The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 329: Chapter 302: Three Infant-Breaking Gates

In the southwest of the Tide Sound Plain lay a forgotten mining area.

Abandoned mine shafts extended in all directions like a spiderweb. The thick pine support beams had long since rotted, and broken crossbeams were embedded crookedly in the rock walls, their cracks filled with grayish-white dust.

This was once one of the largest mining areas on the Tide Sound Plain.

Later, however, geothermal fire seeped through the ground, causing the temperature inside the tunnels to remain perpetually high. The ore’s structure became brittle and fragile, turning mining into a deadly trade.

After several accidents resulted in considerable casualties, the mine’s owner had no choice but to seal it off and pay a hefty sum to hire the Dwarves from the Heart of the Mountains to survey the area.

But the news they brought back was even worse.

There was a vein of fire beneath the mining area, and the entire rock stratum was already in a semi-molten state, making it impossible to mine any further.

Left with no other option, the owner abandoned the vein.

The environment was so harsh that even smugglers and fugitives couldn’t be bothered to set foot here.

Over time, the mining area was completely forgotten.

Until recently, when an uninvited guest shattered the silence.

Deep within a mine cavern, a dark red elemental resonance tower stood in the center of the rock stratum.

The Runes on the tower’s surface flowed slowly like molten lava, channeling a steady stream of energy toward a rift in the cavern’s ceiling.

The aura of the Elemental Origin Plane of Fire seeped out from the rift. It was intense and impure, carrying a primal ferocity that threatened to incinerate all creation and caused the surrounding air to shimmer and distort from the heat.

The rock walls around the tower’s base had been baked to a glowing red, like fired pottery, and were scalding to the touch.

The entire cavern was like a scorching natural furnace.

Anton sat cross-legged beneath the rift, his body enveloped in a translucent, crimson glow.

Under the guidance of his Divine Sense, the Elemental Power of Fire escaping from the rift formed into wisps of red-hot silk. They slowly wound around his body, serving as a bridge for him to comprehend the Fire Element Law.

After an unknown amount of time, Anton finally emerged from his meditative state and slowly opened his eyes.

He let out a long, scorching breath, a flicker of joy passing through his eyes.

’I’ve finally integrated the Fire Element Law into the True Seal embryo.’

After integrating the Wood and Water Element Laws, Anton had begun paving the way for the Fire Element Law.

First, he had scouted locations across the continent suitable for opening a Fire Elemental Origin Plane Rift. He then conducted on-site surveys, measured the energy of the earth’s veins, and built an elemental resonance tower and two Arrays.

After nearly a year of work, he finally succeeded in opening the Fire Elemental Origin Plane Rift deep within this abandoned mining area.

During that time, he even managed to integrate the Metal Element Law into the True Seal embryo before the Fire Element Law.

With that, all Five Elements Laws were integrated.

The True Seal embryo was now complete.

’Next is to activate the True Seal.’

Anton murmured to himself and closed his eyes once more.

His Divine Sense sank into his Golden Core. Within the seal pool, the True Seal embryo, which had condensed the law-textures of Earth, Wood, Water, Fire, and Metal, floated quietly. Five-colored halos intertwined around it, resembling a flower bud about to bloom.

He mobilized his Magical Power, which surged like a tide toward the seal pool, enveloping the embryo layer by layer.

The Magical Power gently seeped into every law-texture, like spring rain soaking a dry riverbed, making the patterns clearer and their luster smoother.

In the next moment, the Magical Power tightened abruptly, transforming into dense, powerful currents that washed over the True Seal embryo from all directions, cleansing away the last imperceptible impurities and loose points.

The law imprints that had once merely floated on the surface were now being pressed deep into the embryo’s core, fusing with the True Seal’s foundation. It was like an anvil that, after a thousand hammer blows, had finally settled, never to loosen again.

Finally, Anton condensed his Divine Sense into a single thread and pierced the core of the True Seal embryo with the precision of a needle’s point.

BUMP.

A soft sound, exceptionally clear to his Divine Sense.

It was as if something had been ignited in the core of the True Seal embryo.

The intricate, web-like law-textures lit up at the same instant. Five-colored light surged from deep within the patterns, like a slumbering river awakening from a long hibernation, rushing and flowing along every channel.

In a flash, the True Seal erupted with brilliant light.

Anton felt the Magical Power in his body surge dramatically, like a flood released from a dam, roaring and surging endlessly through his meridians.

His entire body was repeatedly washed and saturated by this nascent power, and even the depths of his bones felt a warm, fulfilling sense of fullness.

It was a metamorphosis, from the inside out.

The True Seal embryo had now transformed into a true Magical Power True Seal.

The five-colored radiance converged within the seal, becoming as substantial as a mountain—heavy, yet not without a touch of agility.

The Five Elements Laws were no longer just textures attached to the True Seal’s surface; they were truly one with it, like tree roots gripping the earth, inseparable.

From this point on, his control over the Five Elements Laws no longer required conscious effort; it was as natural as breathing.

Anton retracted his aura and opened his eyes again, a five-colored light swirling within them.

His Magical Power was more abundant than ever before, each circulation deeper and more stable than the last.

’My Magical Power is at least three times greater than before.’

A smile touched the corners of Anton’s lips.

Moreover, his mastery of the Laws was far beyond what it had been.

He even had a distinct feeling.

If he wished, the power of his Five Elements Divine Techniques would increase by at least thirty to forty percent when he used them now.

At his level, any increase in the power of a Divine Technique was exceptionally rare.

At this stage, a mere accumulation of Magical Power could no longer bring about a qualitative leap.

What truly determined one’s strength was the depth of their understanding and the precision of their application of the Laws.

His current state was like clearing a river channel that had been clogged for years; the flow of the Laws was now smooth and completely unimpeded.

His strength had clearly taken another significant leap forward.

’The Golden Core Third Stage is complete. Next is to nurture the Nascent Soul.’

After a moment of joy, Anton quickly focused his mind and began to contemplate his next steps.

Beyond the Golden Core Third Stage lies the Nascent Soul.

The essence of a Nascent Soul could be described as a Cultivator’s ”second life.”

During the Golden Core Stage, a Cultivator condenses all their essence, qi, and spirit into an Immortal Pill Fruit, using it as a foundation to command the Heaven and Earth Law.

In the Nascent Soul Stage, this Pill Fruit ”hatches,” transforming into a primordial spirit intrinsically linked to the Cultivator’s life.

A Nascent Soul is another form of a Cultivator’s life essence.

If the physical body is destroyed but the Nascent Soul remains, one can seize another body to be reborn, reconstruct a physical form, or continue cultivating directly in the form of a Nascent Soul.

As long as the Nascent Soul is not destroyed, the Cultivator cannot truly die.

It could be said that one of the greatest advantages a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator has over a Golden Core Stage Cultivator is an extra ”life.”

But to nurture a Nascent Soul, one must pass through three gates.

Pill Maturity, Cognition Breaking, and Celestial Tribulation.

The Cultivation Realm refers to these three as the Three Infant-Breaking Gates.

The first is the ’Pill Maturity’ gate.

Pill Maturity means the Golden Core has reached absolute perfection, with no room for further advancement.

This gate tests one’s accumulation of Magical Power and comprehension of the Laws.

A Golden Core Cultivator must channel Magical Power to further promote the fusion of the Magical Power True Seal and the Golden Core.

This process is known as ”Fetal Breathing.”

The Golden Core must undergo Nine Times of Fetal Breathing to mature.

With each Fetal Breathing, the Golden Core experiences a ’breath,’ from the inside out.

It absorbs Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, refines the Pill Body, expels impurities, and integrates the Golden Core and the Magical Power True Seal more tightly.

After Nine Times of Fetal Breathing, nine hairline cracks will appear on the Golden Core’s surface. This is the sign of ”Pill Maturity.”

Nine is the ultimate number.

Nine Times of Fetal Breathing signifies that the Golden Core has reached the apex of its stage.

After that comes the second gate: ’Cognition Breaking’.

Cognition Breaking means to see through illusion and realize one’s true self.

This gate is a continuation of the Golden Core Stage’s ”Heart Demon tribulation,” but it is far more dangerous.

The Golden Core Stage’s ”Heart Demon Tribulation” is an external-to-internal trial.

The Heart Demon arises from the Solidifying Pill process, and its purpose is to temper the Dao heart.

The Nascent Soul Stage’s ”Cognition Breaking Barrier,” however, is an internal-to-external sublimation.

A Cultivator must voluntarily sink into the deepest part of their consciousness and face their truest, most unadorned self.

Just as the name of this gate implies, the Cultivator must see through the self, see through others, see through all living beings, and see through the concept of lifespan.

In the Cognition Breaking Barrier, a Cultivator will experience countless cyclical Illusion Realms.

Each lifetime presents a different identity, fate, and experience.

The Cultivator must maintain their original intention in every life, not be deluded by the Illusion Realms, and not be trapped by desire.

This is not just about recognizing oneself, but transcending oneself.

The danger of the Cognition Breaking Barrier lies in the fact that if a Cultivator gets lost in the Illusion Realm, their Divine Sense will be trapped there forever, never to awaken.

At that point, though the physical body remains, the soul has dispersed, leaving behind only a walking corpse.

Throughout history, most Golden Core Cultivators who attempted to nurture a Nascent Soul have fallen at this gate.

If a Cultivator can pass the Cognition Breaking Barrier, they will face the final gate: ’Celestial Tribulation’.

Celestial Tribulation: The heavens and earth will not tolerate it and send down a tribulation to stop it.

The breakthrough from Golden Core to Nascent Soul is a critical step for a Cultivator, moving from ”borrowing” the Heaven and Earth Law to ”integrating” with it.

This step touches upon the deepest taboo between heaven and earth.

Heaven and earth have their constants; the birth and death of all things are preordained.

But a Nascent Soul Cultivator possesses the quality of ”the physical body may perish, but the primordial spirit is indestructible.”

In the eyes of heaven and earth, this is a transgression against the Life and Death Law and a challenge to the natural order. Thus, a Celestial Tribulation is sent down to prevent it.

The Nascent Soul Celestial Tribulation is also known as the ”Thunder and Fire Tribulation.”

The Thunder and Fire Tribulation consists of eighty-one strikes, each stronger than the last.

The first twenty-seven strikes temper the physical body.

The middle twenty-seven forge the Golden Core.

The final twenty-seven act on both the physical body and the Golden Core simultaneously, fusing them into one and paving the way for the birth of the Nascent Soul.

After passing the Celestial Tribulation, a Cultivator can undergo a metamorphosis from the inside out, nurturing a Nascent Soul within the Golden Core.

Upon a successful breakthrough, one becomes a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

The path of advancement through the Three Infant-Breaking Gates is perfectly clear, leaving no room for uncertainty.

The real difficulty lies within the gates themselves.

Anton went over the Three Infant-Breaking Gates one by one in his mind, a contemplative look on his face.

Of the Three Infant-Breaking Gates, Pill Maturity was the least difficult.

It was simply a matter of time and persistent effort.

As long as one had enough time and resources, reaching that stage was inevitable.

But as for the remaining two gates...

The Cognition Breaking Barrier required opportunity and mental fortitude; it could not be overcome with brute force.

As for the Celestial Tribulation, once the Thunder and Fire Tribulation descended, there was no retreat and no tricking one’s way through it.

Each bolt of lightning carried the crushing will of heaven and earth. Their power was absolute, and the slightest misstep would result in the complete obliteration of both body and soul.

To pass through it safely, relying on oneself alone was far from enough. One had to set up arrays, prepare artifacts, and choose the location in advance, maximizing all external assistance to have even a sliver of confidence.

’I need to plan this out carefully...’

Anton pulled his thoughts back and prepared to return to the Taichu Spirit Realm.

He hadn’t been back in over two years. ’I wonder if anything has happened in the Taichu Spirit Realm?’

However, Eleanor hadn’t contacted him with a Sound Transmission Talisman, so he assumed nothing serious had occurred.

Just then, Anton’s expression suddenly changed, and he looked up to the north.

His Divine Sense caught a fluctuation of Spiritual Qi from a great distance.

Was that... the Thousand Mechanism Feather?