Mortal's Purple Sky Cave Heaven

Chapter 428: Peak of Divine Transformation
If someone were here, they would notice without even looking closely that the golden, blue, and red arcs of electricity were extremely dazzling and powerful, but the blue and yellow arcs were dim and weak.

Even so, this scene was quite astonishing. Any cultivator with a little knowledge could recognize at a glance that this was a sign of the five elements coming together.

Suddenly, Nie Zhaonan made a hand seal, and his figure and the lightning phantom trembled simultaneously. Circles of five-colored light rippled outwards, sweeping across the walls of the nearby secret chamber. Instantly, the restriction light flashed, and the secret chamber emitted a rumbling sound and began to shake continuously.

Within the five-colored halo, Nie Zhaonan felt the familiar power emanating from the lightning phantom behind him, a smile appearing on his face, and he immediately withdrew the magic seal in his hand.

The thunder roared again, but it was barely audible. The five-colored halo seemed to shoot back like a thread of light, disappearing into Nie Zhaonan's body. The lightning phantom also seemed to be moved, flashing by in an instant and disappearing into his body.

Nie Zhaonan let out a long sigh, and the smile on his face gradually faded, and the entire secret room returned to calm.

In fact, he was already extremely excited at this moment.

After nearly a century of refining elixirs and cultivating in seclusion, he finally raised his magical power to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

Thanks to the power of the Taiyi Divine Thunder Technique, Nie Zhaonan's strength naturally increased several times over during this seclusion.

However, what troubled him the most was the illusory lightning shadow that appeared behind him.

When he advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, a faint lightning mark appeared on his forehead. At that time, he did not understand what it represented.

But today, the feeling he got from the phantom of lightning was so familiar, which surprised and delighted him.

"It's the power of laws! No, it's not the true power of laws yet. It still needs to gather the two kinds of divine thunder, Kui Water and Wu Earth, and combine the five elements of divine thunder to form the true power of laws." Nie Zhaonan muttered to himself, his heart surging with excitement, unable to contain himself any longer.

Although he knew that the Taiyi Divine Thunder Technique was certainly not an ordinary technique comparable to those of the Immortal Realm, he never dared to imagine that this technique would allow him to naturally comprehend the power of laws and cross the threshold of comprehending laws after advancing to the Refinement of Emptiness stage.

This is truly incredible!
The power of laws is a realm that even ordinary Mahayana cultivators find difficult to reach.

Not to mention, to comprehend it effortlessly is something even a true spirit cannot do.

To truly comprehend the laws of spiritual enlightenment, one's own aptitude is also a factor in making a beginner's understanding.

Just like his master, who was able to comprehend the power of laws at the Void Refining stage, he undoubtedly possessed an incredible talent in comprehending laws, while he relied entirely on the power of his cultivation techniques.

After sitting quietly on the futon for a long time, Nie Zhaonan finally got up, made a hand seal, and his body shone with silver light. He immediately transformed into a silver rainbow and flew out of the secret chamber. After a few flashes, he disappeared without a trace at the stone gate of the cave.

Meanwhile, on a small hill about a mile away, two figures stood one in front of the other on the summit.

These two were Jin Ling and Elder Yuan. As Nie Zhaonan finished his cultivation, he subconsciously spread his divine sense around and discovered the two who had not concealed their presence.

With his incredible speed, he could cover that distance in the blink of an eye.

As soon as he revealed himself, Nie Zhaonan bowed and said:

"Greetings, Elder Yuan. I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"I've already told you, given my relationship with Yue Li, Zhao Nan, you're practically my apprentice, so there's no need to be so polite. Let's skip the formalities from now on." Yuan, with his white hair, smiled broadly, his tone still exceptionally warm.

Nie Zhaonan nodded slightly, but he felt that Elder Yuan seemed to know something and had some ulterior motive towards him, so he couldn't help but be secretly wary.

"Fellow Daoist Nie, your cultivation level!" Jin Ling blinked and rubbed her eyes, unable to believe that Nie Zhaonan in front of her was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator.

It's only been a hundred years.

“Fellow Daoist Jin Ling, haven’t you also advanced to the mid-stage?” Nie Zhaonan said with a smile.

"It took me a hundred years, and with the help of elixirs, to barely break through the bottleneck." Jin Ling's voice was helpless, her eyes never leaving Nie Zhaonan.

“That’s not right. Last time I took you to the herb garden, you didn’t pick many medicinal herbs. You only picked five of each kind.” Jin Ling’s expression became a little strange.

“Now that I know the location of the herb garden, I naturally won’t trouble you any further. In fact, I’ve already picked most of the medicinal herbs that I need from the garden,” Nie Zhaonan replied truthfully, his expression unchanged.

Although he possessed the Purple Cloud Grotto, which could accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs indefinitely, he couldn't just use it openly; naturally, he needed to use some cover.

Therefore, he later instructed Xiao Jiu to take the token and pick some more medicinal herbs from the herb garden, thus keeping it a secret.

“So that’s how it is”

Jin Ling's face fell. Although those spiritual herbs didn't belong to her, but to her young lady, she still couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken to hear that most of them had been consumed.

"Alright, Jinling, Zhaonan and I have some important matters to discuss now, so you should go back first," Yuan instructed calmly.

"Yes!" After bowing respectfully, Jin Ling's body flashed with spiritual light and she flew away.

"I wonder what brings Elder here to wait for me?" Nie Zhaonan asked as he watched Jin Ling's escape light disappear into the horizon.

"Of course I have something to discuss with you," Yuan said, then thought for a moment before continuing:

“I have a good friend who is at the peak of the Integration Realm and will be undergoing the Great Ascension Tribulation in less than ten thousand years. At present, he is still lacking some treasures to deal with the extraterrestrial demons. I heard that you, Zhao Nan, have a treasure like the Golden Thunder Bamboo that can ward off evil. I would like to exchange it with you for one or two.”

Without hesitation, Nie Zhaonan flipped his hand, and two jade boxes, each about a foot long, appeared in his hand. He then handed them over.

“My master has helped me a lot, but I have nothing to repay her with. Elder Yuan is my master’s second uncle. The Golden Thunder Bamboo and its leaves in this box are exactly what the elder needs, so I’m offering them to him.” Nie Zhaonan said casually, his tone flat and indifferent, without a trace of heartache.

"This...this..." Elder Yuan was slightly taken aback and quickly explained:
"Zhao Nan, you've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I really have a close friend who needs these two things."

Despite saying this, seeing that Nie Zhaonan remained unmoved, he chuckled and took the jade box. With a casual flick of his sleeve, the two jade boxes vanished without a trace, and no one knew where he had hidden them.

"However, speaking of which, this Golden Thunder Bamboo and its leaves are also rare and precious items, not to be missed, not to be missed. Zhao Nan, your filial piety is admirable. Although I don't know how many tens of thousands of years it will take before I have the opportunity to advance to the Mahayana stage, it's better to be prepared, so I will accept it." Elder Yuan coughed and said in a rather unnatural tone.

This was the first time he had ever been so reserved in front of a younger person.

“In that case, I am particularly skilled in divination, and I won’t take your treasure for nothing. Tell me whatever you want me to divine.” Elder Yuan was always too embarrassed to take advantage of a junior, and said confidently. “I’ve heard that the True Dragon Clan has many Xuan Tian treasures. I wonder if there is a way to divine their whereabouts?” Nie Zhaonan asked curiously.

He did indeed have a mature Xuan Tian Fruit, but naturally, the more Xuan Tian Treasures, which contain the power of the laws of a realm, the better.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Xuan Tian Fruit in his possession contains the Law of Destruction, while the Taiyi Divine Thunder Technique he cultivates is a genuine lightning attribute, which is quite incompatible with him.

If he could find a Xuan Tian artifact containing the law of lightning, and have a Xuan Tian treasure that matches the law to assist him, it would undoubtedly be easier for him to comprehend the law in the future.

'Too greedy! You're not satisfied with just one Xuan Tian treasure, you still want more. I am a dignified elder of the True Dragon Clan, a peak Integration Realm cultivator, and I don't even have one Xuan Tian treasure yet.' Yuan looked at Nie Zhaonan, opened his mouth, and was speechless inwardly.

After a moment of stunned silence, Yuan regained his composure and said slowly:
"The Xuan Tian Treasure is such a heaven-defying object that it cannot be so easily divined. From the day it was born, it naturally contains the power of laws, and it is a complete power of laws."

"Such a treasure, even if it has just been born and is just a seedling, cannot be used for divination."

"Only when it is fully mature, and all the power of the laws is gathered into the Xuan Tian Fruit and completely submerged, can its trace be barely divined and a rough piece of information obtained. Even so, the price to be paid is so great that it is enough to cause the death of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator."

"However, once a Xuan Tian object is recognized and refined by someone, becoming an object with an owner, it will become impossible to use for divination. It may even protect its owner with the power of laws, greatly increasing the difficulty of divination."

"Thank you for your explanation, Elder." Nie Zhaonan showed no change in expression.

Elder Yuan spoke with a rather earnest tone, intending to offer a reminder:

"Mysterious treasures are extremely rare. Obtaining one is almost entirely a matter of chance, relying entirely on personal opportunity. Of course, once obtained, opportunity becomes secondary; what's more important is having immense strength. Otherwise, without even the ability to refine it, the Mysterious treasure is nothing but a source of trouble. Throughout countless ages, in various realms, countless high-level cultivators have died or been injured in the struggle for Mysterious treasures, and countless Mahayana cultivators have perished. There have even been instances where entire realms have been destroyed because of it."

Nie Zhaonan listened quietly without replying.

"I have some spirit stones here, consider it compensation. Of course, if there's anything I can do to help in the future, feel free to let me know." Yuan waved his sleeve, and a cyan storage bracelet rolled out.

The disciple of Yue Li asked him to divine the Xuan Tian Treasure right off the bat. He was really scared. He was even more afraid that the little guy in front of him would ask him to divine some strange thing, which would cause him to suffer a powerful backlash and perish before he could react. That would be terrible.

He hadn't forgotten that the opportunity to divine Yue Li's fate was caused by getting involved with the little guy in front of him, which cost him most of his lifespan.

Even though he often told Yue Li, "It's just a few hundred thousand years of lifespan; you can recover it by advancing to the Mahayana stage."

But how could he not be heartbroken? He just pretended not to care in front of the younger generation and forced himself to cheer up.

Nie Zhaonan was also somewhat interested in how many spirit stones Elder Yuan, a true dragon clan elder, would give. He reached out and took the storage bracelet into his hand, and subconsciously scanned it with his divine sense.

Upon closer inspection, over two hundred top-grade spirit stones of various colors were piled up in the storage bracelet like a small mountain.

"so much"

Nie Zhaonan almost cried out in shock.

This is not a high-grade spirit stone, nor is it a mid-to-low-grade spirit stone; it is the rarest and most precious spirit stone.

Even in the Spirit Realm, it's not easy for a Nascent Soul cultivator to obtain a top-grade spirit stone.

Two hundred top-grade spirit stones, if exchanged for low-grade spirit stones, would be worth over two hundred million spirit stones.

However, the value of top-grade spirit stones is incomparable to that of low-grade spirit stones. Top-grade spirit stones have many uses; they can be used not only for refining artifacts but also for allowing high-level cultivators to quickly recover their mana.

When setting up some powerful magic arrays, the pure spiritual energy from top-grade spirit stones is required to activate them.

Without a doubt, top-grade spirit stones are hard currency for cultivators.

Not to mention, such a large quantity was produced all at once.

"Don't be surprised. After years of cultivation, I've accumulated countless treasures. These top-grade spirit stones are nothing to me." Yuan chuckled, making no attempt to hide his immense wealth.

"Mm." Nie Zhaonan nodded and put the storage bracelet on his wrist without any hesitation.

"Who is Elder Yuan's friend who wants to exchange for Golden Thunder Bamboo and bamboo leaves?" Nie Zhaonan asked, changing the subject.

"His name is Gu Yue, and his strength surpasses that of Zhu Huo. What, do you still have extra Golden Thunder Bamboo?" After a brief introduction, Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"I had some good fortune in the human realm, and I still have some left," Nie Zhaonan said, half-jokingly.

At this point, he still trusted his master's second uncle quite a bit, which is why he revealed only the tip of the iceberg.

"Your fortune is truly remarkable, with immortal cultivation techniques, golden thunder bamboo, various divine thunders, and all sorts of mysterious and extraordinary experiences." Yuan couldn't help but exclaim, almost letting slip the secret.

Nie Zhaonan gave an awkward smile.

“Given my relationship with Gu Yue, you don’t need to be so polite with him. He has quite a few good things on him,” Yuan said with a serious expression.

"Thank you, Elder." Nie Zhaonan said.

Golden Thunder Bamboo might be very precious to other cultivators, but to him, it was just a type of bamboo that could be quickly ripened with some spirit stones.

If there is no danger, he would naturally want to exchange for some treasures that are useful to him.

“Alright, let’s go.” Yuan nodded, and then, with a burst of spiritual light emanating from his body, he carried Nie Zhaonan away into the distance.

On Dragon Island, nestled in a picturesque mountaintop pavilion, Nie Zhaonan and Yuan sat facing each other, sipping spiritual tea and waiting.

Suddenly, Nie Zhaonan's hand holding the teacup trembled. A chill ran through him, and a strange coldness surged up his back. He felt a terrifying sense of being watched by a ferocious beast, yet powerless to do anything about it.

(End of this chapter)