The Mystery of Natural Energy

"Sage, if this is the condition, I can agree to it. However, the premise is that the method you guide me with must be able to help me ascend to the level of the Sage of Six Paths."

Uchiha Ao nodded thoughtfully and agreed.

He could feel the killing intent radiating from the White Snake Sage.

He didn't know why this old hag held such a massive grudge against the Sage of Six Paths.

If he didn't agree, he would likely end up as a dessert inside the Sage's stomach right now.

Although he had agreed.

Deep down, he didn't fully believe the one-sided story told by the White Snake Sage.

The Natural Energy of Ryūchi Cave was indeed exceptionally unique, far more violent and difficult to control compared to Mount Myoboku or Shikkotsu Forest.

But it was not impossible that the White Snake Sage was secretly manipulating things behind the scenes.

The Pure Land was located in another dimension; wanting to intercept the Natural Energy of Ryūchi Cave?

That sounded impossible no matter how you looked at it.

Although the Sage of Six Paths was full of petty tricks and kept opening backdoors for his two sons to reincarnate.

At least his character didn't have any major flaws.

Compared to this White Snake Sage who frequently ate people, the Sage of Six Paths was much more trustworthy.

The snake clan stayed behind closed doors?

That claim was simply laughable.

Every snake with the aptitude to be a ninja beast possessed the ability to absorb Natural Energy.

If not forced, who would want to leave the Natural Energy-rich Ryūchi Cave to go outside and drink the northwest wind!?

Just like, would an immortal cultivator descend to a mundane world devoid of spiritual energy?

Impossible, right.

Uchiha Ao did not refute the White Snake Sage; after all, the Sage of Six Paths had only given him bloodline, which provided little help for his current situation.

His current boss was the White Snake Sage before him.

His mentor in his past life had once told him that in project research, everything must prioritize the boss's interests.

Only then could subsequent funding be guaranteed.

Research without profitable output could never get on the right track.

Six Paths Level.

What a distant rank.

He couldn't even reach Kage Level yet.

That old man, the Sage of Six Paths, was no ordinary Six Paths Level; as the creator of the Pure Land, he controlled all the Natural Energy within it.

I'm afraid that even if Otsutsuki Kaguya were resurrected, she might not necessarily be able to defeat this eldest son of hers.

After Uchiha Ao digested the information revealed by the White Snake Sage, he took out the Snake Slough and pointed to the content on it, continuing to ask:

"Sage, can you now provide some guidance on this aspect of cultivation?"

The White Snake Sage extended her tail, gently coiled up the Snake Slough, and tucked it away beneath the edge of the bed behind her.

"Of course, but you have already passed my test and gained the recognition of Ryūchi Cave."

"I have an even more convenient method here, hiss, as long as your body is strong enough, you can master Natural Energy in an instant."

"Hiss!"

"Skipping over your decades of cultivation process."

She flicked her tongue and proposed a brand-new method.

"How?"

Uchiha Ao asked.

He had a vague guess in his heart; it was likely the method that Yakushi Kabuto and the others had accepted.

Old hag...

She really is cunning; is she still testing me at a time like this?

She's just like Orochimaru!

No wonder they were able to get together.

"You only need to let me leave a bite mark on your neck."

A burst of white mist suddenly erupted. The figure of the White Snake Sage slowly dissipated, eventually transforming into the appearance of an old woman of about eighty or ninety years old, who hopped down from the long bed.

The White Snake Sage walked up to Uchiha Ao in a few steps, opened her mouth to reveal two fangs, yet her face wore a smile full of kindness.

It was as if she were considering things for Uchiha Ao's sake.

She looked kind-hearted and harmless, appearing as if she wouldn't hurt a fly.

It was impossible to believe she was the cold-blooded and murderous White Snake Sage.

"Forget it then, Sage! My only virtue is self-awareness; my physical constitution is terrible, and I have no luck to enjoy such a shortcut."

"I was at the bottom of the Uchiha even back home."

"I wanted to obtain a perfect body, which is why I followed my teacher to betray the clan and leave Konoha."

Ao shook his head, refusing.

"Is there any other way?"

His eyes flashed as he asked again.

The White Snake Sage stared at Ao, seemingly scrutinizing something.

"There is."

"It is the method described on the Snake Slough I gave you initially, one that even Orochimaru lacked the talent to practice."

"You... will likely find it very difficult to perceive Natural Energy in your soul form."

"This method also tests talent, though it is talent of the soul."

Before the White Snake Sage could finish, Ao cut in:

"It seems I have no choice but to choose the slow way and comprehend it bit by bit on my own."

"I have already memorized everything on the Snake Slough. Sage, could you demonstrate it for me once?"

Ao looked up and made a slightly presumptuous request.

The White Snake Sage gave him a deep look; this was the first time she had ever encountered a human who did not want to take a shortcut.

All the previous testers she had met had chosen to obtain unparalleled power as quickly as possible.

But in the end, they all became food to fill her stomach.

"Since that is the case, I will explain it to you simply."

The smile on the White Snake Sage's face vanished instantly, her figure blurred, and after a burst of white mist, In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a cold-looking white-scaled serpent lying on the large bed.

She lit her pipe again, manifested an arm made of white mist to bring it to her mouth, and after taking a deep puff, The White Snake Sage slowly began to speak: "Chakra is the product of the combination of Physical Energy and Spiritual Power."

"Naturally, the combination of Natural Energy and Physical Energy can also give birth to a brand-new power. I have tried it, but I failed; the price was this very snake skin."

"Finally, there is the method you know: the combination of Natural Energy and Spiritual Power."

"I call this power—Sage Art. Unlike Sage Chakra, it does not require the intervention of the physical body to form a perfect 1:1 fusion."

"The old Toads of Mount Myoboku also possess a method for cultivating Natural Energy, but they occupy Mount Myoboku, which sits at the center of the continent and possesses the purest and most gentle Natural Energy."

"These basic details are all described on my Snake Slough. You should remember them, right?"

Hearing this, Ao nodded and replied:

"The key to the cultivation process lies in perception at the soul level, but there is a contradiction: in a soul state, one cannot perceive the existence of Natural Energy."

The White Snake Sage chuckled, squinting at him while holding her pipe, and questioned: "Are you really unable to perceive it?"

"You know the ninjutsu for soul projection, right? In reality, after your soul leaves your body, it is constantly emitting Natural Energy; the Spiritual Power consumed by the soul's movement is converted into Natural Energy."

These words were like a sudden enlightenment.

Ao shuddered, instantly grasping the key to it all.

Spirit Transformation Technique...

Does it rely on Chakra or Spiritual Power to carry out attacks at the soul level?

No! It is the power of the soul, or rather, Spiritual Power.

During the process of spirit transformation, Spiritual Power is constantly being depleted.

Every attack has a great impact on his own soul, and he had previously thought this was a necessary loss during the casting process.

But judging from the White Snake Sage's words.

These losses are actually the process of converting Spiritual Power into Natural Energy...

Suddenly, he thought of a theorem from the physics of his previous life.

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transformed!

"Realized it?"

The White Snake Sage chuckled, as if despising Ao's shallow train of thought.

But in reality, she was already shocked beyond measure.

Good grief.

The mystery that she had spent a hundred years to comprehend had been grasped by this kid in an instant.

Although she had given him a warning.

This level of comprehension was something she had seen for the first time in her thousand years of life.

If this brat were of the snake race, how wonderful that would be!

Yet, he happened to be a descendant of that guy, the Sage of Six Paths.

Thinking of this, the gaze of the White Snake Sage suddenly shifted.

Turning this brat into a member of the snake race was not entirely impossible!

Just like Orochimaru...

"The three fundamental powers that sustain the world can actually be converted into one another, right? Sage!"

Uchiha Ao slowly voiced the hypothesis in his heart.

Natural Energy, Physical Energy, and Spiritual Energy were, in reality, in a constant process of transformation.

This was the so-called balance of power.

It was the source of the three extraordinary powers in the Naruto World.

Physical Energy forms the individual soul, the soul transforms all of nature, and nature nurtures the bodies of all things...

This was why the Impure World Reincarnation could create a brand-new body and possess infinite Chakra.

And the only thing this technique relied on was the "Pure Land," a powerful Natural Energy power bank!

The source of Chakra was the fusion of Physical Power and Spiritual Power.

This meant that Natural Energy could be converted into these two types of power.

"Correct."

"Natural Energy is like the flow of the wind, the rhythm of the water, and the breath of the earth; the omnipresent fluctuations are all manifestations of Natural Energy."

"If it were the method used by the toads of Mount Myoboku, who rely on massive Chakra to harness Natural Energy, the danger would be much lower; even if one failed and turned into stone, it could be reversed through specific methods."

"But the heritage of my Ryūchi Cave is far more perilous than that."

"Using pure Spiritual Energy to contain Natural Energy is like a rootless duckweed trying to seize the origin of the world."

"You need to possess powerful Spiritual Energy to attempt fusion after perceiving Natural Energy; otherwise, your soul will be assimilated by the Natural Energy and eventually dissipate, becoming a part of the world's Natural Energy."

"You wouldn't even have the chance to go to the Pure Land for reincarnation."

"Now, do you still intend to practice?"

The White Snake Sage's eyes suddenly widened, her golden vertical pupils staring at Uchiha Ao, her tone filled with warning as she spoke.