Chapter 499: Theoretically, I am now in the Nascent Soul stage

"Congratulations, congratulations! You've finally reached the late Golden Core stage." The Immortal Fairy clapped her hands, beaming with joy.

"Your cultivation speed is quite good, only a little slower than mine. I'd estimate it's comparable to the speed of Immortal Ninefold and Immortal Kylin."

Whether one cultivates quickly or slowly isn't the most crucial factor in becoming an immortal, but it does indicate one's potential for immortality.

"Seeing you cultivate so diligently reminds me of Immortal Ninefold and the others. They were always training frantically, racing against time as if their pants were on fire. Truly industrious."

Lu Yang nodded. Competition was fierce in ancient times; falling behind even a single step meant being behind everywhere. The diligent cultivation of Immortal Ninefold and his peers was a reflection of that intense competition.

In contrast, although it's said that a great era is approaching with many geniuses emerging, reminiscent of ancient times, the current drive for cultivation isn't as strong as it once was. People like Meng Jingzhou, for example, spend their days idly, going on missions, wasting time, and delaying their cultivation, which is truly disgraceful.

"It's a pity, no matter how diligently they cultivated, their speed never matched mine. I always defeated them in cross-level battles."

"Speaking of which, even though they couldn't beat me in a fight, their escape speed always improved. A few times, I almost couldn't catch them."

Lu Yang thought to himself, "Immortal Ninefold and the others must have been cultivating against the clock not to catch up to you in cultivation, but to avoid getting beaten less often."

"At my current cultivation speed, I'll reach the Nascent Soul stage in six months at most." Since he began cultivating, Lu Yang had never encountered a bottleneck. Sword Spiritual Root cultivation emphasized breaking through with irresistible force, soaring to the heavens, and overcoming any obstacles or bottlenecks.

"Actually, you could be considered a Nascent Soul cultivator right now," the Immortal Fairy said placidly.

"Why?"

"What's the hallmark of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"Cultivating the primordial spirit in the dantian and manifesting a baby." Lu Yang had long memorized this definition of the Nascent Soul stage in the cultivation world.

His senior sister had many Golden Cores in her dantian. She chose one Golden Core to shatter and form a nascent soul, while the others remained Golden Cores. According to the realm's characteristics, at that time, his senior sister was considered to be in the Nascent Soul stage, not the Golden Core stage.

"Exactly! So, I'm currently in primordial spirit form. As long as I stay in your dantian, aren't you in the Nascent Soul stage?"

"Besides, you can challenge cultivators above your level as soon as you step outside the Dao Seeking Sect. You genuinely possess Nascent Soul stage combat power."

"You have the hallmark of the Nascent Soul stage, and you have Nascent Soul stage combat power. If you're not in the Nascent Soul stage, who is?"

Lu Yang: "..."

"I have no problem with it," Lu Yang thought, "but I'm afraid other Nascent Soul cultivators might disagree."

"Don't disbelieve me. When ancient predecessors were exploring cultivation realms, this was the original Nascent Soul stage."

"After ancient predecessors had explored the Golden Core stage and couldn't find a way forward, someone refined a demon beast's primordial spirit into their dantian, gaining unparalleled power that could crush all Golden Core cultivators. The ancient predecessors then named this realm the Nascent Soul stage."

"However, this type of Nascent Soul stage came with a price: a very short lifespan, and the demon beast's primordial spirit was incompatible with the human body, leading to sudden death."

"Gradually, someone shattered their Golden Core and discovered a small figure emerging from it. This figure was their own primordial spirit."

"And so, the Nascent Soul stage as it's practiced today came into being."

Just as the initial Golden Core stage was replaced by demon cores, humanity also relied on the power of demon beasts when exploring the Nascent Soul stage.

The method of using demon cores to replace Golden Cores still exists today. In the cultivation world, this type of Golden Core stage is referred to as the "False Core" stage.

"So that's how it was."

Lu Yang suddenly understood. The Immortal Fairy had finally shared some authentic ancient secrets, even if they weren't directly applicable now.

Suddenly, Lu Yang faintly heard sounds of fighting in the distance.

"That direction... is it the mountain gate?"

Lu Yang was surprised. Why would there be sounds of fighting at the mountain gate? Was someone attacking the Dao Seeking Sect?

Even the Grand Tutor wouldn't dare to launch such a brazen attack.

"Let's go take a look," the Immortal Fairy suggested excitedly, eager for some entertainment.

Lu Yang descended the mountain and met Meng Jingzhou, who was also preparing to investigate the situation.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know, I was just about to go check it out myself."

"Together."

"Okay."

The sounds of fighting were intense. Not only Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, but many senior brothers and sisters were also heading to the mountain gate to see what was happening. There was a bustling crowd, a sea of people.

The closer they got to the mountain gate, the more intense the fighting became.

Upon reaching the mountain gate, they discovered several Integration stage cultivators battling in the air. Their methods were ruthless, their moves sharp, without any hesitation, fully displaying the might of the Integration stage.

Lu Yang recognized one of the Integration stage cultivators: Daoist Silent.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on? I just returned to the sect. Do you really need to ambush me right at the entrance?" Daoist Silent shouted, dodging repeatedly. Though he appeared disheveled, his movements were nimble and agile, with not a single attack landing squarely on him.

"Who's got nothing better to do than ambush you here? You walked right into our trap!" The other Integration stage cultivators attacked in perfect coordination, relentlessly, giving Daoist Silent no chance to breathe.

"Great Wind Arise!"

A fierce hurricane roared, kicking up immense dust and sand. Even large rocks on the ground were lifted into the sky.

A swirling dust devil charged towards Daoist Silent.

Daoist Silent swept his whisk, cutting through the dust storm.

"Then why are you at my Dao Seeking Sect?"

"Originally, we came to propose marriage for your disciple Lu Yang, but then we saw you right at the entrance. We figured whether to propose or not isn't important anymore; beating you up first is."

The other Integration stage cultivators nodded; they had thought the same.

Lu Yang understood. His master had finally returned to the sect and happened to encounter a marriage proposal party. As soon as the party saw Daoist Silent, they flew into a rage and jointly attacked him.

How to put it? Lu Yang had absolutely no intention of helping his master.

Other senior brothers and sisters were also watching the battle, showing no signs of intervention. Perhaps battles between Integration stage cultivators were rare, and everyone was engrossed in learning, unable to take action.

Tao Yao Ye, in particular, was studying the most intently. This was a true Integration stage battle, and the moves were more ruthless than ordinary duels, making them perfectly suited for her "Illusory Bubble" technique.

Tao Yao Ye had demonstrated the use of Illusory Bubble during the celebration, receiving much praise. After the celebration, with the sect's assistance, she was vigorously promoting Illusory Bubble, and it was already starting to take shape.

Illusory Bubble's target audience consisted of mortals and low-level cultivators. The ticket price wasn't expensive, but when everything was tallied, it earned much more than Lu Yang's flying vehicle patent fees.

Among the younger generation, Meng Jingzhou had the most spirit stones, followed by Tao Yao Ye, with Lu Yang ranking only third.

Man Gu, as the barbarian tribe's cherished treasure, had a considerable amount of pocket money and ranked fourth.

Ranking fifth was Li Haoran, but this was only temporary. Once he married Su Yiren and they had shared marital assets, his wealth ranking would quickly climb to second place.

Finally, Daoist Silent seized an opening in the attack, transformed into a sword light, and flew into the sect. Only then did the Integration stage cultivators who had come for the marriage proposal give up the chase, leaving with a slight sense of regret.

He was covered in dust, looking disheveled, and struggled to calm his breathing.

He had just been passing by the sect and decided to drop in. Who would have thought there would be enemies waiting at the sect's entrance?

"Master, what kind of grudge do they have with you?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

"It's hard to say."

"Hard to say?"

"Too many enemies, I can't keep track."

The second update is at 11 AM.

(End of chapter)