Chapter 791: Divine Transformation Realm

Yan Buji was chatting with Ye Lin, moving from the trade of each family to the recent events on Luohuang Zhou, and smoothly Yan Buji steered the conversation toward cultivation.

"Ye Lin, I also want to ask you, does the amount of Dao Mark gained at each Nascent Soul breakthrough really depend on talent?" Yan Buji asked.

A Nascent Soul Cultivator can at most have three thousand Dao Marks, corresponding to early, middle, and late stages, but Yan Buji clearly sensed that the Dao Mark aura emanating from Ye Lin was extremely strong, not like only three thousand.

Ye Lin nodded: "That's what they say, but I once accidentally ingested a Celestial Material that increases Dao Marks, so I have five hundred more Dao Marks than a typical late‑stage Nascent Soul Cultivator. Hall Master, you practice Martial and Law Dual Cultivation, so at late‑stage Nascent Soul you should have more than me, right?"

Yan Buji pretended to be helpless, gave a wry smile: "Precisely because I broke through to Magical Power Nascent Soul, I found my Martial Dao Dao Marks dwindling, likely because I cannot bear that many Dao Marks myself."

"Ah... that's true, a Nascent Soul Cultivator can at most bear three thousand Dao Marks; I was only lucky to have a few more than others. Hall Master, since you practice Martial and Law Dual Cultivation, should you now consider focusing on that side?" Ye Lin asked.

According to Ye Lin's understanding, simultaneous dual growth is impossible, but abandoning one side is too costly, so one must choose a single path to cultivate, otherwise one will neglect both.

Yan Buji nodded: "That's why I asked."

"I'm truly sorry, Hall Master; unless you also find some treasure that increases Dao Marks, I haven't heard of any Nascent Soul Cultivator being able to raise Dao Mark capacity." Ye Lin waved his hand.

It seems indeed there is no method for cultivators to increase Dao Mark capacity.....

But his Patterned Profound Art is an exception!

The strength of Patterned Profound Art lies in that even with Martial and Law Dual Cultivation it causes no interference, and even though his dantian has become a Purple Palace, Magical Power and Immortal Essence remain clearly distinct, so the increase of Dao Marks is still unaffected!

"Moreover, my Magical Power contains the two great laws of Cosmic Dao and Way of the Universe, and even some Five Elements power; now my Purple Palace holds not only Martial Dao Dao Marks but also Dao Marks of Cosmic Dao, Way of the Universe, and Five Elements..."

Although Five Elements Dao Marks make up a small portion of Yan Buji's Purple Palace, they also indicate that besides Martial Dao, Cosmic Dao, and Way of the Universe, Yan Buji can also augment Five Elements Dao Marks!

This Patterned Profound Art is just too powerful!!

Yan Buji knows these matters himself, but has never told anyone, and no one could deliberately peer into his Purple Palace; even Yan Buji cannot easily see the dantian of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Do not think that a strong Divine Sense makes one omnipotent; even the tiniest insect, when observed, will act accordingly.

Thus it is very difficult for cultivators to secretly spy on another's dantian or Purple Palace; Yan Buji can be certain of this because, no matter how weak a cultivator's spiritual awareness is, when another Divine Sense enters one's body to investigate, there is always a reaction. He has tried it himself, so he dares to draw this conclusion.

Yan Buji looked at Ye Lin and smiled: "Then perhaps tell me, when do you plan to break through the Divine Transformation Realm?"

"Divine Transformation Realm... my master says it's too early for me to break through now; I should train for a few more years before attempting, otherwise it may cause Dao Heart instability."

"Dao Heart instability?" Yan Buji asked curiously: "Will you become arrogant and complacent because your power surges dramatically?"

"Well..." Ye Lin gave an awkward smile: "It was because I was arrogant after breaking through Nascent Soul, and got a good scolding; I think listening to my master is not wrong."

You mean the time we went to Duan Po Mountain, right?

Yan Buji smiled: "By the way, what should one watch out for when breaking through to Divine Transformation?"

"My master said that breaking through to Divine Transformation mainly concerns two aspects," Ye Lin said, holding up one finger: "The Divine Transformation Realm signifies the complete fusion of Magical Power, Divine Sense, and Dao Marks, giving birth to the cultivator's Divine Soul from within the Nascent Soul! So the first point is to ensure Dao Mark cultivation proceeds without limit, and that Divine Sense enters the Nascent Soul to intertwine with Dao Marks and nurture the Divine Soul."

"Divine Soul?"

Yan Buji, a bit puzzled, asked: "How does a Divine Soul differ from a soul and spirit?"

"The Divine Soul represents the cultivator's first step onto the immortal path; only with a Divine Soul can one wield more powerful divine techniques, even ascend to the Nine Heavens!"

"Ascend to the Nine Heavens?" Yan Buji was stunned, then asked curiously: "One must break through Divine Transformation to reach the Nine Heavens?"

"Correct, my master told me that only cultivators in the Divine Transformation stage can sense the Heaven Gate within the Nine Heavens, and they cannot traverse with their mortal bodies, only the Divine Soul can traverse into the Nine Heavens."

But I know the Heaven Gate Law.

Yan Buji roughly understood Ye Lin's meaning: just as a Nascent Soul cultivator's Divine Soul enters the netherworld, here the Divine Soul refers to the refined spirit and soul, but only the Divine Soul forged in the Divine Transformation stage is the true Divine Soul!

"Does the Divine Soul leaving the body cause any abnormalities?"

"The Divine Soul can leave the body, but the Nascent Soul remains within. So as long as it doesn't exceed a certain time limit, there's no problem. Even if your Divine Soul encounters trouble, as long as the mortal body and Nascent Soul are intact, at worst you'll fall in rank and suffer serious injury, yet still have a chance to nurture the Divine Soul back." Ye Lin laughed.

"Oh, so in the Divine Transformation Realm, the most important step is nurturing the Divine Soul."

"Exactly, the second point to watch is cultivating the Divine Soul, which requires periodically sending one's soul out of the body to undergo baptism under six conditions—sun, moon, wind, fire, thunder, and rain—also called the Six-Step Divine Soul Ritual."

"Six-Step Divine Soul Ritual?"

Yan Buji, a bit puzzled, asked: "A typical Nascent Soul cultivator's soul strength shouldn't fear what you described, right?"

"Ah, Hall Master, you are unaware; the Six-Step Divine Soul Ritual is not simply letting the soul face them. The six steps are Midday Sun, Moon of Dark Clouds, Bone‑Crushing Gale, Melted Snow Fire, Flying Fate Thunder, and Corpse Rain, and they are not ordinary weather phenomena."

Yan Buji wore a blank stare; he had never heard of any of the things Ye Lin mentioned.

Seeing Yan Buji's puzzled expression, Ye Lin proceeded to explain.

Yan Buji then realized that the Six-Step Divine Soul Ritual, as a preliminary preparation for nurturing the Divine Soul, actually requires rare phenomena under special weather, and one must draw these forces through secret arts, formations, or other means to baptize one's own soul. Of course, the six steps are not simple; a slight mistake could lead to death and loss of the Dao.

Thus breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage is also a rather troublesome matter.

"Do all Nascent Soul cultivators have to pass the Six-Step Divine Soul Ritual to nurture a Divine Soul?" Yan Buji asked.

"That's all I know for sure. Yet the cultivation world is vast and full of oddities; perhaps there are those who can bypass the six steps and still cultivate a Divine Soul," Ye Lin smiled.

Yan Buji's complexion instantly grew somewhat grim.