Chapter 117: A Lingering Obsession, Enlightenment and Core Formation
“West?” Luo Xue looked westward, her expression turning serious. “But west is almost the opposite direction of the nameless swamp…”
“Not the nameless swamp, not Mount Fengyin…”
Nangong Mengxiang murmured with her eyes half-closed, her voice extremely weak, each word seeming to drain her energy.
“Nangong, tell me, what’s in the west?”
Luo Xue looked westward, a faint sense of familiarity, but she couldn’t place it.
“I… I don’t remember clearly. After I knew you were Little Martial Aunt, I felt like there was something I had to tell you, but I couldn’t remember.”
Nangong Mengxiang shook her head in confusion and whispered,
“Until just now… I fell asleep… I dreamed of Master, and I remembered. Master said before, if I found that successor, I should take her west…”
“…Okay.”
After a moment of silence, Luo Xue nodded.
She continued carrying Nangong Mengxiang and looked back.
The scrambling cultivators were still fighting, but because of the “do not harm” clause on the wanted notice, they didn’t dare to get too close to Luo Xue, afraid of injuring her.
After all, Luo Xue was a walking treasure trove.
Luo Xue exhaled, changed direction, and headed west.
Nangong Mengxiang leaned against Luo Xue’s back, her warm breath against Luo Xue’s face, a faint smile on her lips.
“Little Martial Aunt…”
“Yes.”
“Tell me, Little Martial Aunt, don’t lie to me… Is Master… already dead?”
“…Yes.”
“Were… you planning to tell me after we reached Mount Fengyin…”
“Yes…”
“Can you tell me about Master? I think you should know a lot…”
Nangong Mengxiang murmured softly, struggling to keep her eyes open.
“Tell me more, I think I’m about to fall asleep…”
She had faced a mid-stage Core Formation sword cultivator head-on. For a cultivator of the same level to take a direct hit, even if their soul wasn’t scattered, their spirit would be annihilated.
Being severely injured and near death was already her limit.
“…Okay.”
Luo Xue nodded without hesitation.
She told Nangong Mengxiang everything about the Mount Fengyin conspiracy, except for Su Yiyao’s existence.
This was the first time she had told anyone about these things.
To Luo Xue’s surprise, when Nangong Mengxiang learned that True Person Fengyin’s remains had been refined into a Gu Seed by a Foundation Establishment evil cultivator after her death, she was surprisingly calm.
But when she learned that Master’s soul had reappeared and helped Luo Xue kill that evil cultivator, she started to cry, as if she had experienced it herself.
Nangong Mengxiang didn’t ask how Luo Xue escaped after the Mount Fengyin incident, nor did she ask how she survived in the Yin Breath Poison.
She just muttered inaudible words, her spirit gradually calming down.
Then, Luo Xue noticed that Nangong Mengxiang’s body was slightly warm. After a moment of shock, she realized that Nangong Mengxiang’s aura was rapidly transforming.
“Enlightenment and Core Formation!”
Luo Xue’s pupils constricted, almost exclaiming.
Core Formation was the merging of the spiritual sea and the spiritual aperture, condensing a small world within one’s body.
Generally, the grade of the Core Formation determined the strength of the small world, the cultivator’s combat power, and their future potential.
Human, Earth, and Heaven were the three grades of Core Formation, condensed from ordinary spirit vein energy, deep earth vein energy, and heavenly vein energy, respectively.
Almost all Nascent Soul cultivators had at least an Earth Core. Human Core cultivators could only reach Nascent Soul with great fortune, and even then, they were considered weaker.
Although the Earth Core was the second choice for prodigies, it was still very precious, and not everyone could control deep earth vein energy.
Usually, only those from major sects had this opportunity, and only true prodigies could successfully form an Earth Core.
As for heavenly vein energy, it was even rarer, found only in ancient secret realms or immortal tombs.
The upcoming Heavenly Cluster Sword Tomb was an immortal tomb, rumored to be the burial place of a Sword Immortal above the Ascension Realm.
But… besides the three grades of Core Formation, there was another, more mysterious method: Enlightenment Core Formation.
Enlightenment Core Formation was extremely rare, so rare that even the Peerless Summit Sect only had a few records of it.
If Luo Xue hadn’t searched through most of the sect’s records, she wouldn’t have known about it.
According to the records, Enlightenment Core Formation involved comprehending the laws of heaven and earth, which only Nascent Soul cultivators could normally touch, before Core Formation, and using this comprehension to condense a small world and form a core.
As for whether it was stronger or weaker than a Heaven Core, there weren’t enough records to tell.
However, Nangong Mengxiang had simply let go of her centuries-old obsession and naturally formed her core through enlightenment.
This could only mean that Nangong Mengxiang had already met the requirements for Enlightenment Core Formation long ago, but a lingering obsession had kept her at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Knowing that Nangong Mengxiang was fine, Luo Xue was relieved.
She composed herself, looked westward again, and frowned slightly.
“Keep going west…”
“What exactly is in the west?”
…
The Zither Witch looked at Luo Xue changing direction, heading towards an unexpected location, with slight shock.
“Why would she go that way… Does she know something?”
After analyzing Luo Xue’s previous movements, all parties, including the Zither Witch, knew that her destination should be the nameless swamp.
The Zither Witch even knew more than the others.
Because she knew Nangong Mengxiang’s identity as True Person Fengyin’s disciple, and she also knew Luo Xue’s true purpose was likely to search for True Person Fengyin’s remains in the nameless swamp.
If so, her identity was almost certain.
Luo Xue was the person True Person Fengyin had been searching for.
But now… she had unexpectedly changed direction.
As if she had suddenly learned something.
But who told her?
Nangong Mengxiang?
No, that was unlikely…
The Zither Witch sighed softly, hesitating whether to reveal herself or report to the Holy Master first.
She looked at Luo Xue’s receding figure, her gaze extending into the distance.
A boundless blood sea churned, devouring everything, as if nothing could escape, only fear remained.
…Except for the Holy Maiden.
Luo Xue’s destination seemed to be the depths of this blood sea.
The place where the Holy Maiden had appeared.
“Perhaps… I now understand why the Holy Master agreed to bring her back.” The Zither Witch’s expression turned serious. “Holy Maiden, just how many things… haven’t you told anyone…”
After a moment of hesitation, she sent this information to Su Yiyao, but quickly cut off the communication, preventing Su Yiyao from asking any questions.
Then, the Zither Witch left, no longer paying attention to Luo Xue.
…
Outside the capital city of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, a beautiful young woman hurried towards the ruins of the Evil Spirit Sect. It was a new puppet Li Guijiao had hastily made.
After all her previous puppets were destroyed in the final battle at the Evil Spirit Sect, Li Guijiao immediately used some inferior materials to create this early Innate Realm puppet, intending to use it to check the situation on the battlefield.
Li Guijiao knew that with all the participants in that battle being Core Formation cultivators, even if she went there herself, it wouldn’t change the outcome much.
All she could do was pray, pray that when she arrived, she wouldn’t see Little Junior Sister’s corpse.
But strangely, Li Guijiao noticed many cultivators of varying levels along the way, all heading towards the Evil Spirit Sect.
“What’s going on…”
Li Guijiao sensed these auras, her heart pounding.
Not just cultivators from the Nether Spirit forbidden area, but also demonic cultivators from the other three domains, and Li Guijiao even sensed a few auras of Immortal Domain cultivators.
Everyone was in a hurry, and in a fleeting glance, Li Guijiao saw the greed and urgency in their eyes.
She suddenly had a bad feeling.
She continued towards the Evil Spirit Sect, and when she finally arrived at the ruins, she found the place deserted.
The more powerful cultivators were all hurrying past the ruins, not even glancing at them.
Only the collapsed formation and the still-burning fire remained, with a few low-level cultivators and mortals scavenging for treasures in the ruins.
Seeing Li Guijiao appear, many were scared and fled, mistaking her for a returning Evil Spirit Sect disciple.
Because Li Guijiao’s current aura was at the Innate Realm, comparable to a general in the mortal world, and she looked so young.
“What… is going on?”
Li Guijiao ignored these low-level cultivators and mortals and continued deeper into the Evil Spirit Sect, familiarly reaching the core of the formation.
The completely destroyed refining formation was empty. The pill she had refined was gone, and there weren’t many traces of battle, let alone Little Junior Sister’s corpse.
Seeing this, Li Guijiao was relieved.
She had placed some tricks within the refining formation. Without the specific technique, it was difficult to retrieve the pill, unless the formation was forcibly destroyed.
But the formation showed no signs of damage, which meant that Little Junior Sister had taken the pill.
This also meant that, at least for now, Little Junior Sister was safe.
But… where did Little Junior Sister go?
Li Guijiao took out her communication stone, intending to contact Luo Xue.
Just then, a slender hand reached out and took the communication stone.
“Yo.”
Li Guijiao was startled. She quickly retreated a few steps, looking at the newcomer with fear.
The other party had avoided her perception and silently appeared behind her.
If she had any ill intentions, and her real body was here, she would definitely die.
“Who… who are you?”
Li Guijiao looked at the newcomer warily, ready to self-destruct her puppet.
The newcomer was a very beautiful woman. She leaned against the destroyed formation, casually playing with the communication stone in her hand.
In her other hand, she held a gourd, her long hair tied up casually.
But this casualness added to her charm, a kind of carefree allure.
“Relax, I’m not a good person… oh no, I’m not a bad person, at least not to you.”
The woman smiled apologetically, tossing the communication stone back to Li Guijiao.
“Little one, use these communication stones less, they’re easily tracked.”
“And why are you so afraid of me? It’s just a crudely made puppet. Even if I destroy it, it’s not a big loss to you.”
“Who… exactly are you?”
Hearing this, Li Guijiao became truly nervous. She hadn’t expected her puppet body to be so easily seen through.
Even the Core Formation sword cultivator earlier hadn’t noticed…
Li Guijiao’s puppet crafting skills were quite exquisite. Ordinary cultivators, without special methods, couldn’t tell the difference between her puppets and real people.
“Who am I, hee hee… Little one, who do you think I am?”
The woman smiled slyly, her narrowed eyes showing a hint of mischief, making Li Guijiao shrink back even further.
Cou-, could she be a pervert?
She had heard that many high-level cultivators had strange hobbies, including same-sex relationships.
But she was just a puppet now, and one that looked like a minor…
“Alright, alright, you’re not as fun as Xiao Xue.” The woman saw Li Guijiao’s reaction and pouted. “I’m Luo Huaxin. You should have heard of me.”
“Luo Huaxin…” Li Guijiao repeated, her eyes widening. “Little Junior Sister’s mother?”
The fact that Luo Xue was Luo Huaxin’s illegitimate daughter had been a hot topic of gossip in the Peerless Summit Sect. Li Guijiao had naturally heard about it.
“Yes, yes…”
Hearing Li Guijiao’s words, Luo Huaxin immediately beamed.
She put her arm around Li Guijiao, the scent of alcohol assaulting her senses.
“Quite perceptive, Xiao Xue chose you well, you’re just a bit too timid.”
“Mmm…”
Li Guijiao couldn’t speak, her face buried in Luo Huaxin’s embrace, and could only blink, looking aggrieved.
“Sorry, sorry, it’s a habit. I didn’t expect you to be so short.” Luo Huaxin let go and patted Li Guijiao’s shoulder. Such bold actions made it easy to forget that Luo Huaxin was actually quite beautiful.
“Then why didn’t you save Little Junior Sister just now?” Li Guijiao asked anxiously. “You’re a Nascent Soul cultivator, right? Aren’t Core Formation cultivators easy to kill?”
“They are easy to kill, so I wasn’t worried that he could hurt Xiao Xue.” Luo Huaxin nodded. “But I had to keep an eye on someone else. That guy is much more dangerous.”
“Dangerous? Who…”
Li Guijiao was stunned. Someone considered dangerous by a Nascent Soul cultivator had to be another Nascent Soul expert…
Could there be another Nascent Soul cultivator in the Demon Abyss, secretly targeting Little Junior Sister?
Leave a Reply