Chapter 369 - 367: Nascent Souls from All Sides

Chapter 369: Chapter 367: Nascent Souls from All Sides

There was still a month until the sword duel mentioned in True Monarch Tang Fei’s letter, which was more than enough time given their flight speed.

However, Ge Cang suggested they travel on his Flying Magical Treasure so they could chat along the way. Compared to Sword Flight or activating Thunder Escape, this would be much slower.

"One day, if I can find a Tier Four Array to encompass all of Black Mountain, I’ll finally be able to travel far without worry..."

The Spirit Ship flew unhurriedly, a white streak gliding slowly across the sky above Black Mountain.

"That day will come. At worst, we can go to the Central Domain and find an Array Dao master to help with the Array Formation. If we pay a high enough price, we can always acquire a Tier Four Array from some Desolate Sect."

Bai Zichen naturally understood the meaning behind his words. Ge Cang had refused countless opportunities for the sake of the Qingfeng Sect.

Whether it was traveling to the Central Domain alone or swallowing his pride and joining the Holy Lotus Sect, his path to the Nascent Soul Stage would have certainly been much smoother.

By staying with the Sect, he was carrying a heavy burden, forging a path forward for all its Cultivators.

Once Ge Cang finished opening and refining his Nascent Soul Realm, there would be no point in remaining in the Liang Country Cultivation Realm; it would be a pure waste of time.

But his sense of responsibility to the Sect, especially his guilt over Ancestor Yangg’s self-detonating death, made it impossible for him to leave without a care.

He couldn’t just abandon the Sect to blithely tour the world’s Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands and Secret Realm Ruins.

The Ghost Spirit Sect’s invasion had happened precisely when Ge Cang had gone to the Lotus Secret Realm, which ultimately led to the deaths of over a thousand disciples and Ancestor Yangg detonating his Golden Core to take the Corpse Stiff Elder down with him.

A sense of guilt had weighed on Ge Cang’s heart ever since.

But they couldn’t just let a Cultivator with the potential to reach Divinity Transformation waste so much of his life. Even if they waited for Bai Zichen to mature, there was no next successor in sight. It would just be swapping one person for another in the same prison.

This was the awkward predicament of having two individuals with boundless futures and the potential for Divinity Transformation.

Suihan True Monarch of the Ice Soul Palace, for example, surely had no such worries.

Only a Tier Four Array could allow the Qingfeng Sect to build a foundation that would last for generations.

Even without the two of them, several Core Formation True Men, with the power of the array, could fend off an attack from a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

And in the Liang Country Cultivation Realm, it was highly unlikely that a force capable of breaking a Tier Four Array would emerge.

As for Sects from other countries, Bai Zichen and Ge Cang were only traveling abroad, not dead.

If they left behind a Communication Treasure, as long as the Sect could hold out for two or three years, they could rush back from anywhere, no matter how distant.

"I heard the underground palace in Ten Thousand Immortals Creek is sinking, and that the Underworld Nether Coffin has gone down with it?"

Ge Cang wasn’t so optimistic. He dodged the topic and instead brought up the biggest event that had occurred at the Hejian branch in recent years.

"I went to take a look. It must be caused by the Underworld Nether Coffin. Whatever method was used, the coffin is sinking at a steady rate of a hundred feet per year... For now, all we can do is fill the cracks with gravel and sand to prevent the entire underground palace from collapsing."

Bai Zichen didn’t dare to rashly approach an artifact as ancient as the Underworld Nether Coffin, an item used by great figures from Ancient Times and the Middle Ancient period for reincarnation, for fear of having his mind tainted by the Nether Qi.

This earth-filling job was initially assigned to the Outer Sect Disciples, and five of them died within a month.

Then it was passed down to the servant disciples and Firework Daoists, and eight more died the next month.

The branch at Ten Thousand Immortals Creek had no choice but to open the task to the Hejian Loose Cultivators, offering a hefty reward of fifty Spirit Stones per day.

Anyone who could work for thirty consecutive days would be accepted as a servant disciple without an examination.

These conditions attracted thousands of desperate Loose Cultivators, who were literally filling the cracks with their lives.

"The Underworld Nether Coffin is an evil object, after all. It might be a good thing if it sinks completely underground..."

After some idle chatter, Ge Cang began to talk about the problems he had encountered in his Cultivation after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage and some of the insights he’d gained. He explained which issues could be resolved by preparing in advance at the Core Formation Perfection stage, and which pitfalls to watch out for to avoid making the same mistakes.

The Spirit Ship passed Zengguang Immortal City from a great distance. Even from hundreds of miles away, the vague silhouette of the massive, magnificent Immortal City was visible.

"Speaking of which, that True Monarch Du from Zengguang Immortal City is also on the list of attendees for this event."

Seeing Zengguang Immortal City reminded Bai Zichen of when he had attended the auction there years ago, and how he had almost been killed by a Cultivator from the Outer Sea’s Youlong Sect.

"This True Monarch Du has rarely shown his face in recent years. It’s said he’s been focused on grooming the next successor for the Du Family. But while the Du Family has a fair number of Core Formation True Men, it seems none of them are at the Late-Stage Core Formation. True Monarch Du must be getting on in years, shouldn’t he?"

"The number one Cultivation Family in the Northern Domain, blessed by fortune, a legend of producing a Nascent Soul Cultivator every generation... Is that myth about to end?"

A Nascent Soul Major Sect can select talented individuals from a population of hundreds of millions, yet even they can’t guarantee an unbroken line of Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

In each generation, there are only a handful of geniuses who can cultivate to Core Formation Perfection and qualify for Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul.

Furthermore, most Nascent Soul Major Sects only have enough Supreme Treasures for reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, like the Nascent Soul Pill or Tribulation Crossing Secret Treasures, for a single person.

If they bet on the wrong person, two or three hundred years of careful nurturing would be wasted, and they would have to start all over again.

A Cultivation Family can only select Immortal Seedlings from among their own blood descendants. For a clan the size of the Zengguang Du Family, they only have about ten thousand Cultivator Clan Members.

In terms of average aptitude among their Cultivators, the Du Family Members are certainly inferior to any Nascent Soul Major Sect. This is the inevitable result of a limited selection pool.

The fact that the Zengguang Du Family could guarantee this success rate without possessing any Divine Beast bloodline is why there are rumors of them being a family favored by the Great Dao.

"True Monarch Du should be close to eight hundred years old. He’s been the lord of the Immortal City for as long as I can remember, supporting the Du Family for several centuries... What I find strange is, if the Du Family can bring out a Celestial Dust Pill as the finale item for an auction, why didn’t he take it himself?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Ge Cang’s eyes. It was something he couldn’t figure out.

The Early-Stage Nascent Soul and Mid-Stage Nascent Soul represented entirely different levels of power. Even if their lifespans were the same, no Nascent Soul True Monarch would give up the hope of a Cultivation Breakthrough.

Besides, Zengguang Immortal City was situated at the intersection of four countries, a veritable Treasure Basin. There were bound to be Nascent Soul Major Sects who coveted it.

As a Spirit Pill for advancing in the Nascent Soul Stage, the Celestial Dust Pill offered significant help in breaking through the Early-Stage Nascent Soul bottleneck. Otherwise, so many Nascent Soul True Monarchs wouldn’t be flocking to it.

"Perhaps he already took one and failed to break through?"

Bai Zichen said uncertainly. Even for the Du Family, which enjoyed the benefits of an Immortal City, the Celestial Dust Pill was an exceptionally rare treasure.

Gathering enough Alchemy Spirit Grass for one batch was still achievable for the Du Family, who were as wealthy as kings.

However, it was a Tier Four Top-Grade Elixir, and the difficulty of refining it was staggering. Even for a Tier Four alchemy master, failing four or five times in a row was normal.

And for an elixir of the Celestial Dust Pill’s grade, even a successful refinement would only yield a single pill.

If True Monarch Du had already used one, it was very likely that the second Celestial Dust Pill was used to trade for other Treasures to ensure the continuation of his clan’s legacy.

"I really can’t imagine what price this Celestial Dust Pill will fetch. Those Nascent Soul True Monarchs who have been stuck at their bottleneck for years would probably be willing to bet their entire fortunes..."

As a newly ascended Nascent Soul Cultivator who hadn’t even reached the peak of the Early-Stage Nascent Soul yet, Ge Cang’s desire for the Celestial Dust Pill wasn’t as intense.

Moreover, as someone who had triggered the Four Great Nascent Soul Phenomena, he was fairly confident in his ability to cultivate to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul without the help of elixirs.

The prerequisite, of course, was finding a suitable High-Tier Cultivation Technique.

...

「Meili Snow Peak, a world of white snow.」

A young man with sinister eyes and an arrogant expression sat with his eyes closed, cradling a slender sword. The left sleeve of his Daoist Robe was empty.

The slender sword was dull and gray, without a trace of a treasure’s aura or Spirit Light. At first glance, one would think it was forged from Mortal Iron.

Only upon a second look would one discover that all the light around the slender sword was being devoured by its blade, forming a halo of absolute darkness.

The wind and snow swirled before the young man and stopped automatically. Snowflakes fell to the ground, and the howling gale softened into a gentle breeze.

A clear boundary had formed in front of him.

A Fox-Faced Snow Beast ran up the mountain. The moment it took a step forward, it was as if it had been struck by lightning. It collapsed to the ground, motionless, its life extinguished.

Not far away, an old and a young Cultivator stood side-by-side, their killing intent soaring to the heavens, so palpable it was almost tangible.

"Someone’s coming!"

The young Cultivator’s sword-like brows shot up. Both of them looked toward the distant horizon, where an Escape Light with the momentum of a steel torrent appeared and landed on a mountain peak.

The newcomer looked around, then offered a distant salute to the sinister-looking youth and the pair.

"It’s Iron Core from the Nine-Forged Sect, a Nascent Soul Refining Body Cultivator. He has cultivated his sect’s Nine-Forged Body to the fifth level; his physical body can rival a Tier Four Great Demon."

The old man had done his homework and knew the newcomer’s identity, status, and specialized Cultivation Techniques like the back of his hand.

’No matter how strong his body is, can it withstand a single strike from the Life-Killing Demon Sword? These pathetic little sects from the Northern Domain would have been wiped out long ago if they were in the Central Domain.’

The youth snorted coldly, paying the newcomer no mind.

The old man shook his head slightly. ’Junior Brother Kong has the Innate Sword Bone and walks another supreme path within the Life-Killing Sword Sect. Xiangg Ji refined his own arm into a Flying Sword, but he does the opposite, refining Flying Swords into his Sword Bone, making the Sword Bone increasingly powerful. In his Cultivation so far, Junior Brother Kong has already ’eaten’ seven Tier Three Flying Swords and countless Tier Two Flying Swords. If he could devour a few Tier Four Flying Swords, it would rapidly boost his Cultivation, allowing him to reach the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul in a short time. But even for a Super Major Sect like the Life-Killing Sword Sect, there are only a few Tier Four Flying Swords in total. There’s no way they would be used as resources for his advancement.’

Several hours later, someone arrived riding a river of black water. It was so vast its beginning and end couldn’t be seen, and its mere presence in the sky caused the accumulated snow below to sink.

The river chose a more distant mountain peak to settle over. Ripples spread across its surface, but the Cultivator within remained completely hidden.

"Zengguang Du Heng, he came too... That makes sense. Zengguang Immortal City isn’t far from here, so he’s practically a semi-host."

The old man’s expression grew solemn. The reputation of Zengguang Immortal City was not confined to the Northern Domain; the Du Family’s Profound Nether Heavy Water was renowned even in the Central Domain.

"The Du Family, favored by the heavens and a mere stone’s throw from the sky? If I get the chance, I’d like to see if that Profound Nether Heavy Water can suppress my Flying Sword!"

The youth was eager for a fight, his eyes filled with fervent battle intent as he stared at the ripples of black water.

Over the next two days, two more Nascent Soul Cultivators arrived: the Flower-Picking Arhat of Beiyuan and Master Cheng Tuo of Great Phoenix.

Seven Nascent Soul True Monarchs had now gathered on Meili Snow Peak. Each one’s might soared to the heavens, commanding the Spiritual Qi of their own section of the world.

The sky changed color and dark clouds gathered overhead. The air was thick with the feeling of an impending storm.