There were countless mountain domains within the Zhou Tian Immortal Sect. Among them was the Wuling Mountain Domain, which for several hundred years had been held together by only a handful of people, barely managing to avoid an even more humiliating decline. But in recent years, the domain had recruited two remarkable young disciples from a lower world. One was a peerless genius, and that genius’s Dao companion was now on the verge of forming a Nascent Soul after only a few short years.
At first, those who regularly associated with Wuling’s neighbors knew nothing of the matter. Then one day, an unusual phenomenon appeared in the sky, drawing attention to it.
Over one mountain of the Wuling Mountain Domain, the sky had been entirely clear of clouds. Those who paid attention knew that clouds had been absent from this place for several years.
But at noon one day, clouds gradually began to gather over that previously cloudless mountain.
They arrived swiftly, forming layers over the mountaintop and then spreading outward. In the blink of an eye, a tremendous expanse of cloud had unfurled.
It cast a shadow across hundreds of li, almost blotting out the sky and sun.
The clouds piled up in cottony layers. As they grew denser, they pressed tightly together, becoming ever more solid, nearly as firm as a physical substance.
Just then the clouds began drawing inward once more. Scattered vapors seethed like boiling water, dragging in clouds from even farther away and compressing them into a dense mass. Boundless spiritual energy was drawn from every direction and rushed into the clouds, forming countless vortexes of spiritual energy. Those countless vortexes joined together, forming an enormous inverted cone that spun relentlessly and poured down into the mountain.
At the same time, a white figure suddenly shot out of a cave residence within the mountain.
He stopped at a moderate distance, suspended in midair. Choosing an empty spot almost casually, he sat cross-legged to meditate.
A great black-and-gold sword floated beneath him. He displayed neither joy nor anger, as though he were pure killing intent condensed into human form, indestructible and incomparably sharp.
Sword light pulsed beneath his seat, yet the man himself closed his eyes and remained silent.
Above the summit, the clouds continued to gather.
Such a disturbance naturally attracted many observers. They watched from afar and quickly understood what they were seeing.
Several figures shot out from nearby peaks and arrived at the black-and-gold sword after only a few rapid movements.
They were members of the Wuling Mountain Domain.
Domain Lord Hang stood in the sky and smiled as he stroked his beard. “Yun Lie, is Ziqing forming his Nascent Soul?”
The white-robed man on the great sword opened his eyes and nodded slightly. “Yes.”
Relief and affection shone in Domain Lord Hang’s eyes. With a sweep of his sleeve, he established a formation around the area. “This old man will place some restrictions here, so you can be a little more at ease.”
Yun Lie’s expression did not change, but he said, “Thank you.”
Honored Master Xing and the other senior brothers were clearly delighted.
They had always known that Xu Ziqing was talented and would eventually reach the Nascent Soul realm. Yet they had never expected him to advance so quickly, after only these few years.
For so many years, Wuling’s fortunes had seemed poor. Now it was as though their luck had finally turned. First they recruited a young sword cultivator capable of matching a Soul Transformation expert. Now that sword cultivator’s Dao companion had found an opportunity to form his Nascent Soul before even reaching two hundred years of age!
The Wuling cultivators were beside themselves with joy. Most of the other onlookers took one look and hurried back to their own mountain domains.
The Zhou Tian Immortal Sect was an immense sect, and someone would form a Nascent Soul every few years or every dozen years. Such a thing was hardly extraordinary.
Besides, the most difficult stage of the breakthrough had not arrived. Harmonizing one’s own Dao with the Heavenly Dao would still take a great deal of time. They had no patience to wait here.
They could simply come back to observe once the Nascent Soul was truly about to form.
The Wuling people, however, were deeply concerned.
They saw a beam of green light shoot out of the mountain and pierce the clouds, where it suddenly transformed into an azure dragon!
Its head rose proudly, its tail swept back and forth, and it radiated majestic draconic might!
The dragon tumbled and darted through the clouds, producing the magnificent sight of an azure dragon stirring rivers and seas.
Honored Master Xing sighed. “Junior Brother Xu’s foundations are profound. Once he forms his Nascent Soul, his achievements will surely be a hundredfold greater.”
The other senior brothers nodded. “To have accumulated such foundations at his age is truly extraordinary.”
Some thought of Yun Lie and wondered: this Junior Brother Yun was a sword cultivator, yet none of them had witnessed his Nascent Soul formation. Just how deep did his own strength run?
But remembering that the two were dual-cultivation Dao companions, and that Xu Ziqing held Yun Lie in such extraordinary regard, they understood that Yun Lie was certainly no less outstanding. The firmness of his will, in particular, was rarely found in this world!
The appearance of the azure dragon meant that the Nascent Soul had already formed. What followed would be the Heavenly Dao’s gifts, the gathering of divine abilities, and the harmonization of one’s Dao.
If nothing went wrong, he would overcome the danger of his inner demons after some time and stabilize his realm.
If things went badly, however, his cultivation realm could collapse, throwing him back down to Golden Core.
Everyone observed for several days. When the azure dragon continued moving freely, they dispersed to their cultivation and no longer lingered.
Only Yun Lie remained outside the mountain to guard Xu Ziqing’s seclusion.
In the blink of an eye, eight years passed.
During this time, their fellow disciples from the Wuling lineage came out several times to look, all finding the situation rather unusual.
Although forming a Nascent Soul might require several years or even more than a decade, an excessively long delay was bound to cause concern.
Yun Lie, with his extreme nine-nine accumulation, had formed his Nascent Soul in a little more than three years. That was because his command of his own cultivation had reached perfection, without wasting even the slightest effort.
The longer the process dragged on after that, the more likely it seemed that a bottleneck would arise.
Sure enough, in the eighth year, the azure dragon above the clouds suddenly showed signs of breaking apart.
The observers were shocked.
If Xu Ziqing failed this time and had to try again, who knew how many years it might take?
By then, such a promising genius might have fallen behind the ranks of first-rate cultivators!
For a while, the other members of his lineage could no longer concentrate on their cultivation. They remained outside, anxiously watching.
Fortunately, several days later, a yellow light suddenly burst forth. It resembled either an unusual treasure or a divine ability as it entered the azure dragon’s body.
Within only a few hours, the dragon’s form had stabilized.
At the same time, many trees on the mountain suddenly withered and died, only to flourish again an instant later.
Life force sometimes surged to an extreme and sometimes ebbed almost to nothing. The myriad woods withered and revived in turn.
After eighty-one such cycles, enormous quantities of vitality had accumulated, almost reaching some ultimate limit.
Not long afterward, the azure dragon became even more distinct. A great Taiji diagram descended above it, seemingly opening two gates. It was an astonishing sight!
The azure dragon raised its head and let out a long cry. Its enormous body entered through the yang fish and emerged from the yin fish, its head and tail joining before it vanished in an instant.
Then the clouds gradually scattered, revealing a clear sky and fresh breeze.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
Domain Lord Hang smiled. “At last he has succeeded.”
Everyone else was relieved as well.
Yet Xu Ziqing did not emerge from the cave residence. The onlookers assumed that his realm remained somewhat unstable after the near-collapse and that he needed to continue cultivating in seclusion to consolidate it.
There was nothing unusual about that. Anyone who formed a Nascent Soul generally required another period in seclusion afterward, whether long or short. Barring an accident, nothing should go wrong again.
So they all departed.
Yun Lie stood up. Light flickered beneath his feet, and he entered the mountain again rather than remaining outside.
The mountain was overflowing with boundless vitality.
Watching Xu Ziqing form his Nascent Soul had also given Yun Lie some insights. Now he, too, entered seclusion.
Fifteen years later.
Within the Wuling Mountain Domain, at a mountain where many spiritual veins converged, outside a cave residence.
A young man in pale green robes emerged. He was elegant and handsome, with a gentle, approachable air. When he smiled, his eyes and brows were so warm that it felt like a spring breeze touching one’s face.
He stood there and swept his spiritual sense over the surroundings. A trace of puzzlement crossed his face. Then he rose into the air and flew toward the tallest peak in the entire domain.
Domain Lord Hang sat beside a clear spring with a fishing rod in his hand, amusing himself with the dragon carp in the water.
Suddenly his brows stirred, and he turned his head.
As expected, a green light flashed before him, and a young man descended to the ground.
The young man’s aura was tranquil and appeared entirely ordinary. Yet at a glance, Domain Lord Hang sensed surging vitality within him, as though he had become a living mass of life force. It was difficult to fathom, but also made people instinctively want to draw near.
In the next instant, however, the sensation disappeared completely.
A smile immediately spread across Domain Lord Hang’s face. “So Ziqing has emerged from seclusion. Have you stabilized your cultivation realm?”
The young man, Xu Ziqing, smiled gently. “Thank you for your concern, Domain Lord. I have.”
Domain Lord Hang examined him more closely and felt even more gratified.
To Hang, Xu Ziqing was naturally still someone he could suppress with a turn of his hand. Yet the young man’s potential was unfathomable. He seemed to have cultivated a truly formidable art, and the aura of his Minor Cosmos was extraordinary in every respect.
Such a genius was indeed no less outstanding than Yun Lie.
As this thought crossed his mind, Domain Lord Hang studied Xu Ziqing’s expression carefully. When he noticed a trace of urgency in the young man’s eyes, understanding suddenly dawned.
He could not help laughing. “Ziqing, did you come here to ask about…”
Xu Ziqing looked a little embarrassed. “After leaving seclusion, I couldn’t find Senior Brother. Do you happen to know where he went?”
Although time held little meaning to cultivators, Xu Ziqing had never been separated from his senior brother for so long. Having finally consolidated his cultivation and come out, he had naturally wanted to share all he had gained with Yun Lie. Unexpectedly, his senior brother was nowhere to be found, and he missed him dearly.
Domain Lord Hang’s smile grew wider. “While you were consolidating your realm, your senior brother made another breakthrough. He has reached middle Nascent Soul, and his strength has increased greatly. But his cultivation method cannot improve by working behind closed doors. Since you were out of danger, he left the mountain early to temper his sword Dao.”
Xu Ziqing understood at once.
Sword cultivators had to forge ahead relentlessly, constantly battling others to improve. Senior Brother had already achieved his sword soul’s first refinement and afterward advanced in cultivation. He probably needed numerous battles to make further progress.
His senior brother had done much the same thing when his sword intent had first reached the minor accomplishment stage. Now he had simply changed the location of his training.
But… just where had he gone to challenge other people?
Unable to guess, Xu Ziqing naturally asked.
Domain Lord Hang stroked his beard. “In the past, even I might not have known. But recently I’ve heard of a Sword Discussion Assembly being held in Hengyang Commandery. Many sword cultivators are going there to spar, challenge each other, and exchange insights…”
Xu Ziqing understood. “If there is such a gathering, Senior Brother must have gone there.”
Domain Lord Hang nodded with a smile. “Are you thinking of leaving the mountain as well, Ziqing?”
Xu Ziqing flushed. “I wonder whether there have been any recent assignments to guard the pillars…”
Domain Lord Hang laughed heartily. “Don’t worry about that. Your other senior brothers have been studying the art of puppetry and haven’t left the mountains for years. Now that you’ve formed your Nascent Soul, continuing to shut yourself away would serve little purpose. You might as well go out and see the world. Perhaps another opportunity awaits you.”
Though Domain Lord Hang had no Dao companion himself, he had known a few beautiful women in his youth. He understood perfectly well how deeply stirring the heart could become when affection was strong.
Besides, Xu Ziqing had just formed his Nascent Soul and undergone a complete transformation. If he reunited with his beloved and engaged in intimate dual cultivation, both would surely benefit greatly. It was best that he went, indeed best that he went!
Xu Ziqing gave a soft cough, feeling deeply grateful.
Then he took leave of Domain Lord Hang and headed down the mountain, without disturbing his senior brothers or Honored Master Xing.