Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Chapter 1123: Void Refinement Stage

“No, no, no, I don’t want to hear it!” Having been sabotaged by Lu Yang once, Meng Jingzhou wasn’t about to fall for it again. Seeing that Lu Yang still wanted to speak, Meng Jingzhou covered his mouth.

Seeing that Meng Jingzhou wouldn’t take the bait, Lu Yang had no choice but to prepare to take on the final lightning tribulation.

“Although it’s still only in theory, this is a rare opportunity; there’s no harm in trying.”

Lu Yang lay on the ground, merging with the earth. He planted a bodhi seed, and a bodhi tree instantly bloomed and bore fruit, sprouting both Lu Yang and his wooden clone.

His primordial soul left his body and fused with the wooden clone. The wooden clone executed Animal Form Fist, once again transforming into the Qingfeng Sword. Following that, with Ten Thousand Swords Return to One, the wooden clone and the nine swords merged into a single blade that fell into Lu Yang’s grasp.

“I can’t help but feel like your techniques are always several times more complicated than everyone else’s.”

“You talk too much. I’ll show you the true power of the Everlasting Sword Mantra today!”

Wielding the True Self Sword, Lu Yang faced the heavenly tribulation alone—a scene of tragedy and valor.

Lu Yang brandished the immortal sword gracefully, resembling an aloof sword immortal. Every movement carried a unique rhythm. If any sword cultivator were observing here, their comprehension of the Sword Dao would reach a new level.

The only flaw was that Lu Yang was charred black, as if he had crawled out of a coal pile.

“Hmm?” Meng Jingzhou looked surprised upon noticing the change in Lu Yang. He stopped lying on the ground like a corpse and stood up to watch what Lu Yang was about to do.

He sensed Lu Yang’s sword moving his heart, his essence, qi, and mind unified. But that wasn’t surprising, since Lu Yang’s sword was essentially part of him.

However, he then sensed that all of Lu Yang’s strength was concentrated in his right arm, which showed signs of being unable to bear the full force as small blood vessels burst open.

Crack.

The final heavenly lightning descended, vast enough to cover the sky as it crashed downward. Lu Yang dauntlessly faced it head-on.

“Slash!”

The True Self Sword unleashed a brilliant sword radiance, the strongest Lu Yang had ever produced. Its power was so unbelievable that even Fusion cultivators would be ashamed.

Lu Yang had always been fond of combat. The heavenly lightning gave him both pressure and motivation, helping him complete the final piece of the Everlasting Sword Mantra.

The sword rays split the heavenly lightning, threatening to slice it in two.

Bang!

Lu Yang had poured everything into this sword strike. His right arm reached its limit and exploded.

Meng Jingzhou was flabbergasted. Is Old Lu cultivating a self-mutilating sword mantra? Having an arm explode is practically a self-detonation. Even if we were at the Fusion Stage, we wouldn’t be able to restore it quickly.

To his surprise, Lu Yang released the True Self Sword. He transformed into a spirit qi lifeform and devoured spirit qi to make up for the deficits. By the time he returned to human form, his right arm was as good as new.

Meng Jingzhou’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. “This actually works?!”

Lu Yang twisted his arm; it felt completely natural. As I thought, my line of thinking is correct.

The heavenly lightning split in two, one bolt striking Lu Yang and the other hitting Meng Jingzhou.

Finally, the two ran out of strength and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The heavenly tribulation ended. Sweet dew descended, nourishing their bodies. They floated in the air as their wounds healed silently.

They had officially stepped into the Void Refinement Stage.

“We’ve finally reached the Void Refinement... Why am I back at the Qi Training Stage?”

The two were horrified. Without any warning, their cultivation realms had plummeted to rock bottom, returning to the state they were in at the beginning of their cultivation journey. Now, they couldn’t even defeat a tiger demon.

At the Void Refinement Stage, one’s cultivation level would fluctuate randomly between the Qi Training and Fusion stages. Cultivators who reached this cultivation realm rarely ventured out, lest they be killed by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Although they had learned about the various abnormalities of the Void Refinement Stage in advance, it was still hard to accept when they actually experienced it.

“Now I’m at the Nascent Soul Stage.”

In a single thought, they jumped back to the Nascent Soul Stage. The changes were so rapid that they couldn’t even control their power properly. One second, they were walking with the strength of a Qi Training cultivator, and the next, they were at the Nascent Soul Stage, capable of traversing a few hundred zhang in a single stride.

“Strange. Where are these petals coming from?”

The Innate Daoist Priest was baffled as petals suddenly drifted onto his head.

Everyone looked up and saw that the thunderclouds hadn’t dissipated even after the tribulation. Instead, a rift had opened, revealing sunlight and fluttering petals.

A tall, emperor-like figure emerged from the sunlight, looking down upon all beings. He had witnessed the vicissitudes of life, his eyes carrying the weight of the ages. No event before him could sway his decisions in the slightest. He fulfilled every mortal’s imagination of an immortal.

The emperor-like figure appeared against the light, his features indistinguishable. This signified that mortals could not behold an immortal’s visage.

When he spoke, heaven and earth fell silent, as if his voice were the only one in existence. Even the sounds of insects and birds vanished completely.

“Heh heh, I never imagined the later generations would produce such geniuses.”

The entire Dao-Seeking Sect was thrown into chaos. They had never expected that a heavenly tribulation could undergo further changes. This was an unprecedented event.

“How is there someone in the heavenly tribulation? Who is that?!”

“No idea. Such a thing has never happened before!”

The emperor-like figure was not loud, yet his forceful voice resounded through the Dao-Seeking Sect.

“One is the Heaven Mandate Immortal, in accordance with heavenly principles and acting on Heaven’s behalf. One has seen two geniuses in the mortal realm today. It truly brings one joy.”

“What? He is the legendary Heaven Mandate Immortal?!”

Upon learning of the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s identity, the members of the Dao-Seeking Sect could no longer keep their composure. Such a great figure has vanished for three hundred thousand years, yet he suddenly appeared today?

This can be called an immortal miracle never seen throughout the ages!

“That lecherous Heaven Mandate Immortal?”

“And also the progenitor of spirit chefs, the only nine-star spirit chef!”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be a female immortal? Otherwise, why would we have created the Mother-Child River? So he’s actually male?”

The Heaven Mandate Immortal’s eyelids twitched. What kind of minds do these Dao-Seeking Sect people have? Not a single one is surprised by the right thing. When I appeared like this in the past, I was showered with endless praise.

“Are the two senior brothers’ talents so great that even the legendary immortal took notice?!”

“No wonder they encountered an unprecedented tribulation!”

The Dao-Seeking Sect erupted in excitement. They had truly witnessed history today; even an immortal had appeared.

The Heaven Mandate Immortal wore black beneath a golden dragon robe. When he moved, the golden dragons seemed to come alive. As he descended to the mortal realm, worldly dust naturally avoided him. This demonstrated that he was beyond the mundane world, untouched by its impurities.

The Heaven Mandate Immortal looked at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with a gaze full of affection. “You two have passed my test. Not bad.

“However, you two must remember—the Void Refinement Stage is merely the beginning for a cultivator. You must refrain from pride and impatience and cultivate diligently.”

“We shall heed the Immortal Venerable’s words!” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou answered in unison, not daring to be disrespectful.

“Immortal Venerable, I have a question. Could I trouble you to answer it?” Lu Yang looked up and asked.

“Speak freely.”

“Why am I currently at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage?”

Logically, one’s cultivation level ought to fluctuate between the Qi Training and Fusion stages when at the Void Refinement Stage. But Lu Yang clearly felt that he was currently at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage. He had seen countless Transcendent Tribulation powerhouses and was confident in his assessment of cultivation realms.

The Heaven Mandate Immortal. “...”

You brat, why do you keep stirring up trouble?