Chapter 476: Mid-Stage Nascent Soul (Makeup for 35th Missing Chapter)
Inside the cave abode.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged within his cave abode, a shimmer of green light above his head. From it emerged a Nascent Soul, its features strikingly similar to his own. It cradled the All-Heavens Precious Mirror, stood upon the Star-Patterned Chessboard, and was surrounded by spirit treasures like the Blood Fiend Hall, the Spirit Bird Fan, and the Green Reaping Sword. On its hand, it wore a five-colored bracelet.
Countless strands of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy surged into it, rendering its body slightly translucent, like a block of primal green jade. Within the jade, faint, golden threads of light vaguely emerged, resembling newly formed meridians. . .
“Break! ”
Suddenly, the main Nascent Soul snapped coldly. Within the newly formed meridians, spiritual energy circulated, abruptly breaking through the restrictions of the seventeenth layer of the 'Withered Glory Chant' and entering the pathway of the eighteenth layer of the cultivation art!
Mid-stage Nascent Soul, a breakthrough achieved!
For Nascent Soul cultivators, daily cultivation primarily revolves around nurturing their Nascent Soul!
The main Nascent Soul silently circulated the cultivation art, then suddenly opened its mouth, absorbing all the surrounding spiritual energy. Its face matured further, taking on the appearance of an infant transforming into a half-grown child.
“Three hundred and seventy-six years old, and a breakthrough to mid-stage Nascent Soul! My magical power has increased by forty to fifty percent. . . ”
“Mid-journey, elevating my low-grade spirit root to a superior-grade spirit root provided considerable assistance. . . my cultivation speed rapidly increased. ”
“With the aid of the 'Separation and Union Pill', I reached early-stage perfection in just a few decades. ”
Once his magical power cultivated to its limit, Fang Xi attempted to break through to mid-stage Nascent Soul.
This breakthrough could simply be described as smooth and uneventful.
He merely activated his cultivation art to assault the barrier with ease, yet he directly broke through the bottleneck and advanced to mid-stage Nascent Soul!
According to Fang Xi's estimations, this might be related to the advancement of his aptitude. After all, a superior-grade wood spirit root, combined with the 'Wood Spirit Body', already surpassed the Heaven-grade spirit root aptitudes of many old Nascent Soul monsters.
Furthermore, having mastered the first layer of the 'Seven Emotions Sorrowful Parting Manual' should have also provided considerable aid.
After all, Divine Consciousness, magical power, and physical body are known as the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, frequently involved in cultivation. . . Excelling in any one aspect far beyond one's peers can provide significant benefit to breaking through realms.
Finally, Fang Xi vaguely felt that it seemed, appeared, probably. . . perhaps it had some connection to his 'Eternal Evergreen Body', which was currently undergoing a transformation?
After all, ever since he had watered the Ancestor Demonic Tree with 'Nine Heavens Pure Water', his Wood Spirit Body seemed to have finally begun to 'evolve'. Even if the change was extremely subtle, it should still yield some benefits, such as imperceptibly weakening many bottlenecks during cultivation. . .
“From Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, shattering the Core to form a Nascent Soul. . . and now breaking through to the mid-stage, my cultivation speed is getting faster and faster. This is naturally due to my aptitude continuously improving. . . ”
“If I hadn't had the 'Longevity Art' back then, my Dao path would undoubtedly have been much harder. . . ”
Whenever he thought of this, Fang Xi couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
“Of course, breaking through to the mid-stage is nothing. . . the bottleneck to late-stage Nascent Soul is truly difficult. Even combining all the old Nascent Soul monsters in the Southern Desolate, there are only around fifty, and a mere two Grand Cultivators! ”
“As for Soul Transformation after that, it's an even more insurmountable chasm! Not to mention, since the ancient great war, advancing to Soul Transformation in the Southern Desolate has become even harder. . . and the Kyushu World isn't much different in difficulty, as it has Heavenly Demon Qi, while here there's Heavenly Fiend Qi. . . ”
After breaking through to mid-stage Nascent Soul, Fang Xi's Nascent Soul could also endure longer in the external world without feeling fatigued.
His Nascent Soul silently cultivated for a moment, then suddenly opened its small mouth, spewing forth a stream of emerald green radiance—the Taiyi Azure Wood Divine Light!
“With the aid of this breakthrough to the mid-stage bottleneck, the Taiyi Azure Wood Divine Light has also advanced further. ”
The Taiyi Azure Wood Divine Light was a great divine ability secretly transmitted by the Azure Emperor Mountain!
When Fang Xi had advanced to Nascent Soul back then, he had only barely managed to cultivate it to the introductory level, yet its power was already sufficient to allow him to run rampant among ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
Now, it had advanced even further; the Divine Light had reached minor accomplishment, and its might had further increased!
‘Of course, there's still some distance to go before reaching the great accomplishment of the White Deer Formation Spirit's Taiyi Azure Wood Divine Light, which slices through Nascent Soul cultivators and spirit treasures as if cutting melons and vegetables. . . but it's enough to ensure my safety even before late-stage Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators. ’
Fang Xi silently estimated his current combat power.
‘Without resorting to the Withered Glory Mystic Light, my early-stage Nascent Soul self, though capable of escaping from a Grand Cultivator and even exchanging a few blows, would most likely still lose. . . ’
‘Now that I've advanced to mid-stage Nascent Soul, the power unleashed by my various spirit treasures has further increased. . . I should be able to maintain a draw, right? Perhaps even a slight chance of winning? ’
The reason Grand Cultivators were the leaders of major factions was precisely because, relying on their cultivation and magical power, they could form a crushing suppression over early-stage and mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!
Fang Xi never underestimated his opponents!
‘However, I now possess Grand Cultivator-level combat power. . . coupled with the Withered Glory Mystic Light, I should be relatively safe in the Southern Desolate. . . ’
‘What's more. . . I also had another identity. ’
‘Although this identity wasn't very sturdy, seeming like it could fall off at any moment. . . ’
Fang Xi immediately decided that after emerging from seclusion, he would return to Emerald Island.
He didn't even need to release the 'Ancestor Demonic Tree' from the Mountain Sea Pearl first; instead, he could continue traveling to the Western Desert Cultivation World to lie low for a while.
Although there were more high-level combatants there, no one knew his true identity!
What did Yun Jizi, the successor of Azure Emperor Mountain, have to do with True Monarch Mu?
‘When the void passages of the Demon race can even be traversed by Soul Transformation Venerables, then I'll go hide out in the Red Sun Realm. . . ’
At this thought, Fang Xi suddenly felt the world was vast and full of possibilities!
With a smile on his face, he went to another spirit vein.
This spirit vein had a small 'Spirit Gathering Formation' set up, and at its center were several gold-attribute supreme-grade spirit stones!
During his cultivation, he had continuously buried supreme-grade spirit stones here to 'recharge' them, and now they had returned to a state of abundant spiritual energy.
“After emerging from seclusion, I'll say goodbye to Nangong Li. . . then head to Emerald Island. . . I heard there are 'snake-women' in the Western Desert whose waist dances are a unique art. I wonder if they can be incorporated into the Heavenly Demon Dance? ”
Fang Xi emerged from seclusion gracefully, only to see Nangong Li approaching with a smiling countenance, cupping her hands as she said, “Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on advancing to mid-stage Nascent Soul! ”
“It's merely a small step on the Dao path, nothing worthy of celebration. ”
“A small step? ”
Nangong Li's face twitched. Back when she had sought to advance to the mid-stage, she had cultivated painstakingly for several centuries!
Moreover, she already felt her potential was limited, fearing she had no hope of reaching late-stage Nascent Soul in this lifetime.
How exasperating was this Yun Jizi?
However, she was, after all, a seasoned old demoness, and quickly adjusted her emotions, saying with a charming smile, “Yun-lang. . . during your time in seclusion, quite a few cultivators came to visit. This humble one truly offended many old Nascent Soul monsters for your sake. . . ”
“Visiting? As long as it's not Tian Du or Tian Xing, they can generally be ignored. ”
Fang Xi responded with an imposing air.
“Yun-lang is indeed unfettered and dashing, but here are two calling cards that are a little special. . . ” Nangong Li handed over two calling cards.
Fang Xi casually took them and opened them to look.
One was from the disciple of 'Huang Yungong', the Core Formation female cultivator with a Heaven-grade water spirit root—Ling Shu.
This woman had received special care and finally survived the great war, even reaping considerable rewards, having already advanced to mid-stage Core Formation.
Her purpose for this trip was specifically to offer Fang Xi her thanks, but knowing her humble status, she merely left a gift and drifted away gracefully.
‘This niece isn't bad. . . she has hope of condensing a Nascent Soul in the future. ’
Fang Xi thought to himself, not taking it to heart. After all, he had killed many Nascent Souls. He then casually opened the second calling card.
“Oh? ! This is rather interesting. . . ”
This calling card, however, was from Old Man White Cloud.
The specific content didn't say much, merely a few polite greetings, and an invitation for Fang Xi to visit his cultivation abode, 'White Cloud Cave', for a talk, hinting that there might be a certain opportunity.
“Old Man White Cloud, what scheme is this fellow up to? ”
Fang Xi pondered, then looked at Nangong Li: “Among the 'Three Friends of Wine and Meat', what has Old Man White Cloud been plotting recently? ”
It didn't matter if he didn't understand; he had a walking encyclopedia of gossip by his side anyway.
“Old Man White Cloud, you say? ”
Nangong Li chuckled softly: “That Nascent Soul cultivator is likely plotting revenge. . . ”
“Who? Someone who could render Old Man White Cloud so helpless? ”
Fang Xi was slightly surprised.
Even a rogue cultivator like Huang Yungong could cause a major Nascent Soul sect like the Hunyuan Sect a great headache if provoked, and Nangong Li herself would have to show him some respect.
After all, the Nascent Souls of such major factions had many disciples and sect members under their command. Even if their strength surpassed Old Man White Cloud's, as long as they couldn't completely seal off the possibility of his Nascent Soul successfully escaping, being targeted by him to kill low-level disciples could easily lead to the collapse of their sect. . .
Unless it was a Grand Cultivator like Tian Du, only then could they be ignored.
“Could his enemy be Tian Du, or Tian Xingzi? ”
“Though not hitting the mark, it's not far off. . . Old Man White Cloud's enemy is none other than Duke Xiaoyao. ” Nangong Li said with a smiling gaze, revealing a secret: “This person formed an enmity with Duke Xiaoyao some years ago and was forced to concede defeat. I fear it became a heart demon for him, and he still holds a grudge. . . ”
“It's Duke Xiaoyao, you say? Then Old Man White Cloud is truly unlucky. . . ” Fang Xi chuckled.
Duke Xiaoyao had even fewer weaknesses than Old Man White Cloud. After all, Old Man White Cloud still had his White Cloud Cave as a cultivation place, and some disciples.
But Duke Xiaoyao was a solitary individual, without relatives or friends, yet his cultivation was profound, and his escape techniques were superb.
“Forming an enmity with Duke Xiaoyao is rather unwise. . . ” Fang Xi sighed with emotion: “Does this person still wish to seek my assistance? ”
Nangong Li said: “Duke Xiaoyao was originally from the 'Xiaoyao Sect'. Later, his sect was annihilated. After he advanced to mid-stage Nascent Soul, he killed all his enemies, but he showed no intention of revitalizing the sect, allowing several small families and sects nearby to occupy the original spirit veins. . . His disposition is resolute, not easy to deal with. ”
If one had to offend one of these two Nascent Soul cultivators, Nangong Li would undoubtedly choose Old Man White Cloud, not Duke Xiaoyao!
“To me, it's all the same. . . but this Old Man White Cloud, is he so certain I'll make a move? ” Fang Xi let out a scoff.
“This person originally invited Tian Du Mojun! Tian Du Mojun was also quite displeased with Duke Xiaoyao's neutral stance. . . he had originally planned to make a move, but in the previous great battle, he was too heavily injured by the three-headed Golden Cicada Children, and later forced himself to fiercely battle that fourth-order superior-grade Heavenly Phoenix. He is now in seclusion healing his injuries. . . ” Nangong Li stroked the Four-Eared Finger Monkey on her shoulder.
Fang Xi couldn't help but be speechless: “So that's how it is. . . It seems Old Man White Cloud has a deep-seated enmity with Duke Xiaoyao, and Tian Du Mojun making a move is also understandable. . . ”
“So, Yun-lang, what do you plan to do? Duke Xiaoyao remaining aloof this time has certainly offended most of the old Nascent Soul monsters. ”
Nangong Li giggled.
Fang Xi shook his head: “If I help Old Man White Cloud, what benefits could this person offer? Can he help me break through to late-stage Nascent Soul? ”
“How is that possible? If such a spiritual item truly existed, why wouldn't he keep it for himself? ” Nangong Li said resolutely.
“Therefore, what does it have to do with this Venerable One if these two sides fight to the death? ” Fang Xi retorted with a cold laugh.
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