Cultivation of Immortality: Start by Improving Spiritual Root Qualifications

Chapter 902 Abundant spiritual objects, what a wonderful opportunity!
What I saw along the way was shocking.
The once bustling streets are now ruins, and cultivators are fighting fiercely for resources, with some even killing and robbing in the streets.

When they flew out of Beishan City, the entire immortal city was in complete chaos. The city's protective formation had long since collapsed, and cultivators were fleeing or chasing from all directions.

"Young master, where are we going?" Sun Yuanxuan asked, her face pale.

Zhou Xun looked towards the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains, where the spatial rifts were most concentrated: "Go to the core area. Since the cultivation levels of the entire city are suppressed, it means that the true core of the realm is nearby."

He took out an old-fashioned map, which he had obtained from Sun Yuanxuan's mother years ago: "According to your mother's records, although the core area is dangerous, it also offers the most opportunities."

The two dared not linger and sped towards the depths of the mountains. Along the way, they encountered several groups of cultivators, all of whom were swiftly repelled by Zhou Xun.

During this time, Zhou Xun took out the treasure containing the 'Azure Sky Stone'—the Azure Jade Cup.

Then a bluish-green light emanated, enveloping Zhou Xun and resisting the oppressive force from the surrounding area.

"Sir, how are you?"

"The Azure Sky Stone in this Azure Jade Cup is really too small. My strength has not yet recovered to the Nascent Soul level!"

"However, he is already far superior to ordinary cultivators, and should be comparable to those cultivators who have half-stepped into the Nascent Soul stage!"

Zhou Xun carefully sensed his own condition and replied.

"Half-step into the Divine Transformation Realm!" Sun Yuanxuan was overjoyed upon hearing this.
"That would be great!"

"Everyone else is suppressed to the Nascent Soul stage, but Young Master has the strength of a half-step Deity Transformation. Doesn't this mean that during the Descent Ceremony, Young Master's strength will be unmatched!"

"You are far too arrogant. There are countless extraordinary people and events in the world. I possess the Azure Sky Stone to resist the power of the descent from the heavens,"

"How can we know that others don't have it? Therefore, we must act with caution and not reveal our half-step Nascent Soul strength unless absolutely necessary!"

Zhou Xun shook his head and then explained.

"What you say is very true, young master. I, Yuanxuan, have learned a lot!"

Zhou Xun and Sun Yuanxuan sped along, heading deep into the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The deeper one goes, the more pronounced the suppressive force of heaven and earth becomes, even compressing the protective azure light of the jade cup to just a thin layer.

Although Zhou Xun's cultivation level has recovered to the half-step Nascent Soul stage, his spiritual energy circulation is still somewhat sluggish, far from his peak.

"Young master, there's something unusual ahead!" Sun Yuanxuan suddenly exclaimed.

Zhou Xun's gaze sharpened as he saw several figures engaged in fierce combat in a distant valley.

One of them was dressed in a purple-gold Taoist robe and held a long sword wreathed in lightning. Each strike was accompanied by a thunderous roar, displaying astonishing power.

"It's Lei Yuanzi from Zixiao Pavilion!" Sun Yuanxuan recognized him.
"He came too!"

Lei Yuanzi is the current head of Zixiao Pavilion, a Nascent Soul cultivator, and is renowned throughout the Beishan City area.

His opponents were three Nascent Soul Peak cultivators. The three of them joined forces and formed an array, which actually made Lei Yuanzi a little breathless!

"So what if you've reached the Nascent Soul stage? With the current suppression from the descent realm, you're only slightly stronger than us!"

"Now that they've joined forces, they're even less of a match for us!"

One of the black-robed cultivators grinned maliciously, waved his black banner, and countless vengeful spirits roared out, rushing towards Lei Yuanzi.

Lei Yuanzi snorted coldly, his long sword flashed across the sky, and lightning struck like a waterfall, instantly annihilating the Yin spirit.

But the other two cultivators took the opportunity to get closer. One of them summoned the White Bone Chains, while the other activated the Blood Fiend Blade, aiming straight for Lei Yuanzi's vitals!
"boom--"

Lei Yuanzi's body surged with lightning, forcefully repelling the two, but a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, although he was strong, he was also struggling against the combined attack of three cultivators of the same level.

"Young master, shall we?" Sun Yuanxuan asked in a low voice.

Zhou Xun's eyes flickered, and he shook his head: "No need to get involved, just go around it."

His purpose in coming here is to descend to the core of the realm; there's no need to create unnecessary complications.

However, just as they were about to take a detour, Lei Yuanzi suddenly turned his head, his gaze like lightning, and stared straight at Zhou Xun!
"Since you're here, why not lend me a hand?"

Zhou Xun frowned, not expecting the other party to have such keen senses.

"I have no intention of getting involved in the fight, fellow Daoist, please do as you please," Zhou Xun said calmly, continuing on his way without stopping.

A shadow of malice flashed in Lei Yuanzi's eyes, but he was currently entangled by the three men and unable to break free. He could only snort coldly and continue to fight.

"Young master, are we just going to stand by and watch someone die?" Sun Yuanxuan asked in surprise.

"The three of them have been fighting fiercely for so long, and we just happened to run into them. Doesn't that raise suspicion? If they're in cahoots, wouldn't we be falling into a trap? We might as well stay away."

"Now that we are in the core of the Descending Realm, what opportunities can't we find? Let's not create any unnecessary trouble!"

Zhou Xun said calmly.

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, young master!" Sun Yuanxuan bowed in response, her mind replaying the fight between the people who had just been there.

If it were truly a staged act, intended to lure others into a trap, and he and Zhou Xun were caught off guard and surrounded by four people...
Then we'll wait for the next scene.
Thinking of this, Sun Yuanxuan felt a chill run down her spine.

"Then let's hurry up and leave!"

Meanwhile, just after Zhou Xun and Sun Yuanxuan had traveled a thousand miles away, the Thunder True Monarch indeed stopped.
He snorted coldly in Zhou Xun's direction.
'You're lucky to be alive!'

Zhou Xun and Sun Yuanxuan continued deeper into the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The surrounding spiritual energy became increasingly dense, but the oppressive force of heaven and earth also grew stronger. The light of the jade cup was compressed to only a few inches. Although Zhou Xun's cultivation level remained at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, his spiritual energy circulation was not as smooth as before.

"Young Master, there's a fluctuation of spiritual herbs ahead!" Sun Yuanxuan suddenly transmitted her voice, pointing to a hidden mountain stream.

Zhou Xun's eyes flickered slightly as he looked in the direction she pointed. Deep in the mountain stream, a vibrant green spiritual herb grew in a crevice in the rocks, its leaves as translucent as jade, and a crimson fruit at its tip, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance.

"A top-grade fourth-tier fruit—'Crimson Heart Jade Spirit Fruit'!" A hint of joy flashed in Zhou Xun's eyes.

This fruit is a rare and precious ingredient for refining pills for the Nascent Soul stage. If one can obtain it, it will greatly benefit him in his future attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

However, just as he was about to go forward to pick them, a low roar suddenly came from the shadows of the mountain stream.

"Roar--"

A massive monster slowly emerged, resembling a giant lizard, but with its back covered in yellowish-brown spikes, blood-red eyes, and emanating the power of a peak fourth-tier demon!
"Earth-scaled Spiny Lizard!" Sun Yuanxuan's expression changed. "This beast has extremely strong defense; even a peak Nascent Soul cultivator would find it difficult to deal with!"

The earth-scaled lizard stared intently at Zhou Xun, letting out a threatening growl, clearly regarding this spiritual herb as its own and not allowing anyone else to touch it.

Zhou Xun's gaze turned slightly cold as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, with his near-divine level strength, killing this beast would not be difficult. However, due to the suppression of the descent, his spiritual power is restricted. If he were to act rashly, he might expend too much energy, affecting his subsequent competition for the core opportunity.

"Young master, how about we..." Sun Yuanxuan hesitated, clearly worried about causing further complications.

Zhou Xun pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled slightly: "It's alright. Although this beast is strong, it is not very intelligent. We don't necessarily need to fight it head-on."

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and a gray talisman fell into his palm.

"Illusion Talisman?" Sun Yuanxuan recognized the item as a high-grade third-tier talisman that could create illusions to confuse opponents.

With a flick of his finger, Zhou Xun caused the talisman to burn silently, and a wisp of gray mist drifted quietly toward the Earth-Scaled Lizard.

The monster looked up alertly, but the gray mist had already enveloped it. In an instant, the scene in its eyes changed drastically—Zhou Xun and the other two had vanished into thin air, replaced by a larger of its kind, which was roaring at it in a provocative manner!

"Roar—!" The earth-scaled lizard roared in fury and pounced on its "kind" without hesitation, tearing at them frantically.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Xun flashed to the Crimson Heart Jade Spirit Fruit, plucked it up by the roots with a flick of his sleeve, and put it into a jade box. "Go!" he shouted, and he and Sun Yuanxuan quickly retreated.

However, just as they flew a hundred feet, a deafening roar suddenly came from behind them!

"Roar--!"

The Earth-Scaled Spiny Lizard broke free from the illusion and discovered that the elixir had been stolen. Enraged, it stomped its four legs on the ground and chased after the lizard like a streak of crimson lightning!

"Oh no, it's catching up!" Sun Yuanxuan exclaimed.

Zhou Xun frowned, not expecting this beast to have such strong resistance.

"I originally intended to spare your life, but it seems I cannot spare you today!"

He patted his waist.
Two beams of spiritual light, one golden and one yellow, flew out and landed in front of me.

The golden figure transformed into a child of about eight or nine years old, dressed in a golden short shirt, with bright, star-like eyes that exuded a lively spirit. Two round dragon horns on his forehead added to his childlike appearance.

It was none other than the Azure Dragon Little Gold.

The yellow one transformed into a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy with a resolute face and a tail covered in scales; it was the Xuanjia Armored Armadillo.

The two beasts also followed Zhou Xun to the Immortal Realm.

"I've met the master!"

As soon as the two beasts appeared, they bowed to Zhou Xun in greeting.

"That monster is yours to deal with. Let's see if you've improved!"

"Yes, Master, just you wait and see!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin and Xiao Jia immediately revealed their true forms.

Xiao Jin transformed into a blue-gold dragon over ten zhang long, its scales gleaming with a cold luster in the sunlight.

Xiao Jia transformed into a massive, armored armadillo with thick, mountain-like scales on its back.

"Roar--"

When the Earth-Scaled Spiny Lizard saw two more fourth-tier demonic beasts suddenly appear, a hint of fear flashed in its eyes, but it was quickly replaced by rage. The sharp spikes on its back stood erect, shooting out like arrows!

"A Thousand Layers of Mysterious Light!"

Xiao Jia let out a low shout, and its body shone with a bright yellow light. The spikes that shot out were about ten feet in front of it when they suddenly seemed to be stuck in the mud, and their speed decreased sharply. Xiao Jia took the opportunity to roll over, and its thick scales deflected all the spikes, making a crisp "clanging" sound.

At the same time, Xiao Jin had circled around to the side of the Earth Scale Spiny Lizard, opened his mouth, and a bolt of azure lightning burst forth!

"Boom!" The lightning struck the Earth-Scaled Spiny Lizard's left eye precisely, blasting its skin and flesh open.

The earth-scaled lizard, in pain, frantically shook its head, its thick tail sweeping across like a steel whip, carving a deep trench in the ground.

"Trap it!" Xiao Jin said.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jia suddenly plunged his limbs into the ground.

Suddenly, several earthen walls rose up beneath the lizard, trapping it like a cage. The lizard roared repeatedly, its sharp claws tearing wildly at the earthen walls, sending fragments of stone flying.

"It's now!"

Little Gold let out a long roar, its body spiraling upwards, its dragon claws gleaming with dazzling golden light, and fiercely clawed down at the top of the Earth Scale Spiny Lizard's head!
"Pfft-"

The sound of claws digging into flesh was sickening. The earth-scaled lizard let out a shrill wail and struggled desperately, but then Xiaojia suddenly opened its blood-red maw, and a beam of earth-yellow light shot out from its mouth, striking its abdomen.

"boom!"

The earth-scaled lizard was blasted backward, crashing into half of the mountainside. Amidst the dust and smoke, it staggered to its feet, covered in blood, clearly severely injured.

How could Little Gold give it a chance to breathe? With a flick of its tail, it shot out like a golden lightning bolt, its dragon claws aimed straight for its throat.

The earth-scaled lizard barely managed to raise its front paw to block, but was momentarily stunned by the sudden Thousandfold Mystic Light unleashed by Xiao Jia.

"Crack!"

The little golden claws mercilessly tore open the throat of the earth-scaled lizard, and blood gushed out like a fountain. The massive body crashed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then fell silent.

As the smoke and dust dissipated, Xiao Jia strode forward, its sharp claws splitting open the head of the Earth-Scaled Spiny Lizard, and taking out an egg-sized, earth-yellow demon core.

The surface of the demon core was covered with fine patterns and emitted a rich earth-attribute spiritual power.

"Master!" Xiao Jia respectfully presented the demon core to Zhou Xun, its scales still stained with blood.
Zhou Xun took the demon core, feeling a warm touch in his palm and faintly sensing the surging demonic power within. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Well done. Although this beast lacks intelligence, it is quite powerful. The fact that you were able to kill it so easily shows that it is quite strong."

"As for this demon core, I will bestow it upon you to consume, hoping that you can soon reach the fourth-tier high-grade!"

"As for Xiao Jin, your contribution will be noted for now. If there are any spiritual items next time, you will be the first to be rewarded!"

Sun Yuanxuan watched in stunned silence.

The two spirit beasts worked in perfect harmony, killing a peak fourth-tier demon beast in just over ten breaths. Their combat power was truly astonishing.

"Let's go." Zhou Xun cast his gaze deeper into the mountains.
"The real opportunity is yet to come."

Xiao Jin and Xiao Jia transformed back into human form, standing guard on either side.

The group continued on their way and soon disappeared into the misty mountains and forests.

Zhou Xun and his group continued deeper into the mountains. Two days later, they approached a valley.
"stop!"

Zhou Xun made a stop gesture, his eyes flashing with golden light.
But then they saw that the valley ahead was shrouded in a magic array.
But the Spiritual Aura of the Fourth Level easily pierced through it, continuing to peer inside.

His gaze pierced through the spiritual mist, and he finally saw the situation inside the valley clearly—

In the center of the valley, a crystal-clear spiritual flower quietly bloomed.
The seven petals were as clear as glass, and the stamen was shrouded in seven-colored light. The rich spiritual energy was almost solidified, forming a small vortex of spiritual mist above the stamen.

"Seven Mysterious Spirit Condensation Flower!" Zhou Xun was overjoyed upon seeing this!
This is precisely the main ingredient for refining the "Seven Profound Essence Condensation Pill"! A fifth-grade spiritual herb, a treasure that would drive even Nascent Soul cultivators to fight tooth and nail!

Previously, I had been researching this elixir, but due to a lack of materials, I had to give up.

Now they've delivered themselves right to our doorstep.

It seems this grand ceremony of descending to the mortal realm is indeed a great opportunity!

They continued to look, but at this moment, several forces were confronting each other around this spiritual flower.

On the left, three cultivators dressed in silver-white robes stood in formation, each holding a long, icy sword and exuding a chilling aura. They were clearly cultivators from the "Frost Pavilion".

On the right was an old man with red hair, alone, yet with an astonishing aura. Behind him floated a long sword burning with crimson flames, its blade patterned like a dragon, from which the faint sound of a dragon's roar could be heard.

"Crimson Flame Blade Lord!"

On the other side of the valley, there were two more men in black robes, shrouded in shadow, their auras strange and unpredictable, clearly not easy opponents.

The three forces were wary of each other, and none of them made any rash moves, but their eyes were all fixed on the Seven Profound Spirit Condensation Flower.

Zhou Xun's eyes flashed, and he led the group straight through the magic array, appearing to everyone's astonishment:
"I, Zhou, have taken a liking to this!"

(End of this chapter)