What would happen if all the current formations in the cultivation world were activated in reverse?
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. If he were to forge a magical artifact according to this formation, wouldn't it become a combination of the Banana Leaf Fan and the Wind-Fixing Pearl? Could it be that these two legendary treasures are actually two different applications of this formation? Of course, as far as he knew, there was no magical treasure in the cultivation world capable of summoning such a scale of heaven and earth power to instantly dispel such a massive gale. Apart from the Treasure God, probably no one else could do it.
Upon realizing this, Xiao Wenbing immediately calmed down and recalled his insights from setting up the formation. Suddenly, he seemed to have a sudden realization.
The various arts of Taoism each have their own strengths, but they are also interconnected. At this time, although Xiao Wenbing's mastery of weaponry may not be considered earth-shattering, it is still quite remarkable in the cultivation world.
Therefore, when he actually began to study this formation, he immediately discovered the infinite mysteries it contained.
When a cultivator dedicates themselves to studying a particular subject, they can easily enter a state of complete absorption, forgetting both themselves and the external world. Just like Xiao Wenbing at this moment, lost in the pile of clutter, he had completely abandoned everything else, utterly immersed in the profound array before him.
His mind raced, trying to figure out what materials to use to unleash the maximum power of this formation. The selection of materials and the carving of the formation both required careful consideration. Only then could he simultaneously unleash the two vastly different great powers of this formation.
However, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper, because he had discovered that while the formation itself wasn't inherently flawed, the clash between the opposing air currents was simply unsolvable once it was activated. Or rather, it was beyond the control of the cultivation world's knowledge.
He gave a wry smile. It seemed that he had no choice but to copy the entire formation exactly.
Just as he was deep in thought, a sudden alarm bell rang in his mind; it seemed someone was approaching. His eyes twitched; through the eyes of the serpent avatar, he knew that Hewlett-Packard and his crew were searching for him.
With a thought, he wanted to retrieve his nascent soul back into his body and then go to greet it. However, when the first nascent soul arrived beside him, Xiao Wenbing was immediately shocked. These detached nascent souls had undergone another change. Although their size remained the same, the energy they contained had increased several times over.
He reached out and grasped a nascent soul, hesitated for a moment, then placed it into his dantian.
The moment the nascent soul entered the body, it released a massive amount of energy. In an instant, the small dantian was filled with a vast amount of refined spiritual power. Although I didn't witness it firsthand, I could tell from my senses that my dantian had grown several sizes.
Xiao Wenbing's heart jumped; he wondered if he would be overwhelmed by the suddenly stronger Nascent Soul.
However, he was clearly overthinking it, because the natal golden talisman above his dantian had already begun to exert its peculiar effects. Layers of golden light emanated from the natal golden talisman, and these golden rays were like thin, long tentacles waving in the narrow space within his dantian.
With each tremor, it absorbed a large amount of spiritual energy from its dantian, making the color of its natal golden talisman even more vibrant and accelerating its absorption. Only after its dantian had fully adapted to the surge of energy in its nascent soul did the light slowly fade, returning it to its original state.
Xiao Wenbing breathed a sigh of relief and finally understood why, despite everyone knowing that the amount of spiritual energy absorbed when the nascent soul leaves the body is far greater than that absorbed when it stays in the dantian, very few people still choose this method of cultivation.
Firstly, once the nascent soul leaves the body, the danger naturally increases significantly. If someone were to ambush the nascent soul, wouldn't one be unable to live or die?
Secondly, after the nascent soul leaves the body, it is indeed easy to absorb energy, but what happens after that? If too much energy is absorbed, once it returns to the dantian, the physical body may not be able to adapt at all.
If someone absorbs a massive amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth like Xiao Wenbing, the only outcome after returning to their dantian is that the dantian will explode and the physical body will be destroyed.
Yes, the feeling of not being able to go home must be unpleasant.
Xiao Wenbing understood this principle when he obtained his first Nascent Soul. An ordinary cultivator would inevitably face a dilemma, perhaps even forced to abandon their physical body and live on as a Nascent Soul. But Xiao Wenbing was different. Having survived the tribulation of water and fire, his physical body was far stronger than that of a master cultivator. Furthermore, a natal golden talisman within his dantian helped him absorb a large amount of spiritual energy. Therefore, after accepting this Nascent Soul with its surging energy, he only felt some discomfort, nothing more.
Reaching out, he grabbed another Nascent Soul. This time, Xiao Wenbing dared not act rashly. Although his dantian could accommodate one Nascent Soul, adding a few more should not be a problem.
but……
Looking at the thousands upon thousands of Nascent Souls around him, Xiao Wenbing felt a headache coming on. He knew that if he were to stuff all these Nascent Souls into his dantian at once, it would be useless no matter how much his dantian could withstand.
After sighing for a while, he realized he wasn't in a hurry to leave. He needed to figure out a way to deal with these Nascent Soul cultivators first.
I gritted my teeth and decided to just stuff them in, no matter what. I'd do as many as I could, and deal with the rest later.
Thinking of this, Xiao Wenbing grabbed the two Nascent Souls fiercely, slapped them onto his body, and immediately absorbed them into his dantian.
This was his own nascent soul, so naturally it wouldn't go against his will. Therefore, these two nascent souls appeared within his dantian in the next moment. However, Xiao Wenbing immediately realized something was wrong. He had underestimated these nascent souls that had already absorbed too much energy during the cataclysmic event.
As soon as the two nascent souls entered the dantian, they immediately began to release a massive amount of spiritual power, and it was a full-force release without any reservations.
Xiao Wenbing was terrified. At that moment, he immediately realized that due to his unique training method, the energy absorbed by these Nascent Soul cultivators had reached a level that was almost saturating for him.
In layman's terms, the combined energy of these three nascent souls has reached the standard for the separation and union stage.
His expression changed drastically. The three nascent souls within his dantian were gradually converging, showing a strong tendency to merge into one. Countless energies were colliding back and forth within his dantian with such force that it was like galloping horses. If his body had not been incredibly resilient, it would have long since been torn to pieces.
However, this feeling was far from pleasant. Xiao Wenbing remained in that sitting position and dared not move an inch. Although he was still holding four other Nascent Souls in his hands, even if he had another chance, he would not dare to stuff them into his body.
The natal golden talisman in his dantian lit up again, but such a massive conflict of spiritual energy clearly rendered even the golden talisman powerless.
Intense pain quickly invaded his mind. Xiao Wenbing made a decisive move and immediately summoned his divine power to clean up the mess. As for his own thoughts, he naturally severed all tactile nerves, hid in a corner, and went to pray devoutly to all the gods and Buddhas.
The power of the divine essence was indeed extraordinary. The waves of intense pain had no effect on it whatsoever, as if Xiao Wenbing's body belonged to someone else. In the divine essence's mind, only the final result mattered. As for the means used or the damage suffered along the way, as long as the body could be preserved, nothing else was within its consideration.
Under the influence of the divine power, a miraculous force suddenly surged from Xiao Wenbing's body. It was the mutated superpower that had displayed its divine might during the calamity of water and fire.
The energy of the mutant ability is not powerful, but wherever the energy passes, the meridians and dantian that have been damaged by the strong impact are immediately and miraculously healed.
Xiao Wenbing was overjoyed; he had almost forgotten that mutant abilities could have such a power.
The divine power moved swiftly and efficiently. In a short while, the mutated ability had already circled the dantian, layering and enveloping it. All the excess spiritual energy that overflowed was absorbed like moths to a flame, with not a single drop wasted.
The natal golden talisman, empowered by supernatural abilities, once again shone brightly. However, this time it wasn't absorbing spiritual energy, but rather releasing it. A powerful golden light enveloped the three small nascent souls like a large cloth, and within their dantian, a golden glow shimmered…
A moment later, just a very short moment later, as the golden light faded and the mutant power returned, the three tiny nascent souls within her body had already coalesced into one.
Looking at the slightly larger Nascent Soul, Xiao Wenbing suddenly realized that he had indeed reached the Separation and Union stage.
Looking at the group of homeless Nascent Souls in his hands and around his body, Xiao Wenbing was at a loss for what to do.
With a long, somber sigh, Xiao Wenbing reached out his hand, and the Nascent Souls, receiving the command, swarmed into the Heavenly Void Ring. Since they could no longer reside within the body, they would temporarily keep the Mirror God company; it seemed the old fellow would no longer be lonely.
Having accomplished all this, Xiao Wenbing no longer wanted to stay under this pile of clutter, so he stretched out his palm towards the sky and unleashed his first strike after advancing to the Separation and Union stage.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from beneath the ground, sending countless pieces of debris and garbage soaring into the sky.
Volume 5, Chapter 8: Deception
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When Xiao Wenbing rushed into the air, the first thing he saw was the group of Jade Cauldron Sect elders who were in a sorry state, scattering and dodging the trash.
His palm strike was unleashed in anger, not only gathering all his spiritual power but also incorporating the mutated ability within him. Hewlett and the others were also plagued by bad luck; although their target was below, their attention was completely drawn to the giant snake above them.
So when the underground explosion suddenly occurred, it caught them completely off guard. Being attacked without any preparation, even these experts at least in the Separation and Union stages were thrown into a panic.
Although everyone activated their protective auras at the same time, the trash and debris were extraordinary. They contained some mutated superpowers. These superpowers, when used within the human body, had miraculous healing effects, but when used as offensive forces, they produced a unique and magical effect.
When these superpowers encountered the protective energy shields of Long Shi, Hui Pu, and others, their attributes immediately changed, and they were instantly assimilated with the energy of the energy shields.
The protective aura shield is for self-defense and protection. As long as its power is sufficient, it can repel all foreign energies.
However, even the strongest protective aura is powerless against energy of the same element. Therefore, these mutant-powered trash easily passed through their protective auras and slammed into them.
In an instant, everyone's head, face, and body were covered with bits of stone and wood. Some even had pieces of flesh and blood from some unknown creature hanging on them. The sight was colorful and quite a sight to behold.
Of the many skilled individuals present, only Quini and Shabir survived.
Their energy shields were unique; one was fire, the other a black hole. So while their powers assimilated the shield's energy, the trash that encountered the fire and the black hole either turned to ashes or vanished without a trace.
However, whether it was Queenie and Shabir who luckily escaped becoming covered in grime, or Hewlett-Packard and the others covered in rags and looking embarrassed, they were all extremely shocked.
What kind of attack method is this? My protective aura has become completely useless under his attack.
Such a thing is unheard of. If Xiao Wenbing had just unleashed a deadly magic weapon instead of a mountain full of garbage, what would have been the consequences?
"Huh..."
Xiao Wenbing looked around at the group of people dressed in brightly colored clothes. Some of them even had strange and unrecognizable things hanging on their heads. They were a group of people who were even stranger than beggars.
However, he was quite familiar with the auras of these people. Even Long Shi and Hewlett-Packard were among them.
But why have their outfits changed? Could it be... this is the latest trendy style this year?
After thinking for a while, still clueless, he asked in surprise, "Seniors, what's wrong with you?"
The group looked at each other, bewildered. What happened to us...?
At that moment, HP and the others felt like bursting into tears. "We're in this state because of you, and now you're asking us what happened?"
"hiss……"
The sound of tearing robes came from Long Shi. He raised his hand, ripped off his outer garment, and pulled a spare robe from his personal belongings. He put it on easily.
Everyone was overjoyed and followed suit. In no time, they were all refreshed, even those with bruises on their faces were cleaned up without a trace.
These people were either top experts from the three holy lands and the Heavenly Thunder Palace, or wealthy elders from the Jade Cauldron Sect. Mustard seed items were rare, yet each of them received one, the only difference being their size.
Even the smallest of items can easily hold a few sets of spare clothes.
After changing clothes, Long Shi sighed. He hadn't expected everyone to end up in such a sorry state; it was truly an inauspicious start...
Seeing Xiao Wenbing's bewildered expression, the old man quickly cut to the chase and asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, what you just did..."
Xiao Wenbing scratched his head and said, "Oh, I was practicing my martial arts just now." He paused, then smiled sheepishly again, "Maybe I made a bit too much noise."
HP and others were stunned. It was like bleeding in their hearts. You almost razed the entire back mountain to the ground, and you still call that a little too much noise?
"Practicing martial arts?" Long Shi curled his lip. I don't believe you. Practicing martial arts can cause such a big commotion. Do you think I'm an idiot?
Quinn, standing to the side, possessed keen eyes. Upon hearing his words, his expression shifted, and he observed closely for a few moments, his astonishment deepening. However, he had already been shocked enough when he recalled how Xiao Wenbing had advanced from the Nascent Soul stage to the Spirit Division stage after only a few days at the inner gate of the Flame Realm Temple.
Therefore, although he had discovered Xiao Wenbing's secret, he was the first to react. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said loudly, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Xiao."
Long Shi and the others were also taken aback. Those who knew Quini's identity understood that he wouldn't speak without reason. Upon closer inspection, they were all moved and offered their congratulations: "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Xiao."
"Haha, congratulations to you all." Xiao Wenbing returned the greetings one by one, then pulled Elder Hewlett aside and quietly asked, "Elder Hewlett, what are you congratulating me on?"
HP was taken aback. He had seen how composed and confident HP had been when returning the greeting, but it turned out that HP didn't even know what "congratulations" meant.
With a cough, HP lowered his voice, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, we are congratulating you on reaching the Separation and Union Realm."
Xiao Wenbing then understood, shook his head slightly, sighed, and said, "I'm ashamed, it's just a trivial skill, not worth mentioning." He thought to himself, what's there to congratulate? He still had tens of thousands of Nascent Souls in his ring and didn't know what to do with them.
Hearing Xiao Wenbing's humble words, the old man couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Ashamed? You're ashamed? Then what are we old fogies... ashamed?
Thinking back to the first time he met Xiao Wenbing, this young man was only at the Golden Core stage. Yet now, in just a few days, he has already reached the Separation and Union stage. This speed is simply too exaggerated.
Just as HP was sighing and lamenting, Xiao Wenbing turned around, clasped his hands in a fist salute to them, and said, "Esteemed seniors, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave now." With that, he waved his hand, and the giant snake above his head wriggled, instantly transforming into a tiny earthworm that flew into the Heavenly Void Ring. He himself vanished in a flash, disappearing without a trace.
Although none of HP or the others questioned him about what had happened, explaining such a commotion would be quite difficult. So Xiao Wenbing simply packed his bags and left.
As for what exactly happened here, why such a terrifying catastrophe was summoned, and how this catastrophe mysteriously disappeared, that's for Long Shi and the others to guess.
Seeing Xiao Wenbing flee like the wind, Long Shi and Hui Pu exchanged helpless glances. Since the main character had already escaped, they wouldn't be able to get anything out of him anyway.
"Alas, so he really was practicing martial arts." Long Shi sighed, finally believing Xiao Wenbing's words that he was indeed practicing martial arts, but... frowning, this top elder of the Dragon Clan said, "What kind of technique is this? It can actually allow someone to advance from the Nascent Soul stage to the Separation and Union stage in one fell swoop. It's truly unbelievable."
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed inwardly, "Yes, what kind of skill is this!"
After undergoing the tribulations of water and fire in the Flame Realm, Xiao Wenbing transformed into a Ten Thousand Yuan Infant. If an uninformed person were to see him and sense the energy emanating from him, they would all believe he was at the Nascent Soul stage.