Born with immortal seed

Chapter 364 A Sea of ​​Blood Rises
"The Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals is still ten years away. Five years from now, I'll go watch Senior Tang Fei's sword duel first, and then take a trip to the Boundless Sea of ​​Bitterness... When I come back, I'll be there just in time for this auction."

Bai Zichen calculated the time, and this arrangement was just right.

Five years later, the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword had been hidden away, and he had something to rely on when he encountered a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Several years is too short to make a trip to the Central Region; we didn't even have time to properly explore before we had to rush back.

In comparison, he had a map of the Thirty-Six Demon Caves of the Bitter Sea, making it a more suitable place to go.

"These demonic cultivators in the Bitter Sea are all wicked and can't survive in the cultivation world. They even escaped into the Bitter Sea because the demonic sects couldn't protect them... We'll sweep through the demonic caves to hone our swordsmanship and see if we can accumulate some capital to participate in the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals."

I have never heard of any Nascent Soul demon cultivators appearing in the Thirty-Six Demon Caves.

Given a choice, no one wants to live in an endless sea of ​​suffering.

Inside the demon's lair, darkness reigned and spiritual energy was scarce. One had to endure the yin energy entering the body, a pain akin to having one's bones scraped off with a knife.

Outside the Demon Cave, there are fierce winds unique to the Sea of ​​Bitterness for ten out of the twelve months of the year; once you encounter them, you will be shattered to pieces.

The formation of the Thirty-Six Demon Caves was not due to any demonic cultivators forming thirty-six factions, but rather because only the Demon Caves in the Bitter Sea could withstand the fierce winds and were suitable for long-term survival.

Many demonic cultivators used the demonic cave as their residence center and gradually formed their own organization.

Even without a Nascent Soul True Monarch, Bai Zichen was not afraid of any number of Core Formation True Immortals using sheer numbers.

Even if there are many Core Formation True Immortals from the Central Region Demon Sect inside, so what? Can they withstand a single sword strike from him?

I'm worried that these demonic cultivators are all poor and won't be able to contribute many treasures. On the contrary, they need high-grade spirit stones to recover their true essence while they are in the sea of ​​suffering.

Don't end up losing spirit stones when you do the math at the end.

Whether it's a third-tier flying sword or a tribulation-crossing treasure, the auction price won't be cheap.

These items have always been popular at the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals, attracting a large number of Core Formation cultivators to bid for them.

After Bai Zichen became a Core Formation Ancestor, he used sect contribution points for almost all his expenses and hadn't used spirit stones for a long time.

But when you go back to Zengguang Immortal City, they won't recognize your sect's contribution points; they'll still use spirit stones.

He had two top-grade spirit stones. One was placed in the Dutian Blazing Fire Formation as the core of the formation to absorb the earth fire on the Flaming Mountain, and the other top-grade gold spirit stone lay quietly in his storage bag.

There are also more than 130 other high-grade spirit stones.

If you want to keep the top-grade spirit stones unused, you might not have enough funds.

It would be best to prepare more spirit stones in advance, just in case, so you'll have more confidence when bidding on items during the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals.

"If that's really not enough, I'll have to work hard as a miner again and work in that large spirit stone mine for two years. I'll only pick the top-grade spirit stones, and I'll be able to scrape together enough."

Bai Zichen has high hopes for the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals, hoping to win the item he desires.

Of the rare treasures at the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals, only about one-third came from Zengguang Immortal City itself. The majority were consigned or bartered by the Nascent Soul True Monarchs and Core Formation True Immortals present at the ceremony.

Because the Zengguang Immortal City platform can attract enough high-level cultivators, people are willing to entrust their treasures to them for auction and sale.

He still possesses several rare treasures, and if he wanted to sell them for spirit stones, he could definitely get the best price through the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals.

Many spiritual items are so rare that it's difficult to find even one buyer on a regular day, so there's naturally no competitive bidding atmosphere.

However, in a gathering of high-level cultivators from the outer seas of the five regions, it is very likely that several people will simultaneously set their sights on the same treasure.

Within a few seconds, the transaction price went up.

For example, that clump of celestial silver sand, if anyone is willing to register for the exhibition, will surely fetch an astonishing price.

The collection of Heavenly Star Silver Sand is simply too complicated and difficult, and a scale of thousands of grains at once is rarely seen even in the cultivation world.

Bai Zichen not only didn't want to sell, but if he saw Heavenly Star Silver Sand for sale at the Grand Ceremony of Ten Thousand Immortals, he would even want to buy more.

While he was studying the Star Luo Sword Technique, he suddenly had a brilliant idea: to use celestial silver sand to forge a magical artifact that resembled a galaxy, so that he could experience the vast starry sky.

Tianxing Silver Sand is a type of meteorite from outer space, carrying traces of stellar power. The more of it there is, the more it can reproduce the power of the stars.

This was a method he devised after considering the difficulty of inheriting the Starry Sky Sword Intent and combining it with the several magical treasures that could be refined from Heavenly Star Silver Sand.

Whether it is truly effective remains to be seen in practice.

……

The summit of Qishan Mountain.

The place where the Nine Lotus True Monarch once secluded himself is now closed, and no one can be seen.

For decades, no one has taken care of it, and the spiritual plants have grown wildly, climbing all over the stone table and rockery. The vines have become entangled and have even overturned a jade stool weighing hundreds of kilograms.

The winding path has been covered by spiritual plants. Only by parting the spiritual grass can one vaguely see the original stacked stones, winding streams, pavilions, and courtyards.

Deep within the cave, Qu Yang collapsed to the ground, his once imposing and spirited demeanor gone, his face ashen and his hair disheveled.

"Come, use my body as nourishment to grow together!"

Qu Yang opened his arms and activated the secret technique left behind by the Nine Lotus True Monarch. A chill swept over, and all the spiritual plants were covered with a layer of frost.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, he still hesitated when he actually got to this point.

"Time waits for no one. This is the best option to preserve the sect, and I might even have a chance to embark on an alternative path to immortality!"

A snow lotus that could move freely came behind him, suddenly growing dozens of times larger, and enveloped Qu Yang.

The lotus flower swells, its countless roots transmitting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, as if a new life is being nurtured within the snow lotus.

In pursuit of higher cultivation, True Monarch Nine Lotus risked his life to refine himself with this top-grade fourth-tier snow lotus.

Originally, he intended to use the pure innate vitality of the snow lotus to directly break through the bottleneck of the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, while also cleansing his physical body and extending his lifespan.

Who would have thought that a dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch would be restricted by a spiritual plant?

Not only did they pay a heavy price every time they left Qishan, but they also failed to gain any benefit from the snow lotus. On the contrary, some of their true essence flowed back, helping the snow lotus grow.

When Nine Lotus True Lord reflected on this major blunder in his life, he concluded that the secret method of using the power of spiritual plants was flawed, and that he had also chosen the wrong object.

This snow lotus is a unique species, possessing the ability to devour the roots and stems of other spiritual plants to strengthen itself. It has grown on the top of Qishan Mountain for countless millennia.

The first few True Lords of the Holy Lotus Sect set boundaries for the Snow Lotus, and every sixty years they would take away several Snow Lotus leaves for medicinal use and alchemy.

Only when True Monarch Nine Lotus truly became one with this top-grade fourth-tier spiritual plant did he discover that the wood-type spiritual power it contained far exceeded that of a Nascent Soul cultivator like himself, even reaching several times or dozens of times.

Although the spiritual energy is loose and flows slowly, its total amount is terrifying.

It exceeds the upper limit that a fourth-tier top-grade spiritual plant should have.

This indicates that the snow lotus has plundered the life force of too many other spiritual plants. In terms of quantity alone, it is several times that of an ordinary fourth-grade top-quality spiritual plant. It is just that due to other limitations, it cannot break through to become a fifth-grade spiritual plant.

The spirits of plants and trees are different from demonic beasts. Except for those with excessively strong bloodlines, fourth-order demonic beasts have already been able to shed their demonic bodies and successfully transform into human form.

Fourth-tier spiritual plants cannot even leave the land and move freely, and they have few means of defense against external enemies.

Only at the fifth level will the essence of plants undergo a transformation, resulting in all sorts of incredible changes.

However, breaking through to the fifth tier of spiritual plants is no easier than breaking through to the Nascent Soul True Monarch realm. With the decline of spiritual energy in the world, fifth tier spiritual plants have been long absent from the cultivation world.

Nine Lotus True Lord was defeated by the Snow Lotus. Unwilling to accept this, he studied and deciphered it for hundreds of years, but he could not break free from the shackles. Instead, he became more and more trapped.

But unintentionally, the secret method was deduced onto a different path.

If controlling the snow lotus is impossible, then simply abandon this idea and actively fuse with it as a Core Formation cultivator.

The difference between the two is too great. The fourth-tier top-grade snow lotus doesn't even look at the power of a Core Formation True Person. Instead, it will infuse the cultivator with pure innate spiritual power.

With the help of the snow lotus's immense spiritual power, it can unleash strength almost equal to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator within the Qishan region.

The alternative path to immortality refers to the possibility that if the snow lotus has even a one in ten thousand chance of upgrading to a fifth-tier spiritual plant, it can instantly elevate the connected Core Formation cultivator to the Nascent Soul stage, and even share the damage from the Heavenly Tribulation.

The downside is that you're truly trapped on the summit of Qishan Mountain. Even if you sever the roots like the Nine Lotus True Essence and pay the price of rapidly diminishing your lifespan, you still can't leave.

At the same time, since it is not a human refining spirit plant, but has become a snow lotus puppet, it is very likely that it will be assimilated by the snow lotus and become a branch of spirit plants.

However, considering the internal and external troubles of the Holy Lotus Sect, and the recent appearance of Tianli Sect cultivators near Qishan, Qu Yang could no longer afford to cultivate slowly.

He had no choice but to take out the secret technique that True Lord Nine Lotus had left him before heading to the Black Mountain Range, and embark on this path of no return.

The courtyard was silent until several months later, when a powerful, heart-beat-like tapping sound came from the snow lotus.

With its petals opening and closing, the lotus seems poised to bloom at any moment.

……

Everywhere you look, there is an eerie crimson, a sea of ​​blood stretching for miles.

In the very center of the Blood Sea, a blood-red shadow was constantly refining a long sword stuck in the seabed.

Countless blood streaks shot out from the Blood Shadow's body, connecting with the blood-red longsword before quickly breaking off into smoke.

At the very center of the vast sea of ​​blood, the murderous and bloody aura emanating from this crimson longsword could not be concealed and overwhelmed the entire sea of ​​blood.

The blood beasts, comparable to Core Formation cultivators, kept their distance and dared not approach.

pat!

A blood-red jade pendant on Xueying's body cracked open, first with a small crack at one corner, and then within moments the crack spread across the entire piece, breaking it in two.

Junior brother!

The blood shadow opened its bloody maw, but no sound came out. The sea of ​​blood roared and trembled, like a storm was brewing.

Two drops of blood flowed from Blood Shadow's eyes, quickly condensing into crystals. They did not merge with the sea of ​​blood, but the surging killing intent spread out, and all the blood beasts exploded into blood mist with a bang.

The longsword in front of them suddenly blazed with blood-red light, and cheers erupted as if in response.

(End of this chapter)