Chapter 1702: Breakthrough

Two years later.

The avatar sensed the cave mansion's restrictions being triggered, woke from meditation, and welcomed Saint Huiguang and Azure Fox Saint King into the chamber.

During this period, Azure Fox Saint King had traveled to Jingkong Island in the East Sea to relocate the ancient Spirit Gathering Array and collected the spiritual herbs and materials the avatar requested from the demon race. He had only just returned.

"Thump! Thump! Thump..."The ground vibrated. Several streaks of light shot from Azure Fox Saint King's fingertips, landing on the ground and transforming into four three-zhang-tall sculptures. They were statues of the Four Sacred Beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

"The Four Sacred Beast statues are part of the Spirit Gathering Array. I also call it the Four Sacred Spirit Gathering Array. This is the core formation plate." Azure Fox Saint King flicked his hand again, and an octagonal formation plate flew towards the avatar.

The formation plate shimmered with silver light and was only the size of a normal compass. The avatar reached out to receive it, feeling a significant weight, unsure of its material. The plate had many patterns, but they were not regular runes; instead, they were dense cracks, truly a miserable sight. Even though Azure Fox Saint King had warned him, seeing the plate's condition, the avatar instinctively lightened his grip by a third, fearing he might damage it. Looking at the Four Sacred Beast statues, they were only slightly better than the plate. He couldn't help but look at Azure Fox Saint King with suspicion.

Azure Fox Saint King said languidly, "You've cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage, so you can't be completely ignorant of array formations. You'll know once you try that I wasn't exaggerating; it's more than enough to support your cultivation. Of course, if you can truly comprehend the complete Four Sacred Spirit Gathering Array from these artifacts, that would be a fortune even I would envy."

The avatar could sense the mockery in his tone. It seemed Azure Fox Saint King was confident that he wouldn't be able to comprehend the true Spirit Gathering Array. If it were that easy, it wouldn't be so valuable.

"Please wait a moment, both of you..." The avatar stood up and gestured. The four sacred statues shrank, landed in his palm, and he carried them into the inner chamber.

Inside the inner chamber, the avatar, following Azure Fox Saint King's instructions, set up the four sacred statues and the formation plate, aligning them precisely with the positions of the Four Sacred Beasts. Additionally, there was the Myriad Miles Azure Nether Array brought by Saint Huiguang. The Sweet Dew Zen Temple had fully cooperated, having long ago refined all the necessary artifacts for the Myriad Miles Azure Nether Array. Both arrays were set up in the avatar's cave mansion.

As soon as the Four Sacred Spirit Gathering Array was complete, the four sacred statues vanished simultaneously. Then, patterns of the Four Sacred Beasts appeared at the four cardinal points of the formation plate, their heads all facing the center of the plate, mouths slightly agape, as if inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy towards the array's core. The avatar felt the spiritual energy within the cave mansion suddenly surge. Spiritual energy from all directions converged above the Spirit Gathering Array, as if an invisible vortex existed there. In all his cultivation up to this point, apart from legends related to a few immortal palaces, this array was the most powerful Spirit Gathering Array Qin Sang had ever witnessed!

Stepping into the array, the avatar silently circulated a minor circulation cycle. He immediately felt refreshed, and cultivation was easier than before. If he hadn't been constrained by a bottleneck, the sensation would have been even better. Azure Fox Saint King's previous description was not an exaggeration. With this assistance, the main body would undoubtedly be like a tiger with wings.

"The Four Sacred Beast statues... the main body possesses the Southern Brightness Departing Flame. Could it use this to probe the secrets of this array?" The avatar's thoughts stirred as he looked at the Vermilion Bird pattern beside him. Unfortunately, he didn't sense any familiar aura from it. The presence of Four Sacred Beast statues might not truly be related to the actual Four Sacred Beasts; it could also be a diversion used by the array master.

Next, the avatar set up the Myriad Miles Azure Nether Array, forming hand seals and striking the spiritual array. A sudden gust of wind arose. A wisp of azure spiritual wind emerged from the array, circled briefly in front of the avatar, and then shot straight upwards, abruptly dissipating without a trace as it touched the cave mansion's ceiling.

At the same time, Qin Sang's main body in Lu Ye heard a series of crisp bell chimes. Beside his cave mansion, a formation of a dozen fist-sized azure bells had been set up to communicate with the Myriad Miles Azure Nether Array. The cost of refining these azure bells was far lower than the main body of the Myriad Miles Azure Nether Array. The ringing indicated that the avatar had achieved a result. Qin Sang's spirits lifted. He cast a spell, and the bell chimes became more rapid. A wisp of azure spiritual wind gathered within the bell array, vaguely forming a human-like silhouette.

Three days later.

The avatar emerged from the inner chamber. Saint Huiguang and Azure Fox Saint King were still waiting outside, showing no impatience.

The avatar took out two recently inscribed jade slips. "These contain the recipe for the Spirit-Suppressing Incense and the alchemical legacy of the Formless Immortal Sect. I have already arranged for personnel to deliver the Myriad Spirit Fruit and other spiritual herbs within a few days..."

Azure Fox Saint King took the jade slips, left the spiritual herbs and materials the avatar needed, stood up, and departed, simply stating, "I will verify these later."

"Amitabha, how wonderful! It is truly fortunate for both races, and for all sentient beings, that the two benefactors have turned conflict into harmony!" Saint Huiguang's face was filled with relief as he stood up. "This humble monk shall not disturb your quiet cultivation."

"As you wish, venerable monk."

After seeing off the two God Transformation stage cultivators, the avatar returned to his cave mansion. He put away the various treasures, sat cross-legged, and brought his palms together. A chilling malevolent qi flowed from his palms, gathering into a white mist between them. The chill was confined to a small area, not escaping in the slightest. The avatar was doing this to comprehend the chilling malevolent qi, aiming to break through his late Nascent Soul bottleneck!

At this time, the "Heavenly Demon Mirroring Scripture" was transmitted to the main body via the Myriad Miles Azure Nether Array. Physical items like the Four Sacred Spirit Gathering Array were temporarily inconvenient to send back and would await a suitable opportunity.

Lu Ye.

Qin Sang's main body sat with hands folded on his lap, holding a jade slip containing the complete "Heavenly Demon Mirroring Scripture." He had read this scripture dozens of times and was now contemplating it word by word.

Compared to several God Transformation-level Daoist arts like the "Hundredfold Yin Thunder," this scripture was not overly complex. Even though Qin Sang had not reached that realm, he could still understand its crucial points.

The crucial and most perilous aspect of this scripture was the active setting up of an altar and casting spells to voluntarily draw close to Heavenly Demons, seeking to draw a Heavenly Demon into the body. Of course, it wasn't the Heavenly Demon's true form, but a wisp of Heavenly Demon's demonic nature, also known as demonic intent. From the text, Qin Sang couldn't determine the scripture's origin, but he felt it was more like a demonic sect's evil art, bearing similarities to those demonic arts that caused one's emotions to become disordered and desires to run rampant.

Even drawing in just a wisp of demonic intent placed extremely high demands on the cultivator. First, one's mind and nature had to be firm enough, otherwise, the Heavenly Demon's demonic intent would stir up inner demons. Second, one's divine sense had to be strong enough to complete the full ritual of casting the spell. This was even more important than one's nature, as the ritual consumed an enormous amount. At the end of the ritual, after drawing in the Heavenly Demon's demonic intent, one had to immediately sever the connection. The slightest hesitation would truly attract the Heavenly Demon's attention, leading to eternal damnation. After the ritual was completed, the cultivator would constantly be accompanied by the demonic intent, using it to temper themselves, but also constantly risking being consumed by it. According to the scripture's requirements, one needed at least a God Transformation-level divine sense; spiritual cultivators were even better suited. For someone like him, who at the Nascent Soul stage had encountered various opportunities to elevate his divine sense to the God Transformation level, extreme caution was required.

Possessing the Jade Buddha, Qin Sang's pressure was much lower. He still remembered that in the Seven Kills Hall, the Demon Lord's secret technique that assaulted the soul had instantly severely injured everyone, yet it was easily blocked by the Jade Buddha. However, Qin Sang had no way to compare the strength of an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon with that of the Demon Lord. Moreover, this scripture was obtained from a demon fox who held ill will towards him, so even greater caution was necessary.

Time passed unnoticed in the cave mansion. Qin Sang couldn't recall how many times he had contemplated the scripture, but he was certain that Azure Fox Saint King hadn't tampered with it. Every sentence was concise and to the point, and its subtleties were no less impressive than scriptures from immortal palaces. Adding, subtracting, or altering a single sentence would feel out of place, indicating that the creator of this scripture was no ordinary person. Caution was still necessary, though. The Jade Buddha could only protect his soul, and no one knew if Outer Realm Heavenly Demons possessed any other bizarre and mysterious methods besides triggering inner demons to kill. Setting up the altar and casting the spell needed to be done after refining the source of the demonic flame. Furthermore, he had to wait for the avatar to return and prepare a backup plan.

If it were anyone else, any error during the spellcasting would leave them utterly defenseless, instantly sprouting inner demons with no hope of survival. Qin Sang was different. The Jade Buddha ensured his spiritual mind remained clear, so no matter how powerful the Heavenly Demon, he should be able to gain enough time to react. In the event of an insurmountable problem, he could immediately have the avatar replace his main body, then sever the connection with the external avatar, sacrificing a pawn to save the king.

Qin Sang wasn't entirely confident whether using an external Heavenly Demon to condense the demonic seal instead of an inner demon would succeed. However, recalling Senior Sister Qing Jun's description of the "Lifeless Demonic Seal," it was worth a try. It was just like what Qin Sang was doing now. Failure meant sacrificing an avatar. Success meant gaining a God Transformation-level secret art. Since Outer Realm Heavenly Demons could bewitch Void Refinement cultivators, forming a seal with Heavenly Demon demonic intent should be more potent than with inner demons.

His goal remained unchanged: to break through his cultivation realm was the primary objective, for which he would stop at nothing, even if it meant sacrificing an external avatar.

Daoist Qingfeng's appearance at Sweet Dew Zen Temple did not keep the commotion going for long. The cultivation world's attention was soon drawn to other matters.

What people talked about most enthusiastically was the joint effort by the human and demon races, led by two God Transformation cultivators, gathering experts from all sides to set up defenses in the storm belts in the northern, eastern, and southern directions of Middle State, preparing to hunt fierce beasts. The western part of Middle State was a land of widespread lava and raging flames, where the probability of fierce beasts appearing was low.

To this day, news of fierce beasts causing trouble was widely circulated in the cultivation world, and many Core Formation cultivators were aware of it. After the initial widespread panic, people's moods gradually settled, as reports of fierce beasts became increasingly rare. Unlike before, they no longer appeared in groups, and it had been decades since a fierce beast last passed through Middle State. After so many years, besides the fierce beasts appearing from unknown places, there were no other changes, and the barrier resisting the storms showed no signs of fading. Only those privy to the inner workings worried about changes in the fierce beast lairs affecting the path to ascension. This was why the two races' God Transformation cultivators called out, and cultivators gathered in response. The human and demon races, and their various sects, united in a rare display of solidarity, dispatching top experts to patrol the storm belts in shifts, immediately reporting any appearance of fierce beasts.

Thus, fifteen years passed in a flash.

Sweet Dew Zen Temple.

Inside the avatar's cave mansion, constant 'crackling' sounds echoed. If anyone were to enter the cave mansion at this moment, they would be greatly astonished. The interior was bitingly cold, transformed into an ice cave, with thick ice stalactites condensed on the walls. A white, chilling mist constantly flowed through the cave mansion. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator, if careless for a moment, would be harmed by the cold. The chilling mist continuously enveloped a sitting figure—the avatar. The avatar's entire body was covered in a layer of white frost, as if frozen solid. With each breath, he seemed to inhale and exhale the surrounding cold, which grew increasingly dense as time passed. The entire cave mansion was a vast expanse of white.

Suddenly, the chilling mist stopped flowing. Time within the cave mansion seemed to stand still with it. After a hundred breaths, the extreme stillness transitioned to extreme motion. The chilling mist visibly condensed into several streams, frantically pulling inwards, finally converging at the avatar's crown and pouring into his body!

"Boom!" The avatar's body shook violently, with a thunderous roar echoing within him.

On the other side of the mountain, a venerable monk in a cave mansion suddenly opened his eyes. He flickered onto the mountain peak, looking towards the avatar's cave mansion, his fingers rapidly twirling prayer beads. Suddenly, a long howl was heard, and the spiritual energy in the mountain seemed drawn by some force, furiously converging towards the avatar's cave mansion. The mountain peak vibrated in response. The extraordinary phenomena lingered for a long time before dissipating.

Not long after, light and shadow flickered before the monk, revealing a person—it was the avatar. However, the avatar's aura had drastically changed; he was now in the late Nascent Soul stage!

"I apologize for disturbing your quiet cultivation, venerable monk." The avatar bowed.

"Wonderful! Congratulations, Daoist, on comprehending the profound mystery!" The monk clasped his palms in return.

The avatar smiled. He hadn't expected it to be so smooth; his external avatar had succeeded in its first attempt to break through. It seemed the main body's insights also benefited the avatar.

Unlike Qin Sang's previous practice, the avatar did not remain in seclusion after his breakthrough. He stabilized his cultivation and then made a high-profile appearance. News of Daoist Qingfeng's breakthrough to the late Nascent Soul stage quickly spread throughout the cultivation world. Everyone said that God Transformation was within reach for him, lamenting that he had been drawn over to the Buddhist sect.

As Daoist Qingfeng was residing at Sweet Dew Zen Temple, he was difficult for most people to meet, making the Xie family and Loft View even more sought after.

When someone in a sect broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage, a celebration was mandatory in the North Sea, but optional in Middle State. When Master Xingji came to congratulate him, perhaps as a courtesy, he mentioned it. Unexpectedly, the avatar agreed without hesitation, allowing Sweet Dew Zen Temple to host it on his behalf. This created a unique sight in the cultivation world; never before had a celebration been heard of being held at another sect's mountain gate.

At the celebration, esteemed guests filled the seats. Sweet Dew Zen Temple had managed everything perfectly. Xie An and others busily ran around, seemingly overwhelmed but each beaming with pride.

At the celebration, Situ Yu, the Sect Master of Unspoken Mountain, personally delivered congratulations and mentioned that Lu Zhang had completed his cultivation and was attempting a breakthrough. The avatar naturally offered his congratulations. Furthermore, the new Abbey Master of Eight Sceneries Temple, True Person Hegao, came to offer his felicitations. The avatar also met Sect Master Yu of the renowned Sky Sovereign Tower, as well as high-ranking officials from top sects like Dragon Dwelling Grotto-Heaven and Jade Shadow Gate, effectively meeting heroes from all corners of the world.

Sweet Dew Zen Temple seemed to have made a good deal; they had other arrangements. After a brief greeting with the avatar, these people all went to visit Saint Huiguang, discussing who knows what.

It's worth mentioning that the avatar encountered the Poison King again at the celebration. As expected, the Poison King brought up the matter of the Gu King once more. The avatar tried to extract the Gu King's origin from the Poison King but to no avail. He stated directly, "Fellow Daoist should understand my situation. Even if I wished to trade, I dare not show myself. Once my cultivation is successful, I will personally visit."

After the breakthrough, Qin Sang was not in a hurry to further elevate the avatar's cultivation. The avatar did not continue with closed-door cultivation. Instead, he studied the Four-Directional Teng Snake Seal while perusing the scriptures and ancient texts in Sweet Dew Zen Temple's scripture repository, gaining significant insights. Additionally, the avatar began to study the alchemical legacy of the Formless Immortal Sect.

The God Transformation cultivators of both races, to refine the Spirit-Suppressing Incense, gathered human alchemy grandmasters to analyze the formula. Upon learning this, the avatar contacted several of them. These individuals kept silent about the Spirit-Suppressing Incense but were willing to give him face, offering generous guidance. They were also invited by the avatar to refine the spiritual elixirs needed for the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.

Six more years passed.

Inside Lu Ye, the Mani Pearl floated before the main body. The flames around the Ruyi Treasure Pearl had turned red again, interspersed with several black threads.

(End of Chapter)