angry.

Neither of them yielded, so Lu Yang decided to delve into the Dao Fruit system, aiming to possess both the nascent Immortal Dao Fruit and the nascent Source Tracing Dao Fruit simultaneously.

Few truly realized that Lu Yang's cultivation talent was terrifying; reaching the Tribulation Transcending stage in under a century was unprecedented throughout history.

This talent was also evident in his mastery of spells. The purpose of the Source Tracing Dao Fruit was to correct spells to their original forms, not to teach him the spells themselves.

Every time he learned a spell like the Three-Flavored True Fire, Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, or the Buddhist Kingdom in a Palm, these were abilities far beyond his current cultivation realm, yet he mastered them all, astonishing even Yun Zhi.

This time, to save his Senior Sister, he pushed himself to the limit, going sleepless, constantly achieving epiphanies, studying Dao Fruit theories, and drawing lessons from the Dao Integration system. This is when his true talent finally revealed itself.

The three major realms above the Immortal stage had already been fully explored by predecessors. What he could do was innovate on the path of the Dao Fruit.

Finally, he pioneered a slightly different path that could accommodate two nascent Dao Fruits simultaneously.

However, a cultivator's soul is typically insufficient to support two nascent Dao Fruits. The Central Heavenly Emperor needed to refine the Ancestral Lunar Laurel Tree to strengthen his soul in order to devour other Dao Fruits, and the mastermind possessed multiple Dao Fruits because the first one he absorbed was a soul-type Dao Fruit.

With the help of the Ancestral Lunar Laurel Tree, Lu Yang came to possess both the nascent Immortal Dao Fruit and the nascent Source Tracing Dao Fruit.

In truth, Lu Yang had no intention of fully condensing the Immortal Dao Fruit; he only wanted to use the Source Tracing Dao Fruit to save his Senior Sister's life.

Frankly, his Senior Sister would never agree to that. To reassure her, Lu Yang created a dual Dao Fruit system.

When undergoing the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, as Lu Yang was condensing the Source Tracing Dao Fruit, he found the Immortal Dao Fruit remarkably easy to condense, far simpler than expected, requiring hardly any effort.

Upon careful perception, he realized it was the invincible Nascent Soul, fused within his body, that was assisting him in condensing the Immortal Dao Fruit!

This was something only the Immortal Fairy knew. The Immortal Fairy had told Lu Yang that maintaining one's sense of self was one reason for condensing the Immortal Dao Fruit. The second reason, which she hadn't explicitly stated, was that "the Immortal Dao Fruit is invincible, so its wielder must also believe themselves invincible; only an invincible will can sustain immortality."

Lu Yang, seizing the opportunity, proceeded to condense the Immortal Dao Fruit.

No one had anticipated that Lu Yang could truly achieve this. Even the mastermind was astonished at the time; during his Immortal Ascension Tribulation, Lu Yang had clearly stated he would only condense the Source Tracing Dao Fruit!

The Immortal Dao Fruit signified full omniscience. Given Lu Yang's displayed talent and the significant karma surrounding him—wherever he went, trouble followed—the mastermind believed Lu Yang would undoubtedly become omniscient!

Before the Immortal Ascension Tribulation had fully dissipated, the mastermind decisively struck, intending to nip Lu Yang's potential in the bud.

However, this time was vastly different from ancient times. With Yun Zhi watching nearby, Lu Yang was not in an unguarded state on the verge of breaking through to omniscience.

Seeing this, Yun Zhi struck decisively without hesitation. Anyone daring to harbor murderous intent towards her Junior Brother and act on it would surely perish!

The collision generated by their clash was unprecedented, tearing a hole through the Spiritless Continent as they battled across the cosmos!

Subsequently, the mastermind's will from the old timeline overlaid his will from the new timeline.

After gaining a general understanding of what happened on this timeline, the mastermind suddenly realized that the Immortal calling Lu Yang the "Second-in-Command of the Immortal Lineage" and praising him as the strongest in the future to the Immortal of Time might not have been nepotism, but rather that Lu Yang was genuinely exceptionally suited for the Immortal Dao Fruit, possessing extraordinary cultivation talent!

Both he and the other three ancient Immortals had been misled by Lu Yang all along. Anyone would assume that Lu Yang's achievements were inseparable from the Immortal Fairy's influence, given her presence in his spiritual space.

Yet, upon closer reflection, Lu Yang had only ever heard "dark history" from the Immortal Fairy and never learned anything useful. Even what he did learn, like the art of feigning death, was useless for cultivation or battle, or spells like Reversing Yin and Yang or Devouring the Heavens and Earth, which Yun Zhi could also teach!

Lu Yang's frequent assertion that he cultivated on his own and refused the Immortal Fairy's help wasn't just idle talk; it was how he had always operated.

Otherwise, how could he be worthy of the Immortal Fairy?