I Have An Infinite Cultivation Resource
Chapter 96: "Sorry, I'm Only at the Foundation Establishment Realm"
The blinding white light gradually faded, and Lu Xiao'e finally saw the battlefield clearly.
A gigantic crimson giant with three heads and six arms was pinning Huo Chuan beneath its feet. Four of its arms continuously pulled out Mount Tai Talismans and slapped them onto Huo Chuan one after another, while the other two arms wielded the treasured artifact Lu Xiao'e had given Lu You, repeatedly stabbing at Huo Chuan's hands and feet.
At the very center of the giant, Lu You's entire body glowed with golden light, as though a Buddha had been mixed into the blood-red phantom. Every so often, Lu You swallowed a Qi-Nourishing Pill to restore his spiritual energy, then released over a dozen sword cores to nail toward Huo Chuan.
On the ground, the once arrogant and invincible Huo Chuan stared blankly at the sky in utter despair.
Though he had only been one exhilarating battle away from breaking into the Nascent Soul realm, the spiritual energy within his body was now nearly exhausted. He could barely defend himself against Lu You's attacks. The protective spiritual aura around him flickered unstably, ready to collapse at any moment.
"Impossible! impossible! Why?! Why do you still have so much spiritual energy inside this secret realm?!"
A tear slid from the corner of Huo Chuan's eye.
In all his years of cultivation, he had never witnessed combat like this before.
The moment he drew his flying sword, the world around him changed color. Millions of talismans came crashing down upon him like a natural disaster. Every single talisman carried the force of a Foundation Establishment disciple's full attack.
For one terrifying instant, Huo Chuan felt as though he were witnessing the apocalypse itself.
Even if he fought the entire Verdant Cloud Sect alone, he would never suffer this many attacks at once.
And that… had only been the appetizer.
Immediately afterward, Lu You transformed into a three-headed, six-armed giant and charged straight at him. Each hand wielded a treasured artifact. Even if Huo Chuan shattered one, Lu You would instantly pull out another.
In just a few breaths, Huo Chuan had destroyed more treasured artifacts than the entire stockpile of the Verdant Cloud Sect.
If this story spread outside, probably not a single person in the entire Azure Cloud region would believe it.
Then came Huo Chuan's fatal misjudgment.
Using his pseudo–Nascent Soul cultivation, he endured the endless barrage of attacks with brute force, intending to kill Lu You as quickly as possible.
But that layer of crimson blood mist was unbelievably durable. Worse still, it consumed none of Lu You's own spiritual energy and could regenerate automatically.
Huo Chuan exhausted himself just to crack open a tiny fissure in it—only to be met by layer after layer of golden protective light.
"If he were truly Nascent Soul realm, he could suppress me with a wave of his hand. There'd be no need for such overwhelming spectacle…"
Therefore, Huo Chuan concluded that Lu You had to be at the Golden Core realm.
But…
"No Golden Core cultivator should be my opponent."
With that thought, Huo Chuan reached out and slowly tore through the golden light. Just as he was about to grab Lu You by the throat—
He discovered something horrifying.
Those absurd defenses did not even require Lu You's active control.
Seeing Huo Chuan stalled while breaking through the defenses, Lu You calmly took out Mount Tai Talismans one after another and directly activated and pasted them onto Huo Chuan's body right in front of his face.
"I only needed one glorious battle to break through… so why… why did it turn out like this?!"
Huo Chuan collapsed limply onto the ground, crying out in despair.
There had never been a battle more intense than this one.
Never one where he had gone all out so completely.
He no longer had even a drop of spiritual energy left.
And without spiritual energy, he could no longer truly step into the Nascent Soul realm.
"Dongfang Bubai! You bastard! You're already in the Nascent Soul realm, why would you hide in the outer sect of the Deep Literary Pavilion?!"
At last, Huo Chuan's protective aura shattered completely.
He lay on the ground in despair, roaring unwillingly.
Lu You shook his head.
"My name isn't Dongfang Bubai. My name is Lu You."
"And I'm not some Nascent Soul cultivator either."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Huo Chuan's eyes split wide with rage, seeming almost to spit fire.
"I've already stepped halfway into the Nascent Soul realm! No Golden Core cultivator could possibly defeat me!"
Lu You looked at Huo Chuan with pity.
Then he activated the countless Mount Tai Talismans plastered all over Huo Chuan's body.
"Sorry," Lu You said calmly.
"I'm only in the Foundation Establishment realm."
Shock, disbelief, fury, and despair all appeared on Huo Chuan's face at the same time.
The next second, his entire body exploded into ash.
Clink
Huo Chuan's storage ring fell onto the ground. Having exhausted all of his spiritual energy, he no longer even had the strength to destroy it before dying.
"Lu… Lu… Lu…"
Looking at the crimson giant before her, Lu Xiao'e stammered in shock.
"Lu You— y-you actually killed a pseudo–Nascent Soul cultivator?!"
Aside from being stunned by Lu You's combat strength, her eyes kept drifting toward the two treasured artifacts the giant was swinging in its hands.
"How do you have two of that sword?"
"Haha, it's just an effect of my secret technique."
Lu You laughed awkwardly, then dismissed the Hell Avatar while simultaneously retrieving the treasured artifacts back into the small cauldron with a thought.
Seeing both the Hell Avatar and the treasured artifacts vanish at the same time, Lu Xiao'e did not grow suspicious.
The cultivation world contained countless secret techniques already. Since Lu You could summon such a terrifying giant avatar, manifesting two treasured artifacts did not seem particularly strange.
"Can you unlock a Golden Core cultivator's storage ring?"
Lu You casually tossed Huo Chuan's ring toward Lu Xiao'e. He himself was only at the Foundation Establishment realm and could not yet decipher Golden Core-level restrictions.
"Of course I can. This is what I'm best at."
Lu Xiao'e quickly returned to her usual mischievous self, seemingly forgetting that Lu You had just single-handedly slain Huo Chuan.
After catching the ring, she first slipped it onto her ring finger, then blinked at Lu You playfully.
"You idiot, don't casually throw rings at girls next time. Do you know what a ring symbolizes?"
After teasing him, Lu Xiao'e removed the storage ring and probed it with her spiritual sense. Then she lightly brushed her fingers across its surface, effortlessly undoing the restrictions.
As a Golden Core elder of the Verdant Cloud Sect backed by a Nascent Soul grandmaster, Huo Chuan had never imagined he would die. Thus, he had never placed a self-destruction seal on the ring.
That mistake ended up benefiting both Lu Xiao'e and Lu You.
"Wow! He actually carried this much stuff! We've struck it rich!"
To sustain himself within the secret realm, Huo Chuan had brought an enormous amount of resources. On top of that, he had devoured over two hundred Foundation Establishment disciples and gathered all of their belongings as well.
Inside the ring, spirit stones and Qi-Nourishing Pills were piled into mountains.
Besides those, there was also a handwritten booklet and a pale violet pill.
Lu You showed no interest whatsoever in the spirit stones or Qi-Nourishing Pills.
Instead, he took out the booklet and flipped through it.
He quickly recognized it as a copied transcription of the ancient map. However, unlike the original, this copy contained no map—only the cultivation technique known as the Jade Toad Swallows the Moon Technique.
"This is…"
Lu Xiao'e leaned over to look, and her expression immediately darkened.
"It records cannibalistic cultivation… The Jade Toad Swallows the Moon Technique actually contains such an evil chapter!"
Previously, she had only half-believed Lu You's analysis. But after seeing the portion of the technique obtained by Deep Literary Pavilion, even Lu Xiao'e began to suspect that her clan's legends might not reflect the true origin of the ancient maps.
"You can have it," Lu You said casually. "Bring it back and let your clan decide what to do."
Taking the booklet, Lu Xiao'e glanced nervously at Lu You, afraid he might misunderstand her.
She spoke solemnly:
"Lu You, don't worry. Even if I have to destroy all my cultivation, I would never practice such an evil technique."
Lu You raised an eyebrow indifferently.
"Techniques themselves are neither righteous nor evil. I don't really care about that sort of thing."
Someone could cultivate noble and righteous arts yet still bully helpless commoners—such a person would still be evil.
Meanwhile, someone who mastered a cruel cannibalistic technique but only devoured irredeemable villains would still be considered a good person.
Seeing that Lu You genuinely did not care, Lu Xiao'e suddenly became flustered.
She hopped directly in front of him until their noses nearly touched, staring straight into his eyes.
"No, no, no! You have to care!"
"I absolutely will not learn that evil technique!"
"Alright, alright, alright. Lu Xiao'e is the kindest person ever. I believe Lu Xiao'e would never learn it."
Lu You raised both hands in surrender.
Seeing him give in, Lu Xiao'e grinned mischievously and immediately pushed further.
"Then do you like kind-hearted Lu Xiao'e?"
Lu You suddenly went selectively deaf. Picking up the pale violet pill instead, he asked:
"You're in the Golden Core realm and have lived longer than me. Tell me what kind of pill this is."
"Bah! You're the one who's old!"
Lu Xiao'e bared her teeth and waved her claws dramatically.
"I'm only twenty years old! I'm a genius, not some ancient old monster!"
After flailing about for a while, she suddenly quieted down. Her large eyes blinked like an innocent little kitten.
"Lu You… are you really only in the Foundation Establishment realm?"
"Of course. My lifespan is only around two hundred years. By the time I die of old age, you'll probably have only used up one-fifth of your lifespan."
Hearing that, Lu Xiao'e also suddenly became selectively deaf.
She sniffed the pill and tossed it back to Lu You.
"You got lucky. This is Verdant Cloud Sect's Solid Origin Pill. It's used to nourish the Golden Core and nurture the Nascent Soul. Every single pill takes seven years to refine, and the heavenly materials and earthly treasures required are countless. The entire Verdant Cloud Sect probably doesn't have many of them. Only elders with hope of breaking into the Nascent Soul realm receive one each year."
"The refinement process takes that long?"
Lu You frowned. Earlier, he had considered learning alchemy himself, but hearing that a Golden Core-level pill required seven years to refine was shocking.
"Of course. Did you think cultivator pills were as simple as mortal medicine?"
Lu Xiao'e began explaining the basics of alchemy.
"Some heavenly materials are incredibly difficult to refine. And this is only a Solid Origin Pill. If it were a Nascent Soul Condensation Pill, refining the demon core alone could take decades."
She went on to explain that the higher the grade of the pill, the longer the refinement time.
Ordinary fire was useless, you needed cultivators proficient in fire techniques to guard the furnace day and night. A single batch of high-level pills was often refined collaboratively by multiple alchemists taking shifts.
Lu You ran the Solid Origin Pill through the small cauldron once, then handed it back to Lu Xiao'e.
"I'm only in the Foundation Establishment realm. I can't use something like this yet. Since the Solid Origin Pill is so valuable and you're at Golden Core, you should keep it."
Lu Xiao'e shook her head decisively.
She glanced at the serpent monster, indicating that she had already eaten the serpent eggs, then said:
"My chances of forming a Nascent Soul have already increased. You should keep the pill instead. Your spiritual roots are mixed-grade, so you need good pills more than I do."
"Fine. I won't force it on you."
Lu You put the pill away and looked up toward the secret realm.
"Lu Xiao'e… it's time to leave."
Lu Xiao'e had already obtained the ancient maps she needed.
Everyone who knew Lu You's identity was dead.
Once the secret realm ended, it would also mean the time for the two of them to part ways.
"Why are you holding your head up so high? Afraid I'll see you crying?"
Lu Xiao'e snorted smugly.
"So you finally realized how wonderful I am now that I'm leaving, huh?"
She also lifted her head to look at the secret realm.
Because Lu You had released an enormous number of talismans, the spiritual energy in the air had yet to disperse completely. Mist and frost gathered into crystalline particles across the sky, like a silver galaxy hanging in the darkness.
Beneath that galaxy, the lingering warmth of spiritual energy formed a rainbow.
"Lu You, think carefully."
This time, Lu Xiao'e's expression became unusually serious.
"Once I leave, I probably won't ever return to the Verdant Cloud Sect."
"And if that happens… you'll lose me forever."
She paused slightly.
"If I asked you to come with me… would you?"
Before Lu You could answer, Lu Xiao'e smiled faintly.
"Of course you wouldn't."
"So you'll never know just how wonderful a girl you missed out on."
Suddenly, she threw herself into Lu You's arms and hugged him tightly.
"I hate this kind of goodbye the most, so you're not allowed to speak."
"If you say anything… I'll start crying."
"Lu You, stay alive in the Verdant Cloud Sect."
"You're not allowed to leave, and you're definitely not allowed to die."
"Once I uncover the truth behind the ancient maps, I'll come back and return the Bone of Hell to you."
"If you leave because the Verdant Cloud Sect treats you badly, I'll kill everyone in the Verdant Cloud Sect."
"And if you die…"
"I'll kill everyone in the Verdant Cloud Sect too—then bury the Bone of Hell inside your grave."
Lu You couldn't hold himself back after all and finally spoke.
"What kind of logic is that? Why is it always about killing other people? I thought you'd say you'd kill yourself to be buried with me."
"You big idiot."
Lu Xiao'e's eyes turned watery with tears.
"How could I possibly defeat the entire Verdant Cloud Sect? If I can't find you anymore, wouldn't my ending just be dying at the hands of the Verdant Cloud Sect anyway?"
Using Lu You's sleeve, she wiped away her tears. Then she took out the Bone of Hell.
"To prevent Deep Literary Pavilion from using secret detection techniques outside the secret realm, I'll leave first. You wait until the realm fully collapses before you go."
After saying that, Lu Xiao'e did not hesitate again.
Waving the spinal-bone formation core, she vanished from the secret realm.
Hiss—
The serpent flicked out its tongue as it watched Lu Xiao'e disappear.
Then it sighed emotionally.
"Exalted One, once, there was also a serpent who treated me like this. Unfortunately, I was sealed here for thousands of years. I wonder how that serpent is doing now."
"Big serpent, do you want to leave the secret realm and see the outside world again?"
Lu You extended his hand and summoned another spinal bone from the small cauldron, once more taking control of the secret realm.
The serpent monster lifted its head and slowly looked over the pitch-black secret realm one final time.
"No, Exalted One. I've already wasted thousands of years here. But honestly… this isn't such a bad graveyard, is it?"
After being sealed for millennia without any source of spiritual energy, the serpent monster had long exhausted both its power and lifespan.
Curling its massive body together, it lowered its head before Lu You.
"Exalted One, the time for farewell has truly arrived. I want to see my children one more time."
Lu You could already sense the deathly aura inside the serpent monster's body.
From the moment Lu Xiao'e broke open the secret realm, the serpent monster had already begun fading away.
That was why Lu You had retaken control of the realm—he wanted to keep the serpent alive just a little longer.
Hearing the serpent's request, Lu You quickly took out the original serpent egg from his storage ring.
"Exalted One, I've actually waited a very long time for this day."
"I don't really know why… but I know I won't regret doing this."
The giant serpent gently pressed its face against the egg.
In the next instant, its body began to blur.
A trace of bloodline power seeped into the egg. The serpent egg, which had already died, suddenly regained a faint spark of life.
Then, a demon core fell into Lu You's palm.
The serpent monster dissolved into the black dust of the secret realm, leaving behind only its lingering voice:
"Exalted One… some bonds are more important than immortality."
Meanwhile, after escaping the secret realm, Lu Xiao'e flew straight into the sky without looking back even once.
In moments, she became nothing more than a distant point of light.
As she flew, she suddenly noticed something strange on her finger.
Looking down, she discovered a storage ring had somehow appeared on her index finger.
"Stupid Lu You… giving someone a gift without even saying anything."
"And why did you put it on my index finger?!"
The ring carried no restrictions, so Lu Xiao'e easily inspected its contents.
Inside was a storage space of roughly one hundred cubic meters, completely packed with serpent eggs.
At the far edge sat a Solid Origin Pill and a brand-new ancient map.
"This definitely isn't compensation because he feels guilty about rejecting my feelings."
"This is a bride price!" Lu Xiao'e declared confidently.
Then she moved the ring onto her ring finger.