The cave estate deep within Nine Cloud Peak seemed like a secret realm forgotten by time.

The luminous beads of various sizes were embedded within the walls; the large ones the size of fists, the small ones like beans, arranged with a sense of rhythm. Their gentle light intertwined, flowing like water throughout the stone chamber.

The light drifted over the stone table and stools, casting mottled shadows on the floor, illuminating the area to resemble a serene and peaceful valley bathed in moonlight.

Chen Sheng sat cross-legged on a cold jade bed, which was a pure white throughout, with strands of cold air seeping from its edges, condensing into fine ice crystals around it, then quietly melting into the faint golden halo surrounding him.

The halo contracted slowly with his breathing, each breath carrying a unique rhythm that caused the surrounding air currents to form slight vortices, rustling the dense spiritual qi gathered inside the cave.

Over the past half month, the golden core aura around Chen Sheng had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Initially, it surged like a raging river, causing the spiritual qi to rush and howl around the stone chamber, hitting the walls with a buzzing sound.

But now, it had gradually settled into tranquility, akin to a deep pool without ripples, yet containing even more vast power within.

In the instant his eyes snapped open, two golden rays burst forth, piercing the air like sharp swords, leaving faint scorch marks on the opposite stone wall.

Chen Sheng's divine sense sunk into the position of his dantian, where his golden core had silently expanded from the size of a walnut to that of a goose egg.

The pill pattern circulating on the core had become more complex and intricate, like a vivid star map, emitting rich and pure spiritual power.

"The mid-stage of the Golden Core has completely stabilized!"

A faint glimmer of joy flashed in Chen Sheng's eyes. With careful perception, he immediately discovered that the mana within his dantian had surged by fifty percent compared to before his breakthrough.

He flicked his fingers lightly, and a mass of golden spiritual power danced at his fingertips, condensing into a half-inch long sword light in the air, its light sparkling and cold air striking.

Immediately, the sword light transformed at his will, sometimes into a blooming lotus, with petals layered and veins clearly visible.

At other times, it turned into a bird about to soar, its wings full, as if ready to break free and fly into the sky the next second.

"The bottleneck of the late stage, with my previous accumulation of pill formula insights, refining the realm-breaking elixir most suitable for me, supplemented by 'Qi Gathering Pill' and 'Strengthening Essence Powder', will make the breakthrough as natural as it should be."

Watching the flow of mana on his sword-like fingers, Chen Sheng's eyes brimmed with confidence: "Next, I should plan for the Nascent Soul!"

Indeed, the changes in one's thoughts are truly swift.

Chen Sheng's mind drifted back to the past when he first came to Yue Country, with the initial goal of planning to "Condense Dragon and Tiger" and the "Secret Skill of Pill Transformation."

At that time, he had even prepared himself psychologically to halt at the Fake Pill stage, merely seeking some secret techniques to lay a solid foundation for condensing the golden core in his next life.

Yet, how wondrous the world is, everything progressed incredibly smoothly beyond his expectations.

He not only smoothly joined the Three Elements Dao Sect, a Nascent Soul Grand Sect, but also successfully transformed his pill.

Looking at it now, the path of the golden core in this life is smooth, he even already has the qualification to start aiming for the Nascent Soul Realm coveted by countless cultivators.

Chen Sheng's eyes glimmered with a touch of satisfaction.

In those years when he resolutely delved into the realm-breaking domain, he spent a whole decade, day and night, studying realm-breaking elixirs in the alchemy room.

Looking back now, those years of effort indeed were a wise choice!

Those countless nights spent in front of the pill furnace, the experiences accumulated from failures, have now turned into solid cornerstones for the steady advancement of cultivation.

It is precisely these accumulations that allow him to navigate the Golden Core Stage without any hurdles.

As his thoughts flowed, Chen Sheng slowly got up and paced around.

The absence of his suppression of spiritual power on the cold jade bed sent up a wisp of white steam, which condensed into tiny water droplets in the cold air mid-air, akin to pearls scattering.

He walked to the bronze mirror at the corner of the cave, with its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting his image clearly.

The young man in the mirror had a handsome face, his eyebrows carrying a touch of steadiness forged through worldly experiences, with a faint smile gracing his lips.

Chen Sheng muttered to himself in his heart:

"With the current progress, achieving Golden Core perfection before four hundred years old is not hard."

"By then, I'll refine a few more furnaces of 'Longevity Pills', using my understanding of the Alchemy Dao to create a combination with synergistic longevity elixirs, gaining at least two hundred more years of lifespan."

"At that time, I will have at least three hundred years to plan for the Nascent Soul."

Of course, normal cultivators usually don't wait until Golden Core perfection to start planning the Nascent Soul matters, and Chen Sheng is naturally no exception.

Feeling the Golden Core path smooth, he decided to begin preparations at this moment.

His mind recalled the various challenges of Nascent Soul Formation he had seen in the sect's scriptures, prompting a slight shake of his head, acknowledging how ascending to the Nascent Soul realm is indeed as hard as ascending to the heavens.

In the Inner Sect Thirteen Veins of Three Elements Dao Sect, there are at least three hundred Golden Core cultivators, each exceptionally talented and having endured hardships to reach the Golden Core stage, yet there are only four Nascent Soul True Monarchs within the sect.

This vast disparity vividly illustrates the difficulties of Nascent Soul Formation.

Compared to those loose cultivators without any sect or faction, Chen Sheng was indeed infinitely more fortunate.

He had long utilized his inner sect privileges to gather the experience of forming a Nascent Soul from the sect's Scripture Pavilion. Those yellowing books and the predecessors' notes gave him a profound understanding of this step towards the Nascent Soul.

"The Three Tribulations of Nascent Soul: Pill Shattering, Heart Demon, and Celestial Thunder, of which the Pill Shattering step is where ninety percent of cultivators get stuck."

Chen Sheng felt a heaviness in his heart, as if he could sense the despair of those cultivators who failed at Pill Shattering.

"Without the aid of Nascent Soul-forming Spiritual Object, only cultivators with a Celestial Spirit Root, practicing a top-level cultivation technique, can barely overcome this hurdle relying on their deep foundations."

"The other two steps are not easy either. The Heart Demon is invisible and formless, adjusting according to each cultivator's experiences, almost without a fixed standard."

Chen Sheng recalled the heart demon cases recorded in the books and couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"Some people think their Dao heart is firm, yet suddenly fall at this hurdle, with the Celestial Spirit Root cultivators being the most common."

"Heavenly gifted, everything goes smoothly along the way, their Dao heart seems firm but is not truly resilient."

"After all, once their spiritual root is confirmed, it's like having a special mark on their body, actually posing a crisis that could occur anytime — becoming a vessel for a Nascent Soul cultivator to possess."

"This is nearly a nightmare for all Celestial Spirit Root cultivators and a nightmare for fortuitous cultivators like myself."

Thinking so, Chen Sheng felt even more burdened.

"The third tribulation, Celestial Thunder Tribulation, is relatively better, as it generally follows a set procedure."

"As long as the Magical Treasures and Secret Techniques for crossing the tribulation are prepared in advance, and given that cultivators who reach this stage have decent basic strength, more than sixty percent can smoothly advance to the Upper Realm."

His emotions eased slightly, but he still didn't dare to underestimate it.

"With my aptitude, Pill Shattering must be accompanied by corresponding Spiritual Objects to have a higher assurance."

"The Heart Demon Tribulation requires careful preparation, not a bit of carelessness; the final Celestial Thunder Tribulation is relatively less problematic."

Chen Sheng had a clear understanding of himself.

At the same time, resources available within his Dao Sect for forming Nascent Soul also began to emerge in his mind.

The Three Elements Dao Sect, as a thousand-year inheritance Nascent Soul Grand Sect, continuously having Nascent Soul True Monarchs throughout generations, naturally possesses abundant Nascent Soul formation resources.

"The Primordial Secret Realm and Thunder Secret Realm, both core Secret Realms, produce Nascent Soul-forming Spiritual Objects."

He outlined the detailed information of the two Secret Realms in his mind.

The Primordial Secret Realm yields the Primordial Crystal, which is the core material for refining 'Primordial Heart Demon Pill,' highly beneficial for a cultivator to pass through the Heart Demon Tribulation, as the pure energy contained within the crystal can cleanse distracting thoughts from the mind.

The Thunder Secret Realm yields Thunder Essence Liquid and Celestial Thunder Wood, the former somewhat assists with the Pill Shattering Tribulation, and the latter can attract Celestial Thunder, also benefiting the passage through the Celestial Thunder Tribulation.

These two Secret Realms nearly encompass the Spiritual Object materials needed to pass the Three Tribulations of Nascent Soul.

If cultivators from outside, desperately seeking Nascent Soul resources, were to know this, they would surely be astounded and marvel at the profound foundation of the Nascent Soul Grand Sect, indeed terrifyingly so.

Chen Sheng gently nodded, his gaze deep:

"However, the production of these Spiritual Objects is limited, and every time the Secret Realm opens, the quantity harvested is not much."

"To obtain them, it's best to become a Tier Four Grandmaster; only then could the sect lean resources towards me."

Pausing for a moment, Chen Sheng thought of something else, a few traces of longing flashed in his heart:

"The above three types of Spiritual Objects can only be considered as aids; for utmost certainty, the best choice is the Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven!"

The Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven is a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land jointly overseen by the six great, over-a-millennium-old Nascent Soul Grand Sects of Yue Country, with the Three Elements Dao Sect being one of them.

Within the Grotto Heaven, the Spiritual Qi is so dense it almost turns into liquid, strange flowers and weeds are everywhere, and exotic birds and beasts are seen everywhere.

One of them is a Creation Seven-Star Treasure Tree, said to have reached the Fifth Tier, its form towering, branches and leaves lush, with each leaf flashing starlike light.

This treasure tree bears seven Nascent Fruits every thousand years.

The Nascent Fruit is deemed the utmost Nascent Soul-forming treasure in Yue Country, significantly beneficial for all three tribulations of the Nascent Soul.

Even consuming it raw gives more than a fifty percent chance of successfully advancing to the Nascent Soul!

If used as the main material, combined with thirteen types of Tier Four Spiritual Objects, to refine a Tier Four High Grade Nascent Soul Pill, that would be needless to say.

Chen Sheng shook his head:

"However, the opening time of the Ancient Yue Grotto Heaven is not fixed, fluctuating around fifteen hundred years, sometimes less by one or two hundred years, sometimes more by a few hundred years."

"The last opening was thirteen hundred years ago; it is unknown if in this lifetime, I will have the chance to catch it."

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