Chapter 154: Incomplete Law Mark! Breakthrough?
As soon as the pattern appeared, and before Chen Xuan could properly examine it, a terrifying aura erupted from within.
He had no time to react.
The crimson pattern suddenly went out of control.
It shot out of the Law Furnace like a streak of light, appearing before Chen Xuan before plunging straight into his body.
Its speed was astonishing. Before he could even think of evading it, the pattern had already entered his Dantian and descended toward his Nascent Soul.
Chen Xuan’s expression changed dramatically.
Without hesitation, his Nascent Soul pointed forward as one spell after another was unleashed.
A Yin-Yang Curtain. A cluster of stars. Bottomless Phoenix Flames. Boundless waters resembling endless oceans.
In the blink of an eye, layer upon layer of defenses materialized before the Nascent Soul, each one reinforced by a different Great Dao Origin.
Given Chen Xuan’s current cultivation, even an ordinary Soul Formation cultivator would have struggled to break through such a fortress.
Yet before the crimson pattern, they were utterly meaningless.
As though it possessed no physical form whatsoever, it drifted through every layer without slowing down in the slightest.
Nothing could touch it, much less stop it.
An instant later, it arrived before the Nascent Soul.
Then, it silently imprinted itself upon it.
A crimson pattern spread across the Nascent Soul’s chest, rapidly expanding until it formed what Mu Xuanyin had previously called a Law Mark.
Feeling the profound changes taking place within his Nascent Soul, Chen Xuan could only reveal a bitter smile.
He had a feeling that he had been tricked.
The moment the pattern entered his body, he had already realized that it was fundamentally different from the tiny fragment refined from the Starlight Grass.
This wasn’t merely a trace of Law, but a complete Law Mark.
According to Mu Xuanyin, a Fire Law Mark was among the most basic of all Law Marks, considered a Mortal one.
If he fused this Law Mark, his future would be ruined completely.
Not only would his strength after breaking through be inferior to others at the same realm, but his future potential would also be permanently limited.
For a brief moment, Chen Xuan seriously considered crippling his own cultivation and starting over from scratch.
Unfortunately, that thought disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.
Huo Ling’er had been able to destroy her cultivation because she had only been in the Qi Refining Realm.
Foundation Establishment cultivators had already forged the foundation of their Dao. Destroying it meant suffering severe injuries.
When it came to Core Formation and Nascent Soul experts, the result was even more terrifying. Doing so was no different than courting death.
’With my current cultivation... even a one percent survival rate sounds overly optimistic.’
’If I forcibly disperse my Nascent Soul... my chances of surviving are probably less than one in a million.’
Chen Xuan inwardly groaned.
There was nothing he could do.
He could only watch helplessly as the Law Mark settled completely onto his Nascent Soul.
At the same time, an overwhelming momentum burst forth from his body in the outside world.
His cultivation began climbing rapidly. His aura continuously rose, showing every sign of breaking through into the Soul Formation realm.
Chen Xuan could not stop it. If he really broke through at this moment, his future would really be ruined.
Just as despair began creeping into his heart, however, the situation suddenly changed.
The surging aura abruptly froze. The momentum that had been rising without restraint instantly came to an abrupt halt.
Although the Law Mark had successfully engraved itself upon the Nascent Soul, it hadn’t triggered the final breakthrough.
Chen Xuan was briefly stunned, and he controlled his divine sense to sweep over it.
Soon, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
The Law Mark had shrunk.
Instead of occupying the entire surface of the Nascent Soul as Mu Xuanyin’s demonstration had shown, it had condensed into a much smaller pattern resting deep within it.
It occupied only a fraction of the space a complete Law Mark should have covered.
Had it been anyone else, they might not have understood what they were seeing. But Chen Xuan had personally witnessed Mu Xuanyin constructing Law Marks step by step.
As such, he quickly reached a conclusion.
’My Law Mark is currently in a state similar to when Master continuously integrated additional Laws into hers.’
’The only difference is...’
’...there aren’t any other Laws for it to integrate with.’
If he had to describe the situation, it resembled an unfinished painting.
One corner of the canvas had already been completed to absolute perfection. The remaining space was not incomplete, but entirely blank.
Nothing had ever been painted there in the first place.
Naturally, Chen Xuan had no idea why such a bizarre situation had occurred.
Nevertheless, that didn’t stop him from letting out a sigh of relief.
At the very least, the immediate crisis had passed.
Although his Law Mark was unlike anything Mu Xuanyin had described, it hadn’t forced him into an irreversible breakthrough.
As for how he was supposed to complete it, that was a problem for another day.
Moreover, the surprises didn’t end there.
As Chen Xuan shifted his attention back to reality, he immediately noticed a subtle yet unmistakable change within his body.
Neither his physical strength nor the power of his soul had increased. Yet his perception of heaven and earth had become incomparably clearer.
The surrounding Spiritual Energy seemed almost alive, responding to his every thought.
Among them, the Fire attribute was especially intimate, almost as though it regarded him as one of its own.
It felt as if he had awakened a Fire-attributed Physique.
’Is this how Huo Ling’er sees the world?’ Chen Xuan wondered.
Curious, he slowly raised a hand.
The next moment, countless crimson flames gathered above his palm.
For an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, producing flames was naturally nothing remarkable.
However, if someone discovered that Chen Xuan hadn’t consumed even the slightest trace of Spiritual Energy, they would undoubtedly be shocked.
Manipulating the power of heaven and earth directly was an ability that belonged exclusively to Soul Formation cultivators.
Yet despite remaining at the Peak of the Nascent Soul realm, Chen Xuan had managed to accomplish exactly that.
As he stared at the dancing flames in his palm, his expression gradually turned strange.
’I’m afraid that it’s difficult to regard me as a Nascent Soul cultivator any longer. In a sense, I already possess the abilities of Soul Formation experts.’
’If I had to say, I’m currently at the Half-Step Pseudo Soul Formation realm?’
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