Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 224: Chapter 222: Pill Discussion Formed

”This Talisman can be used three times. Each use summons the phantom of an Upper Realm Divine General that lasts for twelve hours.”

Master Ge Cang blew a light breath, and countless hair-thin strands of Thunder Radiance enveloped the earthen-colored Talisman, ensuring not a single wisp of Spiritual Power would leak out.

”This Divine General phantom is equivalent in strength to someone at Core Formation Perfection. Although it’s limited by its lack of Spiritual Wisdom—it’s stiff, slow, and can only follow commands... its power is undeniable. Paired with the Grand Array, it’s enough to protect the Sect when I’m not here.”

He had acquired this Talisman for the Sect and planned to send it to the Secret Hall, not keep it on his person.

For Ge Cang, the Ding Mao Ren Gao Divine General Talisman had limited use.

In the eyes of a true Perfect Core Formation Realm Cultivator, the Ren Gao Divine General was just a living target with power but no corresponding Realm and no ability to adapt.

It was better to leave it in the Sect to be used with the Duality Illusion Moon Array; only then could its full potential be realized.

”An Upper Realm Divine General?”

Qi Yue was immensely curious upon hearing this and pressed, ”Only a Divinity Transformation Great Power can ascend to the Upper Realm. How can the phantom of an Upper Realm Divine General only have the strength of Core Formation?”

”The lore behind this type of Summoning God Talisman is that the summoned Upper Realm Divine General phantom is merely its unconscious projection. To summon a stronger incarnation, you would need a High Tier Summoning God Talisman... Many scoff at this, but I believe there’s some truth to it.”

Master Ge Cang shared his understanding.

”For those Talisman Masters to have fabricated so many Divine General images from thin air and imbued them with powerful Divine Techniques would have been far too difficult... I am more inclined to believe that a certain school of Talisman Masters discovered an Upper Realm Talisman Decree left behind from Ancient Times and created a series of Summoning God Talismans based on its contents.”

”Unfortunately, that entire school of Talisman Masters vanished without a trace, and the Summoning God Talismans that currently exist in the Cultivation Realm are all just leftover stock from before.”

A strange light flickered in Qi Yue’s eyes as he listened, and he developed a keen interest in these Summoning God Talismans.

Someone with a Celestial Spiritual Root like Master Ge Cang would face no bottlenecks before Foundation Establishment Perfection. He could focus solely on Cultivation and would have had no time to invest in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.

He, however, only had a dual Spiritual Root aptitude. Among the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, he had chosen to pursue the Talisman Dao.

Of course, he couldn’t compare to someone like Su Li, who possessed a Talisman Spirit Body. After all these years, he was only at the Tier One Peak Talisman Master Realm.

And a large part of that was due to his Cultivation increasing, which forcibly pulled his Talisman Dao Realm up with it.

”Focus. Break through to Late-Stage Foundation Establishment soon... Don’t let Nephew Bai establish his Pill Discussion and break through to Foundation Establishment Perfection while you’re still stuck at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.”

Master Ge Cang offered this piece of advice to his direct disciple before closing his eyes.

He was already at the peak of Mid-Stage Core Formation, just a hair’s breadth away from Late-Stage Core Formation.

Moreover, his path was clear, his Pill Discussion was established, and he was already walking his own road.

The timeline he had given Fang Tiancheng was conservative; his breakthrough was only a few years away.

’That... can’t be right... Back then, it took Senior Brother Wei nearly twenty years to establish his Pill Discussion while comprehending the myriad facets of the world as Sect Leader.’

Qi Yue’s expression tensed, and he shook his head repeatedly, comforting himself in his heart.

’Junior Brother Bai may have a Sacred Body, but there are no shortcuts when it comes to something like the Pill Discussion. No matter how talented you are, you can’t just aim straight for the Wood Element Path like Master, who can do so because he has a Celestial Spiritual Root. No matter how amazing he is, it should still take him more than ten years of refinement and synthesis.’

On his way down from the Cloud Platform, Qi Yue decided he would enter seclusion as soon as he returned to seek an opportunity for a breakthrough.

He didn’t want to be left too far behind in realm by Bai Zichen and suffer another blow to his confidence.

...

「Seven years passed in the blink of an eye, as seasons came and went.」

In the Liang Country Cultivation Realm, small battles erupted every few months and large-scale wars broke out annually. At almost every moment, cultivators from both the Righteous and Demonic Dao were falling.

The Righteous Dao built rows of barriers on the front lines, connecting them with Arrays to resist the ferocious onslaught of the Demon Path Alliance Army.

Disciples of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect drove their vast armies of Spirit Beasts—all manner of flying birds and land creatures, a crushing, dark mass—onto the battlefield as well.

The battle between the two sides was a stalemate, and countless lives were ground away on this front.

The following year, the vegetation on this stretch of grassland grew with exceptional lushness.

Because so many cultivators and Spirit Beasts had died, the grass and trees, irrigated by blood, seemed to carry a demonic, sanguine glow.

The turning point came in the fourth year.

Blood God True Man charged into the Righteous Sect’s territory alone and began slaughtering their cultivators with extreme efficiency using his Supreme Demon Skill. Naturally, Nine Unions Daoist moved to intercept him.

A Blood Pearl exploded, dragging the two of them into a blood-colored barrier.

Those outside could not enter, and those inside could not leave.

Three days later, the blood-colored barrier vanished.

Only Blood God True Man remained, holding the head of Nine Unions Daoist, whose eyes were wide with fury, unable to rest in peace.

As a fellow cultivator in the Perfect Core Formation Realm, Nine Unions Daoist should have been able to escape even if he couldn’t win, or at least hold out until Fang Tiancheng arrived for them to join forces.

But this time, Blood God True Man had detonated his Blood Essence Core, creating a blood-colored barrier that would take a Core Formation True Man several hours of full-powered attacks to break. This forced Nine Unions Daoist to fight him in a confined space.

At the same time, Blood God True Man’s strength had increased again, allowing him to slay a cultivator of the same level without sustaining major injuries.

One must understand that every Perfect Core Formation Cultivator is a prodigy of stunning and brilliant talent. Otherwise, it would be impossible to reach the realm that is just one final step away from Nascent Soul.

There might be differences in their combat strength, but each one definitely had their own trump cards hidden up their sleeves.

Furthermore, in a true life-or-death situation, the power unleashed by a Perfect Core Formation Cultivator self-destructing their Golden Core would be something even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would have to take seriously.

Blood God True Man clearly had a way to prevent Nine Unions Daoist from even having the chance to self-destruct his Golden Core.

If Fang Tiancheng hadn’t arrived in time, the Righteous Alliance, reeling from the immense shock of their Alliance Leader’s death, might have routed on the spot. He utilized the power of the Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon Beast to transform into a half-dragon, half-human state, wielding the immense force to move mountains and fill seas with every gesture.

He even broke through to the Perfect Core Formation Realm during the battle, fighting Blood God True Man to a standstill.

But even with Fang Tiancheng stepping forward to stabilize morale, the Righteous Alliance quickly fell apart, becoming as scattered as loose sand.

It had always been a loose coalition of interests, brought together to defend their own benefits against the Demon Path Sects, rallied by Nine Unions Daoist and his standing as the number one cultivator of the Righteous Dao.

Within the alliance, disputes were rampant, and it was not uncommon for members to kick others while they were down.

With Nine Unions Daoist dead, the Righteous Sect, having lost its pillar of support, was the first to collapse. Even with another Core Formation True Man in the sect, they couldn’t maintain control.

Sect Disciples fled, and instances of internal-external collusion became endless.

Soon, the Righteous Sect’s army of cultivators withdrew from the front lines. Led by their remaining Core Formation True Man, they returned to their Mountain Gate to secure their rear.

Meanwhile, Cien Temple, which had long since lost its territory and been displaced, abandoned the eighty-one barriers it had built on the front lines under the leadership of Abbot Ruyi Monk and retreated tens of thousands of miles.

They retreated almost to the border of Liang Country. It was said they had contacted a Buddhist Cultivation Sect in Beiyuan and were preparing to move the entire sect to join them.

Only Danxia Sect and the Divine Slaughter Sect were left. Unable to stand alone, they could only rely on the cover of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect to preserve their forces, ceding large swathes of territory to the Demon Path Alliance Army.

In an instant, the banners in the Liang Country Cultivation Realm had shifted. A massive power like the Righteous Alliance had disintegrated in a flash.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, led by Fang Tiancheng—who had successfully broken through and could now match Blood God True Man—rose to the top, becoming the new rival to the Demon Path Sects.

In the midst of this, numerous conspiracy theories inevitably appeared.

The main theory was that the Supreme Elder of Ten Thousand Beasts Sect had long possessed the foundation to advance to Core Formation Perfection but had been deliberately holding back his breakthrough.

He had watched as Nine Unions Daoist died, only to immediately break through in the heat of battle and display his formidable strength.

At the same time, two new Core Formation True Men appeared in the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and traveled to various places to claim the legacy left behind by the Righteous Alliance, which seemed to lend credence to the conspiracy theories.

Against this backdrop, when Master Ge Cang of the Qingfeng Sect emerged from seclusion in the sixth year as a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivator, the news barely made a ripple.

It was only within the Qingfeng Sect that all the Elders rejoiced and celebrated for Ancestor Ge Cang.

The stronger Master Ge Cang was, the more stable the Qingfeng Sect would be—as unshakable as Mount Tai.

And while all the Sect Disciples’ attention was captivated by the news of the ever-changing outside world, the perpetually quiet White Jade Tower in Feiyue Lake also welcomed a change.

’I’ve refined all twelve Golden Marrow Pills, and in the past two years, I even drew upon that Top-Grade Spirit Stone for my Cultivation. I’m finally not far from the Peak of Late-Stage Foundation Establishment...’

Seven years had passed. The youth in the simple robes had lost some of his boyish vigor, replaced by a more mature and reserved disposition.

But what remained unchanged were his bright, spirited eyes, which were as vibrant as ever.

Bai Zichen stood up, dusted himself off, opened the door to his Quiet Chamber, and walked out. He went to the top floor of the White Jade Tower to enjoy the long-missed sunlight.

For some reason, he had a feeling today that he should stop his Cultivation and rest for a moment.

’Perhaps this seclusion has gone on for too long, and I’ve grown a bit weary... A full seven years. With the help of the Golden Marrow Pills and the Top-Grade Spirit Stone, my Cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds. In two more years at most, I can step into Foundation Establishment Perfection.’

Others would have to spend a great deal of time in a slow grind, using one Realm-Breaking Elixir after another to assault their bottlenecks.

For Bai Zichen, however, as long as he calculated the moment his Magical Power reached Perfection for his current realm, that was the same as the moment he would step into the next.

Besides the medicinal effects of the Golden Marrow Pills being far beyond imagination, the Fire Element Top-Grade Spirit Stone also played a crucial role in such a rapid cultivation speed.

Not even the direct descendants of a Nascent Soul True Monarch would be so extravagant as to use a Top-Grade Spirit Stone to aid their Cultivation and refine their Magical Power.

Such a wasteful act would be enough to leave a Nascent Soul True Monarch stunned and a Core Formation True Man beating his chest in frustration.

But for Bai Zichen, as long as it could speed up his Cultivation, even a Top-Grade Spirit Stone was a price worth paying.

In any case, he wouldn’t be able to reveal this Fire Element Top-Grade Spirit Stone in public for a long time, so he might as well put it to good use. That was far better than letting it gather dust in his storage bag.

He leaned quietly against a corridor pillar as the sun set, its last rays casting a final glow upon his face.

”Stop when it is time to stop; act when it is time to act.”

An epiphany flooded Bai Zichen’s mind, and he murmured aloud.

”Movement and stillness do not miss their time; thus, my Great Dao is bright.”