Chapter 1207: Breaking Through to the Void Refinement Stage

Lu Yang returned to the Wen Dao Sect and immediately went to visit his close friend Meng Jingzhou.

When Lu Yang arrived at Meng Jingzhou's cave dwelling, he saw several large pits dug at the entrance, with an old horse standing on its two legs, its hooves still holding a shovel as it dug pits and poured ice blocks, moving swiftly without any delay.

"Where is Old Meng?"

Lu Yang noticed one of the pits bubbling with hot steam, and Meng Jingzhou, his skin flushed red, popped his head out and leapt up, jumping into the adjacent ice-water pool.

The ice cubes in the pool were melting at a visible speed, and it looked like they would soon turn into boiling water.

Seeing his good friend in trouble, Lu Yang certainly wouldn't add insult to injury; he kindly encouraged Meng Jingzhou: "As the saying goes, the greater the pressure, the greater the pressure—Old Meng, keep going, I believe you can overcome this hurdle!"

"Cultivation is something one must rely on their own effort, so I won't keep you company."

After saying that, Lu Yang hurried away at a light jog before Meng Jingzhou could start cursing.

After descending the mountain, Lu Yang noticed many unfamiliar Wen Dao Sect disciples pointing and whispering about him; when he turned to look, the junior disciples quickly fell silent and pretended not to have seen him.

Once Lu Yang's gaze shifted elsewhere, they resumed their discussion.

"That's the legendary Senior Brother Lu Yang."

"I joined the Wen Dao Sect just to follow in Senior Brother Lu Yang's footsteps, and today I finally got to see the True Person!"

"Have you heard? Senior Brother Lu Yang slew the leader of the Wu Qing Sect, who was still an ancient half-immortal!"

Who hasn't heard of this? Even more astonishing is what came after—it's said the Wu Qing Sect leader summoned the Si Ming of the Great Qian Dynasty at the cost of his own life, and that is a true immortal; Senior Brother Lu fought several rounds with the Si Ming and didn't fall behind!

"Moreover, Senior Brother Lu never boasts about his achievements; even when he accomplishes earth-shattering feats abroad, earning great merit, he returns to the sect and reports properly and respectfully to Senior Brother Dai."

"Senior Brother Lu became an undercover agent of the Bu Shi Sect during his Foundation Establishment stage, dismantled the Bu Shi Sect, and now we are also at Foundation Establishment, so when we go out we can only handle odd jobs, with opponents at most at the half-Golden Core stage—compared to Senior Brother Lu Yang, we are far behind."

"When will we ever reach Senior Brother Lu Yang's level?"

"You still want to compare yourself to Senior Brother Lu? Go dream about it."

These are all newly recruited disciples of the Wen Dao Sect; Lu Yang usually stays in seclusion cultivating, or is out on missions, rarely appearing down the mountain.

Therefore, when he appeared this time, the disciples who had never seen Lu Yang but had long heard rumors immediately called their friends secretly.

However, they were all too timid to look at Lu Yang directly, only able to sneak glances from behind.

Hearing the undisguised admiration from his junior disciples, Lu Yang merely smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.

On Tianmen Peak, Yun Mengmeng stood halfway up the mountain, curiously watching the second-in-command measuring the sect with his footsteps.

"Xiao He, the second-in-command has already walked several circuits around the sect, why hasn't he come up the mountain yet?"

"Maybe he got lost." Qing He said firmly.

As Qing He said, the Wen Dao Sect is so vast that Lu Yang only went up the mountain after passing Tianmen Peak for the seventh time.

In the following days, Lu Yang spent his time accompanying the Immortal of Bu Shi, accompanying Yun Mengmeng, participating in the New Prison Peak tailoring ceremony, strolling around the mountain's base twice, listening to Third Senior Sister Gan Gan discuss minor tunes for self-cultivation, discussing dreamlike illusion filming techniques with Tao Yao Ye, caring about Li Haoran's cultivation progress, going to a barbecue restaurant with Meng Jingzhou to eat skewers, writing to the newly appointed county magistrate, the top scholar Man Gu…… apart from that, he focused entirely on cultivation.

Whether a red-dust cultivator or a reclusive cultivator, cultivation emphasizes a mind free of distraction, and Lu Yang was no exception, so his cultivation speed was extremely fast.

"Void Refinement stage, red-dust transformation into mundanity, nurturing oneself through battle……"

Cultivation knows no time; Lu Yang had been in seclusion in his cave dwelling for three hours, during which he only went out once to taste Yun Mengmeng's new spiritual food.

Lu Yang sat in meditation, reflecting on all the experiences he had undergone since advancing to the Void Refinement stage.

"No, it's not just the experiences from the Void Refinement stage; weren't my previous experiences also a form of red-dust transformation into mundanity and nurturing oneself through battle?"

Lu Yang's heart felt enlightened, and he vaguely touched the threshold of advancing to the Void Refinement stage.

"Third Senior Sister Gan Gan, to train herself, entered the demon realm alone during the Void Refinement stage, battled wits and courage with various demon clans, and made a great name for herself."

"At that time, Third Senior Sister's cultivation level was not fixed, and she faced enemies far stronger than herself—this was her crisis, and also her opportunity."

"How am I any different? Every time I go out, I encounter opponents of extremely high cultivation… Third Senior Sister's path, I have already walked it long ago."

Upon realizing this, Lu Yang's vision of the "path" before him became increasingly clear, as if he could reach out and touch it, while his cultivation level fluctuated wildly, changing at extreme speed.

So Lu Yang reached out.

At the moment Lu Yang touched the "path," his previously fluctuating cultivation level was like a long-distance runner who had just crossed the finish line—the athlete finally had a chance to catch his breath, no longer running desperately, taking two steps before stopping in place, panting heavily.

"Success!" Lu Yang's eyes shone with unprecedented brightness, the confidence brought by breaking through to the Void Refinement stage.

As long as I pass the heavenly tribulation, I will have successfully broken through to the Void Refinement stage!

Without leaving his cave dwelling, Lu Yang could feel the tribulation clouds gathering above his head.

"Your cultivation speed is quite fast." The Immortal of Bu Shi emerged from the mental space, clapping with "guaji guaji."

Immediately, she remembered something and had to leave at once.

"Little Yangzi, you strive to pass the tribulation; this immortal has some matters to attend to, so I won't keep you company during the tribulation."

Lu Yang felt a bit guilty; Immortal, if you leave, what should I do if Senior Ying Tian Xiang attacks me without mercy?

But since the Immortal had matters to attend to, he couldn't keep her, so he could only say "good."

……

Above the Wen Dao Sect, above the tribulation clouds, Ying Tian Xiang's fingertips crackled with electric arcs, as she considered what power of heavenly tribulation to test Lu Yang with.

"This kid Lu Yang's cultivation speed is truly fast."

"Should I use ordinary tribulation thunder, or the several new types of tribulation thunder recently developed?"

Just recalling the scene of Lu Yang's last tribulation thunder crossing, Ying Tian Xiang felt a faint ache all over her body.

As Ying Tian Xiang was hesitating, a clear qi rose from below and arrived above the tribulation clouds, transforming into the Immortal of Bu Shi.

"Immortal Bu Shi, why have you come?" Ying Tian Xiang exclaimed in surprise.

"Ying Tian, what kind of heavenly tribulation should Xiao Yangzi undergo this time?" the Immortal of Bu Shi asked.

Ying Tian Xiang opened her mouth, about to answer, when she saw another clear qi also arrive in the heavens, transforming into Yun Zhi.

Yun Zhi saw the Immortal of Bu Shi also present, felt some surprise, then immediately explained her purpose for coming.

"Senior Ying Tian Xiang, what kind of heavenly tribulation should my junior brother undergo this time?"

"..."

Ying Tian Xiang glanced at the Immortal of Bu Shi on her left, then at Yun Zhi on her right, thinking of herself as one of the ancient Five Immortals, the ancestor of artifact refinement, revered by ten thousand, possessing eight-directional majesty, and recalling her own steadfast seeker's heart, which should not be swayed by external influences.

Thinking of these, he made up his mind and said seriously:

"You say how to pass this tribulation, and I will split it that way."