Starting from the two realms, cultivating immortality by taming beasts

Chapter 404 Harmony between Heaven and Man

"I see."

Chen Beiwu also understood that for the sect, the alliance between the Western Yan and Yellow Yan realms was nothing more than a minor ailment; the real threat came from the covetousness of the Eight Desolations Sect.

In his view, however, the sect's leadership's strategy of prolonging the battle and focusing on attrition warfare and protracted conflict was too conservative.

Hit a punch to avoid a hundred punches.

Even if a sect manages to gain the upper hand against three opponents, if it fails to establish a decisive victory, it will only give other cultivation forces an opportunity to exploit the situation. At that point, surrounded by wolves, the situation could collapse.

It would be better to use the sect's resources to suppress the three-family alliance with overwhelming force, and use the enemy cultivators' corpses to demonstrate the power of Mirror Moon. Only in this way can we intimidate all sides and make all the cultivator forces wary.

Of course, Chen Beiwu also understood the caution of the sect's higher-ups.

What kind of existence is a Nascent Soul True Venerable!

If too much of the sect's resources are used, and the Eight Desolate Sect's Nascent Soul True Venerable develops a countermeasure, even if the sect successfully suppresses the three armies, it will still suffer a huge loss.

Sensing Daozi's thoughts, Xin Zhenjun calmly said, "This war is mainly a test. If it continues to drag on, it won't be the sects that are anxious, but the Chiyang Sect and Qingling Sect."

The Blood Fortune Sect can collect the essence blood and corpses of numerous cultivators during the Three Realms War to refine special demonic artifacts and formations, rapidly increasing their power. They wish the Three Realms War would continue forever.

However, the ideas of the Crimson Sun Sect and the Azure Spirit Sect differed from those of the Blood Fortune Sect.

The problem is not scarcity but inequality. Despite the heavy losses suffered by the two cultivation forces, the Blood Fortune Sect's power is growing daily, adding many Golden Core cultivators.

Even with the support of the Eight Desolations Sect behind the united forces, the Crimson Sun Sect and the Azure Spirit Sect still need to consider the issues of their own lineage and whether the Blood Fortune Sect will go back on its word and harbor ulterior motives after it grows stronger.

After all, the Demonic Sect's pledge of integrity is something those who understand it all know.

"This place is no longer safe. If the cultivators from the Crimson Sun Sect and the Azure Spirit Sect can appear once, they can certainly appear a second time." Xin Zhenjun said in a deep voice, "For safety's sake, Daozi should return to the sect immediately, meet with the patriarch, obtain the Nascent Soul Pill, and go into seclusion."

The situation on the front lines is perilous; Nascent Soul True Monarchs could be killed at any moment. It is a true battlefield of carnage.

Even though the sect is currently in the upper hand, it is impossible for them to send their disciples into such a bloody battlefield to hone their skills, even if they are at a disadvantage on the front lines.

After all, the safety of the Dao Child is related to the future rise and fall of the sect, and cannot be compromised, even though the Dao Child now possesses the combat power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

In Xin Zhenjun's view, what Daozi needs most right now is a period of stable cultivation.

Daozi, who has not yet attained the Dao True Lord status, was able to suppress and kill Shangyi True Lord.

If Daozi were to advance to the Nascent Soul stage and attain enlightenment in the future, wouldn't he be invincible in the mid-Nascent Soul stage?

As for late-stage Nascent Soul True Monarchs, such beings are far beyond the reach of newly promoted True Monarchs, and True Monarch Xin dares not even dream of such a thing.

Upon hearing this, Chen Beiwu nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

His purpose in entering the Southern Wilderness and returning to his sect was to obtain the Nascent Soul Pill to prepare for Tie Dan and Xue Le's advancement to Demon King.

Even if Xin Zhenjun hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have rashly participated in the frontline war.

"Then I'll trouble you, True Lord, to investigate thoroughly and find out who is behind True Man Zhou and whether it is related to the Grand Elder!"

Chen Beiwu glanced at Master Zhou and probed.

Master Zhou's expression changed slightly, and his eyes showed some surprise.

Instead, Xin Zhenjun shook her head and firmly denied it, saying, "No, it can't be Zheng Qianwei."

"Although Zhou Yushu is Zheng Qianwei's man, the reason why this young girl was able to serve as the Grand Elder of the main branch is because of her cautious nature. She knows what she can take and what she cannot take, and she will never take any risks."

"That is precisely why, even if he is not capable enough and can only handle sect affairs but cannot investigate corruption among the sect's higher-ups, he can still serve as the Grand Elder for hundreds of years."

To put it bluntly, everyone has selfish desires, and cultivators are no exception.

In Xin Zhenjun's view, Zheng Qianwei may have been guilty of oversight, but she is relatively trustworthy.

On the contrary, some high-ranking members of sects who have no apparent connection with Zhou Yushu are more worthy of suspicion.

Chen Beiwu did not question Xin Zhenjun's words.

There are many cultivators within sects who harbor selfish motives and secretly switch sides.

He only demanded that the matter be investigated thoroughly to uncover the real mastermind and prevent such incidents from happening again.

Mirror Moon Sea, Mirror Moon Sect.

Zhuanxing Hall.

Three figures, one man and two women, slowly appeared on the teleportation array.

"Greetings, Michiko!"

"Greetings, Fairy Yunwan!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, the cultivators responsible for guarding the teleportation array all bowed and looked at the mysterious female cultivator with an unknown identity, who was wearing a veil.

Because of the presence of the Daoist Master, no one dared to abruptly inquire about the identity jade slip; they could only secretly speculate about the female cultivator's identity.

"Hmph, vixen!"

Li Wan'er glanced at Jiang Yuyan.

She didn't understand why her junior brother would bring a traitor back to the sect instead of executing him on the spot.

"No need for such formalities."

Chen Beiwu nodded, parted ways with Senior Sister Wan'er for the time being, activated his escape light, and led Jiang Yuyan to the Taiyi Palace.

Having received Xin Zhenjun's promise to thoroughly investigate the internal traitor, Senior Sister Yun stayed behind to oversee the reconstruction of Danxingfang, while Senior Sister Wan'er followed him back to the sect via the teleportation array.

Taiyi Peak, Taiyi Hall.

Jiang Yuyan was in a very difficult mood.

She never imagined that she would one day be able to return to the sect.

The reason is simple: she committed the grave crime of murdering her master, and even if there were a reason for it, she would still be unacceptable to the sect.

If it weren't for Daozi's promise to spare her life, returning to the sect would have been tantamount to suicide.

"Disciple Chen Zi'ang pays respects to the Ancestor."

"This unworthy disciple, Jiang Yuyan, pays respects to the Ancestor."

The palace doors opened, and Chen Beiwu and his companion bowed in accordance with the sect's rules.

"Hmm, not bad."

The patriarch appeared silently, his gaze lingering on Chen Beiwu for a moment before he nodded in satisfaction.

For a Nascent Soul True Monarch, decades of time were merely a brief period of seclusion.

As a result, that promising young talent was still able to give him an unbelievable surprise, killing a Nascent Soul stage True Monarch with his Golden Core Perfection body.

"Zi'ang, you've worked hard. You've made a great contribution to the sect as soon as you returned," Zhu Wuyai praised.

Li Wan'er is one of only two fourth-tier Xuan Dan masters in the sect, and her status is no less than that of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

If something happens to him, even if he is unwilling, he will have to change his plans, personally go out of the pass, and fight the three allied forces, resulting in a bloodbath.

"You flatter me, Ancestor."

Chen Beiwu humbly bowed, not taking credit for anything.

The patriarch's eyes flickered slightly, ignoring Jiang Yuyan: "Zi'ang, your actions of suppressing the Shangyang Army and reversing the demise of a Nascent Soul cultivator have caused too much of a stir and are far too exaggerated. Once the Qingling Sect finds out, they will definitely not let this go."

The Blood Fate Sect and the Crimson Sun Sect will seize this opportunity to make a big fuss and will stop at nothing to eliminate you.

At this point, Zhu Wuyai looked at Chen Beiwu: "Although the sect can protect you, for the sake of safety, the sect has announced that the greatest credit for this great victory lies in the timely support of True Monarch Chengyuan, who thwarted the conspiracy of the two sects."

"And you cooperated well, successfully delaying the Shangyang army until the sect sent reinforcements."

"Of course, the sect will not forget your contributions, and we hope you can understand, Zi'ang."

Upon hearing this, Chen Beiwu replied decisively, "A tree that stands out in the forest will surely be felled by the wind. This disciple understands the sect's concerns."

"Your return to the sect this time must be for the matter of Nascent Soul formation," Zhu Wuyai brought up the important matter.

"This disciple does indeed have this intention, and I humbly request guidance from the Ancestor." Chen Beiwu bowed slightly.

With the Jade Purity Immortal Technique and the sect's rewards, he had no shortage of Nascent Soul cultivation experience or resources.

However, Tie Dan and Xue Le lacked the crucial elixir to advance to the fourth realm of demon king.

However, the fact that the Immortal Alliance cannot purchase Nascent Soul Pills does not mean that the Southern Wilderness cannot obtain them either.

The Southern Wilderness Nascent Soul Pill, combined with the King's Blood Source-Consolidating Pill, is just enough to meet the advancement needs of the two little guys, Iron Egg and Schiller.

At this moment, understanding the subtext of the old man's words, Chen Beiwu naturally wouldn't disturb the old man's interest in guiding the younger generation.

"The transformation of the Golden Core into an Infant is a process that defies the heavens. It involves four major obstacles, each more dangerous than the last. One must have the determination to break through and rebuild, as well as a solid foundation, in order to successfully attain the status of a True Monarch."

The old patriarch looked at Chen Beiwu: "Do you know which four passes they are?"

"The first is to shatter the elixir, the second is to condense the infant spirit, the third is to temper the true essence, and the fourth is to form the elixir," Chen Beiwu replied.

"That's right. The Immortal Golden Core is the foundation of a cultivator's lifelong practice. For a Golden Core True Person to deliberately shatter their Golden Core is tantamount to dissipating their cultivation."

"However, the first step to becoming a True Monarch is to break the core and not scatter it. It is to break and then rebuild. It requires the cultivator to condense the embryonic form of the Purple Mansion Yang Spirit, use his own Dao Heart as a guide, actively disintegrate the Golden Core, break the Golden Nature, and at the same time restrain the Golden Core's Golden Nature from being destroyed, transforming the tangible core into the intangible one."

"Among the True Monarchs who attain the Dao within the sect, 30% of the Golden Core True Persons stop at the first step due to unstable foundations and insufficient spiritual consciousness, and regret it for the rest of their lives."

The ancestor solemnly said, "Zi'ang, your spiritual sense is strong, comparable to that of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, and you have the Primordial Golden Core as your foundation. Taking this step should not be difficult, but you cannot be careless. When you break through, you need to have an indomitable momentum."

"This disciple understands." Chen Beiwu wholeheartedly agreed.

The cultivators of the Immortal Alliance can be broadly divided into three factions: the realm faction, the foundation faction, and the dual cultivation faction.

As the name suggests, the Realm Sect focuses on pursuing higher cultivation levels. They can break through by taking medicine or by contracting with beasts, and they never wait to slowly rebuild their foundation afterward.

Simply put, cultivators who follow the realm-based cultivation path believe in suppressing others with their cultivation level. They often say, "No matter how strong you are in Qi Refining, you are nothing but an ant in the eyes of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. No matter how strong you are in Foundation Establishment, you are nothing but dust in the eyes of a Golden Core cultivator. You are not worth mentioning."

This statement sounds reasonable, but it won't fool those in the know.

The relationship between a cultivator's foundation and path is like that between a foundation and a building.

If the foundation is weak, it is difficult to build a tall building, and if it is tall, it is easy to collapse.

This is precisely why the Immortal Alliance has the largest number of cultivators at the realm level and the greatest online presence, but they are mostly from humble backgrounds, with very few able to achieve the Golden Core stage, and among those at the Golden Core stage, only one in ten thousand can become a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

However, Chen Beiwu could understand that when resources were scarce, it was futile for cultivators to blindly pursue a solid foundation; it would be better to pursue higher realms.

After all, reality is cruel!

Sometimes, many cultivators who specialize in cultivation realms don't necessarily want to become foundational cultivators; rather, they come from humble backgrounds and have no other choice.

Chen Beiwu himself belongs to the Foundation School, a school of cultivators that is easily belittled by netizens on the Immortal Alliance's official website.

The reason is simple: in reality, there is no truly perfect foundation. This requires the pursuit of the right time, place, and people, which is not something that cultivators can achieve just by wanting to!

Those who are not second-generation cultivators born into Daoist Immortal Clans or True Venerable Clans, and who are also peerless geniuses with monstrous talents, are simply wasting resources and time in pursuing the so-called ultimate foundation.

Some foundational cultivators have even been described by Immortal Alliance netizens as second-generation cultivators who are overly ambitious and unable to recognize their own limitations.

But the reality is often that aiming high yields a mediocre result, and aiming for the mediocre yields a low result.

Although the Foundation Sect cultivators have little influence online, they have the most powerful cultivators appearing online.

Chen Beiwu had reason to suspect that the statements made by cultivators from the Realm Sect on the Immortal Alliance's official website were intended to deliberately mislead young cultivators.

When Chen Beiwu was studying at Shouhe No. 2 Middle School, he did not believe the claims made by the Immortal Alliance online, but many of his classmates believed them to be true, and they did not take it seriously even when the teachers repeatedly reminded and corrected them.

As for the dual cultivation school, it is a combination of the realm school and the foundation school.

This school of thought believes that cultivation requires moderation. Excessive pursuit of a solid foundation will lead to internal depletion, wasting a cultivator's resources, energy, and time; while excessive pursuit of higher realms will be counterproductive, leading to the severing of one's path.

Only by combining the two and treating them dialectically can one find the true path to immortality.

Seeing that Chen Beiwu had taken it to heart, Zhu Wuyai nodded slightly and continued to instruct: "The second step to becoming a True Monarch is to condense the spirit into an infant, the core of which lies in the metal element as the spirit, with the spirit and qi embracing each other."

"This process is extremely dangerous. It requires the use of immortal metal and the three souls and seven spirits as a guide to enlighten the nascent Yang spirit, transcend the physical body, prevent the spirit from separating, condense the nascent soul, and reach the fundamental state of pure Yang in the Heavenly Gang."

"Thirty percent of the Golden Core cultivators in the sect have insufficient Immortal Golden Nature, and their three souls and seven spirits are unstable, which prevents them from forming a Nascent Soul. They need to take Nascent Soul Pills to successfully overcome this obstacle."

Chen Beiwu listened and nodded, pondering the matter.

Times have changed!

The method of condensing the spirit into an infant passed down by the ancestor is outdated and cannot compare to the Immortal Alliance's method of cultivating immortality by borrowing beasts, "The Secret Record of Opening Heaven and Transforming into an Infant in the Purple Mansion".

"The Nascent Soul Pill is merely an external object; a cultivator who wishes to attain the True Monarch realm must rely solely on themselves."

Seeing that Chen Beiwu was somewhat lost in thought, Zhu Wuyai shook his head slightly: "The third step of becoming a True Monarch is to temper the true and restore the original essence. The core is to refine the demon into the true and use the pure Qi of the Heavenly Gang to cleanse and refine the initial Nascent Soul."

"This stage is the most dangerous. During the process of cleansing the Nascent Soul with the Heavenly Qi, cultivators must not consume any external substances. Furthermore, the obsessions and inner demons in one's cultivation journey will manifest as internal and external demonic tribulations, confusing the mind."

"If a cultivator can uphold their original mind and overcome the tribulation of inner demons, they can distinguish truth from falsehood, condense the ultimate Yang nascent soul in the Purple Mansion, and nourish themselves."

At this point, the patriarch waved his sleeve, and a streak of light landed in front of Chen Beiwu.

"This is?"

As the light faded, a jade bottle came into Chen Beiwu's view.

"The Nascent Soul Pill is a reward for your great contributions to the sect," the patriarch said calmly.

"Thank you for bestowing this treasure upon me, Ancestor."

Chen Beiwu quickly took it, then hesitated.

"What, you still want to hear about the fourth step of the True Lord of Proving the Dao?" Zhu Wuyai smiled: "The fourth step is the formation of the Infant and the Return to Origin, and the Formation of the Elixir and the Heavenly Gang."

"After a cultivator successfully passes through the first three steps, the Supreme Yang Nascent Soul within the Purple Mansion will descend with the Heavenly Gang True Essence, nourishing the physical body's dantian, condensing the Immortal Golden Nature, and reforming the Golden Core, transforming the Earthly Fiend Golden Core into the Heavenly Gang Golden Core, also known as the One Qi Golden Core."

"At this point, the four stages are complete. The cultivator has a Nascent Soul in the upper dantian that governs the Yang Spirit and Sea of ​​Consciousness, and a Heavenly Gang Golden Core in the lower dantian that stabilizes the physical body and life essence. The upper and lower parts are in harmony, achieving the state of unity between heaven and man."

"For ordinary Golden Core cultivators, the fourth step carries the danger of excessive consumption of energy in forming the core, leading to the collapse of the nascent soul due to insufficient support. However, Zi'ang, you are different. The more solid the core, the purer the nascent soul, the stronger the energy, and the more profound the core becomes. With your foundation, you need to pay attention to the first three steps instead."

"If the first three steps are successful, the fourth step will naturally follow."

"Do you understand now?" Zhu Wuyai stroked his beard and smiled.

"No, Ancestor, you misunderstand." Chen Beiwu picked up the jade bottle and carefully chose his words, "This disciple feels that one Nascent Soul Pill may not be enough. We need another one to be absolutely sure."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall froze.

Jiang Yuyan looked up at Chen Beiwu in surprise.

Demanding two Nascent Soul Pills at once, how greedy! Isn't Daozi afraid of angering the Ancestor?