Chapter 1061
A Prodigy, Nascent Soul Level 6
However, the fact that the other party was going to publicly attempt to break through to a higher realm was quite unexpected. Song Qingming had guessed various reasons on his way here, but he never thought it would be this.
Seeing that all the cultivators present were still discussing it, Zhao Wuling's avatar did not say anything. He cupped his hands to everyone present and then turned and left the hall.
Regardless of Zhao Wuling's motives, he decided to publicly announce his attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
This would not be a loss for the many Nascent Soul cultivators present; on the contrary, it would give them a chance to witness firsthand the process of a cultivator breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage.
Faced with Zhao Wuling's invitation, Song Qingming was also somewhat excited and wanted to stay and continue watching the ceremony.
Just as Song Qingming turned his gaze to Bai Yuxian beside him, he saw her immediately nod slightly, clearly not wanting to miss this grand scene that was a once-in-a-millennium event in the cultivation world.
It should be understood that among the countless cultivators in the entire "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" cultivation world, only a handful have reached this level in the past ten thousand years, and not everyone has the opportunity to witness this event firsthand.
A few years ago, when Song Qingming went to the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom", Bai Yuxian's cultivation had already broken through to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
With her cultivation speed and her exceptional talent of a rare Heavenly Spiritual Root, she has a very good chance of advancing to the late Nascent Soul stage or even reaching the Divine Transformation stage in the future.
Now that she had come here and encountered such an opportunity, her excitement was no less than that of the other cultivators present.
Seeing that Bai Yuxian shared the same idea, Song Qingming decided to stay with her at "Wanyu Mountain" for the time being.
Apart from the two of them, all the other Nascent Soul cultivators present nodded and stayed on their own initiative; no one chose to leave at this time.
".."
A month later, on a high mountain southeast of "Wanyu Mountain".
Wang Yan, Chu Lingyun, Zhao Wuling's incarnation, and Liu Heyuan, who had just formed his Nascent Soul, were standing outside a cave that had been in seclusion for a long time.
As Zhao Wuling's avatar waved his hand to open the restrictions on the cave ahead, the four of them entered the cave one after another and saw Zhao Wuling's true form sitting on a high platform.
At this moment, although Zhao Wuling's hair and beard were somewhat gray, his eyes were sharp and bright, and he was looking at the people who walked in with a smile.
"Greetings, Grand Elder!"
"Yes! No need for formalities, please rise!"
After waving for Wang Yan and the others to stand up, Zhao Wuling's gaze quickly fell on Liu Heyuan, who was standing to the side, and he nodded slightly to him.
"It's rare that Junior Brother Liu was able to successfully form his Nascent Soul at this time, which has fulfilled one of my wishes. Even if I'm not around in the future, the sect should be fine with you all here."
Next, I will attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm. If anything unexpected happens, Junior Brother Wang will succeed me as the Grand Elder. I hope you two junior brothers and sisters will assist me diligently in the future to preserve the sect's legacy.
"Don't worry, senior brother, we will do our best to protect the sect, even if it costs us our lives!"
"The Grand Elder is favored by Heaven, so please do not worry. I believe that Senior Brother will be able to overcome this challenge."
"Senior Sister Chu is right. The Grand Elder is an unparalleled genius. We must not..."
Hearing Zhao Wuling's tone as if he were entrusting his final affairs, Wang Yan and the others who had followed him for many years all changed their expressions and hurriedly said a few words of comfort.
Seeing this, Zhao Wuling nodded with a hint of satisfaction, then pointed to several prayer cushions that had been prepared in advance beside him.
"Fellow disciples, rest assured, I have a plan for this breakthrough. I ask for your help, I'm counting on you!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yan and the others immediately bowed to Zhao Wuling in front of them, and then quickly moved to the prayer mats on the side.
As everyone began to activate their magic power, a square magic array quickly appeared below, concentrating the magic power of Wang Yan and the other three onto Zhao Wuling.
"Whether we succeed or fail today, it's all predetermined. Just do your best!"
After he finished speaking, Zhao Wuling closed his eyes and a powerful aura immediately erupted from his body, covering the area around the mountain.
Even Song Qingming and the others, who were on another high mountain dozens of miles away, felt this astonishing aura and couldn't help but turn their attention to it.
Is this about to begin?
Sensing the changes in the surrounding spiritual energy, Song Qingming and the others exchanged glances and immediately flashed out into the air.
At this moment, the spiritual energy in the surrounding world began to surge wildly into the cave where Zhao Wuling was in seclusion, and the clouds and mist were also rolling in the sky, showing the extraordinary phenomenon of breaking through to a higher realm.
Just as Song Qingming and the others were focused on the strange phenomenon in the sky, a familiar voice suddenly entered their ears. It was Zhao Wuling, who was in seclusion trying to break through to a higher realm.
"Fellow Daoists, I, Zhao, entered the Dao at a young age and have cultivated diligently for over a thousand years. Only by chance have I been able to complete my Nascent Soul cultivation and attempt to transform my Nascent Soul into a Spirit."
The reason I invited everyone here today is so that you could witness my breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm.
For tens of thousands of years, no one in my Floating Cloud Mountain Range has been able to successfully advance to this supreme realm. I, Zhao, am not as talented as many of my predecessors, and it is already a blessing from the heavens that I have been able to reach this point!
Fellow Daoists, you are all promising talents of our Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
Regardless of whether I succeed in breaking through to a higher realm, I hope that my actions can be of some help to everyone.
Even if Zhao fails, I believe that someone else will overcome this obstacle in the future and lead the human cultivators of the Floating Cloud Mountains back to prosperity.
Upon hearing Zhao Wuling's voice, everyone present was shocked and quickly bowed respectfully to the distant mountains.
As the number one expert in the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range", Zhao Wuling's talent for cultivation goes without saying. Among the many Nascent Soul cultivators present, none dared to say that their talent could rival his.
Even a genius like him, when facing the challenge of breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, still revealed a hint of helplessness in his words.
Clearly, he himself was not very confident about this attempt to reach the highest realm.
It's rare that Zhao Wuling has such a magnanimous heart; at this crucial moment when he's breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, he still thought to specially invite these people to witness the ceremony.
Because of their righteous indignation, Song Qingming and the others were filled with admiration and took the initiative to bow in respect.
As soon as Zhao Wuling finished speaking, the clouds and mist in the sky churned more and more violently, and this amazing celestial phenomenon could be seen almost all around "Wanyu Mountain".
Meanwhile, the many disciples of the "Wanling Sect" below, seeing that their ancestor had officially begun his seclusion to break through to a higher realm, hurriedly activated the surrounding magic arrays to conceal the strange phenomena in the heavens and earth above.
But not long after the "Wanling Sect" activated the magic array, two figures also arrived nearby in the distant northern sky, watching everything.
Seeing that the entire "Ten Thousand Jade Mountain" in the distance was already covered by the formation, the "Purple Cloud Demon Emperor" standing high in the sky immediately spoke with a hint of deeper meaning:
"Fellow Daoist Qing Tong, it seems there's some activity at Wan Yushan again. Should we go check it out?"
"No need to go. I heard that someone in their sect successfully formed a Nascent Soul recently. This time, it's probably that old guy Zhao Wuling who caused this commotion."
Zhao Wuling's lifespan is running out, and he's probably still unwilling to give up, wanting to try again to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
"What? He's about to break through to the Nascent Soul realm again so soon? Should we inform the others? Otherwise, if he really succeeds, we'll all be in big trouble."
Upon hearing the Azure-Eyed Demon Emperor beside him guess that the human cultivator was attempting to advance to the Nascent Soul realm, the Purple Cloud Demon Emperor's expression immediately became somewhat tense.
Seeing this, the "Azure-Eyed Demon Emperor" standing to the side immediately waved his hand and said:
"Hehe! I had already inquired beforehand, and Zhao Wuling doesn't have any spiritual items that allow him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage at all."
Although this person is already considered a rare genius among human cultivators, his chances of successfully breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm based solely on his talent are probably less than 50%.
"Don't worry, if Zhao Wuling truly has a chance to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, how could those old ancestors in the north sit idly by and watch him break through to the next level so easily?"
A Nascent Soul cultivator who wants to transform from a nascent soul into a god must overcome three major obstacles!
These are respectively: comprehending the Dao of Heaven, tempering the body with primordial energy, and transforming into a god through infancy.
The first of these three trials is to separate one's nascent soul from the body to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, and then control the primordial energy of heaven and earth to temper the cultivator's physical body.
Once the second stage is completed, the Nascent Soul cultivator's physical strength and mana will be greatly enhanced, thus successfully reaching the half-step Divine Transformation realm.
Then comes the final challenge: attempting to transform one's nascent soul into a spirit, dispersing one's own "natal nascent soul" into the body and completely merging it with the primordial spirit, thus breaking through to the realm of the Nascent Soul.
Once a cultivator enters the Nascent Soul realm, their primordial spirit is no longer imprisoned by the physical body and can travel thousands of miles in spirit at any time.
As long as a Nascent Soul cultivator's primordial spirit remains intact, even if their physical body is damaged, they will not be in mortal danger. They can be considered to be beings who have transcended the mundane world.
However, among the thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators in the entire cultivation world, only a handful can reach the Divine Transformation realm, which shows that advancing to the Divine Transformation realm is by no means easy.
When Zhao Wuling first attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul realm a hundred years ago, he couldn't even pass the first hurdle of comprehending the Heavenly Dao. He was injured by the complete destruction of the primordial energy of heaven and earth, and ultimately failed in his attempt to break through the realm.
In this second attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, Zhao Wuling still possessed some special spiritual artifact to aid in the breakthrough, along with a secret technique that allowed him to borrow the power of others to help him overcome his bottleneck.
With the help of this secret method, after several months of trying, Zhao Wuling finally succeeded in comprehending the Dao of Heaven, but he still failed to complete the tempering of his Yuan Qi and collapsed at the second stage of breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Despite decades of seclusion, Zhao Wuling ultimately failed to take this crucial step.
He couldn't even reach the half-step Nascent Soul realm after the second stage of Qi tempering, so he voluntarily gave up trying to break through to the next realm. As the strange phenomena in the sky slowly dissipated, the faces of the people standing in mid-air were filled with disappointment.
Unexpectedly, even a genius like Zhao Wuling, a rare talent in the cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountains" who is one in a thousand years, is finding it so difficult to advance to the Nascent Soul realm, with little hope of success in sight.
Not to mention cultivators like them, who haven't even crossed the late Nascent Soul stage yet.
From the moment Song Qingming heard Zhao Wuling speak his mind, he had already guessed that Zhao Wuling's chances of successfully breaking through to the next realm were slim.
But given Zhao Wuling's talent and his previous experience of attempting to break through to a higher realm, he thought that the other party should at least be able to pass the second level and reach the half-step Nascent Soul realm.
Unexpectedly, despite Zhao Wuling's decades of painstaking seclusion and the aid of secret techniques, he still failed to pass the second trial and returned home empty-handed.
To be honest, Song Qingming felt a great sense of disappointment in the face of this result.
It seems that advancing to the Nascent Soul realm is far more difficult than they initially thought, which explains why Nascent Soul cultivators have been so rare in the cultivation world for so many years.
Having witnessed Zhao Wuling's failure to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, everyone felt a sense of sorrow and wanted to visit the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect" elder who had risked his life to do so.
However, despite everyone's good intentions, Wang Yan and Chu Lingyun declined Song Qingming and the others' visit, wanting Zhao Wuling to have time to focus on his healing in seclusion.
When a cultivator attempts to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, failure will inevitably result in a backlash from the primordial energy of heaven and earth. In severe cases, it can even cause the cultivator's nascent soul to dissipate, leading to their immediate death.
Zhao Wuling already had a lifespan of just over a hundred years left. Even if he didn't die on the spot after this failed advancement, his remaining lifespan would definitely be greatly affected.
Although Wang Yan and the "Wanling Sect" did this, it was still to keep the information he had secret.
However, most of the cultivators present could also see that this Grand Elder of the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect" would probably find it difficult to appear in front of everyone in the future.
Seeing this, Song Qingming and the others who had been invited to witness the ceremony took their leave and departed from "Wanyu Mountain".
Just as everyone was leaving, high in the northern sky, the two demon emperors saw the strange phenomena in the sky had already dissipated, exchanged a glance, and immediately disappeared from their original positions.
Soon, the once bustling "Wanyushan" gradually quieted down as everyone left.
The trip to the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect" and the round trip took Song Qingming two months.
Including the several months he spent there observing the ceremony, it was already half a year later when Song Qingming returned to "Red Cloud Mountain".
This trip to the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect" allowed Song Qingming to witness Zhao Wuling's breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm up close, which also gave him considerable insights.
Upon returning to "Red Cloud Mountain", Song Qingming quickly entered his secluded cultivation cave, preparing to try to break through his cultivation bottleneck with the insight he had gained.
Even before leaving seclusion, Song Qingming's cultivation had already reached the peak of the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and he was already attempting to break through the bottleneck of the sixth level.
However, after several years of seclusion, Song Qingming failed to break through the bottleneck in his attempts to advance his cultivation level.
Although he didn't get to witness Zhao Wuling, the great cultivator, successfully achieve the Nascent Soul stage during this trip to the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect," it did give him some insights into cultivation and restored his confidence to break through to a higher realm.
The insights that cultivators gain during their cultivation are not frequent occurrences. Song Qingming, who had cultivated for hundreds of years, had only experienced them a few times.
These times, without exception, they all provided him with considerable assistance, including helping him break through his own cultivation bottleneck.
Having finally gained some insights, Song Qingming naturally didn't want to miss this great opportunity, so he immediately began his closed-door cultivation to break through as soon as he returned to his cave.
During this seclusion, Song Qingming did not have any spiritual items to assist in breaking through his cultivation level, so he did not seem to be in too much of a hurry.
It took Song Qingming three whole years to patiently hone his magical power bit by bit.
Only when the bottleneck in his body began to loosen did he take out two high-grade spirit stones from his body and use this enormous spiritual power to successfully break through the bottleneck and raise his cultivation to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
Feeling that his internal magical power had increased significantly again, Song Qingming, who was in seclusion, showed a hint of satisfaction on his face.
Having cultivated for hundreds of years, Song Qingming has only spent 180 years since breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, and he has successfully raised his cultivation to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
While such a cultivation speed may not be comparable to the top geniuses of major sects in the outside world, it is already considered one of the best in a small place like the "Floating Cloud Mountains" cultivation world.
At the age of 460, he successfully advanced to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and his lifespan is still quite long.
Leaving aside his attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm like Zhao Wuling, Song Qingming was still quite confident in reaching the late Nascent Soul stage.
Now the "Xiaoyao Sect" has four Nascent Soul cultivators: Li Mufeng, Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, and himself, plus the "Ice and Fire Dragon," a level four spirit beast at the second level of Nascent Soul.
If Song Qingming can successfully break through to the late Nascent Soul stage in the future, then barring any unforeseen circumstances, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" will become the number one sect in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
However, these things are currently only discussed in theory.
The world of cultivation is a place of constant change, and it's difficult for anyone to accurately predict what will happen decades or even centuries from now.
Just like the "Xiaoyao Sect," it's hard to imagine that in just two or three hundred years, they could rise from an ordinary Nascent Soul sect in the "Floating Cloud Mountains" to become a force second only to the "Wanling Sect."
After successfully breaking through to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, Song Qingming, seeing that no one was coming to disturb him, secluded himself for several months to consolidate his cultivation before finally venturing out of his cave.
Soon after Song Qingming emerged from the cave, a figure appeared beside him—it was Song Qingyu, who had sensed the commotion.
"I sensed some movement here before, and I thought you were practicing some kind of technique again. I didn't expect that Seventh Brother would break through his cultivation level so quickly."
Qingyu would like to first congratulate Seventh Brother!
Song Qingyu, who had just walked over, sensed the change in Song Qingming's aura. With a hint of surprise on her face, she immediately smiled and cupped her hands in greeting.
It had only been a little over thirty years since Song Qingming broke through to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and Song Qingyu hadn't expected him to break through again so quickly.
That's why when she first noticed the unusual spiritual energy here, she assumed that Song Qingming was practicing some special technique again.
Seeing that her seventh brother had once again widened the gap in cultivation level between her and Song Qingyu, a hint of helplessness flashed across Song Qingyu's eyes.
From a young age, Song Qingyu knew from her family elders that Song Qingming's spiritual root aptitude was inferior to hers. However, despite having cultivated for so long and having had many opportunities, she was still falling further and further behind. How could she not feel discouraged by this?
Seeing this, Song Qingming quickly replied, "I swallowed a fruit that I brought out from the Tower of Babel, which helped me free up a lot of my cultivation time."
In addition, his trip to the Wanling Sect to watch Fellow Daoist Zhao break through to the Nascent Soul realm gave him a lot of insights, which is why he was fortunate enough to break through his realm ahead of schedule.
Otherwise, without these two great helpers, I would probably have needed to spend another twenty or thirty years in arduous cultivation. Don't be envious; I was just lucky.
"Okay! Don't worry, Seventh Brother, I won't envy your luck. No matter how fast you cultivate, I just want to follow behind you in this life."
"Once my sister-in-law emerges from seclusion, we'll go together to Donghuang Kingdom to find Senior Sister Li, and then travel to other cultivation worlds to see their different sights."
"Yes! Once Siyuan has reached Nascent Soul stage, we can go see other sights together."
Upon hearing Song Qingyu's suggestion, Song Qingming nodded slightly, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the cave where Huang Siyuan was in seclusion not far away.
It has been almost ten years since she went into seclusion to form her Nascent Soul. If nothing unexpected happens, she should have reached the crucial step of condensing her Nascent Soul by now.
Today, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" is strong and well-equipped, and its strength is no longer what it used to be. There are no major crises in the surrounding area.
If Huang Siyuan can successfully form her Nascent Soul in one fell swoop, Song Qingming does indeed want to take this opportunity to take her and Song Qingyu on a trip.
As for whether or not to bring his senior sister Li Xuanyi along, Song Qingming hadn't decided yet, but he just nodded casually.
"Qingyu, has there been any major change at Siyuan Cave recently?"
"Don't worry, Seventh Brother. Chi Yan and I have been keeping watch there. We haven't seen anything suspicious yet. Don't worry, I believe your wife will definitely get through this safely."
Seeing that Song Qingming seemed a little worried, Song Qingyu quickly smiled and replied. Then, as if remembering something, she took out a letter from her body and handed it to Song Qingming.
"By the way, Seventh Brother, a few days ago Yunlong brought a letter up from the foot of the mountain, saying that Jingyun had something to ask you and asked them to deliver it."
I was thinking of letting you know via telepathy, but I didn't expect you to emerge from seclusion so quickly.
"Jingyun contacted me. Did he say anything?"
Upon hearing that it was his apprentice Bai Jingyun who was looking for him, Song Qingming took the letter and asked a question. However, Song Qingyu, who was standing next to him, shook her head, clearly indicating that she had not opened the letter.
After opening the letter and glancing at it, Song Qingming remained silent for a moment with a calm expression, then slowly put it down and softly said:
"Judging by the time, Jingyun and Linyu are almost at the crucial moment of forming their cores. I guess they must have encountered some troublesome issues."
"I was just thinking of going down the mountain for a walk, so I'll go to the market to see them. I'll leave things up on the mountain to you for now."
After putting away the letter, Song Qingming smiled and gave Song Qingyu some instructions before turning around and slowly walking down the mountain.
(I heard the animated version of "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" went viral today. I wonder if you all realized that I'm also a fan of the book? On behalf of Song Laozu, I'd like to congratulate all the fans of "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality"!) (End of Chapter)