Li Su now had one child with a third-grade spiritual root and two with fourth-grade spiritual roots. He couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “How did this happen again?” The children kept coming, with the Holy Lady of the Silent Moon feeling truly overwhelmed. In four years, she gave birth to three children, Li Su. The third child, although still having spiritual roots, was only in the seventh grade, but it was quite high compared to other concubines’ offspring.
A seventh-grade spiritual root remained viable with some effort for Foundation Establishment. Li Su’s descendants were becoming increasingly outstanding, achieving “Golden Core perfection,” as he proudly announced. After four years, and with numerous rewards accumulated, Li Su’s spiritual roots reached the sixth grade, finally achieving Golden Core perfection. There were still two significant rewards yet to come, which suited him perfectly. If received after reaching Nascent Soul, these two waves of rewards could expedite Li Su’s progress through the Nascent Soul stages without spending excessive time in the early stages.
Transitioning from a sixth-grade spiritual root to Nascent Soul was already quite challenging. Even after achieving Nascent Soul, advancing through its stages posed increasingly formidable challenges. Each stage within the Nascent Soul realm presented greater difficulties than the journey from an ordinary human to a Nascent Soul. This explained why numerous Nascent Soul cultivators remained stuck in the early Nascent Soul stage throughout their lives, especially for those who barely managed to attain Nascent Soul itself.
Of course, for most cultivators, simply achieving Nascent Soul was a reason to be grateful, even if they remained in the early Nascent Soul stage for their entire lives. However, there was a caveat. Before reaching Nascent Soul, they might have believed they would be content once they achieved it. However, once they attained Nascent Soul, they started to feel the inherent difficulties in the path of cultivation. Who wouldn’t want to ascend higher? The problem was that they couldn’t climb any further, giving their all, at most, advancing a level or two in the remainder of their lives.
After achieving Golden Core perfection, the system’s rewards transformed into Nascent Infant Energy. Cultivators within the same stage could still exhibit varying strengths within the Nascent Soul realm. For instance, a Nascent Infant formed from a first-grade Golden Core and one from a ninth-grade Golden Core, both in the Nascent Soul realm, would display a significant power gap. Moreover, a ninth-grade Golden Core cultivator was more likely never to achieve Nascent Soul. Generally, cultivators condensed a Nascent Infant of the same grade as their spiritual root. This ensured the strength of the Nascent Infant and eliminated concerns about slow cultivation progress.
Attempting to condense high-grade Golden Cores with low-grade spiritual roots forcefully could be risky. However, with abundant resources and access to spiritual pills and elixirs, one might take that risk. Li Su, being the determined individual he was, didn’t mind. Even if creating a more potent Nascent Infant in the Nascent Soul realm required greater resources, he was determined to forge the most powerful Nascent Infant. “1000 points of Nascent Infant Energy,” Li Su murmured. This time, it was the maximum amount of Nascent Infant Energy he could obtain. After breaking through to Nascent Soul, any excess Nascent Infant Energy would be converted back into cultivation points, a valuable feature.
Li Su began accumulating Nascent Infant Energy, but something significant occurred not even two days later. “A beast tide… is it finally here?” Li Su whispered. The event in question was a beast tide. It had been a long time since the last beast tide had occurred in the regions of the three major sects. The fact that it was happening now seemed related to the Blood Moon event that transpired decades ago. Beast tides rarely occurred after previous Blood Moons so this event might be linked to some substantial change in the strength of the demonic beasts within the Mangkang Mountain.
Mangkang Mountain was home to Nascent Soul-level demonic beasts, but most appeared to dwell on the other side of the mountain’s depths. As long as they didn’t attempt to cross Mangkang Mountain and ventured deep into it, the likelihood of encountering Nascent Soul-level demonic beasts was not high. Whether or not this beast tide contained Nascent Soul-level beasts remained unknown.
Upon receiving news of the impending beast tide, Li Su, accompanied by the Holy Lady of the Silent Moon, embarked on a journey. He felt compelled to contribute to the situation since the beast tide posed a grave threat to the entire region. While the Holy Lady of the Silent Moon was now the mother of his three children, Li Su always had her by his side wherever he went. He was also responsible for educating their three children, who had grown fond of him as their father. The Holy Lady of the Silent Moon’s mindset had gradually shifted, and there were no dramatic plotlines where she taught their children to resent their father.
Their flying boat headed southwest. This beast tide was substantial and had an unusually wide-ranging impact. The other two sects were already mobilizing all their forces. Li Su had improved his flying boat significantly in size and luxury, emphasizing prestige. The most significant upgrade was its increased speed, allowing them to reach Mangkang Mountain in just a few hours.
Upon arrival, Li Su was astonished by the scale of the battle. The Immortal Flying Sect’s disciples were already engaged in combat against hordes of demonic beasts pouring out of Mangkang Mountain. Many of these beasts hadn’t even reached the level of true demonic beasts or were of low rank, but they still posed a significant threat once they breached the mortal nations.
The battlefront spanned a considerable distance, with the Immortal Flying Sect responsible for a vast area. The Mangkang Mountain, within the regions of the three major sects, extended for tens of thousands of miles, making it exceptionally vast. However, all these demonic beasts now converged towards the areas controlled by the three major sects. The scale of this beast tide was massive, and it was the first time Li Su had experienced such a phenomenon in over two centuries.
Li Su wondered about the cause of this particular beast tide. He quickly located the sect leader and approached her, accompanied by the Holy Lady of the Silent Moon. The sect leader occasionally joined the battle, killing demonic beasts that breached their defensive lines. Under her guidance, the disciples used various magical treasures to repel the invaders.
The sect leader’s strength had noticeably improved, and Li Su couldn’t help but wonder if she had achieved a breakthrough in the past decade. As they exchanged words, Li Su assured the sect leader that he would intervene if the other two sects needed assistance.
The sect leader also inquired about the Holy Lady of the Silent Moon’s well-being, showing concern for her. Li Su reassured her that once he reached the Nascent Soul stage, he would release her from her restrictions. The sect leader’s gaze changed when she learned that the Holy Lady of the Silent Moon was now the mother of three children, amazed at Li Su’s efficiency in fulfilling his promise.