Chapter 224: To Poke a Hole in the Sky

Jiuyou was not particularly surprised by Xuan Zhenzi's words. While he had held out hope for this cultivation method, he had always maintained a degree of vigilance. Now that the older cultivator had pointed out its flaws, he wanted to hear exactly what the catch was.

Xuan Zhenzi rested the jade plaque in his palm, his expression solemn.

"Nine souls returning to one, using yin fiend energy as the material to condense a Blood Soul Seed. Once this blood seed takes root, it feeds on the caster's own soul to slowly grow and strengthen. It acts as a parasite within the soul and will not truly temper or benefit the host's Primordial Spirit.

"In other words, this forbidden art cannot help anyone break through to the next realm at all. Instead, it is a malignant tumor taking root in the soul. If one rashly uses it, their own soul will be eroded and devoured by the blood seed day and night. In the end, they will be transformed alive into a spiritual medicine.

"It is not a method to help you step into Deity Transformation, but a wicked art that refines living people into a medicinal primer. This secret transmission of the Demonic Path is utterly vicious."

He paused, a lingering trace of fear in his tone.

"If I hadn't seen similar sinister cultivation methods in my early years, I wouldn't have been able to see through the true nature of this art at a glance."

Hearing this, Jiuyou's frown deepened. When he first obtained the scroll, he had vaguely sensed that something was off, but his obsession with Deity Transformation had clouded his judgment, and he hadn't looked deeper into it. He knew better than anyone the taste of approaching the end of his lifespan. That suffocating feeling of walking past the gates of hell was something he never wanted to experience a second time.

At the same time, another thought suddenly surfaced in his mind: 'No wonder such an important forbidden art fell into my hands so easily, looted from the body of a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator.'

The Daoyang Sect's Ten Palaces Art was exactly like this. Aside from the core figures of Linghu Shou's lineage, the rest of the Nascent Soul Supreme Elders had no idea that the true key to Deity Transformation required the assistance of the Heaven and Earth Ring. Otherwise, relying solely on a cultivation scroll and a few spiritual herbs, it was absolutely impossible to cross that threshold.

He also remembered when he had first entered the Northern Plains; he had easily extracted information about Xue Huomo's movements from a Nascent Soul Early Stage elder of the Blood Abyss Sect. Logically, such a top-secret plan shouldn't have been leaked, yet almost everyone among the elders of that faction had known about it at the time. They had even been overtly and covertly pushing for war between the Northern Plains and Ganzhou. Such a blatant approach was bound to attract the attention of others, especially the Second Elder of the Blood Abyss Sect, Ying Tong.

Stringing together the events of the past few years, Jiuyou gradually untangled a hidden thread.

From the very beginning, Xue Huomo had likely been scheming against Ying Tong, even intentionally leaking intelligence to him. The goal was to lure Ying Tong into gathering the nine great soul seeds, allowing him to be gradually devoured by the blood seed during the fusion process. Ultimately, Ying Tong would transform into a seed himself, reduced to nourishment for Xue Huomo's push toward Deity Transformation.

Ying Tong had always believed he was fighting for a fortuitous encounter, completely unaware that from start to finish, he had been nothing but a pawn on someone else's chessboard.

Thinking back on it now, many of the suspicious points made perfect sense.

Xue Huomo's calculations ran extremely deep. On the outside, he appeared to be approaching the wooden coffin, but in reality, he built a camp at every step, even calculating his own junior brother into his plot.

Jiuyou gathered his thoughts. He stopped turning those fragmented clues over and over in his head; Xuan Zhenzi's words had already settled into their proper place in his mind.

He slightly increased his flight speed, remaining silent for a long time.

Those words were like a basin of cold water poured over his head, exposing all his scheming, slaughter, and calculations of the past few years to the harsh light of day. If what Xuan Zhenzi said was true, then he had killed so many people over the years, run around in a massive circle, finally pushed this war into motion, caused the deaths of so many cultivators, and even offended a Deity Transformation master—and for what?

He didn't speak, but his expression darkened. Xuan Zhenzi glanced at him. As if guessing his thoughts, he didn't give him time to process it, his tone hardening compared to before.

"Every word I said is true. I have absolutely no intention of deceiving you. If you don't believe me, you are welcome to test it yourself in the future. But by then, I'm afraid it will be too late for regrets."

Jiuyou still did not answer. The frigid air ahead grew thicker; the Land of the Extreme North was already right before their eyes. Wind and snow blew against his face, and even the Heaven and Earth Ring's speed in absorbing spiritual qi slowed by a fraction, as if the spiritual qi itself had frozen in this place.

"However—" Xuan Zhenzi shifted his tone. "Within this forbidden art, there is one line of thought that is actually viable..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiuyou abruptly halted his flight, locking his gaze straight onto him. Those eyes carried a sharpness that seemed almost stagnant, staring so intently that Xuan Zhenzi's small golden figure briefly froze.

Jiuyou didn't say much. He merely cupped his fists, his tone brief and solemn. "Please bestow your guidance, Ancestor."

Xuan Zhenzi stroked his beard, his chin raised slightly. The slight unease from being stared at so intensely was quickly replaced by a trace of composure. He pondered for a moment before speaking.

"It's very simple. Since you entertained this idea, you must have made quite a few preparations. The Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring—it isn't exactly wrong for later generations to give it this name, but the scope is too small."

He extended a finger, gesturing in the air.

"In ancient times, we called this supreme treasure the Five Origins Universal Hub. The so-called Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring is merely a name recklessly bestowed by later cultivators whose cultivation was shallow and horizons limited. Having only caught a glimpse of its ability to command the spiritual qi of the five elements, they arbitrarily slapped on such a title. The words 'Universal Pivot' have their own true meaning. What it truly governs has never been limited to the five elements of spiritual qi, but the mighty power of heaven and earth itself."

He paused, as if recalling the past, and spoke with deep emotion.

"How could the power of heaven and earth be as superficial as merely the five elements of spiritual qi? The might of the sun and moon's rotation, the principles of the ebb and flow of yin and yang, the world's boundless righteous qi, and Zhiyang's unyielding strength—even the yin fiend blood power of the Demonic Path are all encompassed within it.

"When the time comes, I can manipulate the Universal Pivot to cooperate with you. I will strip away the sinister baleful aura within the Blood Soul Seed bit by bit, leaving only the pure power of the soul essence to strengthen your soul.

"With such accumulation, when you push for Deity Transformation and your Nascent Soul merges with your soul as one, the process will naturally be much smoother. Your chances of a breakthrough will also greatly increase."

After saying all this, his tone softened a bit, carrying a hint of warning.

"However, this method harms the harmony of heaven and can only be used once. If it fails, there will be no turning back. Although you won't turn into a bloodthirsty demon, your soul will suffer heavy damage, and you will never have another chance at Deity Transformation in this life. Are you willing?"

He glanced at Jiuyou, quietly waiting for his answer.

Jiuyou did not hesitate, nor did he even think for a moment longer. He simply nodded slightly and bowed to Xuan Zhenzi with cupped fists.

"In this life, I have already walked too far on the path to Deity Transformation. If I were to stop moving forward out of fear of this little risk, I would not have made it to this day."

His tone was calm, betraying little emotion, but that calmness itself was already an answer.

Xuan Zhenzi looked at him and fell silent for a moment. Then, he suddenly burst into loud laughter. The laughter carried a sense of liberation that had been suppressed for many years.

"Hahaha—good, good! I have lived for so many years, yet I've actually been enlightened by a junior like you. In today's world, spiritual qi is decaying and the primordial energy of heaven and earth is thin; therefore, Deity Transformation is difficult to achieve. If I still put on the airs of the Righteous Path, I'm afraid I would be trapped within this Universal Pivot for all lifetimes, never having the chance to see higher scenery."

His laughter died down, a trace of self-mockery in his tone.

"Fuck being an eminent master of the Righteous Path or a ten-thousand-year titan! In the end, aren't I still trapped in this tiny Heaven and Earth Ring?"

He looked at Jiuyou, his voice carrying a long-lost resolve.

"Kid, since you have the guts to make this trip, then I will accompany you to poke a hole in the sky."