Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

Since Murong Fan joined the Thunder Sound Sect and became a lay disciple of the presiding master, he devoted himself to cultivation in the sect's scripture pavilion every day. When he encountered doubts during his cultivation, he would consult the presiding master; if the presiding master was in seclusion, he would seek guidance from Elder Yuanzhi. In this way, he was essentially guided by two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators simultaneously, resulting in Murong Fan's cultivation speed advancing by leaps and bounds, making astonishing progress.

As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. Murong Fan had abundant cultivation resources and his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, which aroused dissatisfaction among many elders and disciples of the Thunder Sound Sect. For a time, he almost became the target of everyone's criticism.

These grievances and jealousies stemmed from the fact that Murong Fan, a cultivator from the southern barbarians, had only been there a short time before being personally taught the sect's most powerful cultivation technique by the sect's abbot and being granted access to the Scripture Pavilion—a privilege rarely even among the core direct disciples.

Murong Fan didn't care about the gossip and nitpicking from others, nor did he bother to argue with them. He knew very well that his only purpose in coming to the Great Jin Dynasty was to improve his cultivation. The Thunder Sound Sect was merely a temporary stop and stepping stone on his path of cultivation, and there was no need to be distracted by such trivial matters and delay his cultivation progress.

Therefore, when faced with jealousy and gossip, he either closed himself off to cultivate diligently or, as Yuan Xiang instructed, sent the Pure World Spirit Wine to the ninth level every seven days. He never argued with anyone or made enemies. Over time, those who were looking for trouble lost interest and regarded him as a lackey hiding under Yuan Xiang's wing. Although there was still contempt, the gossip gradually faded away.

Fortunately, everything was developing in the direction Murong Fan had hoped for. He used the resources of the Thunder Sound Sect to hone his cultivation, and he also found many lost classics of elixirs in the Scripture Pavilion. Moreover, he found a formula for a youth-preserving pill in these classics. Murong Fan was secretly delighted, thinking, "Learning this formula will definitely bring me many benefits in the future!" Combining his previous knowledge with his own, he made up his mind to learn all these classics of elixirs.

"The art of alchemy is one of the hundred arts of cultivation that Master Hong Fu required me to learn. I was unable to master it before, but now I can take this opportunity to make up for this shortcoming. It's better late than never," Murong Fan thought to himself.

He did not directly consume the three Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills that Yuan Xiang had given him. Instead, relying on his alchemy skills, he added a few more spiritual herbs he had obtained from the Thunder Sound Sect's herb garden and refined them into a new batch of Breakthrough Pills that would be even more useful to him. Once everything was ready, he asked Yuan Xiang for leave, saying that he was going into seclusion to break through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Yuan Xiang was overjoyed to hear this and immediately sent people to guard the area around the Thunder Listening Courtyard to protect him and prevent guests from entering.

The secluded chamber was carved into a giant rock behind the Listening Thunder Courtyard, isolating it from all external interference. Murong Fan sat cross-legged on a futon, his fingertips pointing to the ancient jade slip, recalling the earnest teachings of Prime Minister Yuan before his seclusion.

"The Nascent Soul realm cannot be reached overnight." Yuan Xiang's aged voice still echoed in his ears. "This 'Breaking Through Realms Scripture' is a secret transmission of the Thunder Sound Sect. It can help you overcome the bottlenecks in your breakthrough from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage, but do not be impatient for quick results." Murong Fan bowed and accepted the jade slip. The cool jade slip, however, warmed his heart. He knew that Yuan Xiang's actions were already an exception. Among the countless disciples of the Thunder Sound Sect, very few had ever received a secret scripture personally taught by the sect leader.

The six years that Murong Fan spent in seclusion passed in the blink of an eye.

For the first three years, Murong Fan stayed at home, immersing himself completely in cultivation. He took out the relic that the Sinful Buddha had "handed over." The ancient relic contained three hundred years of Buddhist power, every strand of which was extremely pure.

Murong Fan carefully guided the Buddhist power within the relic, slowly integrating it into his consciousness, refining his spiritual strength day after day. Within his sea of ​​consciousness, it was as if an invisible carving knife was sculpting each strand of his consciousness, making it increasingly condensed.

Not only did he rely on the relic, but Murong Fan also took out the Herbal Art, Azure Origin Sword Art, Thunder Sound Treasure Record, and Black Buddha Devouring Heaven Technique one by one and carefully studied them. He discovered that these techniques, though seemingly independent, were actually intricately connected.

The vibrant life force of the Herbs and Trees Technique, the sharp and domineering power of the Azure Origin Sword Technique, the solemnity and weight of the Thunder Sound Treasure Record, and the unpredictable and mysterious Black Buddha Devouring Heaven Technique collided and merged in his mind.

Murong Fan, like a skilled craftsman, disassembled and reassembled the essence of these techniques bit by bit, eventually forming a cultivation system of his own.

In order to obtain the "Nascent Soul Fusion Pill," which could weaken the Nascent Soul stage, Murong Fan summoned the altar and used the resources he had previously gathered in Tiannan as a sacrifice. This altar, which initially struggled to adapt to the new environment of the Great Jin Dynasty, has now almost fully adapted. It seems its previous poor performance was not only due to the influence of the evil energy but also related to his own insufficient cultivation.

In an instant, an ancient and mysterious aura filled the altar, and complex runes flashed above it. Murong Fan slowly channeled his divine sense into the runes. The moment his pure divine sense touched the runes, the entire altar instantly lit up with a dazzling light, and a pure medicinal power surged from the altar, merging into Murong Fan's body. He could clearly feel that the bottleneck in his breakthrough from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage seemed to have loosened somewhat.

Starting in the fourth year, Murong Fan began his formal attempt to break through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He created a small alchemy furnace in a secret chamber and refined various pills to aid his cultivation every day.

Murong Fan knew that during his seclusion, the ways to obtain natural resources had decreased, and the resources he had previously acquired in Tiannan were being consumed. If he relied solely on sacrifices to obtain Fusion Pills, he would eventually deplete the reserves in his storage bag. It would be better to take this opportunity to consolidate his alchemy skills.

Inside the sealed chamber, the flames of the alchemy furnace roared as Murong Fan concentrated intently on refining elixirs. On the stone table before him, various refined medicinal herbs were neatly arranged, each carefully selected and proportioned. Murong Fan carefully added the herbs to the furnace in sequence, simultaneously controlling the flame temperature to ensure the herbs were fully refined.

As the flames scorched the herbs, they gradually transformed into a pure medicinal liquid. Murong Fan dared not be careless in the slightest. He carefully observed the changes in the liquid, adjusting the size and temperature of the flames as needed. When the liquid became thick, he began to slowly infuse it with his true essence, condensing it bit by bit. After several hours of effort, the liquid finally transformed into round pills.

Murong Fan let out a long sigh, a relieved smile appearing on his face. He picked up a pill, examining it carefully and sensing its medicinal power. Although these pills weren't as precious as the Nascent Soul Pill, they could still provide him with a continuous supply of medicinal power during his cultivation.

Murong Fan carefully put away the pills, secretly calculating in his mind. With the aid of these pills, his chances of breaking through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm had increased considerably. He knew that the path of cultivation ahead would be even more difficult, but he had made ample preparations. His pill-refining skills were also becoming increasingly proficient.

Besides alchemy, Murong Fan also constantly fine-tuned his cultivation technique. He discovered that as his cultivation level improved, his previous techniques were no longer applicable in certain aspects. Therefore, based on his actual situation, he made a series of adjustments to his technique.

Each adjustment Murong Fan made required a great deal of time and energy, but he enjoyed it immensely. He knew that only by adjusting his cultivation technique to its most suitable state could he unleash its greatest power during the process of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

More than six years later, on a late autumn night, Murong Fan felt he had reached his peak condition. He took a deep breath, took out the sacrificial Infant Fusion Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp. The scalding medicinal power instantly exploded, surging through his meridians and enveloping the golden core, which had already been polished to the hardness of black iron. He slowly circulated his Buddhist power according to the mental cultivation method of the "Thunder Sound Treasure Record," drawing a wisp of innate thunder energy hidden underground by the Thunder Sound Sect into his body, constantly cleansing the surface of the golden core.

The breakthrough was fraught with peril, and Murong Fan nearly succumbed to qi deviation several times. Under the impact of the thunderous energy and medicinal power, his golden core trembled and expanded continuously, as if it might rupture at any moment. He could clearly feel as if countless sharp blades were cutting through his meridians within his dantian.

Every breath Murong Fan took was accompanied by excruciating pain. But Murong Fan gritted his teeth, relying on his unwavering will and the medicinal power of the Nascent Soul Pill to persevere. He knew that if he failed, not only would he have no hope of achieving the Nascent Soul stage, but it might even damage his very foundation, causing his cultivation to stagnate forever.

On the brink of life and death, Murong Fan gathered the power of all his cultivation techniques into his dantian. The vitality of the Herb and Wood Technique, the sharpness of the Azure Origin Sword Technique, the solemnity of the Thunder Sound Treasure Record, and the eeriness of the Black Buddha Devouring Heaven Technique intertwined and merged within his body, forming an unprecedentedly powerful force.

This fused power of Qingda was like a surging tide, constantly impacting the bottleneck of the Golden Core. Finally, as the morning light pierced through the cracks in the stone, the Golden Core that had been residing in the dantian suddenly cracked open, and countless golden-red particles scattered, reforming into a blurry human figure, which was none other than Murong Fan's nascent Nascent Soul.

Murong Fan steadied his mind and slowly channeled the thunder energy and Buddhist power into his nascent soul. The illusory figure gradually solidified, its features becoming indistinguishable from his own, with faint thunderous chanting emanating from its body.

The moment his nascent soul was fully formed, Murong Fan felt his sea of ​​consciousness instantly become vast and boundless, as if it could contain the entire world. He could clearly sense that his cultivation had reached a completely new realm.

Murong Fan slowly opened his eyes, two golden beams flashing from them. He raised his hand and gently clenched it, and pure Nascent Soul energy flowed from his fingertips. A faint smile appeared on his lips, knowing that this step was taken steadily, and that he would truly have the capital to secure his place in the Thunder Sound Sect in the future.

Murong Fan suppressed his excitement. Although he had already broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, in the Thunder Sound Sect, a place teeming with hidden talents, being too sharp was never a good thing. He would have to keep a low profile in the future. This secluded cultivation lasted for more than six years. Now, Murong Fan was twenty-five years old. He was aloof and arrogant, with a touch of lazy evil in his handsome appearance. This experience of seclusion had tempered his Dao heart, making his cultivation mind more mature and his experience richer, accumulating valuable experience for his subsequent cultivation.