Who Let Him Cultivate?!
Chapter 1263 - 1262: Is the Mastermind Behind the Scenes Not Dead?

Eldest Senior Sister's answer was the last thing Lu Yang wanted to hear.

The Abode was deathly silent, even the usually lively Fairy Eternity remained speechless.

"How long until you achieve Harmonization, Eldest Senior Sister?" Lu Yang asked with difficulty, bitterness in his heart.

"Over a thousand years," Yun Zhi estimated without much confidence.

"A thousand..."

Lu Yang nearly suffocated himself—that was still a long way off!

His Cultivation Level was now ruined, and even if he restarted ten times, it wouldn't amount to a thousand years.

"Yao Saint also said the more you act, the shorter the time to Harmonization will be. Eldest Senior Sister, how many times can you still act?"

Yun Zhi snapped her fingers, and the Spiritual Space turned into a Box World. She, Fairy Eternity, and Lu Yang stood at the center of this Box World, surrounded by brilliant stars.

"My Golden Core Stars are my guiding marks, representing my existence in this world. Each time I take action, one Golden Core Star vanishes. When all Golden Core Stars are gone, I will achieve Harmonization with my body, and my heart will replace Heaven. At that time, there will be no trace of me in the world, and everyone will forget my existence."

Hearing this, Lu Yang felt an intense bitterness and self-blame; he had never realized the severe consequence Eldest Senior Sister faced every time she helped him.

"Then, didn't I speed up your Harmonization process by frequently asking for your help with Imitation Fist techniques?"

Yun Zhi waved her hand nonchalantly, "Those were just trifles, they don't count as me taking action."

Lu Yang wanted to ask if the trifles she referred to involved slapping the Yingtian Immortal against the Spatial Barrier or slapping the Jiuchong Immortal until he switched personalities?

Yun Zhi did not know the thoughts in Lu Yang's heart, only glanced at the honest-seeming Fairy Eternity who had not interrupted, and said, "If Fairy could recover to her prime and duel with me, that would count as an instance of me taking action."

Fairy Eternity, sensing an underlying message, stood where Lu Yang couldn't see and made faces at Yun Zhi in annoyance.

"Eldest Senior Sister, can the Dao Fruit affect you?" Lu Yang asked after lowering his head and pondering for a moment.

"It can. The Dao Fruit represents a kind of rule, and rules are a part of Heaven. Even if I transform into Heaven, I would still be influenced by the Dao Fruit."

Hearing this, Lu Yang resolved in his heart; he wanted to condense a Dao Fruit that could prevent Eldest Senior Sister from achieving Harmonization!

"Another thing, Eldest Senior Sister, do you think the hidden enemy has died already?"

Eldest Senior Sister was somewhat surprised that Lu Yang would ask such a question, her lips curling into an intrigued smile, "What do you think?"

"I believe the hidden enemy is still alive," Lu Yang affirmed.

"Ah? Why?" Fairy Eternity scratched her head, not quite understanding how Little Yang suddenly came to this conclusion.

"Because of the presence of the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype. If the hidden enemy is truly Yao Saint and can truly 'Speak and Follow,' then he had no need to steal the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, because the Speak and Follow Dao Fruit can accomplish what the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype can."

"So I suspect that the one we fought in Zhongshan County wasn't Yao Saint!"

"The real Yao Saint died in Ancient Times, and the one we battled was just a puppet created by the hidden enemy!"

"Moreover, the hidden enemy had many ways to seize the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype but chose to appear and steal it openly; it's almost as if he deliberately exposed flaws to make us fight and 'kill' him."

"The hidden enemy wants us to believe he's already dead."

Eldest Senior Sister looked at him appreciatively, Junior Brother has really grown a lot, "So, you chose to ask this question in the Spiritual Space because you believe the hidden enemy is still alive?"

"Yes."

Lu Yang had invited Eldest Senior Sister to the Spiritual Space for two reasons: one was to bolster his own courage, and the other was out of concern that the hidden enemy might detect them.

"When I advanced to the Spirit Transformation Tribulation, the thought of the Yingtian Immortal told me that he had been carefully observing the movement of the North Star before Fairy was ambushed, but he hadn't detected any sign of the hidden enemy until after the incident."

"And before Yao Saint made his appearance, neither you, Eldest Senior Sister, nor Fairy had noticed him nearby."

"This shows that the hidden enemy has an extremely clever way of hiding."

"So, to ensure that the hidden enemy cannot eavesdrop on our conversation, the Spiritual Space where both you and Fairy are present is the only option."

In the Spiritual Space, only pure spiritual bodies exist. As far as Lu Yang knew, there was no hiding technique so sophisticated that it could leave no traces even in the Spiritual Space.

If there were, Lu Yang would admit defeat.

After all, he could not think of a safer place.

"So, Little Yang, you mean to say that not only is the hidden enemy not dead, but he might also be right among us?"

Lu Yang nodded and explained, "Fairy, do you remember the incident in Buddha Country where we encountered a change in the timeline?"

"I remember, what about it?"

"Although we did not know the specific content of the timeline change made by the hidden enemy at the time, did you notice it was related to the event we encountered?"

"I think we touched upon a clue about the hidden enemy at that time, and that's why he modified the timeline."

Lu Yang held up two fingers, "There are two possibilities: one, the hidden enemy may have set some taboo words in advance, and once these words are voiced, the timeline changes; we said one of those taboo words."

Saying this, Lu Yang's expression turned serious and he spoke solemnly, "The other possibility is that he was hiding in the shadows, watching us."

"I don't believe it was merely a coincidence that he was near us; it's more likely he has always been lurking in the shadows, observing us!"

Thus, some things Lu Yang could not say in the outside world, but only in the Spiritual Space where both Yun Zhi and Fairy Eternity were present.

Fairy Eternity was startled by Little Yang's speculation, feeling that Little Yang was even smarter than herself.

Yun Zhi roughly understood Lu Yang's thoughts, only one last question remained, "Then why did you still agree to open the World Seal?"

Lu Yang gave a wry smile and spread his hands, "Because I have no reason not to agree to open the World Seal. The only reason not to agree is to think that the hidden enemy hasn't died yet, and I'm waiting for the hidden enemy to think his feigned death was successful and expose a flaw himself."

"If I refused to open the World Seal, the hidden enemy would only hide deeper."

"To buy time, I said we couldn't rashly remove the seal and that many things needed to be prepared."

"Eldest Senior Sister, what do you think?" Lu Yang looked at Yun Zhi with hopeful eyes, wishing she could propose a reason externally to prevent the opening of the Box World's seal.

Yun Zhi hadn't expected her Junior Brother to have thought so thoroughly.

"I also think the hidden enemy is faking death, but I believe it's best to unlock the seal."