Innate Immortal Seed

’At least twenty years have passed. If I can’t reach Foundation Establishment Perfection within forty years, this drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow will be useless to me...’

Bai Zichen carefully put away the Jade Bottle. Based on his current progress, advancing to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment within forty years would be no problem at all.

However, the final step to Foundation Establishment Perfection was not so easily taken.

According to the notes on Core Formation left by predecessors on the third floor of the Transmission Hall, the final step before Core Formation wasn’t just about breaking through the peak Realm of one’s Magical Power; it also involved something called the Pill Discussion.

Not all Cultivators needed to articulate a Pill Discussion before Core Formation. Most people perfected their own path slowly during the long Core Formation Stage after successfully forming a Golden Core.

Only after they had determined the most suitable path for themselves and established their Pill Discussion could they finally break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Those Cultivators who could formulate a Pill Discussion before Core Formation rarely failed to form a core.

More importantly, after entering the Core Formation Stage, their path would be well-defined and their future clear.

Their Cultivation speed would be much faster than that of Core Formation Cultivators who were still fumbling their way forward, and their prospects would be far greater.

The most recent successful example was Ancestor Ge Cang.

Like Wei Dao, he too had been stuck at the Peak of Late-Stage Foundation Establishment for many years.

He was both polishing his Magical Power and trying to break through the bottleneck.

At the same time, he was also contemplating his own Pill Discussion.

’It’s not that I can’t reach the Nascent Soul stage without a Pill Discussion, it’s just about thinking through the path ahead of time to avoid taking detours later...’

Bai Zichen pushed aside his troubled thoughts. This wasn’t a problem he needed to worry about right now.

If he could reach Foundation Establishment Perfection within forty years and use this drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, everything would fall into place naturally.

If he fell short, he could sell the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow a few years early.

If there was a suitable candidate in the Sect, he could trade it to the Sect for Contribution Points.

If there was no one in the Sect, he could just find any buyer.

’A Core Formation Spiritual Object—would he ever have to worry about finding a market for it?’

As for the Blood Crystal Core, it had already been refined by Mo Changzhi, making it useless to anyone else and only good as a simple storage item.

’But for a mere one square foot of space, I don’t have a habit of digging holes in my body. Better forget it...’

Storage items could not be nested within each other, for instance, by placing a storage bag inside another storage bag.

Doing so would cause a spatial disturbance, causing both storage spaces to collapse completely.

Therefore, a refined Blood Crystal Core could not be placed inside a storage bag.

The image of opening a hole in his chest to hide it between his sternum, just like Mo Changzhi, came to mind.

Bai Zichen shuddered and abandoned the thought.

’On the other hand, my own unrefined Blood Crystal Core... if I can get my hands on a refining method, it could serve as the prototype for my own personal Realm in the future...’

Opening a Realm and forming a small personal world was a Divine Technique exclusive to Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

When it evolved further, establishing a foundation and generating its own Rules of Heaven and Earth, it would become a Grotto Heaven.

And a Grotto Heaven that had lost its master but had not yet been torn apart and collapsed by the Power of Void would become a Secret Realm, driving countless people in the Cultivation Realm mad with desire.

’As for this Beast Hide, it must have come from a Tier Three Demon King...’

Bai Zichen picked up the Beast Hide, which was about three feet long and one foot wide. It still emanated powerful fluctuations.

*"There are two great opportunities in Black Mountain. This text is for the eyes of the Mo Family Head only and must not be shown to another soul..."*

On the Beast Hide was a passage written in brown characters. The handwriting was sloppy and smeared in many places.

It looked as if it had been written hastily in blood, and one could feel the writer’s panic and tension at the time.

However, this opening sentence was in a different script from the rest of the text, clearly added by a later person.

Bai Zichen finished reading the contents of the Beast Hide and remained motionless for a long time.

There weren’t many words on it, but the information they contained was substantial and required careful digestion.

’So the Fire Phoenix Mo Family was originally a native Clan of Black Mountain, settling here even before the Qingfeng Sect came to develop the area... This bloodline’s origin is just... speechless.’

According to the Beast Hide, the Mo Family was originally just an ordinary family of hunters near Black Mountain. One day, a woman from the family went into the mountains to gather firewood and returned inexplicably pregnant.

She gave birth to a son who was born with red eyes and possessed immense strength.

Later, a passing Cultivator took a liking to him, passed down a Cultivation Method, and set him on the Immortal Path, which gradually led to the rise of the Fire Phoenix Mo Family.

However, the first Ancestor of the Mo Family to possess this bloodline suddenly went mad in his later years, losing his sanity.

After injuring several clan members, he fled deep into Black Mountain.

It wasn’t until twenty years later that he returned from Black Mountain, wrote this on the Beast Hide, and then passed away.

The first opportunity spoke of a Secret Realm left behind by an Ancient Immortal in Black Mountain. It included a crude map, drawn with a few hasty strokes, with a large circle indicating that the Secret Realm was within that area.

But to enter the Secret Realm, it had to be opened by a "fated person"; entry could not be forced.

Bai Zichen glanced at the drawing. The circled area was precisely the region from the Qingfeng Sect’s Mountain Gate to Feiyue Lake.

’The Mo Family’s ancestor actually knew about the Ancient Secret Realm’s existence?’

’Did he have his own fortuitous encounter, or did someone tell him?’

Bai Zichen’s heart jolted. The Ancient Secret Realm he and Lu Songx had entered was in this very region.

’What were the odds? It was too much of a coincidence for there to be two Ancient Secret Realms in the same mountain range.’

The Mo Family’s ancestor had somehow known this information a thousand years ago, but he simply didn’t have Lu Songx’s incredible luck.

Without the black jade ring, even if he stood right next to the Ancient Secret Realm, he still couldn’t have entered.

There were many unfathomable mysteries surrounding this.

However, the Ancient Secret Realm had already collapsed and vanished. The inherited Treasures inside had fallen into his hands, and Lu Songx had acquired the Seven Luminaries Spiritual Body.

There was no need to dwell on this matter any further.

In the deepest part of Black Mountain, there was a slumbering Tier Four Great Demon!

The second opportunity pointed to a more specific target: a Cyan Simurgh, accumulating power as it slumbered within the Earth Fire.

As a Great Demon possessing a trace of Divine Beast bloodline, the Cyan Simurgh had a long lifespan.

Furthermore, it possessed a Divine Technique that allowed it to retract all signs of life and enter an irreversible slumber to recover from severe injuries or to advance further by absorbing energy from the Earth Fire.

This slumbering process could easily last for thousands of years at a time.

A slumbering Cyan Simurgh was completely unaware of the outside world. The second opportunity mentioned on the Beast Hide was the Cyan Simurgh itself!

If one could slay a Tier Four Great Demon, it would be equivalent to obtaining a treasure trove.

Its body, every drop of its blood, every piece of its flesh, every single one of its feathers... all were priceless treasures.

Not to mention, the lair of a Tier Four Great Demon would surely be home to countless Exotic Flowers and Spirit Herbs.

’Hiss... The Mo Family Ancestor knew even a secret like this. Could it be that he was a direct descendant of that Cyan Simurgh...?’

Bai Zichen looked stunned. A Tier Four Great Demon could take human form, so it wasn’t impossible for one to have offspring with a human.

In the Cultivation Realm, there was even a Half-Demon Race, which consisted of human-demon hybrids.

Of the two heaven-sent opportunities recorded on the Beast Hide, one was already in his pocket.

As for the second, with his current strength—or even the strength of the entire Qingfeng Sect—he couldn’t even dream of it.

From the crude map, he could roughly determine that the Cyan Simurgh’s lair was thousands of miles deeper than Feiyue Lake, in the true core of the Black Mountain Range.

Never mind the Cyan Simurgh itself; just the journey there would disturb an unknown number of Tier Three Demon Kings.

Besides, this information was a thousand years old. He might excitedly run to the Tier Four Great Demon’s lair only to be greeted by a Cyan Simurgh that had already awakened and advanced.

With a single flap of its wings, it would turn the demon-slaying party into a food delivery service.

’All that excitement for nothing. They were indeed two great opportunities... but alas, one I’ve already obtained, and the other is beyond my reach.’

Bai Zichen put away the Beast Hide. Although he hadn’t gained any direct benefits, the information on it had been a real eye-opener, broadening his horizons.

At the very least, it confirmed the existence of a Tier Four Great Demon deep within Black Mountain.

And he now knew the approximate location of its lair.

’The existence of this Great Demon conflicts with my goals... I need the Great Extinguishing Spirit Vein, which requires slaying numerous Tier Three Demon Kings. That will definitely draw out the Cyan Simurgh...’

Bai Zichen felt a wave of lingering fear. It was a good thing he had learned of this information in advance.

After he reached Core Formation, he would surely have to slay many Tier Three Demon Kings to open up a Spirit Vein for the Sect.

If he hadn’t known this, he would have gone on a killing spree and likely stumbled right into the Cyan Simurgh’s lair.

’Killing Mo Changzhi counts as my first mission after becoming a Supervisor Elder... I probably won’t be assigned another mission for several years.’

Bai Zichen’s eyelids drooped. What he lacked now was time.

With a few decades, or even a century, of peace and quiet, many of his problems would be easily solved.

He wished he could possess a legendary Cosmic Light Secret Realm, one with a different time ratio, so he could rapidly increase his Cultivation.

Lost in his thoughts, he had already sat down on the meditation cushion and begun his Cultivation.

In this chaotic situation, with foreign enemies ready to invade at any moment, only his own Cultivation was fundamental.

’According to Mo Changzhi’s memories, this Zhong Ge person is cautious and lacks the typical arrogance and recklessness of a Demon Path Cultivator... He always plans before acting and won’t make a move until everything is properly arranged.’

’The Righteous Alliance is eyeing the Blood Demon Sect like a tiger. Since the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect has gotten involved, they’ll also want to see the fight through to the end. He probably won’t be able to spare any attention for three to five years.’

With these thoughts in mind, Bai Zichen immersed himself in his Cultivation, ignoring the turmoil of the outside world. Red light filled the Quiet Chamber.

...

Several consecutive blizzards had buried the mountain paths, and the thick snow weighed down the branches of the tall pine trees, causing them to bend low.

Two figures, with Concealing Talismans applied, hid among the bushes, blending into their surroundings.

The effect of a Concealing Talisman wasn’t true invisibility—something a Tier One Talisman couldn’t achieve anyway. It merely blurred one’s figure and suppressed one’s aura, making them difficult to notice.

"Junior Sister Huo, are you feeling cold? I have a piece of warming jade here. If you wear it, it feels like spring all year round. How about I lend it to you?"

the young Cultivator in the white robe said via Sound Transmission, trying to curry favor.

"Senior Brother, focus! Don’t let a Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivator get within a hundred yards of us before you even notice."

The Junior Sister Huo he spoke to was exquisitely beautiful and brimming with youthful energy. Even her dissatisfied tone carried a touch of charming innocence.

The white-robed Cultivator gazed at his Junior Sister Huo’s delicate profile, momentarily mesmerized and forgetting to reply.

Huo Feiyan snorted coldly and ignored him, turning her attention back to monitoring the area ahead.

Five years ago, the five Core Formation True Men of the Ghost Spirit Sect had mobilized their entire force, conscripting nearly ten thousand disciples to attack Black Mountain County.

It was said they had received a promise from the Blood Demon Sect. In exchange for guarding the Blood Demon Sect’s rear, they were assured that no other Sect would take advantage of the chaos to attack and occupy the Ghost Spirit Sect’s headquarters.

Once the war began, the Qingfeng Sect suffered one defeat after another, losing control of all its mortal cities.

This was because the Sect’s strongest combatant, Ancestor Ge Cang, never once made an appearance from start to finish.

How could Ancestor Yangg alone possibly contend with the five Core Formation True Men of the Ghost Spirit Sect? Naturally, he lost battle after battle.

They soon abandoned all their strongholds outside of Black Mountain and retreated into the mountains.

Of the many Cultivation Families, some relocated with the Sect into its Mountain Gate, some fought to the last man, and others defected directly to the Ghost Spirit Sect.

The situation suddenly felt like it had reverted to two hundred years ago, during the Qingfeng Sect’s most difficult period, when they could only rely on the Sect Grand Array to barely hold on.