Born with immortal seed

Chapter 422 An Incompatible Opponent

Will-o'-the-wisps and fox cries; gloomy fog and dark clouds.

The water palace has changed drastically since then, and now it truly resembles a sinister underworld.

"The Netherworld Coffin is not omnipotent. The monsters it resurrects must also follow the rules of this world... Reaching the peak of Core Formation as soon as one emerges from the coffin is already the limit. Being confined in the Water Palace and unable to replenish one's energy, it is impossible to directly reach the Nascent Soul realm."

Both the notes left by the White Bone Immortal and the research conducted by the Ghost Spirit Sect throughout the ages have proven that the Underworld Coffin does not have the ability to create Nascent Soul cultivators out of thin air.

At most, the barrier to Nascent Soul can be reduced to nothingness; as long as the conditions are met, one can smoothly attain the Nascent Soul realm.

This can be seen from the strength of Du Heng's avatar. He used a secret method to intercept the pure demonic energy of the ancient demon and refine it into a true demonic holy body. He also had to start from the Core Formation stage and gradually improve step by step.

Of course, it also depends on the strength of the cultivator who lies in the underworld coffin.

If Bai Zichen himself were to lie in the coffin and have his consciousness overwhelmed by the powerful divine thought, becoming a living dead...

With the formidable strength of his five-crystal body, he would likely form an extremely terrifying monster.

Even so, Bai Zichen still summoned the Supreme Pure and Subtle Sword Box. The bright moon in the sky added a touch of silver to the dim water mansion.

"Having not left the Water Palace for decades, is it because his strength is insufficient upon awakening, or is he restricted by the Underworld Coffin and cannot travel too far?"

Bai Zichen walked from the second-floor stone hall to the animal pen, the moonlight flowing swiftly, even faster than his divine sense.

Where the moonlight shines, even a speck of dust on the ground is revealed in the depths of one's heart with exquisite detail.

Suddenly, a foreign object intruded into the calm lake of my heart, stirring up ripples.

The hairs on his body suddenly stood on end, but everything seemed normal to him. He only sensed it because of his dual talents of keen insight and clear sword mind.

"Why have I encountered opponents with secret techniques to conceal their divine sense probing several times recently? My divine sense strength is already far superior to others of the same level. If it were an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, wouldn't I be easily crushed... Fortunately, the Purple Star Thunder Sword still has the opportunity to advance. Once it becomes a fifth-tier flying sword, this talent will be enough to use until the Nascent Soul stage!"

Despite his complaints, Bai Zichen's hands moved swiftly, slicing through the shadowy figure in the darkness with a single sword strike.

With a 'pop' sound, like a bubble bursting, a smooth, human-shaped figure slipped out, like a pool of viscous fluid constantly flowing.

They suddenly appeared a hundred feet away, coalescing into a human shape, but their facial features, mouth, and nose were not visible, and their entire body was constantly changing shape.

"It's not a white bone god or demon, it's just a different form... It seems there are still many secrets about the Netherworld Coffin. I guess only those super sects that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years and have experienced the era when the Netherworld Coffin frequently appeared in the world will have more detailed introductions."

The Moonlit Sword's threads hissed and sizzled, each strike faster than the last, always traveling in a straight line down the middle, each strike taking the shortest route.

The speed was so fast that as soon as the slime monster let out a meaningless growl at Bai Zichen, dozens of sword marks appeared on his body.

The next moment, the strange body was torn to pieces, becoming a pile of fragments.

Don't be fooled by his seemingly frail appearance before the Moon Whirlwind Sword, which could be easily broken with a single strike. In reality, his viscous skin provides better defense than the fur of a third-tier demon beast.

If it were an ordinary magic weapon or flying sword, it would most likely be blocked and deflected, making it difficult to even break through the skin.

Having not used a fourth-tier flying sword for a long time, Bai Zichen was somewhat unfamiliar with the destructive power of the Moon Spin Sword under the "One Sword Breaks All Laws" technique.

The pile of fragments fell to the ground, but instead of dying immediately, they continued to wriggle and expand into one viscous monster after another.

"The body has split and taken shape, but its aura has dropped from the peak of Core Formation to the early stage of Core Formation... If this happens a couple more times, it probably won't even be able to maintain its Core Formation state."

Bai Zichen took a step forward, his figure flickering as he appeared almost instantly in front of a split, viscous monster.

Without using his flying sword, he unleashed a punch. The knuckles of his crystal-white fist were clearly defined, captivating all who looked at him, and even the heavens and earth seemed to tremble.

boom!
With wisps of platinum-gold flames clinging to his fist, the viscous monster in front of him instantly exploded, its limbs and fragments burned into wisps of black smoke by the flames.

"Having gotten so used to flying swords, I've almost forgotten that my physical strength is already comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator..."

He used both hands, each grabbing a sticky monster and squeezing it to burst with all his might.

"It's good to stretch your muscles occasionally, so that if you're ever forced to use your physical strength to save your life, your joints won't be so rusty that you won't know how to fight back."

The combination of "Close at Hand, Yet Far Away" and the Five Crystal Glazed Body makes it a perfect match for a body-refining cultivator.

Such physical strength is worthy of being one of his trump cards.

The source of his confidence to speak on equal footing with a Nascent Soul True Monarch when the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword is unusable.

The viscous monster was scorched clean from the inside out by the platinum glaze flames, preventing it from splitting into more clones.

Ten breaths later, not a single sticky monster in the pen had survived.

The mirror-like lake in my heart returned to calm, and at the same time, wisps of black smoke rose from the places where all the viscous monsters had died, condensing into a dark crystal, exquisite and translucent.

"Is this the monster that was resurrected from the coffin in the underworld?"

Bai Zichen was somewhat taken aback. All the signs indicated that the viscous monster was dead, rather than feigning death to revive itself.

To be precise, it is the wisp of divine consciousness attached to this body that has perished. It will only be resurrected once a suitable physical body enters the coffin and accumulates enough nether energy.

To his surprise, he had made many preparations and even decided that if the situation became too difficult to deal with, he would simply abandon the Azure Emperor Longevity Sword, which he had hidden halfway through.

Drawing his newly upgraded Purple Star Thunder Sword, he believed that no opponent could withstand the power of these two fourth-tier flying swords.

I didn't expect to kill it so easily. It was as if I had made full preparations and thought it was an evenly matched opponent, but after getting my hands on it, I found that it was just an empty shell.

"There's also the possibility that I'm too strong, rather than this monster being too weak..."

A stealth technique capable of evading the divine sense of a Core Formation cultivator, defensive capabilities comparable to a peak-level third-tier demonic beast, and the ability to create dozens of clones after sustaining a fatal injury…

If it weren't for Bai Zichen, even several cultivators at the peak of the Core Formation stage wouldn't have been able to defeat this monster.

They might even be divided and attacked by him, killed one by one.

Weaker Nascent Soul True Monarchs can only claim victory, and may not be 100% certain of killing the sticky monster.

To compare Bai Zichen to a Core Formation cultivator is simply an insult.

His gaze was always fixed upwards on the Nascent Soul True Monarch.

"This crystal should be formed from condensed Nether Qi. It may be a coveted treasure for certain groups of people, but it is a highly poisonous substance for the vast majority of cultivators."

Bai Zichen thought for a moment, then took out a jade box, put the dark crystal inside, and carefully sealed it with three layers of restrictions.

Having dealt with the resurrected monster, he descended to the third level and encountered the Underworld Coffin once more.

Just like last time, the coffin lid was opened, and the interior was dark and deep, seemingly connected to an unpredictable darkness.

The difference is that the air around the coffin in the underworld is no longer perceptible with spiritual energy, creating a unique environment.

Knowing that he was not capable of unraveling the true mysteries of the Underworld Coffin on his own, he could only retreat slowly.

Killing the monster that has risen from the coffin is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

But to truly solve this problem once and for all, even a Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to achieve it.

The water palace was reopened to prevent cultivators from accidentally entering and becoming nourishment for the underworld coffins.

Bai Zichen flew into the sky on his sword, heading straight for Black Mountain.

Having been away from my homeland for thirty-six years, I still miss my sect and my old friends.

At the same time, it can be considered that all the preparations before the transformation into an infant have been completed.

After returning, once you reach the peak of Core Formation, you can begin the process of breaking down the core and transforming it into an infant.

With a surge of sword light, Ōnosawa was quickly left behind.

Several months later, they finally saw the iconic city of the Northern Region, Zengguang Immortal City.

Decades later, the residents of this place seem to have emerged from the scene of the Du clan being wiped out, countless cultivators' heads rolling to the ground, and half of the palaces and buildings in the immortal city collapsing.

The number of cultivators coming and going was endless, and the business had not declined much compared to when the Du family was in charge.

The new city lord, being a Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Moral Sect, brought in a large number of specialties from the Central Region through his personal connections.

At the same time, by regularly auctioning several exclusive treasures of the Daode Sect, popularity was gathered, and the annual transaction volume was conservatively estimated to have recovered to 70% of what it was when the Du family was in power.

"Perhaps I can go into the city for a stroll. If I rely solely on my own cultivation, it might take me another twenty years to reach the peak of the late Core Formation stage..."

There are only a few types of pills that can be effective for cultivators in the late stage of Core Formation.

Bai Zichen pinned his hopes on the fact that the newly acquired Immortal City would produce pills from the Morality Sect, which would then have new effects.

Twenty years is neither a short nor a long time.

If there's a way to shorten the time, he wouldn't mind spending more spirit stones.

Zengguang Immortal City retains the same layout as before: outer city, inner city, and core tower.

However, Yuan Mo Zhenjun's relatives numbered only a little over a hundred, and his disciples and grand-disciples numbered only a few hundred, which was far from enough to manage such a vast immortal abode.

Besides leaving behind a group of cultivators at Tianfa Peak, Zengguang Immortal City also extensively recruited guest elders from outside.

During the Du family era, guest elders in the Immortal City were required to have either Core Formation cultivation or possess a third-tier skill.

Now the requirements have been greatly relaxed, requiring only Foundation Establishment cultivation, which has attracted a large number of independent cultivators.

Of course, this inevitably led to a mixed bag of quality among the teams in the Immortal City.

Su Wuming strode into the Immortal City from the city gate and rode the ray beast into the inner city with practiced ease.

He randomly picked a sycophant on the roadside, tossed him two spirit stones, and asked him to lead him to the largest auction house in the inner city.

They were told that since Zengguang Immortal City came under the control of the Morality Sect, many strange and unusual rules had been introduced.

Unlike before, when simply proving one's wealth was enough to participate in the auction, now one must be jointly recommended by at least three VIPs from the Immortal City to qualify.

"Senior, is this your first time in Immortal City? I know two teahouses that are frequented by high-level cultivators, where it's easiest to find VIPs from Immortal City to vouch for you."

The young hanger-on, who was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, had excellent eyesight and gave the correct answer immediately.

"That's fine then, lead the way."

Bai Zichen nodded nonchalantly. Acting under the guise of 'Su Wuming' would be a good opportunity to observe the changes in Zengguang Immortal City over the years.

(End of this chapter)