Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

“Senior Sister Zhou Lulu, long time no see.”

Senior Sister Zhou Lulu was immersed in the world of books. Hearing Lu Yang’s voice, she looked up and smiled, “Oh, it’s Junior Brother Lu. It’s you who hasn’t seen me for a long time. Didn’t everyone see you when you were the Sect Master a few days ago?”

Lu Yang smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. He couldn’t exactly say that it wasn’t him who was the Sect Master, but the sixteen-year-old fairy within him.

“I haven’t been to the Library Pavilion for two or three months. Are you looking for any specific book?”

“I want to find books on how to form a Golden Core.”

Senior Sister Zhou Lulu suddenly understood, “Oh right, you’re now at the late Foundation Establishment stage. It’s time to consider forming a Golden Core.”

“How did you form your Golden Core, Senior Sister?”

Senior Sister Zhou reminisced about the past, “It was a rainy day. I was reading under the eaves, and as I read, I don’t know how, but the words in the book started to jump out and imprint in my mind. The words flowed from my mind through my organs to my dantian. The spiritual energy transformed from mist to liquid, becoming a trickling stream, then fused with the words, condensing into a Golden Core.”

“Senior Sister, you have remarkable talent!” Lu Yang exclaimed. He had heard that for exceptionally talented individuals, forming a Golden Core was a natural process that didn’t require much effort. Some prodigies even succeeded after a nap.

For instance, the ancient prodigy Yellow Bean formed her Golden Core in her sleep.

Zhou Lulu waved her hands repeatedly, feeling a bit embarrassed, “Junior Brother Lu, you can’t say that. There are many Senior Brothers and Sisters in the sect with greater talent than me. They had to go through many hardships to form their Golden Cores. You can’t judge talent based on the ease of forming a Golden Core.”

“I heard that Senior Brothers Dai Bufan and Ji Hongwen made many preparations and received assistance from the sect before they successfully formed their Golden Cores.”

“There are books you need on the easternmost bookshelf on the first floor of the Library Pavilion.”

Lu Yang thanked Senior Sister Zhou and entered the Library Pavilion, though he felt a bit puzzled. The Library Pavilion was vast, with numerous bookshelves along the walls. In the past, when he looked for a book, Senior Sister Zhou would tell him the specific row and column. Why was she so vague today?

Soon, Lu Yang found the answer.

The entire eastern wall of the Library Pavilion was filled with books on the experiences of forming Golden Cores. A small portion was from the outside world, but most were the accumulated results of the Dao Seeking Sect over 120,000 years.

Books from 120,000 years ago wouldn’t be placed here. What were here were copies.

“Fairy, do you have any advice on forming a Golden Core?” Lu Yang decided to ask Everlasting Fairy, the self-proclaimed leader of the Five Ancient Fairies.

“In ancient times, I saw a type of Golden Core that could be called the strongest first-grade Golden Core. Even my own Golden Core paled in comparison.”

“There’s such a Golden Core?” Lu Yang was surprised. Everlasting Fairy was always boastful and never admitted being the least among the Five Ancient Immortals. He didn’t expect her to acknowledge that someone else’s Golden Core was superior.

Moreover, Golden Cores have various focuses. How could one be rated the best?

“In ancient times, before anyone became an immortal, prodigies from various paths competed, showing their skills, backgrounds, and talents… At that time, I was the best in the world. Immortals Ying Tian and Nonuple weren’t as good as me then. I beat them thoroughly.”

“At that time, there was a prodigy whose romantic encounters were exceptionally abundant. When he formed his Golden Core, he was accompanied by seven female confidantes, each renowned as talented women, demonesses, or saints. The prodigy and his seven confidantes all formed first-grade Golden Cores. The prodigy’s core was the main one, while the seven women’s cores were auxiliary, forming a Seven-Star alignment. In battle, the prodigy could merge his confidantes’ Golden Cores with his own, increasing his combat power by at least seven times.”

“This is the strongest Golden Core I know of.”

“Thanks, that was completely unhelpful,” Lu Yang rolled his eyes, treating Everlasting Fairy’s words as nothing more than a story. Where would he find seven female confidantes?

Did she think he could summon them like the Seven Brothers? (TL Note: Reference to the seven calabash brothers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash_Brothers)

“I also know of another very powerful Golden Core, but I only heard about it. I’m not sure how true it is; this happened before my time.”

“In ancient times, there was a pair of cultivator spouses. Initially, the wife’s Golden Core was nothing special, just an ordinary first-grade core. But as time passed, the core grew larger and larger, and the wife appeared as if she were pregnant.”

“After three years, the Golden Core left her body on its own, shattering and forming a baby, becoming the wife’s external Nascent Soul.”

“And then?”

“Later, the wife discovered that it wasn’t a Nascent Soul; it was her son.”

“…Fairy, maybe you should go back to sleep.”

“These are ancient secrets; I don’t usually share them with anyone!” Everlasting Fairy was very dissatisfied with Lu Yang’s dismissive attitude.

She, a dignified ancient immortal, the master of the everlasting ariya-phala, was giving precious information. He should appreciate it!

Everlasting Fairy’s stories aligned with Lu Yang’s consistent impression of her—unreliable.

Realizing he couldn’t rely on the fairy, Lu Yang decided to stop looking for shortcuts and began earnestly reading the insights on Golden Core formation from his senior brothers, uncles, and ancestors.

According to Everlasting Fairy’s guidance, it was uncertain whether he was on a shortcut or a wrong path.

“Single Golden Core, first-grade Golden Core, as brilliant as the sun, righteous and impartial, residing at the center of the dantian, guarding all directions. Evil creatures and demons cannot approach, and indulgence in women leads to the core’s destruction and the cultivator’s death.”

Lu Yang was quite fortunate. He randomly picked a book and, after flipping a few pages, found information related to Meng Jingzhou’s Golden Core.

Closing the book, he saw the title on the cover: “Golden Core Insights—Written by the Solitary Daoist.”

The Solitary Daoist was the venerable senior of the cultivation world who named the Single Spirit Root. This senior was a cultivator from the early Great Yu Dynasty. It was unclear whether he had exhausted his lifespan and perished or had buried himself to awaken in a future era.

Continuing to read, Lu Yang discovered that this book, said to be Golden Core insights, was more of the Solitary Daoist’s complaints.

“To hell with the solitary root! Why am I cursed with such an unprecedented root?”

“Was it retribution for my misdeeds in a past life, or did I have too many wives in my previous life, and now it’s balancing out?”

“Isn’t the goal of cultivation to be surrounded by beauties and have numerous wives and concubines? Why am I different from everyone else? What’s the point of cultivation!”

Lu Yang silently closed the book, returned it to its place, and pretended nothing had happened. He continued to read the next book.

“Oh, these are Eldest Senior Sister’s Golden Core insights?” Lu Yang felt like he had found a treasure. This was a thick book containing the methods and insights on forming Golden Cores from various senior brothers and sisters.

Naturally, Eldest Senior Sister was listed first.

Suppressing his excitement, he continued reading. Eldest Senior Sister wrote:

“My method of forming my golden core is of no reference value and should not be imitated. Those who try to learn from me will die, and those who try to emulate me will die. To prevent future people from imitating my method of forming the core, the details of my method will not be disclosed.”