Born with immortal seed

Chapter 431 The Outwardly Strong but Inwardly Weak Qingfeng Sect
A lotus flower is in full bloom, its leaves edged with gold, forming a seedpod that weighs down the stem.

Xuechan pinched her fingers together, then flicked them in quick succession, like a fleeting ephemera blooming in the still of the night, unfolding one after another.

A golden lotus seed flew out and landed in her delicate hand.

"Only one Enlightenment Lotus Seed was formed, what a pity... The kind of True Meaning Lotus Seed that is a concentrated crystal of a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant and contains a trace of the power of the Great Dao is indeed hard to find."

Xuechan carefully put away the Enlightenment Lotus Seed and flew towards the next location on the map without looking back.

Each time the Lotus Blossom Secret Realm has a quota for several Core Formation True Persons from the outside world, and over the years, people have compiled maps based on oral accounts and written records from their predecessors.

After traveling through the Northern Regions for many years, she finally obtained a ball of Nine Yang True Fire in a trade with a demonic cultivator in the boundless sea of ​​suffering.

By harnessing the balance of Yin and Yang, he broke through two realms and reached the pinnacle of Core Formation.

The cultivation methods of Piaoxue Temple make it much easier for cultivators with ice-spirited root aptitude and matching spiritual objects to reach the Core Formation stage compared to other cultivators.

This is why Piaoxue Temple has produced cultivators who have reached the Core Formation stage in every generation.

There's no need to recruit a large number of disciples; by focusing on the elite, the sect can still be passed down.

"Our sect's cultivation method is flawed. Breaking through realms is easy, but the final step of shattering the core and transforming into an infant is a hundred times more dangerous than others. All the patriarchs of the past generations have died under the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation. No matter how talented or accomplished they were, none of them could refine their primordial spirit and manifest an infant."

Xuechan's eyes were like ancient glaciers, unfathomable.

"The theory of alchemy is rigid, so even if you want to change your main cultivation method, you can't do it... Moreover, for our sect, as long as we find a Nine Yang True Fire, we can guarantee that each generation will have a successor who has reached the peak of Core Formation. Changing to a different cultivation method is not so easy."

Piaoxue Temple has a history of ten thousand years. It has always been secluded and never clashed with others. It has a harmonious relationship with the three major Nascent Soul sects of Beiyuan.

One generation of abbots even formed a Daoist partnership with a Supreme Elder of the Wusheng Sect, and asked him to review the cultivation method.

He bluntly stated that this cultivation method lacked the most important ending, resulting in incomplete and fragmented true meaning, which almost condemned the path forward to failure.

There are only two paths to solve this problem.

A peerless disciple with extraordinary abilities appeared at Piaoxue Temple. He used his reverse-engineering technique to complete the true meaning of the Great Dao.

The second path is for a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator to intervene and deduce the subsequent events from a high-level perspective.

Piaoxue Temple only accepts a few people each generation, all of whom are disciples with ice spiritual roots. Their temperament and aptitude are all of the highest quality, which is why they can become the current generation's disciples.

However, it is still far from being able to complete the top-level cultivation technique on its own.

People have tried every generation, but all have failed.

As for Nascent Soul cultivators, there has never been such a great figure in the entire Northern Region. Even in the Central Region, they are like dragons that are rarely seen. For 99% of cultivators, they are legendary figures and they do not believe that there are really Nascent Soul cultivators in the world today.

After all, the last recorded instance of a Nascent Soul cultivator taking action dates back five hundred years.

The second path is more difficult to implement.

Xuechan had traveled all over the Northern Region and was about to give up and head to the Central Region when someone accidentally pointed her to the True Meaning Lotus Seed in the Lotus Life Secret Realm, and suddenly she found a way out of her predicament.

The True Meaning Lotus Seed is the remnant of a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant after it withers. It contains a trace of the power of the Great Dao. If a cultivator in the late stage of Core Formation consumes and refines it, there is a high chance that they will break through to the Perfect Core Formation stage.

She naturally doesn't need this function, but the power of the Great Dao within it is different.

Since it can help a late-stage Core Formation cultivator perfect their path to the Great Dao, could it also help the Snowdrift Temple Master, whose cultivation method is incomplete, to complete the true meaning of the Great Dao?

Driven by this hope, she appeared in the Lotus Blossom Secret Realm.

However, the Lotus Blossom Secret Realm has been opened hundreds of times, but the True Meaning Lotus Seed has only appeared five times, making the probability of obtaining it extremely low.

Xuechan spotted a tall lotus flower in the distance and was about to approach it to see what it was like when the sky cracked open and a dizzying spin transported her away.

Only a single blue lotus remains, rooted in the rubble, its roots stretching for dozens of miles.

If you dig down a hundred feet, you'll find that the ground is full of gravel and hard soil, making it impossible for even the longest roots to absorb nutrients.

Half of the lotus had turned yellow and withered, looking like it was on its last legs.

……

"Taking away the fourth-tier flying sword actually caused the Lotus Blossom Secret Realm to end prematurely..."

Bai Zichen looked up, confirmed the direction, and then flew into the sky on his sword, without stopping.

After removing the Heavenly Illusion Bracelet, her form changed, and she returned to her original appearance.

"I estimate that this Lotus Blossom Secret Realm will be the worst harvest in history. Fortunately, no one has found out, so they won't blame me... Even if they check the accounts afterward, they can only suspect Su Wuming. What does it have to do with me, Bai Zichen?"

A fourth-tier flying sword with the potential for advancement is enough to make up for the decades of effort he has spent collecting the purple aura of the rising sun.

Since entering the Dao, Bai Zichen has never experienced any stagnation in his cultivation or been stuck in a certain realm. The only problem he was troubled by was that his spiritual root was limited, and his speed in refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was not fast enough.

For the sake of eliminating the demonic light, he confined himself to the Great Wilderness in the Eastern Region for thirty-six years, neglecting his sect and having no experience in traveling the world.

Even though I know that practicing the Dongxuan Elimination and Demon Extermination Scripture is an inevitable step, I still feel a sense of wasted time.

The moment the Fanghua Sword was in hand, that feeling vanished without a trace.

This is a harvest that even super-large commodities would covet.

Take the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, which is currently the most famous, for example. The sect has fewer than two fourth-tier flying swords. Even the newly promoted Nascent Soul True Monarch did not receive a fourth-tier flying sword immediately.

From this perspective, the Five Phoenix Sword Sect's foundation is still far inferior to that of the Moral Sect.

With a history spanning over two hundred thousand years and wielding five supreme spiritual treasures, even if it's not a sword-cultivation sect, the Moral Sect must possess a considerable number of fourth-tier flying swords.

For others, the chance of advancing with the Fanghua Sword is merely a pipe dream.

But for Bai Zichen, there is a real chance that it will come true.

"After I reach the Nascent Soul stage, there are several cultivation techniques that I need to refine... I don't aspire to be like the disciples of the Taibai Sword Sect, who have endlessly refined their natal flying swords. Just having two or three would be enough. Moreover, Fanghua itself carries a trace of the power of time. I wonder if using it to activate the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword will provide any additional benefits."

After considering the idea, I decided to let it go.

He wasn't extravagant enough to use a fourth-tier flying sword as a sword-concealing vessel; it would be better to stick to a third-tier flying sword instead.

Four more Thunder Sound Swords appeared before them, each with a white mark on its blade that could be felt as a noticeable protrusion when touched lightly.

"Flying swords made of bamboo and wood are still far inferior in terms of hardness. The sword light will be damaged after being broken once. The Thunder Sound Sword is already considered to be among the most durable and sturdy of its kind."

If you were to switch to the Great Sun Furnace Sword or the White Bone Cold Light Sword, even if the blades were damaged after multiple exchanges, the sword light would not break on the spot.

Of course, it's normal for a flying sword to have a few tiny nicks, about the size of a grain of rice, after a battle.

"However, with the Sword Nurturing Technique, even if a wood-attribute flying sword breaks, it can be repaired, so there's no need to feel bad. It's quite suitable..."

Bai Zichen opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of elixir energy, then made a hand seal and cast the Sword Nourishing Technique four times in a row.

A vibrant blue light enveloped the Thunder Sound Sword, and the white marks on its blade quickly faded away.

In just a few years, it can be restored to its original condition, exactly the same as when it was first refined.

The pure energy within the Supreme Pure Sword Box also has the function of repairing flying swords, even those that are broken into pieces.

However, the pure spiritual energy is hard to come by, and it takes a long time to generate it again after it has been used up.

These thirty-six clusters of pure energy are of great use, especially as the number of flying swords in his sword box increases, every little bit saved counts.

That's the good thing about wood-type flying swords; you don't have to worry about them breaking, so you can unleash them to your heart's content.

The long-absent Black Mountain came into view. Bai Zichen did not conceal his presence. By the time he landed at the mountain gate, the entire sect had already received news of his return.

"Junior Brother Bai, you've finally returned..."

Wei Dao stood at the head of the stone steps, his face weathered, coughing incessantly, and his silk handkerchief stained with dark red.

"Senior Brother Wei, are you injured?"

Bai Zichen took a light step, crossing hundreds of stone steps, and arrived at the foot of the main hall.

The two rows of elders bowed their heads and paid their respects to the ancestor.

Several new faces appeared in the group, and some were even seeing Old Ancestor Bai for the first time.

"In the years since I left, has anything major happened in the sect?"

After everyone was seated in the hall, Bai Zichen glanced at Wei Dao and could clearly see the fluctuations of true essence belonging to a Core Formation cultivator on his body, his aura undulating.

Among the disciples seated at the level of the five hall masters, two new faces appeared, and many of them were depleted of qi and blood and were injured.

"After the Du clan was destroyed, I rushed to Zengguang Immortal City after receiving a message from my junior brother. Unfortunately, I waited for several months but did not see True Monarch Yuan Mo. In the end, his disciples sent me back without mentioning the matter of our sect being in charge of the trade routes."

Wei Dao spoke in a low, deep voice, slowly recounting his story.

"It's normal for the major sects in the Central Region to be arrogant. A few years later, when Ancestor Ge came out of seclusion, he said he had gained some insights and was going to the Central Region to find spiritual treasures in the Nascent Soul Realm. After that, the atmosphere started to get a little strange."

"First, disciples of a sect were attacked in Hejian County, with dozens of casualties within a month. My junior sister Zhou and I went there in person, but we were ambushed. There were four Core Formation demon cultivators, each with different methods, and they didn't seem to be from the same sect... My junior sister Zhou is not good at fighting and was seriously injured. She has been in seclusion to heal for more than ten years."

His tone was heavy, filled with remorse.

Zhou Suqing was a well-known Core Formation Ancestor who possessed a high cultivation level but lacked actual strength.

When fighting in formation, they can be equivalent to several Core Formation cultivators, but when facing an opponent head-on, they are not much better than a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak of their cultivation.

The attacks on Hejian County were bizarre, with several incidents occurring without any trace of the enemy being seen.

Just to be on the safe side, the two of them traveled together, hoping to make use of the Wanxianjian Grand Formation.

Unexpectedly, the other side ambushed them halfway, and they almost both perished.

Fortunately, Wei Dao had mastered the Wind Escape Technique, and his escape light was swift and graceful, allowing him to escape back with the heavily injured Zhou Suqing.

"Can the origins of a Core Formation demonic cultivator be discerned from their cultivation techniques and supernatural abilities?"

"They're all completely unfamiliar faces; I've never seen them before. There aren't even any of those figures in the cultivation world..."

Wei Dao visibly relaxed. With the two pillars of the Qingfeng Sect gone, the pressure on him alone was almost too much for him to bear.

Only then did they realize that the past glory and reputation of the Nascent Soul sects were all due to these two people.

Once Ge Cang and Bai Zichen are gone, the Qingfeng Sect is no longer as glorious as it once was.

"Fortunately, in the past few years, Lu Song on your peak and Long Long of the Law Enforcement Hall have both successfully formed their cores and are stationed at Wanxianjian and Tianlei Cliff respectively, sharing the burden of the sect... It's a pity about Su Li of the Talisman Hall. He was the first to attempt to form his core, but he failed to successfully entrust his divine sense at the last moment. He refused to back down and forced another attempt, but his true essence went out of control and he died directly in his cave."

(End of this chapter)