Chapter 444: Second-Grade Inner Elixir! The Ancestor Descends (5k Chapter)

Golden light is eternal, like pure yang true nature.

Where heaven and earth converge, where thoughts scatter wildly, there rises a chanting voice, as if offering prayers to countless immortals.

“I’m dead?”

Yu Xuanji’s lingering consciousness radiated profound disbelief; once, she had believed encountering that unknowable entity was the greatest fortune of her life!

By fusing with that entity, her nascent soul entered an unprecedented realm, a sensation as if truly immortal and indestructible…

The world became simple in her eyes, that supreme dominion, mastery over all, as if she were the architect of the rules of the game!

So much so that she never truly regarded Zhang Fan as a threat.

But now…

She was going to die!!

Yu Xuanji’s nascent soul gradually dissolved.

Her power, already reduced to three-tenths under Zhang Fan’s erosion,

now vanished utterly within the golden substance, leaving not a trace of energy or consciousness—as if her existence had always been nothingness.

“So that’s how it is!”

Yu Xuanji’s final thought drifted through the void, tinged with self-derision, before being ground away by the golden substance.

“Roar…”

The eerie shadow plunged into unprecedented chaos, its form contracting, expanding, splitting, merging…

Ultimately, within the golden substance, it too felt unprecedented weakness—it even sensed life and death.

“Zhang Fan, we…”

“We shall be together.”

Suddenly, the golden substance was exhausted, and the eerie shadow vanished from the mortal world.

Its existence, as if, vanished along with Yu Xuanji.

At this moment, Zhang Fan felt a strange sensation rise in his heart—he could not be certain whether the Three Corpses Spirits had truly been slain, yet now his nascent soul seemed to shed a shadow, becoming brighter, clearer.

His nascent soul entered a new realm, as mysterious true fire descended.

Zhang Fan’s nascent soul underwent transformation; the light it emitted grew ever more terrifying, like true fire descending, burning through his meridians, refining his inner elixir.

In the Daoist tradition, cultivation of life and nature reaches its peak in “nine.”

The body uses medicinal essences to nourish the nascent soul; as the nascent soul grows, it generates the light of nature.

At the Great Master realm, one attains nine layers of inner light.

As the nascent soul strengthens, the nature-light becomes like fire, refining the body’s vessel, forging the inner elixir.

At the Fast-Initiate realm, one achieves nine rotations of the inner elixir.

Now, Zhang Fan’s nascent soul underwent transformation and ascended; the true fire descending was naturally stronger, refining the inner elixir, peeling away layer upon layer of impurities.

The energy of this inner elixir condensed and compressed again, its terrifying fluctuations sending concentric waves of energy radiating outward from Zhang Fan.

“He… he broke through again!?”

All who watched felt their scalps tingle, their faces trembling with incredulity.

The Fast-Initiate realm—how many dream of this supreme wonder.

To enter this realm requires how much accumulation, how much foundation, mastery over creation, decades of arcane cultivation, to gain even one chance in ten thousand.

Yet, forging the inner elixir is both a milestone and a new beginning.

It demands the patience of ink dripping on stone, daily and nightly cultivation, grinding the inner elixir through nine rotations, before one may glimpse pure yang.

Ancient masters of alchemy, upon reaching this realm, would retreat from the mortal world, secluding themselves in deep mountains, refining the inner elixir with the persistence of water wearing away stone.

Thus, even one rotation, unless blessed with immense fortune, took at least ten years, often decades, to achieve.

Zhang Fan had just entered the Fast-Initiate realm—and broke through again?

Equivalent to another’s ten years of solitary meditation!

Hum…

Indeed, his inner elixir, refined by the nascent soul’s true fire, had shrunk slightly, and now a new “golden pattern” surfaced on its surface—like incense smoke swirling, like mist gathering, profound and ineffable.

The nine rotations of the inner elixir are divided into nine grades.

First grade is the beginning; ninth grade is the highest.

A ninth-grade inner elixir is covered entirely in golden patterns—that is a Golden Core. Advance further, and the Golden Core nourishes the nascent soul, giving birth to a Dharma Form—that is the Abbot realm.

At this moment, Zhang Fan’s nascent soul surged, and his inner elixir entered the [Second Grade].

“Second-grade Fast-Initiate!?”

Shen Mingchan’s eyes widened, filled with utter disbelief.

Now, in the Final Dharma Age, great cultivators are nearly impossible to find; among billions of cultivators, perhaps one or two might attain the mysterious supreme realm.

Yet this man, cultivation is as simple as eating and drinking—mysterious realms, requiring no years of accumulation, are within easy reach; before his nascent soul, all laws bloom like flowers in full glory.

“A prodigy by birth? Just who is he!?” Zhuang Yumin furrowed her brows, her gaze toward Zhang Fan brimming with doubt.

Throughout history, those born as prodigies who achieved greatness were always destined by fate, beyond ordinary comprehension.

At this moment, she saw in Zhang Fan the shadows of ancient alchemical masters, terrestrial immortals.

The only difference: those were legends; this was reality.

“How is it? Is he dead?”

At this moment, Zhang Wu stepped forward; he clearly saw Zhang Fan had been reborn, utterly changed.

Yet now, what concerned him most was still the Three Corpses Plague.

“I don’t know,” Zhang Fan replied softly, shaking his head.

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?” Zhang Wu frowned.

“Not dead, but not alive,” Zhang Fan uttered a cryptic phrase.

Zhang Wu’s brow lifted, even more puzzled.

In truth, Zhang Fan could not be certain, yet undeniably, the Three Corpses Spirits had dissolved within the golden substance.

The instant this “fact” occurred, his nascent soul underwent elevation, like quantum entanglement—this diminished, that increased.

Only then did Zhang Fan’s nascent soul undergo such a mysterious transformation.

“I now realize: whether he lives or not doesn’t matter—what matters is that he’s gone,” Zhang Fan tasted the sweetness, becoming addicted.

“Hm!?”

Zhang Wu’s expression hardened; he sensed Zhang Fan had changed—not merely in cultivation level, but in mindset and thought.

This way of thinking seemed dangerous.

The wilds lay still, the pale moon drifted through clouds.

Countless gazes lay hidden, breaths held, none daring to meet Zhang Fan’s eyes.

Especially Shen Mingchan—he longed to flee, yet his legs felt leaden, utterly immobile; he feared that any movement would draw the attention of this monstrous demon before him.

Huh…

At this moment, Zhang Fan moved—he walked toward Yu Xuanji’s ruined body, which now held only half a skull, lying in a pool of blood.

“Fallen petals reflect crimson… pity, your path ends here,” Zhang Fan sighed.

Suddenly, the remaining half-skull shattered violently, turning into a cloud of charred ash, while a silver-white stream slowly rose, settling into Zhang Fan’s palm, coalescing into a single bead.

“The Dragon Pearl of Tongluo Mountain!?”

Countless gazes burned with intensity—this was the essence accumulated over five years by Tongluo Mountain’s dragon vein, the treasure all factions coveted at this [Elixir Law Assembly].

Whoever claimed this “Dragon Pearl” would become the master of this First Blessed Land.

“So this treasure had already fallen into Yu Xuanji’s hands!?”

A sudden clarity arose in their hearts.

Undeniably, this disciple of Sanqing Mountain possessed extraordinary fortune and formidable skill—while they fought to the death here, this woman had quietly seized the essence of Tongluo Mountain’s dragon vein.

No wonder her head was so hard—she had preserved half her skull intact even within the [Spirit Platform Divine Light]; surely, it was because of this “Dragon Pearl.”

Too bad she met Zhang Fan.

In the end, she perished, her efforts merely serving as a gift for another.

“So it was with her,” Zhang Wu murmured, gazing at the silver-white stream.

With this treasure secured, their Elixir Law Assembly was complete.

Tongluo Mountain—this First Blessed Land would become the foundation for Dengmen’s foothold in the Xijiang region.

“The elixir is the supreme treasure of the physical form, capable of infinite transformation. It also investigates the true essence of nature, resolving the wondrous function of non-birth…”

Suddenly, a soft, distant voice echoed, reverberating through the quiet mountains.

As the voice fell, the deep mountains grew brighter; the chirps of insects and birds filled their ears; looking up, the moon seemed three times clearer.

“At such a young age, you have already perfected your life cultivation, comprehended the mystery of the inner elixir, and entered the Fast-Initiate realm.”

The voice spoke again—suddenly, right beside them.

All looked up: on a stone tree nearby, a figure had appeared as if from nowhere, his Daoist robe fluttering in the wind, his face like a jade crown, his bearing noble and elegant, his aura merging seamlessly with the endless mountains.

“Uncle Fei!?”

Shen Mingchan, upon seeing the newcomer, was the most excited; he clenched his fists as if grasping a lifeline, shouting aloud—his taut nerves instantly relaxed.

They were saved!

“Fei Liangren!?”

Zhuang Yumin and Lin Haitang both felt their hearts drop; they exchanged glances, their faces etched with deep gravity.

Coming from great sects, they knew every renowned expert in Xijiang by heart.

Fei Liangren was a great expert of Mount Gezao, possessing the cultivation level of a Guan Zhu.

Know that Tian Shi-level masters are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; not every mountain or sect has one.

For ordinary sects, having a Gao Gong to hold the fort is already a great honor.

A Da Shi-level master may participate in regional Daoist affairs.

If a Zhai Shou-level expert is present, everyone must show respect; all major and minor local matters must be properly notified.

As for the Guan Zhu...

When no Tian Shi is present, the Guan Zhu is an invincible presence.