Chapter 233: 233. Chapter 233: Qingxu Realm, San Yang Sect

233. Chapter 233: Qingxu Realm, San Yang Sect

"Qingxu Realm, San Yang Sect, early Core Formation elder Fang Yuan…"

"Am I body-transcending, or soul-transcending?"

Xiao Zhangqing's Second Avatar, after a brief period of confusion, slowly awoke.

Scanning the newly appeared memories in his mind, he was for a moment unable to make sense of the situation.

What can be confirmed now is that this avatar has temporarily lost contact with his true self and cannot instantly share information synchronously.

Yet, in the unseen realm, he can feel the "causal thread" between the two bodies, and under the effect of the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique, they remain tightly bound.

If he wishes to leave this world, a single thought can return him to his true body.

But while returning is easy, re-entering this world—or using the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique again—is not.

After casting the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique, both the true self and the avatar receive immediate "feedback"; the technique differs from any other Divine Art in that its "cooldown" is long! It is unlikely either can use it a second time before truly becoming a Nascent Soul True Lord.

Therefore, having arrived in this world, Xiao Zhangqing will not depart until he has obtained sufficient gains.

However, his current odd condition leaves him uncertain.

After he cast the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique, the avatar's Soul Transformation consciousness, together with its flesh, traversed.

But at this moment, appearance, magical power, and aura are completely different from those of his avatar.

For example, his avatar was cultivated on the basis of an Immortal Stone fragment, its magical power transformed into the solid magical power of a Core Formation cultivator, yet it is fundamentally unlike a true human cultivator—no Golden Core, no Spiritual Root…

At its core, it could even be considered a kind of evil spirit!

Just as back at Nanshan Fang, Mu Renjie sought to refine an Immortal Stone fragment into a "Golden Core" to elevate his cultivation to the Core Formation realm.

For an evil spirit, an Immortal Stone fragment is equivalent to a cultivator's Golden Core.

But the two are entirely different; Mu Renjie was completely fanciful.

If one truly refines an Immortal Stone fragment, it will only become an evil spirit.

However, Xiao Zhangqing's Immortal Stone fragment was purified by the system, eradicating the evil spirit aura and truly converting into a cultivator's Golden Core.

Now, Xiao Zhangqing's own body is a genuine human cultivator with a Golden Core inside; the Immortal Stone fragment has reverted to its original state, residing on the opposite side of his dantian.

"Does this count as first body-transcending, then soul-transcending?"

Xiao Zhangqing fiddled for a while without figuring out what was happening; he could only attribute it to the level of the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique, something a mere early Core Formation cultivator cannot fully explain.

No longer tangled over body- versus soul-transcending, Xiao Zhangqing began to probe his current condition and circumstances.

"Huh, although it ended as soul-transcending, my avatar's power is rapidly recovering?"

Xiao Zhangqing's expression showed a hint of joy.

His current flesh's original cultivation is merely early Core Formation, unremarkable in all aspects; magical power, Divine Arts, and Soul Transformation are all far below one‑tenth of his avatar's combat strength.

After all, although this avatar lacks system augmentation and many skills are unusable, once it passed Core Formation, its Soul Transformation underwent a complete metamorphosis, evolving into the "Primordial Spirit" that only a Nascent Soul True Lord possesses—a game‑changing boon for a Core Formation cultivator! Moreover, techniques such as Star‑Plucking Sword Formula and Dragon‑Whisper Art, without system support, see reduced proficiency, yet he has cultivated them for over a decade, so even without the system their potency remains strong.

Just as outside Panlong Immortal City, his avatar easily crushed mid‑Core Formation foes like the Xie family old ghost.

The Second Avatar still cannot wield the newly extracted Divine Arts such as Taiyi Divine Light and Primordial Spirit of Creation.

But that alone is sufficient.

Feeling the Immortal Stone fragment in his dantian continuously "nourishing" this temporary flesh, at this rate it should not take long before his body reaches seventy‑to‑eighty percent of his true avatar's strength.

"Magical power approaching mid‑Core Formation, plus the Primordial Spirit advantage and the Second Avatar's innate spatial talent… hmm, still an unbeatable force in the Core Formation realm!"

Xiao Zhangqing gauged this in his mind.

With such a substantial power boost, seeking opportunities in this world becomes considerably easier.

After all, according to the memories in this body's mind, the Qingxu Empire world is far more prosperous than the Da Yu Cultivation World.

Here, Nascent Soul cultivators are no longer as scarce as in the Da Yu Cultivation World, where there were only a couple. The number of Nascent Soul True Lords in the Qingxu Realm is incalculable, but at least dozens exist.

Because in the Qingxu Realm, there are currently nine major sects that can be called "Sacred Lands".

To be deemed a Sacred Land, besides lineage, strength, and sect member count, a necessary condition is having at least two Nascent Soul True Lords stationed there!

Some powerful Sacred Lands may host nearly double‑digit numbers of Nascent Soul True Lords.

Moreover, the Qingxu Realm clearly has senior Nascent Soul cultivators.

Even the neighboring nations of the Da Yu Cultivation World—such as Great Chu, Great Xia, Great Suo, etc. —combined, neither in number nor quality of Nascent Soul cultivators, surpass the Qingxu Realm.

However, it is unknown whether Transformation God cultivators exist in the Qingxu Realm.

Yet, given the sheer number of Nascent Soul True Lords, the existence of a Transformation God Venerable is not impossible.

And the San Yang Sect, where Xiao Zhangqing's body resides, also has a notable pedigree.

Although it has never ranked as a Sacred Land, it once held promise of rising among the top sects. Besides Sect Leader Chi Xuan True Lord, who achieved the Nascent Soul realm before turning two hundred, the sect also has several Core Formation disciples with excellent talent and Spiritual Roots, making their future ascent to Nascent Soul quite likely.

Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable.

First, the Sect Leader's highly‑esteemed direct disciple died untimely, and Chi Xuan True Lord failed to avenge him, only sustaining serious injuries himself.

Then, immediately thereafter, the long‑standing rival Fuhai Sect, bearing a centuries‑old blood feud, launched a "group battle" against San Yang Sect, vowing to annihilate it.

Thus, within just a few years, San Yang Sect shifted from a flourishing, prosperous state to a precarious one, on the brink of collapse.

The predecessor of Xiao Zhangqing's current body was grievously wounded in battle against Fuhai Sect by an opponent—a late Core Formation cultivator wielding a bizarre, evil Soul Transformation Magic Treasure.

Although he did not fall on the spot, he barely escaped.

In the end, the injuries were too severe to heal, and he died.

Only then did Xiao Zhangqing possess the body.

"These crossing conditions aren't ideal, but they're quite decent."

After Xiao Zhangqing clarified the whole chain of events, he nodded.

Having finally mastered the Nightmare Reincarnation Technique, and needing to cast it once—a task extremely difficult—Xiao Zhangqing naturally dislikes the world he has crossed into, as it is a very poor and backward realm.

On the contrary, the more powerful and high‑rank cultivators there are, the better! More high‑rank cultivators mean more high‑grade Magic Treasures to discover, increasing his benefit. After all, as merely the Second Avatar who crossed over, he need not fear dangerous death nor undertake special risky deeds; everything is planned for his true self, to obtain treasures once used by Nascent Soul or even Transformation God cultivators.

If he were to go to a poor, backward world—where the strongest are only at the Core Formation realm and lack even a Nascent Soul True Lord—

In this way safety is indeed ensured, but in such a world what kind of treasures are worth Xiao Zhangqing looting? At most there are some heavenly materials and earthly treasures that might help, but Xiao Zhangqing already has an inventory, and his need for heavenly and earthly treasures is far less than his desire for the strong one's treasures.

"Within the San Yang Sect Treasure Vault there are quite a few Nascent Soul‑level Magic Treasures; as long as you have enough sect contribution points you can exchange for them—this is the easiest channel…"

This body, being an elder of the San Yang Sect, even though its Foundation Establishment quality is average and its cultivation is only early Foundation Establishment, still has a thorough understanding of the sect's affairs.

The treasures inside the San Yang Sect, besides some that were used by past sect masters including the Real Person Chi Xuan, also include many that were obtained by chance, having been used by other Nascent Soul True Lords of the Qingxu Realm.

"First, scour the San Yang Sect's treasures; after all, this body already has a lot of unused contribution points."

"Then figure out a way to find treasures elsewhere."

"Unfortunately, the system on my true self can't directly identify a treasure when I obtain it… I can only judge based on experience and gamble on luck."

Xiao Zhangqing sighed; if the system could also sync to the clone, that would be awesome.

"First, fully restore the clone's strength…"

Immediately, Xiao Zhangqing's clone began a seclusion, announcing publicly that it was convalescing.

Anyway, he suffered a severe Soul Transformation injury in the great battle against the Fuhai Sect, nearly dying on the spot, and everyone in the sect knows that; even if the sect were in dire crisis, no missions would be assigned to him in the short term.

……

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

Buzz! Xiao Zhangqing suddenly felt something; after a violent tremor of his Soul Transformation, his perception range not only broke the two‑hundred‑zhang limit, but his sense of heaven and earth also became extraordinarily clear.

It was as if a veil that had covered the world was torn away, allowing direct contact with the forces of heaven and earth.

"The Soul Transformation finally metamorphosed into a Primordial Spirit."

Xiao Zhangqing let out a long breath.

Besides the Primordial Spirit, his magical power had already advanced, silently rising to the mid‑Foundation Establishment level.

The Longevity Stone Fragment, after devouring that evil spirit comparable to a Nascent Soul, already possessed an immensely deep foundation.

When he was in the Da Yu Cultivation World, the clone's magical power could not be measured precisely because the clone lacked a Golden Core.

Now this body, named "Fang Yuan", has a Golden Core and a Spiritual Root, truly a cultivator; after fully absorbing the clone's reciprocal power, it has reached the mid‑Foundation Establishment stage.

"I can leave the sect now."

After a period of adjustment, Xiao Zhangqing was fairly satisfied with this body's combat power.

But at that moment.

His Primordial Spirit, due to the surge in perception, suddenly heard a disturbance outside his mountain‑cave dwelling.

"Junior Sister Hu, you should retreat with me. I heard my master say that half a year ago Elder Fang suffered a fatal wound! Even a mid‑Foundation Establishment cultivator, once hit, is almost certainly doomed; Elder Fang may have already fallen…"

"The Fuhai Sect could strike at any moment; if we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

"As long as the green mountains remain, we need not worry about firewood; you and I should preserve useful bodies for the sect, not recklessly rush to death!"

"Don't think that everyone in the sect truly fights to the death; as far as I know, the core disciples of the sect master's line have long been covertly transferred…" (End of chapter)