Chapter 142: The Beginning Transformation of the Heaven-Overturning Seal and the Vajra Pestle

Near the center of Chaos Demon Valley, over a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators participating in the trial were still searching for the location of the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree.

But suddenly, three extremely powerful auras descended from above, followed by wave after wave of powerful divine sense sweeping over; all second-rank demon beasts and Foundation Establishment cultivators trembled with fear.

Nascent Soul cultivator!

The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the center of Chaos Demon Valley felt that immense divine sense sweep over, their hearts filled with shock, and at the same time doubt arose: how could a Nascent Soul cultivator descend here?

These trial participants were all outstanding talents; they quickly thought of the reason.

Could it be that the Spirit-awakening Fruit has a problem? Ge Dong was especially anxious; he joined this trial precisely because the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree had matured, and according to his family's elders, this cycle of the fruit was a great cycle, yielding at least eighty-one fruits, possibly as many as one hundred eight.

Ge Dong had already made up his mind to at least seize eight fruits, so that the eight heavenly-earth treasure patterns of his Five Extremes Flowing Light Blade would be nourished, making the artifact spirit born even stronger.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

He was not the only one who thought like Ge Dong; therefore everyone rushed to the place where the Nascent Soul cultivator had just descended.

One cultivator surnamed Yan frowned, wanting to stop these juniors, but realizing the theft of the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree could not be hidden, he simply let them come.

Ge Dong arrived first, saw the three cultivators standing with hands clasped behind their backs ahead, bowed slightly, and respectfully said:

"Greetings, three seniors!"

The three Nascent Soul cultivators indifferently nodded; Ge Dong then raised his head, and upon seeing the situation ahead, felt puzzled: why were several seniors guarding a large pit?

This thought vanished in an instant, because Ge Dong had already guessed what it was.

Yet he could hardly believe it—the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree had been stolen, which was utterly absurd, a ridiculous notion.

"Senior! This..."

Ge Dong couldn't hold back, started to ask a question, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw one of the seniors nod.

In that moment, his heart surged with huge waves—someone had actually stolen the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree right under the noses of the Nascent Soul cultivators, which was a resounding slap to the faces of the three Nascent Soul cultivators.

"From now on, people from the city will come to investigate; we three had better not act alone." A cultivator of medium-short stature with a grim complexion spoke.

"That's only right!"

"I second that!"

Hearing this, Ge Dong hastily lowered his head. Although he was considered the top talent among this batch, he was not the foremost talent of his generation in the Ge family, so facing the Nascent Soul cultivators he had no grounds for arrogance; listening to the seniors' words, it seemed one of them might be suspected of colluding in the theft, and he did not want to get involved in such muddy waters.

Rattle!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Leaves rustled behind him as the remaining cultivators arrived, gazing at the large pit ahead, someone muttered: "Has the Spirit-awakening Fruit been dug up?"

His friend beside him urgently poked him, snapping him out of it; he also realized his behavior was somewhat improper, and cautiously glanced at the three Nascent Soul seniors ahead—seeing they bore no blame, he quietly let out a breath.

As more and more people arrived, seeing the large pit ahead, everyone's heart rose with the same thought: "Something major has happened."

……

Lower Realm, Spiritual Realm.

A silver light flashed, and Wang Ping appeared in his own cave dwelling; seeing he had safely arrived in the Lower Realm, Wang Ping exhaled, and as he stepped into the silver vortex, he also sensed that three extremely powerful auras seemed to be approaching from the outside world.

Although the silver stone gate was marvelous, it still made Wang Ping a little worried; fortunately, he ultimately returned safely to the Lower Realm.

Immediately, Wang Ping's heart swelled with excitement; this trip to the Spirit Realm had brought him abundant gains.

He glanced at his secluded cultivation spot; the place seemed too small, so with a thought Wang Ping summoned his Azure Gleam Sword and began carving into the opposite wall; after a full two hours, a crude cavern was dug out by Wang Ping.

Regarding this, Wang Ping didn't mind much; he walked straight in, examined the space, and was extremely satisfied. Silver light blossomed at his brow, and a Spirit-awakening Tree slowly appeared in his cave dwelling.

This ancient wood possesses tremendous vitality; even if dug up, it would not die for a while.

When Wang Ping placed it on the ground, it actually re-rooted itself on its own. Soon, the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree re-rooted in the ground again.

But due to the low concentration of spirit qi, and because the tree spirit had been slain by Wang Ping, the Spirit-awakening Fruit Tree lacked the lush, verdant vigor and abundant vitality it had when Wang Ping saw it in the Spirit Realm.

Yet this did not hinder the Spirit-awakening Fruits; the mature ones still hung dripping from the branches.

Wang Ping directly took out the Vajra Pestle and Heaven-Overturning Seal; according to the method he had obtained, as long as a treasure is brought near the Spirit-awakening Fruit, it will automatically absorb the fruit's essence.

Having arrived in the Lower Realm, Wang Ping could already fly, so he flew straight to the treetop, plucked two Spirit-awakening Fruits, and placed them beside the Heaven-Overturning Seal and the Vajra Pestle.

The two previously motionless treasures suddenly burst forth with their own light; within just three breaths, the two Spirit-awakening Fruits were completely devoured.

Wang Ping watched this scene with a smile; although a single Spirit-awakening Fruit can give a treasure spirituality, if it could draw more essence from the fruit, the resulting spirituality would be greater.

So Wang Ping without hesitation plucked another two Spirit-awakening Fruits and placed them beside the Heaven-Overturning Seal and the Vajra Pestle; after another three breaths, the fruit's essence was again completely absorbed.

Three, four, … ten! … fifteen!

The Heaven-Overturning Seal absorbed fifteen Spirit-awakening Fruit essences before stopping; the once-crystalline seal now restrained all its luster, and visible within its interior seemed to flow countless glimmers.

Meanwhile, the Vajra Pestle continued to absorb the Spirit-awakening Fruit essence; as the absorbed essence increased, the symbol left on it from its advancement to Foundation Establishment grew brighter.

Until it had devoured twenty-four Spirit-awakening Fruits did it stop absorbing.

At that moment it, like the Heaven-Overturning Seal, suddenly restrained its luster.

Next came the Ink Wash Technique; Wang Ping placed the Heaven-Overturning Seal in his dantian and the Vajra Pestle in his sea of consciousness, and the following time was spent constantly nurturing them.

Afterward, Wang Ping packed the remaining fruits, returned to his cave dwelling, lay down and slept; that sleep lasted a full day and night.

After rising, he successively checked the conditions of the Soul-devouring Butterfly and Trace-seeking Butterfly, then examined the growth of the Gathering Yuan Herb, after which he entered his newly opened cave dwelling.

Gazing at the Spirit-awakening Tree, Wang Ping's heart brimmed with anticipation; he wondered how strong his body-protection spirit armor would become if he absorbed the tree's wood energy.

From that day onward, Wang Ping began his long secluded cultivation.