A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

"To form a Nascent Soul, besides cultivating to Perfect Core Formation... you must overcome three great trials. First is Breaking the Core to form the Soul. This step is fraught with danger, testing the purity of a cultivator’s Magical Power. If their foundation is unstable or their cultivation is insufficient, they won’t even be able to form a Nascent Soul..."

"Then, there’s the Heart Demon Tribulation... When a Nascent Soul is first formed, it enters a chaotic state, making it extremely vulnerable to Heart Demons. After all, the saying, ’The Celestial Dao is unkind; it treats all of creation as straw dogs,’ is not just empty words. Heart Demons are a type of living being, so the Celestial Dao naturally leaves them a sliver of a chance at survival. This so-called chance is the opportunity to possess a cultivator breaking through to a higher Realm. If they succeed, they can be reborn into a new existence."

The origin of Heart Demons was already well-known among cultivators.

They were the powerful ones among the formless Celestial Demons that roamed the Void, often born from a single, simple desire. The simpler the desire, the more powerful the demon—and Celestial Demons were the prime example.

For this very reason, the danger of the Heart Demon Tribulation was even greater than that of Breaking the Core.

"If you are fortunate enough to survive the Heart Demon Tribulation, then the Thunder Tribulation will descend. This final trial is a test of your performance in the first two. As long as you did reasonably well in both, you can pass. Otherwise, the only outcome is utter annihilation, your body and Dao destroyed. That’s why cultivators who feel their path forward is too difficult will often choose to give up on the Six-Nine Celestial Tribulation."

Lü Zhong finished reading the insights Shuini had given him and let out a light laugh. ’The depth of my foundation is even greater than my master, Shuini’s. As a cultivator with Dual Spirit Roots, her success rate for Nascent Soul Formation was only forty percent, while mine is now fifty percent. The depth of my Magical Power also far surpasses hers... Enough. It’s time to begin the breakthrough!’

He slowly rose to his feet.

Walking out of Tide Cave, he smiled and nodded at Shuini and Yu Feng’Er.

He made his way slowly toward the summit.

With every step, his aura surged dramatically.

At the same time, the sky abruptly darkened.

One by one, stars emerged.

Then, like meteors, they streaked across the heavens.

It was a known fact, however, that the stars in the Cultivation Realm had been fixed in place since ancient times. While they might fall and vanish, there had never been an instance of Star Shifting.

If word of this day’s events were to spread, there was no telling how many people would be utterly horrified.

In the span of a few breaths, the celestial river was already ablaze with light!

As the celestial phenomenon unfolded, tens of thousands of Bihai Sect disciples in the Outer Sea witnessed the marvelous sight with their own eyes. While their hearts filled with awe and admiration, they also felt a growing discomfort from the sudden descent of Spiritual Pressure.

Only then did they understand why the Sect’s elders had ordered them to remain on solid ground. Under the terrifying, Nascent Soul Level Spiritual Pressure, Qi Refining Stage disciples were as helpless as drifting duckweed. Had they been flying in the air or floating on the sea, there would have surely been casualties.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators appeared to be faring slightly better, but their hearts were pounding with fear. They could only maintain a calm facade; inwardly, they were not much better off than the low-level disciples. If they hadn’t known that their Sect’s Ancestor was attempting a breakthrough, they might have truly believed some ancient Desolate Beast was awakening on Bihai Island.

The celestial phenomenon covered such a vast area that it even enveloped Bidao Market.

All who witnessed it were aghast.

Cultivators who didn’t understand the phenomenon’s significance were simply stunned by the wondrous sight.

For those cultivators with higher cultivation and broader knowledge, their emotions were far more complex, for they understood the meaning behind the celestial phenomenon.

Someone was breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm!

If this person succeeded in forming a Nascent Soul, the political landscape of the Southern Barbarian lands would face a change unseen in ten thousand years.

And that would mean the dawn of a chaotic era.

According to historical records, a similar situation had occurred in the Southern Barbarian lands thirty thousand years ago. A cultivator from outside the Seven Sects had successfully reached the Nascent Soul Realm, triggering a massive and bloody period of turmoil.

"The Fall of the Flying Star."

It was a war at the True Monarch level, sparked by the unequal distribution of resources. The flames of war engulfed the entire Southern Barbarian region until the former hegemon, the Flying Star Sect, finally collapsed. Only after resources were redistributed did the turmoil come to an end.

No one knew if the Bihai Sect’s Ancestor, after successfully forming his Nascent Soul, would be content to remain secluded in the Outer Sea.

If he wasn’t, turmoil was sure to follow.

...

「The Outer Sea of the Bihai Sect」

Spiritual Crane True Monarch appeared.

Upon seeing the celestial phenomenon, his typically emotionless expression couldn’t help but waver.

’Such a celestial phenomenon... It’s simply unheard of!’

Hailing from Central Earth, Spiritual Crane True Monarch’s knowledge was naturally far superior to that of the Southern Barbarian Cultivators.

When an ordinary cultivator formed a Nascent Soul, such an anomaly would never occur unless they practiced a special Cultivation Technique.

As far as he knew, Lü Zhong was only practicing a Cultivation Technique from the Immortal Spirit Sect—a minor Sect weaker than Qingxu Temple. It had a mere three Nascent Soul Cultivators, less than half the number at Qingxu Temple.

’What should I do?’

Spiritual Crane True Monarch hesitated.

He had already pieced together most of the details surrounding the death of his disciple, Jia Yujun. Yinn Qiao and his group had been the ones to clash with Lü Zhong first, which led to the subsequent events.

’Should I make a move, or should I leave?’

Should he make an enemy of a Great Cultivator who might one day reach the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm—or perhaps even the Late Stage—all for a disciple he had been fond of? An enemy, moreover, bound by an irreconcilable, mortal feud born from obstructing another’s Dao path.

Or should he just pretend the whole thing never happened?

Just as Spiritual Crane True Monarch was hesitating, unable to decide, two shocking auras suddenly flared to life from the northwest.

’Nascent Soul Cultivators. Who’s making a move?’

As if this was the final straw, Spiritual Crane True Monarch made his decision.

’This man cannot be allowed to live!’

He immediately shot forward, preparing to sabotage Lü Zhong’s Nascent Soul Formation before the Thunder Tribulation could descend.

Only someone who had personally experienced it could know how difficult Nascent Soul Formation truly was.

And all he had to do was pry loose a single brick from Lü Zhong’s foundation. A "gentle nudge" was all it would take to trigger a chain reaction, causing the towering edifice to collapse in an instant.

...

At that moment.

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