Innate Immortal Seed

Meng Shigui felt his great fortune had arrived. He was at Foundation Establishment Perfection, practically on the verge of Core Formation. Dealing with an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be child’s play.

He had yet to complete his Pill Discussion, so he couldn’t compare to the true elites.

But the Youlong Sect had carved up the legacy of the Fish Dragon Sect, and the sect possessed several Cultivation Techniques that led directly to the Nascent Soul realm.

The Dragon Transformation Scripture he cultivated was one of them. His Magical Power was so profound that it dwarfed others at his stage, reaching almost twice that of a cultivator at the same level.

The Flying Sword in his hand was forged in imitation of the Tier Three Formless Sword from the Fish Dragon Sect’s Sword Refining Secret Technique, and was named the Willow Leaf Sword.

In the region of the Outer Sea Ten Thousand Stars Islands, it had a bit of a reputation.

Along the way, the Youlong Sect Elders had repeatedly instructed that Zengguang Immortal City was a major power overseen by a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

They were to restrain their usual habits at all costs and not cause any trouble.

The customs of the Outer Sea were completely different from those of the inland.

There was no distinction between righteous and demonic paths. Because in the vast sea, it was much harder to trace a culprit after a murder and body disposal, leading to swarms of Tribulation Cultivators in the Outer Sea.

Aside from a handful of major islands, there were no safe places at all.

Besides fellow sect members and clansmen, it was impossible for cultivators to build any trust with outsiders.

Countless factions occupied small, Spiritual Qi-barren islands and declared themselves kings.

But they rose and fell in an instant. It was common for a prosperous Cultivation Family to be massacred the very next day, their clan’s name erased from existence.

This resulted in Outer Sea cultivators trusting only in their own strength, developing the habit of resorting to combat and fighting to the death at the slightest disagreement.

Meng Shigui, afraid of attracting cultivators from the Du Family, immediately activated his Willow Leaf Sword and unleashed his proudest skills right from the start.

He only wanted a quick battle. After capturing his opponent, he would immediately regroup with his sect companions to perform a Soul Search and force a confession.

As for what came after—whether to venture deep into the Outer Sea or seize the opportunity to uproot the remnants of the Fish Dragon Sect and search for the Holy Beast Essence Blood—that could be decided later depending on the circumstances.

"Foundation Establishment Perfection..."

Bai Zichen took a deep breath, his expression grave. This was the first time he had ever directly faced such a powerful opponent.

The feeling he got wasn’t the same sense of towering, unbeatable might he’d felt from the Du Family’s Twelfth Son at the auction house, but it wasn’t far off.

A Divine Sense far superior to his own had already locked onto him.

The hidden Sword Light had yet to strike, but alarm bells were already ringing in his Sea of Consciousness, and his focus sharpened to its absolute peak.

At the same time, his two swords, Sound Bamboo and Celestial Xin, were already in his hands.

A Flood Dragon Illusion rose up behind Meng Shigui. It let out a long roar, tinged with a faint Dragon’s Majesty.

A Dragon Claw grasped from afar, and immense pressure converged on the space several yards around Bai Zichen, pinning him to the spot.

"Go!"

Sparing no Magical Power, Meng Shigui unleashed the Dragon Transformation Techniques’ strongest supplementary spell for the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The Dragon Control Claw!

Under this magic, the flow of Spiritual Qi could be cut off and the activation of Escape Techniques blocked. Those with weaker cultivation would even lose the ability to resist entirely.

Meng Shigui had grown up in the Outer Sea and was rich in combat experience. He had seen far too many victories where the weak overcame the strong.

He didn’t let his guard down just because the young cultivator before him was at a much lower realm. To ensure a quick victory, he attacked with his full power from the outset, treating him with the same seriousness as an opponent of the same stage.

At the same time, a suit of Armor materialized around his body, covering everything except his eyes.

’Since this person is a remnant of the Fish Dragon Sect, I have to guard against any Great Divine Technique Talismans that might have been passed down from the sect’s heyday.’

All of the Youlong Sect’s legacies came from the Fish Dragon Sect—and they were the reduced, castrated versions. They naturally knew how terrifying the Cultivation Technique and Divine Power from the legacy of the hegemon that ruled the Ten Thousand Stars Islands five hundred years ago were.

Bai Zichen felt immense pressure on every inch of his skin, as if that Dragon Claw in the sky had truly descended upon him.

It felt like it would crush his flesh and bone into a pulp.

The Magical Power in his body circulated sluggishly, and a stifling pressure in his chest made him want to vomit.

Without him even having to activate it, a layer of Five-Colored Spiritual Light automatically formed on his skin, glowing from within with a glazed, gem-like radiance.

His Five Crystal and Glazed Body had activated on their own, pushing to their very limits.

If he hadn’t cultivated his Five Crystal Glaze Body to the second layer, he would have likely already lost all ability to resist.

A crooked Sword Light stabbed out from an odd angle. It was incredibly fast and nearly transparent.

It avoided his vitals, aiming straight for the joints of his limbs.

"Break!"

Bai Zichen let out a short cry. With a Dual Swords Unification, a silver-white Sword Light gathered with wind and thunder, and a clap of thunder resounded under the clear sky and blazing noon sun.

The brilliant Sword Light, though launched later, arrived first.

The transparent Sword Light twisted and changed direction continuously, but the silver-white Sword Light always seemed to anticipate its movements one step ahead.

After several changes in direction, it looked more like it was actively meeting the silver-white Sword Light head-on.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Sword Lights collided, clashing dozens of times in the air in a rapid, brief exchange. The transparent Sword Light let out a mournful cry and could no longer maintain its form.

Revealing its slender, leaf-shaped blade, it flew back into Meng Shigui’s hand.

"Sword Qi Thunder Sound!"

As a self-proclaimed Sword Dao master who was single-mindedly pursuing the Thunder Bamboo Sword, how could Meng Shigui fail to recognize that the young cultivator before him had not only mastered the technique of using dual swords, but was also a step ahead of him in his Sword Dao Realm?

Sword Qi Thunder Sound was considered a sign of having entered the inner sanctum of the Sword Dao, no matter where one went.

To master it before Core Formation was a difficult feat even in Sword Cultivation Sects.

’The Fish Dragon Sect’s Thunder Bamboo Sword is quite famous, but I’ve never heard of them having any powerful Sword Dao legacy... Could it be a true secret technique that my sect never obtained?’

Failing to succeed with a single sword strike, Meng Shigui was not alarmed but overjoyed.

The stronger the Fish Dragon Sect remnant proved to be, the greater his own gains would be later.

Meng Shigui abandoned the idea of severing his opponent’s limbs with a single strike and stopped using the Willow Leaf Sword’s Hidden Trace Divine Power.

Relying purely on the advantage of his cultivation, he unleashed massive Sword Lights one after another, slashing toward the Fish Dragon Sect remnant.

In any case, his Dragon Transformation Techniques had given him abundant Magical Power, enough to maintain the Flying Sword’s full-power output while simultaneously using the Dragon Control Claw.

Bai Zichen spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, his hands still trembling slightly.

There was a gap of three whole small realms between them. If not for Sword Qi Thunder Sound and the power of his dual swords, he never would have been able to repel that transparent Sword Light.

Although his opponent had not yet entered the Second Realm of Sword Dao, his technique within the first realm was already refined and masterful.

The transparent Sword Light looked crooked and erratic, but in reality, its Sword Path changed with every yard it traveled, making it impossible to predict.

Fortunately, he had dedicated all his free time to studying the True Enlightenment Sword Techniques. He was still a million miles away from the so-called Sword Heart Clarity, which could deconstruct all Sword Paths in the world.

But when facing an enemy, he could already achieve a state of Heart Like a Bright Mirror, where everything around him was reflected in his mind like an image on a calm lake.

Only then could he have blasted out the hidden Willow Leaf Sword, forcing it into a direct confrontation with his United Sword Light.

He glanced at the Flying Swords in his hands. The Celestial Xin Sword had a barely perceptible nick, but the Sound Bamboo Sword was in worse shape.

There were at least three or four grain-of-rice-sized chips on its blade.

The Flying Swords were of the same tier, but the gap in their masters’ Cultivation Realms was simply too great. Even though Bai Zichen’s Sword Dao Realm was a level higher, in a head-on collision of pure, explosive power with no feints, his Flying Swords couldn’t avoid taking damage.

Of course, this was also related to Bai Zichen’s own recklessness and deliberate actions. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

’I’m sure that Fine-Leaf Flying Sword didn’t escape unscathed from that brutal clash, either.’

Bai Zichen had no time to feel sorry for his Flying Swords. His expression changed slightly as he looked at the sky full of Sword Light.

His dual swords flashed and dodged. Every time he blocked one of the Black-Faced Cultivator’s Sword Lights, his internal organs would shake violently and his meridians would sting with pain.

’I can’t let this continue. Fight or flee, I have to decide quickly...’

Bai Zichen’s gaze swept over the Taiyin Star Escape Talisman in his sleeve, and his expression gradually became resolute.

’Judging from the Black-Faced Cultivator’s actions, this man and the power behind him have an irreconcilable hatred for the Fish Dragon Sect. They also want to capture me alive to get something from this so-called "remnant of the Fish Dragon Sect." Even if I manage to escape now, I’ll never have another day of peace. My registered name and origins in Zengguang Immortal City are easy enough to look up. They could find out with just a few tricks. A power that could annihilate a Nascent Soul Major Sect like the Fish Dragon Sect... If they traced my background, it won’t just be me. The Bai Family and even the Qingfeng Sect would be dragged into it.’

"Glazed Body, erupt!"

His decision made, Bai Zichen didn’t hesitate for a single moment. In his Sea of Consciousness, the Glazed Fire Jade expanded and contracted tens of millions of times in an instant.

A flash of crimson light—so scorching, so violent it defied description—ignited within his Sea of Consciousness.

The next second, Bai Zichen’s exposed skin changed color completely, taking on the most dazzling, crimson-glazed luster.

A terrifying power he had never experienced before surged from the depths of his body, making every part of him feel as if it were on fire, giving him the illusion that he could perform feats of Shifting Mountains and Inverting Seas.

’No, I really am burning!’

Bai Zichen raised his right hand. Wisps of True Flame rose from it, yet the Daoist Robe he wore showed no signs of being burned, the flames passing through it strangely to the outside.

He had achieved the Fourth Layer Realm of the Five Crystal Glaze Body: the Glazed Fire Divine Body, a state only the founding ancestor of the Qingfeng Sect had ever reached.

The binding force of the giant Dragon Claw in the sky suddenly vanished.

In truth, the Dragon Control Claw Technique was still in effect, but it was completely useless against Bai Zichen’s exponentially increased physical strength.

His figure flickered, leaving behind a fiery afterimage. Bai Zichen appeared directly in front of Meng Shigui, his speed bordering on teleportation.

He threw a straight punch. The Armor on a stunned Meng Shigui shattered instantly, and he was smashed viciously into the ground.

RUMBLE!

It was like a small earthquake. A large crater appeared in the ground, and Meng Shigui, lying in the crater, suddenly spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood.

At the same time, a flicker of True Flame burned where the punch had landed on his chest, ignoring his defenses and burning its way directly inside.

"Agh! The pain, it hurts so much!"

A great cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection was howling without any regard for his image.

Physical pain alone could never cause this. Only a burning that was directly connected to his Divine Sense, scorching him on a spiritual level, could make a Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivator so wretched.

Bai Zichen, now having the upper hand, was merciless. He clapped his hands together, and the terrifying True Flame gathered into a ball.

He rained punches downward, each one carrying a flicker of True Flame, hammering the crater deeper and deeper.

SWISH!

From within the dust and smoke, a clear light flashed like a startled swan, stabbing an inch into Bai Zichen’s chest before stopping. He had actually caught it with his right hand.

The Willow Leaf Sword erupted with astonishing power, pushing its way into his body fraction by fraction, but not a single drop of blood flowed from his chest.

"Stop right there!"

Bai Zichen roared furiously. Grasping the blade with both hands, he discovered that this Flying Sword, which seemed as light and ethereal as nothing, was actually as heavy as a mountain.

He forcefully pulled the sword’s body out of his own. With a palm strike full of fury, the Willow Leaf Sword cried out mournfully again, its Spirit Light dimmed, and it fell silent.

The wound on his chest was as thick as a baby’s forearm and had nearly pierced him through, yet not only did no blood spurt out, he didn’t feel a shred of pain.

As Meng Shigui climbed out of the crater, his eyes were dazed. He felt as if he had just seen a Ghost God.

’It was one thing for this Fish Dragon Sect remnant to cultivate Body Refining Techniques... but how did he suddenly transform into a Body Cultivator on par with someone at Foundation Establishment Perfection?’

Moreover, that strange True Flame was still continuously burning his Divine Sense. Meng Shigui had to use a Tier Three Disaster Protection Talisman just to temporarily shield his Sea of Consciousness and block the True Flame’s damage.