Chu Xuan lay on a soft velvet chair, introspecting his inner being. Over the boundless Sea of Qi, his small Nascent Soul sat quietly in meditation. Threads of Spiritual Qi, fine and slender, wound around the Nascent Soul, gradually enhancing its strength. The Nascent Soul, after all, was the ultimate condensation of Spiritual Qi.
At the moment of breaking the core to form the soul—the Nascent Soul—the soul had moved from the sea of consciousness into the Nascent Soul. This transition provided the soul with a more robust safeguard.
From then on, the Nascent Soul became Chu Xuan's second life. Should his physical body perish, he could escape by releasing his Nascent Soul. As long as he found another body, he could rise anew.
"Currently, I lack a cultivation technique suitable for the Nascent Soul stage. Although my Nascent Soul is considerably strong, aside from teleportation, it hardly possesses any other abilities.
For now, I might as well continue to cultivate my physical body. After all, having reached the Nascent Soul stage, I've gained an additional five hundred years of life; there's no need to rush."
Chu Xuan quietly formulated his plan. Upon returning to Heavenly Sword City, he would seek an opportunity to acquire a Nascent Soul stage cultivation technique, thereby elevating his strength. Otherwise, he would remain as he was now—possessing great strength but lacking the skills to properly wield it.
It is said that brute force can break any spell, but only if the force reaches a truly terrifying level. Among cultivators of the same realm, unless one is a prodigy among the common, the notion of brute force breaking all spells rarely holds. Without powerful spells, how could one compete against others?
"Immortal, Wang Zhenxu greets you! The Enlightenment Institute has made significant advancements!" A slightly familiar voice came from the transmission jade hanging on the wall.
Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow and promptly cleared the mist, allowing Wang Zhenxu to enter.
Soon, Wang Zhenxu was kneeling before him. The chief of the Black Blade Council, now with a head full of white hair, seemed spirited despite his age. His body was still robust, likely to last another fifty or sixty years. Indeed, Psionic cultivation had a much more profound effect on the physical body than Spiritual Qi.
Wang Zhenxu sneaked a glance at Chu Xuan, marveling inwardly. Decades had passed, many things had changed, but the immortal before him remained the same as ever.
"Speak, what advancements has the Enlightenment Institute achieved?" Chu Xuan asked casually.
With great respect, Wang Zhenxu presented a stack of bound papers. "Immortal, this is a body-cultivation technique researched by Liu Meng. He believes it might be of use to you."
Chu Xuan took the papers and browsed through them, genuinely surprised. Although the technique seemed fantastical, a closer examination revealed its grounding in reality. This method seemed to combine the martial arts of this world.
Now Chu Xuan was at the thirty-first level of body refinement, possessing boundless and formidable strength. However, he still lacked the martial techniques to fully utilize this power.
While body cultivation methods were somewhat accessible, martial techniques for advanced body cultivators had long been lost to the sands of time. Most techniques available in the market were only suitable for cultivators between the first and tenth levels of body refinement. Techniques for levels eleven to twenty were exceedingly rare.
Previously, when facing enemies, he had relied solely on his immense physical strength, striking with simple and unadorned force—a true testament to the saying that brute strength can work miracles. Now, with this new martial technique, he had acquired another method to defend himself.
"Does this technique have a name?" Chu Xuan asked with a smile.
Wang Zhenxu replied respectfully, "Liu Meng believes that the honor of naming it should be yours, Immortal."
Chu Xuan nodded, smiling, "This fist technique is as swift as lightning and possesses boundless strength; let's call it the Great Extinguishing Thunder Fist."
Wang Zhenxu praised, "Worthy of an Immortal, such a powerful name!"
After a moment of thought, Chu Xuan added, "Within the Enlightenment Institute, we should establish divisions such as the Body Cultivation Institute and the Qi Cultivation Institute to focus specifically on researching body cultivation methods and qi cultivation methods respectively.
The Body Cultivation Institute could be further divided into a section for cultivation methods and another for martial techniques. Similarly, the Qi Cultivation Institute could be divided into a section for cultivation techniques and another for spells. Such categorization will ensure everyone can utilize their skills to the fullest.
Liu Meng has made significant contributions this time; according to the Enlightenment Institute's reward system, he should be commended. Tell him to continue his research, as more rewards will come."
Chu Xuan produced a large blood pearl and handed it to Wang Zhenxu.
Wang Zhenxu nodded vigorously, "Yes, I will convey your message, Immortal."
Chu Xuan nodded and waved his hand, dismissing him.
As Wang Zhenxu left, Chu Xuan mused, "This Great Extinguishing Thunder Fist is indeed worth practicing. While the Qi cultivation research at the Enlightenment Institute has not been very fruitful, the results in body cultivation are quite impressive."
It was understandable. After all, Blue Star's Spiritual Qi was incredibly sparse. Psionic energy was most suited for body cultivation. It was a remarkable achievement for the Enlightenment Institute to develop martial techniques that far exceeded their own levels in such conditions.
Chu Xuan considered that, had Liu Meng been on Mystic Azure Star during the golden age when powerful elixirs were plentiful, he might have been considered a top-tier prodigy, potentially creating numerous body cultivation methods that could be passed down through generations.
In the blink of an eye, another five years had passed. Chu Xuan spent each day refining the Great Extinguishing Thunder Fist. His lungs worked like furnaces, his heart like an engine. With each inhalation, his chest would rise sharply; each exhalation could scorch vegetation with its heat.
Now, his body was muscled and his strength surged—his mastery of the fist technique was near perfection. While not yet at the ultimate level, he had certainly reached a state of great refinement.
"Eh, is Hu about to break through?" Chu Xuan sensed some unusual activity within the corpse tower, and joyfully, he immediately released Hu.
He observed Hu's body, now densely covered in blood cocoons—a clear sign of an impending breakthrough to the Corpse King stage. Evidently, consuming the bodies of two Nascent Soul cultivators, Yun Zhongyu and Shangguan Hao, drastically accelerated Hu's growth.
Chu Xuan had originally planned to head to the outer domain battlefield. But with Hu's impending advancement, he decided to wait until after the breakthrough before departing.
As Hu was about to ascend, Chu Xuan suddenly sensed that his two life-bound gu insects were also showing signs of advancement. The Blood Steel Wire and the Blood Bee Queen had both formed cocoons, evidently influenced by his own ascension to the Nascent Soul stage. Such was the power of life-bound entities.
A year later, the blood cocoon around Hu shattered successfully. A towering figure over six meters tall burst forth from the cocoon, emitting an exhilarating roar towards the heavens. The sound was earth-shaking, audible even to the superhumans in surrounding cities.
However, for the superhumans at the Black Blade East Lake headquarters, such phenomena had become quite common. They knew the sound came from the residence of the immortal, presumably just his beloved little pet. What was there to fear?
"Master!" Hu shrank his body and quickly transformed into a two-meter-tall man. He dashed to Chu Xuan and knelt respectfully.
Chu Xuan nodded in approval, "Very good, very good. Take care of Long and Bao, and see that they too advance to the Corpse King realm soon."
"Yes!" Hu responded respectfully. Now as a Corpse King, his speech was smooth and fluent, no longer hesitant.
At that moment, the cocoons of the Blood Steel Wire and the Blood Bee Queen also shattered. The Blood Steel Wire emerged affectionately from Chu Xuan's palm, and the Blood Bee Queen peeked out before shyly retreating back into her cocoon.