Chapter 285: Chapter 283: Paving the Way for Posterity
"I went to see Qi Yue a few days ago. He said the Thunderbolt Power on the Cloud Platform is growing stronger by the day, almost reaching the might of a Celestial Tribulation... In a few years, he should be ready."
Wei Dao showed a look of envy. Anyone who could reach the Core Formation Perfection Realm could be said to possess Nascent Soul Form.
Whether one could successfully form a Nascent Soul depended on many factors.
Aside from the most outstanding, demon-level geniuses, whether the remaining Perfect Core Formation True Men could take that final step depended on their background and opportunities.
At Master Ge Cang’s age, if he had come from a Nascent Soul Major Sect, he would already be considered a Quasi-Nascent Soul True Monarch.
But in the Qingfeng Sect, besides the founding Ancestor who had reached this Realm, predecessors who even made it to Late-Stage Core Formation were as rare as a phoenix’s feather.
When the founding Ancestor crossed the sea, he was already advanced in age, and he dedicated his main efforts to building the Sect.
Although he earned the title of the number one Core Formation True Man in the Liang Country Cultivation Realm at the time, he never attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, which was a great pity.
Therefore, Master Ge Cang was, in a sense, the first Core Formation True Man in the Qingfeng Sect to attempt this, a true pioneer with no predecessors to reference or learn from.
"That’s for the best. When Brother Ge comes out of seclusion, we’ll need to figure out where to find a Tier Four Spirit Land."
Regarding the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm, Bai Zichen also knew what had to be done, but not how or why.
He only knew that after reaching Core Formation Perfection, when one’s True Essence could no longer be increased, one could begin the process of Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul.
One had to draw upon the Great Dao’s True Intent, refine the Primordial Spirit, and manifest the infant soul.
Countless Core Formation True Men couldn’t even take the first step, let alone face the subsequent Heart Demon Tribulation and Celestial Thunder Tribulation.
Only by conquering one’s Heart Demon, passing the Celestial Tribulation, and receiving a boon from the Heaven and Earth Dao could one become a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
But as for the specific process and the key points to watch out for, he was completely ignorant.
In the Qingfeng Sect’s Transmission Hall, there were no ancient records or Jade Scrolls from predecessors that detailed the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Having Master Ge Cang blaze the trail was a fortunate thing for all the Core Formation True Men in the Sect, as it would provide them with invaluable experience.
It was as if he were walking a path covered in thorns, clearing them away in the darkness to forge a path for those who would follow.
If it were Master Bai instead, aside from leaving behind experience on resisting the Heart Demon and passing the Thunder Tribulation, he would have nothing but a blank slate to offer other Core Formation True Men regarding how to take the step of Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul, how to refine the Primordial Spirit to increase the success rate of forming the Nascent Soul, and so on.
Bai Zichen wouldn’t dare to share his experience carelessly. Who knew if his methods for Breaking Realm were right or wrong?
For another person without the Mysterious Holy Body, it might even have the opposite effect.
Instead of being helpful, it could end up causing great harm to future Cultivators.
"In Liang Country, only the Holy Lotus Sect has a Tier Four Spirit Land, but they almost never allow outsiders to use it... Besides, forming a Nascent Soul on Qii Mountain means putting your life and death entirely in the hands of the Holy Lotus Sect. The risk is too great."
Wei Dao’s brow furrowed. A Tier Four Spirit Land had been too distant a goal for the former Qingfeng Sect to even consider in their plans.
But performing the Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul in a Tier Four Spirit Land was a strict requirement. Otherwise, the terrifying amount of Spiritual Power needed at the instant the infant soul manifested might not be enough even if ten Core Formation True Men were drained dry.
Only a Tier Four Spirit Land, where the Spiritual Qi was so dense it became tangible, could provide enough support.
"The Zengguang Du Family holds dominion over the Immortal City and has a spare Tier Four Spirit Land... But to borrow it to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, one must make a Dao Heart Oath to serve as the Immortal City’s Honored Guest Elder for two hundred years after forming the Nascent Soul. During those two centuries, you’d have to go through fire and water for the Du Family, with no rest and no freedom."
"The Holy Lotus Sect, the Zengguang Du Family... neither are benevolent places. There are too many restrictions, and you have to entrust your life to others."
Bai Zichen felt that neither option was acceptable.
It wasn’t just the Holy Lotus Sect and Zengguang Immortal City; even if other Nascent Soul Level factions were willing to provide a Tier Four Spirit Land, he wouldn’t be willing to settle.
After manifesting the infant soul, the Heart Demon Tribulation and Celestial Thunder Tribulation would follow one after the other—two calamities where life and death hung in the balance.
This was also the most vulnerable moment before becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch. The slightest interference could affect the final outcome.
No matter how peerless your talent, how masterful your strategies, or even if you possessed the demonic strength to fight a Nascent Soul cultivator while still in the Core Formation Realm, at the moment of Tribulation Crossing, you would be incredibly fragile.
The more powerful a Cultivator, the more unlikely they were to accept such a situation, placing their very survival at the whim of another Sect.
This was true for Bai Zichen, and he believed Master Ge Cang was no exception.
"There must be a Tier Four Spirit Land deep within Black Mountain. If worst comes to worst, we’ll just have to expand deeper."
In fact, Bai Zichen already knew of one such Tier Four Spirit Land.
The Beast Hide he had obtained from Mo Changzhi back then clearly recorded the location where a Tier Four Cyan Simurgh slept, deep within Black Mountain.
It was about 12,000 li from Feiyue Lake.
If he flew at full speed using Sword Control, he could arrive in under two hours.
The Cyan Simurgh’s lair was undoubtedly a Tier Four Spirit Land, and there was even a high probability that a Spirit Vein had formed there.
The problem was how to drive away its current owner: a Cyan Simurgh of unknown Tier, but at least Tier Four Low Grade, and one that possessed the bloodline of a divine bird.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply by adding a few more Core Formation True Men and planning for a while longer.
After Bai Zichen had mastered the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, it posed a huge threat even to Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
Whether they were on the verge of death or in the prime of their life, a Nascent Soul True Monarch had a total lifespan of only a thousand years.
At an age of four or five hundred, a Nascent Soul True Monarch was still in their prime, but they only had about five hundred years left to live.
A single strike from the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword could sever nearly half their lifespan. Anyone would be terrified and wouldn’t dare to continue fighting.
What’s more, the sudden loss of two hundred years of life would surely trigger a chain reaction, and the negative side effects would greatly reduce their strength.
But a Tier Four Great Demon’s lifespan was often measured in thousands of years, and Demon Beasts with special bloodlines lived even longer.
The Cyan Simurgh in particular, having inherited the Fire Phoenix Bloodline, was said to be able to be reborn from flames no matter how grievous its injuries.
It was possible that a strike from the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword wouldn’t do any fundamental damage to it at all.
With his greatest trump card rendered useless, how could Bai Zichen dare to scheme against the Cyan Simurgh? Even when exploring the Black Mountain Range, he did his best to avoid the direction of its lair.
There were still at least several decades before Master Ge Cang would attempt the Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul.
The matter of a Tier Four Spirit Land needed to be put on the agenda, but there was still time to plan. It wasn’t an immediate crisis.
"By the way, I’d like to borrow the most detailed information on all the Tier Three Demon Kings in the Black Mountain Range... Gu Xisheng said you have it, Senior Brother, and I’d like to take a look."
Bai Zichen said, recalling his conversation with Gu Xisheng a few days prior.
This information was the culmination of hundreds of years of painstaking effort from generations of Sect Cultivators; the price paid for it was not just a vast amount of time and hard work.
Batch after batch of Sect Disciples had fallen one after another, sacrificing their very lives for the sake of more detailed intelligence on Demon Beasts.
Many of these were seniors from the Qingfeng Sect’s early founding period, when its territory was small and completely surrounded by Demon Beasts.
To survive, they had no choice but to map out the distribution of nearby High-Tier Demon Beasts. How could they manage if Sect Disciples stumbled into a Demon Beast’s lair the moment they stepped outside?
Over a thousand years, this information had been constantly revised, deleted, and added to, growing into a long and rich document.
"Since it’s of use to you, Junior Brother Bai, I’ll record a new Jade Scroll when I get back and have someone deliver it."
This information had always been kept by the Sect Leader. However, when Wei Dao stepped down, he wasn’t 100% certain he could reach Core Formation, and he had only pushed Gu Xisheng into the position because he was easy to control and had no backing.
That’s why he had kept the information on Tier Three Demon Beasts and never handed it over.
"Junior Brother Bai, you haven’t taken an interest in the Tier Three Demon Kings again, have you? You’re not planning to start another reclamation war, are you?"
"I am indeed preparing to find a suitable Tier Three Demon Beast... Rest assured, Senior Brother Wei, I won’t rashly start a reclamation war. I’m just making some plans in advance."
Bai Zichen smiled and waved his hand, which finally allowed Wei Dao to breathe a sigh of relief.
A single reclamation war would consume decades of the Qingfeng Sect’s accumulated resources.
Cyan Bull Valley had only just gotten on the right track and wasn’t providing much of a return yet. As for Celestial Thunder Cliff, all the Spirit Land outside of the Cultivation Cave Mansions was being used to grow bamboo, so its output was close to zero.
And the remaining Tier Three Spirit Veins would only be farther and farther away.
If they started another one so soon, Wei Dao worried whether the Black Mountain Cultivators could endure it, and whether war-weariness would set in.
For a Core Formation Ancestor, a reclamation war was just a final thunderbolt strike that took a few days.
But for the vast majority of people, including the Foundation Establishment Cultivators, a reclamation war was a nightmare that lasted for years of ceaseless battle.
Every day was a cycle of fighting Demon Beasts and building encampments. The casualty rate grew higher the longer it went on.
It was an immense drain on both body and mind.
...
Granny Ghost must have been in her Sect, as she only had a single Mid-Grade Storage Bag on her; the vast majority of her wealth wasn’t with her.
Besides the Dragon Head Walking Stick, which was a Mid-Grade Magical Treasure, the storage bag also contained five jet-black daggers, all of which were Low-Grade Magical Treasures.
Moreover, the five daggers clearly formed a set, and their killing power would likely multiply when activated together.
However, they were all Demon Path Magical Treasures of a low grade, and thus didn’t catch Bai Zichen’s eye.
Besides those, the storage bag also contained a few Tier Three Ore Spirits, which made him beam with joy—he was much happier about this than about finding a Mid-Grade Magical Treasure.
Two of these ore spirits were materials for refining the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword. He just needed one more Sword Refining Ore, the Celestial Water Primordial Crystal, which he could exchange for in the Secret Hall.
To refine the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword, he was only missing the Essence of a Tier Three Dragon Beast before he could begin the Sword Refinement.
’I never expected this. I’ve been longing for the Thunder Sound Sword, yet there’s still no sign of it. Meanwhile, for the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword, which I haven’t even put much effort into, I’ve already gathered most of the Spiritual Materials... It really is as the saying goes: the flower you painstakingly plant may never bloom, while the willow twig you carelessly stick in the ground grows into a shady tree.’
Bai Zichen shook his head with a wry smile. The Fish Dragon Sect’s line of Bamboo Flying Swords was rather special to begin with.
The Spiritual Materials used were considered obscure in the Cultivation Realm’s sword-refining circles and could almost be considered a secret tradition. Aside from the high requirements for the Spiritual Bamboo itself, the remaining supplementary materials were very easy to collect.
It was just the Sacred Sound Bamboo and Thunder Sound Bamboo that were almost unheard of outside the Fish Dragon Sect.
After all, they were mutations caused by the Wood God Skill. Under normal growth conditions, a Profound Ink Bamboo might not produce a single stalk of Sacred Sound Bamboo even in ten million years.
For it to then mutate again into Thunder Sound Bamboo, the probability under normal circumstances was practically zero.
So, his only hope was to wait for the Bamboo Sea on Celestial Thunder Cliff to successfully mutate soon, cultivating more Sacred Sound Bamboo.
And the very first stalk of Thunder Sound Bamboo.
The reason Bai Zichen had asked Wei Dao for intelligence on the High-Tier Demon Beasts in the Black Mountain Range was to find a suitable target.
To hunt a Tier Three Dragon Beast and take its Essence.
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