Chapter 92. Nascent soul realm. [Updated*]
Meanwhile, deep within the secluded cultivation chamber beneath the Lin family estate, complete silence reigned.
The thick stone doors had long since been sealed shut.
Only faint strands of spiritual qi drifted through the chamber, slowly gathering toward the lone figure seated at its center.
Lin Xuan sat cross-legged upon a cultivation platform carved from Spirit jade.
His breathing was slow and steady.
Every inhalation drew the surrounding spiritual qi into his body, while every exhalation refined it further before guiding it toward his Golden Core.
His mind had already entered a state of complete tranquility.
His only objective now was a single breakthrough.
The Nascent Soul Realm.
With a wave of his hand, a Realm Breakthrough Pills appeared before him, resting inside a jade bottle.
The greatest obstacle before him was the barrier separating Golden Core from Nascent Soul.
He slowly opened the jade bottle and a rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the cultivation chamber.
Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed a Realm Breakthrough Pill.
The pill melted the instant it entered his body.
An overwhelming surge of spiritual qi erupted throughout his meridians like a raging flood.
Lin Xuan immediately circulated his cultivation technique, guiding the violent energy toward the brilliant golden core suspended within his dantian.
Time gradually passed.
The golden core rotated faster and faster as more spiritual qi poured into it.
Tiny cracks slowly began to appear upon its flawless surface.
Lin Xuan’s expression remained calm.
He knew those cracks did not signify destruction.
They were the first signs that the Golden Core was beginning to shed its shell, making way for new life.
The birth of a Nascent Soul had finally begun.
The cracks continued to spread across the surface of the Golden Core.
Each passing moment caused another thin fracture to appear.
Yet instead of becoming unstable, the aura radiating from it grew increasingly profound.
The entire cultivation chamber trembled faintly as an enormous amount of spiritual qi poured into Lin Xuan’s body from every direction.
The Spirit Jade beneath him gradually lost its luster as it continuously released its stored spiritual qi.
Inside his dantian, the once flawless Golden Core had become almost entirely covered in cracks.
Only a small portion of its shell remained intact.
Lin Xuan calmly observed everything through his spiritual sense.
This was his first attempt at breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm so he could only rely upon his own judgment.
Just then, a crisp sound echoed within his dantian.
The final piece of the Golden Core’s shell broke away.
For an instant, a dazzling golden light illuminated his entire dantian.
The countless fragments did not scatter.
Instead, they dissolved into pure spiritual qi before gathering toward the center.
There, a tiny figure no larger than a thumb slowly began to take shape.
It possessed delicate features identical to Lin Xuan’s own appearance.
The tiny figure sat cross-legged with its eyes tightly closed, quietly absorbing the immense spiritual qi flowing toward it.
Lin Xuan’s heart became incomparably calm.
"So... this is the Nascent Soul."
Although it had yet to fully mature, he could already feel a completely different kind of power emanating from it.
It was no longer merely spiritual qi.
A faint yet mysterious soul pressure slowly spread throughout his dantian.
At the same time, Lin Xuan discovered something else.
His perception had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Without opening his eyes, he could clearly sense every grain of dust within the cultivation chamber.
He could hear the faint heartbeat of the guards standing outside the sealed chamber.
Even the subtle flow of spiritual qi beneath the Lin family estate appeared vividly within his senses.
Everything around him had become astonishingly clear.
Yet Lin Xuan remained perfectly composed.
He knew this was not the time to celebrate, the Nascent Soul had only just been born.
It still required an immense amount of spiritual qi to stabilize completely.
Without any hesitation, Lin Xuan took out the seventy Small Pristine Spirit Stones he had prepared beforehand.
With a wave of his sleeve, the spirit stones scattered across the cultivation chamber, forming a circle around him.
The moment they touched the ground, an astonishing amount of pure spiritual qi began pouring out from every single stone.
Unlike ordinary spirit stones, the spiritual qi contained within Pristine Spirit Stones required almost no refinement.
The energy was incomparably pure.
Lin Xuan immediately began absorbing it.
Streams of spiritual qi surged toward him from all directions before disappearing into his body.
Inside his dantian, the newly born Nascent Soul greedily absorbed every strand of energy that entered.
Its tiny body gradually became more solid.
The previously illusory figure slowly took on a tangible appearance.
Its facial features became increasingly distinct.
Even the miniature robes draped over its body gradually became visible.
The aura surrounding the Nascent Soul also became steadier with every passing breath.
At the same time, the seventy Small Pristine Spirit Stones began losing their brilliance at a visible pace.
One of the spirit stones suddenly shattered into fine powder after all of its spiritual qi had been exhausted.
Soon afterward, a second stone shattered.
One after another, the spirit stones lost their luster and crumbled into dust, while the Nascent Soul within his dantian became increasingly complete.
The immense pressure radiating from his body steadily climbed higher.
Even the stone walls of the cultivation chamber began vibrating faintly under the invisible pressure.
Lin Xuan silently guided the endless stream of spiritual qi into his dantian, allowing the newborn Nascent Soul to absorb everything it needed.
Its tiny body became increasingly lifelike.
The once closed eyes slowly began to twitch, as though they could awaken at any moment.
At the same time, a profound aura gradually spread throughout Lin Xuan’s body.
Every bone, every meridian, and every strand of flesh underwent another round of refinement under the nourishment of the Nascent Soul.
His body seemed to be shedding its mortal limitations.
The transformation was slow but unmistakable.
As more spiritual qi flowed into his dantian, the Nascent Soul finally opened its eyes.
The instant it did, an invisible ripple spread throughout Lin Xuan’s body.
Boom!
His aura surged violently before immediately settling down once more.
A strange feeling welled up within Lin Xuan’s heart.
His consciousness seemed to split into two.
One part remained seated within his physical body.
The other existed within the tiny Nascent Soul.
It was an indescribable sensation.
Although they were separate, they were also one and the same.
"So this is what they meant..."
He finally understood why Nascent Soul cultivators were so difficult to kill.
As long as the Nascent Soul survived, there was still hope.
A faint smile appeared on Lin Xuan’s face.
The breakthrough had been a complete success.
Satisfied with the result, he was about to end his seclusion when his eyes fell upon the remaining Small Pristine Spirit Stones scattered around the cultivation chamber.
Several of them still retained a considerable amount of spiritual qi.
After a brief moment of thought, he abandoned the idea of leaving.
Instead, he closed his eyes once more and resumed circulating his cultivation technique.
The remaining spiritual qi flowed out of the Small Pristine Spirit Stones and surged into his body.
Since the opportunity was already before him, Lin Xuan intended to consolidate every trace of his newly attained cultivation before finally bringing his seclusion to an end.