Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 292: Leaving

In the outskirts of the Valley of Buried Soldiers, deep within a natural stone crevice hidden by heavy Evil Qi and the remains of rusted weapons, Fang Hao sat cross-legged, his aura as steady and profound as an eternal rock.

It had been three days since he left Broken Blade Cliff. During these three days, he did not rush to leave the Valley of Buried Soldiers. Instead, he found this secret stone crevice in the relatively safe peripheral area, set up several layers of stealth Restrictions, and began to put all his effort into meditating and recovering, digesting the massive gains from his recent life-and-death struggle.

The Chaos Derivation Art circulated slowly, and pure, gray Chaos Spiritual Power flowed gurglingly through his Meridians, nourishing his Physical Body and Meridians, which had been slightly damaged by his limit-breaking Breakthrough and the great battle. Within his Dantian, the newly born Earthly Fiend Golden Flame floated quietly. With its dark-gold core and blazing white outer flame, it emitted heart-palpitating fluctuations that complemented the Chaos Spiritual Liquid, their auras blending seamlessly. Every time his spiritual power circulated through his Dantian, it would carry a trace of searing sharpness from the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame into his spiritual power, giving Fang Hao’s Chaos Spiritual Power a faint power of incineration and Law-breaking in addition to its original properties of inclusive evolution.

Fang Hao looked within himself, a slight ripple of emotion rising in his heart. This trip to Broken Blade Cliff had yielded gains far beyond his expectations. Not only was his Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing completely perfected, making his physical strength comparable to a Middle Nascent Soul Stage Body Cultivator, but he had also unexpectedly fused and refined the soldier fiend spirit fire, obtaining the incredibly powerful Earthly Fiend Golden Flame, which caused his strength to skyrocket. Currently, although he was still a Perfected Golden Core, his true combat strength was likely enough to head-on confront an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. He might even have the power to fight against a Middle Nascent Soul Stage, and at the very least, with his powerful Physical Body and Earthly Fiend Golden Flame, he should be able to escape without worry.

"Sun Family Old Ancestor..." A cold light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. Back then, he had been forced by the man’s Nascent Soul pressure to temporarily avoid his edge and travel far from home, even being forced into this dangerous Valley of Buried Soldiers. Now, if they were to face each other again, even without the help of the golden puppet, Fang Hao had the confidence to contend with him, or even... emerge victorious! After all, the Sun Family Old Ancestor was only at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, and he was old, with his vitality beginning to decline. Meanwhile, Fang Hao had a powerful Physical Body, pure spiritual power, and a lethal weapon like the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame. The outcome would still be uncertain.

However, revenge was not a matter of urgency. The top priority was to stabilize his cultivation, digest what he had gained, and make full preparations for the next step—forming his Nascent Soul.

Forming a Nascent Soul was a massive watershed on the path of immortal cultivation. Once successful, one could begin to touch the Heaven and Earth Laws, their Lifespan would skyrocket, and their Divine Ability and methods would be far beyond what the Golden Core Stage could compare to. But the difficulty of forming a Nascent Soul was harder than ascending to the blue heavens. Countless Perfected Golden Core Cultivators could never take this step in their entire lives, eventually exhausting their Lifespan and turning into yellow earth.

Fang Hao possessed Seven Spiritual Roots, which could be considered extremely poor Aptitude, making his path of cultivation a hundred times harder than others. But precisely because of this, every step he took was extremely solid, and his Foundation was far more robust than those of the same rank. For him, forming a Nascent Soul was a hurdle that must be crossed, and it was bound to be far more difficult than for an ordinary person.

"With my body of Seven Spiritual Roots, the amount of Spiritual Qi I require is immense. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and the Heart Demon Tribulation triggered during the Nascent Soul Formation will surely be several times greater than that of an ordinary Cultivator," Fang Hao frowned slightly, murmuring to himself in thought. "A single ordinary nascent soul forming pill is enough to help a normal Perfected Golden Core Cultivator increase their chances of success by thirty percent. But for me, I’m afraid... one is far from enough."

He recalled the scattered records he had seen in the Sect’s archives and the cultivation insights of some Seniors. The more varied one’s Spiritual Roots, the more accumulation and assistance were needed when forming a Nascent Soul. For someone like him with Seven Spiritual Roots, without a massive Opportunity or a mountain of resources, forming a Nascent Soul was almost hopeless. And the nascent soul forming pill was one of the most critical external aids.

"By a conservative estimate, I would need at least... seven or eight nascent soul forming pills to have a good chance," Fang Hao calculated in his heart, feeling a surge of pressure. The nascent soul forming pill was a Fourth-tier Peak Grade Medicinal Pill, incredibly precious, priceless and nearly impossible to find on the market. Even in large immortal cities or top-tier Sects, a single nascent soul forming pill was enough to cause Golden Core Cultivators to fight frantically for it. How easy would it be to get seven or eight?

"Buying them is almost impossible. Not to mention whether I could find that many, even if I did, the required Spirit Stones would be an astronomical figure." Fang Hao shook his head. Although he had some wealth, it was far from enough to buy seven or eight nascent soul forming pills.

"Then, there is only one way left..." A look of determination flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. "Refine them myself!"

As an Alchemist, this was the most direct and possibly the only path. However, refining a nascent soul forming pill was extremely difficult. First, he needed the nascent soul pill formula. Such formulas were the core Legacy of various Sects and major powers, never shared with outsiders, and impossible to buy on the market. Secondly, the primary and auxiliary ingredients for refining the pill were all rare and uncommon Heaven And Earth Treasures, making them extremely difficult to collect. Finally, refining the pill required at least Fourth-tier High Grade or even Fourth-tier Peak Grade Alchemy attainment, with an extremely low success rate and exceptionally harsh requirements for Divine Sense, spiritual power, and fire control technique.

"The formula..." Fang Hao gently tapped his knee with his finger. This was the first hurdle he faced. Perhaps he could try his luck at some large, reputable auctions? Or risk exploring certain ancient Cultivator Immortal Caves or ruins? Or... his eyes flickered as he remembered what Crimson Phoenix had mentioned back at Broken Blade Cliff regarding a Legacy or ruins related to’Soldiers’ that might exist in the depths of the Valley of Buried Soldiers. Such a place left behind by an ancient powerhouse might yield unexpected gains, including... a formula?

"This matter needs to be deliberated carefully and cannot be rushed." Fang Hao suppressed his thoughts. The immediate priority was to improve his current strength and survival capabilities. Forming a Nascent Soul was not the work of a single day; before that, he must have enough power to protect himself while gathering resources and dealing with potential risks.

With a thought, two items appeared on the ground in front of him.

One was a humanoid Puppet about seven feet tall, dark-gold in color with smooth lines, but covered in fine cracks and with a hideous large hole in its chest—it was the heavily damaged ’golden puppet’.

The other was a palm-sized, ancient-looking, streamlined boat with a dim silvery light—the flying Magical Artifact ’silver light shuttle’.

The golden puppet possessed Middle Nascent Soul Stage combat power and was one of his strongest trump cards. Unfortunately, it was heavily damaged after the battle with the Sun Family Old Ancestor, with its core drive Formation cracked, making it almost scrap. If it could be repaired, it would undoubtedly be a powerful aid.

The silver light shuttle was extremely fast and had decent stealth and defensive capabilities, making it an excellent Magic Treasure for traveling and escaping. However, it had also suffered some wear and tear during previous use and combat, and its drive core seemed quite unique. With his current cultivation and Artifact Refining attainment, it was difficult to fully repair, and he could only perform simple maintenance to utilize part of its power.

"Now that my cultivation has improved and the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame is complete, perhaps I can try to repair the golden puppet." Fang Hao’s gaze fell on the golden puppet. His current Artifact Refining level was no longer the man he once was, especially after obtaining the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame. This fire combined the stable heat of the Earth Core Flame Fire with the sharp Law-breaking of the soldier fiend spirit fire, giving him a unique advantage in melting Materials and engraving Formation runes. Although repairing the core drive Formation of the golden puppet was complex, it might be worth a try. Even if he couldn’t fully restore its Middle Nascent Soul Stage combat power, being able to reach an Early Nascent Soul Stage level would be a massive help.

"As for the silver light shuttle..." Fang Hao picked up the small silver boat and sent his Divine Sense inside to carefully sense it. The ingenuity of its internal structure and the complexity of its Formations far exceeded his current understanding. "This item does not seem to be made with common Artifact Refining techniques of this world; it’s more like an ancient relic. With my current abilities, it won’t be easy to fully repair, but simple maintenance to improve some of its speed and stealth capabilities should be feasible. I’ll wait until my cultivation improves or I find a more advanced Artifact Refining Legacy before making further plans."

He was now a Perfected Golden Core and in a dangerous place like the Valley of Buried Soldiers, so a good flying Magical Artifact could save his life at a critical moment.

"Repair the golden puppet, maintain the silver light shuttle, then leave the Valley of Buried Soldiers and head to the nearest Cultivator gathering place to look for news about the nascent soul pill formula and its main ingredients, while also collecting other Materials needed to repair the golden puppet and refine the nascent soul forming pill." Fang Hao quickly organized his thoughts. "As for the Sun Family... I’ll put that aside for now. If they don’t come to provoke me again, so be it, but if they still don’t know any better..." A cold light flashed in his eyes, and the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame flickered at his fingertip, making the air instantly several degrees hotter.

"The priority now is to leave this place first." Fang Hao put away the golden puppet and the silver light shuttle and stood up. His aura was now completely restrained, and the fluctuations of the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame were hidden within his body. At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary Perfected Golden Core Cultivator, though his eyes were deeper and his temperament more composed.

With a wave of his hand, he removed the surrounding stealth Restrictions. His figure blurred, and like a phantom, he slipped out of the stone crevice, identified his direction, and sped toward the exit of the Valley of Buried Soldiers.

The Valley of Buried Soldiers remained gray, silent, and filled with Evil Qi. But this time, as Fang Hao walked through it, he was much more composed than when he arrived. His powerful Physical Body was enough to resist most of the Evil Qi erosion. Occasionally, some blind Malevolent Souls or low-level Soldier Souls would harass him, but he didn’t even need to use the Earthly Fiend Golden Flame; with just his physical strength, he could disperse them with a single punch or kick.

The return journey was without further incident.

A few days later, Fang Hao’s figure appeared in a relatively safe barren ridge on the outskirts of the Valley of Buried Soldiers. He looked back at the massive valley shrouded in gray-black Evil Qi, a trace of emotion flashing in his eyes. This trip to the Valley of Buried Soldiers had been a narrow escape, but the gains were immense, and his strength had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

"It’s time to see what the outside world has to offer." Fang Hao murmured to himself, casting his gaze into the distance, where the outline of a majestic giant city was vaguely visible. It was Tiangong City, the nearest and largest Cultivator gathering place within a million-mile radius. It was said that this city had a long history, and the hundred arts such as Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and Formations flourished there. Perhaps he could find what he needed in that place.

He no longer hesitated and took out the dim silver light shuttle, inputting spiritual power. The small boat flashed with silver light and instantly grew to about ten feet long. Fang Hao stepped inside, and the silver light shuttle turned into a dim silver streak, piercing through the air and quickly disappearing into the vast horizon.

A new journey was about to begin. And this time, he would face all challenges with greater strength, pursuing that Nascent Soul Great Dao.