Chapter 290: Nascent Soul Realm!

The first step of Nascent Soul formation: broadly absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth!

The second step: completely fuse the soul with the golden core, then shatter the golden core to give birth to the nascent soul infant—this is Shatter Golden Core to Form Nascent Soul.

Once this step is taken, there is no turning back; the soul and golden core are both shattered. If one fails to smoothly condense a nascent soul, death and the disappearance of the Dao are inevitable, with no room for remedy.

This is also one of the more perilous aspects of Nascent Soul formation compared to Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.

If Foundation Establishment fails, simply taking a Foundation Establishment Elixir allows one to retain their cultivation base and retain the chance to reattempt Foundation Establishment.

If Golden Core formation fails, with a bit of luck it merely means a loss of cultivation base; if one's lifespan is sufficient, regrouping is not without the possibility of another attempt at condensing a golden core.

But if Shatter Golden Core to Form Nascent Soul fails, even if a mighty expert descends, there is almost no chance to preserve one's life,

A misstep in this step is an abyss of ten thousand zhang!

Yunhe's powerful spiritual sense constantly monitored any slight change in himself; when he sensed that his body, qi sea dantian, and golden core could no longer accommodate even a trace of spiritual qi, it signified that he was about to take that step.

Under normal circumstances.

When a cultivator breaks through to the Nascent Soul realm, Shatter Golden Core to Form Nascent Soul requires using the terrifying spiritual qi they have absorbed, combined with forcing the soul to shatter the golden core.

This step.

Very difficult.

Many cultivators, due to inadequate cultivation methods resulting in insufficient mana, or weak bodies failing to accumulate enough spiritual qi during absorption, or feeble spiritual sense and weak souls, will find themselves unable to even take this step.

However, this is also a good thing, because as long as one does not shatter the golden core, there remains room for remedy.

But Yunhe had long since made his preparations.

The Nascent Soul Elixir in his hand was his confidence.

This elixir works wonders for the Shatter Golden Core to Form Nascent Soul step.

Yunhe slightly opened his mouth, and the elixir, as if sentient, slipped into his mouth on its own.

As the elixir was refined, Yunhe immediately felt a strange demonic power spreading through his body, eventually flowing along the meridians into his qi sea dantian and merging into his Five Elements Golden Core.

Hum—

The golden core trembled slightly, and Yunhe immediately felt a strange suction emanating from the Five Elements Golden Core.

In an instant, he was like a bird flying freely in the sky whose wings had been snapped, plummeting headfirst; his soul directly fell from the sea of consciousness into the qi sea dantian, ultimately merging completely with the golden core.

Immediately afterward, everything returned to complete calm.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Yunhe sat upon the Mutton-fat Jade Ice-clear Lotus, completely motionless—no movement, no mana, no spiritual power, like a corpse.

Were it not for the faint breath still present, one could hardly tell whether he was still alive.

Crack!

Suddenly, a faint cracking sound rang out; within Yunhe's qi sea dantian, the unmoving Five Elements Golden Core on its surface showed a fine crack.

Afterward, more and more cracks appeared one after another.

In the end, the golden core was covered as if with a spiderweb, fine lines densely spread.

Boom—

Like a thunderclap from clear sky, the golden core that countless cultivators could not obtain exploded violently.

The Five Elements Golden Core, destroyed in an instant!

Interwoven five-colored light poured forth, and a terrifying aura erupted within his body like mountain roars and sea surges, causing Yunhe's formerly calm visage to twist into a grimace.

Gradually, his visage returned to calm.

But just then, a tender white little hand suddenly appeared on the crown of his head, followed by a second, and then a tiny white infant only about an inch big, straining to crawl out of his body bit by bit with a pursed mouth.

Grasping his hair bun, it was as if climbing a mountain.

When he finally stood firmly atop Yunhe's head, he placed his hands on his hips, exhaled a long breath, his eyes curved into crescents, and he opened his mouth to reveal a row of white teeth.

This infant appeared delicate and frail, yet his likeness was exactly the same as Yunhe's.

Although Yunhe usually kept a steady, composed expression that revealed no inner change, he now wore a beaming smile, his joy evident.

Suddenly, the infant's expression stiffened; looking down with a hint of apprehension, he saw an expanse of snow-white and likewise shrunken objects, and instantly a cute blush rose on his face.

Seeing his chubby hands pinch, a five-colored mist immediately rose over his body, eventually forming a well-fitting five-colored robe.

Only then did he pat his chest and breathe a sigh of relief.

Having done these, the infant seemed a bit weary; he patted his mouth, let out a long yawn, and then burrowed back into Yunhe's body.

And after the infant returned, Yunhe's eyelids twitched, and his drowsy eyes finally opened again.

At this moment, he felt a sense of unreality, as if in a dream.

He clearly felt that the little infant just now was himself, yet the infant's every movement seemed not under his control; but after a moment's thought he understood: it was because at that time he and the infant's souls had not yet fully merged, and now that he had regained clarity, it signified the return of the soul to its proper place—from then on he was the infant, and the infant was him.

Suddenly.

Yunhe belatedly reacted.

"Is that the nascent soul?"

He hurriedly closed his eyes again and inwardly viewed with his spiritual sense.

He saw that in his qi sea dantian, the original Five Elements Golden Core had vanished, replaced by a figure identical in appearance to himself—a nascent soul—surrounded by five phantoms of five-elemental spirit bodies.

As Yunhe formed a hand seal, the nascent soul opened its eyes once again.

This time, opening its eyes meant something entirely different from the previous uncontrolled opening.

Nascent Soul Realm!

Originally, the air above the Ice Snow Pavilion had calmed after the spiritual qi vortex dissipated, but now winds and clouds surged once again.

Moreover, compared to before, the aura now exuded was one that made one tremble; whether Foundation Establishment or Golden Core, fear rose endlessly in the heart, and reverence was born.

"This aura, could it be—" Dong Ning Xuan almost instinctively dropped to one knee, the shock in her eyes intensifying many times over.

Her reaction was actually quite good; the Ice Snow Pavilion disciples beside her were either lying prone or flat on their backs, and those with weaker minds had already fainted.

The Ice Osmanthus Fairy seated in the main hall of the Ice Snow Pavilion sensed this aura, and the hand holding the formation plate trembled uncontrollably.

Finally, finally succeeded? Nascent Soul realm!

If someone had told her decades ago that recruiting a Mid Jie Dan Stage cultivator, paying the formula and materials for an Ice Heart Elixir, would yield a Yuan Ying Stage Supreme Elder, the Ice Osmanthus Fairy would surely scoff at their ignorance.

How could a Yuan Ying Cultivator be so easily attained?

Besides, as the Lord of the Ice Snow Pavilion, with a pavilion's resources, after a hundred years she still hadn't reached Late Jie Dan Stage, let alone Yuan Ying Stage.

She never dared to hope for it in her lifetime.

But now.

Yet the Ice Osmanthus Fairy felt as if she were dreaming.

The Mid Jie Dan Stage cultivator she had recruited, after just a few short decades, has formed a Nascent Soul?

Even with the Ice Osmanthus Fairy's status and mindset, she unconsciously pinched her own face.

It's real!

Their Ice Fairy Pavilion has produced a Great Yuan Ying Cultivator!

At the same time, on the mountain peak outside the snow mountain of the Ice Snow Pavilion, Cold Sword True Lord, Bitter Sword True Lord, and the Vast Sea Spirit Turtle all narrowed their eyes.

Succeeded, Nascent Soul! Cold Sword True Lord said softly.

Bitter Sword True Lord also nodded, gazing at the Nascent Soul phenomenon in the sky, and said: "Qi spreads a thousand miles, clouds rise to the nine heavens, truly magnificent momentum—this Bee Dao Friend is truly extraordinary."

Wan Hailin pressed his lips, his feeling different from the two Yuan Ying Cultivators; as a Late Jie Dan Stage cultivator, he sensed only the rolling pressure approaching.

Even though tens of miles apart, he could actually feel the pressure.

Nascent Soul. Wan Hailin murmured softly.

The Vast Sea Spirit Turtle beneath his feet gave him a sideways glance without leaving a trace, and said nothing.

However, breaking the golden core to become Nascent Soul is just the beginning. Cold Sword True Lord spoke with some lingering fear.

He recalled the tribulations he endured after breaking the golden core to become Nascent Soul—whether the Heart Demon Tribulation or the later Lightning Tribulation—each memory left him feeling fortunate.

Back then, his smooth Nascent Soul formation and passing those tribulations were largely due to luck.

Alas, forming a Nascent Soul is hard, and after that it's even harder. Bitter Sword True Lord also echoed the sigh.

Only those who have undergone Nascent Soul formation understand its peril; a slight mistake leads to eternal damnation.

Inside the cave abode.

Regarding the influence his successful Nascent Soul breakthrough had on the outside world, he naturally didn't know, or rather, he couldn't be bothered to find out.

He barely had time to sense the Nascent Soul and the changes in his own mana after successfully achieving Nascent Soul, before Yunhe's expression shifted.

Without hesitation, he flicked his sleeve, sending out a jade bottle, which he shattered with his mana, revealing the "Ice Heart Elixir" etched with the ice phoenix pattern.

Upon taking it into his mouth, he immediately felt a cool sensation spreading.

After swallowing the elixir, the cool sensation brought a feeling of ethereal tranquility to his mind and spirit.

Afterward, Yunhe felt his vision go dark.

He instantly fell into an endless illusion.

"Do you have a house?"

"Do you have a car?"

"What is your annual salary?"

Looking at the woman before him, heavily made up, legs crossed, looking down at him, Yunhe felt a bit dazed and startled, instinctively lowering his head to pick up the glass in front of him and take a sip of water.

"I'm talking to you!"

Seeing he didn't answer, the woman opposite practically looked at him through her nostrils, her contempt plainly visible.

But at this moment, Yunhe's mind felt empty, as if he had forgotten something particularly important.

"Did you forget to lock the door when you left? Or did you not turn off the gas stove?"

Bang!

Suddenly, the woman slapped the table with her palm and shouted:

"Are you a mute?"

This startled Yunhe so much that he jumped, instantly forgetting whatever he had been thinking, and he blurted out:

"I have one apartment, seventy square meters outside the Fourth Ring Road, though the mortgage isn't paid off yet; as for a car, the subway is more convenient, and my monthly salary is six thousand."

These conditions aren't great, but at least they're not bad; yet to the woman opposite, they elicited nothing but utter contempt.

However, after shifting her crossed legs, she still said:

"I won't help you pay the mortgage, but after marriage I want my name added to the property deed! You must have a car—you can't expect me to wear high heels and squeeze onto the subway when I go shopping! My demands aren't high: a betrothal gift of 300,000, three gold items, and a meeting gift is also essential."

Isn't this treating himself as a sucker?

Yunhe's expression instantly darkened.

But the woman opposite seemed not to notice, merely admiring her freshly done nails as she continued:

"I won't do housework or cook; I'll try to find a job, but I don't know how long it will take. Before I find work, you need to give me 12,000 a month for living expenses. However, the wedding can be simple—I don't have many relatives on my side, so if possible, we could skip the wedding and just give cash instead."

He had originally thought such women only existed in short video skits online, never expecting to actually encounter one.

Yunhe laughed in anger.

"Skip the wedding and take cash?"

He really is a piece of work.

Thinking of how he studied diligently and worked hard, though not outstanding, he was still among the most diligent.

He had finally managed to get into.

"Huh?"

Yunhe suddenly froze, wondering what university he had attended.

Suddenly.

A wave of coolness swept through his mind, and many things flashed through his thoughts and vanished.

River Stream Market, Qingzong Sect, Cloud Upper Realm, Ice Snow Pavilion.

And in the eyes of the woman opposite, this somewhat simple-minded "fiancé taker" suddenly changed his demeanor, becoming something that made her involuntarily feel a bit afraid.

Yunhe glanced at her sideways and couldn't help but chuckle:

"You've been pregnant for almost two months, so don't come out to toy with ignorant youths."

"You!"

Before he could say anything else, Yunhe's expression suddenly turned stern, and he abruptly raised his arm and swung it.

"Scatter!"

The next moment, the scene before his eyes, like a mirror, turned into illusions and vanished.

Yunhe couldn't help but rub his chin.

"What I fear the most is actually a blind date?!"

Or rather, this is what he feared most in his previous life.

Before he could figure it out, his vision shifted.

What appeared before his eyes was none other than the familiar River Stream Market, so familiar it couldn't be more familiar!

And he was still that insignificant little spirit-bee farmer.

But this time, he had no clone in the Demon Beast World, nor any chance of cultivation; no matter how hard he tried, it was difficult to change his own fate.

"What a pity there are no 'ifs.' The path I've walked has always been a single road—where would any fork come from? Illusions are born of assumptions; break them for me!"

The sense of coolness in his mind became increasingly evident.

The scene shifted again.

At this moment he stood atop the myriad mountains, with countless cultivators below bowing and submitting, revering him as a deity.

Yunhe, with his hands behind his back on the mountain peak, smirked contemptuously.

"The Dao is solitary; I am one who walks alone. Where does this scene of myriad immortals paying homage come from?"

Yunhe didn't even know how much he had endured; he felt as if he had tasted all the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors of the world.

There were street-side little beggars, royal nobles, successful entrepreneurs, and affectionate scions of aristocratic families.

But the more he experienced, the firmer his resolve became.

Until.

"I myself didn't realize that the Dao heart I thought was steadfast actually has so many flaws."

Yunhe gazed calmly at the ever-changing scenes before his eyes.

"Putting it that way, I should actually be thanking you."

"However, I don't have time now to play with you, inner demon, right? When my cultivation base reaches perfection, I will come to the deepest part of my heart to find you—you'd better get ready."

Saying this, he slightly raised his hand, and a thunder technique appeared in his palm.

He flicked his finger, and it turned into a startling swan.

How could he allow evil spirits to wreak havoc in his heart?

"The trial of the inner demon is nothing more than this."

"Begone, inner demon!"

(End of chapter)