Chapter 60: Spirit Transformation and Nascent Soul Formation

The short, stout old man was startled and said, "Then perhaps it is near the Taiyuan Sect; could it be that Danchenzi has begun his Spirit Transformation ahead of schedule!"

The tall, thin old man thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "That shouldn't be. Over a month ago, he came to ask me to refine pills, and at the time he even said the Soul Returning Wood had just blossomed, agreeing that the pill refining would be in three years. Without a Spirit Transformation Pill, if he were to forcibly trigger the lightning tribulation, he absolutely could not withstand it. Danchenzi would not be so reckless."

The short, stout old man's expression was slightly strange as he said, "That's not necessarily true. I went to Longmen Mountain a few days ago; it's hard to say if that fellow Taiwuzi couldn't hold back and went to cause trouble for the Taiyuan Sect, forcing Danchenzi to break through by necessity."

The tall, thin old man's expression immediately became quite ugly as he said, "How can Taiwuzi be so shameless? A dignified great cultivator, yet he does such base things."

The short, stout old man coldly snorted, "Several Core Disciples were killed or injured; someone must take responsibility. My disciple Yulong was wounded and remains unconscious—could it be that the Taiyuan Sect truly bears no responsibility?"

The tall, thin old man was silent for a long time, then sighed faintly and said, "In recent years, the world has been turbulent and restless; I fear a great catastrophe is coming. We cannot kill each other. We shall find another way regarding the matter of Disciple-nephew Yulong; it is not necessarily beyond saving. If Danchenzi can successfully achieve Spirit Transformation, it is also a great blessing for our Immortal Sect. You need not vent your anger on others too much. The Dao of Heaven is a cycle, and retribution is swift. How can we, who cultivate the Dao and seek the Immortal path, let worldly hatred blind our eyes and sever our future Great Dao?"

The short, stout old man shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "It is easy to say, but human hearts are as they are; how can they be like iron or stone, ignoring the life and death of one's own disciples? Sigh, enough. Disciple Yulong also brought this upon himself; at the time, he insisted on taking a Fourth-Rank Spirit Sparrow to Jingshi. Otherwise, how would it have ended in such a result?"

Just as the two were speaking, a stream of light suddenly came from the east and arrived at the mountain peak in an instant. A flying sword, over a foot long and resembling ice crystal, hung before the tall, thin old man with rolling cold air.

The tall, thin old man's expression was strange as he said, "Speak of the devil, and he appears. The message from Taiwuzi is likely about this very matter."

Having said this, the tall, thin old man raised his hand and grabbed the flying sword, pouring Spirit Qi into it. He heard the rolling, thunderous voice of Taiwu Zhenjun emerge: "Baiyunzi, Danchenzi has triggered the Heavenly Tribulation for Spirit Transformation. The territory of the Song Kingdom will soon have another True Monarch. How will Yuqing Hall respond?"

The expressions of the two old men changed simultaneously. After exchanging a glance, the tall, thin old man said, "Brother Taiwu, have you been to the Taiyuan Sect?"

Taiwu Zhenjun said, "Indeed. An hour ago, I just returned from the Taiyuan Sect. Danchenzi's Heavenly Tribulation has already begun. To avoid being dragged into the tribulation, I did not dare to stay long."

The short, stout old man mocked, "A coward."

Taiwu Zhenjun roared, "Yuyangzi, so you are there too! If you have the guts, come to Longmen Mountain again, and see if I don't beat the shit out of you."

After roaring, Taiwu Zhenjun's tone shifted and he continued, "Danchenzi claims he is not using a Spirit Transformation Pill to cross the tribulation, and the scale of the tribulation lightning is terrifying—far stronger than any of ours. If he achieves Spirit Transformation, his strength will inevitably surge. Do you not have any inside information at your Yuqing Hall?"

The short, stout old man coldly snorted, "How could we at Yuqing Hall know any inside information? We only realized he was crossing the tribulation just now because the lightning tribulation triggered a tremor in the heavens and earth."

Taiwu Zhenjun coldly snorted, "Only you yourselves know if that is true. Otherwise, why did you arrange for a Danyuan Realm cultivator to go to Jingshi to offer birthday congratulations to the Emperor of Great Song?"

The short, stout old man was about to speak, but the tall, thin old man raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Enough. Both of you are great cultivators who have lived for hundreds of years, yet you are acting like common shrews in the street—where is your dignity? Danchenzi's Spirit Transformation is no small matter. My Yuqing Hall will naturally prepare a generous gift to go and offer congratulations. I wonder how Brother Taiwu plans to arrange things?"

Taiwu Zhenjun snorted again and said, "The Taiyuan Sect just beat my sect's Second Elder Qingyunzi until his Soul was severely wounded and he fell unconscious. It is already a great act of mercy that I am not going to cause trouble. That disciple of yours, Yulong Zhenren, falling unconscious was likely their doing as well. You are truly magnanimous, preparing generous gifts to congratulate them. I cannot bring myself to be so servile. The message has been delivered; let us leave it at that."

Once Taiwu Zhenjun finished speaking, the sound-transmitting flying sword shattered into ice shards, quickly turning into a mass of cold mist and dissipating.

Both old men were dumbfounded.

After a long while, the short, stout old man's face twitched violently as he said, "I told you so! When Yulong was injured, it definitely had to do with the three disciples of the Taiyuan Sect. None of you believed me."

The tall, thin old man's expression also remained stiff for a while before he finally shook his head and smiled bitterly, "This matter is too bizarre. The background of the Taiyuan Sect is well known to fellow members of the Immortal World; apart from Danchenzi, their cultivation is shallow. How could they repeatedly severely wound two Danyuan Realm cultivators? It is not that I did not believe you, but there was truly no reason to believe it. Enough, regardless, Danchenzi forming his Nascent Soul is no small matter and cannot be ignored. As the leader of the Song Kingdom's Immortal Sects, Yuqing Hall cannot turn a blind eye, or it will be awkward when we meet in the future. Junior Brother, go and report this to Uncle-master Chixia; I will go to the Taiyuan Sect to investigate."

The short, stout old man nodded and said, "It is good for you to go and see, Senior Brother, but you must be careful not to be touched by the tribulation lightning. Even that old man Taiwu was scared back to Longmen Mountain, which shows the scale of the tribulation lightning is not small."

"Understood, I am off!"

The tall, thin old man nodded, took a step forward, and on the mountain peak, a few wisps of white clouds churned, rolling pine needles across the ground, and in an instant, his figure was gone.

At the Taiyuan Sect, the summit of Zhaoyang Peak had by now turned into a lightning field.

The tribulation lightning fell one after another. By the time the seventh bolt struck, the tribulation clouds in the sky still showed no signs of dissipating; instead, golden light flickered and purple energy churned, the momentum becoming even more vast, shaking a radius of ten thousand miles.

Danchenzi had already been struck down from the mountain peak by the tribulation lightning. The Taiyuan Hall, which had been destroyed by Taiwu Zhenjun, had completely turned to dust, and the entire mountaintop had been shaved down by several yards, bathing in rolling lightning light as if the end of the world had arrived.

Within the lightning light, Danchenzi's momentum was no longer what it had been at the start. His hair and beard were disheveled, his Daoist robe was shredded, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his aura fluctuated violently; he looked to be in a very bad state.

Xu Chen and a group of Taiyuan Sect elders and disciples were all on a mountain peak dozens of miles away. Although they could not see clearly, they could tell from Danchenzi's angry roars and desperate struggles that he was already at the end of his rope, on the verge of death and destruction.

"Heavenly Gods above, please protect my Master as he crosses the lightning tribulation; this disciple is willing to trade his life for his!"

Zhao Xuan, her face covered in tears, knelt on the ground, prostrating and praying.

All the disciples were filled with sorrow, everyone's face showing grief.

Seven full bolts of tribulation lightning—this was a Heavenly Tribulation never before seen by Spirit Transformation cultivators of the Great Song Immortal Sect.

Generally speaking, a First-Nine Heavenly Tribulation rarely strikes the full nine times; at the fewest three, at the most seven or eight, with the normal range being between three and six times.

The larger the scale of the Heavenly Tribulation and the more frequent the lightning strikes, the stronger the cultivator is naturally considered to be. However, only those whose cultivation is so powerful that it defies the heavens are carefully tended to by the Heavens and struck a few extra times.

Although Danchenzi's cultivation in the Danyuan Realm was considered top-tier, he definitely did not have the strength or aptitude to defy the heavens. By logic, five or six strikes should have been the end of it, but unexpectedly, this lightning tribulation was not only larger in scale than that of ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivators, but its power and quantity also far exceeded those of his peers.

This was no longer a lightning tribulation for ascending to immortality, but one meant to take his life.

Everyone was confused, but only Danchenzi himself knew that his success or failure in this tribulation lay with the Blood God Grass.

Because the Blood God Grass itself steals the fortune of heaven and earth, gestated by the spirit bodies of Immortals after their death, and then matures by seizing the essence and blood of a large number of mortal cultivators. Such an item that defies the heavens naturally invites punishment from the rules of heaven and earth.

In other words, Danchenzi's Spirit Transformation borrowed too much essence, blood, and vitality from living beings, and in the end, all the punishment fell upon him alone.

And this is also the reason why the Blood God Grass is hailed as the number one Spirit Medicine for breaking through to Spirit Transformation.

Because once successful, one's strength is bound to be extraordinary; the massive amount of essence, blood, and vitality condensed by the Blood God Grass will ultimately be refined by the tribulation lightning to boost his cultivation.

Therefore, as long as he survives the lightning tribulation, Danchenzi will inevitably benefit greatly.

It is just that at the moment, the hope of surviving is slim.

The seventh bolt of tribulation lightning slowly dissipated, and the summit of Zhaoyang Peak was shaved down by several more yards, turning into a barren wasteland.

Danchenzi sat cross-legged, naked, on the scorching rocks. Strands of blood and lightning light sprayed from every pore on his body. As soon as this blood left his body, it was scorched into fly ash by the lightning, so his body was shrouded in a layer of black mist, looking exceptionally terrifying and eerie.

"Boom~"

The eighth bolt of tribulation lightning fell instantly. Danchenzi let out a muffled groan and was struck directly into a pit several yards deep.

In an instant, the pit turned into a pool of lightning light, completely submerging him.

And after this strike fell, the churning lightning light within the purple tribulation clouds in the sky began to collapse.

"The lightning tribulation is over!" A group of disciples cheered excitedly.

But the two elders were frowning, knowing that although the lightning tribulation had ended, if he could not withstand the final moments, Danchenzi would still be reduced to ashes.

Just as they were waiting anxiously, a vast amount of Spirit Qi suddenly surged on Zhaoyang Peak, condensing into a phantom giant hand in the air, which slapped down toward the pool of churning lightning on the mountaintop. With a loud "Boom," the lightning light sprayed in all directions for over ten miles, and amidst the churning brilliance, Danchenzi's teetering body was revealed.

"Danchenzi, this poor Daoist can only help you this much; in the end, you must rely on yourself!"

A deep, clear voice came from the sky.

"Many thanks to Brother Baiyun for your help; I am deeply grateful."

Having received the help of a friend to break the final bolt of lightning, Danchenzi's confidence surged. He desperately squeezed out his remaining vital energy to resist the residual lightning. As one waned and the other waxed, his aura grew stronger and stronger, his momentum rising higher and higher. Finally, a Hunyuan Golden Core emerged above his head, emitting a blinding golden light that shot straight into the churning purple clouds in the sky. Slowly, an infant condensed and appeared within the golden light. Amidst the purple clouds filling the sky, strands of green energy followed the golden light and fell upon the infant and Danchenzi.

A terrifying aura that shook the heavens and earth slowly radiated from Danchenzi. Amidst the churning Spirit Qi, light shadows of flowers, birds, insects, and fish danced in the sky; he truly looked like a god descending to the world.

Spirit Transformation Infant is a step of shedding one's mortal body and exchanging one's bones for a cultivator to go from a human immortal to an earth immortal.

Danchenzi endured eight strikes of Tribulation Lightning and finally succeeded.

"Yahoo, the Great Elder has succeeded in Spirit Transformation!"

On a mountaintop dozens of miles away, Xu Chen and the others were streaming with tears, hugging each other and cheering with joy.

Dozens of breaths later, the Tribulation Cloud in the sky completely vanished, and the infant above Danchenzi's head merged into his body and disappeared; only then did he open his eyes, bow toward the sky in the northwest direction, and say, "For the kindness of Daoist Friend Baiyun today, Xuanchenzi will never forget it as long as he lives!"

A thin, tall old man with gray hair revealed his figure, smiling as he stroked his beard and nodded, "No need for formalities; you and I have been friends for over a hundred years. Today, Daoist Friend's success in Spirit Transformation is truly a fortunate event for the Immortal Sect. I only came to check on you today; after Daoist Friend stabilizes your realm, I will bring the disciples of Yuqing Hall to offer congratulations. Farewell!"

"Safe travels, Daoist Friend Baiyun!"

The old man appeared, spoke a sentence, flicked his large sleeves, and vanished like a clear breeze.