Now, the other party actually wants to cultivate an even higher level of divine power? They couldn't imagine what kind of divine power that was.
Lu Xuan himself couldn't imagine it, because it wasn't just a matter of supernatural power. The real reason was that he was preparing to form his Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul stage is a watershed moment in the cultivation process. Because in a sense, only by achieving the Nascent Soul stage does one even remotely come close to the legendary immortality. Just a tiny bit...
Because after achieving the Nascent Soul stage, one can hide their last remaining consciousness within the Nascent Soul and escape even after suffering a devastating blow to their physical body or soul. Furthermore, the Nascent Soul possesses an absolute escape technique, capable of instantly escaping thousands of miles at a speed akin to spatial leap.
Furthermore, the nascent soul can possess other bodies, allowing the cultivator to live a second life. However, this possession is not unlimited; generally, it can only be done once. Excessive possession will cause the nascent soul to disintegrate, completely annihilating the possessor.
But it's a second life after all, and for cultivators, that's an irresistible temptation. Who would willingly choose to die for the great supernatural powers gained through centuries of arduous cultivation, given the chance?
Unfortunately, the cultivation philosophy in the world of Jade Dynasty is clearly incomplete. Even the legendary Qingye Patriarch only lived to be seven hundred years old. Although there were aftereffects from using the Jade Dynasty Sword, this also proves that the Qingyun Sect's cultivation methods were not perfect.
In a sense, Puzhi of Tianyin Temple back then was actually quite farsighted. If the cultivation methods of Qingyun Sect and Tianyin Temple had truly been mutually accessible, with both Taoist and Buddhist practices integrated through the Heavenly Book, it might have been possible to break the limitations of cultivation in this world. Unfortunately, even with the destruction of the world and the extinction of humanity, sectarianism might not have been eliminated. Therefore, for thousands of years, the cultivation world of this world has made little progress; in fact, it has been constantly regressing.
Now, what Lu Xuan needs to do is break this constraint. He doesn't need to use force to coerce various sects into handing over their techniques. What he needs to do is become a benchmark for this world.
The reason why cultivation in this world has not progressed is largely because the vision of cultivators in this world is limited. The last master who could be unparalleled in the cultivation world, Master Qingye, was a thousand years ago. Most people have forgotten that battle.
For the past thousand years, no cultivator of that level has appeared in the entire world. The Incense Valley and the Ghost King Sect do have ambitions, but unfortunately, their ambitions are all based on crooked and unorthodox methods. Not a single one of them thinks about breaking through the limits of their cultivation and overwhelming the world. Because they themselves don't believe that cultivation can reach that level.
Now, Lu Xuan is going to be that person. He's going to raise the bar for this stagnant cultivation world.
Unbeknownst to them, the sky above the Hidden Immortal Sect was now shrouded in endless dark clouds. In the sky, boundless lightning power was gathering.
Lu Xuan himself hadn't expected that his Nascent Soul formation would trigger a heavenly tribulation. Perhaps it was because he was the first person in this world to achieve Nascent Soul formation. Lu Xuan was being given special attention by this world!
The lightning tribulation was nothing other than a force that could crush all kinds of magic and supernatural powers in the mortal realm. As soon as Hongxiu saw it was a lightning tribulation, she immediately dismantled the defensive array surrounding Lu Xuan's cave. Because it was utterly pointless.
No one in the entire Hidden Immortal Sect dared to interfere with this tribulation. The tribulation Lu Xuan triggered was hundreds of times stronger than the one Hongxiu Xiaobai and the others had caused years ago. Furthermore, the heavenly lightning was of a higher rank, meaning Lu Xuan had to face it alone this time.
The entire top of the cave was shattered by Lu Xuan's aura, completely exposing him to the heavenly lightning. This was his own doing. As a cultivator proficient in lightning magic, if he were to die under the lightning tribulation, his centuries of cultivation would essentially have been wasted.
Outside the Hidden Immortal Sect, countless cultivators were nervously watching the tribulation lightning in the sky.
Opinions were naturally divided throughout the cultivation world regarding Lu Xuan's tribulation. Some gloated, some were worried, and some were filled with longing. But regardless of their inner thoughts, no one dared to interfere openly. This was because the female sword immortal of the Hidden Immortal Sect was sitting regally before the sect's gates. The golden cicada sword, renowned throughout the cultivation world, danced around her. The onlookers had no doubt that if anyone dared to make the slightest move, that immortal sword would immediately fly to their neck.
Lu Xuan's tribulation had absolutely nothing to do with the so-called nine heavenly lightning strikes.
A barrage of lightning relentlessly bombarded him. Lu Xuan felt as if he had been subjected to hundreds of lightning strikes. At first, he was able to absorb the heavenly lightning and temper his body—this was one of the effects of heavenly lightning. But soon, he could only use his supernatural powers to deflect the lightning. In the end, he couldn't even deflect it, and had to endure several strikes with his bare body.
Although he wasn't seriously injured, he was covered in dust and dirt. Most importantly, the heavenly lightning had wiped out all his magical abilities and supernatural powers. Even his spirit had been thoroughly cleansed.
This was arguably the purest and clearest time in Lu Xuan's life, aside from the moment of his birth.
Without any external interference, one is in a state of absolute tranquility.
In this state, all cultivation and enlightenment are amplified a thousandfold. In just a few breaths, Lu Xuan understood the ultimate path to the fusion of the Ten Directions Thunder Technique.
If one can cultivate in this state, there will be no bottlenecks whatsoever. Nor will there be any incomprehensible techniques. All cultivation will proceed naturally, as simply as breathing.
Unfortunately, this state of absolute tranquility lasted only a very short time. The longer it lasted, the more dangerous it became for the practitioner.
Because every gain comes with a loss, achieving this absolute state of cultivation comes at a price. This state also means the absolute vulnerability of both soul and body. For a cultivator, this is an intolerable state, as the dangers of cultivation are simply too numerous.
External demons invade the human body in this state. This is also the second hurdle after the physical body undergoes the tribulation of lightning: the inner demon.
From the moment he transmigrated, Lu Xuan risked his life to survive. Later, he rose to a high position, conquered the world, and defied fate more than once.
Aside from the healthy body he gained after transmigrating, Lu Xuan has had almost no special advantages in getting to where he is today. His mental fortitude is already near perfect. He never believes that so-called inner demons can truly interfere with him.
but……
7017k
------------
Chapter 467 The Strange Inner Demon
Whether at the edge of space or the end of time, in some void and chaos, Lu Xuan is facing his final enemy.
In the void, the laws of lightning transcend time and space. The True Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation severs causality. Mysterious runes pointing directly to the Great Dao. The Primordial Golden Crow, burning everything in its path...
Lu Xuan was surrounded by divine abilities, magical treasures, and runes at the level of laws—at which countless cultivators could only dream of their entire lives. Opposite him stood the Chaos Devourer, who had destroyed countless worlds.
Its size cannot be described in human language, nor can its power be described with terms like magic or supernatural abilities. It is the embodiment of end and destruction.
No strategy can work against such a being. It has surpassed the limits of what intelligence can handle. Only pure force can contend with it.
Lu Xuan spread his hands out, and dozens of materialized laws of power merged into his body.
The Chaos Devourer cannot be approached directly. It assimilates all matter, energy, and even laws that come near it. Even complete world laws will be rapidly eroded upon contact. Internally, this manifests as chaos and destruction, the end of humanity. Ultimately, the entire world is destroyed, completely absorbed by the Chaos Devourer.
Lu Xuan possesses dozens of different laws of power. Using these laws, he combined them to simulate a proposed model of world laws. This allowed him to briefly approach the Chaos Devourer. Before the Chaos Devourer could tear apart the surrounding world laws, he could unleash his final attack.
This was no easy task; it could even be described as a certain death. But Lu Xuan was mentally prepared. From the moment he faced all of this, Lu Xuan knew that his ultimate mission was to kill the Chaos Devourer.
With the four swords of Zhuxian combined, Lu Xuan became one with them. The Zhuxian Sword Formation at this moment even surpassed the sword formation personally set up by the Tongtian Sect Leader in the primordial era. It was a culmination of Lu Xuan's lifelong cultivation and insights. To kill something almost equivalent to death itself requires a higher concept. For example, the concept of killing.
Lu Xuan's sword strike was a strike at the level of cause and effect. He aimed to erase the existence of the Chaos Devourer from the very level of its very existence. This required not magical power, but a power at the level of cognition. Simply put, Lu Xuan, based on his tens of thousands of years of cultivation and understanding, convinced himself that he could eliminate the Chaos Devourer before him.
This fatal blow requires more than one prerequisite. First, Lu Xuan's cultivation level must be high enough. If you let a Nascent Soul cultivator use this attack, the opponent will be assimilated simply because they know the concept of the Chaos Devourer. If one's cultivation level is not high enough to directly confront the opponent, it is completely meaningless.
Another crucial point is that the caster needs a flawless state of mind. The level of cultivation and the depth of understanding ultimately serve the purpose of the final strike. If you want to eliminate your opponent, you must believe in your ability to do so. Why can you do it? Because you have cultivated for tens of thousands of years, mastered almost all Daoist arts, runes, and supernatural powers, and possess unparalleled magical treasures to aid you. All of these combine to forge the final, perfect state of mind.
Lu Xuan had always believed that his state of mind was perfect. But at the moment of making his final move, a flaw suddenly appeared in his mind.
That was many years ago, when he was still a novice. He encountered a powerful centipede demon. At that time, Lu Xuan used a blood sacrifice curse and made a deal with some unknown extraterrestrial demon.