Nowadays, in Nanyan Continent, Primordial Spirits no longer exist, and the majority of Nascent Soul Daoist Lords have perished. Therefore, Xu Xing, traveling to Demon Island, had no need for vigilance. He flew at full speed and reached the waters near Demon Island in just two days.
In just a few decades, the once-bustling Demon Island and Five Mountain Market have been reduced to broken walls and ruins.
Xu Xing arrived at the Five Mountain Market. He looked at the shop bearing the "Tiande Pawnshop" sign and shook his head.
He walked into the pawnshop. Serpent Demon Xiaoxiao was long gone, and the shop stood empty and deserted.
He looked around again, noticing that the beams, painted decorations, and so of the Spirit Materials used in its construction had been stripped clean by later, low-level cultivators. Only mundane materials, devoid of Spiritual Energy, remained.
He had not participated in the Emperor's Son Pavilion's final battle, which had annihilated the Pill Cauldron Sect and the demon clan forces on Demon Island; he had been dispatched to a different battlefield.
Xu Xing glanced at the empty "Lingyin Instrunt Store" next door and pondered, The Cultivation World was in turmoil this ti, yet the Lingyin Gate narrowly escaped destruction. It seems the Daoist Lord from their sect is also a mber of the Emperor's Son Pavilion… The Emperor's Son Pavilion recruited cultivators using the sa strategy as his Butian Sect: primarily targeting cultivators from small and dium-sized sects, consolidating power, and then overthrowing major powers—naly, Primordial Spirit-level sects.
He then looked at the shop leased by Caiyun Fairy and sighed. What a pity…
Caiyun Fairy had sought to renew the lease for another hundred years. However, before this hundred-year period was up, the Pill Cauldron Sect had vanished, and the Cultivation World had been plunged into such a catastrophe.
If things unfolded as expected, Caiyun Fairy, like the Pill Cauldron Sect, would have been subrged in the long river of Nanyan Continent's history.
"May your Immortal Journey be everlasting…" Xu Xing retrieved a bottle of Spiritual Wine from his Storage Bag and poured libations onto the ground three tis, a tribute to the departed Caiyun Fairy.
Initially, he had considered warning Caiyun Fairy to flee, but he later dismissed the thought. Firstly, his connection with Caiyun Fairy wasn't profound. By leasing her the shop at a low price for a hundred years, any obligations between them were already settled; this was their unspoken agreent. Secondly, Caiyun Fairy was too deeply entangled with the Pill Cauldron Sect. If he had simply told her to escape, she either wouldn't have believed him, resulting in the sa outco, or she would have believed him and then exposed his existence and his connections to the Emperor's Son Pavilion's forces. More likely, Caiyun Fairy would have reported him to the Pill Cauldron Sect. Then, the Primordial Spirit Cultivators of the Demonic Race, along with the Pill Cauldron Sect, would have targeted him to extract intelligence about the Emperor's Son Pavilion. After all, when it ca to deep-seated loyalties, Caiyun Fairy would undoubtedly favor her own sect over a stranger like him.
After pouring the Spiritual Wine, Xu Xing sat on the stone chair in the pawnshop's backyard for half a day. Only when he saw the Golden Crow descending in the west did he rise and depart.
The Primordial Spirit Realm has many nas. The Ancient thod called it "Spirit Refinent," while current thods call it "Primordial Spirit." Besides these two, there's also the alternative term "God Transformation." God Transformation refers to a cultivator's power and ntal state reaching the level of deities described in Ancient Books. Therefore, it is conceivable that to break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm, a clear and translucent state of mind is indispensable.
Li Taiyue of the Tianyi Sect, throughout his cultivation, constantly used other cultivators as hypothetical enemies to forge an "invincible ntality." This is the first step of God Transformation: to achieve a divine level in one's ntal state. Although such a ntality is an inferior path—for upon encountering a truly powerful enemy, the invincible ntality shatters, making further progress exceedingly difficult.
However, unlike Li Taiyue, while Xu Xing's cultivation ti appeared short on the surface, his actual ti spent cultivating was comparable to that of Primordial Spirit veterans. He had an accumulation of tens of thousands of years. With such profound longevity, without a robust ntal state, it would be easy to succumb to cultivation deviation. Fortunately, when Xu Xing first stepped into the early Nascent Soul Realm, he had already comprehended the "Great Unrestrained" ntal state. He had taken the first step of God Transformation. Compared to the shortcomings of Li Taiyue's "invincible" ntality, Xu Xing's "Great Unrestrained" ntal state was forged through worldly experiences and personal transformation. Even after tens of thousands of years, it still retained its true nature.
Xu Xing's visit to the Five Mountain Market was not just to see people from his past, but also to reflect on his own forr state of mind. During the decades of the Emperor's Son Pavilion's slaughter of Nanyan Continent cultivators, Xu Xing's hands had beco stained with the fresh blood of many innocents. Although he had long since grown detached about such matters. However, these actions conflicted with his innate disposition, causing his ntal state to beco clouded.
"I have a lustrous pearl, long locked away by dust and toil.
Now, the dust is cleared, its light reborn, illuminating myriad green mountains."
Xu Xing exited the pawnshop. Using his finger as a blade, he channeled the Great Imperial Court Sword Qi to carve this poem onto the wall.
A few breaths later, the figure of the youth in a green robe vanished from the Five Mountain Market, which, with the fading sunset glow, receded into darkness and silence.
「A few days later.」
In the waters near Demon Island.
Through the combined efforts of Xu Xing, Ao Yuniang, and the Earth Dragon—one human and two dragons—they finally located the Dragon Lair, buried deep beneath the seabed.
Deep within the sea, the Earth Dragon let out a soft hum and stretched its body. In an instant, the juvenile Flood Dragon, rely ten feet or so in length, transford into a colossal Flood Dragon, hundreds of feet long. It hesitated for a mont, then opened its massive maw and swallowed Xu Xing into its belly. With a powerful swish of its Flood Dragon tail, it employed its Mimic Dragon Swimming in the Sea Divine Power and plunged into the Dragon Lair.
One day passed.
Then two.
A month slipped by in a flash.
Xu Xing sat cross-legged within the Flood Dragon's belly, his eyes closed, as if he had sunk into a deep slumber. In truth, Xu Xing had placed a Spirit Beast Seal within the Earth Dragon's Sea of Consciousness. Through this seal, he could observe everything the Earth Dragon experienced within the Dragon Lair. To an extre degree, he could even use the Spirit Beast Seal to forcibly control the Earth Dragon's body, much like Elder Jiu Ling had compelled the Nine-Headed Lion to sacrifice itself.
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