Hidden Sword Manor, inside a loft.
Lu Yang sat upright on a meditation cushion, his body overflowing with radiance. In the end, it shone upon him and transformed into magnificent golden patterns branded into his flesh.
Innate Divine Ability, Stubborn Gold Lord!
This had not come from refining the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Rather, he had used the dharma-upholding power of the Calamity Waves to deduce his Dao Path and borrow this divine ability ahead of time.
"Shen Metal is dull and stubborn metal. Only after tempering in fire can it become swords and halberds. This qi occupies the Earth Sha Position and, like Geng Metal, is metal of the Yang attribute. Its gleam is supremely sharp and difficult to break or destroy. Once it empowers the dharma body, neither blade nor axe, heaven's blows nor thunderbolts can harm it. Thus, it is called Stubborn Gold Lord."
Rumble!
The next moment, as the Innate Divine Ability descended, Lu Yang's aura surged wildly, violently shattering the shackles of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and charging straight into the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage!
"At last, I've achieved something."
Lu Yang opened his eyes and nodded in satisfaction. After three years, his Spirit Immortal true body had finally reached completion of the early stage, and his dharma-upholding ability could now rival the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
Thinking back, these past three years had truly been no life for a human being.
After leaving Gantang Circuit, I immediately destroyed my avatar and buried every Geng Metal spirit item I'd looted. I didn't even dare keep them on me, afraid they would implicate my true body.
Lu Yang had always been decisive. He had directly abandoned all gains from the Coastal Li Clan and instead spent three years gathering Geng Metal spirit items anew.