Born with immortal seed

Chapter 844 Merit Pool

Thirty-six clusters of pure energy rose simultaneously from the sword case, merging into a light, hazy blue light.

He burned all his pure energy in one breath, gaining perfect insight and returning to his peak state.

Bai Zichen was surprised to discover for the first time that this extraordinary treasure could achieve such a level of perfection, a level he, as its owner, had never imagined.

In a world where upside down and reality and illusion are distorted, I saw a path that could never exist.

The road pulsated back and forth with the silver light, never stopping for even a moment in the same spot, dazzling the eyes of onlookers.

Even if someone can see through the path behind the innate magnetic essence, as long as they take one wrong step, they will be sucked into the magnetic vein and never be able to escape.

However, with the help of keen insight, the silver light's speed seemed to be slowed down, carving out a stable path.

Bai Zichen stepped inside, and the silver light outside seemed to bar its fangs and claws, causing everything to suddenly slow down.

Seizing the fleeting opening, the silver light blasted into the open space behind them.

He was just a moment away from being trapped in the Yuan Magnetic Ore Vein.

After walking this top-heavy road, Bai Zichen's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt that the world around him had changed.

They realized they had arrived at the mountain stream mentioned by the little purple sword spirit, the secret base of the Heartless Sword Immortal.

Everywhere you look, there are Bodhi trees, some only waist-high, others so tall you can't see their tops.

Bodhi petals fell from the tree. When I approached and caught them with my hand, they vanished into nothingness. I then realized that they were formed from spiritual energy.

The concentration of sixth-order spiritual energy is so high that it can condense into exotic flowers and rare herbs.

If left undisturbed for hundreds of thousands of years, these magical herbs and flowers formed from spiritual energy can even materialize, rather than merely existing in name only.

Legend has it that at the highest point of the Dao Court in the Central Immortal Realm, there is a precious tree formed over countless millions of years by the purest and most abundant spiritual energy.

One day of meditation under a tree is equivalent to one year outside.

Bai Zichen's feet sank into the thick layer of fallen leaves, crushing countless flowers and plants into wisps of spiritual energy that rose into the air.

Curious, I touched the Bodhi tree with my hand. The rough bark gave me a warm and smooth feeling.

It's unclear whether these countless spiritual plants grow naturally or are formed from spiritual energy.

"It seems that no one has entered this place in the years since the Heartless Sword Immortal left..."

The mountain stream was not wide, only a few miles long from beginning to end, and Bai Zichen completed the tour in no time.

There was not a trace of any cultivator, not even a shadow of a living creature.

Otherwise, the mountain stream wouldn't be so harmonious, with the spiritual energy taking shape at the same pace in every inch of the place.

There was only a square pool, about three feet in size, in the very center, with the water level only halfway up.

As the person walked to the edge of the pool, their face was clearly reflected on the water's surface, and the reflection in the water smiled kindly, revealing their teeth.

"who!"

Bai Zichen was shocked and took a step back. He was clearly expressionless, so why did his face reflected in the water have a smile on it?

This bizarre situation sent chills down his spine, making him wonder if some monster was lurking at the bottom of the pool.

“Master, this is said to be a miraculous merit pool passed down from the previous era. When Master Wuxin came in before, the pool was dry and there was not a drop of spiritual water... I never expected that after so many tens of thousands of years, half a pool of spiritual water would accumulate. It’s truly incredible.”

The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword returned to its home turf and once again served as an encyclopedia.

"The spiritual water in the Merit Pool has miraculous effects such as washing away impurities, purifying the mind and spirit, and reshaping the physical body, but no one knows how it came about or how it operates. The most famous pool in the Earthly Immortal Realm is none other than the Eight Treasures Merit Pool of the Heavenly Palace, which allows one to advance to the seventh level of Body Tempering cultivator every ten thousand years."

"Even if you don't need it right now, soaking in it when you try to break through to the Fusion stage in the future will increase your chances of success."

"As for the smile in the water, it must be due to the special nature of the pool water that creates the image..."

After hearing the explanation from the little purple sword spirit, Bai Zichen's expression softened slightly, but he was still somewhat apprehensive.

I always felt that the so-called Merit Pool was too eerie and gloomy, unlike an auspicious object.

But according to the description, it is clearly a wondrous object that is entirely beneficial to cultivators and has no harm whatsoever.

Peeking into the pool again, it was still that same standard smiling face, revealing eight teeth.

This time, being prepared, the impact wasn't as strong, allowing me to calm down and look at each other carefully.

The more I looked, the more uneasy I felt. The face was exactly the same as mine, but it made a different expression.

Moreover, their eyes were directly facing each other, their pupils moving with their bodies, conveying a profound meaning.

Unlike figures in a mirage, they are more like real people with a spirit.

"Something's not right, it'd be best to keep our distance..."

With Bai Zichen's early stage of Void Refinement cultivation and knowledge, he could not discern what was wrong with the human figures on the surface of the Merit Pool.

Reluctant to give up such a perfect and safe training environment, I can only try to avoid it.

If that day ever comes, I will not choose to soak in the spiritual water of the Merit Pool when attempting to merge with the original body.

It seems too risky, and it's hard to say what hidden dangers might exist.

Moreover, given his wondrous Dao body, as long as he gathers the Primordial Spiritual Object and the Primordial Qi, he shouldn't need to gamble on that slight chance of advancement like others do.

"The things passed down from the last era are really strange. Who knows how many secrets they contain... Although those innate gods are not as good as Mahayana True Immortals, they are not something that ordinary Fusion cultivators can reach."

In the realm of earthly immortals, the previous era refers to the time before the appearance of two Mahayana True Immortals, when the human race had not yet risen to power and the innate deities were the rulers.

That was millions of years ago, after a great catastrophe, many records were lost, and it is full of mystery.

Besides humans, there are countless other races, with hundreds or even thousands of cultivation systems and all sorts of treasures they forge.

Among the surviving artifacts, some are supreme treasures of the sixth rank or higher, while others have become immortal evil spirits, bringing endless disasters.

Bai Zichen deliberately chose a secluded corner and sat cross-legged under a Bodhi tree, half of his body sinking into the fallen leaves.

Each Bodhi leaf is covered with veins, resembling the pattern of meridians in the human body, with subtle differences between each leaf.

Just like every cultivator, the pathways of the meridians in their limbs and bones cannot be exactly the same.

As the body pressed down, countless fallen leaves returned to spiritual energy, swirling around the body and flowing back and forth.

"Whether it's the effect of the Sword Venerable statue or the exquisite inheritance of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, there is no doubt that Qin Wulie's swordsmanship is superior to mine... If Song Ding cultivates for several thousand more years, he may have a chance to compete with me."

Of all the people Bai Zichen had seen, his youngest disciple Song Ding possessed the highest talent in swordsmanship.

Although all the cultivators in the world have bestowed upon him the title of the number one swordsman of all time, he knows that this is a result of the support from many aspects.

In fact, in terms of swordsmanship alone, he had long been surpassed by a junior disciple who had only been practicing for a few hundred years.

However, in the face of the true meaning of time, ninety-nine percent of the sword techniques are meaningless.

Even the heavens grow old, let alone sword techniques.

"Another factor is that both swords have just advanced to the sixth level, and I'm not used to controlling them yet... After a period of adjustment, it will be much easier for me to fight against others."

Bai Zichen began to review the previous battle, considering what aspects he should improve to perform better if he were to encounter Qin Wulie again.

He sat there for three years.

Within his mind, the scene of the two fighting replayed again and again, not missing a single detail.

Under the Bodhi tree, he seemed to have awakened his wisdom; upon discovering a problem, he could immediately offer several solutions.

Even for an unsolvable problem, after countless evolutions of sword techniques, a relatively optimal solution was found.

“I previously went astray in my swordsmanship. It’s not that the more complex and grand the better… Even if it’s about the birth and death of the Dao, and about portraying the birth and death of the world, there is more than one way to combine different sword intents. The great Dao is simple. With just a few sword strikes, you can still fully demonstrate the swordsmanship of birth and death.”

Bai Zichen tried to unleash a sword strike, and the twelve sword lights merged into one, constantly evolving and creating, giving birth to one sword light universe after another.

The complex combination of sword intents was extremely taxing on his mental and physical strength.

Often, the subsequent evolution depends on the sword spirit itself, and it's impossible to control it in minute detail.

After three months, the number of sword lights decreased to ten.

After twelve months, the sword light descended into six paths.

After sixty months, the sword light shrank to four beams, showing no signs of decreasing.

The process of simplifying complexity is not as simple as it appears on the surface. With the power remaining unchanged, each reduction of a single sword beam represents a significant step forward.

The day he can truly master his swordsmanship is when he can evolve a single sword strike into the very essence of creation and destruction, yet retain its destructive power without diminishing in the slightest.

"But that doesn't mean the number of sixth-order flying swords is unimportant; on the contrary, the more the better."

Once Bai Zichen understands the principle of simplifying complexity and no longer relies on the quantity of sword intent to enhance the power of his sword technique, he will be able to restore the sword light.

This back-and-forth process can cause the cycle of birth, destruction, and destruction of the Dao to increase exponentially.

"Among so many fifth-tier flying swords, the two most promising to advance directly have already transcended. Of the remaining ones, the Taiqing Crystal Sword is still a little short of being fully developed. Without going through the Purple Mansion and relying solely on the nourishment of the sword box, it will take at least 50,000 to 60,000 years to see the light of day."

"The Demon-Slaying Sword and the Demon-Suppressing Sword are not enough on their own. Unless we can find two other flying swords that complete the set, there is a high chance that they can be combined into a sixth-tier sword."

"The Yuan Ying Sword was a piece that the Great Mountain God Lord cut from the River of Time, sealed in the Shaohua Stone, inscribed with the Longevity Scripture, and forged into a flying sword of time... It is of the same origin as my Great Dao. On the day it broke through to the Unity stage and came into contact with the essence of the world, its Great Dao realm advanced by leaps and bounds, which should allow it to cross over to the sixth level."

These three flying swords were the closest to the sixth rank among his other flying swords.

Even if other flying swords stayed in the Supreme Pure Sword Box for another 100,000 years, they would not be able to accumulate enough nutrients to reach the sixth rank.

The gap between the fifth and sixth tiers is not something that even the Supreme Pure Micro Sword Box can easily bridge.

"I had originally planned to travel freely in the Seven Treasures Immortal Realm, collecting the Crimson Sword Grass and the Microcosm Sword Flower, but now that's impossible. I can only put aside the last piece of immortal bone for now..."

Bai Zichen sighed with regret. The Nine Heavens Bone Forging Technique was only one step away from perfection.

He flicked out a dark golden light from his sleeve, and as soon as it appeared, it blew away the surrounding Bodhi leaves, clearing a space.

"It can make one's cultivation advance by leaps and bounds, and it can even replace the spiritual treasures that open the heavens. How many wondrous things are there in this world..."

Bai Zichen examined the Golden Palace Spirit Essence carefully. Absorbing it was no easy task and required meticulous planning.

(End of this chapter)