After breakfast, Huo Huang and Murong Qing went back, leaving only the Immortal Phoenix, Wenren Jing, and Wang Xuanyi on Tianzhu Peak.
Although Wenren Jing was somewhat dense, she was still much more obedient than the others. When Wang Xuanyi told her to cultivate, she obediently sat down on the spot to meditate.
As for that silly bird, why bother managing her? As long as she had wine, she was fine.
Now things were better.
After the chaotic morning, the lively Tianzhu Peak had finally quieted down, and Wang Xuanyi finally had some time to cultivate.
Wang Xuanyi calmed his mind and meditated, looking inward at his spirit. He planned to try condensing a Golden Core once more; maybe this time he would actually succeed.
“Aspect of the Self, gather my spirit.”
The path he walked was different from other cultivators. The system he used was not the traditional cultivation system, but rather a Self Cultivation Method of his own creation.
The specific reason was that when he first condensed a Golden Core, that transcendent-grade Golden Core had shattered, transforming into heaven-and-earth essence qi to nourish his own body.
Afterward, Wang Xuanyi had continuously tried to condense a Golden Core. Great Dao Golden Core, Immortal-Rune Golden Core, Heaven-and-Earth Golden Core... without exception, they all shattered.
Forced by circumstances, he took a risk and embarked on a different path.
Relying on no external forces, independent of heaven and earth, he cultivated his own body, abided by the true self, traced back to the source, pursued the law of the self, and created his own Dao.
“Break!”
As the surrounding spiritual energy gathered, Wang Xuanyi's realm shot up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, breaking through from the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the tenth layer.
This process took only a single breath.
This action also caught the attention of Wenren Jing and the Immortal Phoenix.
The tenth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm was a realm unheard of since ancient times.
“This deity thought you were joking, but there really is a tenth layer to the Foundation Establishment Realm!” The Immortal Phoenix took a sip of her wine, her eyes fixed on Wang Xuanyi.
The aura on his body was incredibly dense, even more vibrant with spirituality than that of innate creatures like them.
Immediately after, Wang Xuanyi did not stop his breakthrough. Instead, in one fell swoop, he constructed a Self Violet Palace at his Baihui acupoint, drawing in heaven-and-earth essence qi to condense a Golden Core.
Although the Immortal Phoenix already knew that this kid had fallen back to the Foundation Establishment Realm along with his original cultivation after his Golden Core shattered, seeing it now still shocked her.
Breaking through realms was truly as easy as drinking water for him.
However, this was where things turned bizarre.
The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy flowed in through the Baihui acupoint, traveling along his meridians to gather in Wang Xuanyi's abdomen—specifically, on the perfect foundation platform constructed during the Foundation Establishment Realm. That was where the Golden Core was to be condensed.
It was at this very step that something went wrong for Wang Xuanyi.
The Golden Core was gradually taking shape, and an immortal Dao aura permeated Wang Xuanyi's body. Several wisps of immortal qi swirled around the foundation platform. The Golden Core was on the verge of completion.
Crack!
In the next second, the newly condensed Golden Core shattered instantly. Wang Xuanyi's dense aura and cultivation level plummeted, returning once more to the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
“...”
The Immortal Phoenix was astonished. She could not perceive how the Golden Core had shattered at all. His cultivation steps and the Golden Cores he condensed were all top-tier, yet the final step always failed.
“Sigh, it still won't work.”
Wang Xuanyi sighed softly, then withdrew his aura.
This was his hundred and ninety-third failed attempt at condensing a Golden Core.
By now, he no longer harbored any hope.
“Time to change my cultivation path.”
Wang Xuanyi sat cross-legged and closed his eyes again, sinking into meditation.
This time, he did not cultivate according to conventional methods, but instead tempered himself using the system he had discovered.
“Among heaven, earth, and humanity, only humanity stands in the center. Heaven develops all things, and earth nurtures all spirits. All things are spirits of heaven and earth, yet only humanity takes the path of defying heaven and treading upon the earth as its law.”
“By cultivating my own bones, internal organs, refining my blood, manifesting the Aspect of the Self, and tempering my soul to perform acts that defy heaven, I have now achieved resonance with heaven and earth. How do I take the next step forward?”
Within his meditative space, Wang Xuanyi questioned himself repeatedly.
Ever since he became unable to condense a Golden Core, Wang Xuanyi had begun to unearth his own potential, striving to reach a state of resonance with heaven and earth by cultivating his physical body.
This kind of tempering was not something traditional cultivation could withstand.
With every transformation, Wang Xuanyi had to endure immense pain. There were several times during this process when he had almost suffered qi deviation, nearly ending in death and the dissipation of his Dao.
“The path of the Dao is the beginning of the universe and can also be the end of all living things. It is the source of absolutely everything, and the foundation of defying heaven.”
“What is the self?”
“I am who I am, no explanation needed. That is the self.”
“I am the Dao.”
With each question and deep understanding, the internal organs within Wang Xuanyi's body shone brilliantly. Boundless vitality flowed through him, and every pore exhaled and inhaled essence qi.
A golden lotus of the Great Dao also gathered above his head.
Heaven-and-Man Realm!
This was Wang Xuanyi's description of his current realm.
Strangely enough, though he defied heaven, he had also received the recognition of heaven and earth. The shattered Golden Core continuously nourished his body, constantly tempering him.
“Dao, Dao, Dao...”
“Transform into the Dao!”
“Using the Aspect of the Self to shape the Body of the Self, transforming into the Dao of heaven and earth.”
At this moment, a gleam of light appeared on the dark road ahead of Wang Xuanyi.
The mortal body was the first barrier for a cultivator. To defy heaven, one had to shed mortality and enter spirit, transforming the self into all things to resonate with them.
This was also why many innate creatures were so powerful.
They were born of heaven and nurtured by earth, spiritual beings by nature. Why would they ever need to shed mortality like the human race?
Wang Xuanyi's body had undergone the baptism of the Golden Core and continuous self-tempering. He had long since shed his mortal shell, achieving an innate spiritual body.
Afterward, he had to undergo the baptism of heaven and earth to gain recognition for his Aspect of the Self, stepping into the state of unity between heaven and man—which was how Wang Xuanyi currently described his own realm.
“Then the next step is to transform into the Dao.”
Using the Aspect of the Self and the Body of the Self to transform into the Dao of all things in heaven and earth.
Having figured this out, the aura on Wang Xuanyi's body grew increasingly radiant. Every organ in his body emitted an unparalleled glow, and the golden lotus of the Great Dao above his head bloomed, unleashing boundless, majestic light.
At this moment, the sky and earth instantly changed color. Wind and clouds howled, and thunderclouds gathered in droves, a dense heavenly tribulation converging over Tianzhu Peak.
“Holy crap, what did you just comprehend?!”
The Immortal Phoenix spat out the wine she had just sipped. Staring at the sudden heavenly tribulation, she was utterly dumbfounded and quickly grabbed the still-dazed Wenren Jing to make their escape.
Was this some kind of joke? This heavenly tribulation looked anything but ordinary.
Even the heavenly tribulation of a Dao Integration Realm cultivator was not this terrifying.
An area of several hundred li was entirely blanketed by this terrifying aura.
Heaven and earth seemed truly enraged. The interweaving lightning transformed into dozens of thunder dragons, thrashing and roaring as they darted through the thunderclouds.
At the same time, Shen Shi, Su Qian, Xiao Hongye, and the other Peak Masters sensed the heavenly tribulation triggered by someone breaking through their realm, and they arrived at Tianzhu Peak in an instant.
“Activate the mountain-protecting array!”
Shen Shi stared at the terrifying heavenly tribulation, his expression exceptionally grave. There were actually two people breaking through their realms on Tianzhu Peak at the same time, triggering tribulations that, though slightly different, were largely identical in scale.
“Besides Junior Brother Mo, who else is breaking through?”
“Is it Wang Xuanyi?”
“Could he be breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm?”
Aside from Wang Xuanyi, Shen Shi and the others could not think of anyone else who could cause such a commotion.
Moreover, if Wang Xuanyi really broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he would set an unprecedented record in the history of cultivation—achieving the realm of an immortal before the age of twenty.
A Nascent Soul cultivator was the first true threshold on the path of cultivation.
Unbound by heaven and earth, they could roam the void and channel the power of the world for their own use. If they remained still, nothing happened; but once they made a move, the sky and earth would change color, and mountains and seas would be overturned.
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