Chapter 83: 83. Nascent soul [1]
After returning to the Lin family estate, Lin Xuan headed straight for the Patriarch’s residence.
Without wasting any time, he retrieved a communication jade talisman from his spatial ring.
"Unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter, I want every elder to attend the clan meeting five days from now."
He paused briefly before adding,
"If an emergency prevents your attendance, send the disciple you have been grooming to succeed you."
The jade talisman glowed faintly before several streaks of light shot into the distance, carrying his message to every elder of the Lin family.
Lin Xuan put the talisman away and quietly returned to his courtyard.
The moment he stepped inside, his expression gradually became serious.
He was now at the Peak Tenth Layer of the Golden Core Realm.
He could already sense the next bottleneck.
It felt as though only a thin veil separated him from the next major realm.
Yet instead of excitement, a trace of concern surfaced in his heart.
His cultivation had advanced far too quickly.
Within the span of a single year, he had crossed so many minor realms in rapid succession that even he began to question the stability of his own foundation.
Although he had not sensed any instability within his spiritual qi, the speed itself was enough to make anyone uneasy.
After pondering the matter for a while, he came to a decision.
"I should ask Zhaoyue."
She was a regressor and although he had no idea how far she had progressed before returning to the past, she possessed a First-Grade Earth Rank Martial Spirit.
With talent like that, she should have climbed to heights far beyond anything he had ever reached in this life.
If anyone could tell him whether his concerns were justified, it would be her.
There was very little information available for Lin Xuan regarding the Nascent Soul Realm.
All he knew was that simply possessing a single Nascent Soul cultivator was enough to elevate a clan to at least the Sixth Rank.
That alone was enough to illustrate the enormous gulf separating the two realms.
And rightfully so.
Upon stepping into the Nascent Soul Realm, a cultivator underwent a qualitative transformation.
Many abilities that were utterly impossible for a Golden Core cultivator became commonplace.
One of the most iconic was the birth of the Nascent Soul itself.
A cultivator’s soul could leave the confines of the physical body and travel freely through the world.
Even death ceased to be absolute.
So long as the Nascent Soul remained intact and escaped destruction, the cultivator still possessed a chance at revival.
To Golden Core cultivators, such abilities sounded no different from the legends of immortals.
The two realms were separated by far more than mere spiritual qi, they existed on entirely different levels of existence.
Lin Xuan took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.
He currently used the spiritual flame for pill refinement but according to the records in the family library, once a cultivator stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm, their spiritual flame would undergo a transformation and become Nascent Fire.
Unlike ordinary spiritual fire, Nascent Fire was born from the Nascent Soul itself. Its power, control, and refinement capabilities far surpassed anything a Golden Core cultivator could wield.
For alchemists, it represented more than just a stronger flame, it was a watershed.
Many major sects judged the future potential of an alchemist by whether they could one day cultivate Nascent Fire.
Countless gifted alchemists were nurtured with that very goal in mind, while those who could never cross that threshold were destined to remain ordinary.
Lin Xuan lowered his gaze.
"I wonder..."
Before he could finish the thought, a knock sounded from outside the courtyard.
Knock. Knock.
"Patriarch."
A guard’s respectful voice came from beyond the gate.
Lin Xuan withdrew his thoughts.
"Come in."
The guard pushed open the gate, entered the courtyard, and cupped his fists.
"Patriarch, a messenger from the Shangguan family has requested your presence."
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.
"A messenger from the Shangguan family?"
The guard nodded.
"Yes, Patriarch. He said he has an important matter he wishes to discuss with you."
Before Lin Xuan could respond, the familiar mechanical voice echoed within his mind.
[New Quest Unlocked.]
[The Shangguan family has come to halt the progress of a sprouting dragon!]
[Reject the summons and prove your superiority as the proud Clan Leader.]
Lin Xuan’s eyelid twitched.
Reject the summons? Absolutely not.
The Shangguan family was one of the true overlords of the region.
Their clan alone possessed more than twenty Golden Core cultivators.
Moreover, according to the rumors he had heard, their ancestor had entered secluded cultivation in an attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Ignoring the summons of such a force?
That was suicide!
Just as he was about to dismiss the quest altogether, another line appeared before his eyes.
[ Reward: Realm Breaking Pill x10 ]
Lin Xuan fell silent.
"..."
He looked at the translucent panel and then toward the gate before returning back at the panel.
"On second thought..."
He folded his arms and nodded to himself with a perfectly serious expression.
"I believe I can ignore the summons."
The guard blinked in confusion, wondering why the Patriarch had suddenly started talking to himself.
Lin Xuan looked toward the guard and waved his hand.
"The message has been received, you may go now."
The guard cupped his fists before turning and leaving the courtyard.
After the guard departed, Lin Xuan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"The system only told me to reject the summons, It never said I couldn’t meet the messenger."
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"Besides, how am I supposed to reject the summons if I don’t first receive it from the messenger?"
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded.
Since he was going to reject the Shangguan family’s summons anyway, he might as well do it with a little style as well.
Three hours later.
Only then did Lin Xuan leisurely make his way toward the reception hall.
The moment he stepped through the doorway, he found a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of the Shangguan family.
The man’s fingers repeatedly tapped against the armrest of his chair, his face dark enough to drip water.
The tea beside him had long since gone cold.
The instant he saw Lin Xuan enter, the messenger abruptly stood.
His expression was no longer merely displeased, it was livid.
"So you’re finally willing to show yourself?"
His sharp gaze locked onto Lin Xuan.
"I have waited here for three hours.
Three. Hours!"
Each word was spoken with increasing emphasis.
"As the Patriarch of the Lin family, is this how you conduct yourself?"
His sleeves fluttered as he stepped forward, his face flushed with anger.
"What an incompetent clan leader! A messenger from the Shangguan family personally comes to your doorstep, yet you leave me waiting for three hours."
His voice grew colder with each sentence.
"Have the recent fortunes of your Lin family made you so arrogant that you now look down on the Shangguan family?"
His eyes narrowed into slits.
"Or do you think that just because your family managed to cling to the leg of some wandering alchemist, the Shangguan family can no longer do anything to you?"
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