Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

Consciousness sinks in, senses are stripped away.

Hu Qing and Gu Yang "felt" as if they were floating in an absolute, heart-stopping void.

It is not the darkness after closing your eyes, but the pure and profound "nothingness" that comes from losing all reference points and blurring even one's own existence.

There was no light, no sound, no touch, and not even a sense of direction.

In this seemingly eternal silence, a faint, familiar light, like the first spark in the darkness, quietly ignited.

Immediately afterwards, another point of light slowly appeared.

That was the aura emanating from their nascent souls, originating from the very source of their souls.

With the help of these two faint but firm lights reflecting and drawing each other together, the two people's consciousness gradually gathered and became clear from its scattered state.

They "saw" each other clearly—two tiny figures, about three inches tall, with warm, spiritual light flowing around them, and eyes and brows exactly like their original selves, were their nascent souls.

And their current environment...

Beneath my feet lay an endless expanse of dark sea, calm and without a single ripple.

The seawater was as thick as ink, yet it strangely supported their nascent souls, allowing them to stand firmly on it without any sign of sinking.

Beneath the surface of the water lies a deeper darkness, one that seems capable of swallowing everything.

Above them was an equally boundless dome, devoid of any light.

There are no sun, moon, or stars here, no heaven or earth, only endless water and darkness, and two tiny nascent souls emitting a faint light on the water's surface.

They could not feel the existence of their physical bodies; their consciousness was completely attached to their nascent souls, as if this was their only real form at this moment.

"Aren't we... supposed to be breaking through? Where is this?"

Hu Qing's nascent soul frowned. The voice did not come from the throat, but was a direct exchange of thoughts echoing in each other's consciousness.

He looked around, and the strange space was completely different from the scene he had imagined of introspecting his dantian and breaking through the shackles.

Gu Yang's nascent soul also shook its head blankly, responding with its own thoughts:

"I don't know, it feels weird..." He subconsciously tried to move his feet and explore his surroundings, but suddenly felt his movements become sluggish. He looked down—

Two nearly transparent chains, almost imperceptible unless one looks closely, have appeared on his nascent soul legs, which are made of pure energy!

The chains were neither gold nor iron; they were more like a manifestation of some kind of solidified light or law, tightly binding his calves and extending down into the unfathomable, dark seawater.

Just now, standing on the water's surface, the marks were only vaguely visible thanks to the reflection and swaying of the water's ripples.

Upon hearing this, Hu Qing immediately realized that he was also bound by the same restrictions.

He tried to move his nascent soul, and sure enough, his legs seemed to sink into an invisible quagmire, firmly locked in place by the two transparent chains.

The two instantly realized—these must be the last two shackles binding their nascent souls, representing the potential and laws of their legs!

However, it was different from the abstract chains that were directly connected to the nascent soul that I had seen during my internal vision before.

The fact that they are presented in such a concrete way, even bringing the two of them into this strange space, is probably... inseparable from that completely fused fragment of the sacred artifact.

"It seems that the sacred artifact has allowed us to 'see' more clearly, or rather... to experience it more 'really'," Hu Qing said in a deep voice, unsure whether this change was a blessing or a curse.

Gu Yang's nascent soul, however, showed an eager expression: "Who cares! Something that can be seen and touched is better than blindly rushing into something abstract inside my body!"

Let's see if we can break it first!

As he spoke, he bent down and reached out, trying to tear the transparent chains off his legs.

"Crash..."

He pulled hard on the chains, making a crisp and ethereal sound, as if shaking the purest crystal.

However, the chains themselves remained completely still, proving exceptionally strong.

Gu Yang added more force, even attempting to use his Nascent Soul power to break through, but the chains only trembled slightly. Their source was deeply embedded in the dark seawater beneath his feet, as if they were one with this strange space.

"Hey, it's pretty sturdy!" Gu Yang was unconvinced and wanted to try again.

Just then, Hu Qing, who had been calmly observing his surroundings, suddenly warned, "Look behind you!"

Upon hearing the sound, Gu Yang's nascent soul turned around in confusion and looked at the previously empty sea behind him.

Upon seeing this, he couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Behind them, countless large and small, irregularly shaped, pitch-black "objects" were floating on the sea!

These objects swayed gently with the slight undulations of the water's surface, densely packed, almost covering the entire sea area as far as the eye could see, stretching all the way to the edge of darkness.

Their color was similar to that of the seawater, and they were silent and unnoticed. If Hu Qing hadn't pointed it out, Gu Yang wouldn't have noticed them at all.

Hu Qing carefully controlled his Nascent Soul power and remotely summoned a black fragment about the size of a palm that was closest to him.

It feels cold and heavy to the touch, and its texture is extremely hard.

He examined the fragment, which had irregular edges and a smooth, mirror-like surface without any reflection, and tapped it hard with his finger.

"Ding!"

A crisp, melodious sound, like jade striking jade, was exceptionally clear in the silent space.

Gu Yang was startled when he heard the voice, and looked down at the almost transparent chains on his legs.

Looking again at the black fragment in Hu Qing's hand, an unbelievable thought surfaced:

"This sound...this feeling...Hu Qing, could this thing...be...a fragment of the chains we tore apart when we broke through before?"

Hu Qing carefully sensed the extremely faint yet shared aura emanating from the fragment in his hand, and slowly nodded, his voice solemn:

"It's highly likely. It seems that each time we tore apart the shackles before, those broken chains of law didn't completely dissipate."

Instead, it remained, deposited, in some form, and materialized within this space of consciousness guided by the sacred artifact.

He looked up at the boundless darkness and the endless sea: "The way to break through has become so 'concrete', unlike anything we've ever seen before."

The intervention of the sacred artifact—who knows where this final breakthrough will lead?

"Haha! Who cares where it leads!" Gu Yang's Nascent Soul laughed loudly, his eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.

"Being able to see and touch something is better than blindly straining at thin air! Whether it's good or bad, you'll only know after trying!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already bent down, gripped the transparent chain wrapped around his left leg tightly with both hands, and placed his feet firmly on the mirror-like water. He exerted force from his waist and abdomen and let out a deep shout.

Suddenly, all the strength in his body erupted, pulling violently in the opposite direction from the source of the chains!

"Squeak—!"

The chains were stretched taut with tremendous force, emitting a teeth-grinding groan, as if the metal was about to break!

Fine, spiderweb-like pale gold patterns began to appear on the surface of the transparent chain!

Seeing this, Hu Qing no longer hesitated. His eyes narrowed, and he also bent down to grab the chain on his left leg, joining Gu Yang in exerting force together!

"Hey--!"

The two shouted in unison, and their Nascent Soul bodies shone brightly!

They could clearly feel the powerful physiques that had been repeatedly and brutally forged by the old tortoise on the mountain peak.

The robust physique and immense blood and energy it brought were, in a mysterious way, fed back to the Nascent Soul!

This makes their Nascent Soul bodies possess a power far exceeding that of ordinary beings!

"Open it!!"

Gu Yang roared, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Crack... bang!!"

A crisp, clear sound, like glass shattering or metal breaking!

The transparent chains on Hu Qing and Gu Yang's left legs snapped instantly!

The broken chains turned into shimmering specks of light, drifting away. Some of them merged into the seawater below, while others seemed to be absorbed by the two people.

The moment their left leg was freed from its restraints, an indescribable sense of ease and clarity washed over them, like a clear spring flowing across parched land, instantly engulfing their nascent souls!

It was as if some innate, yet long-suppressed, agility and freedom had returned.

"Keep going! Keep it up!" Hu Qing shouted in a low voice. Without stopping, the two immediately turned their attention to the chain on the right leg.

With the experience gained the first time, coupled with the increased strength and smoother energy flow brought about by the liberation of the left leg, the two cooperated more seamlessly and their power became more concentrated.

"Drink——!!"

With another roar of all their might, the nascent souls around the two of them blazed brightly like miniature suns!

"boom!!!!"

The transparent chain on his right leg shattered in an even shorter time than before!

It transformed into more and more dazzling crystalline light spots than before, scattering and splashing in all directions. Some dissipated, while most merged into the nascent souls of the two individuals.

All restraints are gone!

In that instant, Hu Qing and Gu Yang felt their nascent souls so light that they seemed to have lost all weight, and a sense of "completeness" and "freedom" that they had never felt before came from the depths of their souls.

It was as if they had broken free from the invisible shackles they were born with, and touched upon a more real and expansive law of heaven and earth. It was a sublimation and joy originating from the very source of life.

Almost at the same moment that all the chains on her legs broke—

"Om-!!"

The entire dark space suddenly trembled!

The boundless, pitch-black dome seemed to have been torn open by an invisible giant hand, and a pure, warm, and brilliant golden holy light containing endless vitality and profound Daoist charm descended from the "sky" without warning!

The light was not dazzling, but it carried a sacred power that cleansed the soul and illuminated the source, instantly dispelling all darkness and gloom!

Bathed in this golden holy light, Hu Qing and Gu Yang's nascent souls involuntarily and slowly rose upwards, as if guided by the supreme laws, wanting to escape this strange sea surface space.

Just as their nascent souls were about to completely leave the sea and their consciousness was about to be withdrawn from this space, Gu Yang subconsciously lowered his head and took one last look at his feet.

Under the holy light, the originally pitch-black seawater became clear and transparent for a moment.

Beneath that crystal-clear water—not an endless abyss of darkness, but two bodies, eyes closed and faces serene, floated silently!

It was Hu Qing and Gu Yang's own bodies!

And the source of those countless broken chains, the end that stretched all the way to the "deep sea," was none other than wrapped around these two fleshy bodies!

The dense, layered transparent chains resembled the heaviest shackles and cocoons.

Their bodies were tightly bound and wrapped, like two husks that had been asleep for eternity, waiting to be awakened and released...

This fleeting glimpse of the scene was etched into Gu Yang's final consciousness like a brand.

Immediately, the golden light completely overwhelmed all perception.

Breakthrough, achieved.

The channel for the return of consciousness has been opened.