Chapter 380: Breach Nascent Soul (Request Subscription)

Several days later.

On Mingkun Island, inside the cave dwelling.

Exquisite spirit stones were carelessly piled on the ground, forming a colorful little mountain that emitted a dazzling glow capable of making cultivators dizzy.

If left untouched, they might even give rise to an exquisite spirit vein after a thousand or ten thousand years.

Exquisite spirit stones, even for Foundation Establishment cultivators attempting Nascent Soul, have a certain effect, and are a hard currency in the hands of Nascent Soul True Lords.

Fang Xing had slain numerous True Lords along his journey and gathered many spoils within the Soul Spirit Sword Sect; now he brought them all out.

"Mingkun Island is merely a fourth-rank spirit vein… the spiritual energy supply may be insufficient during the breakthrough to Nascent Soul."

"But I had Ni Huolong arrange the array to concentrate vast spiritual energy at this spirit eye, along with a large quantity of exquisite spirit stones… for now, there's no problem."

At this moment, the cultivation avatar sat cross-legged beside the spirit eye, his essence, energy, and spirit gradually reaching their peak.

A flash of silver light—his main body had silently appeared, silently monitoring the entire island through Mingkun Hao.

"Everything seems calm…"

"Of course. With the achievement of slaying a Great True Lord, others might even suspect I'm a disguised Nascent Soul elder! Who would dare pull the tiger's whiskers?"

Fang Xing smiled faintly: "Even if they come, they're just bringing meat… I'd prefer if a few Nascent Soul True Lords, or even Meng the Old Devil, showed up."

His main body had now ascended to Wu Shen—equivalent to achieving Nascent Soul in the cultivation world.

Added to his exceptional martial prowess, even without activating Heisi Shen Hao, ordinary Nascent Soul True Lords were no match for him.

Fang Xing never relied on others; each time his cultivation avatar broke through major realms, his main body personally guarded him.

Now, stationed on Mingkun Island, he would kill one Nascent Soul True Lord who came, two if they came together.

Even if Meng the Old Ghost came personally, he'd simply don his armor and finish him with one strike.

"Perhaps… Meng the Old Ghost doesn't even know who I am…"

"But then again, when I was Second Island Master, I fought a few times—if portraits or memory stones survived, and Meng the Old Ghost possesses some secret technique to retrieve the final memories of his second soul, there's a chance he'll recognize me…"

"But that would only prove I was one of the many Nascent Soul cultivators who attacked him… which isn't much. Still, for the Soul Spirit Sword Sect's future, he'll surely come looking for me—to bring his own death."

"In this world, Nascent Soul cultivators must master a thread of void energy to have any hope of advancing to Void Refinement… so regardless of other matters, the highest transmission of Wuji Hall must involve space laws, just like the Spirit Void Sword Scripture or the Ethereal Void Scripture."

"When I was president of Blue Star University, I gathered a group of scholars studying space and established several space research projects—no problem at all…"

"Could it be… after becoming Wu Shen, I'll need to make a dazzling transition into becoming a space academia expert?"

"Hmm, I'm no expert—just a carrier of knowledge."

"I can display divine presence before outsiders, but I must retain self-awareness."

As Fang Xing's main body drifted in idle thoughts, his cultivation avatar had already adjusted his state and prepared to breach the Nascent Soul abyss!

…

Iron Sword Sect.

Zhou Shidi and other Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered together, their faces filled with joy: "Brother Huolong has successfully formed his Golden Core—we may finally revive the Iron Sword Sect…"

"Cough, cough…"

Huolong True Lord sat at the head, coughing lightly: "It's merely a breakthrough to Nascent Soul… compared to Mingkun Shu or Taibai Shixiong, it means nothing."

Hearing this, Zhou Shidi and the others exchanged glances, offering no objection to Huolong True Lord elevating Mingkun Island Master's seniority.

After all, rumors had spread widely: that Mingkun Island Master had effortlessly slain the Dark Cloud Hall's Nascent Soul late-stage leader.

He was either a Nascent Soul peak cultivator or a disguised Nascent Soul elder.

Nascent Soul elders lived over two thousand years; many solitary ancient monsters of this realm might indeed wander the mortal world under false identities…

Generally speaking, even a Nascent Soul peak cultivator could hardly kill a Great True Lord.

Thus, external cultivators almost universally regarded Mingkun Island Master as a Nascent Soul True Lord.

Elevating his seniority was only natural.

"As for our Iron Sword Sect, Mingkun Shu has already said we may take Yin Island as our foundation!"

Huolong True Lord added with a smile.

"Yin Island? That's a fourth-rank spirit vein, with vast cultivated spirit fields…" Zhou Shidi's eyes lit up: "Enough to support our sect's growth and Brother's cultivation needs…"

Yin Island was indeed excellent—it could even sustain several Nascent Soul True Lords.

For the current Iron Sword Sect, it felt like a snake swallowing an elephant.

If Huolong True Lord had not successfully formed his Golden Core, he would not have had the qualification to claim such a treasure.

"I heard… after Yin Sect's destruction, Yin Island was supposed to fall under Mingkun Island's jurisdiction, but the Island Master has always neglected affairs…"

A female Foundation Establishment True Lady said: "Now, nominally under Mingkun Island's control, it's actually occupied by several bands of rogue cultivators, the strongest being the 'Three Righteous Alliance,' whose leader is said to be at Foundation Establishment late stage—and likely backed by some Nascent Soul sect."

"Heh, even if they're backed by someone, what's that compared to Mingkun Island Master? Those people dared not openly display their banners before; now they dare even less."

Zhou Shidi sneered: "As for those Foundation Establishment cultivators, they're perfect for us to practice our swords on!" "Old man agrees—before acting, we could even send them a formal notice explaining the situation…"

Huolong True Lord chuckled: "With your uncle's current reputation, even if all Nascent Soul factions coveting Yin Island joined forces, they'd still retreat—offering Yin Island to us voluntarily."

"Why should we be so cautious? I say we strike swiftly, slaughter them outright—if we let them leave willingly, they'll take away vast quantities of spirit stones and spirit herbs…"

One junior brother immediately voiced disagreement.

At that moment, the earth trembled suddenly.

"Hmm?"

Huolong True Lord's expression changed instantly; he shot upward on a crimson sword light.

Zhou Shidi and the other Foundation Establishment True Lords followed immediately.

Arriving midair, they witnessed a shocking sight.

The sky had turned entirely black, churning dark clouds, lightning flashing, thunder roaring.

More startlingly, multicolored orbs appeared in the void, converging relentlessly toward the sky above Mingkun Island, forming a vast lake of aurora-like light, dazzling and radiant, its scale unimaginably immense.

"This… this seems to be… a breakthrough phenomenon?"

Zhou Shidi, feeling the increasingly dense spiritual pressure in the void, found it nearly impossible to fly: "What level of breakthrough is this? How terrifying!"

Huolong True Lord stared silently at the deepest part of Mingkun Island, his expression a mix of joy and sorrow, murmuring: "Foundation Establishment phenomenon extends ten li, Nascent Soul phenomenon shakes a hundred li, Nascent Soul phenomenon shakes a thousand li! This… this is the celestial phenomenon triggered by a cultivator's breakthrough to Nascent Soul, stirring spiritual tides across a thousand li!"

"What? A Nascent Soul phenomenon? A Nascent Soul peak cultivator is breaking through— who is it?"

The Foundation Establishment True Lords exchanged glances, then all turned toward the depths of Mingkun Island.

On Mingkun Island, who else but that one person could possibly attempt a Nascent Soul breakthrough?

And this news, once known, spread wildly among countless factions.

Now it was confirmed: Mingkun Island Master had slain the Dark Cloud Great True Lord before ever breaking into Nascent Soul.

With his astonishing talent, what brilliance would he display upon achieving Nascent Soul?

The entire Outer Sea's balance might change dramatically!

…

Inside the cave dwelling.

Fang Xing's cultivation avatar sat cross-legged, silently practicing the Great Freedom Mystic Golden Sword Scripture, pushing toward its highest level.

This sword scripture of the Soul Spirit Sword Sect reached only up to Nascent Soul—beyond that, no path remained.

But during this sect journey, Fang Xing had obtained the Spirit Void Sword Scripture; after Nascent Soul, he could seamlessly transition, and the transformation was very convenient.

Within the Great Freedom Mystic Golden Sword Scripture, how to achieve Sword Nascent Soul was already the highest chapter!

"To become a Sword Nascent Soul cultivator, one must first break through the scripture's major realm, forging an Immortal Dao Soul… then, embed the soul into one's life sword, becoming a Sword Nascent Soul Master!"

"In essence, the previous Sword Golden Core and even Sword Nascent Soul were merely preparations for this final step: embedding the soul."

Fang Xing silently activated the scripture's path, his essence, energy, and spirit reaching peak harmony.

Then…

For three consecutive days, he felt no surge of vitality or impulse from his soul.

"Of course—my Nascent Soul peak, achieved by pill-pushing, was always too forced to forge a true soul…"

Indeed, not just Fang Xing—even those diligent cultivators who painstakingly refined their own spiritual power found Nascent Soul breakthroughs excruciatingly difficult.

In this world, to break through major realms, cultivators truly needed a bit of external force to push them.

At this thought, Fang Xing's main body immediately entered the cave.

Then, his 【Immortal Martialist】 trait activated, pouring an endless stream of Wu Shen aura into pure Nascent Soul spiritual power!

Next, his main body pressed his palm against the cultivation avatar's dantian, and surging spiritual power flooded in, merging seamlessly.

Unlike his failed attempt at breaking Nascent Soul, this time, Fang Xing felt no conflict whatsoever between his own spiritual power and the avatar's—even the deepest imprints aligned perfectly.

This was the effect of pushing the Heavenly Mother Virtuous Golden Lotus Twin Guardian Method to Master-level perfection!

With his main body's spiritual power aiding him, Fang Xing's cultivation avatar finally began his breakthrough in spiritual power!

From fourth-rank Nascent Soul power, it directly transformed into fifth-rank Nascent Soul power!

Following the subtle connection between essence, energy, and spirit, once "energy" broke through, spirit and essence naturally followed.

With his main body's boundless spiritual power, the cultivation avatar's condition was nearly identical to ingesting Nascent Soul Spirit Paste.

Even if slightly less potent, the absorption and transformation were excellent—no refinement needed at all.

Crack! Crack!

The cultivation avatar's body seemed to bear unimaginable pressure, his bones cracking loudly.

Then, he felt his Golden Core breaking through.

Almost uncontrollably, the Sword Golden Core flew out from the avatar's crown, perching atop his topknot, its body gradually turning transparent, revealing within it a peak Spirit Treasure—tarnished iron sword.

His spiritual sense, through the Golden Core, merged directly with the spiritual power across a thousand li, seeing the multicolored spiritual lake enveloping Mingkun Island…

(End of Chapter)