Chapter 706: Nascent Soul Mid Stage

Although it was their first meeting, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had already developed a great fondness for Daojun Hanhai. This was the demeanor of a true senior.

When Daojun Hanhai offered to protect Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou once, Yunzhi had initially wanted to dissuade him. However, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were so polite and thanked him so quickly that she found it inconvenient to interject.

Daoist Xiantian temporarily stayed with Daojun Hanhai. Yunzhi bade farewell to the two Ancestral Masters and returned to their respective peaks with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"You two can cultivate in peace.""As you command."

Four months passed, and less than a month remained until the second day of the second lunar month.

Disciples who had been on missions gradually returned. Dai Bufan looked at the stacks of mission reports, nodding repeatedly with great satisfaction. This proved that most of the mortals he had chosen possessed acceptable character.

On the Sword Stone, Lu Yang sat in a five-heart-facing-heaven posture, his sword qi contained. The Qingfeng Mingyue Twin Swords, the Seven-Star Sword Group, and the conspicuous Sword-Washing Pool all floated around him, protecting him.

With each breath, fresh qi circulated through his body, breaking through acupoints and bodily shackles. This made Lu Yang feel like a flood dragon, previously dormant in the abyss, now soaring into the sky and ascending to the nine heavens!

*Whoosh*—

Lu Yang exhaled turbid qi, impurities from within his body. The turbid qi transformed into a streak of sword qi, which shot out, instantly felling countless large trees that were cleanly cut in half.

He swallowed mountains and rivers, and spat out sword qi. Lu Yang's comprehension of the Way of the Sword had advanced to a new level! In the current cultivation world, apart from Daoist Buyu, no one else was known to have achieved this in the Nascent Soul stage!

"I've reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage."

Lu Yang carefully felt the changes after his advancement. Although they weren't as monumental as the breakthrough from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, the changes were undeniable and represented a significant improvement! Now, he could defeat an invincible Nascent Soul in the early Nascent Soul stage!

"Invincible Nascent Soul, come fight!"

Lu Yang, having gained formidable power, attempted to challenge the Invincible Nascent Soul. Soon, the Invincible Nascent Soul made him realize the truth.

"Wait, wait a minute, go easy on me."

After all, the Invincible Nascent Soul was also an invincible Nascent Soul at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

Lu Yang winced in pain. He re-established his connection with the Invincible Nascent Soul, which then quieted down and returned to his dantian. After a brief skirmish with the Invincible Nascent Soul, he indeed discovered his shortcomings.

"Although my strength and speed are the same as the Invincible Nascent Soul's, its techniques are clearly more refined. Theoretically, I should also be able to achieve that."

Lu Yang calmed down, replaying the moments of being beaten. He gained significant insights.

"Perhaps this is the true purpose of the Invincible Nascent Soul – to help me find my weaknesses."

He then excitedly summoned the nine long swords and activated the sword array.

"Immortal Vanquishing Sword Array!"

The nine long swords hung high above his head, their tips pointing downwards, exerting immense pressure. The Sword-Washing Pool, in particular, exerted the greatest pressure.

*Thud*, Lu Yang knelt on the ground, unable to get up.

"Does this broken sword array not distinguish between friend and foe? Even its master is affected!" Lu Yang fumed.

Immortal Fairy scoffed, "Have you forgotten what this sword array was originally used for?" This sword array was created by Immortal Qilin for his own use, designed from its very inception to counter the master of the sword array.

Outside Meng Jingzhou's cave abode.

The stone door rumbled open. Meng Jingzhou put away his Yangyang Taiji Diagram and stepped out of his abode, stretching comfortably in the sunlight.

"Ah, what comfort. I've finally reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage."

"Hmm? Old Ma, what are you doing?"

Meng Jingzhou saw Old Ma guarding the entrance of the cave, sitting on the ground with his hind legs folded and front legs resting on his knees, white mist constantly exhaling from his nostrils.

"Is he cultivating?" Meng Jingzhou wasn't entirely sure, as it was his first time seeing Old Ma cultivate.

Old Ma glanced at Meng Jingzhou. It used to think that the Integration stage was quite good; after all, as long as Tribulation Transcenders didn't appear, it was invincible. Now, it knew it was wrong. Three years had passed since it pulled Meng Jingzhou away from the Meng family, and all the enemies encountered during this time had been beyond its capabilities. Either they were numerous, or their cultivation was high. In any case, none of them were something it could handle. Only the clay statue it encountered recently gave it a sense of relief, reminding it that it was indeed an Integration stage Grand Cultivator capable of traversing the world. If it didn't cultivate harder now, it was hard to say who would be whose protector in the future.

"What a bustling street." Daoist Xiantian and Daojun Hanhai arrived at the commercial street. Given that two strangers appearing in Daozong would seem too out of place, Daojun Hanhai cast a Daoist spell, concealing their presence.

Daojun Hanhai thought to himself that he had finally found a place the Ancestral Master hadn't visited. He had just visited Prison Peak, confirming that Nightmare Supreme and Void Supreme were indeed imprisoned. He also listened to the child Grandmaster Tang Shengyi incessantly complain for a long time about how there were too many Half-Immortals and Tribulation Transcenders held in Prison Peak, and that he, a mere Tribulation Transcender, was almost unable to handle them.

After several detours, the two finally arrived at the commercial street. The two moved through the bustling street like transient observers. Neither the Daozong disciples nor the powerful cultivators hidden within the commercial street noticed their presence.

"Lamb skewers! Fresh, authentic lamb skewers!"

Daoist Xiantian sniffed, catching the sizzling aroma of lamb fat dripping onto the true flame. "It smells wonderful."

If he were in the Integration stage, he would have long passed the phase of indulging in culinary desires and wouldn't be tempted by mere lamb skewers. But he was a mortal now, and mortals needed to eat.

"Ancestral Master, would you like some?" Daojun Hanhai asked considerately.

"Two esteemed guests, would you like to come in for some lamb skewers?" the person hawking outside the barbecue shop asked with a smile.

"Eat... Wait, you can see us?" Daojun Hanhai instinctively replied for Daoist Xiantian, then suddenly realized something was wrong. They had cast a Daoist spell; no one should have noticed them. Unless the other person was a Tribulation Transcender! Where would a third Tribulation Transcender come from in Daozong?!

Daojun Hanhai abruptly looked up, staring at the hawker. He was a soul body, and there were fluctuations of a nascent Dao Fruit: "A Half-Immortal?"

"Who are you?!"

"Me? I used to be an Immortal of Immortality, and now I'm the owner of this barbecue shop and slaughterhouse."

"Immortal of Immortality? You're from the Sect of Immortality!" Daojun Hanhai grew increasingly wary. The Sect of Immortality actually had a Half-Immortal level existence, and had infiltrated their Daozong. From the looks of it, among the Four Demonic Sects, the Sect of Immortality was the strongest!

Daojun Hanhai activated his nascent Dao Fruit, preparing to strike.

"Wait, wait a minute, you've probably misunderstood. I was captured and brought to Daozong," the Immortal of Immortality quickly explained. He recognized Daojun Hanhai at a glance; he looked exactly like the statue.

"What happened?" Daojun Hanhai frowned, retracting his nascent Dao Fruit. He had been in seclusion for three hundred years, yet it felt as if he had been gone for tens of thousands. It seemed that Daozong had undergone earth-shattering changes, and he knew nothing about them. If he were to investigate the timeline of these changes carefully, he would discover that they hadn't occurred over the past three hundred years, but rather within the last three years.

The Immortal of Immortality invited the two Ancestral Masters into the barbecue shop, telling Master Liu and Master Gao to bring out their signature dishes and all the good stuff.

"To tell you how I came to Daozong, I'll have to start from the beginning. It began with your Daozong disciples going out on a mission to kill a tiger demon..."