Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 777 Mid-Nascent Soul Stage, Sword Cave Treasure [Long Chapter, Please Subscribe]

Wanrenjian Cave.

After confirming that he could withstand the power of Geng metal within the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, Zhou Chun began to live the life of an ascetic.

He spends most of the year in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, absorbing and refining the Geng Metal power within to purify his own magical power.

Only when his body sends out signs of fatigue will he temporarily leave for a few days to rest in the secret mansion outside.

During his rest days, Zhou Chun also had some conversations with Hou Bin and other cultivators in the secret mansion out of curiosity, and thus learned a lot of information that was useful to him.

According to Hou Bin, the Tai Geng God and his incarnations rarely come to this secret mansion to cultivate; they merely retain ownership of it.

As for the cultivators in the secret palace like Hou Bin, most of them were originally marginal figures in their sects, and for various reasons, they had little chance of advancement within their own sects.

Therefore, whenever they need to send cultivators to the Secret Palace, their sects will notify these peripheral figures and ask for their opinions.

Anyone willing to come to the Secret Palace to cultivate will be given a spiritual item to help them break through to a higher realm, with the highest level limited to Core Formation spiritual items!

So, it can be said that these people came here by their own choice; no one forced them.

At the same time, due to the special nature of the formation in the secret mansion, unless it is a steward-level figure like Hou Bin who betrays them, even if other cultivators regret their actions, they will not be able to truly escape the secret mansion.

Moreover, with the deterrent power of a Nascent Soul stage Venerable, no one would really think they could escape!

And they didn't actually mean they would die of old age in the secret palace.

According to the rules set by the Tai Geng God, when they have one-tenth of their lifespan left, they can leave the secret palace and live the life they want, but they must not reveal the location of the secret palace.

However, even if they did leak the location of the secret mansion, given the strength of the protective array around it, there's really no need to worry about anything happening.

If a powerful late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator really comes, Hou Bin only needs to show himself and explain the situation, and the other party will obediently retreat. He can also silence the person who leaked the information!

Zhou Chun made a point of memorizing the names of those sects, intending to remind his family's cultivators upon returning home to avoid conflicts with them.

After all, a sect that can gain the approval of the Tai Geng God must have an extraordinary relationship with him. The Zhou family is now a member under the Tai Geng God, so of course they cannot have conflicts with these people in the same camp.

The training effects inside the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave are indeed excellent.

Zhou Chun's magical power was largely enhanced by the power of elixirs, making it less solid than that of cultivators who cultivated step by step.

Now, with the help of the Geng metal power within the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, his magical power has been greatly improved in quality while the total amount remains unchanged, making him almost comparable to a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

With such a significant improvement in the quality of magical power, even the previously unshakeable barrier of realm can now be slightly breached.

If things continue like this, as Tai Geng Divine Venerable said, and we persevere in our attacks, we will eventually be able to break through that barrier of realm.

After Zhou Chun improved his ability to withstand the Geng metal power within the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, he gradually ventured deeper into the cave.

As he ventured deeper into the cave, he learned why the place was called that.

As Zhou Chun ventured deeper into the cave, he discovered that other things had begun to appear inside the once empty cave.

Those were magical artifacts of different styles, mainly flying swords, but also other forms such as knives, spears, halberds, and swords.

These magical artifacts were stuck in the cave walls or on the ground; some were intact, while others were damaged to varying degrees.

At first, most of the magical treasures he saw were low-grade, but as Zhou Chun went deeper, mid-grade and even high-grade magical treasures appeared.

Furthermore, the deeper one goes, the more violent and fierce the Geng metal power becomes. Even Zhou Chun, who had already adapted to the Geng metal power on the outside, would once again face immense pressure here.

Naturally, if he could cultivate in a deeper part of the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, the effect would be even better.

Therefore, in a sense, the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave is indeed a sacred place for cultivation for a metal-attribute cultivator like Zhou Chun.

As long as they can withstand the damage from the Geng metal power here, they can forge an unparalleled foundation for their Dao here!

After realizing this, Zhou Chun was no longer in a hurry to break through the barrier of his realm. He just wanted to see how far he could go in this Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave!

As time went on, Zhou Chun was no longer satisfied with purifying his own magical power. He also used the abundant Geng metal power in this place to cultivate his own supernatural secret techniques.

The progress of the [Formless Gengjin Divine Light] supernatural power is also very encouraging after absorbing and refining the Gengjin power deep in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave.

Even the [Falling Treasure Golden Light] divine power seemed to benefit from the purity of Zhou Chun's magic power, greatly accelerating its cultivation progress.

Given the rare opportunity, Zhou Chun decisively chose to cultivate a metal-attribute divine ability that he had never explored before.

This supernatural power is called the "Heavenly Golden Body," and it is a supernatural power primarily designed to strengthen the body's defenses.

However, it is not the kind of physical cultivation technique, but a proper magical cultivation technique.

Those who cultivate this supernatural power need to use secret methods to collect and condense golden energy into "Heavenly Gold Essence," which is then stored in the dantian.

Once enough "Heavenly Gold Essence" has been stored, the [Heavenly Gold Body] supernatural power can be unleashed.

During the period when the [Heavenly Golden Body] supernatural power is applied, the cultivator's physical body will become as hard as a magic weapon or even a spiritual treasure, with defensive power that even surpasses that of other body-refining cultivators of the same level, and will be immune to or greatly enhanced by the erosion of foreign forces!

Zhou Chun had never cultivated the [Heavenly Golden Body] supernatural power before, mainly because high-quality golden energy was rare.

If the "Essence of Heavenly Gold" were condensed using low-quality gold energy, it would take an unknown amount of gold energy and time to condense even a little bit!

He hadn't even had enough time for meditation and cultivation before, so why would he want to waste the effort to cultivate this supernatural power?

After all, he possesses the secret technique of "Beast Spirit Fusion Technique," which allows him to fuse with powerful demon king spirit pets like Lord Fushan at any time. He also has the secret technique of "Heaven and Earth Spirit Transfer Technique," which can transfer the damage he suffers. Therefore, his need for the "Heavenly Golden Body" is not that strong.

The reason for choosing to cultivate this supernatural power now is purely because the Gengjin power in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave is inexhaustible and is an extremely high-grade metal energy, making it easier to condense into "Heavenly Gold Essence".

Therefore, he was naturally happy to cultivate another supernatural ability that could enhance his survival ability in critical moments.

As the saying goes, a day in the cave is equivalent to a thousand years in the world!

Before he knew it, Zhou Chun had been cultivating in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave for nine years.

On this day, Zhou Chun, who was meditating and cultivating in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, suddenly seemed to hear a "crack" sound, and then the barrier that had been preventing him from breaking through the realm shattered with a bang!

Without the barrier of his realm, Zhou Chun's internal magic power began to circulate rapidly, and a powerful suction force emanated from his body, greedily absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

Since only the violent Geng metal power existed within the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave, a large amount of Geng metal power was absorbed into Zhou Chun's body.

Having already adapted to the Geng metal energy of this place, he now experienced tearing pain in his meridians due to the influx of too much Geng metal energy at once.

Fortunately, he had encountered this kind of meridian tearing situation many times over the years, so he was not flustered at all. On the one hand, he focused on circulating his cultivation technique to refine the Geng metal power flowing into his body and stabilize his own realm, and on the other hand, he used his natal magic weapon [Myriad Transformations Golden Cauldron] to control the amount of Geng metal power in the vicinity.

"Is this the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm?"

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Chun awoke from his meditation. He carefully examined the changes within himself and revealed a satisfied smile.

After breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, his total mana increased by about 50%. As his cultivation level increases in the future, his mana will continue to grow, and his divine sense has also made a great breakthrough.

He released his divine sense, and a silver flying sword magic weapon that was stuck in the cave wall not far away was forcibly pulled out by the invisible power of his divine sense. Then, without being refined or urged by magic power, it began to fly up and down in the cave.

After playing with the flying sword for a while, Zhou Chun returned it to its original position without leaving it untouched.

Immediately, with a thought, a white sword shadow shot out from between his brows and hovered a few feet in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, the white sword shadow was clearly a flying sword that appeared to be carved from crystal, emitting a faint white glow.

Zhou Chun reached out and grabbed the flying sword, but his palm passed right through it, as if the flying sword was just an illusion!

However, no Nascent Soul cultivator would think that way after witnessing this scene.

Upon witnessing this scene, they could only exclaim in shock, "Divine sense crystallizing!"

Yes, divine thoughts crystallize, or divine consciousness take form!

When one's cultivation reaches the late Nascent Soul stage, one's divine sense becomes incredibly powerful, capable of interfering with reality and transforming thoughts into crystals that are visible to the naked eye.

If an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator were to fight a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, the mere clash of their divine senses would be enough to put them at a significant disadvantage, leaving them completely crushed!

Those with cultivation levels below the Nascent Soul stage don't even have the ability to stand in front of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

If a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is willing, they can unleash a storm of divine sense at any time, forcibly scattering the divine senses of cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, turning them all into unconscious idiots.

Generally speaking, only those who have reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm can achieve the transformation of their divine consciousness into physical form.

However, a very small number of exceptionally talented cultivators, through various fortuitous encounters and secret techniques, strengthen their divine sense and the origin of their divine soul, and are able to achieve this even in the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

For example, Nangong Wuqing, whom Zhou Chun was very familiar with, also achieved the transformation of divine consciousness when he was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage!

Zhou Chun has now achieved this as well.

For Nascent Soul cultivators, the most important benefit of manifesting divine consciousness is not offensive capabilities, but rather the ability to comprehend and perceive the laws of heaven and earth.

Cultivators whose divine consciousness has taken form can already vaguely perceive the operation of the laws of heaven and earth.

The Great Way is formless and intangible.

Cultivators whose spiritual sense is not strong enough have no chance to see the operation of the laws of heaven and earth. In essence, their perspective on all things in heaven and earth is not much different from that of ordinary people.

However, in the eyes of cultivators with strong spiritual sense, the operation of all things in heaven and earth follows its own laws and is influenced by the laws of the Great Dao.

Only when you reach this stage is there a real possibility of "enlightenment" and you can truly call yourself a seeker of the Way!

For example, at this moment, Zhou Chun calmed down and released his divine sense to carefully perceive the outside world, and immediately had a different feeling.

The environment remains the same, but the same environment now appears different.

Previously, the omnipresent Geng metal power could only be sensed in its existence and its surge.

Now, however, we can glimpse their existence, see where they flow, where the Geng metal energy is more concentrated, and even vaguely understand why the Geng metal energy is more concentrated in certain places than in others.

Looking at the magical artifacts inside the caves, he could see the spiritual radiance of each artifact, which was concealed by its own spiritual power, under the observation of his divine sense. The strength of the artifact could be judged by the intensity of its spiritual radiance.

Generally speaking, aside from top-grade magic treasures, the stronger the spiritual energy of a magic treasure, the higher its grade.

Even among top-grade magical treasures, those with stronger spiritual energy are more likely to transform and advance into spiritual treasures.

Furthermore, because the Geng metal power here had previously hindered and affected divine sense, Zhou Chun was unable to perceive the deepest part of the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave with his own divine sense.

Now, with his breakthrough in cultivation and the surge in his spiritual sense, the scene deep within the cave has also appeared in his mind.

At the deepest part of the cave, there was a nine-tiered circular sword platform, upon which were inserted one hundred and eight intact flying swords.

Among these 108 flying swords, even the worst one is a top-grade magic weapon.

Among them are as many as twenty-four top-grade magic weapon flying swords!

In addition, there are five flying swords of the spirit treasure level!

At the very top and center of the entire sword platform, a golden longsword is stuck.

Unlike those magical flying swords and top-grade magic weapon flying swords, this sword did not have a dazzling sword light or exude a sharp aura.

Its aura was restrained, emitting almost no external aura, nor revealing any sword light.

However, its location meant that Zhou Chun could not ignore its existence!

Considering that the five magical flying swords can only be ranked below it, its true grade is undoubtedly obvious!

"I never imagined that such a treasure would be hidden within this Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave!"

"Senior Tai Geng, you trust me far too much. Aren't you afraid I'll take this sword and disappear without a trace?"

Zhou Chun stared in awe at the location of the sword platform deep within the cave, his eyes filled with wonder.

If we exclude the [Purifying Heaven and Earth Divine Jar], this is the first time he has examined a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure so closely and directly.

About a third of the longsword was embedded in the sword stand, with only two-thirds, including the hilt, visible.

Its hilt is also very unique, shaped like the head of a golden eagle with outstretched wings.

Upon closer inspection, the golden sword body also has feather-like patterns, suggesting that this sword was forged from the feathers of some divine bird!

Zhou Chun watched intently, his divine sense involuntarily enveloping the longsword, as if he wanted to see it more closely, or perhaps he wanted to try to obtain more information about the sword.

But he soon paid the price for his reckless behavior!

Ah!

A scream suddenly echoed throughout the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave. Zhou Chun collapsed to the ground, clutching his head with both hands, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Just now, after his divine sense enveloped the long sword, it was as if he had disturbed some slumbering, terrifying being. A sharp and incomparable sword intent suddenly erupted, slashing at his soul along the connection of his divine sense, almost splitting him in two!

That was the first time he had encountered such a powerful soul attack. Even the soul attacks unleashed by the Heavenly Soul Clan experts he had encountered before were far inferior to this sword intent.

If it weren't for the qualitative change in his divine sense after breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, which allowed him to reach the realm of divine sense transformation ahead of schedule, the injury left by this sword intent would probably have taken him decades or even centuries to recover!

Even with his current powerful divine sense, this sword strike still caused him considerable damage.

After catching his breath, Zhou Chun endured the excruciating pain that felt like his head was about to split open and quickly left the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave.

Given his current condition, it is no longer suitable for him to continue his cultivation here.

Upon returning to his residence outside, Zhou Chun hurriedly patted his storage bag at his waist and took out the "Soul Cleansing Water Demon" spiritual ointment that he had obtained from the Blood Flame Flood Dragon King's storage artifact.

After testing and evaluation, this item has been confirmed to be able to cleanse and nourish the soul.

The sword intent still lingers in his soul. If he were to rely solely on himself to slowly dispel and resolve it, it would take an unknown amount of time and cause him much suffering.

He certainly didn't want to suffer that pain for nothing.

At this moment, he applied the elixir to his forehead, and a cool sensation immediately flowed into his Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness.

Under the cleansing and washing of this cool air, the sword intent that remained in his soul was gradually dispersed and peeled away.

After using up half of the spirit ointment he had, Zhou Chun finally managed to dispel and eliminate the sword intent.

However, damage to the soul obviously cannot be recovered so quickly.

Although he possessed treasures capable of restoring the damage to his soul, he was reluctant to use such treasures in the current situation.

After all, he doesn't need to fight anyone right now, and even if he rests for a few years, he can recover from his injuries.

"The Great Roc Soaring to the Heavens Sword, is that the name of that sword?"

In the quiet room, Zhou Chun raised his hand to rub his forehead and muttered to himself.

Even after taking that sword strike, he didn't come away empty-handed.

When the sword intent pierced his soul, the sword spirit that had struck him was also awakened from its slumber by him. In its rage, it revealed its identity, thus letting him know the name of the sword.

Since the sword spirit still exists and can still release sword intent to injure him, it means that the sword must still be a complete Tongtian spiritual treasure, not some defective product that has fallen in grade!

It's unclear why the God Tai Geng would leave such a treasure in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave instead of refining and using it himself.

Even if the true form of the Tai Geng God Venerable already possesses a flying sword of the Heavenly Treasure level, his avatar can still use it!

If his avatar possessed the [Great Roc Soaring Sword], he should have been able to easily kill both the "Golden Profound Saint Grandson" and the Ice-Fire Demon Ape in the previous great battle with the demon race, instead of the situation that turned out the way it did!

Zhou Chun couldn't understand this, but he also knew that there was probably a deeper meaning behind it that he didn't know.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "The Nascent Soul stage Venerables have their own reasons for acting; I don't need to worry about it!"

Then I calmed down and focused on recovering from my injury.

In the following period, Zhou Chun discovered other benefits that the Divine Consciousness Transformation Realm brought him.

For example, the secret technique of "Great Evolution Heavenly Secrets" that he had been unable to cultivate before, he easily mastered after practicing it again!

Once this secret technique is successfully mastered, those secret techniques and supernatural abilities that track and lock onto one's soul will no longer be able to work easily.

He could even use this secret method to deduce heavenly secrets and find people and objects!

At the same time, due to the surge in his spiritual power, his "Golden Escape Technique" also made great strides and became even more useful.

Other supernatural abilities such as [Formless Geng Metal Divine Light], [Geng Metal Sky-Splitting Thunder], [Falling Treasure Golden Light], and [Heavenly Golden Body] have all seen their power increased and their cultivation progress significantly accelerated due to his greatly enhanced cultivation and spiritual awareness.

Having discovered these things, Zhou Chun was no longer in a hurry to leave the secret residence.

"Judging by the time, Ying'er should have already entered seclusion and formed her Nascent Soul by now, and the Ancestor's lifespan can still last for several decades. Even if I enter seclusion here for another ten or eight years, it won't matter."

"This is a rare opportunity. If we miss it, even Senior Tai Geng might not agree to let us cultivate in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave again!"

Zhou Chun's eyes flickered. After thinking carefully for a while, he cleared his mind of distractions and continued his cultivation in this place.

In the time that followed, Zhou Chun mainly focused on refining the power of Geng metal to improve his cultivation. The cultivation of secret techniques and supernatural abilities would have to wait a little longer, since cultivation was the foundation of a cultivator.

In this way, one year of cultivation in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave is equivalent to three or four years of cultivation in his own cave on Kunwu Mountain, and the magical power he cultivates and improves is incomparably solid and pure.

As he continued to refine and consume it, the total amount of Geng metal power within the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave began to decrease, clearly indicating that this Geng metal power was not inexhaustible.

Before Tai Geng God Venerable manifested, he said that this place had not been opened for more than two hundred years, which is why it was able to accumulate such a rich Geng metal power.

If it weren't for the fact that Zhou Chun was being given a special opportunity, this Geng metal power should have been absorbed and refined by the Tai Geng God Venerable himself.

Even for a Nascent Soul stage cultivator like him, directly absorbing and refining such a rich amount of Geng metal power could slightly improve his cultivation.

However, Zhou Chun's good days did not last long.

In the third year after he broke through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, the true form of the Tai Geng Divine Venerable suddenly arrived at this secret abode.

"You brat, if I hadn't come, were you going to drain all the Geng metal energy in the Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave in one go before you were satisfied?"

Inside the Myriad Blade Sword Cave, the true form of the Tai Geng Divine Venerable suddenly barged in. Upon seeing Zhou Chun meditating and cultivating in the deepest part of the cave, his gaze sharpened, and he looked at him with a half-smile, issuing interrogations.

Hearing this soul-searching question, Zhou Chun was utterly embarrassed and didn't know how to answer. He could only brace himself and lower his head, replying, "Senior Tai Geng, please forgive me. Since embarking on the path of cultivation, I have never experienced such rapid progress in my cultivation. For a moment, I was too lost and intoxicated by it!"

This answer made Tai Geng, the Divine Lord, chuckle. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, there's no need for such forced explanations. Since I sent you here to cultivate, I have no intention of holding you accountable."

After saying that, he solemnly warned him, "However, you really cannot absorb and refine all the Geng metal power within this Ten Thousand Blade Sword Cave. Otherwise, many of the magical treasures inside will surely be damaged without the nourishment of the Geng metal power!"

"Yes, I understand. I am deeply grateful for Senior Tai Geng's great kindness!"

Zhou Chun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly nodded in agreement, sincerely bowing deeply to Tai Geng God Venerable to express his gratitude.

"Huh, this [Great Roc Soaring to the Heavens Sword] seems to have been awakened. Did you awaken it?"

Just then, as if he had discovered something extraordinary, Tai Geng God Venerable looked at Zhou Chun with a surprised expression and asked a question.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun dared not conceal anything and could only honestly reply, "Senior Tai Geng, please forgive me. When my cultivation broke through before, my divine sense greatly increased. Out of curiosity, I tried to learn about this sword, but I did not expect to anger the sleeping sword spirit within it, and was struck by its sword intent!"

Upon hearing this, the Divine Lord Tai Geng immediately laughed and said, "Then the taste of that sword strike must have been quite unpleasant!"

"Senior Tai Geng's insight is truly remarkable. If it weren't for my relatively strong divine sense and the spiritual artifacts that could neutralize the remaining sword intent, I'm afraid I would still be recuperating in the quiet room outside!"

Zhou Chun answered in a low voice with a wry smile, his tone also carrying a hint of lingering fear.

"Yes, the level of divine sense manifestation is indeed a notch above most mid-Nascent Soul cultivators. With this powerful divine sense, the chances of breaking through the late-Nascent Soul realm barrier will increase by another ten percent!"

Tai Geng God Venerable nodded slightly, seemingly not very surprised that Zhou Chun had reached the realm of divine consciousness taking form.

He then shook his head and said, "You really are a newborn calf unafraid of tigers. This [Great Roc Soaring to the Sky Sword] is no pushover. If it didn't know that you could cultivate here with my permission, it probably wouldn't have just killed you with a single sword strike at the level of sword intent!"

"Senior Tai Geng, why didn't you refine this sword?"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Chun couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind.

Upon hearing his question, Tai Geng Divine Venerable's eyes flashed, and he shook his head slightly, saying, "There's no need for that. For me, having another flying sword won't significantly improve my strength. Besides, the [Heavenly Crystal Spirit-Slaying Sword] in my possession is far more suitable!"

"Furthermore, without this sword suppressing it here, the Myriad Blade Sword Cave wouldn't have its current wondrous use. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to move it!"

Is that so?

Zhou Chun was somewhat skeptical, feeling that both of Tai Geng Divine Venerable's reasons were far-fetched and might not be the real reason.

However, the fact that Tai Geng Divine Lord was able to give him an answer was already a great favor, so he naturally wouldn't push his luck and interrogate him for the truth.

He immediately replied, "I understand. Thank you, Senior Taigeng, for clearing up my doubts."

"Alright, you should leave this place with me now. I've brought the magical treasure you entrusted to me to refine with me."

Tai Geng, the Divine Lord, waved his hand and immediately led the way, turning and heading out of the cave.