Free Web NovelChapter 162: Chapter 154: It Seems Someone Is Forming a Nascent Soul Again!
One of them... failed already?!
He shot to his feet and strode over to the stone rack where the life tablets were enshrined, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the row of newly added tablets.
However, to his growing shock and anger, not a single one of the twelve tablets representing the new undercover disciples was shattered. All of them were stable, their spiritual light intact and unharmed!
The person didn’t die, but the mirror shattered?!
"Useless!"
Daoist Xuanyuan let out a low growl and slammed his palm against the stone wall beside him, shaking loose a cloud of dust.
How utterly incompetent!
If they can’t even handle a simple task like this, how can they even speak of repaying the sect’s grace?!
...
Meanwhile, at the Guixi Sect.
Lin Qingfeng, however, waved his hand dismissively.
"Junior Sister, your obsession with formalities is going to be the death of us!"
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust! We cultivators should see beyond life and death. We shouldn’t be hung up on formalities. A Nascent Soul has passed on, so they’ve passed on. Be a little more carefree about it!"
Su Ling’er: "????
’On what grounds?!’
’Why is it that when a mighty Nascent Soul expert dies, we "shouldn’t be hung up on formalities," but when I, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, faked my death, I had to be paraded through the streets for my own burial?!’
’This is unfair!’
’My fate is my own to decide, not the heavens’! I must resist!’
She blurted out, "B-but... my funeral before wasn’t... "
Lin Qingfeng immediately cut her off, saying with a perfectly straight face, "How can that be the same? Can it be the same? It’s not the same!"
He puffed out his chest and looked at her with an expression of regret.
"You are the Holy Daughter of our Guixi Sect! How noble is your status?"
"Your funeral, wouldn’t it have to be a grand affair? Done in the most lavish style?"
"Since you’re so insistent on the formalities of a funeral, then I, your Senior Brother, understand!"
"Don’t worry, next time—I’ll prepare an even grander spectacle for you next time! I guarantee your send-off will be even more magnificent than the last!"
Su Ling’er’s vision went dark as she listened.
"S-Senior Brother... I... I’m still alive... How... how can there be a next time?"
"You’re alive now,"
Lin Qingfeng replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,
"but that doesn’t mean you’ll still be alive later! Maybe you’ll get used to it after a few more funerals!"
"Don’t be afraid, you’ll get used to it!"
Su Ling’er: "..."
’Get used to it... Get used to my ass!’
’Who gets used to their own funeral?!’
’You’re just cursing me to die, aren’t you?!’
’You’re definitely cursing me to die, aren’t you?!’
’Demon lord! Vile ghost! I’ll fight you to the death, AHHH!’
Su Ling’er was roaring madly in her heart, wishing she could draw her sword right then and there. On the surface, however, she could only force a stiff smile and silently acquiesce to her Senior Brother’s "arrangements."
Lin Qingfeng nodded in satisfaction, gave her a few more instructions to "lead the junior brothers and get to work," and habitually added the closing line that made her scalp tingle:
"Remember! I, your Senior Brother, will always be watching you!"
With that, he started humming a tuneless little song and sauntered away.
For some reason, however, Su Ling’er was left with a strange, nagging feeling.
’That being who was attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul realm... was it really not Senior Brother?’
...
That night, everyone returned to their own rooms.
In his thatched hut, by the faint moonlight, Disciple C once again took out the fragment of the [Lingxi Inquiry Profound Mirror] from the deepest recesses of his robes.
He had to seize this golden opportunity—with the demonic sect’s leadership in turmoil and a mighty Nascent Soul expert having just perished—to send the intelligence back!
[A Thought to Inquire the Profound] was activated once more.
...
Inside the thatched hut, Disciple C focused his mind and spirit, pouring all his energy into the fragment of the [Lingxi Inquiry Profound Mirror].
This time, he was full of confidence.
An unknown mighty expert from the demonic sect had just fallen, and even that terrifying Senior Brother had personally confirmed it.
Although he had said something about "ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Disciple C refused to believe there wouldn’t be any internal turmoil within the sect!
Even if the sect tried its best to maintain stability, the people’s hearts would surely be unsettled, and their defenses would inevitably slacken. This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
’It’s impossible to be as unlucky as Disciple B. How could it be such a coincidence that someone would be undergoing a tribulation at the exact moment I try to send a message?’
This time, it would definitely succeed!
He could already envision his glorious future: achieving great success and reaching the pinnacle of his life.
A wonderful picture was slowly unfurling in his mind:
He, along with the other eleven disciples, would return to Qingxu Temple in glory, personally escorted by Sect Leader Xuanyuan.
The moment they arrived at the mountain gate, the Sect Leader would be there with all the Inner and Outer Sect disciples lined up to welcome them, gazing at him with a benevolent and gratified look.
"Disciple C!" the Sect Leader’s voice was sonorous and majestic.
"You have rendered a peerless service! You provided crucial intelligence to help our righteous path eradicate a great future threat!"
As the one with the greatest merit in this mission, he would be announced on the spot to be promoted to a Direct Disciple of the Sect Leader, breaking all precedent!
The others, meanwhile, would be promoted to Inner Sect Disciples.
Immediately after, the Sect Leader would personally perform a Marrow Washing for him, and even find a legendary "Dao Spirit Root" from some unknown place to implant into his body!
Although this Spirit Root had a limit, preventing one from breaking through to the Divinity Transformation stage, for someone with a Pseudo Spirit Root like him, this was already a heaven-defying, fate-changing stroke of immense fortune!
From then on, he would have any pill he desired, any magical treasure he wanted!
All of Qingxu Temple’s resources would be his for the taking. He would only need to cultivate peacefully in his scenic cave abode every day, truly living the aristocratic life of a cultivator, where everything was handed to him on a silver platter!
Ultimately, with the full support of Qingxu Temple, he would achieve Core Formation in a hundred years and form his Nascent Soul in five hundred, leaving behind his own immortal legend in the entire Cultivation Realm...
He was so immersed in this beautiful daydream that the corners of his mouth were nearly splitting his ears.
However, just at the final moment before his divine sense finished imprinting the message—
"BOOM—!!!!"
Another wave of Spiritual Qi fluctuations swept across the entire wasteland!
The intensity of this Spiritual Qi was... almost identical to the one during the day!
Disciple C’s beautiful daydream, along with his nearly successful [A Thought to Inquire the Profound], was instantly shattered to pieces by this sudden impact!
"PUH—!"
His vision went black, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out another mouthful of blood, collapsing listlessly to the ground.
Failed again.
Su Ling’er was also shaken by the impact, rolling right off her bed. She was completely dumbfounded.
Again...? It’s happening again?!
She scrambled out of her small bamboo house in a disheveled state, only to see the other undercover disciples on the wasteland also rushing out one by one, their hair like birds’ nests and their eyes drowsy, their faces filled with shock and confusion.
"What the hell is going on?! Are they even gonna let people sleep?!"
"What’s happening! Why is someone else forming a Nascent Soul?!"
"Does this Guixi Sect mass-produce Nascent Souls or something?!"
"You can’t be serious."
"Again?!"
Everyone stared at the sky, a mixture of shock and doubt on their faces.
They saw another pillar of Spiritual Qi light soaring into the heavens, identical to the last!
A similar world-shaking phenomenon.
Similar precursors to "Nascent Soul formation."
In that cluster of thatched huts were Disciple C, struggling to maintain his technique to prevent his cultivation from deviating, and in another hut, Disciple D, who had just taken out his own mirror fragment, also preparing to secretly send a report.
But unlike Disciple C, Disciple D hadn’t yet had time to begin [A Thought to Inquire the Profound].
He looked at the undamaged mirror fragment in his hand, then at the soaring pillar of Spiritual Qi, and felt a secret sense of relief.
’Thank goodness I was half a beat too slow,’ he thought, ’or I would have wasted this precious opportunity for nothing.’
’After this, there can’t possibly be another person undergoing a tribulation, right?’
’That will be my chance!’
...
[Real World]
[News Archive]
Arcadia, the renowned game studio from the Deqili Continent, has announced that its highly anticipated holographic fantasy game, "Avalon Online," will soon begin its global open beta.
Unlike "Ashen Heaven’s" Eastern fantasy and "Cyber Odyssey’s" futuristic sci-fi, "Avalon Online" focuses on high-freedom Western fantasy adventure.
Its producer has publicly stated that the game will adopt a "policy of maximum openness" and will not impose any "unnecessary" restrictions on the user’s playstyle. This statement has been interpreted by the market as an indirect response to the Ashen Heaven Group’s "CHI System."
