Chapter 1227: I Enter the Path of the True Immortal
“Could the Dharma Propagator Celestial Venerable have some connection to the sudden rise of the Broken Immortal Tower?”
“He summoned sixteen Dao Integration cultivators to the Darkest Star Sea. What could his ultimate goal be?”
“And that cultivator I met when I first arrived in this place littered with relic fragments... he wasn't from the Mysterious Immortal Boat. There must be another civilization of cultivators here. Is it the Merchant Immortal Boat, or something connected to the Dharma Propagator?”
...
Li Fan's train of thought was shattered by a violent surge of energy from within Zhao Xian.
Above Zhao Xian's head, spiritual energy swirled into a vortex, furiously pouring into his body.
Deep within his dantian, fine cracks began to spread across the surface of his faintly purplish Golden Core.
It was as if something was gestating within, poised to break free.
Two months after entering a frantic, secluded cultivation, Zhao Xian broke through to the Nascent Soul realm!
It was nothing like the ones Li Fan had read about in the ancient texts of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Instead of a vibrant, infant-like figure brimming with the rhythm of the Dao, it was a perfect, miniature replica of Zhao Xian himself.
In fact, it looked noticeably older than Zhao Xian himself.
Observing it closely, Li Fan realized there was a profound mystery connected to the apparent age of the manifested Nascent Soul.
“Is this a predetermined fate? An innate limit on when he can break through to the next realm? In other words, Zhao Xian won't be able to reach the Soul Transformation stage until he physically reaches the age his Nascent Soul now displays?”
After a long moment of contemplation, Li Fan formed a tentative theory.
“So this is... a different kind of bottleneck? I've never encountered anything like it in the records of the Xuanhuang Realm. The question is, can this predetermined time limit be altered?”
When Zhao Xian finally emerged from his seclusion, he too noticed the anomaly with his Nascent Soul.
His progress had been so rapid that his composure was shaken, and it took him a long while to come to terms with this reality.
He sought out Zhao Wuji in private to ask about it.
“What? You've formed your Nascent Soul?”
This time, Zhao Wuji wasn't just shocked—he was terrified.
The Dao Proving Academy hadn't even finished deliberating on how to handle Zhao Xian as a Golden Core cultivator, and now he was already at the Nascent Soul realm!
Didn't that render all their previous discussions completely meaningless?
“How could this be?”
Only when he saw the miniature, slightly older figure emerge from Zhao Xian's body did Zhao Wuji truly believe it.
“At this rate, you could reach Soul Transformation within a decade. This is...”
Zhao Wuji stared blankly for a moment, utterly at a loss for words.
“No, this is beyond my authority. I must inform the Palace Master directly,” Zhao Wuji declared before retreating as if fleeing for his life, his figure looking utterly disheveled.
Meanwhile, Li Fan's clone seized the opportunity to temporarily transfer his consciousness to Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Xian was about to face intense scrutiny.
Uncertain of the Palace Master's true power, it was wiser to avoid a direct confrontation for now.
Zhao Wuji rushed to the highest floor of the academy, bursting through the doors.
Three white-haired elders were present, all of whom looked up in surprise at Zhao Wuji's flustered state.
“Zhao Xian has formed his Nascent Soul.”
The statement made the color drain from the faces of all three elders.
Just as Li Fan had anticipated, they paid no more mind to Zhao Wuji, the messenger.
In a flicker of movement, they vanished and reappeared directly at Zhao Xian's side.
It was seven days before Zhao Wuji saw Zhao Xian again.
Though he had only just formed his Nascent Soul, his aura was already completely stable.
“The Palace Master reviewed the recorded images of our meeting that day. Because of my passionate speech, he decided to abandon his original plan. Instead, he has decided to genuinely nurture my talent.”
“Talented individuals are common enough. But those who are both talented *and* unquestionably loyal? They are a rarity.”
Zhao Xian told Zhao Wuji.
Recalling the events of the past few days, Zhao Wuji was overcome with a profound sense of unreality.
“But you weren't wrong, Master,” Zhao Xian added via a quiet voice transmission. “If I were still at the Golden Core realm, I'd probably have been refined into a Dao Pill and consumed by the Palace Master by now. Fortunately, I was a step ahead, snatching life from the jaws of death. After all, the Palace Master is nearing the end of his lifespan. The academy needs a successor.”
“And this will be the last time I call you Master.”
Zhao Wuji watched Zhao Xian's departing figure, a sense of melancholy and loss washing over him.
Li Fan's clone, in turn, shifted back to Zhao Xian.
As the academy's designated successor, Zhao Xian's status underwent a monumental transformation.
He was moved to the second-highest floor of the academy and granted access to numerous secrets that had once been far beyond his reach.
Secrets such as the true power structure of the Mysterious Immortal Boat.
One of the three academy elders, a cultivator named Yu Shuo, took it upon himself to personally instruct Zhao Xian.
“Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Dao Integration. These realms are merely superficial.”
“In the face of the pervasive, ambient power of the True Immortals that saturates this star sea, there is no fundamental difference between them.”
“So-called 'greater power' merely allows one to cling to life a little longer.”
“When your time comes, you will die all the same.”
Seeing the profound shock and confusion on Zhao Xian's face as his worldview shattered, Yu Shuo smiled. “The reason our Dao Proving Academy is worthy of its name,” he continued, “is because we were the first to discover a method not only to avoid the dangers of the True Immortals' power, but to harness it.”
“We call it the 'Method of Dao Entry'.”
“The Method of Dao Entry?” Zhao Xian repeated, still thoroughly confused.
“Legend says that every True Immortal possesses a unique Dao. This Darkest Star Sea we inhabit is saturated with their unique powers. For a mortal vessel to avoid being influenced by them, one must enter their Dao with one's own body.” As Yu Shuo spoke, his body underwent a bizarre transformation.
His features flickered erratically.
The white-haired, hale elder became a young child, his face still round with innocence. A moment later, he was a young man brimming with ambition.
It wasn't just his appearance; his physique and aura were in a state of constant flux.
“Once you enter the Dao of a True Immortal, you not only become immune to its harmful effects, but you can also ward off most of the power from other True Immortals in this sea,” Yu Shuo explained, reverting to his original form with a hint of pride in his voice.
“This is the very method employed by the Immortal Pivot Academy and the vast majority of high-ranking cultivators aboard the Immortal Boat.”
After a moment of thought, Zhao Xian astutely identified the crucial point.
“Does this Method of Dao Entry have flaws? And the Broken Immortal Tower... have they found a new way to harness the power of the True Immortals?”
Yu Shuo nodded, an appreciative "this boy is teachable" expression on his face.
“The power of a True Immortal is not something just anyone can meddle with. For a mortal cultivator to master it, there are stringent requirements for one's constitution and aptitude. One must also use special materials and methods, advancing step by step. If an ordinary person is exposed to too much at once, the only result is complete annihilation, body and soul.”
“Elder Yu, are you referring to the World-Extinguishing Relics?” Zhao Xian asked quickly, a sudden thought striking him.
“Precisely. And the effect is best with relics where the True Immortal's residual power is at its weakest, just on the verge of dissipating completely.”
“As for why the Broken Immortal Tower has managed to rival the Immortal Pivot Academy in such a short time... it's rumored they've found a way to perfectly and harmlessly absorb the World-Extinguishing Relics,” Yu Shuo finished, his tone laced with disbelief.
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