Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 322: Chapter 320: Undergoing the Celestial Tribulation in the Icefield

When the Qingfeng Sect was founded, its main opponents were Demon Beasts, not human Cultivators.

In that era, many Spirit Veins were unclaimed. It was far easier to seize them from other factions than to vie with Demon Beasts for them.

Higher-tier Sects like the Holy Lotus Sect knew a Tier Four Great Demon lurked deep within Black Mountain, so they would never invest resources into developing the area.

It might have been one thing for Core Formation True Men to venture in, but if a Nascent Soul True Monarch entered, how could the Tier Four Great Demon that considered the Black Mountain Range its territory not react?

The Holy Lotus Sect wasn’t absolutely confident it could defeat the Tier Four Cyan Simurgh, so naturally, it wouldn’t undertake such a thankless task.

Therefore, when Master Qingfeng chose to develop Black Mountain, he faced no resistance.

The other Sects were mostly content to watch the spectacle from the sidelines.

Even before that, while Ancestor Qingfeng traveled the world and fought numerous Core Formation True Men, these were mostly just spars. None seemed to have escalated into life-or-death vendettas.

’Once the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique is activated, my strength becomes comparable to an Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator’s. I could handle being besieged by any number of Core Formation True Men... Even against an ordinary Nascent Soul True Monarch, a hundred breaths would be enough time to escape with my life.’

Bai Zichen had only just mastered the Glazed Fire Divine Body himself, so he was very familiar with the power boost provided by the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique.

Given that Master Qingfeng’s normal strength was enough to dominate the Core Formation Stage, there were few in the Cultivation Realm who could stop him once he activated the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique.

At the very least, no Cultivator that powerful should have existed in the Cultivation Realm of Liang Country.

These remains before him clearly belonged to Ancestor Qingfeng, who had been unable to defeat his foe even after activating the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique.

He had to maintain the technique’s active state just to flee all the way to Celestial Phenomenon Valley.

His powerful enemy must have failed to catch him, but by maintaining the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique for too long, Ancestor Qingfeng had utterly wrecked his physical body.

After falling into Celestial Phenomenon Valley, he soon passed away, unable to even leave a final testament.

’A terrifying existence at the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul realm, or perhaps even Late-Stage... ’

A chill ran through Bai Zichen’s heart. To think that Ancestor Qingfeng had indirectly died at the hands of such a powerful enemy.

Nascent Soul True Monarchs were extremely difficult to kill unless they were vastly outmatched, or were ambushed by several people who had set up an Array to seal off the void beforehand.

Although the power boost from the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique didn’t allow the user to teleport hundreds of miles or ignore Forbidden Techniques like a Detached Nascent Soul could...

...during the Secret Technique’s duration, the user’s physical body was absolutely comparable to a Nascent Soul Body Cultivator’s, and the Close as the Palm of Your Hand, Far as the Ends of the Earth Body Technique was enhanced to a terrifying degree.

Even a Tier Four Escape Technique could hardly compare to it.

If his only goal had been to escape, a few dozen breaths would have been more than enough for Ancestor Qingfeng to get away from an Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Using it for such a short time would have, at worst, destroyed his Five Crystal Glaze Body and left him grievously injured, but it wouldn’t have cost him his life.

Only an opponent at the Mid-Stage or even Late-Stage Nascent Soul realm could have forced Ancestor Qingfeng to keep the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique active—pushed him to the point of no return, where it drained the very last shred of his essence and burned away every bone and piece of flesh.

The Holy Lotus Sect’s Nascent Soul True Monarch from a thousand years ago was even less notable than True Monarch Jiulian; he couldn’t possibly have possessed such strength.

That meant the enemy could only have come from outside Liang Country.

And Master Qingfeng had come from across the sea. He had no friends or family on this continent, so it couldn’t have been a hereditary enemy of his Sect.

It was also puzzling why this powerful enemy, after forcing Master Qingfeng to activate the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique and die of exhaustion, never moved against the Qingfeng Sect.

’This whole affair is shrouded in mystery. I’ll have to wait until I’m back at the Mountain Gate and ask Brother Ge about it in detail.’

With a heavy heart, Bai Zichen slowly gathered Master Qingfeng’s remains and laid them out on a clean stone slab.

During this process, he discovered that the fingers of Master Qingfeng’s left hand were dug deep into the ground. He had to pull them out with great difficulty.

There were no other items near the remains. Just as Tie Changsheng had said, the Qingfeng Sword was plunged into the ground at his side, while the Jade Lock and Fire Jade were behind his back.

”Manor Master of Hidden Treasure Manor, come see me at once!”

Bai Zichen flew high into the air and shouted, his voice rolling like thunder throughout Celestial Phenomenon Valley.

A moment later, two figures flew over and performed a deep, formal bow.

”Luo Ting and Qiao Daomao of Hidden Treasure Manor pay our respects to Master Bai... We were unaware of your esteemed arrival, Master. Please forgive us for our poor reception.”

Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads. The Core Formation Cultivator who had broken through their Array and entered Celestial Phenomenon Valley was indeed Master Bai of the Qingfeng Sect.

Any lingering hope they had was shattered; they had no choice but to face him. There was no escape.

”I ask you, when Hidden Treasure Manor first arrived in Celestial Phenomenon Valley, was there anything unusual about this specific place?”

”Not to our knowledge. We only incorporated this area into the Grand Array’s range thirty years ago, since it’s technically a corner of Celestial Phenomenon Valley... But because of the path of the Spirit Vein, the Spiritual Qi here is thin, so no disciples ever come this way.”

Luo Ting didn’t dare to speculate on why Master Bai was here, or why he was asking such a question.

He just wracked his brain to tell the man everything he knew, hoping it would be enough to send this powerful figure on his way as soon as possible.

”Fetch the best coffin you have and bring it here. Be quick!”

Bai Zichen knew he wouldn’t get any more information out of them, so he lost interest in further questioning.

Master Qingfeng had passed away here nearly a thousand years ago, whereas Hidden Treasure Manor had been founded less than three hundred years ago.

With such a large gap in time, even if there had been something to discover, they wouldn’t have been the ones to find it.

However, he couldn’t just let Hidden Treasure Manor off the hook. Cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall would be sent to investigate later.

”Yes, we have a five-hundred-year-old paulownia wood coffin in the manor. I’ll go fetch it at once.”

Qiao Daomao nodded profusely, then immediately flew back, retrieved the coffin he had prepared for himself, and carried it back to Master Bai.

”This will do.”

Bai Zichen nodded and carefully placed all of Master Qingfeng’s remains inside.

”This area is now forbidden ground. No one is to enter or leave... Disciples from my Sect will be here shortly to take control!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Zichen’s Sword Light enveloped the paulownia coffin and Tie Changsheng, and they flew out of Celestial Phenomenon Valley.

Long after Bai Zichen’s presence had faded and the moonlight was gone, Qiao Daomao spoke as if waking from a dream. ”To think a skeleton was hidden in the back mountains of Celestial Phenomenon Valley. Judging by Master Bai’s reaction, it must be incredibly important. I wonder what secrets it holds?”

”I’d advise you not to be too curious, Senior Brother Qiao. That’s not something people like us should be involved in, lest we bring disaster upon ourselves... We need to immediately dispatch reliable disciples to guard this place and prevent anyone from entering. If Master Bai finds fault with us later, I’m afraid we won’t even get the chance to split off and form our own branch.”

Luo Ting said with a sarcastic edge. With this interruption, the negotiations they were just having were clearly off the table.

”Hmph, I don’t need you to remind me.”

Qiao Daomao flicked his sleeve, shot one last, fearful glance toward the back mountain, and immediately flew away, not wanting to linger a moment longer.

...

「Ten Thousand Miles Icefield, within the Ice Soul Palace.」

Although the Ice Soul Palace was a Sect in Liang Country, it had always been reclusive. Protected by natural barriers, very few outside Cultivators ever entered its domain.

As a result, it had a very low profile in the Cultivation Realm and was often overlooked when discussing the major powers.

In reality, few knew that the Ice Soul Palace was one of the very first Sects to arrive in the Northern Domain, and its founder, the Ice Soul Fairy, was a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Although the Ice Soul Palace had not produced another Nascent Soul Cultivator since its founding...

...the fact that a small Tier Four Spirit Land was hidden in the depths of the Ten Thousand Miles Icefield remained unknown to the outside world. This allowed them to escape the era when the Holy Lotus Sect was on a rampage, conquering mountains and destroying Sects.

Several years ago, the Ice Soul Palace had activated its highest level of Defense Restrictions.

The Grand Array was fully active, and the defensive screen formed by countless beams of Ice Soul Divine Light left no place for any Invisibility Technique to hide, making it impossible for any Cultivator to sneak into the Ice Soul Palace.

All disciples were forbidden from entering or leaving, and even the triennial recruitment of Immortal Seedlings was suspended.

After all, the icefield was sparsely populated, with only a few scattered tribes.

Even though they possessed special bloodlines and a much higher proportion of people with Spiritual Roots than the outside world, every single Immortal Seedling was still crucial.

Failing to recruit enough Immortal Seedlings for several consecutive cycles would threaten the very foundation of the Ice Soul Palace.

It had even forced Foundation Establishment Cultivators to leave the icefield in the past, searching for Mortals with Spiritual Roots in outlying towns to bring back to the palace.

Yet, this crucial event was suspended without a second thought, all because the Venerable Master of the Ice Soul Palace, Master Suihan, was in the process of Shattering his Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul.

The Ice Soul Palace’s two remaining Core Formation True Men stood guard outside the Tier Four Spirit Land, personally acting as his Dharma Protectors, their faces filled with anticipation.

In the ten-thousand-year history of the Ice Soul Palace, Master Suihan was the one with the greatest chance of successfully reaching the Nascent Soul realm.

If he succeeded, it would prove that the path walked by generations of Ice Soul Palace Cultivators was correct—that it could truly lead to the great Nascent Soul Path.

Furthermore, with a Nascent Soul True Monarch of their own, the Ice Soul Palace would no longer be confined to this one place. They could finally venture out from the icefield and compete with the Holy Lotus Sect for resources.

If they hadn’t needed to avoid the Holy Lotus Sect’s might and preserve their foundation, the Ice Soul Palace would never have abandoned all of its territory outside the icefield and retreated so completely.

If they could seize half of Liang Country for themselves, the future cultivation paths for these two Core Formation True Men would naturally become much wider.

’I wonder what the old bastard’s chances are, but it looks like he’s somewhat confident...’

Fairy Lianyu stood weakly beside an ice pillar, her expression complex. Feeble and powerless, she exuded an aura that inspired pity.

She had shattered the Joyful Union Bell within her Sea of Consciousness, summoning the Six Desires Sacred Sound to help Master Suihan experience Primordial Spirit Power ahead of time.

The act had caused her own Cultivation to plummet to the Early-Stage Core Formation. Her very foundation had nearly been damaged, and she could now barely even maintain her Core Formation Realm.

It was impossible not to hate Master Suihan for this, but she also knew that if the old bastard succeeded in his breakthrough and fulfilled his promise, she would have a chance to walk her own Great Dao path.

For a moment, her feelings were a tangled mess. She didn’t know whether she should hope for Master Suihan’s success or his failure.

”It’s been months since Senior Brother officially began his breakthrough. I wonder what stage he’s reached?”

”No change means he hasn’t failed yet... Senior Brother has been preparing for many years. He definitely has a chance!”

The two Core Formation True Men from the Ice Soul Palace were incredibly tense. When it came to Shattering the Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul, not even the most peerlessly talented Cultivator could claim absolute certainty.

No matter how much one accumulated or prepared, success ultimately depended on the will of the heavens.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so difficult for those Nascent Soul Major Sects—or even the Super Sects that had once produced Divinity Transformation Great Powers—to birth another Nascent Soul True Monarch.

”It’s here! The tribulation of the Outer Demons!”

One of the Core Formation True Men’s expressions turned grave, as if he had just witnessed something utterly terrifying.