Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

It just wasn’t right.

With Lan Ting’s voluntary concession, the match finally came to an end, leaving the cultivators in the audience wanting more.

“So this is what a battle between geniuses looks like? It’s just not enough to watch.”

“I won’t have the face to call myself an early-stage Golden Core cultivator anymore. I feel like even ten of me combined wouldn’t compare to them.”

“Exactly. When I formed my core, I thought of myself as a formidable figure, a powerhouse in my own right. But after watching their battle, I think I’d better go back and keep cultivating honestly.”

Reaching the Golden Core Stage meant that one’s family could thrive for five hundred years. In small regions, Golden Core cultivators were dominant figures, like in Yanjiang County, which had only three Golden Core cultivators.

So, they formed their cores with excitement and joined the Golden Core Appraisal Event eagerly, hoping to make connections, only to have their confidence shattered by the battles of Lu Yang and his peers.

Elder Kang had anticipated that they would see the gap and struggle to accept it due to the immense disparity. “You mustn’t belittle yourselves. Reaching the Golden Core Stage means you’ve surpassed ninety-nine percent of cultivators. You’re all mid-grade Golden Cores with potential to reach Nascent Soul. Don’t let one battle make you doubt yourselves.”

Yuan Zhi smiled wryly. “It’s not that we’re doubting ourselves; it’s just that the gap between us is too vast. We can’t even feel like we’ve surpassed ninety-nine percent of other cultivators.”

Elder Kang shook his head. “You shouldn’t compare yourselves to immortal sect disciples, especially these five today. Geniuses like them only appear once in several centuries, even millennia. Why now? Because they are destined to shine in the great era of competition, even to be the protagonists who may shape that era!”

Elder Kang’s message was clear: in the world of ordinary cultivators, you’re doing quite well; in the Central Continent, there are plenty like you. Lu Yang and his group are once-in-a-millennium talents, incomparable by any standard. Don’t trouble yourselves.

Yan heir, Gu Qisheng, and the others who were eliminated watched the battles on the arena with sparkling eyes.

They were all under eighteen, yet these geniuses had already formed their cores and could bypass levels to challenge Foundation Building Stage opponents. Meanwhile, they were still struggling to form their cores. The difference was visible to the naked eye.

But they were not discouraged. The gap was so enormous that it didn’t inspire jealousy or anger, only admiration for Lu Yang and the others. By watching these battles, they identified their shortcomings and resolved to continue cultivating upon their return.

…

Lu Yang hadn’t paid attention to what was happening on Meng Jingzhou’s side, so he was surprised to hear that he was the first to finish his battle.

“How did you lose so quickly?”

Meng Jingzhou, with a dark expression, shooed Lu Yang away. “Get lost! Don’t bring up that topic, or I’ll hit you with a Single Curse Fist.”

Lu Yang wasn’t afraid of Meng Jingzhou’s threat. With an immortal protecting him, how could he be cursed by the likes of Meng Jingzhou?

As they spoke, Lan Ting approached, holding a small tricolor stone in her hand.

“What’s that?”

Lan Ting smiled. “Did Senior Brother Lu Yang forget? This is the first-place reward, a Core Formation treasure that increases the probability of forming a core by fifty percent.”

Lu Yang had heard of such items; they were highly sought after by half-step Golden Core Stage and pseudo-core cultivators, valued so high they could drain one’s entire wealth.

The Dao Seeking Sect had everything except Core Formation treasures.

The same was true for the other Four Great Immortal Sects.

They were all prodigies—who among them needed external help to form their cores?

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, being first and second place, were to receive two Core Formation treasures and two Core Formation manuals.

“Lan Ting, stop joking. What would Meng and I need these for? Give them to the third and fourth places instead.”

Lan Ting laughed and put the Core Formation treasure away. It was actually one from her own collection, taken out to tease Lu Yang. The real Core Formation treasures had already been given to the third and fourth place winners.

Bai Ming and Yan Tianzhi also approached and invited, “It’s rare for us to meet; let’s find a place to sit down?”

“Sure,” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou agreed.

As disciples of the Five Great Immortal Sects, interaction between them was inevitable.

“The governor’s subordinates recommended a few restaurants to us. They’re quite famous in the city, and they’ve opened temporary branches here,” Bai Ming said.

Bai Ming led the group to a three-story restaurant. Though it was temporarily built using magic, the decor resembled that of a centuries-old establishment, showing great attention to detail.

The waiter saw Bai Ming enter and asked enthusiastically, “Master, are you here to receive alms?”

“…I’m here to eat.”

“Vegetarian food?”

Bai Ming, irritated, replied, “I’m not a monk!”

The waiter recalled a rumor about a martial art circulating in the Jianghu, which used hair as a weapon. Each strand could be wielded as a powerful tool, but the art had a flaw: used hair wouldn’t grow back, and once used up, it was gone forever.

There was a story of someone who mastered this technique, lost all their hair in a fierce battle, and ended up becoming a monk.

The waiter looked at Bai Ming with a sympathetic expression, thinking he was yet another unfortunate soul unable to accept his hair loss.

“Oh, right, this is for you. You can use it for now.” Seeing this, Lu Yang pulled out a wig and handed it to Bai Ming.

Since learning Arhat Fist, Lu Yang always kept spare wigs on hand, just in case, and now was the perfect time to use one.

Bai Ming stared at the wig offered by the culprit behind his baldness, resisting the urge to draw his spear and stab Lu Yang, before reluctantly putting it on.

Fortunately, Lu Yang’s Arhat Fist didn’t cause permanent hair loss; wearing the wig for about a month would suffice.

Bai Ming then introduced Yan Tianzhi. “This is Yan Tianzhi from the Prison-Suppressing Sect. He doesn’t talk much.”

Yan Tianzhi nodded silently.

He seemed a quiet type, so Lu Yang greeted him, “I’m Lu Yang, from the Dao Seeking Sect, disciple of Daoist Non-Speaker.”

“Meng Jingzhou. We’ve fought before.”

Upon hearing Lu Yang’s background, Yan Tianzhi’s eyes widened in shock. “It’s you—your master—he killed—he killed my master!”

“My master killed your master?” Lu Yang’s first reaction was disbelief. No matter how unreliable Daoist Non-Speaker was, he wouldn’t do such a thing.

Lan Ting cleared her throat and explained, “Yan Tianzhi has a stutter and speaks in short bursts. It’s not what you think.”

“Yan Tianzhi’s master is the Sect Master of the Prison-Suppressing Sect. In his youth, he had a terrible relationship with Daoist Non-Speaker. When he found out that Daoist Non-Speaker had become the Sect Master of Dao Seeking Sect, he was furious, wondering what merit or virtue Daoist Non-Speaker had to deserve such a position. He declared that he’d rather lose eight thousand years of this lifespan than let Daoist Non-Speaker remain as Sect Master.”

Unity Stage Cultivators can live for eight thousand years.

“Now, isn’t your senior sister Yun Zhi the current Sect Master? So Yan Tianzhi’s master decided to honor his words, made himself a tombstone, and when he’s free, he buries himself in it. When something comes up, he crawls out, telling everyone he’s already dead.”

Lu Yang: “…”

He recalled his Eldest Senior Sister’s advice: when out in the world, never say you’re a disciple of Daoist Non-Speaker—it only brings trouble.