Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

In a quiet room.

Wang Xuan sat cross-legged in meditation.

The sun had just set, and the quiet room was dimly lit.

Drive your spiritual awareness inward, and reflect your thoughts back into the sea of ​​consciousness.

Within Wang Xuan's Purple Mansion, a tattered moon hangs in the void, like an unchanging Dao trace.

Although he had only just begun refining his Qi, not even reaching the first level of true Qi refinement, and would only be considered accomplished upon formally practicing the cultivation technique, Wang Xuan still sensed something different at this moment.

In some mysterious way, he seemed to have become even closer to this [Taiyin Fruit].

"Indeed, this is the difference between immortals and mortals. Only now have I truly embarked on the path of cultivation."

"However, if we understand the so-called Dao Fruit literally, it probably means the 'fruit of the Great Dao'."

"Before we truly begin our cultivation, there should be a layer separating us."

Looking up at the moon, I could shake off any doubts that might have been arising in my mind.

With Wang Xuan's current cultivation level and knowledge, he sees such strange objects as nothing more than a frog in a well looking at the sky, only seeing a corner of the sky and unable to see their true appearance.

Instead of aiming too high, what he really needs to do right now is to make good use of the last legacy left behind in the world by the "Treasure-Giving True Lord" in the very early stages of his path to immortality, and take the first step in rolling out a snowball.

Especially as he entered the path of immortality, Wang Xuan naturally "knew" many things he didn't understand about the Dao Fruit in the past, in a way that was "divinely enlightened".

"Hmm...it's similar to what I did in my previous experiments."

"To drive the Dao Fruit at my current level, I must first have enough source to support it... at least for now."

"However, Dao Fruit has its own independent judgment mechanism regarding energy supplied from the outside. Ordinary spiritual energy has no meaning for it; only things related to the origin of living beings are effective."

"For example, the golden core and nascent soul of a cultivator, or the demon core and blood essence of a demon beast."

Golden Core, Nascent Soul.

Soul, essence, and blood!

Just thinking about it gave Wang Xuan the overwhelming feeling of a demonic giant.

Regardless of anything else, just looking at the weight that had vanished into thin air, he knew that there were absolutely no people who would willingly offer up their essence.

Of course, the Dao Fruit is not indispensable; some rare and precious materials containing the essence of the moon can also serve as substitutes.

Just thinking about it makes it clear that these kinds of things are also difficult to obtain.

Therefore, in the short term, Wang Xuan asked himself, the only energy he could truly use, besides the cultivation he had painstakingly acquired, was the legacy left to him by his angel investor.

By focusing his mind on a mass of milky-white essence next to the broken moon, Wang Xuan could feel the oppressive force of its life essence even without his spiritual sense getting close.

"The origin of the Nascent Soul...the manifestation of a Nascent Soul True Monarch's lifelong cultivation!"

His eyes flashed, and at this moment, the various abilities of the [Taiyin Fruit] clearly appeared in Wang Xuan's mind.

[Extraction]: Using this source as energy, external abilities are 'conceptualized' and then stored in the Dao Fruit.

The closer one gets to the realm where the Dao Fruit resides, the less essence is consumed, and vice versa. The extra portion is clearly some kind of loss.

【Assignment】, as the name suggests, involves using the ability to extract to re-materialize the 'concept' and then assign it to a concrete thing.

The "Moonlight Bracelet" that Wang Xuan tried to make before was just like that.

He extracted some concepts from the mundane realm from the moonlight of the night and applied them to his bracelet, giving it a fundamental change, turning it into a wondrous object that could naturally radiate moonlight.

These abilities have already vaguely touched upon the realm of creation... However, if the power of the Dao Fruit were limited to this, Wang Xuan would not have valued it so much, or even regarded it as a divine object that could defy fate.

After all, the transfer of concepts is nothing more than giving something that already exists to another entity; it cannot be described as defying the heavens.

Therefore, in addition to the two mentioned above, it also has the ability to [integrate] and [sublimate].

"Give back the origin, combine lower-level concepts together, extract their essence, or elevate them to a level equal to the origin."

"Exchanging items of the same rank for each other may seem redundant, but in reality, the difference is enormous."

Wang Xuan felt a surge of excitement. He knew that in the world of cultivation, there were countless things with mysterious and powerful functions, but which were useless due to their low rank.

Theoretically, spiritual objects that can help break through the core and transform into an infant are actually only second-tier and have no effect on the Golden Core at all... Theoretically, they can reverse time and rejuvenate, but since they are first-tier spiritual objects, they can only restore three days of youth.

If they can be sublimated and transformed using the essence and core of high-level demonic beasts, their value will instantly skyrocket, making them rare and precious treasures.

In fact, what Wang Xuan is doing today is similar to this.

However, his goal was not tangible matter, but rather the ethereal concept of knowledge.

"Simply using external objects is unnecessary. With my current cultivation level, even if I had a supreme spiritual treasure, I wouldn't be able to use it at all."

"Spiritual root aptitude is also excluded—not because the Dao Fruit cannot extract spiritual roots, but because all beings in this world possess all five elements, and their spiritual roots and souls are closely intertwined, each being an extension of the other."

"Once I 'extract' it, I'm afraid before I can 'sublimate' and 'endow' it, my soul will disintegrate and I will die on the spot."

"In addition, there are rumors that special phenomena occur when celestial spiritual roots and certain spiritual bodies are born, which are said to be related to overcoming the bottleneck of Core Formation."

"This kind of phenomenon is invisible to ordinary people, but cultivators can detect it."

"Therefore, if you don't want to gamble with your life, test the moral standards of high-level cultivators and your own shallow understanding of immortality, then knowledge is the only option right now."

"Fortunately, without affecting reality, the ability to sublimate the Dao Fruit can produce even more powerful effects... So, I wonder if the fourth-order 'Nascent Soul Essence' can directly advance me beyond my current level, allowing me to 'sublimate' into a Heavenly Technique Manual involving the fifth-order 'Primordial Spirit,' or even one that can truly refine the Dao Fruit in the future?"

"Whether it works or not, it's worth a try!"

"The path to immortality is profound; a single step can make all the difference between heaven and earth... Come on."

"I'll stake my extraordinary wisdom and unparalleled talent... and let me, Wang, see just how far you've come!"

"Taiyin Fruit, refine it for me!"

hum-

With a low murmur in his heart, the essence of the foundation-building technique [Three Lights Qi Refining Method] that he had obtained from the sect's lower academy's scripture pavilion surfaced in Wang Xuan's sea of ​​consciousness.

Driven by Wang Xuan's will, the crescent moon above his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the essence of the [Three Lights Qi Cultivation Method].

The first step, [extraction]... Under the power of the Dao Fruit, there was no resistance whatsoever. The concepts contained in the entire cultivation method were peeled away inch by inch, dismantled in a form that ordinary people could not understand.

Without hesitation, Wang Xuan activated his Dao Fruit once again.

Then, in the next moment, the light of [sublimation] shone forth, striking directly at that seemingly illusory yet real concept.

Splash...

It was as if the voice of the Great Dao was ringing in his ears, but upon listening intently, he gained nothing... In the darkness, Wang Xuan sensed that he needed to choose the direction of [sublimation].

"First... it must contain content for advancing to the Nascent Soul stage... second, I must be able to cultivate it directly, and the cultivation speed must not be lower than the original technique... and third, the technique must be extraordinary and not easily detected..."

"Under the above conditions, it will evolve and elevate its foundation according to the direction most aligned with the Dao fruit!"

Wang Xuan silently declared to himself that he believed more in the profound mysteries of the Dao Fruit than in his own limited knowledge. Furthermore, each of the requests he made perfectly suited his current situation.

In an instant, the light of the Dao Fruit fell down.

That mass of Nascent Soul essence disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye... and in a short while, in Wang Xuan's sea of ​​consciousness, that originally illusory concept underwent a tremendous change.

"Okay, very good... Next, the final step."

"Re-assigned".

"Let me see what the truly top-tier cultivation technique in this world of immortality is like!"

珰……

As the Daoist voice resounded, concepts and words overlapped, evolving in countless ways with every breath.

When Wang Xuan came to his senses, an unnamed cultivation technique had already silently surfaced in his mind.

Perhaps because everything happened within his sea of ​​consciousness, the moment he saw the cultivation method, he officially entered the realm of understanding it.

No further comprehension was needed; the body's magical power was unconsciously channeled.

In the quiet room, guided by the Daoist principles and the mysterious influence of the Dao Fruit, a ray of moonlight, invisible to anyone, descended along with starlight, then split into three, shining upon Wang Xuan's Purple Mansion, Tan Zhong, and Dantian.

This is shaping the foundation of the practice, planting the most fundamental seed of the Dharma.

In an instant, the magical power within his body began to undergo a transformation.

The essence of utmost yin and righteousness, utmost purity and utmost coldness circulates in the meridians.

One cycle, two cycles... Immersed in cultivation, the night passed quickly.

Until the moon set in the west and the sun rose in the east. On the eve of the end of the practice, a ray of morning sun energy fell into Wang Xuan's body, rising and falling repeatedly in his dantian, finally landing on the silvery-white magic power, like the yang eye in the yin fish of Tai Chi.

Like boiling water meeting snow, the slightest trace of yin energy silently dissipates... Exhaling a long breath of turbid air emanating a few black stains, Wang Xuan opened his eyes, and the sealed quiet room became clearly visible to him.

He felt an unprecedented sense of comfort, both physically and mentally.

"call……"

"This feeling... Did I succeed?"

It's uncertain, because Wang Xuan doesn't know what the Nascent Soul cultivation technique looks like either.

At this moment, the shock he felt was beyond words.

After just one practice session, Wang Xuan was deeply impressed by this manual.

The realm of immortality begins with the cultivation of Qi and the establishment of the foundation, flourishes with the formation of the nascent soul and the formation of the elixir, and reaches its peak in the realm of the transformation of the spirit, which is the pinnacle since the Middle Ages.

Feeling the profound and unpredictable technique within him, Wang Xuan felt much more at ease.

As he demanded, the content of this newly born nameless cultivation technique only extends to the point of the elixir breaking and the infant spirit emerging. It does not include any other secret techniques or methods; it is merely a pure method of refining qi. But precisely because of this, Wang Xuan felt that the general outline of this technique might have already crossed that threshold.

The essence of a fourth-order nascent soul can be sublimated into a fifth-order cultivation technique... If it is truly successful, then his own words, "evolve according to the direction most suitable for the Dao Fruit," will definitely be credited for it.

Most importantly, this cultivation method is likely to be the beginning of my true refinement of the Dao Fruit itself in the future.

In short, Wang Xuan was extremely satisfied with the result of today's "sublimation".

"Very good, that concludes the most crucial step in cultivation."

Wang Xuan got up, pushed open the door of the quiet room, looked at the scenery outside the courtyard, and slowly walked out.

"Everything is done."

"Then... I can now go into seclusion in peace."

Hmm...that's right, go into seclusion in peace.

His gaze swept to the west, towards the direction of the Lower Academy's General Affairs Hall, where many disciples could accept missions and earn resources... but all of this had nothing to do with Wang Xuan.

People with connections should avoid reckless behavior, but he is clearly not that kind of person.