Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 558: Chapter 515: Mid-Stage Nascent Soul

’Awakening from a great dream, I’ve lost track of the years...’

It wasn’t the true River of Time, after all. Once the power contained within the Spring and Autumn Cicada Exuviae was depleted, Bai Zichen staggered out.

He returned to his physical body, achieving Unity of Spirit and Body.

His entire being felt uncoordinated. He had been away from his body for so long that his limbs felt alien as he moved them.

He paced several times around the Tower Temple and circulated his True Essence for a full Circulation before he finally felt normal again.

To his pleasant surprise, he discovered his body hadn’t been idle while he was in the River of Time. It had actually reached the peak of the Early-Stage Nascent Soul realm.

’So thirty years have passed... Excellent. I’ll break through to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul as soon as I can.’

A mere thought was all it took for Bai Zichen to discern how much time had passed.

For him, there was no need to prepare additional Realm-Breaking Elixirs or build up power for the breakthrough. His cultivation had reached a point where it was simply a matter of course.

Beyond the changes in his Cultivation, the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword had also completed its Hidden Sword phase and was poised to strike.

The ’Time Ring Body’ before Nascent Soul Xiaobai was just one segment short of Perfection. Once complete, he could burn it to borrow power and unleash a second Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

’I have to burn a hundred years of my own lifespan before I even injure the enemy. That’s ten percent of my life gone... all to kill someone who has less than ten percent of their own lifespan remaining. This isn’t a very good trade-off.’

The progress in his Cultivation was merely a side benefit.

The greatest benefit from the Four-Winged Spring and Autumn Cicada Exuviae was his advancement along the Time Path.

But the Great Dao was lofty and profound; its effects weren’t immediately apparent.

As the only Time Divine Power he had mastered, the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword naturally became the best indicator, reflecting the depth of his comprehension of Time True Intent.

Compared to other Nascent Soul True Monarchs, Bai Zichen had no advantage when it came to lifespan.

Besides, given his talent, a hundred years of his life were surely more valuable.

’For a Nascent Soul of the Fish Dragon Sect, the complete Qing Emperor Longevity Sword is a Heaven-Defying trump card, allowing the weak to overcome the strong regardless of cultivation gaps. But for me, it’s still not impressive enough...’

Bai Zichen exhaled slowly. A sharp stream of Sword Qi shot from his mouth, blasting the tea table before him to smithereens.

Only now did he have true command over his body, with no trace of weakness remaining.

Even against an extremely formidable Transformed Great Demon, this self-immolating sword strike might shave off several hundred years of its lifespan, but the trade-off still wouldn’t be worth it.

In a hundred years, Bai Zichen’s Cultivation could advance another step, allowing him to easily defeat such an opponent anyway.

It could only be used in desperate situations, as a last-resort trump card to turn the tables.

Regular use was definitely out of the question.

He wasn’t some Human-Shaped Wild Beast with a lifespan of tens of thousands of years, able to brazenly trade life for life and wear his opponent down to death.

’No, there’s still something I’ve overlooked... something I haven’t realized yet...’

Just as he was about to step out of the Tower Temple, Bai Zichen stopped abruptly. While in the River of Time, he had practiced the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword as if it were common Swordsmanship, unleashing it tens of thousands of times.

Besides mastering every step of this Supreme Divine Power until it became second nature, allowing him to execute it effortlessly in any situation, he had also gained a faint glimmer of insight into the essence of this Time Divine Power.

There were other benefits that would likely only manifest in true combat, things he couldn’t perceive in his daily routine.

However, it was this very insight into the essence of the Time Divine Power that allowed him, after a moment’s pause, to perceive a subtle, indescribable difference in his Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

’The time spent on Hidden Sword is the same, and the might of the strike hasn’t changed... It’s the depth of the True Intent!’

Bai Zichen’s eyes grew profound, like bottomless lakes, with countless figures of light and shadow flashing through them like a slideshow.

’If the Time True Intent I could wield before had a strength of one, it now has a strength of at least three. Not even a Great True Monarch could hope to resist my Power of Time with their own True Intent anymore. Only a Divinity Transformation Great Power could manage it!’

Back at the foot of White Python Mountain, Xiang Banshan had used his Earth Power True Intent to nullify twenty to thirty percent of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword’s effect.

But times had changed. A Great Dao True Intent of that level was now utterly insignificant before his evolved Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

’If I say I’ll slash away two hundred years of your life, it’ll be exactly two hundred years, no discounts.’

’Even if I strike a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, it would probably still have an effect of several decades. It’s no longer completely useless against a Divinity Transformation existence.’

Bai Zichen pushed open the doors of the Tower Temple, his mind still mulling over how to best utilize his all-new Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

He just didn’t know if this change was an inherent feature of the complete Qing Emperor Longevity Sword or an extra effect brought about by the influence of the Four-Winged Spring and Autumn Cicada.

...

In the Divine Statue Hall, Bai Zichen glanced at the Memory Stone as usual, checking for new messages.

He was surprised to find a lot of new content. The other Star Lords had held a meeting last month.

’So many major events happened in the Cultivation Realm while I was wandering the River of Time... Their enemies are at their doorstep, yet they still hold back. Just how poor is the condition of these Divinity Transformation Cultivators?’

Thanks to the Po Jun Star Monarch’s excellent habit of summarizing, Bai Zichen was able to get the gist of their discussion even though he hadn’t attended the meeting.

’But why don’t the two Divinity Transformation cultivators from the Moral Sect have to worry about the backlash from the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi or the loss of their lifespan? And then there’s the Black Sea Elder Dragon, who’s practically an existence from a bygone era. According to Ao Zhe’s memories, that Ancestor of the Ao Family hasn’t left the Ten Thousand Feet Water Eye in several thousand years.’

The Yellow Court Peak Master was a mysterious unknown, but the Celestial Punishment Peak Master had been famous throughout the Central Domain for ages. His breakthrough to Divinity Transformation over a thousand years ago had been a major event in the Cultivation Realm.

Judging by the timeline, the Celestial Punishment Peak Master was likely older.

’So, does that mean the stronger Celestial Punishment Peak Master is tasked with monitoring the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox in the Qingqiu Death Sea, while the younger Yellow Court Peak Master fought that great battle with the Black Sea Elder Dragon?’