Chapter 182: Soul Condensation into Nascent, Nine Orifices Golden Core_2
Cultivators have such a long lifespan, and over such an extensive span of life, Chu Zheng will inevitably meet more outstanding women in the future.
In the vast expanse of Cangyun's beautiful landscape, stretching billions of miles, there are countless jade-like talents, not to mention the entire universe.
Those who are a hundred times stronger in background, a hundred times more talented, and a hundred times more beautiful than her are probably as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Moreover, she isn't even by Chu Zheng's side.
After a long while, Song Lingxue bent down, gently kissed the young man's forehead— a touch and then a separation, with an unmistakable wistful look in her eyes.
Her existence was like a willow catkin in the breeze, rootless, amidst the vast and boundless starry sky, where she could find no space to call her own and could only drift with the tide.
Being at the mercy of circumstances, it could be no other way.
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After cultivating with Song Lingxue for a few days, Chu Zheng took some cultivation resources from the Supreme Profound Treasure Vault and immediately began to close off for secluded cultivation.
His time was limited and not to be wasted. The stronger his cultivation, the more say he would have, with more leeway.
If his power exceeded Zhao Tingxian and surpassed Ancestral Dao, all the troubles at this moment would cease to exist.
By now his Divine Soul had already reached Perfection, and he could move towards the Divine Infant. The Dao Embryo was already flawlessly round and full.
After a short contemplation, Chu Zheng chose to congeal the Golden Core first.
Firstly, he already had the experience once, and secondly, after forming the Golden Core, the transformation from Soul Condensation to Nascent would be even safer.
After bathing and purifying himself with incense, casting off the impetuousness in his heart, Chu Zheng sat naked in the Spiritual Spring, circulating the Grand Circulation, refining the Primordial Qi, and gradually increasing his cultivation.
Originally, on the Immortal Martial Battlefield, Ji Yuyan had mentioned to him that after the Golden Core, there would be no turning back on the path of Qi Refining.
This was something he always found somewhat incomprehensible, but after experiencing incarnation through trials, he vaguely gained some enlightenment.
The Golden Core Realm differs completely from the previous realms; this is the crucial step from Refining Essence into Qi to Refining Qi into Spirit.
After the Golden Core, it's about Refining Spirit; at this point, the marks Qi-refining Technique had left on him could no longer be erased, residing within his Divine Soul.
Even if he were to forfeit his cultivation, in the eyes of Heaven and Earth, he would still be a Qi Cultivator. As his cultivation level rose, tribulations would still approach.
Concerning this, a conjecture emerged subtly in Chu Zheng's mind.
The Heavenly Tribulations of the Immortal Path target Immortal Path Cultivators, but he is a Qi Cultivator with the Method of Transmuting Calamity. If he were to dissolve all the Tribulation Qi, when he reaches the Immortal Tribulation stage after attaining Tongxuan on the Immortal Path, would he still face Heavenly Tribulation?
Conversely, if there were no Heavenly Tribulation to bear, would the original Heavenly Tribulation meant for the Immortal Path transform into an even more terrifying tribulation? That remains an unknown.
Chu Zheng discarded the distractions in his mind and concentrated on his cultivation; the Dao Embryo soon began to seal shut.
With the experience from before, Chu Zheng's speed was considerably faster. Coupled with the abundant Spiritual Energy from Heaven and Earth, in just a month, the Golden Core had already taken shape.
Crack, crack—
The moment the Golden Core took shape, without any need for Chu Zheng to act, nine crisp sounds followed in succession.
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In the blink of an eye, the Nine Orifice Golden Core was formed.
Boom—
The instant the Golden Core opened its orifices, the Laws of Heaven and Earth underwent an anomaly, and thick golden clouds suddenly gathered above Taixuan.
After a moment, there fell a sweet rain from the sky, carrying a magnificent five-colored divine radiance, pervading everywhere, and covering the entire Taixuan Holy Land.
The golden luminous rain penetrated the Array, ignored the barriers of rock, and entered the bodies of all the cultivators of Taixuan.
Many of the Taixuan Disciples, including many Elders in seclusion, underwent a cleansing. They reaped significant benefits, expelling many impurities from their bodies, advancing their cultivation, loosening their bottlenecks, and even experiencing certain transformations in their root bone qualities.
Most of the luminous rain fell on Chu Zheng's head, washing over the Yin Yang Spirit, heading straight for his Middle Dantian, converging into a golden lake.
The Nine Orifice Golden Core hung above the lake like a dazzling sun, swallowing and emitting vast divine energies, with its Spirit Apertures, opened incomparably wider than the Golden Core congealed by the previous incarnation.
Chu Zheng couldn't help but take a deep breath, and with a slight quiver of the Nine Orifice Golden Core, Primordial Qi from within a thousand miles surged in an instant, all responding to his call.
The more Spirit Apertures, the faster the speed of cultivation.
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Although it was only three more Spirit Apertures, Chu Zheng, upon a slight comparison, found that the cultivation speed of the Nine Orifices Golden Core was more than a hundred times stronger than that of his Six Orifices Golden Core incarnation.
This was inextricably linked to the size of the Spirit Apertures.
With the Golden Core formed, Chu Zheng did not delay at all, immediately taking out an array of elixirs that nourished the Divine Soul and began the Soul Condensation into Nascent Soul Transformation.
For ordinary cultivators, this phase was a matter of life and death that required caution and many attempts before they could start their breakthrough.
But for Chu Zheng, there were no risks whatsoever. Even if his Divine Soul was harmed, he could instantaneously repair it through the panel, without having to worry about any potential side effects.
The process of Soul Condensation into Nascent Soul Transformation went far smoother than Chu Zheng had anticipated, and there was even no need to use the panel for repairs.
The light rain that had previously fallen from the sky above had incidentally cleansed his Soul, already adjusting it to its optimum state.
Half a month later, the Yin Yang Spirit underwent a transformation and successfully completed the Nascent Soul Transformation.
After stepping into the Divine Infant Realm, Chu Zheng immediately sensed the difference: the spiritual energy between heaven and earth could be commanded at will, and the same techniques and Divine Skills, when displayed by a Divine Infant Cultivator, were tens or even hundreds of times more powerful.
This was the reason why cultivators above the Divine Infant Realm were strictly forbidden from acting carelessly; they could easily destroy cities and obliterate nations, their lethal power far too great.
This was also why Divine Infant Cultivators were revered as great powers.
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Above the skies of Taixuan Holy Land, when the golden cloud spectacle appeared, cultivators above the Immortal Tribulation Realm within the Cangyun Realm all felt something, their expressions becoming serious, eyes filled with confusion.
Stepping into the Immortal Tribulation made them extremely sensitive to the movements of the Heavenly Dao, enabling them to quickly sense anything amiss.
Tracing the source and discovering it was from Taixuan's direction, many Immortal Tribulation Cultivators had various thoughts.
Heavenly anomalies were something the Cangyun Realm had heard of only in tales from Ancient Times, often signifying the emergence of rare prodigies or monsters.
The Talent of a being, when strong to a certain degree, could make even the heavens reluctant to let it be buried in obscurity, and at their breakthroughs, they would receive divine rewards to consolidate their foundation and enhance their chances of transcending tribulations.
What's more, some would have Heavenly Fate bestowing upon them, ensuring victory in every battle, success in every gamble, turning bad luck into good fortune, thus turning danger into safety.
Such individuals are also called the pets of the Heavenly Dao, the true 'Pride of the Heavens'.
With Heavenly Fate being relatively fixed, the existence of a favored child by the Heavenly Dao often means that the Heavenly Fate carried by others would be diluted.
Those who contest with a favored child of the same era often have an incredibly high rate of death and injury; among peers, only one person's name is heard, and the rest fade into obscurity.
Now that the anomaly had appeared in Taixuan, almost without needing to think, all cultivators immediately thought of Chu Zheng.
Quickly, many Immortal Tribulation Cultivators realized an even more terrifying fact.
Within a short period, Chu Zheng had made another breakthrough in his cultivation.
Moments later, the changes to the Hidden Dragon List spread.
[Hidden Dragon List, number one: Taixuan Holy Land, Chu Zheng, bone age twenty-one, Cultivation at the initial stage of the Divine Infant Realm.]
[Hidden Dragon List, number two: Primordial Spirit Holy Land, Shang Zuling, bone age eighty-seven, Cultivation at the Mid Stage of the Divine Infant Realm.]
Chu Zheng not only stepped into the Divine Infant Realm, but in the perception of the Heavenly Dao, his real combat power was even stronger than that of Shang Zuling.
This change left a host of Immortal Tribulation Cultivators dumbfounded for a long while.
No one doubted the accuracy of the Hidden Dragon List.
Shang Zuling, a descendant of the Immortal King, who cultivates the techniques of the Immortal King, has such profound foundations. Yet, he is still surpassed by Chu Zheng.
Soon, this news reached the ears of cultivators from all Holy Lands, the change at the top of the Hidden Dragon List causing a great stir.
Days later, the news of Chu Zheng entering the Divine Infant Realm had spread like wildfire, shaking all four regions of Cangyun.
A twenty-year-old Divine Infant Realm cultivator, the master of a Holy Land, even compared to Shang Zuling, seemed somewhat inferior.
Considering the actual age, Shang Zuling was more than a jiazi older than Chu Zheng and had received intensive cultivation from a young age, whereas Chu Zheng entered the Immortal Path halfway and had been cultivating for only a handful of years.
The gap between them was something any cultivator could understand.
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