Three Souls and Seven Spirits (2)

"Whether it's practicing martial arts in the secular world or cultivating as a cultivator, both are ways to improve the stability of the soul. But the latter's cultivation progress is far superior to the former's." Nong Zhu tapped the armrest of the rattan chair with her slender fingers and said leisurely, "Cultivation emphasizes gradual progress, and there's a reason for that. The main purpose of the Qi Refining stage is to use Spirit Stone to nurture the body until it can withstand tempering."

"Refining? How do you refine? I've never refined anything before!" Yue Qianchou asked anxiously, as if he was worried that he had missed out on something good.

"Tempering is the same as Foundation Establishment. You didn't go through the Foundation Establishment Realm?" Nong Zhu turned around and said indifferently, "Don't tell me you jumped directly from the Qi Refining stage to the Nascent Soul Realm."

"Uh..." Yue Qianchou chuckled awkwardly, "So it's Foundation Establishment, yes, yes, how could it jump directly to the Nascent Soul Realm?"

Nong Zhu rolled her eyes at him, then closed her eyes again and said, "The cultivation of the Qi Refining stage is to prepare for Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, forcibly establishing the Foundation Establishment will only lead to death. If you don't believe me, you can just bring a mortal here and let him take a Foundation Establishment Pill. I guarantee that the Foundation Establishment Pill is more poisonous than poison and will kill him instantly."

Yue Qianchou had no doubt about this. He had personally experienced the pain of Foundation Establishment, a pain that ordinary people simply could not bear. Taking a Foundation Establishment Pill would definitely kill him.

"Only after entering the Foundation Establishment Realm can one truly step into the threshold of cultivation. What is Foundation Establishment? Foundation Establishment is laying a solid foundation for cultivation, which is extremely important. Otherwise, it is impossible to extract the Three Souls and Seven Spirits from the body to form the core." Nong Zhu opened one eye and waved a finger at Yue Qianchou, saying, "Mortals who have not gone through the Qi Refining stage and Foundation Establishment Realm will surely die if they forcibly extract the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Because once the souls and spirits leave the flesh and meridians of a mortal, that person is already dead."

"You mean that after reaching the Core Formation stage, the Core within the body is formed by the condensation of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits?" Yue Qianchou asked curiously. He had never heard of such a thing before. So this is what Core Formation is all about. It seems that some things known at certain levels are difficult for other levels to understand.

"To be precise, Core Formation is about transforming the intangible into the tangible, condensing the intangible Three Souls and Seven Spirits within the body's flesh and blood into a tangible object." Nong Zhu smiled leisurely, "The Core Formation stage is like incubating an egg. When that egg hatches and matures, what breaks out of the shell is your Nascent Soul. That is, your Life Soul. Now you know what the Life Soul is?"

"So that's how it is. The Life Soul is indeed the Nascent Soul." Yue Qianchou asked eagerly, "Then what about the other two souls and seven spirits? Where are they? Wait a minute! Didn't you say that the Core Formation is formed by the condensation of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits? Why did only the Life Soul hatch, and not the others?"

"You can't get fat in one bite. If you want to see the other two souls and seven spirits, you naturally need to continue your cultivation." Nong Zhu pointed to Yue Qianchou's abdomen and said, "The Life Soul you see now is actually the Three Souls and Seven Spirits in one body. Have you noticed that your Nascent Soul is like an unknowing and unconscious fetus, forever asleep?"

"Yes! I've never seen it open its eyes," Yue Qianchou nodded.

"It's right that you didn't see it open its eyes. Once it opens its eyes, it means it has awakened, and your cultivation level will have reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage." Nong Zhu explained, "Your current cultivation level is still in the Nascent Soul Realm, which is the stage when the Nascent Soul fetus matures. After it awakens and you enter the Tribulation Transcendence stage, that will be the growth stage of an infant. And the late Tribulation Transcendence stage is the sign that the infant has grown into an adult."

Yue Qianchou said "Oh," and then said, "So, even at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage, one can only see the Life Soul and not the other souls?"

"Not bad." Nong Zhu nodded slightly and said, "Why is it called the Life Soul? Because it is the first natal spirit to be born, and the other two souls and seven spirits will also be born from it. When you can see the Life Soul giving birth to the Heavenly Soul in your Dantian, it means that the Nascent Soul in your body has grown up and can reproduce. It also means that you have entered the early Spirit Transformation stage."

"So, the Heavenly Soul is the mark of reaching the Spirit Transformation stage?" Yue Qianchou clicked his tongue, looking like he was drooling.

"Isn't it said that gods are gods? There are geniuses and gods! You could also say that your cultivation has entered a brand new world, supporting your own sky, which is why it's called the Spirit Transformation stage." Nong Zhu looked at his greedy expression and laughed, "When you break through to the Spirit Transformation stage one day and look back, you will find that there is a world of difference between the late Tribulation Transcendence stage and the early Spirit Transformation stage."

"That's right, that's right, otherwise why would it Spirit Transformation stage!" Yue Qianchou smile, "But I'm still far from the Spirit Transformation stage, and I don't know if I have any hope of ever reaching it."

"If you continue to cause trouble in the Cultivation World, it's not impossible for you to survive," Nong Zhu said jokingly. "With your cultivation speed, you've already saved too much time compared to others. If you can break through to the late Tribulation Transcendence stage before you turn one hundred, you'll have hundreds of years to slowly make your way through. I believe that in hundreds of years, even a pig could climb to the Spirit Transformation stage!"

"Of course, that's assuming you don't get killed in the next few hundred years. But if things continue like this, it'll be hard for you to even live to be a hundred without dying," Nong Zhu added.

Yue Qianchou wanted to curse back immediately, but remembering he still had questions to ask, he could only keep quiet and mutter to himself... Damn it! Do you think I'm like you?! Before Ziyi, I was carefree and could roam freely. I have so many loved ones; am I supposed to just abandon them? It's easy to plan for myself; I could even seclude myself and cultivate diligently every day. But can I just watch my loved ones grow old and die? I want to achieve enlightenment and have my whole family enjoy eternal bliss! Forget it, there's no point in talking to someone like you who's just wasting his life.

"Isn't the Spirit Transformation stage also divided into early, middle, and late stages? Will the remaining souls emerge one by one in these three stages?" Yue Qianchou asked.

"That's pretty much the idea!" Nong Zhu nodded slightly and said, "Where there is heaven, there is earth. Once the Heavenly Soul emerges, the Earthly Soul naturally separates from the Life Soul, followed by the first spirit Tian Chong. When the Heavenly Soul, Earthly Soul, and first spirit Tian Chong, are all complete, it is the peak of the early Spirit Transformation stage. When the second spirit Ling Hui, third spirit Qi, fourth spirit Li, are all complete, it is the peak of the mid Spirit Transformation stage. When the fifth spirit Zhong Shu Soul, sixth spirit Jing, and seventh spirit Ying, are all complete, it is the peak of the late Spirit Transformation stage. The Life Soul guards the original body and does not mix with others."

"The Spirit Transformation stage! It's truly unfathomable, damn it, so profound." Yue Qianchou clicked his tongue and rubbed his hands together, saying, "You can already see the three souls and four spirits, so doesn't that mean you've reached the peak of the mid Spirit Transformation stage?"

"This is nothing," Nong Zhu said dismissively. "It's far inferior to your master. Your master possesses Three Souls and Seven Spirits, and he's probably already at the stage of merging his souls."

"Uh... Soul fusion?" Yue Qianchou licked his lips and said, "What is this thing?"

"A realm higher than the Spirit Transformation stage, ascending to the Immortal Realm." Nong Zhu pointed to the sky, shook his head and sighed, "After the cultivation of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits is perfected, one will start with the seventh spirit Ying and fuse them back into the Life Soul in the order they were separated. Once the seventh spirit Ying are fused back into the Life Soul, one can ascend to the Immortal Realm. Then, with each soul fused back, one's strength in the Immortal Realm will increase by one level, probably similar to the Spirit Transformation stage. As for the specifics, probably no one knows for sure now; it's all just legend."

"Holy crap! I'm becoming an immortal!" Yue Qianchou clutched his chest, overwhelmed with excitement, as if his ascension to immortality was right before his eyes.

Nong Zhu turned her head and glanced at him, then sneered, "What are you so excited about? You don't even know when you'll break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, yet you're still dreaming of becoming an immortal. Your dream is way too far ahead."

This bucket of cold water immediately brought him back to reality. Yue Qianchou chuckled awkwardly, "Just dream a little, dream a little. Having a dream gives you a goal to strive for. I'll work hard."

"It's already quite impressive that you've reached your master's level of cultivation," Nong Zhu sighed. "Becoming an immortal? I wonder how those High Antiquity cultivators managed to do it!"

Yue Qianchou sighed dejectedly, "That's true. I wonder when my master will be able to fuse the seventh spirit Ying." He swayed listlessly on the swing.

"I asked your master about this too, but he was very secretive and wouldn't say a word about it." Nong Zhu shrugged and said, "I guess he himself felt that there was no hope of fusion, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the 'Eastern Pole Sacred Land' for excitement."

Yue Qianchou in deep agreement, then swayed on the swing and muttered to himself, "If I could reunite my Three Souls and Seven Spirits, I wonder what level my cultivation would reach?"

Nong Zhu suddenly gave him a thumbs up and said without turning her head, "Then congratulations! Legend has it that when you reach that cultivation level, besides your Life Soul being solidified, your other two souls and seven spirits can transform into three heads and six arms to fight enemies. That's the cultivation level of an Immortal Emperor in the Immortal Realm. You can pull him down and sit in his position. If you're comfortable sitting there, don't forget to come down to the mortal realm and help me out. I will be eternally grateful."

"Uh..." Yue Qianchou chuckled awkwardly, "Please don't make fun of me... Huh? Three heads and six arms? That makes him Nezha? Nezha has the cultivation of a Celestial Emperor?" He suddenly remembered the Third Tai Nezha from the mythology of his previous life and was stunned.

"Who is Nezha? Can he have three heads and six arms?" Nong Zhu sneered, "Don't tell me you know the Celestial Emperor."

"No way! I was just overthinking things," Yue Qianchou said with a shake of his head and a smile.

"You really have a vivid imagination. What else are you thinking about?" Nong Zhu asked casually. Yue Qianchou replied casually, "I'm wondering what cultivation level an Immortal Emperor would reach next?"

"Yes, there's a story behind this too. It's said to be about a god." Nong Zhu pointed to the setting sun and said, "Legend has it that after the Three Souls and Seven Spirits merge again, they can separate again. However, at that time, the Three Souls and Seven Spirits will be released to cultivate outside the body, instead of remaining inside. Each soul can become a sun. There's an old legend that says a god's cultivation had reached the point where he could release all Three Souls and Seven Spirits outside the body. As a result, ten suns appeared in the sky, and there was no night, only day. The people on earth couldn't bear it. Just then, a great god named Yi appeared, drew his divine bow, and shot down nine suns. So, only one sun remains in the sky."

Yue Qianchou froze on the spot...

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