A flower blooms, its petals splitting into two branches.
After another arduous year and a half on the return journey, Wu Tao discovered upon arriving back at the Taiyi Immortal Sect that many inner disciples were gathered in groups of five or six, or seven or eight, discussing some significant matter.
...
"Hey, do you know that something major has happened within our Taiyi Immortal Sect?"
"What major event could possibly happen in our Taiyi Immortal Sect? Don't tell me our higher-ups are going to launch another war with other major sects. It seems highly unlikely!"
"The last great war lasted for five years, and our Taiyi Immortal Sect suffered heavy losses. We haven't even recovered our strength yet. How could we possibly have the energy for another war?"
"Heh heh, you're right about those things not happening, but something truly significant has indeed occurred for our Taiyi Immortal Sect!"
"Junior Brother Liu, you're being coy again. Just tell us what it is quickly so we can all hear."
"The Flame War God, Feng Junyi himself, is about to break through to the Nascent Soul stage!"
Although the speaker's voice was not loud, all the inner disciples on the nearby mountains heard it clearly.
"What?"
"The Flame War God, Feng Junyi, only entered the Core Formation stage a mere three hundred years ago. How is it possible for him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage so quickly?"
"Hmph, my information is definitely correct. The Flame War God, Feng Junyi, reached the peak of late Core Formation stage a few decades ago. After the life-and-death battles of recent years, he has stimulated his potential and advanced further. It is entirely possible."
The inner disciple called Junior Brother Liu said with emotion, "My master is also an elder of the Core Formation stage. Can words passed down from him be false?"
"Once the Flame War God, Feng Junyi, truly breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, our Taiyi Immortal Sect's Sect Master, the late-stage Nascent Soul grandmaster Zhu Zi, will personally host a 'Ascension Feast' for the Flame War God, Feng Junyi, and invite major sects to attend."
"Tsk, tsk, it seems to be true. The Flame War God, Feng Junyi, is indeed astonishingly talented. Originally, there were dozens of other peerless prodigies on this Nine Provinces Continent who were his rivals, but now it seems Feng Junyi is the strongest prodigy of his generation."
Another inner disciple flattered him.
Hearing this news, Wu Tao was also very surprised.
Even though the peak of late Core Formation was only one step away from Nascent Soul, without extraordinary talent, perseverance, and opportunity, even a cultivator at the perfected Core Formation stage would find it difficult to take that step and break through to Nascent Soul.
Once one became a Nascent Soul cultivator, they would not only have a lifespan of a thousand years but could also project their Nascent Soul out, allowing for instantaneous travel. A distance of a thousand miles would be covered in a mere moment.
Nascent Soul cultivators had already begun to touch upon the power of laws. Their every move possessed destructive might, and killing Core Formation cultivators was as easy as slaughtering chickens and toppling monkeys.
At this point, Junior Brother Liu continued to reveal more information, refuting others by saying, "That's not necessarily true. Several Core Formation elders from other major sects have also announced that they are going into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to Nascent Soul."
...
When speaking of Feng Junyi, one cannot avoid discussing his life.
Feng Junyi was a person of great resolve and immense perseverance.
As soon as he established his Foundation, he did not indulge in any pleasures but immediately set out to travel the world, wandering for decades.
His goal was to comprehend the profound mysteries of fire. After decades, he reached an inconceivable realm and then attained the Core Formation stage.
Since he embarked on the path of fire, how could he possibly achieve great success without comprehending the spirituality of fire and understanding its true essence?
His path was not particularly unusual, but his determination and perseverance were something that most ordinary people could not match.
He tested the great Dao with his own body, akin to Shen Nong tasting a hundred herbs, except he tasted not a hundred herbs, but a hundred fires.
At the source of earth fire, he used his physical body to withstand the eruption of earth fire, enduring endless torment, tempering his body with all the fires in the world, day after day for a century. Such a method, bordering on self-abuse, was naturally not easily imitated by others.
...
"There are ten thousand types of exotic fires in heaven and earth, and the Sun Essence Fire is the king of all fires."
Currently in seclusion, Feng Junyi held a pill called the Myriad Fiends Immortal Pill in his mouth, sitting cross-legged above a large-scale fire vein spring.
Incredibly violent fire-attribute spiritual energy erupted from the spring.
This fire-attribute spiritual energy, like a tidal wave, surged forth with terrifying might, engulfing Feng Junyi entirely.
Countless lava geysers spewed upwards, laced with poisonous flames and black smoke, transforming into various shapes: fire serpents, fireballs, fire dragons...
The surging earth fire was immeasurably more terrifying than tsunamis or floods. Waves of fire rose and swept upwards.
The lava earth fire surged to the surface, turning everything it touched into a sea of fire, incinerating all in its path.
Dust obscured the sky, and black smoke blotted out the sun. The might of heaven and earth was vast and boundless.
Yet, Feng Junyi sat in the center of the sea of fire, absorbing the power of this colossal conflagration. The Sun Essence Fire around him burned fiercely.
Limitless spiritual energy converged, manifesting a red sun in the high heavens, illuminating all things, soaring above heaven and earth.
At this very moment, a fierce roar echoed from the horizon, like a peal of thunder, creating the phenomenon of ten suns in the sky.
With the power of ten suns, and drawing upon the mysterious substance contained within the Myriad Fiends Immortal Pill, Feng Junyi, possessing the opportune moment and advantageous terrain, finally broke through his life-and-death barrier, successfully condensed his Nascent Soul, and unleashed boundless might.
Instantly, a deafening roar shook heaven and earth, spanning the horizon.
A colossal illusory image of a three-legged Golden Crow appeared, hovering above the ten suns, above all sentient beings.
In a flash, it transformed from illusion to reality. It suddenly raised its head, and a terrifying wave of golden flame surged across the sky, dyeing even the ninth heaven a golden-red.
The Golden Core shattered, and the Nascent Soul was formed!
This was not merely an advancement in realm; it was a fundamental transformation of one's life essence.
At this stage, his essence, energy, and spirit, along with his lifetime's cultivation, were fused into one. Utilizing the shattering of his Golden Core, he achieved the Dao of the Nascent Soul.
All of this was profoundly mysterious and incredibly difficult.
Many cultivators spent their entire lives striving for it in vain.
The accumulation of centuries, the perfect comprehension of the Dao of Fire, all of it led to this scene.
With the Nascent Soul achieved, a heavenly tribulation descended.
In the sky, a thunderclap sounded!
Rolling lightning bolts swept across the horizon in an instant.
Endless dark clouds converged, forming a heavy, oppressive mass that seemed poised to annihilate the entire earth.
Within this expanse of darkness, countless flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder seemed to embody the furious roar of heaven and earth.
They sought to punish with the might of thunder any cultivator who dared to transcend their inherent limitations.
Ancient texts record: When the Nascent Soul is formed, a lightning tribulation will descend. Those who pass will be acknowledged by heaven and earth and gain the qualification for transcendence! Those who fail will be cast into the cycle of reincarnation and start anew!
The fierce thunder descended, turning an area of dozens of miles into a prison, where everything within became a sacrifice to the lightning tribulation.
Layer upon layer of lightning waves surged, eventually reaching Feng Junyi's secluded cultivation spot, transforming into countless thunder dragons that struck down at Feng Junyi with unstoppable force.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Feng Junyi stepped forward, traversing the air.
He rose amidst the raging winds, his hands holding up the sun.
Instantly, the reflection of the great sun and the cries of the Golden Crow appeared, their terrifying brilliance spreading everywhere. Wherever the sun's light touched, the scene turned golden-red.
With a snap of his fingers, and uttering the word "Explode," no words could adequately describe Feng Junyi's resolve.
In the next moment, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed to vibrate. In an instant, it was as if heaven and earth had collapsed, rapidly contracting.
Heaven and earth did not truly collapse, but the myriad spiritual energies converged, creating an illusion before their eyes.
A contraction, then an expansion, followed by a thunderous roar that pierced heaven and earth!
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
The terrifying roaring sounds, as if at the dawn of creation, instantly stunned all who heard them.
Anyone who heard these sounds immediately lost the ability to think, their eyes vacant as they watched everything unfold.
Suddenly, the chaotic torrent of spiritual energy annihilated everything. Immense power spread, forming a colossal mushroom cloud that soared into the sky.
In a trance, it seemed one could see the ninth heaven, infinitely high above, making way for this terrifying mushroom cloud to ascend.
Centering on this mushroom cloud, invisible ripples spread out, not dense, not clear, yet containing infinite power.
A red sun broke through the endless mist, rising into the sky, illuminating the obscuring dark clouds. It stood majestic between heaven and earth.
Wherever the sunlight passed, the vast Nine Provinces Continent, as far as the eye could see, suddenly brightened.
Having reached the Nascent Soul stage and mastered some of the Dao of Fire, Feng Junyi's divine abilities and spiritual power were far beyond what they had been before.
...
The power of the Nascent Soul is profound and mysterious, encompassing the mysteries of the great Dao of heaven and earth, which cannot be fully described in words.
If not for this, there would be no heavenly lightning tribulation as a test. Only by passing the heavenly tribulation could one truly shatter their Golden Core and transform into a Nascent Soul, reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
In the southern part of Qingzhou.
Within the Soul Severing Mountain Range, the domain of the Demonic Heaven Sect, in an important corpse-nurturing ground.
...
Hundreds of thousands of ordinary mortals were driven here by force.
The hundreds of Demonic Heaven Sect disciples hovering overhead used large-scale spells to kill them all.
The countless bodies, victims of unjust and tragic deaths, were piled together, forming a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The essence, blood qi, resentment, killing intent, and souls emanating from millions of corpses surged towards the sky like smoke, dispersing into the heavens.
They coalesced into dense, thick clouds of blood, so concentrated that they blocked out the sun entirely, leaving not a sliver of light.
...
Around these corpses, which were more numerous than the sea of bodies and had only recently died, a profound and mystical formation was densely arrayed.
This formation absorbed the colossal essence, blood qi, resentment, killing intent, and souls that surged towards the sky, transforming into solidified blood-colored clouds. These were drawn in, strand by strand, cluster by cluster, like a whale absorbing water, and converged at the center of the formation.
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