Chapter 424 - 232: True Form

Chapter 424: Chapter 232: True Form

One hundred years.

Even for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, this could not be called a short period, but Xuzhuang felt the days had flown by.

Xuzhuang had by no means wasted these hundred years. He never stopped comprehending Daoist methods, studying Daoist techniques, refining his magical treasures, and perceiving the workings of the Great Dao in the unseen world...

After reaching the Nascent Soul Third Layer, although Xuzhuang’s cultivation was complete for that stage, the Dao was limitless. Even solving a small puzzle or making the slightest, almost imperceptible progress in his Daoist methods brought him a sense of serene joy.

And there was no need to even mention his Divine Techniques. Xuzhuang’s foundation had always been robust, and along his journey, he had obtained fortunate encounters that countless cultivators could only dream of. His understanding of Daoist methods progressed by leaps and bounds, making his study of Daoist techniques faster and faster, like wind at his heels.

In these hundred years, Xuzhuang had meticulously sorted through all his techniques—whether they were the ones he had relied on throughout his journey, the ones he later cultivated for inspiration, or the ones he had borrowed from Langhuan Pavilion right before entering Beiji Pavilion—and had cultivated them all to at least the Eighth Realm.

It was not that Xuzhuang lacked the ability to cultivate all his Daoist techniques to the ninth stage, but that the ninth stage represented not only the consummation of a technique’s cultivation but also an endless path forward.

To break free from old molds, improve a technique’s application, increase its power, or even combine different techniques, reaching the ninth stage was merely the beginning. Xuzhuang focused most of his energy on a few select Daoist techniques in which he placed great hope.

For example, the Tai Su Genben True Qi. According to a Daoist Scripture left by a great predecessor named Fu Danhong, he had cultivated the Tai Su Genben True Qi to a realm where it required no conscious effort to manifest. A stream of True Qi would circulate whether he was walking, sitting, or lying down, naturally defending him from both internal and external threats. This concept undoubtedly made Xuzhuang’s eyes light up.

In terms of defense, the Tai Su Genben True Qi was not the best in the world. However, its principle of "the formless cannot approach, the tangible cannot harm" was incredibly versatile, earning it the reputation of a superior protective Daoist technique. If he could cultivate it to such a realm, he would at least be able to handle unexpected situations with ease.

To this end, Xuzhuang had also spent considerable effort in his research and had achieved some minor success. Although he still couldn’t produce that single stream of naturally and ceaselessly circulating True Qi, he could already maintain the operation of the Tai Su Genben True Qi without consciously casting the spell. While this caused a constant drain on his Magical Power, for Xuzhuang, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

That was why Xuzhuang was able to sit so calmly in the howling, cold wind without the protection of a restrictive spell and without circulating his profound cultivation arts.

But whether it was comprehending Daoist methods or studying Daoist techniques, these were not trivial matters. For Xuzhuang, the primary goal was to find the opportunity to forge his Primordial Spirit.

Being plagued by illusions was an unavoidable entanglement for a Nascent Soul Third Level Cultivator, and they came one after another during cultivation.

Over the past hundred years, Xuzhuang had experienced countless assaults from distracting thoughts and illusions. Perhaps they were minor details from the past three hundred years that he had never paid attention to, seemingly trying to make him feel regret, hesitation, and remorse. Perhaps they were past and present lives of unknown origin and veracity. There was even another Outer Dao Demonstration; it was as if, along with the improvement in his Daoist methods, that heretical path to enlightenment had also become much more complete and even more bewitching...

Fortunately, Xuzhuang constantly practiced self-reflection and maintained his Dao heart, so he passed through them all safely. At first, he found them vexing, but he later came to feel that every time he suppressed and severed an illusion, it was a moment of clarifying truth, a moment of seeing his true nature. In the unseen world, this brought him great progress.

This progress was unrelated to his foundation, his Divine Techniques, or his Magical Power. It seemed to be an ascension to a higher level, or perhaps that his path of seeking the Great Dao through the fog was gradually getting on the right track. Xuzhuang could already faintly sense the sliver of opportunity to step through the Life and Death Profound Gate, as if it were separated from him by nothing more than a paper screen.

He had originally given himself a three-hundred-year deadline to cultivate quietly in Beiji Pavilion and wait for his opportunity to arrive. If he could not succeed by then, he would seek other methods. But at this moment, something unexpected happened.

Xuzhuang stroked the gourd at his waist. A streak of white light suddenly shot out of it, joyful as if it had just been freed from its bonds. It began to roam freely around the cave chamber. On a whim, it even executed a sword strike against the cave wall. If one were to look closely, it seemed to be the very Swordsmanship technique Xuzhuang had left behind at the Outer Door Daoist School, but it was far more exquisite.

Xuzhuang had not wasted the past hundred years, so naturally, this Swordsmanship technique had also been greatly perfected. However, this action by the Taiyi Rainbow Sword was not directed by Xuzhuang; it was acting entirely on its own!

Xuzhuang’s gaze was profound as he watched the Taiyi Rainbow Sword roam through the air. He couldn’t help but say to himself, "A fire calamity."

When an illusory-form magical treasure undergoes prolonged refinement, and its treasure restrictions and spirituality become complete and harmonious, it can attract a heavenly tribulation. If it passes the tribulation, it can then condense a true form.

The seal from the Dharma Origin Sect seemed to also have a nurturing ability. For ten thousand years, it had maintained the Taiyi Rainbow Sword, preventing its treasure restrictions from degrading and its spirituality from fading. Thus, when the Taiyi Rainbow Sword was unearthed, its spirituality was already astounding.

Once in Xuzhuang’s hands, he never stopped refining and nurturing it. He frequently practiced Swordsmanship with it and used it in battle against his enemies. To this day, after more than two hundred years, the Taiyi Rainbow Sword’s spirituality had grown daily, and it had even mastered much of Xuzhuang’s own Swordsmanship.

But he still hadn’t expected that before he could even find the sliver of opportunity to forge his Primordial Spirit, the Taiyi Rainbow Sword had already taken the first step. As long as it passed the heavenly tribulation, it would become a True Form Treasure, comparable to a Primordial Spirit!

A magical treasure at this critical juncture would have a nearly mature spirituality and would naturally sense its own impending heavenly tribulation. From the information revealed by the Taiyi Rainbow Sword’s spirituality, Xuzhuang knew that its trial should be a fire calamity, and that it would arrive very soon.

The heavenly tribulation for condensing a true form originated from the Three Calamities but was not one of the Three Calamities. To put it simply, it was a type of trial from within the Three Calamities, but it was not as terrifying. Passing it only allowed the treasure to condense its true form; it did not mean one had passed the calamity itself. When the Three Calamities arrived in the future, this specific trial would still have to be faced again.