Born with immortal seed

Chapter 548 Innate Spiritual Root
At the summit of Mount Qi, the Heavenly Principle Sect had launched their attack for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

As usual, the war artifacts on the airship were deployed first. Based on the changes in the Holy Lotus Sect's formation, the Divine Thunder Tower, Cold Flame Cannon, and Demon-Slaying Crossbow roared in succession, causing the great formation's light shield to teeter on the brink of collapse.

The cultivators of the Holy Lotus Sect were somewhat numb to this; they knew that the Heavenly Principle Sect would definitely launch an attack within a month to half a year.

This time there was no difference, except that the offensive seemed to be more ferocious, and both used the expensive Demon-Slaying Crossbow.

Each Demon-Slaying Arrow requires enough spiritual materials to forge a magical artifact, and a fourth-tier rune master must inscribe intricate runes on the arrowhead.

Once used, it is destroyed. Nascent Soul Grandmasters only use it at critical moments, otherwise, the Demon-Slaying Arrow alone would cost millions of spirit stones in a single battle.

boom!
Smoke filled the air, and several nodes of the mountain-protecting formation were broken, with roots and clods of earth exploding into the sky.

At the summit of Qishan, it was as if the earth had turned over, the entire ridge shook, and huge boulders crashed down the cliff.

Just when the disciples of the Holy Lotus Sect thought they were about to face another fierce attack, the airship stopped firing, and the puppet warriors that had followed suit did not charge forward.

A brief silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by the mournful howl of the wind.

"One man, one sword, wipe out the enemy's lair... If he can really do that, he'll be no different from the Great True Lord."

Le Zheng cast his gaze into the distance, and as far as he could see, a white-robed cultivator stood up from the high platform at the bow of the ship.

"Be prepared to make a move. I've fought Qu Yang many times, but I've never actually come into contact with that demonized spiritual plant. My spiritual senses aren't that detailed, but I always feel that it's not that simple."

Shi Chengdong's face was ashen. He pointed his finger and drew a cloud mirror in front of him, bringing the view of the Qishan peak closer to his eyes.

The buildings on the mountain and the expressions of the monks are depicted in the finest detail.

"If we can win without any trouble, that would be the best... but I'm afraid there will be unexpected events that will force us to fight."

"Perfect timing to test my Three Tombs and Five Classics Evolutionary Divine Power!"

Le Zheng was eager to try. His cultivation method was different from that of his fellow disciples. It came from the ancient Confucian lineage, which had long been lost.

Shi Chengdong and others all follow the path of idealism.

……

"The five-foot sword in the scabbard is for Heaven and to show justice to the righteous."

Bai Zichen slowly stood up, and the sword light in the Supreme Pure Light Sword Box flew up and landed in his palm. His eyes seemed to see Qu Yang through the layers of vines and roots.

His eyes did not see it, but his spirit saw it.

A ferocious spiritual plant, its lotus leaves spreading out in layers, vast and chaotic, blends into the entire mountain peak.

What they were fighting against was not just this ancient snow lotus, but also the power of the earth's veins accumulated over millions of years, profound and deep. Standing in front of it with their own strength felt like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Having learned about the current situation of the lower-level cultivators in Zhongzhou from Tian Yangsheng, Qu Yang had yet another reason to die.

It was he who abducted a large number of Core Formation cultivators to refine human puppets, causing the core strength of Zhongzhou to be instantly depleted.

The vast majority of sects and cultivation families rely on a single Core Formation cultivator to support them.

With so many Core Formation cultivators disappearing all at once, the people of Zhongzhou were thrown into a panic, and the Core Formation sects were powerless to stop the rampant plundering of cultivators.

Qu Yang's actions were tantamount to breaking the backbone of the entire cultivation world in Zhongzhou.

Otherwise, Zhongzhou would at least have been able to maintain basic order, and wouldn't have ended up like this, with displaced people and starving people everywhere.

Even in the Southern Region, where the demonic sects are most prosperous, there is no society as chaotic and disorderly as this. Otherwise, who would provide resources for those major demonic sects?

He flew into the air, slashed down with his sword, accompanied by thunderous force, and split into hundreds and thousands along the way.

All the vines that blocked the way did not last a single breath; they all turned to ashes, broken and scattered all over the ground.

"Bai Zichen of the Qingfeng Sect? Why is it you, not Old Ghost Shi of the Tianli Sect?"

A vine suddenly shot into the sky, forming a lotus flower with a human face. The petals opened and closed, and a sound came out.

"You have indeed fallen into demonic possession and are unable to control yourself. You have become a puppet of the demonized spiritual plants."

Bai Zichen felt a little regretful. Qu Yang, with his fire-type heavenly spiritual root, was once the most dazzling Core Formation cultivator in Liang Kingdom, and an undisputed Nascent Soul seed.

However, Senior Brother Ge Cang once commented that he was of poor character and unfit for great responsibilities.

Sure enough, after succeeding as the leader of the Holy Lotus Sect, he quickly reached the point of fusing with the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.

Logically speaking, the Nine Lotus True Lord, having already suffered a loss once, should have left behind some precautions and coping methods.

Qu Yang was still completely corrupted, while Jiu Lian Zhenjun was only bound in his tracks; as soon as he left Qishan, his lifespan would be drained.

Qu Yang, on the other hand, has completely lost himself, becoming an invisible walking corpse without even realizing it.

"What puppet! I know, you're jealous. Jealous that I can fuse with the Snow Lotus and immediately advance to the Innate Spiritual Root... Then I'll become the Nine-Flower Snow Lotus, shedding my mortal body and possessing true immortal skin and jade bones. The Nine-Flower Snow Lotus, a bite can grant immortality, a whiff can prolong life, and I also want to safeguard the foundation of the Holy Lotus Sect for eternity!"

On hundreds of thick vines on the mountain, lotus flowers with human faces grew out and spoke in unison, their voices reverberating back and forth.

The so-called innate spiritual root here has nothing to do with a cultivator's aptitude, but refers to a few spiritual plants that have seized the creation of heaven and earth.

Plants are already slow to develop intelligence, let alone transform into human form like monsters.

Even a fifth-tier spiritual plant cannot transcend freedom; it still cannot be separated from the soil in which it takes root.

However, those with innate spiritual roots are different; after reaching the fifth rank, they can begin to condense into human form.

Furthermore, since the innate spirit contains a trace of the original essence from the creation of the world, if it can truly transform into a human, it will be a flawless and immaculate body without meridians or qi sea, capable of directly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth without refining.

If what Qu Yang said is true, then the Nine-Flower Snow Lotus can be used to easily transform into an Infant, which is more effective than any Infant-forming pill or Tribulation-crossing treasure.

It is even possible to develop to a higher level.

But all of this requires that the Snow Lotus of Ten Thousand Years genuinely cares about him and is willing to share its essence.

Instead of treating Qu Yang as a tool, a puppet that can be discarded at any time.

Innate spiritual roots basically only appeared in ancient times, when the world was first created and the pure and impure were not yet separated. Only then could such spiritual plants that stole the origin of a world appear.

After that, it became almost impossible to reproduce.

Putting aside the difficulty of their birth, cultivators have begun to realize that these kinds of spiritual plants are of great benefit to them, whether it's killing the goose that lays the golden eggs during their growth stage or refining them into spiritual medicine.

It is the supreme material for refining external avatars, which is taken away after becoming an innate spiritual root.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be tempted, as their true body cannot move freely. However, an external avatar refined from an innate spiritual root does not have this restriction.

In the history of the cultivation world, the most famous innate spiritual root is none other than the gourd vine. After ten thousand years and ninety-nine tribulations, it happened to meet the point where two earth veins merged and collided, allowing this gourd vine to take its final step.

All the spiritual energy ultimately gave birth to only one Eight Treasures Gourd, which matured three hundred years later and became a gourd boy upon landing.

The withered gourd vine, reduced to thin threads, became his signature magical weapon.

The Calabash Boy was born at the Nascent Soul stage and would reach the Nascent Soul stage in a hundred years. However, the news leaked out and it was rumored that eating his flesh would grant eternal youth and longevity.

This attracted a frenzied attack from demonic cultivators who had reached the Nascent Soul stage, and even righteous cultivators who had reached the Nascent Soul stage were secretly plotting to get a share of the spoils.

It was the ancestor of the Daode Sect who extended a helping hand, enabling the gourd boy to escape to heaven, and a hundred years later he successfully transformed into a deity.

At the same time, it demonstrated astonishing strength, causing those Nascent Soul cultivators with ulterior motives to abandon their ideas and retreat.

After another three hundred years, without any disasters or calamities, he successfully ascended to heaven.

This is the only innate spiritual root that has attained the Great Dao since the ancient chaotic era.

Others, even those who either died prematurely, endured the three tribulations of Heaven, Earth, and Man, or reached the fifth rank, are far inferior to the ancient gourd boy.

They eventually die of old age in some unknown corner of the cultivation world. After all, innate spiritual roots are treasures, and if you want to avoid being disturbed after death, it's best not to be exposed to cultivators from the beginning.

Otherwise, they would search high and low, consult divination and fortune tellers, and use every means to find you.

"Nonsense! I am the undisputed number one Nascent Soul seed in Liang Kingdom. You are just a lucky Core Formation cultivator from Qingfeng Sect. How can you compare to me!"

Qu Yang roared incoherently, and two more Core Formation cultivators, one after the other, used a Heavenly Demon Disintegration-type escape technique to instantly soar into the sky.

Swish!Swish!
Ten thin, thread-like bolts of lightning appeared simultaneously, piercing through the two Core Formation cultivators who were rushing to self-destruct their Golden Cores.

Forehead, chest, lower abdomen, limbs...

A cloud of blood mist exploded from all the vital points, scattering across the ground, before even the thought of self-destructing one's golden core could arise.

From now on, Qishan will be our own territory, and we will not allow Qu Yang to disrupt it at will.

Seeing this once-proud prodigy become so muddled and confused, Bai Zichen just wanted it to end as soon as possible.

He is now more interested in that snow lotus. If it is indeed a quasi-innate spiritual root, he will not have to worry about his future avatar.

With another swing of the sword, only an ordinary sword light appeared, without any differentiation or refining of the sword into threads.

Yet it carried an aura of creation, no, not just an aura, everything in the path of the sword light was cracking.

This even includes those magnificent halls and the Qishan Mountain peaks themselves.

"To end your life with a sword imbued with sword intent is enough for you to boast about in the underworld!"

Bai Zichen has never relaxed his practice of swordsmanship over the years.

No matter how mysterious and far-reaching the prospects of other cultivation techniques and supernatural powers may be, the way of the sword is still his foundation.

Especially after learning the Dongxuan Lushen Sword Scripture, his progress in swordsmanship was rapid, and even the two sword intents he obtained from the jade tablet of the Tianhe Sword Sect had loosened.

The current sword strike is precisely Bai Zichen's understanding and evolution of the Heaven-Opening Sword Intent.

It triumphs through righteousness, and its great simplicity is the ultimate beauty, possessing the grandeur of creating a new world.

The remaining restrictions within the Holy Lotus Sect exploded one after another, and only one disheveled cultivator, who reeked of stench, rushed out. With a single stroke, he transformed into a giant snow lotus.

The air temperature dropped by tens of degrees in an instant, and even the powerful sword light almost froze, with ice crystals already forming.

But with each zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) the sword light descended, its momentum increased by one point, multiplying many times over before even hitting the Ascension Platform.

clang!
With a resounding boom, the snow lotus leaves, far superior to those of metal and stone, were pierced deep into the snow lotus by this earth-shattering sword energy.

The snow lotus emitted a cry of pain similar to that of a wounded human cultivator, and streaks of blood appeared on its snow-white lotus leaves.

With his physical body injured, his puppet form suffered even more, and one of Qu Yang's arms fell off.

The moment it leaves the body, it becomes a piece of wood, without a single drop of blood.

"Why? I just want to cultivate in peace and quiet, why won't you give me that chance!"

Qu Yang has been mentally corrupted, and the speaker has become the eternal snow lotus.

"You forced me to this, so I will use my life savings to make Qishan be buried with me and go to the Yellow Springs together."

At the summit of Qishan, spiritual energy swept in uncontrollably, condensing into a giant, emerald-green flying sword.

At the same time, countless ice needles and ten thousand snow lotuses suddenly appeared on the mountaintop.

Each ice needle was equivalent to a third-tier spell, locking onto Bai Zichen and forming a long ice crystal dragon that would engulf him.

Meanwhile, the ten thousand snow lotuses reversed their flow of spiritual energy, causing ice crystals to condense all over the peak. The center of the Immortal Ascension Platform, which was originally a top-grade fourth-order spiritual land, saw spiritual energy materialize for the first time under the self-destructive explosion of the ten thousand snow lotuses.

With a drip, a drop of spiritual water fell and was swallowed by Qu Yang in the very center.

His body, which had been on the verge of death, recovered instantly as if inflated like a balloon, even surpassing its former strength.

With a single grasp, a gigantic hand of true essence, hundreds of feet long, scooped forward, tearing apart the entire space.

A dark spatial passage appeared, but it was quickly annihilated and disappeared again due to the restrictions of the laws of heaven and earth.

But the terrifying power unleashed by this giant hand of true essence sent chills down the spines of all the cultivators present.

If he gets caught, he probably won't have any protective magic item to save him.

However, Bai Zichen's sword light was agile, toying with Xue Lian's giant hand of true essence, while at the same time another gray-white sword light fell into his palm.

The sky cleared, the sun shone brightly, and the once clear spring water had frozen into ice pillars.

As the weather changes and temperatures rise, the warm feeling of spring returns.

The cultivators on those evacuation ships that were far away had almost been frozen solid, their blood and qi congealed.

Right now, the sunlight isn't intense, but it makes me feel alive again.

"When the Great Dao clashes, the true meaning transforms..."

Shi Chengdong's face turned ugly; Qu Yang's methods were clearly prepared for him.

If the original plan had been followed, and the Heavenly Principle Sect had attacked Qishan and seized the spiritual land while I was fighting him, I'm afraid all the disciples would have perished there.

More importantly, with the replenishment of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus from the fifth-order spiritual energy liquid, its strength has advanced further, already displaying the might of a Great True Monarch.

If you rush in rashly, you could very well get trapped.

"I thought Bai Zichen had comprehended the true meaning of time, but how could he have mastered so many sword intents on this basis... If this continues, he won't be far from becoming the number one swordsman in the Northern Region, let alone the number one swordsman in the world."

Bai Zichen uses the Fanghua Sword to evolve the sword intent of celestial phenomena and change the seasons to correspond to the endless coldness of the ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus.

The second sword light obtained from the jade disc that day could evolve into the twenty-four solar terms and celestial phenomena, and also had some connection with the true meaning of time.

At this moment, in his hands, the cold air receded, and springtime arrived, bringing forth new life.

This caused the ice on the shady side of Qishan Mountain, which had remained frozen for thousands of years, to begin to melt, with ice water flowing out.

(End of this chapter)