Chapter 562: Advancing to the Integration Stage

"Master, could it be that Zhang Nuo is unwilling to join our Wuliang Dao Sect, which is why he hid inside the Tianfa Forest?"

A flash of agile expression flickered in Jiguang's eyes as he spoke.

"Absolutely not. Zhang Nuo has always been straightforward in his actions. If there were something he did not wish to accept, he would refuse it to one's face; he would never resort to such cowardly behavior as hiding! In this old man's view, he must have gone to attend to some important matter."

Although Tianyi Laodao had not been in contact with Zhang Nuo for long, he still had a relatively good understanding of his character!

"But he clearly told this disciple back then that he would come to Yangtian Hall to see Master in at most ten-odd years, or at least three to five years. Now, more than fifty years have passed, and he still hasn't appeared!"

Jiguang found it hard to understand why Tianyi Laodao insisted on taking Zhang Nuo under the tutelage of Yangtian Hall. Although this person was an ascended cultivator and surely possessed extraordinary qualities, that did not mean he was a unique existence!

"Hehe! Jiguang, trust your master's judgment. One day you will know the cultivation talent of this child, Zhang Nuo! Whether our Yangtian Hall can rise again depends on him!"

With a gentle smile, Tianyi Laodao turned his head back, looking at the high sky outside Yangtian Hall, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. Having just stepped into the Immortal World, he refused to submit to the Three Great Powers. He had only seen two such Human Realm ascended cultivators; one was Deng Tianlin, and the other was Zhang Nuo.

Within a thousand years after ascending, Deng Tianlin had already stepped into the Integration Late Stage. Later, due to his cultivation technique, he had been unable to break through the bottleneck of the Integration Late Stage. If the other party had been willing to attach himself to the Wuliang Dao Sect, perhaps he would have made a breakthrough long ago!

As for Zhang Nuo, that was even more incomprehensible. During that great battle in Anling City back then, with his Spirit Transformation Stage cultivation, he not only did not fall into a disadvantageous position against a Ninth-Rank Demonic Beast, but instead ended up slaying the beast. In the entire Immortal Domain, it would likely be difficult to find a second person like him!

Not only that, Tianyi Laodao had also heard that during his first external patrol, Zhang Nuo had mysteriously disappeared. Yet, years later, he had appeared again miraculously. What did this signify? The other cultivators who had disappeared previously had never shown themselves; it was believed they must have perished long ago, but only Zhang Nuo was fine. The mystery behind this was perhaps something only he himself knew!

"Master, let this disciple send people to scout around the Tianfa Forest!"

"No need! When it is time to come, he will come himself!"

Tianyi Laodao said noncommittally. Some things could not be forced; letting nature take its course would be better instead! Jiguang lowered his head in confusion; he still did not understand why his master thought so highly of Zhang Nuo! A moment later, he smiled with relief, thinking to himself: Perhaps this is the gap between him and Master! Things often cannot be seen through clearly!

It seems it is not just the gap in cultivation, but also a great difference in the comprehension of the Dao!

Tianfa Forest! Inside the Stone Chamber where Zhang Nuo was located!

The entire Stone Chamber was permeated with dense Spiritual Qi. Zhang Nuo sat cross-legged on a Putan, his face flushed a deep red. Above his body, a two-zhang-tall Dharma Image Golden Body stood motionless, and on the surface of his body, a faint phantom of a White Tiger appeared. Just twenty years ago, Zhang Nuo had finally successfully refined the True Spirit Bloodline into his body, and as a result, his cultivation had advanced to the Spirit Transformation Late Stage!

The last Divine Sea within his body had also been opened! Looking at the nine Divine Seas shining brilliantly within his body, Zhang Nuo felt extremely excited. Being able to open all nine Divine Seas while in the Spirit Transformation Stage was something that others could only desire but never obtain!

As the Divine Seas were filled, the surging Spiritual Qi within Zhang Nuo's body was exceptionally dense. After fusing with the White Tiger True Spirit Bloodline, his physical body had also become several times stronger. This was secondary; what he had not expected was that the 'Hidden Wing Blood-Eating Insect' parasitic within his body had also grown rapidly in size due to devouring a large amount of essence blood mixed with the True Spirit Bloodline, and it was now the size of a thumb!

However, this Mysterious Heaven Tier spirit insect was quite different from Xuan Jin; it had no rank restrictions at all and relied entirely on evolution to improve its strength! After each evolution, the insect itself would become several times stronger! If one had to measure it by human cultivation realms, the current 'Hidden Wing Blood-Eating Insect' had at least the strength of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!

Do not let its low cultivation fool you; this insect's long, needle-like mouth could easily pierce through the powerful physical body of an Integration Stage cultivator, and even those who specialized in Body Refining would absolutely not be able to escape it!

With an extra trump card in his hand, Zhang Nuo was naturally grinning from ear to ear! Looking inward, he saw that the Qiongqi beast had still not awakened. The little fellow was fast asleep, completely unaware that it had already merged into one with Zhang Nuo! Meanwhile, Xuan Jin was wholeheartedly meditating and cultivating, trying to improve his cultivation as quickly as possible!

When in the Human Realm, Xuan Jin's strength was already close to the Eighth Rank. If he could truly reach the strength of the Ninth Rank, then Xuan Jin would also be a cultivator at the Integration Early Stage!

Xuan Jin's strength was of nothing but benefit to Zhang Nuo. By merging with him, his strength increased, and Zhang Nuo's strength would naturally follow. The wonderful use of this complementary relationship was now finally being seen!

However, Zhang Nuo had only just advanced to the Spirit Transformation Late Stage not long ago, so his cultivation was not yet very stable. If he were to forcibly break through to the Integration Stage, it would inevitably have some impact on his physical body!

His original intention was to postpone the attempt at the Integration Stage for a few more years, but man proposes, God disposes. One morning, the Qiongqi beast within Zhang Nuo's body awakened!

This was the first time the Qiongqi had awakened since consuming the green liquid in the Demon Refining Pool. The moment the beast awakened, it was as if a massive change had occurred within Zhang Nuo's body. Vast Spirit Power constantly flooded his body; if not for his Dharma-Body Dual Cultivation, Zhang Nuo would likely have exploded and died on the spot!

Xuan Jin, who was cultivating, was also awakened by this shocking turn of events. His head poked out from Zhang Nuo's shoulder, his eyes filled with terror!

"Master! This guy has awakened at this time; what should we do?"

Originally, the two had planned to forcibly awaken the Qiongqi when attempting the Integration Stage, but they had not expected it to awaken on its own ahead of time.

Zhang Nuo's brows were tightly furrowed! He did not know if this should be considered a good thing or a bad thing. Roars of a beast echoed from within his body, and Zhang Nuo's body also began to undergo changes!

"Xuan Jin, it seems our plan must be carried out ahead of schedule! If we do not take advantage of this opportunity of the Qiongqi's advancement and awakening to break through the Spirit Transformation Late Stage, who knows when we will have to wait until? So let's take a gamble!"

Biting the bullet, Zhang Nuo could only do this. In order to reach the Integration Stage and obtain those two Mysterious Heaven Spirit Treasures, he had no choice but to risk it!

Xuan Jin did not say much, only nodding heavily before his figure submerged back into Zhang Nuo's body. The only thing he could do now was to first pacify the Qiongqi and have it delay the time of its awakening!

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Nuo began to prepare the items needed for advancing to the Integration Stage. An hour later, Xuan Jin sent a hurried voice!

"Master, it is about to awaken!"

"I know!"

Zhang Nuo said very calmly. His greatest strength was staying calm in the face of danger, always keeping a clear head to make the most correct judgments!

A long, drawn-out beast roar emanated from Zhang Nuo's body, followed by ten thousand rays of red light bursting forth. The surface of his skin turned bright red, and even within his eyes, red light surged!

Zhang Nuo formed a Dharma seal with his hands, struggling to restrain these red rays and letting them flow into the hundred skeletons of his body, using these energies to continuously temper his body to achieve the effect of improving his cultivation!

At this moment, outside the Stone Chamber, Chen Shuang'er was meditating. Suddenly hearing the beast roar coming from Zhang Nuo's room, she abruptly opened her eyes and turned to look. She saw that the exterior of the Stone Chamber had been covered with layers of Restrictions, for fear that she might disturb him!

"Could he be advancing?"

The young girl's beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief. The previous Zhang Nuo was only at the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage, a small realm lower than herself. In just a short fifty years, he was able to advance again; what a terrifying thing that was!

Chen Shuang'er gave up on her cultivation, stood up, and walked toward the Stone Chamber where Zhang Nuo was. When she was less than three zhang away from the Stone Chamber, she felt waves of massive Spiritual Qi rushing toward her like a vast Yangtze River!

This time, the young girl could not help but believe it. With such a massive collection of Spirit Power, she could not think of a second reason other than him attempting the Integration Stage!

Another beast roar came from inside the Stone Chamber! Chen Shuang'er was even more puzzled. How could such a sound come out when Zhang Nuo was advancing? Could it be one of his Spirit Beasts? She swept her Divine Sense toward the Restriction in front of her, and a moment later, the young girl's eyebrows arched slightly; she felt it was somewhat inconceivable!

Because within the Restriction in front of her, Zhang Nuo had clearly set up a sound-insulating Restriction, yet the beast roar could still be heard. There was only one explanation for this: the rank of the Spirit Beast was higher than Zhang Nuo's!

A layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead! The young girl kept guessing in her heart what kind of Spirit Beast Zhang Nuo was raising, as its cultivation actually exceeded that of its master!

Zhang Nuo sat cross-legged in the Stone Chamber, letting the power of the Qiongqi beast's awakening flow continuously through the meridians in his body. A great pain came from the depths of his bones, as if his entire physical body were about to be destroyed! Xuan Jin was also sitting cross-legged within his body, his hands continuously casting various magical techniques to help him temper his physical body!

The Jingming Divine Tree in front of him extended two tender green branches, continuously transmitting the power of the source of life into his body! The Nine Dragon Sword Case above his head directly emitted a pillar of Spirit Power as thick as an arm, pouring into the top of Zhang Nuo's head!

With the cooperation of many divine objects, Zhang Nuo's body began to become ethereal, and his skin became transparent bit by bit, to the point where one could even see everything inside his body!

Two sitting Nascent Souls, countless 'Hidden Wing Blood-Eating Insects', and numerous Magic Treasures!