Chapter 1130: Withdrew Their Forces and Returned to Court
“The target of the Battle of the Great Era is Lu Yang?” The Xia Emperor hissed inwardly. As expected of the old ancestor, his way of thinking is unlike anyone else’s.
The more Jiang Ping’an thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. With his hands behind his back, he continued pacing around the Xia Emperor in circles.
“During the Battle of the Imperial City, I could already tell that this boy Lu Yang is extraordinary. I even wanted him to marry into our Jiang Family. It was a pity that Yun Zhi interrupted it.
“Who would have thought that Lu Yang’s significance would far exceed my imagination? He has caught the attention of both the strongest of ancient times and the strongest of the present age.”
Jiang Ping’an paced for about half a day, racking his brains, yet he still could not think of anything worthwhile he possessed that could win Lu Yang over.
He halted abruptly and turned to ask the Xia Emperor, who was almost dizzy from watching him go in circles. “Between Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi and Fellow Daoist Everlasting, who exactly is stronger?”
“Ah?” The Xia Emperor had not expected his old ancestor to throw the question at him.
He calculated his own cultivation level—the Divine Transfiguration Stage. Isn’t the gap between immortals and me a tad too vast?
“Probably the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. Isn’t it said that the more ancient one is, the more powerful?
“Besides, we’ve never heard of any ‘Five Ancient Immortals’ before; it has always been the Four Ancient Immortals. The only clue we have is the battle in ancient times when stars were shattered to form the continents. A mysterious immortal fought the Four Ancient Immortals. In my view, that mysterious immortal was none other than the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.
“To take on four opponents alone—that speaks volumes about her strength.”
“Makes sense.”
Jiang Ping’an nodded. He felt that the Xia Emperor joining the Great Dou Dynasty was a brilliant move.
~~~
“Second-in-Command, I’m really letting go now!”
“Just one step, and you'll succeed!”
“Believe in yourself. You can do it!”
Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Lu Yang climbed out of bed and courageously took that first step forward. The group rejoiced and flicked the dust off their caps, as if they were celebrating an official appointment.
After a week of rest in bed, Lu Yang had finally recovered to the point where he could walk without Yun Mengmeng and Qing He flanking him for support.
However, Lu Yang believed that if he had a quiet environment, he could have been on his feet in five days. Nevertheless, despite being half-immortals with their own matters to attend to, they had set everything aside to keep him company. Their intentions were good, and he couldn’t possibly have driven them away.
It was just that the way they cheered him on made it sound less like he could get out of bed and walk again, but more like he had just learned how to walk for the first time.
“It’s time to continue writing the cultivation manual.” Lu Yang felt that he could no longer fritter away his days like this. He needed to find something to occupy himself, such as writing his cultivation manual for the Void Refinement Stage.
Since the presence of Qing He, Ao Ling, and the others in the Dao-Seeking Sect was a secret, only Yun Mengmeng could accompany Lu Yang to the scripture library.
Yun Mengmeng insisted on supporting him as he walked there, but Lu Yang insisted on walking there on his own. After a brief standoff, Yun Mengmeng ultimately conceded and settled for trailing behind him instead.
“Sister Mengmeng, we really don’t have to be so vigilant.” Lu Yang looked at her helplessly.
However, Yun Mengmeng held her hands out, prepared to support Lu Yang at any moment. As long as Lu Yang showed signs of losing his balance, she could react in an instant.
“That won’t do. Sister Qing He and Sister Ao Ling can’t protect you. I’m the only one who can protect you now.”
Along the way, every disciple who spotted Lu Yang greeted him, which made him a little embarrassed.
Although Yun Mengmeng wasn’t a disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect, everyone in the sect knew of her connection to Yun Zhi. No one would stop her from entering the scripture library.
The two entered the scripture library and headed straight for the Void Refinement Stage section.
Lu Yang studied several representative cultivation techniques for the Void Refinement Stage, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the cultivation realm for the first time. Although he could have directly asked the Everlasting Immortal Fairy and the others for guidance, if he consulted them without first acquiring a solid foundation, it would be difficult for him to truly make the knowledge his own.
“So that’s how it works. The Void Refinement Stage has no basic, intermediate, or advanced subdivisions. The only way to gauge progress is by the degree of fluctuation in one’s cultivation realm.
“The smaller the fluctuation, the closer one is to completing the Void Refinement Stage.”
“When one’s cultivation realm barely fluctuates at all, it signifies that one has reached the end of the Void Refinement Stage and can prepare to break through to the Fusion Stage.
“Cultivation at the Void Refinement Stage is extremely challenging. Over ninety percent of Void Refinement cultivators never manage to break through in their entire lifetimes.
“There are many methods to reduce the fluctuations in one’s cultivation realm. For example, one could take on the guise of a mortal and temper oneself in the mundane world, witnessing the many facets of human life and once again comprehending the gulf between immortals and mortals.
“Alternatively, one could serve in court as an official. This not only allows one to witness life’s myriad forms but also to leverage one’s official status for protection. This is a relatively safe approach. However, my shifu is the Taciturn Daoist Priest, so I need not consider this method.
“Another possibility is committing a crime and entering prison, where one can observe joys and sorrows and partings and reunions. This also offers protection. However, my shifu is the Taciturn Daoist Priest, so I can’t follow in his footsteps.
“Furthermore, I am the Pillar Minister of the Great Dou Dynasty, a position with immense authority, below only one person but above ten thousand others. I cannot simultaneously serve as an official of the Great Xia. If I were to end up in prison, it would tarnish our dynasty’s reputation,” Lu Yang murmured to himself, constantly reminding himself of his identity.
“Below only one person, but above ten thousand others? Are there so many people in our Great Dou Dynasty?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was puzzled. She counted on her fingers but still couldn’t get to ten thousand.
I, four pillar ministers Lu Yang, Chancellor Xia Emperor, Scribe Qing He, three great generals, Minister of Rites Yun Mengmeng, Minister of Works Zhu Tian, and Jiang Ping’an, who holds no official post yet... that’s only ten people in total.
“Aside from these, there is also the approach that Third Senior Sister adopted—training in the Demon Region and honing herself amidst danger to accelerate her cultivation progress.
Since Lu Yang had yet to recover fully, he couldn’t keep staying in the scripture library. He borrowed a portion of the Void Refinement cultivation manuals to study at his leisure back in his cave abode.
Once he was back, he immersed himself in researching the Void Refinement cultivation techniques.
The others didn’t dare to disturb him, so they ceded most of the space to him and occupied only a small corner for themselves. Each of them sat on a small stool and formed a circle.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy spoke solemnly. “Although you are half-immortals with respectable combat prowess, your coordination is still lacking. More practice is needed.”
Yun Mengmeng raised her hand. “First-in-Command, how should we practice?”
“That’s a good question. Xiao Yangzi often says that true knowledge comes from practice. Theories must be put into practice. Our dynasty’s ultimate goal is to defeat Lass Yun, so let us start by practicing on her!”
“My injuries have yet to recover fully, so I can’t personally take action. All I can do is devise stratagems so that you have at least some chance of fighting back against Yun Zhi!”
“We’re fighting Little Zhi again?” Yun Mengmeng was the most enthusiastic of them all. Battling with Little Zhi is very fun.
The others leaned back slightly, not expecting that the training would take the form of actual combat.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy mumbled to herself as she sketched and scribbled on the floor, laying out an intricately linked battle plan. After hearing her explanation, the group unanimously agreed that her battle tactics were brilliant.
“Has everyone memorized the plan? Let’s move!”
As the saying goes, cultivation knows no time. Lu Yang had been absorbed in his study of cultivation techniques for an hour. When he finally snapped out of his trance, the group had just withdrawn their forces and returned to court after a crushing defeat.
Lu Yang sucked in a cold breath. What in the world happened? Why do they look more badly injured than I am?
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