Only when Golden Core cultivation reached the perfection stage could a Nascent Soul be nurtured within the core.
The first major hurdle of Nascent Soul Formation was the integration of the divine soul to birth the Nascent Soul within the core.
Those who could cultivate to Golden Core perfection could mostly achieve this step. This realm was known as the False Nascent Soul stage.
The second step was breaking the core to birth the infant.
The Golden Core was like a mustard seed world. When the Nascent Soul broke through these shackles and emerged outside, its essence, energy, and spirit would connect with heaven and earth, triggering the phenomenon of Nascent Soul Formation.
Once this step was accomplished, one officially stepped into the Nascent Soul stage.
However, breaking through the Golden Core barrier was extremely difficult. The quality and vigor of one's magic power, along with the strength of their divine sense, would all influence the outcome.
Those who had undergone Divine Ability Core Formation were a notch stronger than ordinary immortal cultivators in all aspects, substantially increasing their chances of completing the second step.
Of course, for Divine Ability Core Formation, the Golden Core barrier would also be thicker than that of a standard Golden Core.
The third step was the Inner Demon Tribulation.
Demonic beasts breaking through to the fourth tier faced a life-and-death Lightning Tribulation, while the final hurdle for cultivators breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage was the Inner Demon Tribulation.
After all, reaching the Nascent Soul stage meant a cultivator had achieved initial success on the Great Dao.
As long as the Nascent Soul was not destroyed, they could perform Possession on their own. Just a single strand of divine sense gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth could condense a magic power avatar.
Although the strength of such an avatar would be less than a tenth of the main body's, it was still a profoundly mystical technique.
It was something that Golden Core stage cultivators could never match.
These avatars were frequently used as life-saving trump cards for direct disciples or core clan members to deter others.
The Inner Demon Tribulation was a calamity feared by all cultivators.
The instant the core broke and the infant was born, their divine sense would be dragged into a Heart-Demon Illusion.
Many incredibly talented individuals had fallen at this very step.
Failing the first two steps carried no tremendous risk, but failing to pass the Inner Demon Tribulation led only to death and the erasure of one's Dao.
Xu Chuan rushed to the outskirts of the Jade Bamboo Sea.
Looking from afar, he could see five-colored spiritual energy transforming into a sky full of resplendent clouds above a certain spot in the bamboo sea. It was gorgeously dazzling, as if heaven and earth were celebrating the occasion.
Spiritual energy within a radius of hundreds of miles constantly flowed toward a massive spiritual energy vortex.
"It seems I am not late."
Sweeping his divine sense, he found many cultivators hovering in the air within a radius of dozens of miles, all craning their necks to watch.
"To think the Mo family ancestor quietly attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage without any prior warning. I wonder if he can smoothly pass the Inner Demon Tribulation."
"It would be best if he does. With a war between the Greedy Wolf Prefecture and the Heavenly Azure Prefecture now inevitable, adding another Nascent Soul immortal cultivator to our Heavenly Azure Prefecture will surely increase our confidence in fending them off."
"This Daoist friend speaks reason."
'If not for the Ancient True Demon, the Greedy Wolf Sect would naturally cease their hostilities. But if that demon achieves Nascent Soul Formation, even three or four early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators joining forces might not be his match,'
Xu Chuan thought to himself.
Fifteen minutes later.
A colossal phantom suddenly rose into the sky above the Jade Bamboo Sea. Standing over ten thousand feet tall, it perfectly resembled Mo Wentian.
"A Nascent Soul projection!"
"He succeeded!"
The corners of Xu Chuan's lips curled up slightly. Mo Wentian still owed him three favors, so they would inevitably deal with each other in the future.
Now that Mo Wentian had successfully formed his Nascent Soul, making a Nascent Soul cultivator owe a favor would be infinitely harder. Even offering another Nascent Soul Formation Opportunity would, at most, earn a single favor.
A moment later.
The ten-thousand-foot phantom dissolved into countless motes of light, fading away alongside the sky full of colorful clouds.
With Mo Wentian achieving Nascent Soul Formation, the Mo family instantly became a Nascent Soul Power. No one dared to trespass carelessly.
However, a figure soon flew over. It was Elder Mo Wenshang of the Mo family. With one hand rested behind his back and a beaming smile, he announced, "Thank you all for coming."
"However, my elder brother still needs to consolidate his realm and cannot meet with everyone right now. At a later date, we will send out invitation cards to invite all Daoist friends to attend the Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony."
His voice echoed across a radius of hundreds of miles.
Xu Chuan turned and left, and naturally, the others did not linger either.
Even if they wanted to curry favor, there was no rush to do it right this instant.
The Mo family becoming a Nascent Soul Power did not affect others much, but for the Heavenly Azure Sect, it was a mixed blessing.
The joy came from gaining a helper who could share the pressure brought by the Greedy Wolf Sect. The worry was that the Mo family would inevitably seize a significant portion of the Heavenly Azure Sect's interests.
Even if the Heavenly Azure Prefecture remained under the primary leadership of the Heavenly Azure Sect in the future, their absolute prestige would diminish significantly.
Xu Chuan returned to Cloudstream Town.
Xu Mingxian, Ye Fan, and the others quickly approached to ask about the Mo family's Nascent Soul Formation.
"From now on, the Heavenly Azure Prefecture has gained another Nascent Soul ancestor," Xu Chuan said with a faint smile, looking at them.
"He actually succeeded in forming a Nascent Soul!" Ye Fan was utterly astonished. "The Heavenly Azure Prefecture hasn't seen a new Nascent Soul stage immortal cultivator in over a thousand years."
"Indeed, and at such a crucial moment. The Heavenly Azure Sect will surely bleed heavily to win them over. Our Xu family must also prepare a generous gift."
"What should we send?" Ye Fan asked curiously.
"One low-grade magic treasure, two two-pattern magic tools, and three stalks of thousand-year spirit grass."
Xu Mingxian nodded. "With such a congratulatory gift, I doubt many factions will be able to outdo our Xu family."
Afterward, Xu Chuan, Xu Mingxian, and the rest returned to their respective cultivation or attended to their own affairs.
Before long, Xu Mingxian sent a message to Xu Chuan, informing him that the research on the Five Spirits Blood Corpse Formation was successful.
Xu Chuan took the opportunity to test the formation's power.
The result was that if he didn't use his high-grade magic treasures and solely relied on low-grade magic treasures and divine abilities, he would be completely suppressed by them.
The Five Spirits Blood Corpse Formation used five early-stage third-tier blood corpses as its formation cores. With their auras linked together, it could superimpose all their power onto a single blood corpse.
Moreover, this empowerment could be shifted to any corpse at a moment's notice, making it incredibly profound.
A blood corpse gathering all that power could unleash a casual strike on par with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator's attack.
Coupled with the blood corpses' sturdy physical bodies and tyrannical strength, they could deeply entangle even a Golden Core perfection cultivator for a long time.
If they were merely five separate early-stage Golden Core blood corpses, any late-stage Golden Core cultivator could easily handle them.
Originally, Xu Chuan also wanted to refine the Blood-Robed Ancestor into a Profound Yin Blood Corpse.
Unfortunately, all the materials had been exhausted on refining the previous two blood corpses, so he could only slowly accumulate more over time.
Aside from the blood corpses, the Soul-Gathering Banner magic treasure was also successfully refined by Xu Deling after the Xu family finished gathering the necessary materials.
Although it was only a two-pattern magic treasure, its primary materials were high-tier extreme yin attributes: profound yin stone and soul-gathering iron.
It had taken the Xu family quite a long time to collect them.
Inside the Soul-Gathering Banner was a space saturated with extreme yin energy. It possessed the traits of gathering and nourishing souls. Furthermore, any yin soul absorbed into the Soul-Gathering Banner would automatically be branded by the magic treasure's restrictions.
Xu Chuan tossed all the demonic beast essence souls and immortal cultivator divine souls he had previously collected into the Soul-Gathering Banner.
Using a method akin to rearing poisonous Gu insects, he forced them to devour one another, eventually breeding a mid-stage third-tier Blood Fiend Ghost King.
The original body of this ghost king was none other than the divine soul of the Blood-Robed Ancestor.
Based on the current grade of the Soul-Gathering Banner, the Blood Fiend Ghost King would only be able to break free from the restriction bindings if it reached the fourth tier.
However, by that time, Xu Deling would have long upgraded the Soul-Gathering Banner to the level of a top-tier magic treasure. Even a fourth-tier ghost king would not be able to escape.
Xu Chuan had no intention of refining this magic treasure into a natal magic treasure. Instead, he planned to pass it down through the generations of the Xu family as an inheritance.
In the future, it might even have the hope of becoming a Spirit Treasure.
Armed with the Five Spirits Blood Corpse Formation and the Soul-Gathering Banner, Xu Chuan's strength improved significantly, giving him a few more degrees of confidence to handle the impending chaos.
Three months later, the Xu family received an invitation card delivered by someone from the Mo family.
It requested their presence at the Jade Bamboo Sea in seven days to attend the Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony.
Xu Mingxian stayed behind to guard Cloudstream Town, while Xu Chuan took Ye Fan, Xu Deyue, and Xu Chongfei with him.
Xu Chongfei was thirteen years old this year. Though still a youth, he had already grown into a sturdy half-grown young man, and his cultivation had reached the 7th Layer of Qi Condensation.
He hadn't slacked on his water and fire magical arts either.
Lately, he had been practicing a water and fire secret art from the Qi Condensation chapter of the Flame-Cold Nine Heavens. Once mastered, its power would be astonishing.
Xu Deling would be traveling there alongside True Lord Fierce Sun.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
The various aristocratic families and powers of the Heavenly Azure Prefecture all gathered at the Jade Bamboo Sea.
The Mo family's Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony was exceptionally grand. Even Xi Daoyun quietly arrived to meet Mo Wentian.
"Congratulations, Daoist Friend Mo, on successfully forming your Nascent Soul and taking your first steps on the Great Dao."
"You are too polite, Daoist Friend Xi."
After exchanging pleasantries, Xi Daoyun looked at Mo Wentian and spoke frankly, "I have come this time to discuss the matter of the Greedy Wolf Sect with Daoist Friend Mo.
I assume you do not wish to see the Heavenly Azure Prefecture fall under the control of the Greedy Wolf Sect, right?
The tragic state of Sieve Constellation City is still fresh before our eyes."
Mo Wentian remained silent. Seeing this, Xi Daoyun continued, "As long as Daoist Friend Mo unites with me to resist the Greedy Wolf Sect, you may name whatever conditions you desire."
"My Mo family is also a member of the Heavenly Azure Prefecture, so I will naturally do my part. As for conditions, my Mo family does not have an overly large appetite.
With the Jade Bamboo Sea at the core, a radius of three thousand miles shall become the private territory of my Mo family."
"That is only natural. Even if my Heavenly Azure Sect doesn't mention it, as long as your Mo family speaks up, I doubt anyone will dare voice any complaints."
"Secondly, my Mo family wants thirty percent of the tax profits from the Seven Heavenly Azure Cities."
This was no small sum of wealth, but Xi Daoyun did not hesitate and immediately agreed. "Acceptable."
"There's nothing else. Whether it's the Heavenly Azure Sect or my Mo family, if we wish to prosper endlessly, it ultimately depends on our own development."
"Daoist Friend Mo's words make perfect sense."
"By the way, Daoist Friend Xi, I heard that during the previous War of the Two Prefectures, you pursued a certain elder of the Greedy Wolf Sect but failed to finish him?"
"So Daoist Friend Mo has also heard about it." Xi Daoyun sighed softly. "That person excels in evasion divine abilities and has incredible skill in fleeing."
"I see." Mo Wentian smiled slightly. "It's about time. Will Daoist Friend Xi be attending the ceremony with me?"
"I still have important matters to attend to, so I won't linger any longer."
Xi Daoyun had only come here to negotiate a joint resistance against the Greedy Wolf Sect with Mo Wentian.
If not for the current dire circumstances, he would never have visited the Mo family.
Over a thousand years, the past had blown away with the wind. Ever since he reached the Nascent Soul stage, he had never once put the Mo family in his eyes.
But now that the Mo family suddenly produced a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he was forced to take them seriously.
As for how to deal with the Mo family moving forward, that definitely had to wait until after the crisis with the Greedy Wolf Sect was resolved. After all, if they failed to survive this tribulation, he would likely end up dead.
"Old fox."
Mo Wentian cursed in a low whisper after Xi Daoyun departed.
Although he had not personally witnessed the scene of Xi Daoyun hunting down Tianluo, many others had seen Tianluo block one of Xi Daoyun's attacks with their own eyes at that time.
The slaughter of an entire city had immense repercussions, so the Mo family and many other factions had sent people to investigate.
'Just what exactly is that Tianluo's background? Is he truly a hidden prodigy nurtured by the Greedy Wolf Sect?'
Breaking open a mid-grade third-tier grand array in just a few moves—Mo Wentian knew he couldn't have accomplished that before forming his Nascent Soul.
Of course, despite keeping a low profile, he had fully qualified to be called a prodigy back during his Golden Core stage.
After all, cultivating a divine ability to absolute perfection while in the Golden Core stage was exceedingly difficult.
'This man Tianluo must have also cultivated a certain divine ability to perfection. I wonder just how strong he will become if he achieves Nascent Soul Formation.'
Even if Mo Wentian proved to be no match for him, he was still confident in his ability to escape.
After staying low-key for two to three hundred years, if he continued being low-key now at the Nascent Soul stage, he would be a true coward!
With a sway of his body, Mo Wentian transformed into a streak of rainbow light and headed toward the venue of the Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony.
The moment he appeared, a Nascent Soul stage aura blanketed the entire venue. Everyone immediately turned to look, then stood up and bowed in unison, greeting respectfully, "Greetings, Senior Mo."
"Congratulations, Senior Mo, on achieving the Nascent Soul stage with the Great Dao in sight!"
"Congratulations, Senior Mo, on achieving the Nascent Soul stage with the Great Dao in sight!"
"Greetings to you all, Daoist friends." Mo Wentian gently waved his hand, a soft smile gracing his face. "I was merely lucky to form my Nascent Soul. Thank you all for gracing us with your presence."
"Senior Mo is too modest," True Lord Green Wood stood up and declared. "On behalf of the Heavenly Azure Sect, this junior presents one mid-grade magic treasure, ten portions of third-tier materials, and ten stalks of thousand-year spirit grass. Please accept them with a smile, Senior."
"My Heavenly Plume Sect offers a promise. As long as the Mo family gathers the materials, our sect will forge one high-grade magic treasure for you, Senior," stated True Lord Fierce Sun.
"My Xu family presents one low-grade magic treasure, two two-pattern magic tools, and three stalks of thousand-year spirit grass."
The various aristocratic families and sects stepped forward one by one to present their congratulatory gifts.
Mo Wentian stroked his beard and smiled faintly. "In two hours, I will conduct a public sermon to explain Golden Core cultivation and the process of Nascent Soul Formation.
I hope it will be of some help to you all."
The crowd cupped their hands again and shouted in unison, "Thank you, Senior Mo!"
The vast majority of Golden Core cultivators had come precisely for this.
During a Golden Core Grand Ceremony, it was rare for someone to preach or exchange experiences. After all, Core Formation wasn't overly difficult in the Heavenly South.
But the Nascent Soul stage was entirely different.
Sometimes only one would appear in several centuries, though occasionally there were more.
A situation like the Heavenly Azure Prefecture, which hadn't seen a new Nascent Soul in over a millennium, was an exceptionally rare occurrence.
Among the Golden Core cultivators present, those most eager for the sermon were naturally True Lord Green Wood, Ximen Xue, Lei Wuji, and a few other late-stage Golden Core experts.
They all had hopes of reaching Golden Core perfection and charging at the Nascent Soul stage.
Xu Chuan sat in the second seat of the left column next to Mo Wentian, right below True Lord Fierce Sun.
The news of him slaying the Blood-Robed Ancestor during the battle at the Thousand Stone Forest had spread throughout the entire Heavenly Azure Prefecture. Scarcely anyone didn't know about it.
If not for the fact that he was still only at the early-stage of the Golden Core realm, he probably would have been universally hailed as the number one Golden Core cultivator in the Heavenly Azure Prefecture.
Two hours flew by in the blink of an eye.
Mo Wentian began his sermon.
The early-stage Golden Core immortal cultivators listened intently to the section on Golden Core cultivation, learning about several pills that were effective in breaking through Golden Core bottlenecks.
Regrettably, pills for breaking Golden Core bottlenecks were incredibly precious. Even Nascent Soul Powers held only meager reserves, sometimes taking decades or even a century just to refine a bottle or two.
To the vast majority of the Golden Core stage cultivators present, such pills were equivalent to a massive opportunity.
After all, most of them were stuck at the peak of the early-stage Golden Core realm. There were plenty of individuals who hadn't broken through in one or two hundred years.
Next came the segment on Nascent Soul Formation.
Mo Wentian explained it in great detail, especially the step of breaking the core to birth the infant. He explicitly pointed out that the power of divine abilities could aid in shattering the Golden Core barrier.
In addition, the purity of one's magic power and the strength of their divine sense provided tremendous assistance.
True Lord Fierce Sun spoke up to ask about cultivating divine abilities.
Mo Wentian replied with a calm smile, "I believe that divine abilities are the most superficial manifestation of the Great Dao. Everyone excels at different paths, so one naturally must choose what suits them.
Only then can there be hope of cultivating it to the perfection stage."
Someone else asked, "How does one choose the divine ability most suitable for themselves?"
"There are countless divine abilities, so I cannot answer that for everyone. I can only suggest practicing a divine ability that complements your cultivation method."
"And what if our cultivation method contains no record of divine abilities?"
"Then it simply comes down to your personal luck and destiny. Try casting a wide net; you might eventually collect a divine ability that fits you."
Many people wore expressions of helpless resignation.
Since when was collecting divine abilities an easy task?
In a flash, another two hours drifted by.
"Fellow Daoists, my sermon ends here. Now, how about we let the younger Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment generations show their faces?
For the victors, I shall personally award a gift."
"We will follow Senior's words."
The eyes of Xu Chongfei, seated behind Xu Chuan, instantly lit up. "Great-grandfather, I want to participate too."
Ye Fan pushed down on his shoulder. "Fei'er, why is a 7th Layer of Qi Condensation like you trying to join the fun? The participants will be at least at the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation."
"Dad..." Xu Chongfei cast a pleading, eager gaze.
"It's fine. Let him play around. It's rare to have such a lively occasion."
"Hehe, thank you, Great-grandfather!"
Ye Fan shook his head helplessly while Xu Deyue sent a telepathic message: "With the Flame-Cold Wheel that Sister Ling forged for him, it will be very difficult for Qi Refining stage immortal cultivators to hurt Fei'er."
"Wife, I'm just afraid he'll draw too much attention."
"How dazzling could he be? The worst they'll say is that our Xu family is rich and overbearing. Moreover, the Heavenly South is different from the Land of Imprisonment. Only those who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage warrant any real attention from others.
Fights in the Qi Refining stage are, at most, just children playing around."
"I hope so." Ye Fan didn't try to stop him anymore.
Xu Chongfei watched a few matches. Indeed, those stepping up were all at the 9th Layer or even the peak of the Qi Condensation stage.
For the sixth match, he flew onto the arena.
"Daoist Friend Kurong, your Xu family truly produces talents generation after generation. This little guy is quite extraordinary," Mo Wentian commented with a faint smile after a glance.
He could tell at a single glance that water and fire attribute magic power coexisted within Xu Chongfei's body. Only a specialized cultivation method could produce such an effect.
"Just luck."
True Lord Green Wood chimed in, "For water and fire to coexist, he must possess some sort of Spirit Body. I suspect he will become another prodigy of our Heavenly Azure Prefecture in the future."
"Daoist Friend Green Wood praises him too highly. If you flatter him anymore, that kid's tail will stick up into the heavens."
True Lord Green Wood stroked his beard with a soft smile and continued, "Is this boy engaged? My Xi family has quite a few girls of appropriate age who would make a good match."
"Haha, my Mo family is also interested in arranging a marriage," Mo Wentian chuckled softly.
Xu Chuan cupped his fists. "I appreciate the high regard from you both, but Fei'er is already betrothed to a young girl from the Chen family."
"Could it be the one sitting beside Daoist Friend Chen?"
"Exactly. Several years ago, our two families exchanged marriage tokens."
Feng Juechen of the Green Wood Sect spoke up. "I know this girl. She is currently a disciple of my Green Wood Sect. With her Earth Spiritual Root aptitude, she is already at the 8th Layer of Qi Condensation at the young age of seventeen."
"Quite a good match then," Mo Wentian nodded with a mild smile.
Seeing Xu Chongfei step onto the arena, Chen Yulian's autumn-water eyes flashed with surprise. She thought to herself, 'The 7th Layer of Qi Condensation? Let's see what capabilities you have to dare enter an arena competition.'
Chen Changge smiled softly, his eyes showing approval. "Although his temperament is a bit flighty, his courage is commendable."
"Your granddaughter only sees recklessness."
"Oh, you." Chen Changge gave a helpless laugh.
On the arena.
Xu Chongfei cast mid-grade water and fire magical arts with effortless ease.
Due to his special constitution, he could launch them almost instantaneously. Furthermore, having practiced the Nine Flames Art, he could split his focus to control several magical arts at the same time.
Even opponents at the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation would be caught off guard and forced to rely purely on defensive magic tools to block the assault.
Meanwhile, Xu Chongfei manipulated the Flame-Cold Wheel. In a swift series of blows, he shattered his opponent's magic tool's defensive light screen.
The Flame-Cold Wheel was split into two halves and could be wielded as two separate magic tools.
Only a person possessing both water and fire magic power could push its might to the absolute limit.
Simply attacking with the two half-moon wheels already displayed astonishing power. If they were combined and fully activated, it would be formidable enough to rival a top-grade magic tool.
In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Xu Chongfei defeated an immortal cultivator at the peak of Qi Condensation who possessed both a high-grade defensive magic tool and an exquisite-grade offensive magic tool.
This triggered gasps of amazement from many in the crowd.
"Winning against a peak Qi Condensation genius from a Golden Core aristocratic family while only at the 7th Layer... This boy can indeed carry on the glory of his elders," a Foundation Establishment cultivator exclaimed in admiration.
But someone else scoffed, "He's just relying on the power of his magic tools."
"Magic tools are part of one's own capital. Which immortal cultivator doesn't use magic tools in a magical battle?"
Chen Yulian's eyes shimmered with a strange light.
Xu Chongfei's magic tools were indeed outstanding and eye-catching, but his combat proficiency was also extremely high. At the very least, ordinary 7th or 8th Layer Qi Condensation cultivators purely competing in magical arts would absolutely not be his match.
Even those at the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation might not necessarily be able to defeat him.
"Lian'er, what do you think?" Chen Changge asked.
"I finally understand why you arranged this marriage with the Xu family for me, Great-grandfather. The foundation of the Xu family is far beyond what an ordinary Golden Core aristocratic family can compare to."
"When you have free time in the sect, you should frequently interact with the Xu family. Even when doing missions, you can invite Chongfei along."
"There's no need to be shy. After all, with this marriage, it is our Chen family climbing the social ladder."
After pondering for a moment, Chen Yulian nodded and said, "Lian'er understands."
"Even Nascent Soul Noble Families like the Xi family and Mo family want a marriage alliance with the Xu family. You must cherish this well. Such an opportunity only comes once."
"Yes, Great-grandfather."
Xu Chongfei did not consume any pills as he defeated two consecutive opponents. It wasn't until he faced his third challenger that his magic power ran dry, prompting him to voluntarily step off the arena.
In truth, there was an entire bottle of high-grade pills for restoring magic power sitting in his storage pouch.
However, he had only gone up to experience the strength of the Qi Refining disciples from various aristocratic families. He wasn't aiming for the prize.
Because the Xu family kept a low profile, he rarely had opportunities to interact with the youths of other Golden Core aristocratic families.
"Dad, how did your son do?" Xu Chongfei chuckled cheekily upon returning to his seat.
"So-so."
"Dad, would it kill you not to strike down someone's confidence?"
"You little brat, how dare you mock your father like that!"
"Mom! Auntie! My dad is going to beat me!"
Xu Deyue laughed helplessly. "Stop fooling around. Look at what kind of occasion we're at."
Ye Fan immediately redirected his raised hand to scratch the back of his head before lowering it.
An hour later.
It was time for the battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators.
There were early, mid, and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators present. The fights that broke out were highly commendable.
The most dazzling among them was a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xi family. Everyone praised him for displaying the elegance of Xi Tianqing.
After the competition ended, Mo Wentian awarded a puppet to the most outstanding participant in both the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment categories.
The top Qi Refining cultivator received a late-stage first-tier puppet, while the Foundation Establishment victor obtained an early-stage second-tier puppet.
These were far more precious than exquisite-grade or top-grade magic tools.
Before long.
The Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony concluded.
The crowd dispersed and left the Mo family.
The Mo family ancestor achieving Nascent Soul Formation had greatly dissipated the gloom lingering in everyone's hearts caused by the looming threat of the Greedy Wolf Prefecture.
In various marketplaces and cities, endless discussions regarding the combat strength of the two prefectures continued without cease.
Some claimed that the Heavenly Azure Prefecture's current two Nascent Soul immortal cultivators had already surpassed the Greedy Wolf Prefecture. If the Greedy Wolf Prefecture dared to invade, they would definitely be taught a harsh lesson.
Others pointed out that the Greedy Wolf Sect had an elder named Tianluo who would soon achieve Nascent Soul Formation as well. They proposed that the Heavenly Azure Sect should lead everyone to launch a preemptive strike against the Greedy Wolf Sect.
Half a year later.
Xu Chuan broke through to the third layer of the Golden Core stage.
He had reached the second layer right after his Core Formation, yet it had taken him eight full years to break through a single minor realm.
Xu Chuan possessed quite a few pill recipes for pills that advanced magic power during the Golden Core stage, but there were only three for which he could completely gather the required spirit grass materials.
They were the Azure Cloud Pill, Purple Accumulation Pill, and Vast Origin Pill.
If the Azure Cloud Pill was high-grade, it still provided a thirty to forty percent advancement effect even for a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. The Purple Accumulation Pill had a similar effect, while the Vast Origin Pill was much stronger.
It was mainly suitable for advancing the magic power of those in the mid and late stages of the Golden Core realm.
Currently, the Xu family could harvest an average of five portions of Azure Cloud Pills, four portions of Purple Accumulation Pills, and one portion of Vast Origin Pills each year.
With Xu Chuan's mastery of the Dao of Alchemy, he could successfully produce nine pills per cauldron. However, only seven or eight of them would be high-grade pills.
Calculating it this way, he could obtain sixty to seventy high-grade pills a year. As for the Vast Origin Pills, he set them aside to consume when he reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
Xu Chuan had once tried to give a portion of these high-grade pills to Xu Deling, but she had refused.
Given her current aptitude, cultivating within the Heavenly Plume Sect while drawing upon a third-tier spirit vein allowed her a cultivation speed comparable to constantly consuming third-tier pills.
Of course, the main reason was still the scarcity of the pills.
It was barely enough to cover Xu Chuan's own monthly consumption.
The remaining mid-grade pills had to be used as the guest elder stipend for Perfected Person Fire Cloud.
Xu Chuan's progress in cultivating magical arts, divine abilities, and secret methods was astonishing. However, when it came to accumulating magic power and elevating his realm, taking over a decade or even twenty years to raise a single minor realm was completely normal without the aid of pills.
And that was just for the early stage of the Golden Core realm.
As for the mid-stage bottleneck, being stuck for decades was standard practice. Only when the Heaven Rewards Diligence talent continuously eroded the bottleneck until it became thin enough could one hope to break through.
Among all the Golden Core cultivators in the Heavenly Azure Prefecture, those who had broken through to the Golden Core stage with a True Spiritual Root aptitude could be counted on a single hand.
Naturally, possessing the Heaven Rewards Diligence fate talent meant that as long as Xu Chuan invested the time, reaching Golden Core perfection was only a matter of time.
But he didn't want his cultivation speed to lag too much.
Right now, the Xu family had a sparse number of Golden Core stage cultivators, so he could prioritize his own needs.
But in several decades or a century, the Xu family would undoubtedly possess five or six Golden Core stage cultivators or more.
Most of them would have similar aptitudes to Xu Chuan. Cultivation would become a harsh struggle for them, and they might even end up like ordinary Golden Core stage cultivators, trapped at a certain bottleneck for a long period.
Furthermore, they wouldn't have Xu Chuan's special talent.
And since spirit grass wasn't infinite, aside from cultivating their own stock, they would have to minimize how frequently Golden Core stage cultivators consumed advancement pills.
For pills meant for breaking bottlenecks, a single successful refinement would be enough to aid three or four Golden Core cultivators in their breakthrough attempts.
For example, it could take over ten years to gather a portion or two of ingredients for Golden Origin Pills. Currently, they had already stockpiled two or three bottles, which was sufficient for the short term.
"I still need to successfully refine the Heaven-Mending Pill."
Considering the future plight of high-grade pills for the Xu family, a sense of anxiety bloomed in Xu Chuan's heart.
This pill was not recorded in the Alchemy Scripture but was derived from the Alchemy Dao chapter of the Five Elements Creation Scripture.
The primary function of the Heaven-Mending Pill was to mend innate spiritual roots and purify one's spiritual root aptitude. Only those at the Golden Core stage and above could consume it.
The lower the purity of the spiritual root, the more pronounced the effect. For an aptitude like Xu Chuan's, taking a low-grade Heaven-Mending Pill could elevate his spiritual root purity to sixty percent.
Consuming a mid-grade pill could push it to seventy percent.
Taking a high-grade pill could boost it all the way to a Heavenly Spiritual Root aptitude—an eighty percent spiritual root purity.
As for someone who already possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root aptitude, consuming it would only push their purity slightly past eighty percent. For those whose spiritual root purity already exceeded eighty percent, the pill would have almost no effect.
The materials for this pill weren't too difficult to find. At the very least, they were easier to gather than the materials for the Core Formation Pill or Heavenly Spirit Pill.
There were five necessary ingredients: spirit grasses of the five elements, each over three thousand years old. They required all five elements, but there were no strict requirements on the specific types of spirit grasses.
However, each of the five elemental attributes had to be utterly pure and untainted by any other attribute.
The true difficulty of refining the Heaven-Mending Pill lay in the refining technique—or rather, the intent behind it. The alchemist had to possess an extremely profound understanding of the mutual generation and restriction of the five elements, reaching a level capable of breeding creation.
The Xu family had gathered several portions of materials for the Heaven-Mending Pill, but Xu Chuan had yet to dare attempt refining it.
Three-thousand-year-old spirit grass was highly precious. Even Golden Core cultivators would heavily value it. It was simply impossible to casually gather a massive pile of them.
Xu Chuan had severed the stems and roots of these spirit grasses and planted them inside the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven.
Any spirit grass he had ever used to refine pills could be found growing within the grotto-heaven.
For example, some materials for third-tier pills required at least a century of growth before they reached a usable age.
Of course, growing there for a century did not mean the spirit grasses would only be a century old in medicinal age. Thanks to the grotto-heaven's spirit soil and a spiritual energy density comparable to a high-grade third-tier spirit vein...
...the growth speed of the spirit grass was almost ten to over a dozen times faster than normal.
Coupled with Xu Chuan's meticulous cultivation using spiritual planter methods, the growth rate of the spirit grasses was pushed even further.
He had previously used century-old five-element spirit grasses for trial runs, but every single refinement attempt had ended in failure.
Xu Chuan felt that if he could actually successfully refine the Heaven-Mending Pill, he might even be able to invent a five-element divine ability of his own.
'Perhaps the approach of directly attempting to refine the pill is flawed from the start. I should practice a five-element divine ability first. The Five Elements Creation Palm recorded in that cultivation method was left behind specifically as an alternate path for me.'
Only the first layer of this divine ability was recorded. According to the introduction, it was a five-element Greater Divine Ability with nine layers in total, far surpassing ordinary divine abilities.
Even merely mastering the first foundational layer was as difficult as cultivating an ordinary divine ability to perfection.
'If directly refining the pill is a dead end, I'll just cultivate the divine ability. I'm good at that anyway. Even if it costs me twenty or thirty years, I will eventually grasp the basics of the Five Elements Creation Palm.
The five elements give birth to creation. Even just at the foundational stage, its might will be immeasurable!'
Having made his decision, Xu Chuan set aside his attempts at refining the Heaven-Mending Pill and added the Five Elements Creation Palm to his daily training schedule.
'I should put the path of puppets on hold for now. There's no rush to research it until I've cultivated the vast majority of my divine abilities to perfection.'
Xu Chuan truly lacked the energy to divide his attention that far.
Thus, he continued his arduous daily cultivation without pause.
Meanwhile.
At the Heavenly Azure Sect.
Deep inside the Profound Ice Cave, the temperature was abysmally low. Staying inside for a prolonged period was tantamount to torture.
It was typically used as a prison for cultivators who had committed grave mistakes.
The outer section detained Qi Refining disciples, the middle segment held Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the deepest depths imprisoned those in the Golden Core stage.
The deeper one ventured, the more terrifying the cold energy became.
In the deepest part of the Profound Ice Cave, even early-stage Golden Core immortal cultivators who stayed for a few months ran the risk of having their blood and meridians frozen solid. The extreme cold energy would invade their internal organs, making it incredibly difficult to purge.
Yet, right here, a young man with ice-blue hair sat cross-legged, engrossed in cultivation.
A moment later.
His hands blurred as he rapidly formed hand seals. Limitless extreme cold energy surged and converged around him.
As Bingqian's hand seals moved increasingly faster, the vortex of energy before him accelerated. The frigid air condensed into a fist-sized sphere of light, flickering rapidly between ice and fire.
Half an hour later.
Bingqian suddenly opened his eyes. Indigo flames reflected in his pupils—as sharp as a frostblade, as scorching as a raging fire.
Clapping his hands together, the light sphere exploded into a bloom. Countless streaks of light coalesced into petals, forming a seventy-two-petal lotus.
The petals resembled thousand-year indigo jade—crystal clear and translucent. Flame patterns circulated along their edges. Though freezing to the touch, they contained a heaven-incinerating might within.
The successful formation of this Ice Flame Lotus signified that Bingqian had cultivated the Qianlan Ice Flame divine ability to the great accomplishment stage.
"It's time to end my seclusion. After being secluded for nine years, I wonder how the sect is faring."
The wildly surging extreme cold energy within the Profound Ice Cave gradually calmed down.
Bingqian stood up and dispersed the Ice Flame Lotus. With a sweep of his Daoist robe, the layer of frost blanketing it vanished completely, and he strode toward the exit of the Profound Ice Cave.
At the entrance of the Profound Ice Cave.
True Lord Green Wood and Bai Yan stood waiting.
"Junior Brother Bingqian." "Senior Brother Bingqian."
"Senior Brother Green Wood, Junior Brother Bai Yan. How did you know I would emerge from seclusion today?"
Green Wood smiled softly. "The Ancestor sensed a disturbance in the Profound Ice Cave and notified me to come fetch you. Junior Brother Bai Yan happened to be with me, so we came together."
"I see," Bingqian replied calmly.
"Since you've emerged, Junior Brother Bingqian, it's finally time to collect the debts the Greedy Wolf Sect owes us."
Hearing this, Bingqian nodded slightly and asked, "How is the situation now? Has the Greedy Wolf Sect made a move on our Heavenly Azure Prefecture yet?"
"Let's head to my grotto-residence. We can talk while we walk," True Lord Green Wood suggested.
The three of them took to the sky and flew off into the distance.
"We clashed with them once over two years ago. An elder of their sect named Tianluo even took advantage of the battlefield stalemate to sneak into our Heavenly Azure Prefecture. He practically slaughtered the entire Sieve Constellation City. It hasn't recovered its vitality to this day.
Also, Mo Wentian of the Mo family... has formed his Nascent Soul!"