Chapter 27 Breakthrough to Nascent Soul

Emperor Cao Xukun had originally planned to lie low for another half a month, waiting for Su Wanqing's golden baby to be born before attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage. However, that brat Crown Prince Cao Hao was too impressive; only half a month after birth, he had actually broken through directly to the eighth level of Qi Refining!

"Holy crap! Son, did you turn on a speed multiplier for your cultivation?" Emperor Cao Xukun held Crown Prince Cao Hao, who was meditating in his arms, and felt the spiritual power feedback surging crazily within his dantian. He nearly dropped his jaw in shock. "Others spend a year cultivating just to match your progress in a single day. You've practically sheared the Heavenly Dao bald!"

[Ding! Offspring Crown Prince Cao Hao's cultivation has increased to the eighth level of Qi Refining; feedback to host's cultivation +1 level! Current host cultivation: Peak Golden Core Stage Great Perfection!]

[Detection of host reaching the breakthrough critical point. Do you wish to consume 100,000 points to exchange for a "Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill"? Success rate: 100%!]

"Exchange! Definitely exchange!" Emperor Cao Xukun waved his hand grandly. "Anyway, these points were all sheared from Young Master Xiao Chen; it would be a waste not to spend them! Others have to go through a life-and-death struggle to survive the lightning tribulation when breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, but today, I'll show everyone a painless breakthrough!"

He sat down in the center of the martial arts field holding Crown Prince Cao Hao, threw the breakthrough pill into his mouth, and began circulating the Chaos Devouring Origin Art. Crown Prince Cao Hao was very cooperative, gripping his father's clothes with his tiny hands and continuing to crazily absorb spiritual energy to cultivate.

The next second, the sky over the entire Central Province suddenly darkened.

Black thunderclouds gathered above the Cao family estate, accompanied by lightning and thunder, yet not a single bolt struck down—all of it was directly devoured by Emperor Cao Xukun's Chaos Spiritual Power! Immediately after, a pillar of chaotic-colored light shot into the sky, piercing the heavens, clearly visible for a thousand miles around.

Within the pillar of light, phantoms of dragons and phoenixes circled, while the shadows of ancient divine beasts like qilin and white tigers flickered in and out of existence. Spiritual energy from heaven and earth surged toward the Cao family like a tidal wave, forming a massive vortex of spiritual energy.

"Holy cow! What is this commotion?!"

"Someone has broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage! And it's an unprecedented Nascent Soul phenomenon!"

"No one in the Central Province has broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage for fifty years! Which old monster has come out of seclusion?"

The entire Central Province instantly exploded into chaos.

The Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect rushed out of his seclusion chamber and stared at the distant pillar of chaotic light, his expression changing drastically: "This aura... it's Emperor Cao Xukun! He has actually broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage! How is this possible? He only just reached the Foundation Establishment Stage half a year ago!"

At the headquarters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the Alliance Leader slammed his hand down, shattering the table: "From Foundation Establishment Stage to Nascent Soul Stage in half a year? This is simply not something a human can do! This kid is definitely a monster! Quickly, send people to the Cao family to investigate, and spare no cost to build a good relationship with him!"

Other major factions were in even more of a panic; they packed gifts overnight and sent their most capable elders rushing to the Cao family, afraid that if they arrived too late, they wouldn't even get a sip of broth.

"Hurry! Bring my treasured thousand-year snow lotus! I'm going to suck up to the Young Clan Leader!"

"Wait for me! I'm bringing my daughter along too! Maybe we can arrange a marriage with the Cao family!"

"Don't fight over it! Only the first one to arrive will have a chance!"

For a time, the road to the Cao family was bustling with traffic, and envoys from various major factions scrambled to get through, making it even livelier than a marketplace.

Meanwhile, inside the Cao family, everyone had gone completely crazy.

The elders knelt on the ground, kowtowing toward the pillar of light with tears streaming down their old faces: "Heaven bless the Cao family! Heaven bless the Cao family! Our Cao family has finally produced a Nascent Soul expert!"

Li Tieniu led the guard team, standing watch at the gate with swords raised. He stood with his back straight and walked with a swagger: "Don't crowd! One by one! Drop off the gifts, and you can leave! Our Young Clan Leader is busy!"

Su Wanqing, Imperial Concubine Xiao Ya, and Empress Liu Ruyan stood in the courtyard, watching Emperor Cao Xukun within the pillar of light, their faces full of pride.

"Too amazing! He actually really broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage!" Lin Yueer held Crown Prince Cao Hao, smiling from ear to ear, "It's all thanks to my son!"

"That's right, just look at whose son he is." Emperor Cao Xukun's voice suddenly arrived. As the pillar of light dissipated, he slowly descended to the ground, surrounded by a faint Nascent Soul pressure, with every gesture carrying power capable of destroying heaven and earth.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage!]

[Received reward: 50,000 system points, chaos ring space expanded tenfold!]

[Current host cultivation: Early Nascent Soul Stage!]

"Awesome!" Emperor Cao Xukun clenched his fist, feeling the turbulent power within his body. "I used to think the Golden Core Stage was already incredibly badass, but now I know that the Nascent Soul Stage is the true dimension-reduction strike! That brat Young Master Xiao Chen, I could crush him with a single finger!"

Just then, a servant came running in, stumbling and scrambling: "Young Clan Leader! It's bad! News came from the Qingyun Sect that when Young Master Xiao Chen heard you had broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage, he suffered a qi deviation on the spot, and his cultivation regressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage!"

"Pfft—" Emperor Cao Xukun burst out laughing. "Are you serious? So fragile? I haven't even gone to find him yet, and he's already ruined himself? Is he going for the 'glass-hearted fragile item' aesthetic or what?"

"Exactly!" The servant said, holding back a laugh. "I heard he was cultivating at the time. When he heard the news of your breakthrough, he spat out a mouthful of blood, his spiritual energy reversed, and he dropped directly from the early Golden Core Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage. He can't even get out of bed now."

"Hahahaha! He deserves it!" Emperor Cao Xukun laughed so hard he slapped his thigh. "I told you he was a weakling, didn't I? He can't even handle this little bit of a blow, and he still wants to be the Son of Destiny? I think he's the 'embarrassing version' of the Son of Destiny."

Imperial Concubine Xiao Ya rolled her eyes. "Stop gloating. However, now that his cultivation has regressed, it actually saves us a lot of trouble."

"What trouble does it save?" Emperor Cao Xukun raised an eyebrow. "Even if he becomes a cripple, I still have to make a trip to the Qingyun Sect. After all, half of the Qingyun Sect's luck is still waiting for me."

He looked up toward the direction of the Qingyun Sect, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Everyone, pack your things. Tomorrow, we're going to the Qingyun Sect for a visit."

"And by the way, we'll take the remaining half of the Qingyun Sect as well."