Chapter 470 - 453: Demon Saint Pearl

Chapter 470: Chapter 453: Demon Saint Pearl

’Now that this is over, I still need to make Refining a Realm a priority...’

As the three beams of Sword Light returned to the Sword Box, Bai Zichen felt an exhilarating sense of satisfaction.

Back in the Core Formation Stage, he was unrivaled among his peers. The only opponents who had ever given him trouble were those whose Cultivation was a level above his.

Once he mastered Refining Sword into Silk, dealing with ordinary Core Formation True Men was as easy as slicing through melons. It was rare for anyone to force him into a second strike.

Today marked Bai Zichen’s first true battle against Nascent Soul True Monarchs. His prior encounters had either been instant kills with the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword or brief, probing exchanges that stopped short of a full fight.

A single Nascent Soul True Monarch could ensure a faction’s legacy for a thousand years, largely because they were incredibly difficult to kill.

The only exceptions were if they actively courted death by venturing into some godforsaken wasteland and falling into a trap laid by an Ancient Restriction.

Or if they fell into an ambush, their fates obscured from the Celestial Secret by a cunning plotter, and found themselves surrounded by several times their number of fellow True Monarchs.

In the Cultivation Realm, the unnatural death of any Nascent Soul True Monarch was considered a major event with far-reaching consequences that could ripple across several nations.

To fight one against three without being at a disadvantage—and to even turn the tables, gaining a complete upper hand and forcing them to retreat first—was an absolutely incredible feat.

If news of this spread, it would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the entire Cultivation Realm.

Had the fight continued, Bai Zichen’s advantage would have only grown.

The Supreme Qingwei Sword Box meant he had no fear of a prolonged battle. The typical Sword Cultivator Combat style—fierce, powerful, and aimed at a swift conclusion—simply didn’t apply to him.

Like the Cultivators of the Taibai Sword Sect from ten thousand years ago, he grew stronger the longer he fought, showing no signs of weakening and refusing to be confined to a single style.

However, actually finishing off the three of them would have been exceedingly difficult.

First, the existence of a Realm provided a Nascent Soul True Monarch with a significant margin for error.

Several times, his brilliant Sword Light had been on the verge of shattering their defenses.

But each time, it was shifted away by Realm Power, the attack absorbed by the space within their Realms instead.

It was like a tornado had ripped through their Realms, leaving a scene of devastation that would cost them dearly to repair, but they themselves remained unharmed.

Furthermore, since Bai Zichen had not yet refined his own Realm, he couldn’t convert his superior comprehension of the Great Dao’s True Intent into tangible combat strength.

This was why, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, every Cultivator’s first priority was to use the Refinement of the Power of Space to form a Realm.

Not only did it vastly increase their combat power, but it also served as an additional means of survival.

’Even if I revealed my Body Refining Cultivation and took their attacks head-on with my Five Crystal Glaze Body to single one of them out, the best I could do is destroy his physical body... I have no way to counter a Nascent Soul’s Instant Teleportation.’

They could teleport hundreds of miles in the span of a single Divine Thought.

Even an Array designed to prohibit Escape Techniques and seal the void couldn’t guarantee trapping a Nascent Soul.

Without the certainty of complete eradication, destroying one of their bodies would only create an implacable, undying enemy for the Five Elements Sect.

He could just walk away scot-free, but the Five Elements Sect was in no position to deal with an enraged Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Unless he used the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword from the very start—unleashing the Power of Time and the River of Time, forces that Realm Power was utterly incapable of resisting—only then might he have a chance to permanently eliminate one of them.

"I am Feng Yishan of the Celestial Heart Sect. I have yet to ask your name. I have rarely in my life seen someone with such power at the Early-Stage Nascent Soul. I imagine you are no nameless character."

The Body Cultivator from the Celestial Heart Sect had turned back, asking from a distance as he cupped his hands in respect.

"Bai Zichen of the Northern Domain. If you’re still not satisfied, you can find me in the Northern Domain in the future."

Bai Zichen gave his real name directly, lest he use a fake identity that would ultimately cause trouble for the Five Elements Sect.

Anyone determined enough to investigate would have no trouble confirming his true identity.

After all, he had already gained some renown a few years prior for his feat of performing a Nascent Soul Reversal Cut while still in the Core Formation Stage.

It was just that no one outside the Northern Domain would have continued to pay close attention to him, so they hadn’t yet updated his status from a monstrously talented Core Formation junior to a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Once word of this got out, his name was sure to be added to the registry of the world’s most renowned Sword Cultivators.

"Bai Zichen, Bai Zichen... To think you’re not from a Central Domain Major Sect... But aren’t there no Divinity Transformation Level powers in the Northern Domain? How could it produce a heaven-gifted talent like you?"

Feng Yishan muttered the name twice, confirming it wasn’t any of the famous Sword Cultivators he knew.

"Among the countless Sects in the Five Domains, how many true Divinity Transformation Level powers do you think there really are...?"

Bai Zichen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The Cultivation Realm had developed a strong stereotype regarding the Northern and Western Domains.

The Northern Domain was seen as bitterly cold and barren, while the Western Realm’s Spirit Veins were severed. Both were places people only went to as a last resort.

Whenever any astonishingly brilliant young Cultivator appeared, everyone’s first assumption was that they must be from the Central Domain, followed by the Eastern or Southern Domains.

But as for the so-called Divinity Transformation Level powers, most of them were just flattering themselves.

Before the Near Ancient period, if your Sect had a Divinity Transformation Great Power active in the world, you were unequivocally a Divinity Transformation Sect. There was no such ambiguous term as "Super Major Sect."

If not, you didn’t use the title.

But as Divinity Transformation experts went into seclusion and became figures of legend, the standards slipped. As long as a Sect could trace its history back a few thousand years to a Divinity Transformation Ancestor Master, it could claim the title of a Super Sect.

However, aside from a leading Righteous Dao Major Sect like the Moral Sect, which had records of a Divinity Transformation Great Power taking action within the last few hundred years, many of the other so-called Super Sects were unworthy of the title.

This criterion for the title had been relaxed over time, from having a Divinity Transformation Ancestor Master within the last three thousand years, to five thousand, and now to within the last ten thousand years.

It was hard to deny that these so-called Super Sects were the ones pushing for the standards to be relaxed again and again.

Some Cultivators were already remarking sarcastically that if this continued, Sects might as well start tracing their lineage all the way back to Ancient Times, claiming any Divinity Transformation Great Power with even the slightest connection to their teachings as their own Ancestor.

That way, the entire Cultivation Realm could be filled with Super Sects. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

"My actions today were not of my own volition. The one pulling the strings is not someone my Sect can afford to offend... If you wish to protect the Five Elements Sect, I’m afraid you’re in for more trouble."