Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Night falls, inside the exquisitely furnished room of the Zhou family home.

“My lord, the risks of the Xuanjun Division are much greater than those of the Tianjian Division.”

Gong Yiyi nestled against Zhou Ling and said softly.

Now, she is more than three months pregnant, her belly is obviously protruding, and her beautiful face exudes a touch of languor and charm.

"There's no need to worry. We've been through dangerous places like the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Nether Cloud Starfield."

"There's nothing else to be afraid of; we'll just deal with whatever comes our way."

"Furthermore, this position is extremely crucial. If I don't participate, it will fall into the hands of the Liu family, which would be even more disadvantageous for us."

Zhou Ling gently stroked his wife's hand and smiled.

Now, it is common knowledge in the Dao Alliance that Zhou Ling, as the sect leader of Lingxiao Sect, is irreconcilably at odds with the Liu family.

Gong Yi also knew that such an important position as the head of the Xuanjun Division could not possibly fall into the hands of the Liu family.

Looking at Zhou Ling with her deep, clear eyes, she said softly, "The Liu family's strength is far superior to ours, and the Zixiao Sect is a sect with tens of thousands of years of history and deep roots."

"My husband needs to improve his strength as soon as possible in order to contend with him."

"When does my husband plan to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck?"

Having cultivated with Zhou Ling for many years, she was quite clear about his cultivation level.

Now is the time to break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage.

He was also impressed by the rapid progress of Zhou Ling's cultivation.

When I entered the Nascent Soul realm, he was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Now that he has just entered the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, he is preparing to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Moreover, his own cultivation progress is not slow.

"Originally, I planned to wait until the end of the year to make more thorough preparations before attempting to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck."

"However, since I'm going to take over as the head of the Xuanjun Division, I plan to make a run for it this month."

Zhou Ling pondered for a moment.

He has now reached the peak of the Golden Core realm.

As long as one's magical power is pure and abundant enough, one can break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage.

The main difference between the Nascent Soul and the Golden Core lies in the transformation from a core into a nascent soul. The Nascent Soul's comprehension and control of the rules are far superior to that of the Golden Core.

Golden Core cultivators only have a basic understanding of the rules, while Nascent Soul cultivators truly control and utilize the rules.

"My lord, the Nascent Soul Tribulation is much more powerful than the Golden Core Tribulation. The power of each strike will change according to your cultivation level, so you must be fully prepared."

Upon hearing this, Gong Yi couldn't help but offer a reminder.

Based on Zhou Ling's strength in killing a fifth-tier alien race, Gong Yi speculated that the power of this lightning tribulation would definitely not be lower than that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

He then mentioned some of his experiences with the Nascent Soul Tribulation to Zhou Ling.

Although Zhou Ling was the one who protected her when she underwent her tribulation.

But the experience can be completely different.

The Nascent Soul Tribulation and the Golden Core Tribulation are roughly similar.

The first three trials are the trials of magical power, spiritual consciousness, and inner demons.

What follows is the tribulation of lightning.

However, the lightning tribulation is different from the Golden Core lightning tribulation; the Nascent Soul lightning tribulation is mainly a rule-based lightning tribulation.

The tribulation lightning will evolve into different rule tribulation lightning based on the different attributes of different cultivators.

The more refined a cultivator's magical power becomes, the more rules they comprehend, and the higher the quality of their golden core, the more terrifying the power of the rule-based lightning tribulation will be.

The specific situation varies from person to person.

Each person's way of passing through the tribulation of lightning is different.

This also determines the magnitude of the lightning tribulation's power and the degree of feedback from the laws of heaven and earth after passing through the tribulation.

If one only focuses on defense, even if one manages to survive the tribulation, the divine decrees one receives will be limited.

Back then, Gong Yi took the initiative to fight with her sword and defeat the lightning tribulation, which enabled her to enter the fourth realm of swordsmanship in one step.

However, not everyone has this ability.

After all, with six tribulations of lightning, the more fiercely you resist, the more terrifying each subsequent tribulation becomes.

That's Gong Yi. Back then, during the fourth tribulation of lightning, she almost completely exhausted all her magical power.

In the end, it was only through his swordsmanship and the combined power of his sword that he was able to successfully overcome the tribulation of the rules.

It's fair to say that it's a bit risky.

Of course, after successfully overcoming the obstacle, the rewards from heaven and earth were equally generous, greatly increasing her strength.

"With your current combat strength, the power of this tribulation is estimated to far surpass that of an ordinary Golden Core peak cultivator."

Gong Yi said so.

"I have the Sunlit Immortal Sword and the Spirit Flame. Dealing with the lightning tribulation shouldn't be a big problem."

Zhou Ling nodded and said.

The Sunlit Immortal Sword is a high-grade fifth-tier weapon, far exceeding the capabilities of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Even if it can unleash half its power, it will be enough to withstand the Nascent Soul Tribulation.

However, I am not yet able to fully control it, so I need to integrate the Xuanwen as soon as possible.

Otherwise, using the Spirit Flame to activate the Sunlit Immortal Sword would be too risky.

After all, if the spirit flame is activated, its power can reach the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the power of the resulting lightning tribulation will also increase dramatically.

It could even affect one's future tribulation against divine lightning.

Therefore, there is no need to use the Spirit Flame in conjunction with the Sunlit Immortal Sword to overcome the tribulation.

"If that doesn't work, we can use the Five Elements Sword Formation."

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

After all, the five Five Elements Swords in his hands were fourth-tier swords, and all of them were his natal swords. They were powerful enough to deal with the lightning tribulation when he exerted the power of the late Nascent Soul stage.

In addition to preparations for dealing with the lightning tribulation.

There are also Nascent Soul Pills and auxiliary spiritual items, etc.

He had two Heavenly Grade Nascent Soul Pills and was well-prepared in terms of auxiliary spiritual items.

Moreover, with the help of talent, there shouldn't be any major problems.

The main issue is related to magical power.

After all, he possessed the attributes of the Five Elements and had two Golden Cores within his body.

The Five Elements attribute means that it takes five times, or even more, the magical power of others to condense a Nascent Soul.

Furthermore, he was preparing to break through to the Heavenly Rank Nascent Soul stage, which required an astonishing amount of magical power.

Comprehending the Golden Core of Thunder Attribute means facing the most powerful Thunder Tribulation attacks.

Both in terms of quantity and intensity, this is almost hellish in difficulty.

This tribulation, which is equivalent to the lightning tribulation that everyone fears, is actually what he cares about more.

"I wonder if I can condense two Nascent Souls this way?"

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

There seems to be no mention of two Nascent Soul cultivators in the records of the Dao Alliance.

There are two Golden Core cultivators, though.

However, because undergoing the Nascent Soul Tribulation requires enormous resources, the risks are also greatly increased.

Therefore, in this process, one will choose to give up a Golden Core.

"If we can condense two Nascent Souls, we'll give it our all; if not, there's nothing we can do."

Zhou Ling raised an eyebrow.

After all, having two Nascent Souls means that one can comprehend and control far more rules than other cultivators of the same level.

If he could unite them, he wouldn't give up easily.

"As for the spiritual barrier, my spiritual soul has now reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, so there will be no problem at all."

"As for the inner demons, my Dao heart is firm, and I also have the talent of becoming more courageous in the face of setbacks, so there will be no risk."

Zhou Ling continued to make plans in his mind.

"My lord, what are your thoughts on the Xuanjun Division?"

After discussing the Nascent Soul Tribulation, Gong Yi inquired further.

She was originally very confident in Zhou Ling's abilities.

However, their current opponent is the Liu family, which has a Void Refinement cultivator in charge.

There are also sects like the Zixiao Sect, which have existed for thousands of years.

In addition, Zhou Ling has now taken over this position, which was originally held by Liu Zhengsheng.

The risks involved are considerable.

Any mistake could be fatal.

Gong Yi's ability to become the dean of the Nine Heavens Sword Academy at such a young age is certainly not solely due to her swordsmanship.

She was naturally aware of the situation of these powerful families.

Zhou Ling didn't hide it from his wife and told her about his plan.

The first step was to arrange for He Zijian and the others to join the Xuanjun Division. With the assistance of these six people, things would be much easier.

The second step is to gradually remove those who hold real power in the Xuanjun Division, such as the Zixiao Sect and the Liu family.

Now, these two things are the first things he needs to do after joining the Xuanjun Division.

This also determines whether he can gain a foothold in the Xuanjun Division.

"Sister Yi, do you think this is feasible?"

Zhou Ling asked.

Once these two steps are completed, I will basically be able to control the Xuanjun Division.

After that, everything else became much easier to handle.

Of course, what are the specific details?
We need to take it one step at a time.

Liu Zhengsheng had served as the head of the Xuanjun Division for many years, and it was only because the Immortal Sect and the three division heads acted at the same time that he was able to succeed.

It can't be shaken at all.

Having been parachuted in like this, with no prior experience in the Xuanjun Division, how could he expect the Xuanjun Division cultivators to be convinced?

It's not that easy, of course.

As for killing the fifth-tier Star Sea aliens and the Golden-Eyed Spirit Clan, these were military merits earned during his trial.

It was not military merit earned by the Xuanjun Division.

Therefore, the cultivators of the Xuanjun Division may not be convinced.

"My husband, your arrangement is very reasonable."

"However, my suggestion is that if we could also arrange for Wu Keqing to join the Xuanjun Division, you would be able to take control of the Xuanjun Division as quickly as possible."

"After all, Elder Wu was originally an elder of the Zixiao Sect, which is enough to deter those Zixiao Sect cultivators."

Gong Yi hesitated for a moment, then spoke to Zhou Ling.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ling's eyes flashed; his wife's idea was not bad.

With Wu Shihong's cultivation level and prestige within the Zixiao Sect, he was indeed capable of intimidating those cultivators in the Zixiao Sect.

This way, I can save myself a lot of trouble.

However, considering Wu Shihong's character...

Zhou Ling shook his head and said, "When Guest Elder Wu first joined my Zhou family as a guest elder, he already stated that he would not get involved in the conflict between the Lingxiao Sect and the Zixiao Sect."

If this arrangement is made, Wu Shihong will naturally understand his intentions.

This person's temperament likely indicates that they harbor some resentment.

Moreover, with him around, it would be more troublesome if I wanted to take action against these Zixiao Sect cultivators later.

So forget it.

The initial stages may be challenging, but just be careful and cautious.

Upon hearing this, Gong Yi didn't say anything more.

Then, he shared some of his suggestions for the Xuanjun Division with Zhou Lingyan.

This surprised Zhou Ling.

I originally thought my wife focused more on her spiritual practice.

I never imagined that my wife knew far more about the planning and management of the Xuanjun Division than I did.

But it’s normal to think about it.

After all, his wife had been the dean of the Nine Heavens Sword Academy, so she must be quite capable in managing such matters.

"Now that everything is almost ready, it's time to form the Nascent Soul."

After his wife fell asleep, Zhou Ling's eyes flashed.

For breaking through the four bottlenecks of the Nascent Soul stage.

Apart from the mana barrier, I'm fairly confident about the other three barriers.

After all, he has a Five Elements Golden Core in his body, plus a Thunder Attribute Golden Core. This situation is equivalent to more than six times the difficulty for others.

One must also reach the Heavenly Grade Nascent Soul stage.

The difficulty of this is self-evident.

Fortunately, in addition to having prepared sufficient elixirs and auxiliary spiritual items, I also have my own talent to assist me.

This is also my greatest advantage.

Overall, I'm more than 50% confident.

As for the lightning tribulation, the Five Elements Sword Formation can be used to deal with it.

To avoid encountering a lightning tribulation with too great a power, which would be detrimental to future lightning tribulations.

After making a general decision, Zhou Ling planned to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck in half a month.

However, there is one more problem to solve before that.

That means the protection must be absolutely in place.

Originally, the family had set up a fifth-order early-stage magic array.

Furthermore, with a master who is a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, there is generally no risk involved.

But he had offended the Liu family.

There are cultivators at the Refinement stage and those at the late Nascent Soul stage.

It would be too dangerous if they interfered.

After all, the tribulation process is irreversible, and any interference with it will have a huge impact on oneself.

Therefore, everything that needs to be prepared must be prepared thoroughly.

"I'll discuss it with Master again tomorrow."

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

Although the Zhou family still has three Nascent Soul cultivators: Wu Shihong, Zhao Xiu, and Ji Siqing.

However, to undergo the Nascent Soul Tribulation, one must have someone absolutely trustworthy to protect one.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Wu Shihong and Zhao Xiu, but rather that he was worried about whether they would do everything in their power to stop him if the Liu family were to harm him.

Ji Siqing was fine, but as a weapon refiner, his combat strength was limited.

So we still need to see what Master means?
······.

The next day.

Zhou Ling arrived at Lingxiao Sect early in the morning to pay his respects to Fairy Ziling.

He told her that he was preparing to break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage.

"Ling'er, are you sure about this?"

Upon hearing this, Fairy Ziling glanced at Zhou Ling and said seriously.

With her discerning eye, she could see that Zhou Ling's magical power still had room for further reduction.

After all, Zhou Ling cultivates the Five Elements True Yang Technique, and breaking through the Nascent Soul bottleneck is no easy task.

We still need to be cautious enough.

"Next, I'm going to the Xuanjun Division, so I plan to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, which will also make me more respected by the people."

Zhou Ling said this.

Normally, the head of the Xuanjun Division is at the Nascent Soul stage.

He was only at the Golden Core stage, and taking office like this would easily give some ill-intentioned people an excuse to spread rumors and cause trouble in secret.

If one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, their credibility will also increase.

"Well, since we've made up our minds, let's go all out."

"You don't need to worry about protection."

"With the Thunder Dragon Seal here, even if the Liu family patriarch makes a move, I will block it for you."

"It was Zi Ling Fairy who said in a deep voice."

She was aware of Liu Zhengjia and Liu Zhengshang's actions against Zhou Ling.

Therefore, if Zhou Ling is to undergo the Nascent Soul Tribulation, he naturally needs to be prepared for the most dangerous situation.

With the Thunder Dragon Seal, she was confident that even if she couldn't defeat her opponent, she could at least hold off Zhou Ling for a while.

"Thank you Master!"

Zhou Ling nodded and said.

After leaving the Lingxiao Sect, he told his family about his plans to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck.

After arranging everything, he arrived at the summit of Ziyun Peak.

Sit quietly in meditation, suspended in the void.

Looking at everything around Ziyun Peak.

Family, parents, wife, children, and the Venerable Master Lingxiao.

These are the things he needs to protect.

He also believed that he could definitely protect it.

His expression remained calm and composed as his gaze swept over the area.

Feeling that his condition was about right, he immediately began circulating his magical power to attempt to break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage. (End of Chapter)