From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 302 The Path of the Nascent Soul
"Please enlighten me, King of Nanzhou!"

When Yi Ze heard He Ting say that he had the opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy and eagerness. Of course, he knew that everything comes at a price, and the King of Nanzhou wouldn't help him reach the Nascent Soul stage for no reason.

"His Majesty is about to pass away. I wish to ascend the throne..."

When facing Yi Ze, He Ting did not hide his ambition.

Is the Emperor dying?
The King of Nanzhou wants to seize the throne?!

Yi Ze was shocked, because the risk was too great. If he got involved in the struggle for the throne and lost, he would surely die.

But on the other hand, if he succeeds, it will be a great achievement, a meritorious service.

“Yi Ze, if you are willing to help me, I can immediately help you reach the Nascent Soul stage. Moreover, I can promise you that once I sit on that throne, I will bestow upon you the title of the Carefree King, which will be passed down for ten generations, allowing you to enjoy the sustenance of the Three Prefectures.”

He Ting made a promise to Yize.

Sure enough, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Yi Ze's current title of Prince Xiaoyao is the lowest rank of prince, which cannot be inherited. The only tribute he receives is a small amount of spirit stones and resources from Zhennan Prefecture.

As princes, they were entitled to a share of the imperial court's tax revenue each year.

As for Yi Ze, his share was very small, far less than that of the Prince of Zhennan in Zhennan Prefecture. Therefore, he was far less extravagant than the Prince of Zhennan.

What Heting promised him was a hereditary princely title for ten generations, as well as tax revenue from the three prefectures of the imperial court!

Leaving aside Heting's promises after becoming emperor, the mere temptation of "immediately helping him ascend to the Nascent Soul stage" was enough for Yize to refuse.

Without striving and competing, how can one break through to the Nascent Soul stage?
Yi Ze replied almost without hesitation, "I am willing to serve the King of Nanzhou, to share life and death, and to advance and retreat together!"

If it is to help Hedin fight for the throne, it can indeed be described as "sharing life and death, advancing and retreating together", with no way out.

"Don't rush to agree."

As Hettin spoke, he extended his right hand, palm up.

Above his palm floated a palm-sized, shimmering golden treasure.

The treasure is shaped like two interlocking rings, with extremely complex patterns engraved on its surface, exuding a mysterious and profound aura.

"This is a treasure for eternal bond of souls. If you refine it, it will take root deep within your soul and can never be removed. Even if you break through to the Nascent Soul stage, it will still exist."

The magical artifact that Heting took out was called the "Eternal Bond of Hearts," but it was actually a name he made up for the sake of sounding nice. In essence, it was a magical artifact that controlled people, and the name "Master-Servant Ring" would have been more appropriate.

This magical artifact, used to control others with virtually no side effects, is extremely precious.

Common methods of controlling others range from low-level tactics like forcing someone to take poison pills to mid-level methods like secret techniques of the Soul Path. Each of these methods has its own limitations.

Feeding "poison pills" is not a method that can be effective in the long term and threaten a Golden Core cultivator. At most, this method can only control Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The secret techniques of the Soul Path often involve tampering with the soul of others, affecting their original soul and their cultivation limit.

The magical artifact that Heting used was one that he was willing to use only in this situation.

The "Master-Servant Ring" can be used on Golden Core cultivators. Even if the other party breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, they cannot break free from its control and it does not affect their own cultivation. It can be described as a perfect "subjugation" method.

Heting had no choice but to do this; it was a matter of great importance, and he had to guard against Yize's betrayal.

Once Yi Ze refines the "Master-Servant Ring," He Ting will have the ability to annihilate Yi Ze's soul with a single thought, and will also be able to sense Yi Ze's malice and other negative emotions towards him.

"This……"

Yi Ze stared in disbelief at the object called "Eternal Bond of Love".

He certainly knew what kind of treasure it was.

Herting's methods are ruthless!

Once Yize is controlled by this thing, he will have to obey Heting for the rest of his life and will never betray him.

"Take it back and think it over carefully. I'll give you six months."

Hettin knew this was a difficult decision.

"Yes."

Yi Ze reluctantly accepted the magical treasure that flew in front of him, put it into his storage bag, and took his leave.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A month later.

"Nascent Soul stage, a hereditary princely title for ten generations, and many other benefits... I'll fight! If I win, I'll secure a foundation for my descendants for thousands of years; if I lose, I'll simply die!"

After considering it for a month, Yi Ze finally decided to refine the spiritual treasure.

Although the magical artifact could control him, he knew that Heting was only guarding against his betrayal and would certainly not allow him to do anything that would compromise his dignity.

Given the preciousness of the spirit treasure, the fact that Hertin gave it to him demonstrates how highly he values ​​him. He willingly submitted.

"Refining!"

He began to refine this magical treasure.

Ten days later, he completely refined the spiritual treasure, which manifested in his sea of ​​consciousness and became connected to his soul.

While refining the "Master-Servant Ring," Yi Ze sensed that his soul was being "threatened" by another person. No matter where he was, He Ting could obliterate his soul with a single thought.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Nanzhou Prefecture.

"King of the Southern Continent~"

Yi Ze visited He Ting's palace again and paid his respects.

He Ting already knew about Yi Ze's choice, and he also sensed it—it was the feeling of controlling Yi Ze's life and death.

With this control in hand, he felt much more at ease, a smile on his face: "You don't need to worry. Apart from helping me fight for the throne, I will not order you to do anything else. From now on, we will be in the same boat, facing life and death together."

"Thank you for your trust, King of Xie Nanzhou."

"Yi Ze, how many items have you prepared to prepare for the tribulation lightning needed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"He Ting asked. Next, he should help Yi Ze break through to the Nascent Soul stage."

"I didn't prepare much, only three items, one of which can withstand two lightning tribulations."

Yi Ze responded.

To break through from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage, one needs to endure nine Heavenly Tribulations.

The power of the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning is equivalent to a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul stage Dao Lord. A single lightning tribulation is enough to obliterate a Golden Core Perfection True Person.

The three treasures that Yi Ze prepared were obtained with great effort and at great cost, and they could only withstand four strikes of heavenly lightning.

Such preparation is far from sufficient.

"Can it withstand four strikes of heavenly lightning...?"

Heting was making plans in his mind.

Withstanding nine strikes of heavenly lightning is neither incredibly difficult nor extremely easy. Even for a Nascent Soul Dao Lord, it would be impossible to withstand even one strike of heavenly lightning with ease.

Nine strikes of heavenly lightning are ninefold baptisms, which cannot be withstood by brute force.

"Yi Ze, do you know why it takes nine Heavenly Tribulations to break through from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"The path of cultivation is to contend with fate, to go against the heavens. From Foundation Establishment to Golden Core Formation, one needs the aura of immortality to dispel the suppression of the heavens on cultivators. From Golden Core to Nascent Soul, one must further defy the heavens." Although Yi Ze was far from having the ability to break through to Nascent Soul, he had long heard of the principles behind his tribulation.

He continued, "Nine Heavenly Tribulations are the way to resist the Heavenly Dao. After going through these nine heavenly tribulations, one can withstand the suppression and baptism of the Heavenly Dao's laws and become a Nascent Soul Dao Lord, controlling a portion of the power of the Heavenly Dao's laws."

When a Golden Core cultivator releases a spell, although it is extremely powerful and can affect the celestial phenomena for dozens of miles, it mainly consumes the Golden Core True Essence that the Golden Core cultivator has condensed with a massive amount of spiritual energy, with only a small portion being the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the outside world.

A Nascent Soul Dao Lord can summon vast amounts of spiritual energy from heaven and earth with a single thought, and can cause extraordinary phenomena in the world with every gesture. This is the difference between a Nascent Soul Dao Lord and a Golden Core True Person.

"You're right."

He Ting nodded slightly and added, "Nine tribulations are the suppression and punishment of cultivators by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. They are a baptism, or you could say: a price to pay! If you want to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, possess the power to control the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and have a lifespan of a thousand years, how can you do it without paying a price?"
Having endured nine tribulations of lightning, one must pay the price!
Using various treasures to resist the lightning tribulation—that's the price. Using the lives of all living beings to resist the lightning tribulation—that's also the price.

"With my strength, I could help you withstand several tribulations of lightning, but guess what will happen?"

"This... I don't know."

Yi Ze shook his head. He had previously thought that He Ting was a Nascent Soul Dao Lord and would definitely be able to easily help him withstand the tribulation.

"I withstood the first tribulation of lightning unscathed. So the second tribulation of lightning will surely be twice as powerful, and will definitely injure me. Even so, the laws of Heaven are still not satisfied, and the power of the third tribulation of lightning will be doubled again, until I am completely annihilated!"

Herting was just giving an example; the actual situation may not be exactly like this, but theoretically it is roughly the same.

"..."

Yi Ze was stunned; he didn't know that the Heavenly Tribulation could increase its power.

"Now you know how difficult it is to endure nine heavenly lightning strikes. Over the years, I have seen many people who were completely annihilated by the heavenly lightning tribulation because they were not adequately prepared."

Next, I will teach you a secret technique that can help you transfer some of the Heavenly Tribulation lightning. The price you pay may not necessarily be one you have to bear…”

The secret technique that He Ting taught Yi Ze was the method he used to withstand the lightning tribulation years ago.

Besides the secret techniques, he also told Yi Ze the tricks to reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

In the Golden Core realm, divine skills and secret techniques are very important.

However, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is not hindered even without Nascent Soul stage cultivation techniques. While Nascent Soul stage techniques are certainly useful, those with exceptional talent can create their own.

The key to breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is to cultivate one's own Golden Core foundational techniques to the extreme, thereby comprehending the laws of the universe.

By comprehending even a trace of the laws of the universe, one can control the power of the universe.

In addition, one's own soul needs to reach the limit of the Golden Core stage and reach the critical state of "soul leaving the body".

The Nascent Soul stage has no dantian, nor a sea of ​​divine soul to contain divine consciousness; it only has the Nascent Soul!
The Nascent Soul is the product of the fusion of the divine soul and the golden core. It is a unique existence and the true form of the Nascent Soul Dao Lord.

The external body is merely a shell that can be discarded at any time.

If the nascent soul is not destroyed, then the person himself will not die.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Yuanli County.

Ruanshan, a residential area.

Xu Zhongche arrived at a house: "Ajiang, Ajiang?"

Hearing his call, a five- or six-year-old child jumped out and said, "Grandpa, Grandpa, you're here!"

The little boy is Xu Zhongche's grandson, whose real name is Xu Yijiang, and he is five and a half years old.

Xu Zhongche is over two hundred years old this year.

He used to be so engrossed in studying elixirs in his clan that he never married.

He was a genius alchemist. With his talent and skills far exceeding those of ordinary cultivators, he developed the Three-in-One Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill for the Xu family, as well as a large number of commonly used first-grade and second-grade spiritual pills.

He was responsible for the Xu family's logistics and refined a large number of elixirs for the clansmen.

It can be said that he single-handedly accelerated the development of the Xu family and made an invaluable contribution to the Xu family.

He is currently at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment and has not yet broken through to the seventh level, stuck at the bottleneck of the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Like Xu Xiaoniu, he was limited by his own spiritual root and his aptitude for cultivation was not outstanding.

His talent lies entirely in alchemy.

Given his circumstances, the hope of breaking through to the Golden Core realm was extremely slim, so he voluntarily gave up refining the "Immortal Spiritual Plant" and gave the hope of advancing to the Golden Core realm to other members of the clan.

He was at the Foundation Establishment stage and had not yet broken through to the Golden Core stage, thus making it difficult for him to research third-grade spiritual pills. Alchemy is closely related to one's own cultivation level; one must have a corresponding cultivation level to refine spiritual pills.

His current hope is to cultivate a Golden Core realm alchemist for the family.

But judging from the results of his training of younger alchemists in the clan over the years: it's extremely difficult!
The art of alchemy also depends on talent; not everyone has this ability.

Xu Zhongche actively searched for successors in the clan, but most of those younger generations lacked the talent for alchemy and struggled to successfully refine even first-grade spiritual pills.

After so many years of training, he has only managed to cultivate a few alchemists in the clan who can refine first-grade spiritual pills.

In Xu Zhongche's view, those people only had "craftsmanship" but lacked "spirit." Craftsmanship meant that they could only produce qualified elixirs by strictly following the steps and methods he taught them.

That said, he has been unable to develop any new elixirs in recent years, so he has focused his attention on his own marriage.

When he was almost two hundred years old, he married a young female cultivator in the Qi Refining stage from the Baili family.

She had children in the following years.

By now, several grandchildren have been born.

The "Yijiang" in front of him is one of his grandsons.

"Ah Jiang, do you miss Grandpa?"

Xu Zhongche smiled and squatted down, pinching Yijiang's cheek with his hand.

"I've been thinking about it, Grandpa, did you bring me any candy? I want to eat those fruit candies."

Yijiang is only five and a half years old, which is the age when he has a sweet tooth.

"Grandpa didn't bring any candy, but he brought some really delicious fruit. You should try some, it's really good."

As Xu Zhongche spoke, he took out a crystal-clear white fruit from his storage pouch.

This fruit is a "divine fruit from the family's precious tree"!
The Spirit Root Immortal Fruit can be consumed by Xu family descendants whose spiritual roots are not yet fully formed, to improve their spiritual root aptitude!
The spiritual root and immortal fruit within Xu Fugui's body can only be nourished by the birth of a child in the Xu family who is born with innate spiritual roots.

The proportion of people born with spiritual roots is very low, even though the Xu family has married many female cultivators from outside the family over the years.

Moreover, those who are born with spiritual roots often have the worst five-element pseudo-spiritual roots.

It took Xu Fugui many years after Xu Zhongxu to finally obtain two spiritual root fruits.

The previous spiritual root fruit upgraded a clansman with a five-element pseudo-spiritual root to a four-element mixed spiritual root.

This second Spirit Root Fruit is intended for Xu Yijiang, as he possesses a mixed four-elemental spiritual root. Consuming the Spirit Root Fruit will elevate him to a three-elemental true spiritual root!

"What kind of fruit is this?"

Yi Jiang held the round, plump spirit root fruit in both hands, his mouth watering involuntarily.

In fact, Xu Zhongche didn't know what kind of fruit it was either.

It was Xu Xiaoniu who found him, gave him this fruit, and instructed him to make sure Yijiang took it.

Xu Zhongche was unaware that Xu Fugui was still alive, let alone the wondrous uses of this "spiritual root and immortal fruit".

(End of this chapter)