Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Innate Immortal Spirit
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"Golden Core, huh."
Watching the ever-rising Chongguang True Person and his Cave Yang Blessed Land soar toward the Covered Lamp Fire, Lu Yang withdrew his gaze, not without a twinge of envy.
'No rush. I'll have my day too.'
With the Book of a Hundred Lives in hand, Lu Yang had never once doubted his own future. As long as he took it step by step, solid and steady, he would surely reach the peak!
Of course, that was a matter for later.
"Thinking about Golden Core right now is still too far off. Better check out the gains first." Lu Yang shifted his gaze to the strand of golden essence left behind by Chongguang True Person.
Then he froze.
Because at that very moment, the illusory panel of the Book of a Hundred Lives materialized out of nowhere. Like a rabid dog lunging at prey, it directly devoured that strand of golden essence!
'Holy shit!'
In that instant, Lu Yang nearly scared his soul right out of his body. Golden essence was conspicuous enough on its own—not to mention that Chongguang True Person was in the midst of his breakthrough. At least two-thirds of the world's True Lords were watching, some openly, some in secret. For the Book to swallow it outright like this... wasn't that just screaming that something was wrong?!
The thought made Lu Yang's hairs stand on end.
He dreaded the moment someone might pop up behind him with a casual, "What are you doing?"—only for a massive hand to descend from the heavens and refine him on the spot.
A moment later, Lu Yang let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
No one came.
'You've always got my back, Book of a Hundred Lives!'
A cheat was a cheat after all! Devouring a strand of golden essence right under the noses of all those True Lords, and not a single one noticed. It put Lu Yang's mind greatly at ease.
But once the relief set in, doubt crept up on him. Ever since transmigrating, the Book of a Hundred Lives had shown zero interest in anything outside of him. This was the first time it had ever actively devoured an external object. He couldn't help but wonder: Could golden essence replenish the pages?
A hundred lives were still too few!
In this godforsaken place, every step of cultivation felt like walking a tightrope over an abyss. With just a hundred lives, Lu Yang was confident he could reach Golden Core. But Nascent Soul? Not a chance.
If golden essence could add pages, though... that changed everything.
After all, he already had two reliable refresh points for golden essence: "Chongguang" and "Innate Dao Sin." He could harvest a batch every single life.
Infinite lifespans, basically!
At the thought, Lu Yang eagerly turned to the Book of a Hundred Lives interface. As the information flooded into his mind, his expression turned peculiar.
The bad news: golden essence couldn't replenish the pages.
The good news, however—
'Settling someone else's life?'
Lu Yang stared at the data on the Book of a Hundred Lives interface, his face a mask of odd fascination. 'Golden essence itself is useless to the Book. What's useful are the experiences contained within.'
So-called golden essence was the distilled quintessence of a person's soul—the true self forged by piling up a lifetime of thoughts and experiences. It held an entire life's worth of memories. That was what the Book of a Hundred Lives craved to devour: the equivalent of one illusory simulation!
'After devouring it, the Book of a Hundred Lives can settle that person's life.'
'TUnlike the settlements after my own restarts, this one can't bring back treasures or cultivation. The only thing it can bring back is a talent derived from that life.'
'Now that's good stuff!'
In a flash, Lu Yang's eyes lit up. Sure, no cultivation or treasures was disappointing, but deriving a talent from it was still incredible!
He knew full well how powerful the talents provided by the Book of a Hundred Lives could be.
The problem was, every rebirth, he always had higher priorities to redeem. He'd never drawn a talent so far. But this time? Different story!
'Chongguang's talent has to be gold-rank!'
A Foundation Establishment Perfected Being at the peak, with a life rich enough to qualify as legendary. Had to be at least a gold-rank talent.
With that in mind, Lu Yang focused his will.
'Settle!'
The next second, faint light bloomed across the Book of a Hundred Lives. The glow morphed into streams of data, which finally coalesced into dense lines of text.
[Settling experiences for "Chongguang"...]
[As a strand of "Prime Metal Qi," one of the Tian Gang Earthly Fiends, you seized a great opportunity and unexpectedly awakened sentience, becoming a heaven-and-earth nurtured immortal spirit.]
".Immortal spirit?"
Lu Yang paused. He knew what that was. Back then, the Blood Demon True Person had accidentally slain one and suffered heavenly punishment for it.
Immortal spirits were heaven-and-earth nurtured beings, born with an exalted position. The moment they awakened sentience, they received the blessings of the world itself—essentially natural-born Foundation Establishment cultivators. Their strength was fixed, determined by their pre-sentience origins. The strongest could even rival peak Foundation Establishment.
Chongguang True Person was the reincarnation of an immortal spirit?
"No wonder his dao name is Chongguang. That's another name for Prime Metal Qi. With foundations that deep, it's no surprise the Primal Saint Sect's True Lords value him so highly."
Meanwhile, the Book's settlement text continued to scroll.
[As an immortal spirit, you harbored great ambition. Unwilling to accept your strength's inability to advance, you deliberated deeply before reincarnating into the Primal Saint Sect.]
[You earned the favor of a Saint Sect True Lord.]
[At Foundation Establishment perfection, you finally reached the pivotal moment of your life: ascending to claim your golden essence. Succeed, and transcend. Fail, and sink back into the cycle.]
[With that in mind, you brimmed with resolve.]
The data stream cut off abruptly here—likely because this was the exact moment Chongguang True Person had refined out his golden essence. No more after that.
Soon, all the data streams collapsed inward, converging, and finally—
A burst of golden brilliance erupted!
'Whoa! Gold legend!'
Lu Yang's spirits soared as he locked eyes on the panel's information:
[You have obtained the gold-rank talent: Innate Immortal Spirit.]
[Innate Immortal Spirit: Upon restarting and reincarnating, this talent allows you to change your foundational origin, designating the acquisition of an "immortal spirit" identity and position.]
'A talent that only works on reincarnation.'
Lu Yang grasped its power in an instant. Immortal spirit! Blessed by heaven and earth, with maxed-out comprehension, talent, and fortune!
But he soon frowned.
'Not without its drawbacks. Changing my foundation means starting from zero again, right? Does an immortal spirit body come with a different starting location?'
His current starting points were limited to two: the day he first entered the Saint Sect, or Luofeng Mountain after Foundation Establishment. In a way, this gold-rank talent [Innate Immortal Spirit] was like unlocking a temporary new starting point—one shot only, no do-overs.
On the surface, it seemed underwhelming.
But Lu Yang spotted the crucial detail: designating an "immortal spirit" position. That meant he wouldn't necessarily respawn in the Saint Sect!
Plenty of room to maneuver there!
'If I want to achieve first-grade true qi in the future and walk the [Void Proof] path, I'll need to draw wisdom from every corner, incorporating the strengths of all schools.'
His current foundation was too rigid, though.
Starting out as a Saint Sect disciple—pure orthodox demonic lineage. Aside from the Pure Land willing to take him in, Sword Pavilion and Dao Court would never accept his allegiance.
But with [Innate Immortal Spirit], everything changed.
Who had a cleaner background than a heaven-and-earth nurtured immortal spirit?
Overseas, Sword Pavilion, Dao Court—anywhere he wanted. He could start fresh in another faction, then loop back to the Saint Sect via restart, utterly free of karmic ties!
The thought alone thrilled Lu Yang.
But right then—
"BOOM!!!"
A world-shaking thunderclap exploded across the firmament. It echoed not just through the present world but rippled into the Foundation Establishment realm on tempestuous winds.
Immediately after, everyone heard a shrill, despairing roar laced with fury and indignation:
"No——!!!"