Chapter 703: Nascent Soul (I)

Inside the secluded chamber, Xu Ruichen's eyes were tightly shut, his entire body trembling and drenched in sweat. His face was contorted with pain as he endured unimaginable torment.

Lin Zheyu, who stood beside him, wore an intrigued expression. With his right hand pressed against Xu Ruichen's forehead, golden energy continuously poured from his body as he carefully purged the yao will that had nearly fused completely with Xu Ruichen's soul.

At the same time, Lin Zheyu was dividing his attention between two tasks. While the Heavenly Eye in his sea of consciousness assisted him in purging the yao will from Xu Ruichen's soul, he still had enough attention to spare to observe the Nascent Soul within Xu Ruichen's body.

Following its previous transformation, the abilities of Lin Zheyu's Heavenly Eye had improved by leaps and bounds. He had encountered some difficulty when purging the yao will from Kong Yujing and the others, but now it was effortless and placed no pressure on him whatsoever.

Such an opportunity was difficult to come by. Lin Zheyu deliberately slowed the rate at which he purged the yao will from Xu Ruichen's body, using this chance to openly study the Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator.

So this is an immortal cultivator's Nascent Soul. It actually possesses some of the characteristics of a soul. It is more like an enhanced soul form, Lin Zheyu mused with considerable interest.

Xu Ruichen's Nascent Soul had also been severely corroded by the yao will, with nearly one third of it already assimilated. However, the Nascent Soul was somewhat more powerful than the soul form. Despite suffering such severe corrosion, Xu Ruichen had not lost control of it, and it retained most of its abilities. This was also why he had managed to endure until now. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation... The cultivation path of immortal cultivators is entirely focused on strengthening the divine soul. Foundation Establishment and Golden Core merely lay the groundwork. The true transformation begins with the Nascent Soul. A Nascent Soul is equivalent to a second soul nurtured within the body. It is an infant soul, nurtured through all the powerful cultivation accumulated beforehand, that is even stronger than the original soul form.

Once the Nascent Soul grows powerful enough, it can merge with the soul form, transforming the soul and condensing the powerful divine soul unique to the Deity Transformation realm. But how does the Nascent Soul realm's short-range teleportation work? Lin Zheyu murmured inwardly.

This was his first time studying the Nascent Soul within a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, and it had allowed him to uncover many secrets of the Immortal Dao system. However, that was not enough. Lin Zheyu was even more curious about how Nascent Soul realm cultivators acquired the ability to teleport over short distances. That was the question that interested him most. Regardless of the cultivation system, anyone who reached a realm equivalent to the Nascent Soul realm would acquire the ability to teleport over short distances.

This had nothing to do with whether the cultivator was skilled in spatial Laws. Even a Nascent Soul realm expert who knew nothing whatsoever about spatial Laws could still teleport over short distances. The effectiveness and power of the ability would simply differ.

***

Six days slowly passed, and the yao will within Xu Ruichen's soul was finally almost completely purged. The small amount that remained had fused nearly completely with his soul and could not be purged at all. More precisely, Lin Zheyu's current strength was insufficient to purge it.

Suppressing his anticipation, Lin Zheyu withdrew his hand and asked with concern, "All right. This is as much of the yao will within your soul that I can purge. Next will be your Nascent Soul. Do you need to rest?"

He could hardly wait to study an immortal cultivator's Nascent Soul more deeply, but this matter could not be rushed. Xu Ruichen was in poor condition, and Lin Zheyu genuinely worried that if he proceeded too hastily, the man might fail to endure it and his Nascent Soul might collapse. That would be a tremendous loss.

A Nascent Soul realm expert willing to cooperate so fully, lower all resistance, and allow himself to be studied was not easy to find. If Lin Zheyu missed this opportunity, there was no telling when he would encounter another like it.

"I need half a day to adjust my condition. I will have to trouble you to wait," Xu Ruichen said between ragged breaths.

"Very well. I happen to need some time to recover as well." Lin Zheyu nodded, found a spot nearby, and sat cross-legged to recuperate.

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye. After the brief rest, Xu Ruichen was in much better condition than when Lin Zheyu had first met him. After all, he had purged almost all the yao will from his soul. Only a small amount that had nearly fused completely with his soul remained and could not be removed.

Xu Ruichen opened his eyes, steeled himself, and exhaled softly. "We can continue. Please proceed."

"Very well." Lin Zheyu opened his eyes, rose, and walked over to Xu Ruichen.

He extended his right hand and pressed it against Xu Ruichen's abdomen as his powerful perception spread outward. Xu Ruichen offered no resistance to the intrusion of Lin Zheyu's energy and allowed him to act freely.

Surging golden energy poured into the Nascent Soul within Xu Ruichen's body. As Lin Zheyu controlled it to purge the yao will from the Nascent Soul, he also quietly explored the mysteries of an immortal cultivator's Nascent Soul.

So that is how it works. Is this the true foundation of the Nascent Soul's power...? Lin Zheyu's eyes brightened slightly as he murmured inwardly.

Time slowly passed. Just as Lin Zheyu was immersed in studying the immortal cultivator's Nascent Soul, an unexpected development occurred outside the secluded chamber.

***

Outside the secluded chamber, Xu Chi's body trembled slightly under the influence of the middle-aged man's spirit secret art. His mind filled with visions of all the terrible consequences his decision might bring about, and intense regret and self-reproach welled up within him.

With his right hand trembling, Xu Chi took out the token used to forcibly open the secluded chamber. His strength had already been inferior to his third uncle's, and now that a weakness had appeared in his mental defenses, his third uncle had caught him off guard with a spirit secret art and forcibly influenced his mind.

No, something is wrong! Given Fellow Xiao Zhe's abilities, even if he cannot completely resolve grandfather's problem, he should still be able to alleviate it... Xu Chi steadied his mind and began to sense that something was amiss.

He was a Golden Core realm expert, after all. Although the middle-aged man had seized the instant a weakness appeared in his mental defenses to infiltrate his mind, a Golden Core realm expert was still a Golden Core realm expert. The Golden Core within Xu Chi's body trembled slightly, sending a powerful surge of Golden Core energy straight into his mind and restoring some clarity to his muddled consciousness.

Seeing the struggle flicker through Xu Chi's eyes, the middle-aged man once again employed his spirit secret art and shouted at him, "Hurry up! If your dawdling causes an irreversible consequence during this brief delay, can you bear the responsibility?"

Xu Chi, who had just sensed that something was wrong, fell under the man's influence once more. His mental will was again overwhelmed by regret over his own recklessness.

He could still break free even in that state. He truly is a genius. It's no wonder Second Uncle took a liking to him and groomed him as the Xu Family's next successor. His mental will is indeed remarkable, the middle-aged man thought with a cold snort.

The middle-aged man had originally been chosen as the Xu Family's next family head. However, once Xu Chi distinguished himself and caught Xu Ruichen's attention, the position of heir to the family head passed from the middle-aged man to Xu Chi. The middle-aged man had been deeply unwilling to accept this and worked with near-mad desperation to prove that he was no worse than Xu Chi.

Reality, however, had dealt him a brutal slap in the face. Xu Ruichen's judgment had indeed been keen, and Xu Chi had lived up to his expectations. His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, allowing him to stand out among the younger generation and break through to the Golden Core realm before reaching two hundred years of age. Faced with this cruel reality, the middle-aged man had nearly resigned himself to his fate.

After all, as long as Xu Ruichen was around, he had no chance whatsoever. Given Xu Chi's natural talent, the young man's cultivation would soon surpass his own as well. Yet he had never imagined that an opportunity would arrive so quickly.

An accident had left Xu Ruichen on the verge of death, plunging the Xu Family into desperate straits, while he himself had become the most powerful person the Xu Family could currently rely upon. His chance had finally come!

Thoughts flashed through the middle-aged man's mind as he gave a cold snort. "Hmph!"

He snatched the token from Xu Chi's hand, an almost imperceptible trace of delight flashing through his eyes. He had taken another step toward success!

He exhaled softly and willed his secret art into action, pouring powerful spirit power into the family head's token. With a rumble, the tightly sealed doors of the secluded chamber began to tremble before slowly opening.

The family head's token alone was not enough to forcibly open the chamber. It had to be used in conjunction with a secret art unique to the Xu Family. As it happened, the middle-aged man had once been groomed as the heir and had cultivated this special secret art.