Chapter 196 Condensing the Primordial Spirit

Several days later, deep within the Secret Realm, beneath the sheer cliff of an isolated peak.

This was a dangerous, desolate place, where craggy, grotesque rocks resembled ferocious beast fangs, piercing through the gray mist that never dissipated all year round.

On the sunny side of the isolated peak, one could still see some tenacious withered vines, while the shaded side was a nearly vertical ten-thousand-foot cliff, where gale winds howled, churning up eerie clouds as if it were a rift leading to the Nine Netherworlds.

At this moment, in the middle section of the cliff, inside a narrow cave that had been temporarily excavated and cleverly concealed, Mu Changge sat cross-legged, his aura fluctuating, as he was at the critical moment of his Breakthrough.

He had simply arranged a Formation in the cave, isolating most of his aura and light.

Above his head, a palm-sized, Chaos-colored jade pendant, neither jade nor stone, floated silently.

On the surface of the jade pendant, golden runes so fine that they were difficult for the naked eye to discern flowed slowly as if they possessed life, emitting a profound aura that transcended the Laws of this world, absorbing and isolating all fluctuations around Mu Changge—the circulation of Spiritual Qi, the rising aura, and even his resonance with Heaven and Earth—as much as possible.

This was precisely that mysterious, ancient jade pendant given by his Revered Master—the sky-shrouding jade.

However, at this moment, the state of the sky-shrouding jade seemed somewhat abnormal.

The golden halo it emitted was brighter than at any time in the past, and the speed at which those golden runes flowed was also a bit faster, faintly emitting a low humming sound.

The jade pendant itself seemed to be enduring some kind of invisible pressure, trembling slightly.

Wisps of extremely faint aura, surging from deep within the Secret Realm, which were of the same origin as Spiritual Qi but even more pure and ancient, were seeping out from the void, entangling and eroding the isolation power of the sky-shrouding jade.

"As expected, just as I guessed, the traces of 'Immortal' remnants deep in this Secret Realm have an instinctive suppression on such top-tier Magic Treasures (below Immortal Artifact) that can deceive the heavenly secrets..." Mu Changge understood in his heart.

He chose this place to go into seclusion, not only for concealment but also because he happened to find an Opportunity nearby, which he was now digesting in seclusion.

In front of him, a strange object was currently floating.

That was not ordinary vegetation, but a strange spiritual plant about the length of an arm, lustrous like ink jade throughout, yet possessing nine apertures—the "Nine-Aperture Profound Flower".

This object was discovered by him a few days ago after he used an Escape Talisman to leave the ancient palace of the Yunmiao Holy Trace, deep inside a dried-up spiritual spring guarded by a powerful Restriction, where he also killed a powerful guarding Vicious Beast.

This object could not be consumed directly; it required his own blood essence and Spiritual Qi as a guide to slowly refine the immense vitality and powerful Spiritual Qi contained within it.

For these past few days, Mu Changge had been continuously refining this "Nine-Aperture Profound Flower".

With every bit refined, the petals shrank a circle, turning into the purest energy that merged into his limbs, bones, Dantian, and Sea of Consciousness.

The righteous and Devilish Qi within his body were like greedy gluttons, madly devouring this power, and the Nascent Soul infant became more and more solid, with a point of divine light faintly appearing between its brows, which was a sign that a "Primordial Spirit" was about to be conceived.

His cultivation had long since broken through the shackles of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, launching an assault towards that chasm leading to the Soul Transformation Stage.

"It's about time..." Mu Changge thought, and with a movement of his mind, he took the last mouthful of the remaining flower essence into his belly.

Boom! A power as immense as a tsunami exploded inside his body; the Nascent Soul infant let out a silent scream, its body suddenly expanded, and the divine light between its brows burst forth!

"Crack!" A sound of a barrier breaking from the depths of his Soul, which only Mu Changge himself could hear, rang out.

His consciousness was instantly pulled into a wondrous Realm, as if he could "see" his own Meridians expanding like a galaxy, his Dantian turning into a Universe at the beginning of Chaos, with the Nascent Soul sitting in the center, beginning to establish a connection with some mysterious Law between Heaven and Earth.

Soul Transformation: the Primordial Spirit condenses and takes shape, touching the Laws of Heaven and Earth for the first time, from then on transcending the Mortal body and stepping onto the path of cultivation and longevity.

Just at the moment his Primordial Spirit prototype condensed and his aura soared to the sky— "Rumble!!!"

Above the cliff outside, the sky, originally shrouded in gray mist, suddenly became turbulent with rising winds and clouds!

Thick leaden clouds gathered from all directions at a speed visible to the naked eye; within the clouds, scorching white lightning slithered like dragons and snakes, emitting a dull and terrifying roar!

A vast, majestic will, representing the trial and punishment of Heaven and Earth, locked onto this area!

The Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation had descended!

However, unlike the scene of grand heavenly might visible for a thousand miles when ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivators underwent the tribulation, the scale of the tribulation clouds above Mu Changge's head was compressed and distorted to a great extent.

The sky-shrouding jade erupted with unprecedented brilliance, and the pale golden halo formed a translucent light shield, firmly enveloping the cave where he was and the surrounding area of several dozen zhang.

Those golden runes flickered crazily, seemingly "deceiving" or "severing" most of the direct connection between the Heavenly Tribulation and Mu Changge.

The terrifying tribulation lightning descending from the sky, the moment it touched the light shield, had its destructive power strangely divided, guided, and even... "devoured" for the most part!

Only a very small portion, about one or two tenths of the original power, penetrated the barrier of the sky-shrouding jade and landed on the rock wall above the cave, blasting open charred shallow pits, with gravel falling down rustlingly.

But even so, a trace of the Heavenly Tribulation's aura still leaked out!

"Huh?" Throughout the Secret Realm, dozens of Cultivators whose cultivation had reached the Soul Transformation Stage, who were in seclusion or exploring, simultaneously felt something and looked in surprise towards the direction of the isolated peak where the aura leaked.

"Someone is undergoing the tribulation? Soul Transformation Tribulation? But this fluctuation... is so strange, seemingly there yet seemingly not, as if it has been covered up by something?"

"Undergoing the tribulation inside the Secret Realm? That's quite bold... However, this tribulation lightning aura, although weak, is extremely powerful; even from so far away, I feel a trace of palpitations!"

"Interesting, it seems someone has obtained an Opportunity again, and is also carrying a strange treasure."

These Divine Senses flashed and disappeared, and most did not delve into it.

There were countless Opportunities in the Secret Realm, and it was common for Cultivators to break through; as long as it didn't affect themselves, no one would meddle in others' business.

Only a very small number of Cultivators who were particularly sensitive to the "Heavenly Secrets" and "Covering" paths, or who possessed special detection treasures (such as the "heavenly machine plate" of the Xuantian Sect Saint Zhou Tianyan), would have deeper doubts about this, but limited by distance and the interference of the Secret Realm, it was difficult to accurately locate it for a while.

Inside the cave, Mu Changge was well aware of the changes in the outside world.

He had no time to attend to anything else, his entire mind immersed in the Breakthrough and the lingering charm of "digesting" the Heavenly Tribulation.

That tribulation lightning power, which had penetrated the sky-shrouding jade's shielding and become much weaker, did not pose too much of a threat to his formidable Physical Body and his Meridians that had already been repeatedly tempered by the righteous and Devilish Qi; instead, it was guided by him to further temper his newly born "Primordial Spirit prototype" that existed between reality and illusion.

I don't know how much time passed, but the "mini Heavenly Tribulation" outside that had been distorted and weakened finally dissipated, and the leaden clouds slowly dispersed.

Inside the cave, Mu Changge slowly opened his eyes.

"Swish—" Two solid-looking rays of divine light, one gold and one black, shot out from his eyes, leaving brief traces in the void, then immediately retracted.

His entire temperament underwent a subtle change, with a bit less of the outward sharpness and a bit more of an inner depth and majesty.

Every gesture resonated more clearly with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, and when his Divine Sense swept out, its range and precision far exceeded that of the Nascent Soul Stage by several times!

In his Dantian, a small figure, identical in appearance to Mu Changge but only three inches tall, with its body wrapped in faint golden and black Qi, sat silently cross-legged; as its eyes opened and closed, divine light faintly flowed—the Soul Transformation Primordial Spirit was formed!

"Early Soul Transformation Stage, it's done." Mu Changge felt the power in his body, which had surged more than just a notch, as well as the clearer and more refined perception of his Divine Soul, and a hint of a signature villainous arc appeared at the corners of his mouth.

This Breakthrough, with the help of the "Nine-Aperture Profound Flower" and the special environment of the Secret Realm, plus the concealment of the sky-shrouding jade, although the Heavenly Tribulation leaked a bit, it was finally safe and sound, and the gains far exceeded expectations.

With a movement of his mind, the brilliance of the sky-shrouding jade above his head converged, and it fell gently into his palm.

The flow speed of the golden runes on the jade pendant slowed down, but upon careful observation, one could see that its luster was slightly dimmer than before; clearly, forcibly interfering with and weakening the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation just now had consumed quite a bit.

"The Immortal Qi remaining in the Secret Realm has a more troublesome suppression on the sky-shrouding jade than expected... It seems that in the future, when using it, it is best to upgrade it first."

Mu Changge put away the sky-shrouding jade, took out a few Medicinal Pills and swallowed them to consolidate his newly broken-through Realm, while quickly becoming familiar with the various changes brought about by the Soul Transformation Stage.

A quarter of an hour later, he rose to his feet, his aura perfectly retracted; if he didn't actively reveal it, he looked no different from a Mortal at this moment. (Unless a powerhouse far exceeding his own strength deliberately peeped.)

"It's time to harvest."

Mu Changge cast his gaze outside the cave, as if piercing through layers of rock and mist, looking towards the far north, the direction where the black light pillar had erupted, where he had his first battle with Jian Wushuang, and where the later battle between Buddha and Demon had erupted.

He closed his eyes slightly, feeling the changes after the Breakthrough.

His Divine Sense was like invisible water waves, spreading out in all directions with him as the center, its range, clarity, and penetrating power far superior to before.

Wherever his mind reached, the surrounding Spiritual Qi naturally gathered and supported him, allowing him to stand in the void without relying on external objects, as if he had merged into a part of this Heaven and Earth.

"This is Soul Transformation... Divine Soul merges with Heaven and Earth, and one arrives wherever the mind moves."

Mu Changge whispered, experiencing this unprecedented sense of freedom and control.

He maintained a speed that seemed unhurried but was actually several miles in an instant, as if he had merged into the mountain wind and flowing clouds.

While consolidating the Realm that had just broken through and still needed polishing, he spread out his Divine Sense, which was far beyond the past, as much as possible, like the most precise radar, meticulously perceiving every movement within a range of thousands of miles along the way.

He could perceive that the atmosphere in the Secret Realm was more tense and murderous than before.

The air still retained chaotic fluctuations of aura, showing that many battles had taken place here not long ago.

Nearby, he could occasionally perceive some Cultivator teams passing by in a hurry, guarding against each other, and the content of their discussions was mostly related to keywords such as "Devil Head Jian Wushuang", "Buddhist Son Liao Chen", "Buddhist Treasure Robbed", and "Xuantian Sect Searching for Variables".

Mu Changge even "heard" some Cultivators mention that the battle between Buddha and Demon that erupted in the far north a few days ago was earth-shattering, and in the end, it seemed that the Buddhist Great Master Liao Chen had the upper hand, severely injuring the demonized Jian Wushuang, but the latter had used some secret technique to escape and his whereabouts were currently unknown.

And Great Master Liao Chen also seemed to have suffered extremely heavy injuries, and was leading Buddhist Disciples to conduct a carpet-style search in that area, vowing to completely eradicate the Devil Head, while also not giving up on the investigation of that "Wandao Sword Sect thief".

"Both sides suffered injuries, then licking their wounds separately, and continuing the chase?"

Mu Changge sneered.

This was exactly the result he wanted.

Jian Wushuang's Luck had not yet run out, and Liao Chen was not someone to be trifled with; the harder they fought, the more beneficial it was for him.

"However, Jian Wushuang..."

Mu Changge's eyes flashed with cold light, "It is also time to completely solve this 'old friend'. Strike when you are sick, take your life!"

He closed his eyes, his mind sinking into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, where there was an extremely secret, invisible, and intangible connection—it was the "Demon Heart Stir" mark that he had quietly planted the other day when he fought with Jian Wushuang and caught him off guard.

This mark was not a simple tracking talisman, but was rooted in Jian Wushuang's heart; as his demonization deepened and his demonic thoughts became more intense, the connection would become clearer.

In other words, when fighting with someone who has the Demon Heart Stir planted, as long as you use the Cultivation Technique when they are caught off guard, if the opponent's Realm is lower than yours, you can instantly make their heart burst and die.

At the same time, his Soul Transformation Stage Divine Sense was like an invisible tide, spreading out in all directions with him as the center, meticulously perceiving every subtle energy fluctuation in the air.

"Found it..."

A moment later, a cold arc hooked at the corners of Mu Changge's mouth.

The sensation of 'Demon Heart Stir' came from the northwest direction; although weak and intermittent, the direction was roughly clear.

At the same time, his powerful Divine Sense, far exceeding the Nascent Soul Stage, also captured traces of familiar Devilish Qi in that direction.

"Indeed, you didn't die, still struggling? However... it seems your injuries are not light?"

Mu Changge judged.

With a movement of his mind, a faint light flashed above his head, and the sky-shrouding jade appeared again; although its luster was slightly dimmer than in its prime, it still floated steadily above his head, dripping down strands of golden aura, perfectly concealing his entire figure, aura, and even the faint fluctuations of his interaction with Heaven and Earth.

At this moment, unless seen face-to-face, or a mighty figure above the Void Refining Stage deliberately scanned inch by inch with Divine Sense, it would be extremely difficult to be discovered.

His figure flickered, blending like a ghost into the shadows cast by the mountain forest and the thin mist permeating the valley.

His figure was elusive, fast as lightning, yet he landed without sound, his trajectory difficult to predict, swiftly traveling through the complex terrain.

Now that he had entered the Soul Transformation Stage, his control over power was perfect and meticulous, the righteous and Devilish Qi flowing as one, and wherever his mind reached, thunder could be unleashed.

There were even many unorthodox secret techniques.

This trip to completely solve the hidden danger of Jian Wushuang and obtain the kill reward was naturally the priority, but if he could meet the other two Children of Fortune alone and harvest them fiercely, that would be even more satisfying.