From afar, Lu Xuan gazed at the sword energy stretching across the sky for thousands of miles. He couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and a sense of awe). He vaguely sensed that Hongyu's swordsmanship was beginning to possess a true Daoist charm. However, regrettably, due to the limitations of this world, that Daoist charm could not fully materialize.
"It seems I still need to ascend to the Spirit Realm as soon as possible," Lu Xuan muttered to himself, then disappeared into the crowd. There was no need to watch any longer. The Crimson Jade Sword Technique was complete. Having failed to interrupt her at the start, those demonic cultivators now had no chance. After today, the demonic forces of the Chaotic Star Sea would be utterly crushed.
For Lu Xuan, the rise and fall of the righteous and demonic factions were irrelevant. Since Hongyu wanted to test her sword against the demonic path, he would let her. In any case, these demonic forces hadn't done anything good. Without them, the resource allocation in the Chaotic Star Sea would be more reasonable, so why not?
Han Laomo had no idea that shortly after he left, the demonic forces that had been pursuing him were wiped out by Hongyu. In fact, not only the demonic forces, but also the righteous forces were terrified, fearing that the Golden Cicada Fairy might use them as a test subject if she was in a bad mood.
With a cultivation level at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, she fought against a late-Nascent Soul cultivator and two mid-Nascent Soul cultivators. In the end, she even managed to kill three of them with her sword. Such combat power was something even the Star Palace Saint Lord who cultivated the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light couldn't achieve. In an instant, Hongyu became the number one cultivator in the Chaotic Star Sea. As for Lu Xuan, he became Hongyu's dual cultivation partner.
Hongyu swept away the Demonic Sect, gathering countless resources overnight. However, just as the Hidden Immortal Sect was consolidating these resources, a beast tide suddenly erupted in the Chaotic Star Sea.
The Chaotic Star Sea is ultimately a vast ocean. All the major cultivation sects reside on the islands. Therefore, strictly speaking, the most numerous beings in this sea area are actually demon cultivators.
However, it is difficult for demon cultivators to awaken their consciousness. Most of them are formed into family-like groups based on blood ties, resulting in relatively dispersed power. Therefore, they have never been able to exert significant influence. However, if a high-level demon beast deliberately drives them, they can mobilize countless sea monsters in a very short time, forming a sea beast tide.
"There are also wise people among the demon race. They know that if things continue like this, the Chaotic Star Sea will eventually be unified. At that time, the combined power of all human cultivators in the Chaotic Star Sea will be a disaster for the demon race."
"This beast tide originated from all directions, and its core location cannot be found for the time being. However, we had already made contingency plans and quickly reduced our forces. But we still cannot avoid losing some resources."
"There's no way around it; the sheer number of demons is ultimately a huge advantage. However, the beast tide is also an opportunity—a chance to hunt demons without restraint and harvest their demon cores. I've already gathered the power of the Hidden Immortal Sect and formed an elite team specifically to hunt high-quality demons. After this beast tide ends, we'll be able to stockpile a massive amount of demon cores."
The alchemy techniques here in the Chaotic Star Sea mostly use demon cores as the main ingredient. Stock up on some; you'll always need them later. Right now, our priority is to process as many resources as possible obtained from the demonic path. Once the war is over, I'll prepare for my next period of seclusion. At that time, the sect will be in your care.”
"Alright, Hongxiu has already started refining pills. I will prepare enough pills for you."
"Very good. Once I break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, the Ascension Plan will officially begin."
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Chapter 520 Late Nascent Soul Stage
Spiritual practice knows no time.
Sixty years later, on a certain island in the Chaotic Star Sea, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly began to surge wildly. Several cultivators passing by were startled. Looking up, they saw countless visible points of spiritual light appearing in the sky, over a hundred feet high. These lights were multicolored, flickering and bright, but each contained extremely pure spiritual energy, appearing dazzlingly beautiful.
That was countless streams of pure, condensed spiritual energy, almost to the point of being tangible, frantically converging towards a certain point.
"This is..." One of them's expressions changed, as if he understood something. Without thinking, he led his two companions and frantically rushed out.
"What's wrong, Senior Brother? That strange phenomenon must be some kind of spiritual treasure appearing, right? Shouldn't we go take a look?"
"Look at you! That's clearly a powerful cultivator breaking through a bottleneck. This level of momentum indicates at least a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. If you're not afraid of death, go ahead."
"......"
The group fell silent, gazing at the strange phenomenon from afar with envy in their eyes.
That endless surge of spiritual energy seemed to be just the beginning. Then, an even stranger scene unfolded. In the sky, countless invisible rays of light, seemingly gathered by some kind of power, were slowly coalescing.
From afar, a faint beam of light, reaching to the sky, enveloped the entire island.
This was the result of Lu Xuan pushing the Ape Strike Technique to its limit. Moreover, after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, he directly used the Sun Training method, directly absorbing the essence of the sun.
During this process, Lu Xuan vaguely sensed a peculiar reaction. The power mobilized by the sun seemed to be far more than just the essence of the sun; it was a fusion of countless strands of energy, as fine as hair. Enveloped by the essence of the sun, these energies were collectively infused into the formation that Lu Xuan had set up in advance.
The Ape Strike Technique is clearly flawed. Lu Xuan discovered this long ago because its potential was far too high. When he first began cultivating it, he didn't understand the concept of directly absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. Because that's how cultivators in his memory operated.
But after he truly began cultivating immortality, he understood. There had never been any human cultivation method that allowed one to directly absorb the essence of the sun and moon. Moreover, he had long ago discovered that the essence gathered through both sun-based and moon-based cultivation did not solely originate from the sun and moon. Or rather, it did not solely originate from the sun and moon overhead.
He started using this cultivation method when he was at the Qi Refining stage, and now he has reached the late Nascent Soul stage. This cultivation method has not become outdated; on the contrary, it has shown even greater potential.
At this moment, he directly absorbed the essence of the sun and felt it more intuitively. In addition to the sun overhead, countless tiny energies, seemingly from distant places, gathered into his formation.
Through the transformation of the formation, this energy was absorbed into Lu Xuan's body. This cycle repeated itself, and Lu Xuan's aura rapidly increased.
This phenomenon finally ceased after sunset. But then, the strange sights in the sky changed again. The pale golden light disappeared, replaced by a silvery glow.
The Moon Refining Technique was activated. A similarly vast, yet slightly gentler, energy was once again injected into Lu Xuan's body.
After a full day and night of daily and monthly training, Lu Xuan's nascent soul had reached its peak. At this moment, his inner demon arrived as expected.
This time, the tribulation of inner demons proceeded without incident. Over the years, Lu Xuan had never ceased his self-reflection. His soul and body became increasingly harmonious, making it impossible for those extraterrestrial demons to truly penetrate the depths of his mind.
At dawn on the second day, the celestial phenomena finally changed.
In the sky, boundless spiritual energy gathered into a unique, auspicious, five-colored cloud. The next second, it transformed into raindrops and fell. A spiritual rain fell, encircling the entire island for hundreds of miles.
By this time, countless cultivators had gathered to watch. However, the Hidden Immortal Sect had already set up defensive formations around the area, preventing anyone from getting close. They could only observe from a distance.
"This strange phenomenon has lasted for a whole day and night. Could it be that the attempt to break through has failed?"
"Failure? Look at this spiritual rain, the spiritual energy is even stronger than before. I'm afraid it's not a failure, but rather that this Sect Master Lu's cultivation is too terrifying."
Just then, a long howl resounded from the island, like a deafening dragon's roar. At the same time, an immense spiritual pressure instantly enveloped an area of hundreds of nautical miles around.
Countless onlookers nearly collapsed to their knees. They looked up tremblingly. There in the sky, a gigantic phantom had appeared at some unknown time.
The phantom sat cross-legged with its eyes closed, surrounded by a dazzling array of seven-colored light.
Then, the phantom opened its eyes. Everyone felt an invisible force piercing their souls, and many were even stunned on the spot.
Not far away in the void, an old man stood in mid-air, standing on a silver flying disc, gazing at the strange phenomenon in front of him.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this freak. Such phenomena at the late Nascent Soul stage. His spiritual power is almost on par with mine. I sensed something was wrong with this kid before, but now it seems he's more than just problematic!!"
The gigantic phantom appeared in the world for only a dozen or so breaths before vanishing. The surrounding cultivators gasped in shock, as if waking from a nightmare.
"What... what kind of cultivation breakthrough is this? Wasn't it supposed to be a breakthrough to the late Nascent Soul stage?"