Chapter 652: Mount Da Luo: Lu Changsheng’s Astonishment!

Lu Ping’an lay in a pool of crystal-clear spring water, his aura growing more powerful by the second. His body gleamed, radiating a dazzling golden light like a burning sun, brilliant and intense.

However, as this process continued, the spiritual energy in the underground palace and the life-giving spring water began to thin out and dry up.

Just as the spring was about to completely run dry, a massive spiritual vortex formed above the underground palace. Dragon energy surged, and tiger energy condensed, manifesting into two imposing, ethereal figures of dragon and tiger.

“Roar! Roar! Roar!”

The dragon and tiger roared, their deafening cries like the sound of thunder from the heavens, shaking the entire world.

Outside the towering mountain, under the clear skies, clouds gathered suddenly, lightning flashed, and thunder boomed. The faint echoes of dragon roars and tiger growls could be heard.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The underground palace within the mountain trembled violently. If not for the protective array formations, the mountain might have collapsed under the immense pressure.

“Kid, in my entire life, I’ve never explained myself to anyone. Victory or defeat is determined by fate. But since you’ve inherited my legacy, you’re now half my disciple. In the future, the grudges I leave behind will be yours to bear. I hope you’ll remain as resilient as you are now!”

An aged, weak voice rang in Lu Ping’an’s mind, then dissipated like smoke.

With his mind still foggy, Lu Ping’an felt memories flooding into his consciousness.

Thankfully, it was just pure information, not a soul imprint. Otherwise, the overwhelming rush might have altered his personality.

After a long while, Lu Ping’an opened his eyes, which now seemed as deep as an abyss.

“I’ve broken through to Core Formation…”

He stared at his glowing, golden hands, his body, his expression dazed and filled with disbelief.

Though he had been unconscious during the process, his consciousness had remained somewhat aware, knowing what had transpired.

He had been on the verge of being possessed, but a mysterious force had protected his soul, preventing the other party from taking over.

At the critical moment, this force had even helped him shatter the Nascent Soul’s attempt to possess him, severely injuring it.

Then… the other party seemed to realize something was wrong and chose to give up, even passing on their cultivation technique.

The whole experience felt like a long, hazy dream to Lu Ping’an.

Even now, he found it hard to believe it was real.

“Yu Tiansheng, Undying Golden Body, Dragon-Tiger Abyss Cultivation, Nine Cicadas Undying Body Technique.”

Lu Ping’an now understood the identity of the one who had tried to possess him.

It was none other than Yu Tiansheng, the ruler of Dragon-Tiger Immortal City in the Kingdom of Yu, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

In his youth, Yu Tiansheng had encountered fortuitous opportunities and embarked on the path of immortality, cultivating to the peak of Foundation Establishment. Later, he acquired his greatest fortune—the top-tier cultivation technique he now practiced, alongside a unique postnatal spiritual body.

However, blessings and misfortunes are often intertwined. After breaking through to Nascent Soul, he learned that the secret realm where he had obtained his fortune belonged to a powerful sect: Mount Da Luo.

This sect was domineering, and when they discovered his situation, they demanded the return of the secret realm’s inheritance treasures.

Naturally, Yu Tiansheng refused. A fierce battle erupted, and he barely escaped with his life thanks to the incredible vitality of his Undying Golden Body.

Afterward, he went into hiding, arriving in the Kingdom of Yu, where he established Dragon-Tiger Immortal City and gradually rebuilt his strength.

But Mount Da Luo didn’t let him go. Once they learned of his whereabouts, they instigated the Zhao Kingdom to wage war against the Kingdom of Yu.

At the time, Yu Tiansheng had just broken through to mid-stage Nascent Soul and needed resources for his cultivation, so he fought alongside the other forces of the Kingdom of Yu in a war against Zhao.

In the final battle, during a Nascent Soul duel, he was ambushed by Mount Da Luo.

Despite this, Yu Tiansheng wasn’t someone easily defeated. He fought his way out, drenched in blood.

However, his prized Undying Golden Body was shattered by Mount Da Luo’s secret treasure, and he was struck by the ‘Falling Star Arrow.’ While fleeing, his flesh continued to wither, and his cultivation fell from mid to early-stage Nascent Soul.

With his body deteriorating, he had no choice but to attempt a Nascent Soul possession.

But with Mount Da Luo hot on his heels, he had no time to find a body that was fully compatible. So, through his early subordinate, ‘White Wolf,’ he fled to the Kingdom of Wu, where he tasked his follower with finding a talented body cultivator.

After more than ten years, he finally found Lu Ping’an, a body cultivator perfectly suited to his needs.

“Mount Da Luo sent four Nascent Soul cultivators to attack him.”

Lu Ping’an was astonished as he processed the memories Yu Tiansheng had left him.

A single Nascent Soul cultivator could dominate an entire kingdom.

Yet, Yu Tiansheng had managed to escape the ambush of four Nascent Soul cultivators.

If not for Mount Da Luo’s secret treasure, which shattered his Undying Golden Body, and the ‘Falling Star Arrow’ that corroded his flesh, the four would have struggled to kill him.

This was why, even when attempting possession, Yu Tiansheng needed a body that could accommodate the Undying Golden Body. He hoped to restore his postnatal spiritual body.

That spiritual body was a top-tier physique for body cultivation, comparable to the ancient body cultivators. Unless there was an overwhelming difference in power, it was nearly impossible for a cultivator of the same rank to kill him.

Not only was his body incredibly strong, but it was also immune to many forms of magic, curses, poisons, and negative energies. Injuries that would take others years to heal could take him just ten days to recover from. It was terrifying.

It was thanks to this monstrous vitality that Yu Tiansheng had survived so many close calls in secret realms, eventually growing from a rogue cultivator to a Nascent Soul expert.

“Undying Golden Body, Nine Cicadas Undying Body Technique.”

Lu Ping’an muttered as he tried to understand this postnatal spiritual body.

His own Undying Golden Body was formed from the remnants of Yu Tiansheng’s Golden Body essence and was far inferior to the original.

But even so, it filled him with an indescribable sense of overwhelming power. Every inch of his flesh and skin seemed to hum with the aura of immortality.

Moreover, when Yu Tiansheng had transformed his Black Dragon Codex into the Dragon-Tiger Abyss Cultivation Method and condensed the Undying Golden Body, Lu Ping’an’s Wild Dragon Spine had also fused further with it, creating some mysterious, unknown change.

It seemed like the two forces had merged in some way, but they hadn’t fully fused yet.

Lu Ping’an wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. He would need time to figure it out.

“This person transformed my cultivation into the Dragon-Tiger Abyss Cultivation Method and the Nine Cicadas Undying Body Technique, condensing the Dragon-Tiger Dao Foundation and the Dragon-Tiger Golden Core.”

“Unless I give up the Dragon-Tiger Dao Foundation and Golden Core to cultivate something else, revealing this cultivation method and Undying Golden Body in the future will surely attract Mount Da Luo’s attention. And the techniques he passed on only go up to the Nascent Soul stage. If I want to advance further, I’ll have to seek out Mount Da Luo.”

Lu Ping’an quietly assessed his situation, fully aware of Yu Tiansheng’s intentions.

The man wanted to use him to take revenge on Mount Da Luo.

Whether he could succeed in avenging him, Lu Ping’an didn’t hold much hope.

It was more like Yu Tiansheng had made a desperate gamble during his final moments.

“If I ever cross paths with Mount Da Luo, I’ll settle the score for you.”

Though Yu Tiansheng had tried to possess him, Lu Ping’an held no goodwill toward Mount Da Luo either.

To deal with Yu Tiansheng, they had orchestrated a war between two kingdoms, leading to countless deaths.

Now that Yu Tiansheng was dead, the past was gone. There was no need to dwell on it.

Besides, in his final moments, Yu Tiansheng had helped him condense the Immortal Golden Core and the Undying Golden Body, pushing his body cultivation to the next level. That was a debt of gratitude.

Lu Ping’an looked toward a jade-colored ring in the distance and raised his hand.

It was Yu Tiansheng’s Storage Ring.

Although Yu Tiansheng was dead, the ring was still protected by a powerful restriction. It would take Lu Ping’an some time to break it.

According to the fragmented memories, Yu Tiansheng’s life-bound treasures had been destroyed during his escape, and most of his resources and precious materials had been used up in this underground palace. There probably wasn’t much left of value.

However, Yu Tiansheng had passed on the locations of several secret treasure troves to him.

Most rogue cultivators, and even sect cultivators, would prepare multiple hiding spots to stash precious resources and rare materials for emergencies.

That way, if they survived a dangerous situation, they could quickly recover using those resources.

But most of Yu Tiansheng’s hiding spots were in the Kingdom of Yu, far from the Kingdom of Wu. Lu Ping’an couldn’t go there now, nor did he dare to.

After all, Yu Tiansheng had been ambushed and reduced to such a state. The Kingdom of Yu was likely to lose the war.

If he showed up there and was recognized for his cultivation techniques and spiritual body, it would definitely cause trouble.

Meanwhile, outside the underground palace, a figure in a black robe suddenly trembled. He felt the restriction on Yu Tiansheng’s soul dissolve like smoke.

“What’s going on?!”

The man’s heart skipped a beat. There was no joy on his face, only a cold, creeping fear that seeped into his bones.

His master was supposed to be in the underground palace performing a soul possession. How could the restriction on his soul suddenly vanish?

Even if the possession had succeeded and his master wanted to remove the restriction, it wouldn’t have just disappeared like that.

Unless… Yu Tiansheng was dead.

But how could a Nascent Soul spirit die so easily? Even in its weakest state, it was still a Nascent Soul spirit!

Unless a Nascent Soul cultivator attacked, or someone with a treasure specifically designed to counter Nascent Soul spirits, it would be nearly impossible to kill one.

There was one other possibility—possession failure.

But the black-robed man couldn’t believe it.

How could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, even if they were a third-rank body cultivator, possibly cause his master’s possession to fail? “Master!”

The black-robed man shouted toward the underground palace, his expression urgent, still holding onto a sliver of hope.

But from the depths of the underground palace, a tall young man with flowing black hair and a golden-glowing body emerged, throwing a punch in his direction.

Though Lu Ping’an was willing to help Yu Tiansheng avenge his grudge, he had no sympathy for the black-robed man standing before him.

This man had hunted down countless cultivators to help Yu Tiansheng find a suitable body.

He had even set a trap to kill Lu Ping’an and provide Yu Tiansheng with a body, slaughtering many people from Baidi City in the process. With that in mind, there was no way Lu Ping’an would show him any mercy.

“Boom!!!”

The force of the punch was immense, accompanied by the roar of a dragon and tiger. It tore through layers of space, landing right in front of the black-robed man.

Although Lu Ping’an hadn’t yet mastered the divine abilities of a Core Formation cultivator, and his body cultivation had been altered to the Nine Cicadas Undying Body Technique, he had long since reached third-rank body cultivation and had mastered third-rank body techniques.

The black-robed man instantly felt the threat of death. His whole body broke out in a cold sweat, his mind screaming with alarm. In a panic, he activated a protective barrier, his robes billowing around him. But under the force of the Dragon-Tiger Fist, both his robes and barrier shattered, and his body exploded in a spray of blood.

“You… How is this possible?! You were forming your core just now!”

White Wolf’s body was nearly torn apart, his face pale and weak as he spat blood. He was filled with terror. He now knew for certain—Yu Tiansheng had failed, and the possession had been a failure.

The young man before him had both his physical and magical power strengthened.

Lu Ping’an didn’t say a word. He simply threw another punch, his golden vitality surging like a vast ocean, illuminating the entire cave as it crashed down on the black-robed man.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!!!”

The dragon and tiger roared, crushing the black-robed man with an unstoppable force, shaking the entire mountain until it began to collapse.

The black-robed man knew that in such a confined space, he was no match for Lu Ping’an, a body cultivator.

He had already witnessed Lu Ping’an’s monstrous physical strength and tenacious vitality. Now that Lu Ping’an had advanced in cultivation, there was no way he could win.

“Whoosh!”

White Wolf activated a life-burning technique, forming a hand seal and summoning a flying shuttle to carry him away as he attempted to flee.

But there was no way Lu Ping’an would let him escape. His golden-glowing body surged with wind and thunder, and above his head, a massive, radiant battle-axe and a dark-gold pagoda began to coalesce.

As this happened, his Wild Dragon Spine roared, his vitality surging like a true dragon, merging with these manifestations, and unleashing a god-like destructive force.

“Undying Golden Body, Dragon-Tiger Abyss Cultivation!”

White Wolf’s eyes widened in shock as he recognized Yu Tiansheng’s techniques.

But before he could react, an overwhelming fist of golden light engulfed him, like a deathly cloud covering him from all sides. “Boom! Boom! Boom!!!”

White Wolf roared in defiance, exerting all his strength to resist!

If he had been at full strength, he might have been able to withstand this punch.

But after being caught off guard by Lu Ping’an’s earlier attack, his body had been shattered, his protective robes destroyed, and he was severely injured.

He let out an unwilling roar.

But in a matter of moments, the remaining half of his body exploded into a mist of blood, his life force extinguished.

At the same time, the towering mountain began to collapse, massive rocks falling as if to bury them both.

Lu Ping’an quickly collected the shattered flying shuttle, the storage pouch, and the storage ring from the remains of the black-robed man before swiftly leaving the mountain.

As he watched the mountain crumble before him, Lu Ping’an, whose body was like a golden statue, gathered his strength and threw one final punch.

The punch radiated a brilliant light, like the heavens falling. The mountain collapsed entirely, reduced to rubble.

With that, Lu Ping’an stepped forward and shot into the sky, heading toward Baidi City.

He had no intention of staying in the Kingdom of Wu any longer. His plan was to disband the warriors of Baidi City, then head to Black Desert Immortal City to avenge himself and kill the Wolf King before returning home.

Now that he had broken through to Core Formation, with the Wolf King dealt with and the Condensing Crystal Pill and other resources in hand, he could finally contribute something to his family.

Jiang Kingdom, Immortal City of Da Mengze.

Lu Changsheng, seeing that his son Lu Lingxiao’s condition had stabilized, intended to give Lu Qingshan some further guidance in his cultivation before taking the Sun-Moon Yin-Yang Mirror and heading to the Yue Kingdom and the Kingdom of Wu.

As for Ling Zixiao’s Core Formation, he planned to deal with that upon his return.

After all, Ling Zixiao’s breakthrough to Core Formation would take at least half a year. Waiting any longer would be too much of a delay.

But just then, out of nowhere, an immense surge of Core Formation energy and powerful vitality flooded into his body, accompanied by a system notification.

“Congratulations, Host! You have fathered eleven spiritual body children and earned one lottery chance!”

“Detected conflicting spiritual body effects. Would you like to fuse them?”

“Hm?”

Lu Changsheng froze, his expression filled with confusion.

Fathered spiritual body children?

He had been busy for the past few years and hadn’t fathered any children.

And that surge of power just now… “System!”

Lu Changsheng’s heart skipped a beat. He silently called up his son Lu Ping’an’s system panel.

“Name: Lu Ping’an”

“Lifespan: 95/607”

“Talent: Fourth-Rank Spirit Root, Undying Golden Body (Top-Tier Spiritual Body)”

“Cultivation: Core Formation, First Layer”

“Compatibility: Body Cultivation (110%)”

“What the…”

Lu Changsheng stared at his son’s system panel, his face filled with shock and confusion.

Previously, when his son had gone from Foundation Establishment seventh layer to ninth layer, he had been surprised, thinking it was a stroke of good fortune.

But now, in such a short time, his son had gone from Foundation Establishment ninth layer to Core Formation.

Not only that, his Spirit Root had advanced from fifth rank to fourth rank, and he had gained a top-tier spiritual body.

And based on the feedback from that surge of energy, Lu Changsheng realized that his son’s Hundred Refinements Body Technique had broken through to the eleventh level.

“A breakthrough to Core Formation, late-stage third-rank body cultivation, Spirit Root enhancement, and even a postnatal spiritual body?”

Even with all of his experience, Lu Changsheng was bewildered by this string of breakthroughs, unsure of what had happened to his son.

“Did Ping’an receive a Nascent Soul inheritance?”

Lu Changsheng furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

But to receive a Nascent Soul inheritance, unless someone like True Monarch Tianyuan personally bestowed their Nascent Soul essence upon him, there was no way his son could have advanced so rapidly.

“First, an attempt at possession? And then… a Nascent Soul essence transfer?” “No, I need to check on him myself.”

After considering it for a while, Lu Changsheng decided it was best to make the trip.

Otherwise, his son’s situation would continue to remind him of what had happened with Lu Quanzhen, and he couldn’t shake the worry from his heart.

Without further delay, Lu Changsheng made his way to Dragonfish Island to retrieve the Da Luo Sword Embryo from Lu Qingshan before heading to the Yue Kingdom and the Kingdom of Wu to see what was going on with Lu Ping’an.

But just as he was about to leave, he paused and silently called up the system to take a look at what this ‘Undying Golden Body’ really was.