Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 645 - 630: Finally Becoming a Nascent Soul! [Subscription Requested]

Although he had decided to explore the Immortal Island after successfully forming his Nascent Soul, it didn’t mean that Zhouyang really intended to form his Nascent Soul right there.

At the very least, he needed to first establish a cave and set up an array for protection.

Fortunately, the place they were in wasn’t a low-lying beach but rather a stretch of lush green grasslands. If one walked a dozen or so miles forward, a low mountain about two to three hundred feet high could be seen.

The power of forbidden air in [Donglai Immortal Island] was strong, but Divine Sense was not heavily affected here. Zhouyang’s Divine Sense extended outwards, still able to sense the movements within a range of twenty to thirty miles.

Jiang Fengxian, an Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, had a Divine Sense range reaching fifty to sixty miles.

After numerous sweeps by their Divine Senses, they confirmed that within this range, there were no living creatures or arrays that could threaten them.

The absence of living creatures beyond the grass and trees was indeed a peculiar feature of [Donglai Immortal Island].

Logically, such a large Immortal Island should have some land birds and beasts living there, and with the abundant Spiritual Qi here, even a pig, after staying long enough, could evolve into a Low-Tier Demon Beast.

However, whether by sight or Divine Sense, they could not detect any birds or beasts, not even larger insects.

This bizarre situation constantly reminded them that this place was far from being as peaceful and safe as it seemed on the surface.

But for Zhouyang, the urgent matter was still to form his Nascent Soul.

As long as he succeeded in forming the Nascent Soul, even if there were dangers here, he and Jiang Fengxian together, as two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, would hardly fear anyone.

So, after a brief discussion with Jiang Fengxian, they chose that low mountain as the place for Zhouyang to form his Nascent Soul.

He carved out a temporary cave on the mountain, set up an array to isolate external disturbances, and went into seclusion within the cave.

At that moment, the Primordial Qi he expended during the battle with the[Black Bone Demon King]had not fully recovered, so he focused on closed-door healing while studying Jiang Fengxian’s personally written insights on forming the Nascent Soul.

Golden Core Stage Cultivators ascending to the Nascent Soul Stage involved three steps: Pregnant Infant, Form Infant, and Nascent Soul Formation.

As the name implies, Pregnant Infant is akin to a woman conceiving, nurturing a Nascent Soul from nothing.

Form Infant is essentially "Refining Pill and Forming Infant," where the Golden Core transforms into a Nascent Soul, also called "Fake Infant."

Nascent Soul Formation is when the cultivator overcomes the [Heart Demon Tribulation], the Primordial Spirit ascends, turning the fake into real, advancing to become a true Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

Among these steps, Pregnant Infant is the longest.

Without the aid of Spirit Pills like [Fetus Nurturing Pill], it usually takes Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivators over a decade or two to achieve success, even if they eventually manage.

In fact, without any cooperation from Spiritual Objects, less than a third of Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivators manage to succeed in forming their Nascent Soul in one attempt.

Fortunately, failure in Pregnant Infant doesn’t harm the cultivator aspiring to form Nascent Soul; it merely wastes some time.

Therefore, with enough time to try repeatedly, almost every Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator can successfully pass this step.

However, once Pregnant Infant is successful, there is no turning back; one must proceed to the "Form Infant" step.

The "Form Infant" step, where the Golden Core becomes a Nascent Soul, leads either to success or certain death if it fails.

Without the assistance of Spiritual Objects like the "Holy Infant Fruit", at least seventy percent of cultivators who reach the "Form Infant" step cannot pass this barrier.

Even those who succeed in "Form Infant" face the [Heart Demon Tribulation], a daunting challenge that less than a third manage to survive.

In summary, without any assistance from Spiritual Objects, the chances for a Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator to form their Nascent Soul are indeed very low.

Originally, those who could cultivate to the Ninth-Layer Golden Core were all geniuses in cultivation. Even in a massive entity like the Donghua Immortal Palace, only a few dozen such individuals emerge every thousand years.

Among these few dozen, if unlucky, none might succeed in stepping into the Nascent Soul Stage.

This explains why Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators are so rare and revered in the Cultivation Realm.

In truth, every cultivator who successfully forms their Nascent Soul is a person of fortune. Without this favor of fortune, they couldn’t possibly stand out among their peers.

Golden Core Cultivators can be nurtured in batches through resources, but the success of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators relies solely on themselves.

Fortunately, Zhouyang is different.

He acquired the [Holy Infant Fruit], a miraculous treasure of heaven and earth, early on. Later, he exhausted his family wealth to buy a [Fetus Nurturing Pill], and he managed to find a rare spiritual object like the [Ice Tear Flower].

For each of the three Nascent Soul Formation challenges, he has an assisting spiritual object to aid his path.

With these supports, his chances of successfully forming his Nascent Soul are undoubtedly several times higher than the average cultivator.

Thanks to the abundance of Spiritual Qi on [Donglai Immortal Island], and frequently consuming spiritual objects like [Blood Dragon Rice] for health maintenance, Zhouyang managed to recover all the Essence Blood and Primordial Qi he exhausted during the battle with the [Black Bone Demon King] within just two years.

After fully recovering his Primordial Qi, Zhouyang did not exit seclusion but directly took out the [Fetus Nurturing Pill], which he purchased for 235 Top-Grade Spirit Stones, and placed it in his mouth.

He was about to charge headlong into the Nascent Soul Stage.

The medicinal power of the [Fetus Nurturing Pill] is undoubtedly the greatest among the many Spirit Pills Zhouyang has ever consumed.

Unlike other Spirit Pills, which dissolve quickly and convert into a medicinal force for the cultivator to refine and absorb, it releases its medicinal power steadily, bit by bit, for the cultivator to absorb.

A Spirit Pill the size of an egg was placed in his mouth, and he held it for three years.

Zhouyang spent three entire years to fully absorb and refine the medicinal power of the entire [Fetus Nurturing Pill].

After refining this [Fetus Nurturing Pill], the size of the Golden Core in his Dantian had more than doubled compared to before.

The Golden Core was swelling, and the Primordial Spirit hidden within Zhouyang was undergoing a silent transformation.

The Primordial Spirit of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator is contained within the Golden Core, merging with it, while the Nascent Soul is a higher form of the Primordial Spirit.

The Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator is both their Primordial Spirit and the source of their Magical Power.

Thus, even when the Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator emerges, they still possess significant combat power, and unlike Golden Core Stage Cultivators, they don’t fall in Realm after a Possession, needing to re-cultivate to recover their Cultivation.

Zhouyang’s Primordial Spirit was slowly drawing power from the Golden Core for its transformation.

This transformation is not achieved overnight; it requires time to slowly mature.

During this time, he needed to continuously absorb external Spiritual Qi to refine it into Golden Core Essence Qi to supply the Primordial Spirit’s transformation.

As a Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator, constantly absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to refine into Golden Core Essence Qi would exhaust even a Tier Five Middle-Grade Spiritual Vein, only a Tier Five Top-Grade Spiritual Vein could barely supply his needs.

Without a Tier Six Spiritual Vein, if a Clan or Sect with a Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator was preparing to attempt Nascent Soul Formation, the entire mountain gate would usually be sealed off, and all Cultivators within would be temporarily relocated elsewhere to cultivate, to avoid their cultivation impacting the Nascent Soul Forming Cultivator.

Fortunately, Zhouyang was now on [Donglai Immortal Island], where the dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was nearly inexhaustible.

As soon as the Spiritual Qi in the area where he was in seclusion slightly decreased, external Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi would flow in to replenish it, allowing him to absorb freely and with peace of mind.

After a full seven years had passed this way, the Primordial Spirit within Zhouyang’s Golden Core finally completed its transformation.

At this point, his Golden Core had grown seven to eight times larger than initially, reaching the size of a grapefruit.

Luckily, the Dantian is a mystical place between illusion and reality, otherwise, with such a large Golden Core in his abdomen, it would surely swell like a pregnant woman’s belly.

At this point, Zhouyang had no way to turn back.

Nor did he need to.

His eyes, which had been closed for nine years, suddenly opened, and two bright golden beams shot out from them, his gaze astonishingly bright.

Then with a wave of his hand, two Jade Boxes appeared before him, and he lifted his hand to tear off a Sealing Spirit Talisman from one of the Jade Boxes, unveiling a white Spirit Fruit inside, shaped like a snow pear.

"After all these years, I can finally use you today!"

Looking at the white Spirit Fruit in the Jade Box, Zhouyang’s eyes flashed with a moment of excitement.

Ever since he acquired this [Holy Infant Fruit], nearly three hundred years had passed, and now he finally utilized this Spiritual Object.

He gently reached out to grasp the Spirit Fruit, taking bite after bite of the flesh and swallowing it, including the core.

As the Spirit Fruit entered his belly, its powerful medicinal power spread throughout Zhouyang’s body, which he channeled into the swollen Golden Core for refinement and absorption.

Unknown how much time passed, but suddenly a crisp "crack" sound echoed from within Zhouyang, and then it was like a chain reaction, crackling consistently.

Bang!

With a slight popping sound, Zhouyang’s Golden Core, already riddled with cracks, finally shattered completely.

Of course, it was only the outer shell of the Golden Core that shattered; in fact, the entire energy within had been absorbed completely by the Primordial Spirit inside, now referred to as the Nascent Soul.

After the Golden Core shell exploded, the Nascent Soul that emerged from within opened its mouth and inhaled, drawing all the Primordial Qi transformed from the shattered Golden Core shell into its body, wasting none.

In fact, the effect of this inhalation was not just limited to that.

Outside Zhouyang’s seclusion cave, with the new Nascent Soul’s inhalation within him, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi began rushing madly toward him in the cave.

"The Qi fluctuation means Zhou Lang is going to succeed!"

Not far from the cave entrance, Jiang Fengxian, who was meditating and cultivating, suddenly opened her eyes, her beautiful eyes filled with joy as she looked towards the cave door behind her.

She had personally experienced this scene not long ago and understood well what this change indicated.

"Mother, will father succeed?"

Jiang Yufeng, who was cultivating, also awoke from her training in surprise, her face full of delight as she softly asked her mother.

"Your father is extraordinarily talented and well-prepared. If he cannot succeed, then no one in this world can successfully form a Nascent Soul!"

Jiang Fengxian replied to her daughter with a face full of confident affirmation, her words filled with trust and affection for her beloved.

Jiang Yufeng watched her mother’s glowing expression, and the trace of worry in her heart dissipated.

She gently nodded her pretty head and said, "Yes, I also believe that father will definitely succeed!"

At this moment, they had no other choice but to believe that the man they were closest to would succeed.

Meanwhile, within the cave, Zhouyang’s newly-born Nascent Soul was continuously inhaling and absorbing the surging Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to nourish itself.

His newly formed Nascent Soul was just over two inches tall, quite petite.

Yet this extremely miniature Nascent Soul was holding two similarly tiny magical artifacts in its hands at the moment.

The magical artifacts held by the Nascent Soul were precisely the Qianyang Golden Tower and the Qianyang Treasure Pearl.

The Qianyang Golden Tower was Zhouyang’s lifebound spiritual artifact, so it wasn’t surprising for the Nascent Soul to hold it in its hands, but the Qianyang Treasure Pearl had forcibly occupied that spot.

The massive Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi being absorbed by the newborn Nascent Soul was divided into three portions, entering the two magical artifacts and the Nascent Soul itself.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi entering the Nascent Soul’s body was the resources for its growth and expansion.

The standard height for a Nascent Soul of an Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator is three inches, and Zhouyang’s slightly over two-inch tall Nascent Soul was obviously still not up to standard.

While the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi entering the two magical artifacts was gradually enhancing and restoring the grade of the two artifacts.

The Qianyang Golden Tower, being Zhouyang’s lifebound spiritual artifact, would inevitably advance to become a Tier Six Spiritual Artifact upon his successful Nascent Soul Formation.

However, the Qianyang Treasure Pearl was recovering its former strength through this process.

Originally, this magical artifact absorbed quite a bit of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi during Zhouyang’s Core Formation, which restored much of its power and even gave it an extra Qianyang Celestial Fire Shield divine technique.

This time it once again claimed a spot to absorb Spiritual Qi, clearly wanting to recover even more strength.

This object had once been a Tier Seven Immortal Artifact and had saved his life multiple times within the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm. His achievements today were greatly thanks to its help.

Even though Zhouyang felt anxious at this moment, it wasn’t a good time to move it away.

At this point, he was immensely grateful that he had chosen Donglai Immortal Island for his Nascent Soul Formation.

Else, if it were a Tier Five Top-Grade Spirit Vein, with the unexpected factor of the Qianyang Treasure Pearl, his Nascent Soul Formation might have encountered unexpected twists.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, as Zhouyang’s demand for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi increased, the commotion caused by his Nascent Soul Formation also grew larger and larger.

Initially, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in just a hundred-mile radius was drawn to him, but gradually, the spirit qi within a thousand-mile range was activated, rushing madly towards his location.

Even the Spiritual Qi Mist floating in the sky drifted continuously towards him, transforming into Spiritual Qi for him to absorb.

Such a large commotion was hard not to attract attention.

In the depths of Donglai Immortal Island, a black giant turtle lying asleep by a Spiritual Spring Pool suddenly opened its lantern-sized eyes and looked in Zhouyang’s direction.

"Oh, it’s a Nascent Soul celestial phenomenon, has an outsider finally entered Donglai Immortal Island?"

The black giant turtle spoke in human tongue, full of surprise in its eyes, which also hinted at a trace of delight behind the astonishment.

It then stretched its limbs, ready to move and see what was happening.

But at this moment, a weathered old man’s voice suddenly echoed in its ears.

"Little turtle, you don’t need to bother with this matter, I have my arrangements."

Upon hearing the old man’s voice, the black giant turtle’s expression immediately changed, quickly retracting its limbs and head into its shell, and responded in a muffled voice: "I understand, you’re the boss, your word is law!"

The voice was full of grievance.

If Zhouyang or Jiang Fengxian were to witness this scene, they would surely be extremely shocked.

Because from the aura emanating from this black giant turtle, it was clearly a Tier Six High-Grade Demon King, equivalent to a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Yet such a powerful Demon King now showed such a demeanor simply because of a word from someone, how could that not be astonishing?

The same scene was also occurring in two other locations on the island, where the ones receiving warnings were a five-colored spirit deer and a silver giant roc.

The five-colored spirit deer was a Tier Six Middle-Grade Demon King, while the silver giant roc, like the black giant turtle, was a Tier Six High-Grade Demon King.

In such a small island, there were two Tier Six High-Grade Demon Kings, one Tier Six Middle-Grade Demon King, plus a formidable presence to which these three Demon Kings all held great reverence.

This Donglai Immortal Island truly lived up to its name as a True Immortal Cave Mansion.

Of course, Zhouyang still knew nothing about all this.

He continued absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and after half a month, finally let his Nascent Soul grow to three inches tall, completing the entire "Nascent Soul Formation" process.

And when the Nascent Soul grew to three inches tall, his Heart Demon Tribulation arrived right on schedule.

The reason why the Heart Demon Tribulation struck fear into the hearts of all cultivators is mainly because it directly targets the weakest parts of a cultivator’s inner heart, the places they least wished to face.

If it were only this, it wouldn’t be so bad, as some cultivators with strong mental cultivation had long achieved a perfect state of mind, able to face anything calmly.

But the Heart Demon Tribulation would adapt to circumstances and change accordingly.

When encountering those with steadfast hearts for the Dao, the Heart Demon Tribulation would entice them with benefits, presenting various Dao Laws to make them obsessed and gradually lost.

Therefore, even those who had already overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation, if they had to go through it again, they couldn’t guarantee coming through unscathed.

Zhouyang’s mental cultivation was superior among his peers, and he hadn’t experienced anything in his life that left him with lifelong regrets. He thought he would have a significant advantage during his Heart Demon Tribulation.

But in fact, he was overthinking it. The cunningness and power of the "Heart Demon" far exceeded his prior expectations.

To describe it using his past life’s words, he thought he was on the Second Layer, while the "Heart Demon" was on the Fifth Layer.

When he thought he had seen through the illusion and slain the "Heart Demon", the "Heart Demon" he perceived was merely a clone used to numb his consciousness.

He was deceived by the illusion created by the "Heart Demon", believing he had passed the Heart Demon Tribulation, advanced to become a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, and, with the aid of the Qianyang Treasure Pearl, glimpsed the profound mysteries of the Heaven and Earth Laws, once indulging in the wondrous laws woven by the "Heart Demon".

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the "Ice Tear" he preemptively retrieved from the Ice Tear Flower took effect, unleashing a surge of cold, piercing chill that awakened his consciousness, pulling him from the beautiful illusion the "Heart Demon" had displayed, thus allowing him to successfully slay the "Heart Demon" and truly pass through the Heart Demon Tribulation.

Once the Heart Demon Tribulation was passed, Zhouyang’s nascent soul immediately leapt out from the top of his head into the real world.

At this moment, part of his consciousness remained within his body, while most had entered the nascent soul.

"Who are you?"

The three-inch-tall tiny nascent soul, with its golden eyes wide open, gazed at Zhouyang’s main body, its voice crisp like a child’s as it asked.

"And who are you?"

Zhouyang’s main body squinted slightly at the infant bathed in golden-red light before him, his voice low as he counter-questioned.

"I am Zhouyang," the nascent soul affirmed.

"I am Zhouyang too," Zhouyang’s main body stated with equal certainty.

"We are both Zhouyang."

The nascent soul and Zhouyang’s main body simultaneously exclaimed.

Then, with a flash of golden light, the tiny nascent soul turned into a ray of light and merged back into Zhouyang’s body, the two consciousnesses integrating once more into one.

"It’s strange, Fengxian said that when her nascent soul emerged, all her consciousness transferred into the nascent soul. How come I could still leave part of my consciousness in the main body? Could it be because I reincarnated once?"

In the cave dwelling, Zhouyang opened his eyes, recalling the earlier conversation, his face full of peculiar expressions.

Every nascent soul stage cultivator, when they first form their nascent soul, experiences involuntary nascent soul emergence, allowing the cultivator to become accustomed to this newly owned divine ability.

But under normal circumstances, when a cultivator’s nascent soul emerges, the main body enters dormancy, losing all consciousness.

Therefore, unless absolutely safe, nascent soul stage cultivators would never let their nascent souls leave the body to avoid someone harming their main body during the nascent soul’s emergence.

However, just now, Zhouyang still retained part of his consciousness in his main body.

This unusual occurrence, Zhouyang pondered, seemed to be due to his unique origin.

Of course, fundamentally, this was a great thing.

It meant that even if his nascent soul emerged, his main body could still possess some self-protective power.

"Forget it, let’s not dwell on this strange thing; let’s first see how much my strength has grown!"

He gently shook his head, no longer contemplating the bizarre event, as Zhouyang directed his attention toward his own strength.

With his cultivation breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, his power had naturally increased many times over.

Firstly, his magical power had increased at least three times compared to when he was in the Ninth Layer Golden Core stage, and its quality completely crushed the magical power quality of golden core stage cultivators.

This was even when his cultivation had just broken through; in the future, this gap would surely only widen.

Furthermore, in terms of divine sense, Zhouyang’s divine sense was already strong. With this promotion to the Nascent Soul Stage, the range of his divine sense immediately reached hundreds of miles.

Now, he was on Donglai Immortal Island, where Jiang Fengxian, who had only shortly formed a nascent soul, could only extend her divine sense fifty to sixty miles.

What does this mean?

It signifies that Zhouyang’s divine sense is twice that of his peers!

Besides magical power and divine sense, with his cultivation breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, Zhouyang’s Qianyang True Flame divine technique also leaps to the realm of Great Success.

In the Great Success realm, the Qianyang True Flame’s power exceeded even the amplified version he previously achieved with the Qianyang Treasure Pearl, and it consumed even less magical power.

Simultaneously, with his cultivation breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, the Tier Six Spiritual Artifacts, Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron and Exorcism Treasure Robe, which he could only barely drive before, could now be wielded freely, with the power they emitted being incomparable to before.

The other divine techniques and secret techniques he had cultivated now displayed much greater power due to his breakthrough in cultivation.

A simple example is that now, when he uses a Tier Two Lower Grade Fire Magic "Fire Bomb Technique", its power surpasses the Tier Three Lower Grade Technique "Flame Burst Skill" used by Foundation Establishment Cultivators, comparable to a Tier Three High-grade Technique.

"Even if I don’t count the advancing Qianyang Golden Tower, my strength compared to before forming the nascent soul has increased at least five times. If I were to fight the Black Bone Demon King now, I am confident I could severely injure him directly!"

Zhouyang made a rough self-assessment of his power.

This assessment left him fairly satisfied. After all, aside from just forming a nascent soul, he hadn’t replaced any new artifacts or learned any new divine techniques, and yet his power had grown so much. What was there not to be satisfied about?

Then a bright light flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly closed them, immersing his consciousness into the Qianyang Treasure Pearl, preparing to receive the nascent soul stage cultivation technique inheritance, and truly understand the status of this Tier Seven Immortal Artifact.