Chapter 290: Equivalent Exchange Technique

Lu Yang leaned back slightly, seemingly startled by Meng Jingzhou’s Golden Core.

Two Single Golden Cores—no one, not even the Solitary Daoist, would dare attempt such a thing. Truly, this was an unprecedented Golden Core.

He carefully organized his thoughts and gently said, “Are you sure having two Single Golden Cores won’t make you even more single?”

Meng Jingzhou waved dismissively, “You don’t understand. As the saying goes, extremes meet. When something reaches its peak, it turns to the opposite. My Golden Core is the same. When singleness reaches its limit, it should start changing for the better, making me more popular with women. This was evident when I was on my way back by airship.”

“What happened?”

“While on the airship, a nouveau riche from some small place was bullying others, flaunting his wealth. I couldn’t stand it, so I revealed my identity as the eldest son of the Meng family, scaring him into kneeling and begging for mercy. At that moment, several quite attractive women gathered around me, drawn by my charisma.”

“… You’re really deluding yourself.”

Meng Jingzhou pretended not to hear Lu Yang’s remark, his eyes shining as if he could see a bright future ahead: “In any case, I’ve broken the curse of the single spirit root through the ages. I’m about to be reborn!”

“Hey, this little guy’s Golden Core is interesting,” Everlasting Fairy’s voice interrupted, catching Lu Yang’s attention.

“Fairy, what do you mean?” Lu Yang thought, could it be that Meng Jingzhou really broke the curse of the single spirit root?

“Have you ever heard of a curse spell?” Everlasting Fairy asked mysteriously.

Lu Yang shook his head. Other than the curses cast by the ancient barbarians, he hadn’t heard of any curse spells.

“This kind of spell is called a curse, but it’s actually a form of exchange or a rule. Some people call it the ‘Equivalent Exchange Technique.’ Using this type of spell, whatever you lose, you gain something else in return.”

“For example, Lu Yang, you’re very smart, right? You could use the Equivalent Exchange Technique to reduce your intelligence in exchange for unparalleled combat power!”

“That’s amazing!” Lu Yang was quite surprised.

Everlasting Fairy was pleased with Lu Yang’s reaction: “Heh, now you see how knowledgeable I am. I bet no one in your era knows about this spell. You’re the first in your time to learn about it!”

“Can you perform this spell, Fairy?” Lu Yang asked, now deeply interested in this spell. If he could learn it, wouldn’t he be able to exchange for anything he wanted and become invincible?

Everlasting Fairy shook her head, pouring cold water on Lu Yang’s excitement: “No one can learn this spell. Or rather, those who want to learn it can never do so.”

Lu Yang was puzzled by this strange logic. People who want to learn the spell can never learn it, but does that mean those who don’t want to learn it can?

“Yes, those who don’t want to learn the spell can.”

Everlasting Fairy continued, “‘The Equivalent Exchange Technique’ doesn’t need to be learned. When the time is right, it will naturally be cast.”

“And the person casting the spell usually doesn’t realize they’ve done so.”

“It’s like the first person in human history who cast this spell. He didn’t deliberately learn or cast it; it just happened naturally due to a combination of factors.”

“I see,” Lu Yang said, clearly disappointed. He had hoped to learn a new spell.

Then Lu Yang realized something was off. The conversation had drifted: “Wait, weren’t we discussing Meng Jingzhou’s Golden Core? How did we get to the Equivalent Exchange Technique?”

“We didn’t drift off topic. It wasn’t obvious before, but now I see that this Meng kid has already used the Equivalent Exchange Technique.”

“How so?”

Everlasting Fairy analyzed seriously and unraveled the secret of the single spirit root: “Why is the single spirit root so powerful? It exchanges being single for immense cultivation talent and combat power. This is the true essence of the equivalent exchange technique!”

“If an ordinary single spirit root cultivator engages in a relationship with a woman, the cost is that their pure yang body is broken, and their cultivation will no longer improve. With the enhancement of two single spirit roots, if he engages in a relationship with a woman, his cultivation will plummet!”

“The Meng kid has amplified the ‘single’ attribute of his spirit root, using a do-or-die courage to gain supreme power. Among all single spirit root cultivators throughout history, he should be the strongest!”

Lu Yang’s eyelid twitched. If Meng Jingzhou knew this, he would probably regret it deeply. Out of concern, he asked, “Is there a way to break this?”

“There is. The equivalent exchange technique cannot manifest in immortals. If the Meng kid becomes an immortal, he will be fine.”

“……”

Whether Meng Jingzhou could become an immortal was one thing; even if he could, it would take who knows how long to achieve it. There were only five immortals in the ancient great era, and no one knew how many had appeared in the past 300,000 years, not even Eldest Senior Sister would tell him.

Becoming an immortal is harder than ascending to the heavens.

Lu Yang pondered, “So, Meng Jingzhou traded his future happiness for his current strength.”

Impressive.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Meng Jingzhou felt that Lu Yang’s gaze was strange, indescribable, almost… pitying?

Meng Jingzhou stretched lazily: “I just formed my core, and fighting in the forest wasn’t enough. I’m going to the arena to stretch my muscles.”

Having formed an unprecedented twin Single Golden Cores, he had to show off a bit.

Before Lu Yang could react, Meng Jingzhou paid the bill and headed towards the bustling arena nearby.

At that moment, the fight in the arena had just ended, and the contestants were stepping down. Meng Jingzhou leaped onto the stage, radiant like a small sun: “Haha, I’ve just formed my core. Which senior brother or sister would like to spar?”

Meng Jingzhou thought that previously as a Foundation Building stage cultivator, he couldn’t beat his senior brothers and sisters. But now that everyone was at the Golden Core stage, could he still not win?

“I’ll go,” a bald senior brother, who seemed to have achieved minor success in the Buddhist golden body, jumped onto the stage with a simple smile. “Meng junior brother, please go easy on me.”

The bald senior brother was named Zheng Jing, a late Golden Core cultivator, not particularly outstanding among the Golden Core stage brothers.

“Haha, senior brother, please don’t hold back. I’ve changed a lot,” Meng Jingzhou said heartily.

Soon, Lu Yang used his wood clone to carry Meng Jingzhou off the stage on a stretcher.

“A perfectly fine person, why seek death?” Lu Yang sighed, grateful that he had the Invincible Core and knew who he could and couldn’t beat.

Otherwise, he would have ended up like Meng Jingzhou, carried off the stage.

If Meng Jingzhou were still in the Foundation Building stage, Senior Brother Zheng wouldn’t have been so harsh. But now that Meng Jingzhou had formed his core and had strong resilience, he naturally didn’t hold back.

As Lu Yang was about to carry Meng Jingzhou back, three figures blocked his path.

Lu Yang looked up and saw familiar faces, Master Liu and Master Gao from the barbecue shop.

“Please come with us.”