"Wait a minute, what's your name?" This simpleton only remembered to ask someone's name at this moment.
This time, however, Nangong Wan did not hesitate at all.
"My name is Nangong Wan. Also, don't mention today's events to anyone. I'm not just referring to our matter. The things those two said could cause a huge upheaval in the entire cultivation world. This is not something we should know, so keep it to yourself."
Han Li was naturally aware of this. Those high-level secrets of the cultivation world were certainly not something a Qi Refining stage cultivator like himself should know. Even if someone believed him, they couldn't explain how he knew. Therefore, the best course of action was to keep it to himself.
Perhaps it was because they shared a secret. This time, Nangong Wan's attitude was slightly better than in the original story. But it was only slightly better. Han Li could still feel the enormous chasm between them.
Before this, Han Li cultivated immortality simply for the sake of cultivation. But at this moment, he had a vague goal. He wanted to see that woman again. Therefore, he wanted to become stronger.
What happened inside the stone hall did not affect the trials outside. The slaughter and death continued until the very last moment. More than 70% of the trial disciples died in the forbidden area. Spirit Beast Mountain contributed significantly to this.
Lu Xuan and Xiang Zhili looked at the group of people from Spirit Beast Mountain with somewhat strange expressions.
"These little guys don't seem to be from Spirit Beast Mountain. Their methods are more like those of a demonic sect that I've seen before."
“That’s right, they are disciples of the Demonic Sect,” Lu Xuan chimed in from the side.
Although they hadn't infiltrated the major sects, several of Lu Xuan's disciples had successfully entered various surrounding cultivation families. After all, Core Formation stage cultivators were the highest level of existence for those cultivation families. As long as they showed even the slightest interest, they could easily join as various kinds of retainers.
Their task was to gather all sorts of information, including secrets and legends from the cultivation world, cultivation techniques, elixir recipes, and various rumors circulating privately.
Lu Xuan had long ago deduced from some seemingly trivial clues that the Six Demonic Sects had already begun their actions. In other words, a demonic invasion was not far off.
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Chapter 486 Cultivating Immortality and Comprehending the Dao
Lu Xuan wasn't actually concerned about the invasion of the demonic path. In fact, he was somewhat looking forward to it. Based on the information he had collected over the years, combined with the original novel, the entire cultivation world was undergoing a transformation.
In the original story, the entire Tiannan region soon descended into chaos. The demonic forces invaded the real world, leading to a decades-long war. Then came the invasion of the Mulan people from the grasslands. The righteous and evil factions immediately joined forces to fight against this common enemy.
It turned out that the Mulan people were also forced into hostilities by the stronger Turkic people on the other side. Thus, the two sides reached another ceasefire agreement. After several rounds of this, it resembled a multi-national political struggle in the real world.
The key point is that, during this process, Han Li, who hid in the Chaotic Star Sea, did not escape the real chaos either, because war was also breaking out there.
This reveals that this chaos was almost inevitable. After a long period of peace, the dissatisfaction of numerous factions with the resource allocation system reached a critical point. Therefore, war was almost inevitable. This is true in both the cultivation world and the real world, because ultimately, the main actors are all human. While there may be vast differences in power, human nature remains largely unchanged.
This invasion by the demonic forces is Lu Xuan's opportunity. The scale of this war will far exceed the imagination of the people of Tiannan. While the power structure of Tiannan won't be completely reshuffled, there will be significant changes. Countless small and medium-sized sects will be wiped out in this catastrophe. And that will be Lu Xuan's chance.
Having cultivated to this point, Lu Xuan had long since understood one thing: unless one possessed a special cheat code like Han Laomo, reaching greater heights still required the support of a powerful force. No matter how powerful Lu Xuan was, he couldn't be in two places at once and couldn't attend to multiple matters simultaneously.
Therefore, he ultimately needs to consolidate a force to serve him. Then, he will have enough manpower to collect various rare and precious materials or explore ancient cultivator ruins.
After leaving the forbidden area, Lu Xuan parted ways with Xiang Zhili. Xiang Zhili needed to continue wandering the mortal realm, searching for a way to ascend. At the same time, he began preparing to replenish his spiritual roots. Lu Xuan, on the other hand, began preparing for secluded cultivation, working towards entering the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Meanwhile, news also came back from Hongyu. She had reached the False Infant Realm and was also preparing to form her Infant.
After some thought, Lu Xuan decided to first assist Hongyu in forming her Nascent Soul. This way, while he was in seclusion, Hongyu could protect his group of people.
Like Lu Xuan, Hongyu did not take any elixirs to aid her in forming her Nascent Soul during this secluded cultivation. She merely set up a spirit-gathering array to ensure a steady supply of spiritual energy. Perhaps because she had been by Lu Xuan's side for so long, everyone in the Hidden Immortal Sect took Hongyu's Nascent Soul formation for granted. No one even considered the possibility of failure.
This collective conviction, in turn, provided unseen assistance, solidifying Hongyu's belief that she would inevitably achieve Nascent Soul formation.
She had already accumulated enough power in the world of Jade Dynasty. However, that world had a certain suppression effect on Nascent Soul formation. Apart from Lu Xuan's special physique, her chances of successfully forming a Nascent Soul were really slim.
However, although this world had begun to decline, it was still quite capable of supporting Nascent Soul cultivators. Therefore, shortly after arriving in this world, she sensed that her opportunity to form her Nascent Soul was approaching. This is also why Lu Xuan was advancing to the mid-Nascent Soul stage so quickly. His cultivation, which had been suppressed in the previous world, began to surge in this one. However, this growth should only reach the mid-Nascent Soul stage. After that, genuine arduous cultivation would be required for further advancement.
Hongyu ultimately chose to form her Nascent Soul in a small cave she had carved out in the wilderness. Lu Xuan personally set up a spirit-gathering array for her, ensuring she had ample spiritual energy. Therefore, she did not require any special spiritual veins for assistance.
The transition from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage represents a fundamental breakthrough. It's not merely about accumulating spiritual power; more importantly, it's about a sudden enlightenment regarding the Dao.
As mentioned before, the Nascent Soul stage is just the beginning of cultivation. Only by reaching the Nascent Soul stage can one even remotely touch upon immortality. And the cultivation ideal of immortality and living as long as heaven and earth cannot be achieved simply by accumulating spiritual power. It requires a sublimation of the mind, body, and even soul.
The inner demons within the Nascent Soul stage represent the transformation of the soul. The shattering of the golden egg, forming the Nascent Soul, tempers the physical body. Ultimately, the sublimation at the level of the soul is about sudden enlightenment.
Countless cultivators remain stuck at the Core Formation or even the Nascent Soul stage, either never advancing further or failing to form a Nascent Soul. Is it due to insufficient spiritual energy? Everyone cultivates within spiritual veins; the accumulated spiritual energy is more than enough. Is it because of inner demons? That's true. However, most cultivators who manage to form a Golden Core are people of unwavering will. Inner demons are indeed terrifying, but not as terrifying as they seem.
Therefore, the real difficulty in forming a Nascent Soul lies in this final moment of enlightenment. Enlightenment may occur in an instant, or it may never happen in a lifetime. This is what cultivators often refer to as the "opportunity." When the opportunity arrives, many things are decided in a single thought. When the opportunity is absent, there is no hope for the rest of one's life.
Enlightenment isn't about suddenly understanding what the Nascent Soul is. It's about a kind of intuitive understanding. How could someone at the Golden Core stage suddenly understand what the Nascent Soul is? Unless some kind of spiritual entity from the upper realm assists them, allowing them to experience the Nascent Soul realm ahead of time.
Lu Xuan had seen this thing in some of the ancient books he had collected. In ancient times, there existed a strange fruit that flowed from the spirit realm, called the Enlightenment Fruit. It was said that after eating it, one could sense the Dao of the next realm ahead of time. After that, as long as one accumulated enough spiritual power and overcame one's inner demons, one would directly level up, skipping the intermediate enlightenment process. However, such a heaven-defying item was only a legend in ancient times, and naturally could not be seen now. Therefore, in the end, one still had to rely on oneself.
That's essentially an understanding of a qualitative change in power. It's about two sides causing a qualitative change. It's a change that naturally occurs after your spiritual power accumulates to a certain level. However, in cultivation, this change is probabilistic. Some people can easily sense it, while others never hope to experience it in their entire lives.
For Hongyu, her life was dedicated to the pursuit of immortality. Even after she became a cultivation partner with Lu Xuan, her desire for the Dao never diminished in the slightest. Furthermore, she possessed a significant advantage: the profound understanding she gained regarding the qualitative leap in power was an open-ended question for the members of the Hidden Immortal Sect, as they had all traveled the worlds with Lu Xuan.
From the world of Liaozhai to the world of Zhu Xian, and then to the world of Mortals, the macro-level of power has been constantly upgrading. This is actually a more advanced and grander qualitative change. And Hongyu, who has experienced this qualitative change, has long surpassed the standard for enlightenment regarding Nascent Soul formation.
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Chapter 487 Crimson Jade Nascent Soul
On that day, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged. In the sky, the boundless spiritual energy formed a dazzling aura that shone across half the sky. Its power was far greater than when Lu Xuan first formed his Nascent Soul.
However, this is normal. After all, in the world of Jade Dynasty, the Nascent Soul stage was the limit, and the world didn't want him to reach that stage. In the end, he just barely managed to get by. But in this world, the Nascent Soul stage is normal, and the prosperous era that should be there will naturally not be any less.
This extraordinary celestial phenomenon naturally attracted many cultivators. However, most cultivators didn't even have the right to approach. A large group of Golden Core cultivators guarding the area scared them away. Then, several recent Nascent Soul stage elders arrived. But with Lu Xuan guarding the area, they too dared not make a move.
Furthermore, for Hongyu, there was no so-called enlightenment process; once the inner demon was overcome, the Nascent Soul was directly formed. While the inner demon illusion might encompass thousands of years, it corresponds to only a fleeting instant in the outside world. Therefore, even if someone wanted to tamper with it, there would be no opportunity.
"Congratulations, fellow cultivator, on advancing to the Nascent Soul stage! Our Tiannan cultivation world has gained another pillar of strength. A cause for celebration!"
The one who spoke was Elder Linghu of Yellow Maple Valley. Beside him was an elder from the Hidden Moon Sect; they were the first to arrive. Behind them were many other Nascent Soul stage elders offering their congratulations. After all, forming a Nascent Soul in the desolate mountains, in a place without spiritual veins, was still quite extraordinary.