Chapter 204: Chapter 203: Paradox in the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment (Thanks to book friend O Qi An O for the donation)”_1

After a night, Lu Yang stepped out of his abode and yawned long and leisurely. He appeared revived, his radiance renascent, brimming with energy.

“Hmm——”

“I’m alive!” Lu Yang stretched, feeling a surge of strength throughout his body.

A good night’s rest had indeed proved beneficial.

Lu Yang reflected on the annihilation of the Eternity Sect, which seemed as though it had only taken place yesterday; the memory was fresh in his mind.

Lu Yang noticed that Fairy Eternity was sound asleep in his spiritual space. Elegantly serene in her slumber, with unmatched beauty, her body’s curves gracefully undulating, she perfectly embodied the world’s impression of a “fairy”.

Fairy Eternity could easily mesmerize those who did not know her when she stayed silent.

A rare tranquility.

“But does a spiritual body need sleep?”

Lu Yang thought about the Dream Pillow that Fairy Eternity used, attributing her need for sleep to a mere “hobby”.

Feeling the hazy dawn sunlight, the spiritual essence within his body involuntarily accelerated its circulation, as if a new power was surging within him.

“I’m nearing the late stage of Foundation Establishment.”

Lu Yang muttered to himself, then sat cross-legged on the spot, in the ‘Five Centers Toward Heaven’ posture, silently operating the “Mind Seeing Method”.

The spiritual essence within his body circulated at an increasing speed along the path outlined by the method of cultivation, continually washing over his body, strengthening every part of him.

Lu Yang tried to use this opportune moment to enhance his hair but found it in vain.

“I wonder how Meng Jingzhou trained his hair.”

Lu Yang remembered how Meng Jingzhou, during his battle with the Five Elements Sect, had used his hair to hit his opponents to great effect.

Casting off his stray thoughts, he settled down, attuning his body with nature. The heavenly and earthly spiritual energy continuously poured into his body. He exhaled fields of spiritual energy, nurturing the heavens and earth in return.

In this process, his realm continually progressed upwards.

“Hmm? What are you up to? Cultivating?” Fairy Eternity woke up, rubbing her eyes, disoriented.

She sensed Lu Yang’s realm advancing but felt something was off.

“No, I’m progressing.” Lu Yang explained soberly.

“I’m now half a step into the late Foundation Establishment Stage.”

“Oh, so are you close to the late stage of Foundation Establishment?”

“I’m nearly there, but I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Now that I’m ‘half a step’ into the late Foundation Establishment Stage, if I take ‘half of this half step’, wouldn’t I be closer to the late stage?”

“Yes.”

“And if I take ‘half of that half step’, wouldn’t I be even closer?”

“Correct.”

“So if I keep taking ‘half of my previous step’, wouldn’t I be continually drawing closer to the late stage?”

Fairy Eternity nodded in confusion.

“I keep advancing but never seem to reach the late Foundation Establishment Stage. Could this be implying that the late stage is an elusive realm that no one actually reaches?”

Frustration wrinkled Fairy Eternity’s forehead; she thought for a moment, decided she was probably still half asleep, and decided to retreat into slumber.

At a tilt of her head, she fell back to sleep.

With Fairy Eternity asleep, Lu Yang was left alone, grappling with his philosophical quandary.

What is the answer to this problem? Is my continuous progression between realms pointless? Could it be that the late Foundation Establishment Stage does not exist at all?

The puppet hiding in the dark couldn’t bear to watch any longer. It tiptoed behind Lu Yang and kicked him.

Lu Yang relaxed his muscles, inadvertently taking another half step.

Late Foundation Establishment Stage!

“Who kicked me!”

Lu Yang turned sharply, but the puppet had already scurried away.

Even though the puppet had fled, Lu Yang could still guess who the culprit was.

Aside from Lu Yang, all that was left on Sky Gate Mountain were the active puppets.

“Forget it, I won’t stoop to its level. I’ll go to the Task Hall to exchange my rewards,” Lu Yang reasoned that even if he could find the puppet, he wouldn’t be able to overcome it. He didn’t want for his first action after leveling up to be a beating.

Ominous.

Lu Yang waited for a while at the entrance of the Task Hall before Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu finally showed up.

They were both exhausted, having slept non-stop since last night.

As usual, Meng Jingzhou went to the Task Hall to buy high-quality hay in specific proportions to feed Old horse.

“Ice Making Talismans are so cheap, give me twenty!”

Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou in surprise, “What do you need so many low-grade Ice Making Talismans for?”

These Ice Making Talismans were only capable of dealing with late stage Qi Refinement, they were pretty much filler on the list.

“Heh heh, you wouldn’t understand. Now that summer is here, do you know what’s most important in summer? It’s staying cool!”

Man Gu was confused, “But don’t our abodes have cooling array methods, isn’t that enough?”

Meng Jingzhou wagged his index finger, “Here, let me demonstrate.”

Meng Jingzhou pulled out a wooden barrel from his Identity Jade, filled it with cold water, and with a splash, jumped in, only his head sticking out.

He took out an Ice Making Talisman, and instantly, all the water in the barrel turned into ice, with him frozen inside.

“Refreshing!” Meng Jingzhou shouted, his whole body frozen into an icicle, with only his head mobile. This sensation was absolutely invigorating.

This could only be done by a Cultivator; ordinary people would have long contracted an illness from the cold.

With gleaming eyes, Lu Yang pulled Meng Jingzhou, still frozen in ice, out of the barrel and pushed him, causing him to roll around the Task Hall.

This kind of performance was quite rare even in the advanced Seek Dao Sect, attracting the attention of many Senior Brothers and Sisters.

“Lu Yang you son of a…!” Meng Jingzhou yelled, feeling completely disoriented.

While pushing the ice block, Lu Yang explained, “This you wouldn’t understand. The biggest problem in our Unification is that we rotate too much and our bodies can’t handle it, right? We can use this method to train and adapt to the spinning in advance.”

Man Gu nodded approvingly on the side, praising Lu Yang’s ingenuity. He had thought Lu Yang was just messing with Brother Meng.

Meng Jingzhou had a different opinion, “Anyone can theorize, Lu Yang, if you’re so confident, let’s switch places, and let me push you!”

“You froze first, so we’ll train you first!” Lu Yang was not falling for it.

A juvenile provocation.

Finally, a Senior Brother on duty at the Task Hall halted Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou with a sour face.

Only then did the two stop messing around and went to exchange their rewards.

“I’ll take one Ten Bulls Strength Pill.” Seeing that there was a Golden Core Stage version of the Ten Bulls Strength Pill on the list for 1,500 contribution points, Lu Yang bought it without a second thought.

This price was a steal.

“Hmm? Golden Core Realm Experience Voucher, what’s this?” Meng Jingzhou found something strange whose description was also quite vague.

Meng Jingzhou speculated, “Could it allow a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator to temporarily enter the Golden Core Stage and experience what it’s like to be at Golden Core?”

He heard that some Cultivation Great Powers liked to let their disciples get a feel for higher stages in advance, to aid in their cultivation.

“Buy one and try it, there’s no loss.” Lu Yang encouraged Meng Jingzhou to buy one.

Meng Jingzhou thought so too, besides, it was not expensive, so he bought one.

He went to the counter and found the Senior Brother on duty.

“Senior Brother, I want to use this experience voucher.”

After the Senior Brother confirmed that it was authentic, he nodded, “You can use it now.”

Meng Jingzhou asked out of curiosity, “Senior Brother, what’s this experience voucher for?”

As the Senior Brother contacted someone, he casually answered, “It allows you to experience the strength of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.”

Meng Jingzhou had a bad feeling about this. He was about to say something when someone patted him on the shoulder.

When Meng Jingzhou turned around, it was a Golden Core Stage Senior Brother with a shaved head and a kind look. He gave a toothy grin and said,

“Junior Brother, I heard you want to experience the strength of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator? Come, let’s go out to the stage and have a sparring match.”

Meng Jingzhou: “…”

Lu Yang, you set me up!