Chapter 1087: Nascent Soul Early Stage

All the way it felt like a storm being pushed forward; he was only busy swinging his blade, counterattacking, seeking revenge, never truly stopping to catch his breath. Now the storm has ceased, and he seems a little at a loss.

"We can't just keep drifting," Han Wuxian said, picking up the shattered star blade and brushing the dust from his robe. He had no interest in rebuilding the Stellar Dao Sect, and was even too lazy to look for any sect's remnants, but the Star‑Earth Seed and the Star Expansion Manual were already part of his power, and could not be wasted.

He chose a cavern deep within Ten Thousand Poison Valley, surrounded by star marrow veins. The Earth Vein Power here was pure, and the place was hidden and safe—perfect for a retreat. According to the Star Expansion Manual, he used the shattered star blade to carve a simple spirit‑gathering array onto the cavern wall.

It was not a secret technique of the Stellar Dao Sect, but a version he modified using his own combat experience; the spirit‑gathering speed might be slower, yet it was stable and unlikely to trigger a spiritual energy upheaval.

In the days that followed, Han Wuxian plunged completely into cultivation.

He no longer deliberately chased a sudden surge of power; instead, he dissected and digested each experience from that period. The near‑death struggle on the Falling Star Cliff taught him the resilience of the Star‑Earth Seed's "defend to attack" principle; sparring with disciples of Azure Scale Peak taught him precise control of star power output in battle; even the Ancient Azure Scale Beast's vile poison techniques became a reference for refining his defense—he infused the star marrow origin into his barrier, rendering toxins like Bone‑Eating Azure unable to seep through.

Inside the cavern there was no sun or moon, only the perpetual glow of star marrow veins on the stone walls. Han Wuxian would sometimes sit in quiet breath‑work, feeling star power circulate through his meridians; other times he would swing the shattered star blade, integrating combat‑learned techniques into his basic swordsmanship, making each slash cleaner and deadlier.

He discovered that shedding the title "Heir of the Stellar Dao Sect" and viewing those inheritances purely through an avenger's eyes allowed him to touch something more essential. The star power circulation described in the Star Expansion Manual need not be bound to the ancient texts' pathways; it can be adjusted entirely to his combat habits. Likewise, Earth Vein Power does not have to "nourish the stars"; using it to reinforce bodily defense proved equally astonishing.

"Inheritance is ultimately dead; people are alive," he thought. During a swing, the shattered star blade suddenly emitted a clear hum; the blade's starlight ceased scattering and coalesced into a fine luminous pattern, like the toughest stellar trail in the night sky. Han Wuxian felt a stir in his heart—it was a sign of the sword technique fully merging with star power, and a signal that his cultivation was about to breakthrough.

He halted his movement and sat cross‑legged. The star power within him surged like a river; his meridians had been widened severalfold by the star marrow origin, and the Star‑Earth Seed floated at the center of his dantian, its dark‑gold light interplaying with the surrounding star power to form a perfect cycle.

According to the cultivator's rank divisions, he had already surpassed the limits of the Foundation Establishment Stage, standing just one step away from the Nascent Soul Stage. Yet that single step has stalled countless cultivators for years, even decades.

Han Wuxian did not rush to smash the bottleneck; instead, he closed his eyes and sank all his spirit into his dantian. He recalled how the gale on the Falling Star Cliff tempered his will, the Ancient Azure Scale Beast's resentment before death, and the innocents poisoned by Bone‑Eating Azure.

Those emotions did not turn into obsession; rather, they settled and merged with star power and Earth Vein Power, forming a unique "Intent".

This "Intent" is unrelated to good or evil, unrelated to inheritance, belonging solely to Han Wuxian.

It is the ruthless resolve to survive in a desperate situation, the decisive determination during revenge, and the calm after the dust settles.

When this "Intent" fully merged with the star power in his dantian, Han Wuxian snapped his eyes open.

Deep within the cavern, the star marrow veins emitted a harsh buzz.

Han Wuxian jerked his eyes open, and the star power gathered at his fingertips suddenly dissipated.

The Earth Vein Power, which had been flowing gently, now surged like boiling magma against his meridians. Within his dantian, the star power representing the heavens scattered like shattered stars, while the earth's source power condensed like a massive mountain; the two forces formed a swirling vortex around the Nascent Soul, nearly tearing the newly formed Nascent Soul apart.

"Again?" he gritted his teeth, pressing his abdomen as cold sweat seeped from his temples. This was the thirty‑seventh day of his retreat, and the internal conflict of the Star‑Earth Seed grew increasingly intense: star power made his movements light and his bursts strong, yet lacked endurance; earth power gave him solid defense but limited speed. If the two cannot merge, the Nascent Soul's "Star‑Earth Unity" realm will forever remain empty talk.

He looked toward the fissure at the cavern's center that continuously exhaled a faint blue mist.

It was the "dangerous ground" he had deliberately chosen: the core node of Ten Thousand Poison Valley's Earth Vein, and the "Heart Demon Spring" that the Ancient Azure Scale Beast had reshaped years ago using the Stellar Dao Sect's secret technique. The lingering resonance of Bone‑Eating Azure within the mist could stir a cultivator's deepest obsession, and Han Wuxian's obsession was the near‑uncontrollable killing intent he felt during his revenge.

"If I can't dodge it, I'll charge through," he said, springing up and stepping deliberately into the mist.

In an instant, countless phantoms flooded his mind: the screams of Azure Scale Peak disciples, the venomous, resentful gaze of the Ancient Azure Scale Beast at death, even his own desperate near‑death on the Falling Star Cliff… The killing intent grew like wild grass, nearly devouring his reason. Within his dantian, star power, driven by the killing intent, became erratic and began scorching his meridians; earth power contracted wildly, trying to solidify his flesh into stubborn stone.

The star power inside the cavern suddenly erupted, and the spirit‑gathering array on the stone wall spun wildly, drawing in Earth Vein Power from the surroundings. In Han Wuxian's dantian, the Star‑Earth Seed abruptly burst apart, turning into countless specks of dark‑gold light that intertwined and coalesced with the surging star power.

There were no earth‑shattering phenomena, only a calm that felt inevitable.

When the flowing light faded, a miniature figure three inches tall hovered at the center of his dantian.

The figure was identical to Han Wuxian, clad in dark‑gold battle armor, wielding a tiny shattered star blade; its crimson‑gold eyes swirled with star patterns, bearing the same detached sharpness as he himself.

Nascent Soul!

Han Wuxian slowly exhaled a puff of murky breath, his fingertips moving lightly, and the Nascent Soul in his dantian mirrored the blade swing. In that instant, the star power in the cavern trembled, and the star marrow veins on the stone wall shed specks of light, as if celebrating the new realm.

He rose and stretched his muscles, each inch of flesh brimming with explosive power. The Nascent Soul stage's unique "spiritual awareness outward release" let him clearly sense any wind or rustle within ten li.

A Poison Ant crawled over decaying leaves, an Earth Vein flowed beneath the rock strata, and he could even "see" the flight paths of a few birds beyond Ten Thousand Poison Valley.

"Now that's proper," Han Wuxian said, picking up the shattered star blade and swinging casually. There was no dazzling starlight, only a barely perceptible blade flash, and a ten‑ton massive stone deep in the cavern silently split in two, its surface smooth as a mirror.

This is the power of the Nascent Soul stage.

No longer relying on external brilliance, but condensing star power to the utmost; with a single strike, lifting weight feels as light as a feather.

When he emerged from the cavern, Ten Thousand Poison Valley had revived. The purified Earth Vein nourished fresh flora, Poison Insects and beasts settled in their places, and the previous gloom vanished. Han Wuxian looked up at the sky beyond the valley; thin clouds allowed sunlight to pierce the mist.

The endpoint of his revenge turned out not to be an ending, but a new beginning.

He did not know where the future would lead—perhaps stronger foes, perhaps tangled conflicts—but none of that mattered now.

Han Wuxian tightened his grip on the shattered star blade, its starlight flashing briefly in the sunlight. He vaulted out of Ten Thousand Poison Valley, his figure turning into a streak of dark‑gold light.