"Golden Core, huh?"
Lü Yang withdrew his gaze with undisguised envy as he watched True Person Chong Guang and his 【Dongyang Blessed Land】 soar higher and higher toward the 【Overturning Lamp Flame】.
'No rush, I will reach that day as well.'
With the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 in hand, Lü Yang had never doubted his future.
As long as he followed the path step by step, he would definitely ascend to the peak!
Of course, that was a matter for the future.
"Thinking about the Golden Core now is too early. Better to check the harvest first." Lü Yang shifted his gaze to the Metal Essence left behind by True Person Chong Guang.
Then, he froze.
Because at that moment, the illusory panel of the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 suddenly materialized out of thin air and, like a mad dog pouncing on its prey, devoured that strand of Metal Essence!
'What the hell!'In that instant, Lü Yang almost felt his soul leave his body.
Metal Essence was something that naturally drew attention.
What’s more, with True Person Chong Guang currently undergoing a breakthrough, at least two-thirds of the True Persons in the world were watching in the open or in secret.
And now the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes had directly devoured the Metal Essence—wasn’t this obviously suspicious?
Thinking of this, Lü Yang’s hair stood on end.
He feared someone might suddenly appear behind him and coldly ask, "What are you doing?" before a giant hand descended from the sky to grab him and refine him in an instant.
After a while, Lü Yang subtly let out a sigh of relief.
No one came.
'You really are something, 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】!'
This cheat was truly different!
To swallow a strand of Metal Essence right under the watchful eyes of so many True Persons and not be discovered—that alone greatly reassured Lü Yang.
However, after the relief, doubt arose in his heart.
Since his transmigration, the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 had never shown the slightest interest in anything other than himself.
This was its first time actively devouring something external.
This made Lü Yang involuntarily have a thought: Could the Metal Essence replenish the book's pages?
A hundred lifetimes were still too few!
In this treacherous place, every step of cultivation was like walking on thin ice.
With just a hundred lifetimes, Lü Yang was confident in reaching the Golden Core, but he had no certainty about reaching the Nascent Soul.
But if Metal Essence could replenish the pages, that would change everything.
After all, right now, he already had two Metal Essence refresh points—"Chong Guang" and "Innate Dao Sin".
He could harvest them once every lifetime.
It was equivalent to infinite extra lives!
Thinking of this, Lü Yang excitedly looked toward the interface of the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】.
Yet, as the information flowed into his mind, his expression turned strange.
The bad news was that Metal Essence could not replenish the pages.
The good news was—
'Settling someone else's life?'
Lü Yang stared at the data on the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 panel, a peculiar expression on his face:
'Metal Essence is useless to the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】; what it values is the life experience contained within.'
The so-called Metal Essence was the essence of a person's soul.
It was the refined true nature of one's entire lifetime of thoughts and experiences, containing their whole life story.
This was what the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 wanted to devour—essentially a phantom simulation!
'After devouring it, the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 can settle that life.'
'This kind of settlement is different from the settlement after each of my restarts. It cannot bring back treasures or cultivation. The only thing that can be brought back is talent based on that life.'
'...What a treasure!'
In an instant, Lü Yang's eyes lit up.
Although he could not bring back cultivation or treasures, the ability to derive talents was already incredibly powerful!
He had always been well aware of how strong the talents provided by the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】 were.
Unfortunately, each time he reincarnated, he had more important things to exchange for, so he had never drawn talents until now.
But this time was different!
'Chong Guang's talent must be golden!'
After all, he had been a True Person at the peak of Foundation Establishment, with such a rich life experience that he could be called a legend of his generation.
It had to be a golden talent.
Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately activated his intent.
'Settle!'
In the next moment, a faint light began to appear on the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】.
The light transformed into streams of data, finally forming dense text.
【Settling the life of "Chong Guang"...】
【As a strand of "Xin Metal Qi", one of the Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends, you encountered a great opportunity and unexpectedly gained sentience, becoming a naturally born celestial spirit.】
".Celestial Spirit?"
Lü Yang paused, recognizing this term.
Back then, the Blood Demon True Person had been struck by heavenly punishment precisely because he had mistakenly slain a Celestial Spirit.
Celestial Spirits were naturally born and nurtured by heaven and earth, possessing an innate status.
Once they gained sentience, they would receive the blessing of heaven and earth, making them naturally born Foundation Establishment True Persons.
Moreover, a Celestial Spirit’s strength was fixed, determined by their foundation before gaining sentience.
The strongest Celestial Spirits could even rival the peak of Foundation Establishment.
So True Person Chong Guang was the reincarnation of a Celestial Spirit?
"No wonder his Dao title is 【Chong Guang】, which is another name for Xin Metal Qi. With such a deep foundation, no wonder he was valued by the True Persons of the Primordial Saint Sect..."
Meanwhile, the settlement content from the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes continued to appear.
【As a Celestial Spirit, you had great ambition. Unwilling to accept the limits of your strength, you pondered deeply and finally chose to reincarnate and join the Primordial Saint Sect.】
【You gained the favor of the True Persons of the Primordial Saint Sect.】
【At the peak of Foundation Establishment, you finally reached the most critical step of your life—to ascend to the Golden Core. Succeed, and you transcend; fail, and you sink again.】
At this point, the data stream abruptly halted.
Perhaps because True Person Chong Guang had refined this strand of Metal Essence only up to this point, there was no further information.
Soon, all the data streams began to collapse and converge, until finally—
Golden brilliance burst forth!
'Wow! A golden legend!'
Lü Yang immediately perked up, staring intently at the information on the panel:
【You have obtained the Golden Talent · Innate Celestial Spirit.】
【Innate Celestial Spirit: When you restart and reincarnate, you can use this talent to change your foundation and designate yourself as a "Celestial Spirit" with an innate status.】
'A talent usable only during reincarnation...'
Lü Yang immediately realized how powerful this talent was.
A Celestial Spirit!
Blessed by heaven and earth, with maxed-out comprehension, talent, and fortune!
However, he quickly furrowed his brow.
'But it's not without drawbacks... Changing my foundation means I have to start over, doesn't it? And the starting location might be different if I become a Celestial Spirit?'
Currently, he only had two starting locations.
One was the day he first entered the Primordial Saint Sect.
The other was after Foundation Establishment on Mount Luofeng.
And this golden talent 【Innate Celestial Spirit】, in a sense, provided him with a temporary starting point.
It could only be used once and could not be restarted again.
At first glance, it seemed not very useful.
However, Lü Yang saw the critical point: the ability to designate himself as a "Celestial Spirit" meant he might not start within the Primordial Saint Sect!
There was great potential to exploit this!
'After all, if I want to master the First-Grade True Qi in the future and walk the path of 【Emptiness Realization】, I must seek wisdom from all schools and gather the strengths of many.'
But his current foundation was too rigid.
Starting directly as a disciple of the Saint Sect, with such a pure and legitimate background, only the Pure Land might be willing to accept him.
The Sword Pavilion and the Dao Court would definitely never accept him.
However, with 【Innate Celestial Spirit】, everything would be different.
After all, being born of heaven and earth—who could have a purer background than a Celestial Spirit?
Overseas, the Sword Pavilion, the Dao Court—wherever he wanted to start, he could.
Then, he could return to the Saint Sect in a future restart without any karma attached!
Thinking of this, Lü Yang could not help but get excited.
However, at that moment—
"Boom!!!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar exploded in the sky above.
It echoed not only in the mortal world but also spread within the Foundation Establishment Realm, carried by the mighty wind.
Immediately after, everyone heard a shrill, desperate, and indignant roar:
"No——!!!"