“I have seen the Six Paths Demon from back then. I am certain that he did not have such cultivation.”
"The Six Paths Old Demon is also called a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. He was directly killed by the Golden Cicada Fairy, who is only a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. It was three against one, yet he didn't seem to care about losing face. This Sect Master Lu in front of us is the real late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Even standing hundreds of miles away, we can't withstand that kind of pressure."
"More than that, that one glance from the Dharma Body Realm almost made me faint. In my opinion, even the Twin Saints of the Star Palace are no match for this Sect Master Lu."
"When Sect Master Lu was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he was able to fight Ling Xiaofeng to a draw. Now, even if that couple were to fight together, they wouldn't be able to defeat Sect Master Lu."
"Such a prodigy has emerged from the Chaotic Star Sea; it's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse."
"Is it a blessing or a curse? The Hidden Immortal Sect is the most law-abiding sect in the Chaotic Star Sea. Even though its disciples are all arrogant, they have never committed murder or plunder. All kinds of tributes are clearly priced and they never extort or levy taxes. They are many times better than the previous demonic sects."
"That's right, and the Hidden Immortal Sect has also opened up many cultivation techniques and secret arts to the public. The Cloud Water Technique that I'm currently cultivating was exchanged from within the Hidden Immortal Sect. It's enough for me to cultivate to the Golden Core stage."
"......"
Countless cultivators were abuzz with discussion. Meanwhile, the old man in the distance, seeing the storm had died down, piloted his flying disc towards the island where Lu Xuan was. However, none of the surrounding restrictions or guarding disciples could detect him.
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Chapter 521 Preparation
Lu Xuan was not surprised by Xiang Zhili's appearance. In this world, there is an unwritten rule among human cultivators: once they reach the Nascent Soul stage, they cannot act rashly. Otherwise, the Nascent Soul stage cultivators are invincible in the mortal realm and could easily wipe out some sects.
Once one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, they all have a vast line of descendants. If there are no restrictions on unrestrained killing, it will inevitably involve each other. If two Nascent Soul cultivators become enemies, the entire human cultivation world will be plunged into catastrophe.
Therefore, those old fogies at the Nascent Soul stage established a rule: no one would interfere, letting the younger ones play by themselves. Unless it involved the direct lineage's inheritance, they wouldn't meddle in the mortal realm.
Now, Xiang Zhili's arrival is intended to impose the same restrictions on Lu Xuan. In the original novel, after Han Laomo reached the late Nascent Soul stage, his combat power was so overwhelming that killing those of the same level was as easy as killing rabbits. He was thus considered someone of the same level and given the same treatment.
This rule is not just a restriction, but also has some corresponding benefits. The most important point is that they will share their cultivation experiences at the Nascent Soul stage, as well as some unique secrets.
"So, it means that we Nascent Soul cultivators in the mortal realm have been secretly searching for suitable spatial rifts for thousands of years?"
"That's right. After the ancient times, for some unknown reason, the limit for cultivators in the human world is the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. We spent countless efforts and resources to finally determine this. This world can only support cultivators at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. However, to ascend, one needs to reach the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, so there is actually no possibility of ascension in the human world. Therefore, we Nascent Soul stage cultivators have joined forces to search for spatial rifts and try to sneak into the Spirit Realm."
"I'm only at the Nascent Soul stage now, so it's probably not the time to worry about this yet."
“Fellow Daoist is joking. With your profound magical power, you are already on par with us Nascent Soul cultivators. The power of the sun, moon and stars that you previously invoked is a divine ability that I have never even seen before. With such cultivation, you are naturally treated as equals to us.”
"Since you've extended such a warm invitation, I can't refuse. But please explain clearly what I need to do and what I can expect to gain after joining."
"That's natural. First of all, after joining, we can no longer act as recklessly as before. After all, our cultivation has already surpassed the limits that ordinary sects can withstand. If we act recklessly, even those sects with thousands of years of heritage might not be able to withstand it. For the sake of our cultivation world, we should just watch those juniors fight among themselves."
“I can agree to this matter. However, it concerns my direct disciples, and I will not stand idly by.”
"That's natural. People have different degrees of closeness and distance. Of course, one should take care of one's own direct disciples. Besides, we Nascent Soul stage cultivators share some information with each other, such as the cultivation of the Nascent Soul stage, how to suppress one's aura so as not to be noticed by the Heavenly Dao, and the existing spatial rifts that we have control over."
As Xiang Zhili spoke, he took out a jade slip and handed it to Lu Xuan.
"As long as you carry this jade slip, you can receive this information at any time. At the same time, we will also conduct some transactions among ourselves, and we can communicate through the jade slip."
Xiang Zhili spent a whole day talking with Lu Xuan, even offering him a lot of valuable advice on advancing to the Nascent Soul stage. This old gentleman was actually a decent person in the original story, and he also mentored Han Laomo quite a bit.
Before Xiang Zhili left, Lu Xuan gave some instructions to the sect and then departed the Hidden Immortal Sect. Now that Hongyu was in charge and the Star Palace's two saints were inseparable from Magnet Mountain, Hongyu alone was enough to suppress the entire Chaotic Star Sea. Moreover, Hongxiu, Xiaobai, and Xin Shisi Niang had all advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. The Hidden Immortal Sect had nothing to worry about anymore.
After the beast tide, countless sects in the Chaotic Star Sea were destroyed. However, at the same time, the surviving sects accumulated an immense amount of demon beast materials. Lu Xuan also collected some of them.
Lu Xuan didn't actually possess many magical treasures. After learning the special talisman armor of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, he had specially crafted a talisman armor as his defensive artifact. However, as he advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage, he felt that the talisman armor was somewhat weak.
The main problem was that the materials themselves were a bit weak. Originally, he used a material called purple-gold copper as the main material, supplemented by other materials, and then refined it using the Heavenly Talisman technique. Finally, he inscribed defensive runes to complete the talisman armor.
Purple-gold copper is considered a superior material, but it's still far from sufficient to support a celestial talisman imbued with the attributes of the Heavenly Dao. After using it a few times, he discovered that the talisman armor itself had already begun to show signs of damage.
Therefore, Lu Xuan needed to reforge his talisman armor. He also planned to forge some matching magical artifacts. After all, he was going to explore several special dungeons. Even with his high cultivation level, he couldn't guarantee his safety. So, the necessary preparations had to be made.
First, there's the defensive armor. This time, Lu Xuan chose the shells of three sea turtle demon beasts as materials. All three demon beasts are level nine demon beasts. In the human cultivation world, that's equivalent to the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. Furthermore, turtle demon beasts possess abundant magical power and astonishing defense; in a battle, one could easily defeat two human mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Lu Xuan also went through considerable effort to kill these three high-level demonic beasts and then take their shells. Demonic beasts of the turtle type that have grown to this level generally possess a trace of Xuanwu bloodline. Although weak, it's still quite good for the mortal realm. It is precisely because of this that these shells can hold Lu Xuan's Heavenly Talisman.
Three tortoise shells, along with over a dozen defensive materials, were fused together to create a three-sided shield-shaped defensive artifact. These three magical treasures can defend independently or simultaneously, forming a more complete and powerful defensive law, creating an absolute defense.
There are countless sea monsters, many with strange and unusual bloodlines. In the original story, Old Demon Han once killed a monster with the Eye of Annihilation and mastered it, using it all the way to the Immortal Realm. Lu Xuan had always wanted to find one of those monsters. However, despite the massive horde of monsters attacking the city, he didn't see a single one. It can only be said that Old Demon Han is ultimately Fatty Wang's favorite son.
However, Lu Xuan hunted down another peculiar demonic beast, a Thunder Roc. Of course, it wasn't a true spirit-level Thunder Roc, but rather a bird-like demonic beast that was said to possess some Thunder Roc bloodline.
That guy didn't seem to be part of the beast tide; he was just trying to sneak in and gain some benefits. After Lu Xuan discovered him, he chased him for a day and a night, finally killing him. Afterwards, Lu Xuan obtained a Thunder Pearl.
This is different from a demon core; it's a spiritual essence of the same attribute, nurtured within the body of a demon beast of a special nature. This substance can greatly amplify the casting speed and power of lightning-based magical abilities.
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Chapter 522 Embarking on the Journey
It seems this thing might actually have the bloodline of the Thunder Roc. However, that kind of true spirit bloodline is almost non-existent in the mortal realm. This is just a descendant from many generations later; forget about things like the laws of lightning.
However, this gave Lu Xuan an idea. He planned to refine a set of lightning-attribute magical artifacts to enrich his attack methods.
Lu Xuan's crafting of magical artifacts wouldn't be ordinary. His initial plan was to collect ten thunder pearls, refine each one using one of his ten different thunder techniques, and then combine them into a complete set of magical artifacts. This would make his Ten Directions Thunder Prison attacks much faster and its range greatly increased.
However, these lightning beads only form within the bodies of high-level lightning-attribute demon cultivators. Furthermore, once these demon cultivators awaken their intelligence, they invariably refine these beads into magical artifacts. Just as most demon cultivators refine their shed skin, scales, and claws into magical artifacts, this is a tradition of the demon race.
Fortunately, Lu Xuan wasn't a rogue cultivator like Han Laomo. As the uncrowned king of the Chaotic Star Sea, he only needed to say a word to get what he wanted.
The Hidden Immortal Sect spread the word that they were buying up the Thunder Pearls nurtured within the bodies of high-level lightning-attribute demonic beasts. Within a few years, people came to their door to make deals.
This is one of the benefits of the Hidden Immortal Sect adhering to its rules over the past century. Everyone knows that while it's uncertain whether you'll suffer a loss when trading with the Hidden Immortal Sect, everything will always be done according to the rules. There will absolutely be no instances of murder and robbery, which is why people bring such valuable treasures directly to their door.