Chapter 396 Advancement, Nascent Soul Stage
Within the core of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane, in the central array of the Incense and Divine Path, time seemed to lose its meaning.
Jemin's consciousness was not completely immersed in refining his cultivation. Instead, he often sank into his own consciousness space, lingering in the majestic [Great Dao Library], which was as beautiful as a piece of white jade.
At this moment, his consciousness was sitting cross-legged in front of the Great Dao Library, holding a warm, cyan notebook in his hands.
The material of the manuscript is different from most of the books in the library that record supernatural powers and techniques; it appears more simple.
The cover has no title, only a faint line of ink that seems to disappear at any moment: "Miscellaneous Records of Seeking the Way: Understanding the Realm".
This is neither a cultivation method nor a groundbreaking secret technique; rather, it is more like an unknown senior reflecting on the origins and contemplation of the path he has taken in his leisure time.
Jemin, however, read it with great interest, because this notebook explored the essential origins of each realm of a cultivator.
Combining the contents of the book with his own experiences, Jieming's thoughts fluctuated.
"The desire for immortality is the beginning of the path to enlightenment."
The letter begins by stating its purpose.
It believes that the most primitive driving force behind the creation and division of each major realm on the path of cultivation is not the power to destroy the world, but rather the most basic and intense desire of living beings for "immortality".
The earliest form of "Qi cultivation," or even more anciently known as "Qi refinement," was the discovery by ancient sages that there exists a kind of "Qi" (spiritual energy) in the world that can nourish life, delay aging, and bring extraordinary power.
Thus, he discovered a method of absorbing and refining, thereby transcending the limits of mortal lifespan.
However, simply practicing Qi cultivation is slow and has a high barrier to entry.
Countless people spend their entire lives in vain, achieving little and wasting their time.
Thus, some exceptionally talented individuals proposed to integrate the three treasures of the human body—"essence, qi, and spirit"—as a foundation, so that the three treasures could work together.
This makes the path of cultivation smoother and more efficient, giving more people the possibility of achieving immortality.
This is the Foundation Establishment stage.
However, although the lifespan of Foundation Establishment cultivators increases, it is ultimately limited.
With their lifespan nearing its end and the path to immortality seemingly bleak, a senior figure has devised a different approach: since the mortal body will eventually age and decay, why not condense and compress one's essence to the extreme to forge a "golden elixir" that is "imperishable through countless eons and eternally existent"?
With this golden elixir as its core, one can break free from the shackles of physical aging.
The Golden Core Realm arose in response to this need.
The physical body is indestructible, which seems to indicate that one has achieved immortality.
However, the monks soon discovered that physical eternity did not equate to the infinity of the soul, and that the soul, which represented the "self," would decay over time.
The goal of achieving immortality has not been fully achieved.
Therefore, the pursuit continues.
How can we make the "self" less likely to be destroyed?
The ancient sages combined the "spirit" that represents the soul and consciousness with the immortal "essence" (golden elixir) to give birth to the "primordial infant".
The Nascent Soul is the condensation of a cultivator's life and consciousness. It can be said that from this moment on, the cultivator has completely broken free from the limitation of "lifespan".
Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, the simple desire for "immortality" seems to have been partially satisfied.
But... when a person is killed, they die.
While the Nascent Soul stage is wondrous, it is not invincible.
In order to truly "protect" this hard-won longevity fruit in this perilous world, and to prevent their lives from being easily taken away, the main purpose of cultivators' practice has quietly changed after reaching the Nascent Soul stage—from pursuing "longevity" to pursuing the power of "protecting the Dao".
The Nascent Soul Realm was born out of this need.
The so-called "Transformation into a Deity" is essentially about utilizing all available internal and external forces to greatly enhance a cultivator's recovery, survival, and combat abilities, making them "harder to kill."
Therefore, advancing to the Nascent Soul stage requires a complete and perfect re-integration and sublimation of the three treasures of "essence, qi, and spirit," which were initially integrated during the Foundation Establishment stage and later emphasized by the Golden Elixir and Nascent Soul stages, at a higher level of life.
Because cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage already possess near-infinite lifespans, they have ample time to delve into combat techniques and methods of protection, and to explore deeper "principles" of the world.
In the words of wizards, it means beginning to systematically and deeply study the "laws".
"Therefore, the Divine Transformation Realm is essentially a realm that specializes in improving combat power and survivability, and laying a solid life foundation for in-depth exploration of the Great Dao (Laws)." Jieming closed the note, and the blue light disappeared into the book pavilion. His consciousness showed a look of emotion.
Indeed, any mature power system is deeply imprinted with the cultural heritage and core aspirations of the civilization from which it originated.
The cultivation of immortality originates from the ultimate pursuit of "longevity" and "freedom from the world" for individuals. Its evolution of realms revolves around how to prolong life and how to protect this fruit of immortality.
Every step is filled with an exploration of the essence of life and a dedication to "survival".
In contrast, the wizarding civilization originated from an insatiable thirst for "knowledge" and "truth".
In order to acquire more knowledge and understand the nature of the world, they need stronger perception, computing power, and the ability to interfere with reality.
Therefore, the advancement of a wizard's level often focuses more on the qualitative change of mental power, the upgrading of computing architecture, and the efficiency of analyzing and applying specific laws.
Therefore, a level three wizard begins to possess the basic perception to study laws.
However, even a level six wizard's lifespan is quite "limited" if they don't take longevity elixirs regularly or undergo biochemical modifications to extend it.
The two have different starting points, different paths, and vastly different ways of using power.
Wizards and monks of the same level may have similar total energy or destructive power, but their internal logic and manifestations are worlds apart.
Interestingly, when these two paths reach their highest points—whether it's the path of an immortal cultivator or the eighth or ninth level of a wizard—they vaguely point to a similar endpoint.
"Truly... different paths lead to the same destination, yet each has its own merits." Jemin's consciousness slowly dissipated, returning to reality.
Inside the central magic array, Jemin, who was sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.
Her eyes seemed to hold a swirling galaxy, before returning to a clear and calm state.
The reading and thinking he had just done were like a clear spring, washing away the slight tension in his mind caused by long-term research and preparation for a breakthrough.
This gave him a clearer and more fundamental understanding of the "Transformation of the Gods" realm he was about to reach.
At this moment, he clearly felt that his internal state was now perfectly harmonious and complete, with his essence, energy, and spirit resonating in perfect balance, reaching a delicate critical point.
The nascent soul glowed brightly in the dantian, eager to try.
The Ring of Truth rotates steadily in the sea of consciousness, providing a powerful spiritual support.
The body forged through the "Body Tempering Method" is like a bowstring ready to be released, brimming with surging power.
The opportunity has arrived, and things will fall into place naturally.
"The time has come, so let's...begin."
Jieming murmured to himself, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on his dantian, beginning to circulate the profound method recorded in the "Qi Refining Method," which was specifically used to break through from the Nascent Soul stage to the Divine Transformation stage.
There were no earth-shattering phenomena, and no arduous or painful breakthroughs.
Under the powerful mental guidance of the fourth-level wizard, the entire process was smoother than imagined, as if it were just pushing open a door that had been half-closed for a long time.
Within his dantian, the nascent soul, identical in appearance to his own, began to slowly "grow" as the magic technique was activated.
However, this "growth" is not a simple expansion of volume, but an essential "diffusion" and "fusion".
The radiance of the nascent soul grew brighter and brighter, while its form became increasingly transparent, gradually transforming into a chaotic yet luminous aura.
This burst of spiritual light did not leave the dantian, but flowed upwards like mercury spilling onto the ground or like snow melting in the spring sun, flowing backwards along the established meridians and blood vessels.
It is undergoing the deepest fusion with every inch of Jemin's skin, every bone, and every cell...
It is not the separation of the primordial spirit from the body, but the perfect unity of "spirit" and "form" in a higher dimension.
An indescribable sense of "wholeness" filled Jemin's entire being.
It was as if the invisible, subtle barrier between the nascent soul and the physical body had been completely broken.
Before this, although Jemin could manipulate his nascent soul with ease, it still required considerable mental effort.
But now, he is the Nascent Soul, and the Nascent Soul is him.
At this moment, the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit achieve an unprecedented harmony and unity, circulating endlessly and continuously.
The already vast spiritual energy within his body seemed to be infused with new vitality and spirituality, making its operation smoother and more free.
The recovery speed is astonishingly fast; almost with a thought, the consumed spiritual energy can be replenished by frantically absorbing external energy from the pores of the body, or instantly regenerated from the internal circulation.
A misconception arose that the spiritual power was "nearly limitless".
The amount of spiritual power is fixed due to the wizard's level and does not increase dramatically due to breakthroughs in cultivation.
But Jemin keenly realized that his "precision of control" and "efficiency of use" of his mental power had jumped several levels.
What used to require careful mental maneuvering can now be accomplished almost effortlessly, with just a slight thought.
The breadth, depth, and speed of thinking have all been significantly improved.
The direct enhancement of his physical body was not very obvious, after all, the Body Tempering Technique had already tempered his physique to be far superior to those of others of the same level.
But that feeling of "perfect smoothness" and "integration of inside and out" seems to also enhance the body's defense, recovery, and ability to "adapt" to various types of damage.
The change that pleased Jemin the most came from the level of "cognition".
My mind became exceptionally clear and calm. Some of the difficult problems I had encountered in previous research could now be solved with a little thought, and I could gain insights from different angles or even arrive at the answers directly.
Their perception of the surrounding environment has also reached a completely new level.
He doesn't need to deliberately use witchcraft; he can vaguely "see" the flow of elements in the air, the direction of energy channels, and the subtle vibrations of material structures simply through sight, hearing, touch, and even the most basic "sense of presence."
It was as if everything was telling him the "reasons" behind its operation.
With a slight thought, his gaze fell upon a glass of ordinary water that had been prepared beforehand next to the magic circle.
There was no chanting, no spellcasting, and not even any obvious energy fluctuations.
He was simply “thinking” about making the glass of water “disappear.”
The next moment, in Jemin's "perception", the activity of the most basic "material particles" that make up this glass of water - which, according to wizarding theory, can correspond to the most primitive "earth" element ground state - was "reduced" by an invisible force.
It is not a decomposition and transformation of alchemy, but rather something closer to... a temporary shift from an active state of "existence" to "stillness" or "dissipation".
The cup was still in my hand, but the water inside had vanished without a trace, as if wiped away by the most skillful eraser.
There was no steam, no residue, as if it had never existed.
“The threshold for manipulable elemental activity has been greatly reduced… Is this the initial application of ‘Dao’ by a fourth-level wizard in combination with the Nascent Soul stage? It is indeed similar to the wizard’s manipulation of laws, but the angle of approach is more inclined towards the essence of ‘existence’ and ‘change’…” Jemin’s eyes gleamed with wonder.
He immediately tried his usual observational magic: the Eye of All Things.
Once activated, this spell will meticulously collect all observable information within its range.
Energy spectrum, material composition, microstructure, life fluctuations, and even extremely faint mental remnants... the amount of information is terrifyingly vast.
In the past, even after Jemin advanced to the fourth level of wizardry and his mental strength increased greatly, he could only barely maintain the effective range of the [All-Seeing Eye] within a radius of four or five meters around his body.
Beyond this range, the massive amount of unprocessed raw information will overwhelm his conscious processing ability, causing a "brain shutdown."
At this moment, the [Eye of All Uses] silently activated.
Buzz...
The familiar flow of massive amounts of information flooded into my consciousness.
But what Jemin felt was not a burden, but a sense of ease in "receiving" and "organizing".
With a slight thought, his observation range expanded rapidly outwards like ripples on water.
Five meters, eight meters, ten meters... twelve meters!
Everything within a 12-meter radius is within your "eyes"!
Moreover, the level of detail and scope in information processing far surpasses that of the past.
He could even "see" the subtle dynamic balance process of faith power and spiritual energy transformation within the incense and deity energy network.
You can "see" the isotopic decay of several inert elements that slowly occur in the rocks under your feet during long periods of geothermal activity.
It can "see" the extremely subtle polarization phenomena in the air caused by the dimensional properties of different elements...
This is no longer just "observation," but closer to an "omniscient" insight.
Jemin had no doubt that the observation precision and information processing capabilities of the [All-Purpose Eye] at this moment were enough to replace most of the precision instruments used in the laboratory for routine matter and energy analysis!
"Transformation into a Divine Realm... This is the benefit of unifying all power in the Transformation into a Divine Realm." Jemin slowly withdrew his witchcraft, a genuine smile appearing on his lips.
The sublimation of life, the leap in cognition, and the initial manifestation of the ability to intervene in the essence of the world.
This is not just an improvement in combat power, but also a huge leap in his ability as a "researcher" to explore the truth.
He slowly stood up, feeling the new, harmonious power flowing within his body, and turned his gaze to the depths of the incense and divine network.
Having achieved divine transformation, the road ahead is even wider.
It's time to put the theories and insights accumulated over the years into practice.
(That's all for today. I need to organize the plot of the new dimension that follows.)
(End of this chapter)
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