Born with immortal seed

Chapter 398 Fang Tiansheng's Invitation
"Originally, it should have been enough, but there have been too many places where spirit stones have been used over the years. Millions of spirit stones have been spent on the construction of various spirit veins..."

Wei Dao paused for a moment, then mumbled something.

"Perhaps we can pay on credit, and then pay the spirit stones to other sects after the Immortal City settles accounts with us."

"No, if we can take on the subcontracting, it would be our first time doing this. We've never done business with the vast majority of forces. If we rely solely on our sect's reputation to do business, I'm afraid we won't be able to reach the quantity required by Zengguang Immortal City."

Bai Zichen recorded the location of the large spirit stone vein he had discovered and the route to enter it on a jade slip and handed it over.

“This spirit stone vein should be the largest in the history of the Black Mountain Range, but it is extremely difficult to mine… Senior Brother Wei can ask the sect disciples to pool their wisdom and see if there is any good way.”

The mining conditions for the spirit stone veins beneath the volcano are strictly limited by the fact that only those with Core Formation cultivation can freely enter and exit.

Since the several Core Formation elders couldn't possibly be miners, they discovered a solution to the problem. It would be more appropriate for them to create a permanent access route.

"In addition, this Spirit Rhinoceros Belt is also a loan from me to the sect. We need to transport goods on a large scale, and a few high-grade storage bags are not enough."

“Junior brother’s move has solved two major problems. I will lead the disciples of the Spirit Mine Hall to take a look. We can’t let such a spirit stone vein go to waste.”

Wei Dao was very interested and devoted himself to this matter with great enthusiasm.

For Bai Zichen, there was no way he would spend his time on such things.

Developing the spirit stone mine and enjoying the dividends from the spirit stones would be a wonderful thing.

Being in a sect, one currently doesn't need to rely on external resources for cultivation and therefore doesn't require spirit stones.

Once he began traveling around, he either couldn't find anything he liked, or any treasures that caught his eye were worth a fortune.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he has over two hundred high-grade spirit stones now; he could spend them all in no time if he really wanted to.

……

Three months passed, and Ge Cang still hadn't emerged from seclusion; the gate to his cave on Flaming Mountain remained tightly shut.

After leaving a message, Bai Zichen embarked on the road to Zengguang Immortal City alone.

All the Nascent Soul level forces in the entire Northern Region will gather here this time.

The gathering was not only because Du Heng's switch to the demonic path was so shocking, but also because the addition of the Moral Sect would subtly determine the future power structure of the Northern Region.

As a rising star who has just entered the Nascent Soul stage, Qingfeng Sect's absence from such a grand occasion could easily lead people to believe that they are being ignored by the Morality Sect, thus causing some sects to harbor inappropriate thoughts.

"The invitations sent by Heavenly Punishment Peak to various sects should be secure... This peak places great importance on rules and regulations, and if anyone causes trouble because they don't know the situation, someone will deal with them."

During this time, the Qingfeng Sect finally managed to find out about the past of the Great True Monarch Hongfa.

This cultivator in the Central Region is renowned and revered by thousands. He easily found out the information by simply contacting a merchant firm that does business with the Central Region.

Comparing the two, a most objective biographical sketch was presented to Bai Zichen.

The Great True Lord of Propagation is a direct descendant of the Heavenly Punishment Peak. His Foundation Establishment and Core Formation were both incredibly smooth. He transformed into a Nascent Soul at around two hundred years old, which would rank him among the top three speeds among all the True Lords of the Heavenly Punishment Peak throughout history.

The Daode Sect's practices are highly controversial, and outside of the Great Zhou Dynasty, all sects and cultivation families regard it as a scourge and a beast.

Keep your distance from Daode Sect monks.

However, as the deputy peak master of Tianfa Peak, Hongfa Dazhenjun is actually the peak master in the true sense, only because there is a Nascent Soul cultivator sitting in the peak master's position above him.

His reputation among cultivators in the Central Region is excellent.

Even though the Five Phoenix Sword Sect is fiercely competitive and their styles are completely opposite, they remain silent and do not speak ill of the Great True Monarch of the Dharma.

Two hundred years ago, the Dali region suffered a severe drought, with no rain for three years, leaving the land barren and desolate.

Many cultivators went to cast rain-summoning spells, but at most they could only gather dark clouds, and the rain evaporated into gas before it even hit the ground.

It can't even bring a trace of moisture into the air; instead, it makes ordinary people die faster, their skin cracking and causing them to die suddenly.

Over the course of three years, the number of ordinary people who died from dehydration reached hundreds of thousands.

Seeing that the situation was beyond repair, the nearest super sect, Tianxing Sect, offered a solution: to relocate all mortals in the area to a more suitable place to live.

But for millions of ordinary people, the relocation will be a massive undertaking.

These people are basically bedridden, and it would take a huge number of cultivators to complete the gathering, which could easily take a year or two.

In the end, I fear that half of all mortals will die from the extreme heat.

Upon hearing of this, the Great True Lord of Propagation went alone and found the center emitting heat, a fissure leading directly to the earth's core.

The culprit is the heat released from the burning toxic fire in the Earth's core.

This was the direct cause of all the cultivators' water-summoning spells failing.

If the fissure were allowed to expand for several hundred more years, and the toxic fire from the earth's core were to erupt directly onto the surface, it would create a new forbidden zone in the cultivation world.

At the same time, the poisonous flames spread, affecting an area several times larger than the present.

The impact is on tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people, and several nearby sects have had to relocate their mountain gates.

The Great True Lord of Propagation used his own body to plug the gap, enduring the power of the poisonous fire from the earth's core alone, and used his great magical power and supernatural abilities to close the gap.

It took a full century, with unwavering dedication and tireless effort day and night, to finally resolve this great difficulty.

After achieving his goal, the body of the Great True Lord of Propagation was so deeply corroded by the poisonous fire that it is said he returned to Heavenly Punishment Peak to recuperate for decades before recovering.

For a cultivator with the potential to reach the Nascent Soul stage, the price paid for delaying the process of saving mortals for over a hundred years was considerable.

It's common knowledge in the cultivation world that if it weren't for filling the cracks in the earth's core and resisting the poisonous fire, he would have already reached the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage.

He saved countless lives, even though it wasn't his own sect's territory.

Many cultivators may have been secretly mocking and ridiculing his actions and choices.

But at least on the surface, every cultivator must show utmost respect to the Great True Lord of Propagation of Dharma.

The Grand Elder of the Tianxing Sect said, "I am no match for your great virtue in spreading the Dharma. If we ever disagree in the future, I will definitely give way."

The actions of the Great True Lord of Propagation of the Dharma greatly enhanced the prestige of the Moral Sect, so that cultivators outside the Great Zhou no longer feared him like snakes and scorpions, and dared not associate with him.

"The Heavenly Punishment Peak will handle the major matters, and for minor matters, if anyone tries to use overt means to undermine the Azure Maple Sect, my Azure Emperor Longevity Sword is not just for show..."

As the moonlight pierced the sky, Bai Zichen considered several sects that might be enemies of the Qingfeng Sect.

The Northern Region is different from the Central Region. Nascent Soul True Monarchs are generally quite old, and Nascent Soul cultivators who have successfully transformed into Nascent Souls at the age of two or three hundred are extremely rare.

In the past thousand years, Ge Cang can be considered the youngest Nascent Soul True Monarch in the Northern Region.

Apart from the Wusheng Sect and the Faxiang Sect, it is very difficult for other sects in the Northern Region to maintain the continuous succession of Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

It is not uncommon to see early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who are seven or eight hundred years old; in fact, they are the mainstream in the Northern Region.

Bai Zichen, having completed the concealment of the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword, still possessed some confidence when facing Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

The moonlight sword flashed through the sky at lightning speed, not heading straight for Zengguang Immortal City, but instead taking a small detour.

Bai Zichen looked at the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain not far away, took out a short flute and played it gently, then stood still and waited quietly.

Fifteen minutes later, a colossal beast flew in, casting a large shadow.

"Fellow Daoist Lao Bai, you've been waiting for a long time."

Fang Tiansheng jumped down from the Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon Beast and said in a gentle voice.

He had lost his former domineering aura and looked old and frail, with cloudy eyes.

"Senior failed to shatter the core and transform into a nascent soul? No, the transformation into a nascent soul is irreversible. Once it is initiated, one either succeeds or dies and perishes."

Bai Zichen was greatly surprised to see Fang Tiansheng, who looked deathly old and frail.

Not only him, but even his natal spirit beast, the Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon, was aging and no longer possessed the power of a peak third-tier spirit beast.

The unique nature of the Spirit Control Scripture allowed Fang Tiansheng to live a lifespan far exceeding that of a normal Core Formation cultivator.

Such a sudden and drastic change could only be a consequence of failing to break through to a higher realm and suffering a great loss of vital essence.

However, Fang Tiansheng had already reached the peak of Core Formation, and taking another step forward would be Nascent Soul Transformation, which would defy common sense.

Several months ago, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect sent a secret letter through private channels between the two families. It was sent by Fang Tiansheng, and the short flute was also sent with the letter.

It was said that Bai Zichen was invited to meet before heading to Zengguang Immortal City, and a rich gift would be given to him.

After thinking it over, Bai Zichen decided to make the trip anyway.

The two companies were once allies, and even if their relationship has cooled now, Fang Tiansheng has no reason to harm him.

Moreover, given his strength, even if all the Core Formation cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Sect were to come out in full force, they still wouldn't be able to stop him.

"It's not that I'm breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, but rather that my old friend is breaking through to the fourth rank..."

Fang Tiansheng reached out and stroked the head of the Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon Beast. This dragon beast had failed to break through to the fourth tier, and its body must have been shattered by the overwhelming demonic power, causing it immense pain. Yet, it still affectionately licked its companion's hand with its tongue.

"Success and failure both depend on the spirit beast. Without the fourth-tier spirit beast, I wouldn't have been able to complete the process of breaking through the core and transforming into an infant. Originally, I could have studied it in detail, but now that it doesn't give me the chance, I have no choice but to force it. My natal spirit beast failed to break through, and only by sharing the backlash between human and beast was I able to survive and prolong my life for a while longer."

Fang Tiansheng paused slightly, then smiled and said, showing little remorse or sadness.

"Although it was a failure, at least I left behind some experience in my natal spirit beast's attempt to break through to the fourth tier, and I have some guesses about how to reach the Nascent Soul Realm using the Spirit Control True Scripture. In the end, I can say that I have made some contribution to the sect."

Why there was no time left was obvious; Bai Zichen understood without needing to elaborate.

Blood God Child traveled all the way from the Southern Region for his junior brother. After dealing with Du Heng, the direct culprit, Fang Tiansheng, as the direct accomplice, could not escape punishment.

Whether one person will pay with their life or the entire Ten Thousand Beasts Sect will be implicated is hard to say; it depends on what that Blood God Child thinks.

At this juncture, knowing that the conditions are not yet ripe and the chances are slim, still attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage is a last-ditch effort.

If they can get through, the combination of a Nascent Soul True Monarch and a fourth-tier great demon will still have room for negotiation.

The worst outcome would be for them to sell themselves to the Moral Sect. With two Nascent Soul level warriors joining them and swearing an oath of faith, this super sect would be able to protect Fang Tiansheng and the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

But clearly, this risky attempt failed.

(End of this chapter)