Born with immortal seed

Chapter 257 One Sword Shakes Five Provinces
"I have decided to sink into the ancient coffin tomorrow and transform myself into the True Demon of White Bones..."

The White Bone Immortal slowly rose and took two steps toward the coffin, his entire body creaking with the sound of bones colliding.

"Senior brother, why go to such lengths?"

The old woman's claw-like hands trembled, as if she had heard something extremely terrifying.

The founder of the Ghost Spirit Sect was a down-on-his-luck scholar who, after failing the imperial examinations, wandered the mountains and forests and accidentally opened this ancient coffin, where he obtained the inheritance of demonic arts and established the sect.

At first, the Ghost Spirit Sect was just an unknown Foundation Establishment level small sect. It wasn't until a thousand years later that a Foundation Establishment perfected disciple discovered that the Netherworld Soil on the ancient coffin lid had peeled off, revealing a strange cultivation technique. He lay in the coffin and cultivated, and surprisingly, he successfully formed his Core.

From then on, the Ghost Spirit Sect embarked on a path of rapid development.

As long as the ancient coffin is reserved for the most outstanding disciple, it can be guaranteed that a Core Formation True Person will appear in every generation.

But soon, the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators discovered the strangeness of the coffin.

Any cultivator who forms their core through an ancient coffin will, at most, have their consciousness become rigid within a hundred years, becoming like a walking corpse, devoid of their own awareness.

When a person's lifespan is nearing its end and they are about to pass away, they will return to the coffin on their own, let out a mournful cry, and remove their bones one by one and put them into the ancient coffin.

Only at that moment was the cultivator able to regain his senses for a brief instant and let out a roar filled with resentment and unwillingness.

Immediately, their souls were absorbed by the ancient coffin and ceased to exist.

This eerie situation caused the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators to keep their distance from coffins.

Reaching the Core Formation realm is good, but it only grants a hundred years of blissful life. After that, one becomes an uncontrollable walking corpse, and after death, one's bones and even one's soul must be returned to the ancient coffin.

Those qualified to step into the ancient coffin are all cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage and are on the verge of Core Formation. Unless absolutely necessary, no one would take this path.

Later generations of the Ghost Spirit Sect changed their approach to using the ancient coffin, only practicing the demonic arts engraved on it, instead of lying directly inside it.

Over the generations, they actually developed new methods to extract the nether energy from ancient coffins and increase the probability of forming a core.

While it's impossible to achieve a 100% success rate in forming a core by simply lying down, it can increase the chances by about 20%, which is twice the effect of the Pure Spirit Jade Marrow.

However, the ancient coffin's aura is only effective against cultivators who have practiced certain demonic arts of the Ghost Spirit Sect. It is not only useless but also extremely harmful to others.

It is precisely because of the wisp of Netherworld Qi extracted every thirty years that the Ghost Spirit Sect has a much easier time producing Core Formation True Persons than other sects.

"A hundred years ago, my biggest mistake was not making the firm decision to destroy the Qingfeng Sect before Ge Cang grew up... Even now, if one or two more disciples of our sect were to reach the Core Formation stage, it would be difficult to reverse the situation. We have no choice but to take a risk."

The eerie fire in the eyes of the Bone Immortal sank, and the sound squeezed out from the bone fragments revealed no emotion.

After thousands of years of research, the Ghost Spirit Sect has gained a much deeper understanding of the ancient coffin and has made some guesses about its origin, with a high probability that it is the legendary underworld coffin.

These underworld coffins were common in ancient and medieval times, and were used to bury important figures and immortals who had been banished from the mortal realm.

After causing a huge uproar in the cultivation world, they quickly disappeared.

A cultivator who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage can directly advance to the Core Formation stage using the Netherworld Coffin, while a Core Formation cultivator has a high chance of directly sublimating their demonic cultivation through the Netherworld Qi within the coffin.

For example, the White Bone True Man can transform himself into the White Bone True Demon Body, directly ascending to the late stage of Core Formation or even the Perfect Core Formation, possessing all sorts of incredible supernatural powers.

Paying the price, at most one hundred years of sobriety.

After that, they would become living dead, living in a daze, until their lifespan was exhausted and their body and soul returned to the ancient coffin.

However, the changes that occurred when a Core Formation cultivator lay in an ancient coffin are mostly speculations, and there are no successful cases yet.

They had all become venerable sect elders who lived for five hundred years and held high positions; which one of them would be willing to personally venture into dangerous territory?

Throughout the entire history of the Ghost Spirit Sect, only one Core Formation cultivator ever climbed into the ancient coffin, wanting to gamble with his remaining lifespan.

Not long after lying in the ancient coffin, he began to wail and scream incessantly, shouting for his fellow disciples to kill him.

The sound lasted for a full 181 days. When the sound stopped and the ancient coffin was opened again, there were no corpses inside, only a handful of fresh earth.

The fact that it could cause a Core Formation cultivator to lose self-control and suffer so much pain that he even wanted to end his life, makes the horror hidden in the ancient coffin chilling.

Over time, the idea of ​​a Core Formation cultivator entering an ancient coffin became a taboo within the Ghost Spirit Sect.

The White Bone Immortal must have considered this decision, which was a matter of life and death, for a long time.

He Daoren's physical injury merely spurred him to make up his mind.

“My mind is made up. I will open the ancient coffin in three days… I will seal the underground palace and bring that ten-thousand-year-old Yin Jade with me. It should help me keep my mind clear during the impact of the Netherworld energy.”

As a seasoned demonic cultivator, Master Baigu is decisive and ruthless, cruel to others and cruel to himself.

Once a decision is made, there will be no wavering.

"You may leave now. During my seclusion, you shall restrict the activities of your disciples and guard the mountain gate's array. I have discussed with Fairy Lianyu that the Hehuan Sect will send someone to Hejian County to establish a branch. You shall hand over that medium-sized spirit stone mine to the Hehuan Sect later."

The old hag and the peach blossom fairy bowed in agreement and withdrew from the underground palace.

Three days later, the two escorted the White Bone Immortal into the ancient coffin. Watching the heavy coffin lid click shut, their hearts were heavy.

"Senior sister, do you think senior brother will succeed?"

The Peach Blossom Fairy's eyes were captivating, her charm natural, and even her sighs and lamentations possessed a pitiful allure.

"It's hard to fathom the will of Heaven... Since you've made your decision, Senior Brother must have some confidence in it."

The old woman's face was gloomy. As she emerged from the underground palace, a dark light swirled and landed in the hands of the Peach Blossom Fairy.

The Peach Blossom Fairy plucked the black light, which transformed into a ghostly crow that perched on her arm and cawed.

"what!"

Hearing these birdsongs, the Peach Blossom Fairy paled in shock.

"Senior Brother He didn't die at Ge Cang's hands, but was killed by that newly promoted Core Formation cultivator named Bai Zichen with a single sword strike..."

"How is that possible! Bai Zichen has only been in the Core Formation stage for a short time. Even Ge Cang needs decades to convert his talent into combat power... We all know Senior Brother He's strength. He is not weak among mid-Core Formation cultivators."

Granny Gui immediately suspected it was fake information, possibly leaked by the Qingfeng Sect to undermine the Ghost Spirit Sect's confidence and create a new image of an unparalleled genius.

"It's true. It happened on the crucial day of the Qingfeng Sect's pioneering war. Bai Zichen killed Senior Brother He with a single sword strike in front of ten thousand people. Several sources have confirmed this..."

Peach Blossom Fairy's voice trembled. She vaguely remembered meeting Bai Zichen before and then encountering such a jinx.

That day in Qingniu Valley, there were thousands of Qingfeng Sect disciples, as well as a large number of family cultivators and independent cultivators. Even if they tried to hide, they couldn't stay hidden for long.

Besides, Qingfeng Sect was too busy publicizing it to stop the news from spreading.

The Ghost Spirit Sect found it easy to gather information; they could easily reconstruct the events of that day by simply finding a few rogue cultivators who had participated in the pioneering war.

The same answer was given by several independent cultivators, with the only difference being the details of how Bai Zichen killed He Daoren with a few sword strikes.

"It's all over Black Mountain. Bai Zichen has been praised by the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Heavenly River Sword Sect as a peerless genius who appears once every ten thousand years. A fourth-order flying sword has taken the initiative to recognize him as its master... His strength cannot be regarded as that of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator. He might actually be able to kill Senior Brother He with one sword."

The Peach Blossom Fairy didn't even have a third-tier flying sword, so she could only speculate about the power of a fourth-tier flying sword.

However, she had witnessed the power of a low-grade spiritual treasure in the hands of the Blood God True Man, which was already earth-shattering and overwhelming.

A fourth-tier flying sword is equivalent to a top-grade spiritual treasure, and it may indeed possess incredible power, allowing a cultivator who has just formed his core to rival a powerhouse in the late stage of core formation.

"Fortunately, Senior Brother White Bone is already in seclusion, otherwise I'm really afraid that his mind would be unsettled, and the success rate of the transformation would be even lower..."

The old woman, her body hunched over, walked towards her cave, her back view filled with a sense of twilight.

Mount Ten Thousand Beasts, Palace of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Black Wind Master dismissed several Foundation Establishment cultivators, grabbed a scroll in his hand, and rushed through the passageway, casting dozens of complex hand seals. At the same time, a jade pendant at his waist emitted spiritual light.

A vortex appeared in mid-air, and he flashed into it, causing the vortex to immediately close without leaving a trace.

The place is damp and dark, with stalactites standing tall and the sound of dripping water echoing around.

Black Wind Immortal did not fly through the air; no matter how anxious he was, he simply walked quickly, carefully avoiding each stalactite.

This is one of the most important opportunities for the rise of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect: the Secret Realm of Core Formation Spiritual Objects.

When that senior cultivator discovered the secret realm and obtained the inheritance, he reset the entrance to the secret realm in the deepest part of the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts.

As the most important place in the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, only a handful of Core Formation cultivators have the authority to enter and exit.

Even the two junior brothers who had just formed their core had not yet been granted access.

"With the addition of the Ten-Thousand-Year Void Stone and the Fourth-Order Breath Soil, the secret realm is indeed much more secure than before..."

After traveling several miles, the destination finally came into view of Black Wind Master.

Fang Tiansheng, who was missing an arm and a leg, was soaked in a pool of spiritual liquid to maintain the integrity of his physical body and prevent it from continuing to decay.

Beside him stood a pale-faced young man, elegant and refined, tending to the wounds. A small-headed, protruding-chested bird perched on his shoulder, preening its feathers.

This bird is very unusual; it sometimes disappears into the air.

A moment later, it reappeared on the boy's shoulder.

There was no trace of demonic energy fluctuation; it was as if it were an instinct, activated naturally.

Black Wind Master dared not disturb the two. After waiting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the pale-green youth withdrew his hand from Fang Tiansheng's body, and white smoke rose up before he stepped forward.

Fang Tiansheng's injuries were unusual; otherwise, with the powerful life force he borrowed from his natal spirit beast, he would have been able to regenerate his limbs and grow flesh from his bones long ago.

Why is it like today, where one must find a fourth-tier short limb regeneration elixir to recover, and usually needs to soak in spiritual liquid and have the help of fellow disciples to keep the body from deteriorating further?

"Black Wind, what brings you here?"

The pale-faced youth glanced at him, causing Black Wind Master to shrink back slightly. He said, "Senior Brother Feng, I've come to check on Senior Brother Fang's injuries... and also to report some news. Daoist He of the Ghost Spirit Sect has been killed by a single sword strike, his soul and spirit annihilated!"

(End of this chapter)