Chapter 1233
The Netherworld Ancestor, Lacking in Opportunities
Chapter 1233 The Netherworld Ancestor, Lacking in Opportunities
In the distance, a figure in a gray robe stood in mid-air.
The gray-robed man stared intently at the black-robed ghost cultivator before him, holding a jade-green flying sword that emitted bursts of spiritual light and exuded a powerful aura far surpassing that of ordinary magical treasures.
"Master!"
Upon seeing the person before them, who bore a striking resemblance to the "Jin Chen Dao Ren" who was currently in seclusion within the formation breaking through to a higher realm, Long Ziyun recognized him as well and couldn't help but call out to him.
This gray-robed Taoist, who resembles "Jin Chen Dao Ren" in appearance, is actually an avatar of his, whose cultivation has reached the late Nascent Soul stage.
Before "Jin Chen Dao Ren" went into seclusion to break through his cultivation level, he had already arranged for his avatar to guard the core of the great formation.
However, this matter was always planned in secret and was never publicized.
Apart from Wang Quan'an, who was operating the great formation, none of the other cultivators present, including Long Ziyun, the personal disciple of "Jin Chen Dao Ren," knew that he had already arranged this matter.
They thought that the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" had been left at the headquarters of the "Four Seas Business Alliance" and had not come with them.
Long Ziyun, who had just looked anxious, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" appear.
Fortunately, their master had prepared a backup plan, otherwise, it's likely that not only they would have been in danger today.
Even the "Jin Chen Dao Ren" himself, who is in seclusion inside, may be affected by this, which could lead to his failure in this attempt to break through to the next realm.
After glancing at the battlefield still raging above, the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" immediately turned to Long Zi Yun and spoke:
"You two go help Qi Rong and the others. Leave this man to me."
"Hmph! You think you can stop me, a mere late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?"
Seeing that the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" seemed to disregard him, the black-robed ghost cultivator, feeling slighted by the contempt, immediately showed some displeasure.
Before Long Ziyun and the other person could leave, he had already cast a spell and released a ghostly claw that went straight for his opponent.
However, before the ghost claw he released through his spell could reach Long Ziyun's back, another powerful sword light flew in from afar.
Faced with this attack, the black-robed ghost cultivator didn't pay much attention at first, and cast a spell to release another ghost claw in an attempt to stop the opponent.
But to his surprise, the moment the black ghost claw grasped the sword light, he felt an overwhelming aura envelop him.
In an instant, it shattered the huge black claw in mid-air.
Seeing this astonishing scene, the black-robed ghost cultivator could no longer concentrate on attacking Long Ziyun and her companion.
Having no time to employ other defensive measures, he could only hurriedly concentrate the black mist on his body and quickly form a circular shield in front of him.
"boom!"
The two beams of light collided, and a deafening roar resounded in the middle of the battlefield.
After the attack, the black-robed ghost cultivator couldn't help but retreat more than ten steps, his face showing a somewhat ugly expression.
Although he successfully blocked the attack, his right arm was still severed by the sword light.
In this encounter, his carelessness led to his defeat.
The opponent was clearly only at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, yet he easily broke through his defenses with just one sword strike. His supernatural abilities were far different from what he had anticipated.
The black-robed ghost cultivator, who had just not paid much attention to the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren," now looked at the cyan flying sword in the other's hand and couldn't help but feel a little more wary.
The black-robed ghost cultivator raised his hand and released a black mist that wrapped around his arm.
His left hand, which had been cut in half by the opponent, grew back rapidly in the blink of an eye, and his injuries were instantly healed.
"A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, possessing such a powerful magic weapon, your identity must be extraordinary!"
"What is your purpose here? Why did you kill my beloved concubine?"
"No comment!"
"It seems you truly don't take me, the Netherworld Ancestor, seriously. Today, I'll have to show you my power."
"I'll accept your physical body for now."
Upon hearing the other party utter four words in a cold tone, the black-robed ghost cultivator's aura surged instantly, and a powerful black aura enveloped his body.
This black-robed ghost cultivator, who called himself "Ancestor of the Underworld," had already reached the late Nascent Soul stage in his previous life.
Afterwards, he turned to the Ghost Path and cultivated diligently for over ten thousand years, eventually advancing to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and was only one step away from the Divine Transformation stage.
However, since the Heavenly Dao does not favor ghost cultivation, it cannot be exposed to sunlight all year round. On weekdays, the "Ancestor of the Underworld" can only hide in a dark and damp underwater cave to cultivate in seclusion.
He had been in seclusion for over a thousand years, and it was only recently, when one of his beloved concubines was suddenly killed, that he awoke.
Although he was somewhat wary of the opponent who had suddenly appeared before him, the "Netherworld Ancestor," whose face was full of anger as he thought of his beloved concubine whom he had just lost, was still unwilling to let the other party go easily.
Black mist rapidly gathered in front of him, and a gigantic ghost head, tens of feet tall, emerged from the mist, waving its sharp claws and rushing straight at its opponent.
Facing the black-robed ghost cultivator whose cultivation seemed to be superior, the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" remained calm and showed no fear whatsoever.
With a slight lift of his hand, the cyan flying sword in his hand quickly transformed into a giant cyan dragon shimmering with cyan light.
The Azure Dragon flew out and directly entangled itself with the attacking ghost head, and the two instantly engaged in a fierce battle in mid-air.
While the battle raged below, not far away on the sea, Long Ziyun, Qi Rong, and the others were also fighting against the six Nascent Soul ghosts summoned by the "Netherworld Ancestor".
Both sides possessed formidable combat power at the Nascent Soul level, and their fierce battle caused the entire sea surface to churn and surge.
Those low-level ghosts that rushed to the scene were crushed by the aftershocks of the battle as soon as they got close to the battlefield.
".
Within the underwater formation, the true form of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" remained seated cross-legged in mid-air, continuously absorbing Yin spiritual energy through the formation to break through the bottleneck within his body.
At this moment, his expression was calm, and his aura was slowly rising, seemingly unaffected by the battle outside.
Meanwhile, Song Qingming and the others who were responsible for maintaining the formation below all looked somewhat tired.
Everyone has been using their full magical power to maintain the magic array for nearly two years.
Although they took turns stopping to recover their mana, the continuous activation of the magic array for such a long time had also significantly depleted the mana in Song Qingming and the others.
Fortunately, everyone was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and Wang Quan'an of the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" had already prepared a lot of spirit stones and spiritual items to restore mana.
Although everyone was a little tired, they still had no problem maintaining the formation.
Sitting on the array platform, Song Qingming looked at the black-robed ghost cultivator and the "Golden Dust Daoist's" avatar who were fighting desperately outside, and his eyes showed some surprise.
When the black-robed ghost cultivator attacked earlier, Song Qingming and the others, who were too busy to deal with him, were quite surprised and didn't know how to respond.
Unexpectedly, at such a crucial moment when "Jin Chen Dao Ren" was breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, this kind of trouble would occur.
Just as everyone was still hesitating about whether to stop casting the spell and send one or two people out to deal with the trouble outside.
Unexpectedly, the "Jin Chen Dao Ren" avatar, who was prepared in advance, suddenly appeared and stopped the powerful opponent outside who had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
After all, it comes from a powerful force like the "Four Seas Business Alliance." How could they not be on guard when they are in seclusion trying to break through to the Nascent Soul realm?
Seeing that the other party had secretly arranged an avatar here in advance, Song Qingming was not too surprised.
However, the fact that this avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" could easily block a half-step Nascent Soul expert like the black-robed ghost cultivator still made him sigh in admiration.
In the cultivation world, cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage and above can cultivate the technique of creating external avatars to add a Nascent Soul stage helper to themselves.
However, most late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators still prioritize their own cultivation and very few would devote too much cultivation resources to improving their external avatars.
Song Qingming knew that Zhao Wuling, Yuan Luohua, and the Grand Elder Yu Yang Zhenren of the former number one sect in the East Sea, the Yunyang Sect, were all at the mid-Nascent Soul stage in terms of their external avatars.
Even though Song Qingming himself has already reached the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm, his avatar has only recently broken through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
The "Jin Chen Daoist" before them had actually raised his external avatar to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
This is also the person Song Qingming has seen with the highest level of external avatar cultivation in all his years of cultivation, apart from his own master, "Lingxu Daoren".
To elevate one's external avatar to such a level, "Jin Chen Dao Ren" must have put in a great deal of effort.
Moreover, besides cultivation level, the external avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" outside the great formation also possesses supernatural powers that are no less than those of these Nascent Soul Ninth Level cultivators.
In particular, the cyan flying sword in the opponent's hand has a power that far exceeds that of a fourth-grade high-quality magic weapon. It is most likely a replica of the "Golden Cloud Light Sword" that is no less powerful.
With the power of this sword, even when facing a half-step Nascent Soul master like the "Netherworld Ancestor," the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" was not inferior to his opponent.
The two fought for hundreds of rounds outside, with "Old Ancestor of the Underworld" using all his supernatural powers, but still he couldn't gain the slightest advantage.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield above, with the support of Long Ziyun and the other two, Qi Rong and his group of four had already killed a weaker ghost and maintained their upper hand, suppressing their opponent.
The six ghosts summoned by the opponent possessed cultivation levels comparable to those of Nascent Soul cultivators.
However, they were merely puppet ghosts created by the black-robed ghost cultivator, and their supernatural powers were far inferior to those of normal Nascent Soul cultivators. Moreover, they were restrained by some extremely yang treasures.
As the battle continued, two more Nascent Soul ghosts were accidentally killed by Qi Rong and his group of four.
The remaining three ghosts were trapped inside a wall of fire by Qi Rong, Long Ziyun, and the others, sizzling and howling in pain as they were burned.
Seeing that the few ghosts he had released could not hold on any longer, and that he was unable to break through the obstruction of the "Golden Dust Taoist's" avatar.
After hesitating for a moment, the "Ancestor of the Underworld" decided to recall the remaining three ghosts and then slipped away from the spot.
Just as "Ancestor of the Underworld" retreated, Long Ziyun and the others wanted to pursue their opponent, but they were stopped by the telepathic transmission of "Taoist Jin Chen".
“This guy’s abilities are no less than mine; you can’t stop him.”
"Right now, the focus should be on protecting the defensive formation. Don't worry about this guy for now; we don't want to fall into his trap."
"Rest assured, Elder, we understand!"
Upon hearing the instructions from the avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren," Qi Rong, Long Ziyun, and the others quickly nodded slightly and then retreated back into the sea formation.
He himself sat cross-legged outside the formation, actively releasing his divine sense to guard against any enemies that might appear next.
Seeing that the "Golden Dust Daoist" avatar outside had successfully repelled the "Netherworld Ancestor," Song Qingming and the others, who were still casting spells inside the formation, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
It must be said that the external avatar of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" is indeed quite powerful, even a peak Nascent Soul ghost cultivator could not do anything to him.
If even an avatar is this powerful, its true form would likely be far stronger.
Song Qingming has cultivated for many years and once defeated Qi Guangchun and the "Heavenly Tail Demon Emperor," both half-step Nascent Soul cultivators.
But to be fair, compared to a top-tier half-step Nascent Soul master like "Jin Chen Dao Ren," his supernatural powers are probably incomparable.
Even among all Nascent Soul cultivators in the entire cultivation world, he is already one of the most outstanding.
Apart from those reclusive Nascent Soul elders, there are probably few people in the world who can defeat him.
Such a master truly deserves to be considered someone confident in breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm. Among the countless cultivators in the cultivation world, very few can reach this level as he has.
Looking at the "Jin Chen Dao Ren" who was still concentrating on casting spells above his head, Song Qingming couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
If even someone like him couldn't succeed, it's truly unimaginable how one could possibly reach the Nascent Soul realm.
".
Several more months have passed.
At this moment, in mid-air, the aura within "Jin Chen Dao Ren" had successfully risen to a level far exceeding that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, aided by the Yin Spirit Qi of the great formation.
Under the tense gazes of everyone, the "Jin Chen Dao Ren" natal nascent soul, which had been sitting quietly in mid-air, was revealed.
Suddenly, he stopped absorbing the Yin energy, and golden light emanated from his body.
The next moment, "Jin Chen Dao Ren" quickly cast a spell and made hand seals, actively severing his connection with the external array and retreating directly back into his physical body below.
After his natal nascent soul returned to its original state, the "Jin Chen Dao Ren," who had been motionless, suddenly opened his eyes, and bursts of blue spiritual light erupted from his entire body.
At the same time, an extremely powerful and chilling aura immediately enveloped the entire array platform.
After merging with his natal nascent soul, the aura emanating from the "Jin Chen Daoist" before him was so unfathomable that it seemed to have completely transcended the nascent soul realm.
In addition, "Taoist Jin Chen" also emitted faint silvery-white spiritual light, which was quite pleasing to the eye.
Those below, including Song Qingming, exchanged glances upon seeing this scene, all showing a hint of surprise.
Among the crowd, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe, who had also been invited by the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" to help, couldn't help but speak up:
"To mobilize the primordial energy of heaven and earth for one's own use is a divine ability that only a Nascent Soul cultivator can activate."
Fellow Daoist Wang, Fellow Daoist Jin Chen, have you perhaps already successfully broken through to a higher realm?
"this,."
Seeing that the others around him were looking in his direction, Wang Quan'an stood there for a moment, pondering, before slowly replying:
"To be honest, in all my years of cultivation, I have never personally witnessed a Nascent Soul cultivator successfully advance to the next level."
"Given the Grand Elder's current condition, his physical body and magical power seem to be very close to the Nascent Soul stage. He should be considered successful!"
"Hehe! I knew the Grand Elder would succeed this time. From now on, the Four Seas Merchant Alliance will finally have a Nascent Soul Ancestor."
"In that case, I should first congratulate your alliance!"
"It is a privilege to witness Elder Jin Chen advance to the Nascent Soul stage. All the time we spent helping him was worthwhile."
Although Wang Quan'an still seemed somewhat uncertain, another Nascent Soul elder from the "Four Seas Business Alliance" standing beside him couldn't help but reveal his excitement.
Some people had already offered their congratulations in advance, hoping to gain favor with the members of the "Four Seas Business Alliance".
Only Song Qingming and Xia Mo remained relatively calm and did not rush to speak.
The two men's gazes remained fixed on "Taoist Jin Chen" in mid-air, as if they were carefully observing something.
Just as Wang Quan'an and the others were talking, the light in the air ahead suddenly changed again.
Two beams of blue and white light suddenly began to flash continuously on "Jin Chen Dao Ren".
The two beams of light sometimes separated and sometimes merged into one, transforming into a new color, which illuminated the entire area around the array with a dazzling array of colors.
At the same time, the aura around "Jin Chen Dao Ren" also began to become somewhat disordered, rising rapidly and then disappearing just as quickly.
This person's face also began to look rather unpleasant.
"Elder!"
"What... what's going on?"
".
Upon seeing this sudden turn of events, the expressions of the people on the platform, who had been quite excited, immediately changed, and they became tense again.
Wang Quan'an, who was leading the group, immediately stopped an elder from the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" who wanted to step forward to observe Jin Chen Dao Ren.
"Junior Brother Yang, don't worry. After breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, you still need to stabilize your cultivation. The Grand Elder is probably still struggling to stabilize his internal mana."
At this time, everyone should refrain from rushing forward and instead stay in their positions.
"To avoid disturbing the Grand Elder's meditation and spellcasting, which could backfire and ruin everything."
“Yes, Senior Brother Wang is absolutely right!”
We must hold the great formation firmly to prevent others from taking advantage of any openings.
The elder of the "Four Seas Business Alliance," who had just been looking worried, nodded slightly after hearing what Wang Quan'an said, finding it somewhat reasonable.
However, compared to his previous ease, there was now a clear trace of worry on his face.
Not only Wang Quan'an and his companion, but also the others around them, including Song Qingming, showed changes in expression upon seeing the sudden transformation in "Jin Chen Dao Ren".
Just as Song Qingming was staring intently at the sky in front of him, a light and melodious voice suddenly rang in his ears. It was Xia Mo, the fairy who was standing closest to him.
"Fellow Daoist Song's spiritual sense is stronger than mine. Can you tell whether Fellow Daoist Jin Chen can pass the test smoothly?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Jin Chen did indeed reach the Nascent Soul realm just now, but his aura seems quite unstable, as if it has fallen back down."
I have no experience in breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, and this is all I can see for now.
"Whether Fellow Daoist Jin Chen can pass this test, I am not sure at this moment."
Upon hearing Xia Mo use a secret technique to secretly transmit her voice away from others, Song Qingming glanced at her and immediately responded with the same technique.
Although both were at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm, Song Qingming's divine sense improved significantly after breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage using the "Tongtian Wanling Jue" technique.
Of the six cultivators present, none could surpass him in a contest of spiritual sense.
Just now, when he was observing "Jin Chen Dao Ren" breaking through to a higher realm, he had already sensed that the other party's control over the primordial energy of heaven and earth did not seem to be very smooth.
To reach the final hurdle in the Nascent Soul realm, cultivators need to mobilize the primordial energy of heaven and earth to "transform the infant spirit and gather the spirit."
The ability to control the primordial energy of heaven and earth to assist the nascent soul in fusing with the physical body and primordial spirit is the most crucial factor in the success or failure of this step.
Otherwise, if a cultivator fails to control the timing properly, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will automatically dissipate, inevitably leading to failure in breaking through and advancing.
"Jin Chen Dao Ren" is indeed very close to the Nascent Soul realm in his current state.
As long as he can control the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within him, taking one step forward will lead to the completion of the Nascent Soul stage.
But now, it's clear that the spiritual energy within him is somewhat out of control.
Whether he can succeed next depends on whether he can turn the tide and stabilize the vital energy within him.
While Song Qingming and the others were quietly observing, "Jin Chen Dao Ren" had already cast a spell to activate his internal magical power, covering the blue and white spiritual light.
In just a short while, the somewhat volatile two-colored spiritual light was stabilized considerably.
Under the spellcasting and manipulation of "Jin Chen Dao Ren", the blue yin energy, along with the silver-white earth and sky primordial energy, began to slowly circulate around him again.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the other party's aura had returned to normal, another strange change occurred in "Jin Chen Dao Ren".
The two-colored spiritual light had just stabilized for a while when it began to flicker again, as if it had completely broken free from the control of "Jin Chen Dao Ren".
The next moment, in mid-air, "Taoist Jin Chen" frowned and his face turned ugly again.
With a muffled groan, the silver-white spiritual light on the "Golden Dust Taoist," which had persisted for nearly half an hour, suddenly shattered and disappeared in a scattering of light.
"Jin Chen Dao Ren" also swayed and fell from mid-air.
"Elder!"
Seeing this, Wang Quan'an and his companions knew things were going badly and rushed over immediately.
Before the crowd could get close, a flash of spiritual light suddenly appeared on "Taoist Jin Chen," and he flipped over and stood in mid-air, his almost vanished aura suddenly returning.
The somewhat haggard-looking "Jin Chen Dao Ren" looked at the crowd rushing towards him and couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
"Elder, how are you?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just that I failed to break through to a higher realm and was hit by the backlash of the heaven and earth's energy, which damaged some of my essence."
Faced with Wang Quan'an's concerned expression, "Jin Chen Dao Ren" also showed a hint of shame and couldn't help but sigh again.
"After a thousand years of painstaking cultivation and preparation, I never imagined that it would all come to naught and all my efforts would be in vain. I am truly sorry to all of you."
"It truly is fate; I am destined to miss this opportunity, and my path is destined to end here."
"The Grand Elder has reached this level, and we can only look up to him. Even if we fail this time, we will surely succeed next time."
"Indeed, Elder, do not be so discouraged."
".
Looking at the "Jin Chen Dao Ren" who had failed to break through to the Nascent Soul realm and ultimately fell short, the other cultivators present offered words of comfort.
I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.
During his breakthrough, "Jin Chen Dao Ren" not only discovered this top-grade "Yin Ling Land" hidden in the outer sea.
Moreover, with the aid of the "Yin-Yang Creation Pill," and having spent enormous resources to specially invite so many helpers, it can be considered that the preparations have been very thorough.
Even so, the final result was still a failure, which is truly regrettable.
Even a half-step Nascent Soul expert like "Jin Chen Dao Ren," despite being so well-prepared, still couldn't break through to the next realm.
Moreover, there were other Nascent Soul cultivators present.
Having cultivated to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm, they originally thought that they were not far from the Divine Transformation realm.
Now it seems that this seemingly small step is actually a huge, insurmountable gap ahead, far from being as easy as they had imagined.
This supreme Nascent Soul realm is truly something that can only be admired from afar and is unattainable!
"boom!"
Just as everyone was comforting "Taoist Jin Chen", the sound of fierce fighting suddenly came from outside the great formation in the distance, drawing everyone's attention.
"Oh no, we've been attacked!"
(I added some today, and will add the rest tomorrow!)
(End of this chapter)