Born with immortal seed

Chapter 616 Returning to the Fifth Rank, the Direction of the Great Dao

"A sword can bring about life and death, growth and decay, rise and fall... In addition to simply cutting off a person's lifespan and extinguishing their vitality, it can also make a person's life flourish and thrive."

Bai Zichen held his sword across his lap. The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword moved erratically, sometimes dimming to the point of being without light, and sometimes illuminating the entire world. Lightning flashed throughout the entire Star Palace Secret Realm.

"My path to the Great Way of Time began with the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword and the remains of the Spring and Autumn Cicada as a starting point. I was self-aware from the beginning and never expected to understand the workings of time; I only took a side path."

"However, with each improvement, if you continue to rely on shortcuts like before, you will inevitably encounter a bottleneck in your advancement."

Before him, all practitioners of the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword had merely relied on the essence and blood of sacred beasts to forcibly cultivate.

To say that I have any real understanding of the great principles of time is an understatement; I only know what it is, but not why it is.

This can be seen from the fact that none of the True Lords of the Fish-Dragon Sect throughout history have been able to embark on the Great Path of Time.

It could be said that it was a waste for the sacred beast's essence and blood, as well as this supreme divine power, to fall into their hands.

"My Great Dao was not afraid of interference from the true intent of cultivators at the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage. It was not because my Dao attainment was so profound, but because the Great Dao of Time had an advantage over other Great Daos."

The lightning and thunder outside the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword gradually became synchronized with his breathing.

At its weakest point, the blade of thunder could already be seen.

That powerful sword intent, vast and upright, was no different from that of a fifth-tier flying sword.

"To ascend to the Divine Transformation stage, one must reorganize the Great Dao of Time... or go down a dead end, depriving one of vitality and reducing lifespan at will, making it an instinct."

"Either life and death transform into a complete cycle. Some people experience a rapid decline in lifespan and the extinction of vitality, leading to the five signs of decay in the celestial beings; others experience an undying vitality, flourishing and prospering."

Bai Zichen's eyes grew ever deeper, brimming with vitality, where everything seemed to flourish and swirl endlessly.

A desolate and cold landscape, where all things wither and decay, unchanged since time immemorial.

Day and night alternate, spring goes and autumn comes.

Although it was in the Star Palace Secret Realm, an independent space, it experienced the changing of the four seasons just like the real world.

As spring begins to break through the darkness, all things come back to life.

At the summer solstice, when the sun reaches its zenith, cicadas begin to sing.

Autumn is bleak, but a refreshing breeze blows.

The winter chill is biting, and the landscape is covered in a blanket of white.

Even more subtly, as the seasons change, the color of the futons one sits on also changes.

It sprouts green buds, then withers and shriveles.

boom!
With a thunderous roar, the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, which had been suppressed for too long, exploded, unleashing a surging and roaring sea of ​​thunder, its purple lightning as deep as ink.

There were also golden and silver lightning bolts mixed in, which overturned the entire building. The so-called protective barriers were as fragile as paper in front of it.

Apart from the spot where he sat cross-legged on the futon, the ground was blasted open several feet high, as if it had been plowed countless times, and the soil was scorched black.

After circling around, the countless bolts of lightning seemed to find their home, all converging towards a single point.

Just moments before, the entire Star Palace Secret Realm resembled the end of the world, about to become a world of thunder that only existed in fantasy. Now, it has returned to a peaceful space.

Only the flying sword remained, floating in mid-air, with a ball of divine lightning brewing at its core.

Even as its master, the hairs on its skin stand on end; if unleashed, they could completely destroy the Starry Sky Secret Realm.

Even he, the master, could not escape alive.

"Little Purple, you've finally returned to the fifth rank. How does it feel?"

Bai Zichen reached out and grasped the peerless flying sword that had once been reduced to a sword embryo and was on the verge of destruction.

"Indeed, it is ten times stronger than before. Anyone below the Nascent Soul stage can be killed with a single sword strike if they are willing to unleash their true power, even without the protection of a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure. Even if they are, it will only take two more sword strikes."

The Ziwei Thunder Sword made a crisp sound, greedily absorbing every last bit of lightning-type spiritual energy in the air, yet still not satisfied.

"Ideally, I would like to have a few top-grade lightning-attribute spirit stones so that I can recover to my best condition as soon as possible, otherwise I won't be able to unleash my full power in sword strikes."

"Do you recall what tier of flying sword you were in your prime?"

Bai Zichen avoided this awkward topic, as he only had a handful of top-grade spirit stones in his entire body.

As for thunder-attribute spirit stones, they are already scarce. Once they appear, they are bought up by the Five Thunder Sect at high prices, and rarely end up on the market.

The eight top-grade spirit stones he possessed were all the most common five-element spirit stones.

"Hmm... In order to be able to descend across realms, my rank was sealed by my former master, and I have lost many memories. I only know that I was at least a sixth-ranked sword, and that my sword contained a dazzling divine lightning bolt from the Purple Star of the Central Heaven, capable of slaying demons and destroying the world. It destroyed a small world with a single strike."

Ziwei Xuanlei Sword's tone was somewhat unclear, and the information he could recall was fragmented and extremely limited.

"However, it is impossible to improve again in the mortal realm. I cannot surpass the boundary of this law of heaven and earth unless I have a magic weapon born in this realm. If I want to return to the sixth rank, I can only do so in the Earth Immortal Realm."

"The dazzling divine lightning of the Purple Star in the Central Heaven, destroying the world in one strike... Excellent, after I ascend to the Earthly Immortal Realm, I won't have to worry about my flying sword not being able to keep up with the speed of replacement."

Bai Zichen felt relieved. Although, judging from the situation of the powerful beings who descended to the lower realms, even the Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the upper realms couldn't all have a fifth-tier flying sword, and a sixth-tier flying sword was something that even Void Refinement cultivators would risk their lives to fight for.

But he felt that with his constitution that attracted hatred, if he really went to the Earthly Immortal Realm, he would have many more enemies.

It is difficult to live a peaceful and secluded life as an ordinary ascended cultivator.

At that time, one would need a stronger flying sword for protection.

"What about the Supreme Pure and Subtle Sword Box? It's a rare treasure from the Heavenly Palace, and its rank seems to be only higher than the sixth rank. Why was it able to come to the mortal realm so smoothly without any restrictions?"

Bai Zichen then thought of the sword box, which was his greatest asset, allowing him to stand out among his peers and single-mindedly control high-level flying swords ahead of time.

"I don't remember the specifics. I only know that Brother Xia has a special background. Even his former master didn't truly subdue him, but merely borrowed him. I was left in the human world because he did it according to mysterious guidance. In order to keep Brother Xia's pure spiritual energy from dissipating, I almost dried up my source and died."

The crisp sound became hesitant, and there was a hidden meaning in it; even the Purple Star Thunder Sword was merely an executor.

Bai Zichen felt that the ancient times were shrouded in mystery, and he had only uncovered the most superficial layer, which only increased his doubts.

For example, an ancient sword immortal who descended to the mortal realm with the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword and the Supreme Pure Subtle Sword Box was definitely not after the Heaven-Opening Treasure.

The value of just one Purple Star Thunderclap Sword is no less than that of a Heaven-Opening Spiritual Treasure, not to mention the even more mysterious Supreme Pure Subtle Sword Box. Wouldn't that be picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon?

For example, the Dongyang Villa we just left. That Dongyang Venerable was at the Refining Void Realm, a sixth-order alchemist, and his status in the Earth Immortal Realm was already among the most prestigious below the Integration Giants.

There was no reason for them to enter the mortal realm. They should have stayed in the Earthly Immortal Realm, waiting for the lower beings to finish their plundering, and then peacefully stayed in the Upper Realm to compete for the creation treasures and the Primordial Qi.

After touring the human realm as if on a leisurely journey, he left behind a cave dwelling, inside which appeared a strange immortal peach, a tangible crystallization of the Great Dao of Longevity, suggesting he had ulterior motives.

Even if one becomes a Nascent Soul cultivator, these secrets will still be difficult to know.

He couldn't possibly open the Heavenly Library of the Daode Sect to him, and he was itching to get his hands on it.

"Forget it, for now we should focus on dealing with the demon race... If we can defeat the demon race, we'll have plenty of time to make deals with the Moral Sect later. But the Northern Heavenly Divine Mud is urgent. We need to send a letter to Yu Ziliang and ask him to sound out the Daoist Master's opinion."

After Bai Zichen replaced the Great Sun Furnace Sword with the Star Sand Sword, the Star River Sword Formation had no weaknesses. Having another fifth-tier flying sword would be the icing on the cake.

However, the Nanming Lihuo Sword is a flying sword that grew up in the human realm and is of the fire element. If it can be refined, it will definitely be easier to wield on its own than the Abitianyu Demon Sword.

After making up his mind, Bai Zichen first detoured to Tianfa Peak to deliver a letter, which he then had someone pass on to Yu Ziliang.

Before the disciples of Heavenly Punishment Peak could react, the sword light had already vanished without a trace.

"It seems that the Holy Lord of Dharma is not on the peak. Could it be that he has already secretly begun his operation?"

As long as a Nascent Soul cultivator doesn't deliberately conceal their aura, it resonates with the sun and moon above, and the heavens and earth.

Ordinary cultivators would only regard it as a normal celestial phenomenon. Only those who are the strongest below the Nascent Soul stage, like Bai Zichen, can truly understand the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Whenever the Holy Lord of Propagation is on Heavenly Punishment Peak, Bai Zichen feels as if he is being watched by a being from the heavens above, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

At this moment, they are relaxed and at ease, like birds released from their cages; it is clear that the Holy Lord who spreads the Dharma is not in the mountains.

Based on the conversation that day and Yu Ziliang's hints, the Moral Sect's counterattack against the demon race is probably coming soon!
"I need to quickly deal with worldly affairs and seize the last bit of time to improve my strength... My path to enlightenment has taken a new direction, but it's not something that can be achieved in a short time. I should see if I can re-cultivate the Undying Cave True Bone, at least to give myself more chances to survive."

The sword light was like a rainbow, so fast that it passed right by the bird. Several breaths later, the sound of the air being torn apart was heard, which startled the feathered beast, causing it to flap its wings wildly and scatter feathers everywhere.

At such a speed, a cultivator flying to a height of ten thousand feet can be considered to truly enter and exit the azure sky, soaring through the void and riding the wind.

They can escape the Earth's gravitational pull and explore the outer reaches of the sky at will, without worrying about getting too deep and losing their way back to the ground.

In the past, this was a privilege reserved for Nascent Soul cultivators.

Bai Zichen relied on his flying sword, but unlike other sword cultivators, he was only at the Nascent Soul stage and dared not unleash his full power when wielding a fifth-tier flying sword.

He controlled the sword without any restraint, flying at full speed the entire time. Even if there were sword cultivators with the same cultivation level and equipment, they would be left far behind in no time.

There are still many areas where we can improve, unlike other cultivators who are stuck in bottlenecks and don't know where the road ahead lies.

He has too many worries and needs to push his time management to the limit.

Besides the Undying Cave True Bone, the Invisible Sword Bone and the Two-Level Dazzling Bone are also being cultivated.

They made this choice solely for the immediate benefits, and because the Undying Cave True Bone had already undergone cultivation, making it easier to achieve the same result.

The other items would take even longer and are unlikely to be considered at this juncture.

After a long and arduous journey, even someone as fast as Bai Zichen was tired from flying on a sword. No wonder Nascent Soul True Monarchs don't like cross-realm communication.

Being separated by a region is like being in another world; major events that occur in the Central Region often take decades to spread to the Northern Region.

At times like these, one can't help but miss the old super teleportation array.

In the blink of an eye, one can traverse two realms.

This facilitated the exchange and interaction among cultivators, creating the most brilliant era.

Within the Morality Sect, there are four super teleportation arrays, each transmitting to one of the four domains.

Unfortunately, after the Middle Ages, it inexplicably lost its purpose. Forcibly using it would only cause the teleporter to wander in the void and be washed away by spatial turbulence into fragments.

Only those short-distance teleportation arrays with a range of tens or hundreds of miles are still in use.

However, due to the lack of key array materials, they can only use the existing ones and cannot set up new teleportation arrays.

(End of this chapter)