Chapter 432 - 427: Waiting for His Nascent Soul to Exert Its Power

Chapter 432: Chapter 427: Waiting for His Nascent Soul to Exert Its Power

Although Le Zheng felt ashamed of his current inferiority, he hadn’t lost his will to fight.

The Vast Holy Body would continue to be effective even in the Nascent Soul Stage.

In contrast, the advantages of one’s Spiritual Root would be greatly diminished in the Nascent Soul Realm, no longer standing out so much.

He felt that with his Sacred Body, which was perfectly compatible with his Sect’s Cultivation Technique, he would still have time to surpass others after forming his Nascent Soul.

"It’s best that you think this way... I was worried that after coming to the Northern Domain, your talent would make you feel like you could look down on all the rest, and you’d grow arrogant and reckless."

Yan Rulong wearily closed his eyes. He had only activated his Celestial Palace Dharma Eye for a little over ten breaths, but his eyelids were already aching unbearably.

"With Bai Zichen ahead of you, you won’t lack motivation, at least not before the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm... However, for a Sword Cultivator without a senior’s guidance, the chances of advancing to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm are infinitesimal."

"Not even Bai Zichen can do it?"

Le Zheng pressed on, his curiosity piqued.

"It is precisely because it’s Bai Zichen that I say infinitesimal... As for other Nascent Soul Sword Cultivators who didn’t come from one of the few Super Major Sects specializing in swords and switched to the Sword Dao halfway through, you can count every last one of them and say with certainty their chances are zero."

When a whale falls, ten thousand things are born.

Ever since the mysterious fall of the Taibai Sword Sect, Sword Cultivation Sects had sprung up throughout the Cultivation Realm like mushrooms after a rain, one after another.

In the beginning, they all advertised themselves as the surviving lineage or branch traditions of the Taibai Sword Sect. Only later did the nascent forms of new Super Major Sword Sects begin to emerge.

The Five Phoenix Sword Sect and the Cyan Lotus Sword Sect, for example, were originally just ordinary Nascent Soul Sects. They had advanced by leaps and bounds within the last ten thousand years, giving rise to Divinity Transformation Great Powers.

It was widely speculated in the Cultivation Realm that each of these Sword Sects had obtained a portion of the Taibai Sword Sect’s legacy.

...

Bai Zichen defeated two more Core Formation True Men, not using a single Magical Treasure and relying solely on his fists and feet.

For him, it didn’t even count as a warm-up.

Only the first cultivator, from the Divine Slaughter Sect, had come at him with killing intent and was thus killed in return.

The subsequent Core Formation True Men merely had their treasures destroyed and retreated with injuries.

In the eyes of the cultivators below, he was ruthless and vicious, but from his own perspective, he had held back considerably.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even needed to activate his Five Crystal Glaze Body. Simply channeling the Platinum Glaze Flame into his palms would have been enough to make these Core Formation True Men wish for death.

As the fifth Core Formation True Man fell, no one else dared to harbor thoughts of a challenge.

In truth, if not for the enticing Early-Stage Core Formation Realm that ’Su Wuming’ displayed, his performance in combat alone should have deterred the remaining challengers long ago.

With that, all ten spots for the Lotus Secret Realm were decided.

"Fellow Daoists, I am Yan Rulong of the Celestial Principle Sect, and I hereby announce that from now on, our Sect will only take forty percent of the spots for the Lotus Secret Realm, a number that will never increase... The remaining spots will be open to all Daoist friends in the Cultivation Realm. As long as you can win ten consecutive matches or otherwise convince the crowd of your strength, you can obtain a spot."

Yan Rulong flew high into the air. His face was a stern, dark red, and he possessed a naturally commanding aura. His voice boomed like rolling thunder, spreading out in all directions.

"The Lotus Secret Realm does not belong to any one family or clan! As long as the Celestial Principle Sect remains the master of Qii Mountain, this rule will not change!"

As his voice fell, cultivators cheered, regardless of whether they had secured a spot in the Lotus Secret Realm. Some even shouted, "Long live the Celestial Principle Sect!" though it was impossible to know if they were plants arranged ahead of time.

’He’s just being generous at others’ expense, losing nothing himself...’

Bai Zichen saw through the Celestial Principle Sect’s motive in an instant. The current situation was different from the past.

The change of ownership of Zengguang Immortal City and the involvement of super-powers from the Central Domain had thrown the entire Northern Domain into a state of turmoil.

Under the current circumstances, it was unrealistic to keep the power to allocate all the Secret Realm’s spots in their own hands.

Besides, the Celestial Principle Sect still didn’t have full control of Qii Mountain. The Holy Lotus Sect was still alive and well.

Proactively speaking up to set the allocation of spots was far better than being forced to the negotiating table by various other powers to hammer out a plan.

Those local Core Formation True Men who hadn’t been qualified to enter the Lotus Secret Realm in the past would be no different in the future.

The only difference, on the surface, was the addition of a qualifying round where they could get on stage and compete.

By doing this, they had actually won everyone’s approval.

’However, once I take the Tier Four Flying Sword, and someone else obtains the precious Twin Lotus Seeds, the appeal of the Realm-Breaking Spiritual Objects alone will drop by more than a notch... The first two are treasures that even Nascent Soul True Monarchs would covet, possibly leading them to offer high rewards or drive their disciples to enter the Secret Realm. But Realm-Breaking Spiritual Objects are, in truth, only useful to Core Formation Cultivators. In the future, the most elite group of Core Formation Cultivators will most likely be absent.’

The spots were set and the announcement was finished, prompting some of the cultivators to disperse.

Still, a large number of cultivators remained, waiting near the Lotus Secret Realm.

Apart from the four from the Celestial Principle Sect who sat in a group, the other cultivators each occupied their own space, keeping a considerable distance from one another.

’Su Wuming’ put on an arrogant and aloof air, ignoring the several Sound Transmissions sent to him privately.

For one, he didn’t want to interact with people too much, lest his mannerisms and speech patterns lead someone to associate him with Bai Zichen.

For another, there was absolutely no need for him to cooperate with anyone.

His only goal was the Tier Four Flying Sword. Any other treasures were just icing on the cake—nice to have, but not essential.

If it weren’t for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of a Tier Four Flying Sword—if he missed this chance, the sword in the Lotus Secret Realm would be lost to him forever—why else would he ignore the path to the Nascent Soul Realm right before his eyes to come to this Secret Realm first?

’It’s normal for Tang Yuan, the cultivator from the Dharma Aspect Sect, to send me a Sound Transmission. Facing the Celestial Principle Sect’s numerical advantage, their only option is to team up to avoid leaving empty-handed. That Core Formation Cultivator from the Sun Concealing Sword Sect took an Elixir and has barely stabilized his injuries. He won’t recover much in the short term and can only use half his strength at best. I’d guess he has already given up on competing for the treasures.’

Bai Zichen analyzed the cultivators who had sent him Sound Transmissions, trying to deduce each person’s intentions.

’That female cultivator in the white robe... if I’m not mistaken, she’s the one I saw at the Pill King Conference. She even saw me kill Huang Ping Wanderer... It’s only been a few years, and she’s already at Core Formation Perfection. Her cultivation speed is barely any slower than mine!’

To go from Mid-Stage Core Formation to Core Formation Perfection in such a short time was progress at a heaven-defying speed.

It seemed she had complete confidence in her own strength.

As for Ao Xuangling, with his temperament, he would certainly never take the initiative to invite others to travel together and help one another in the Secret Realm.

However, he surely had a Protective Secret Treasure on him, personally refined by True Monarch Yuan Mo. The power it could unleash in a life-or-death crisis would be a great deal higher than his actual Cultivation.

Therefore, if he ran into Ao Xuangling, he shouldn’t press for a kill. It would be enough to just drive him off or restrain him.

Yan Rulong’s Sound Transmission, however, was something he hadn’t expected.

He was completely direct, stating that the Celestial Principle Sect only wanted the Twin Lotus Heart. They could all act together and divide the rest of the gains evenly.

No matter how many Realm-Breaking Spiritual Objects they obtained, ’Su Wuming’s’ share would be guaranteed first.

But even these terms received no response from him, as if the Sound Transmission had been sent to a stubborn rock.

’Why are they so desperate for the Twin Lotus Heart? Could it be that Shi Chengdong is running out of time and trying to refine a Qing King Medicine Pill?’

Bai Zichen couldn’t help but recall that the Holy Lotus Sect’s primary goal had also been the Twin Lotus Heart. Now it was the Celestial Principle Sect’s turn.

It was truly a new cycle of Reincarnation.

Three more days passed, and the auspicious day recorded for the opening of the Lotus Secret Realm arrived.

A giant lotus seemed to bloom slowly in the void. Beneath its layers of petals, a point of unfathomable darkness instantly grew from the size of a grain of rice into a passage ten feet wide.

"Everyone, this is the entrance to the Lotus Secret Realm... The passage within is actually a short-distance Teleportation Array. There is no need to resist with your True Essence. Under the vibrations of the Spatial True Intent, the more you fight back, the stronger the backlash will be."

Yan Rulong offered this well-intentioned reminder before taking the lead and flying into the center of the lotus.

"However, the weakest among us has an Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivation. At most, you’ll feel some discomfort during the teleportation. There’s no need to worry about the Power of Space tearing your physical body apart."

’A Teleportation Array... only in Ancient Times would they engage in such extravagance, setting up a short-distance teleportation array for a journey of several thousand, nearly ten thousand li.’

Bai Zichen’s gaze was like a torch as he stared at Yan Rulong disappearing into the passage.

’These days, building a new short-distance Teleportation Array would be enough to bankrupt an entire Nascent Soul Major Sect!’