Nascent Soul
It took Hu Mang quite a bit of effort to explain to the three people in front of him that he wasn't suicidal; he was simply refining pills.
"Alchemy? What kind of alchemy are you making?" All three of them thought the other was talking nonsense.
The Hu Mang opened its mouth, and instantly a point of spiritual light condensed into a mysterious pearl, radiating light all over its body.
Seemingly having just been nurtured by Innate Qi, this light was exceptionally bright, just as described in Inner Alchemy Technique: "The light is like a full moon, as pure as crystal."
"You actually refined pills inside your body?" Lu Shuichan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Is this how you refine pills?
Aren't you afraid of being roasted to death?
"It's Innate Golden Core being refined."
The Hu Mang grew a thumb, and when it opened its mouth, a white light shone through.
Xu Nuoning and Hui Gu then noticed that this young man was none other than Junior Brother Hu, who had been accepted into the inner sect along with them.
Although Hu Mang still wanted to continue refining pills from living bodies, Lu Shuichan pointed out that if he continued roasting them like this, the flesh would go from being three-tenths cooked to five-tenths cooked.
So he had no choice but to be led out of the Fire Heart Alchemy Chamber and to a viewing platform halfway up the mountain.
Although Li Flame Mountain is a fire vein, it is not without its beautiful scenery.
It was dusk, and the setting sun had dyed the clouds on the horizon a brilliant orange-red, which contrasted beautifully with the crimson rocks of Li Flame Mountain, making the entire mountain seem to be ablaze.
The setting sun shone through the gaps in the clouds, like a curtain hanging from the sky, enveloping the earth in a warm glow.
The distant hills, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, displayed varying shades of color. Those closer by were a dark red, while those a little further away turned purple, and the furthest ones disappeared into a bluish-gray twilight, layer upon layer, like an ink wash painting.
Occasionally, a few birds would fly across the sky, emitting a few clear calls, adding a touch of life to this tranquil scene.
Hu Mang stared blankly for a while before lowering his head. He noticed that the ginseng girl, who had been in the peasant woman's arms, had come closer and was sniffing at him. When Hu Mang over, she said shyly:
"Senior Brother Hu, you smell so good! You smell almost as good as me."
"It smells just as good as you, it's almost cooked!" Lu Shuichan retorted without hesitation.
"Does such Human Body Pill Refining Great Method truly exist in the Upper Realm? Could the immortal who created this method be a demonic immortal?"
Just now, in order to explain the origin of the Golden Core Elixir Technique, Hu Mang casually mentioned that he had accidentally come across a "fragment of immortal Immortal Method" when he was a child.
After all, there really are immortals in this world, so it's always best to align yourself with them.
"However, you do indeed exude a bit of innate talent, just like Junior Sister Xu's blessed constitution, making you easily favored by mountain spirits and water spirits. Could this also be something you cultivated through alchemy?"
That's how it should be.
Lu Shuichan also became interested.
"Can I refine it too?"
Hu Mang wasn't stingy at all; he simply took out the "Awakening to Reality: Elixir Chapters" and handed it to the other party.
He was worried about not having a control group.
"So, Senior Brother, you also brought Junior Sister Xu and Senior Sister Hui to visit Li Flame Mountain?"
"Sigh~ I already made an appointment with your senior brother, who would have thought this job would fall to me? Shouldn't this be something only your senior brother likes to do?" Lu Shuichan complained.
Hu Mang looked at the other two and saw that Sui Gu had habitually taken out all kinds of kitchen utensils, pots and pans, and was skillfully starting a fire and cooking in a corner of the viewing platform. Her movements were smooth and fluid, and it was clear that this was not the first time she had done this.
Meanwhile, Junior Sister Xu was skipping and hopping around, holding a candied hawthorn in her hand.
"Senior brother, aren't you going to take these two to do the introductory quest?" Hu Mang asked after watching for a while.
"In such a short time, their cultivation level isn't high enough to even leave the house, let alone me," Lu Shuichan looked up at Hu Mang and asked in surprise, "You've already refined the Three Mountains so quickly?"
The two locked eyes, their auras swirling, and suddenly, three illusory immortal mountains appeared in Hu Mang's eyes.
The three mountains are shrouded in mystery, appearing and disappearing in different places. One is majestic and imposing, one is beautiful and serene, and one is ethereal and hazy, each with its own unique charm.
"You really did get it through training! You've got some talent, kid!"
It's important to understand that whether someone has exceptional innate talent or is already a cultivator, switching to the "Three Mountains and Five Sacred Peaks Lesser Liberation" requires a certain amount of time to adjust and adapt.
The fact that Hu Mang was able to comprehend the "Three Mountains" in less than a month shows that his talent is very well-matched with the Mysterious Peak Sect's Cultivation Method.
"And what about these two?"
Hu Mang looked at the mother-son duo who were born around the same time.
Although these two were not highly skilled, Hu Mang could not discern their cultivation levels, as if something was blocking his view.
Lu Shuichan sighed deeply again, "My two junior sisters, one is more interested in cooking than cultivating immortality, and the other is just a little kid who hasn't even developed composure yet. She can fall asleep while meditating. I can only take it slow. Your senior brother is really lucky to have such an easy-going junior brother like you."
Hu Mang looked at the other person with sympathy; taking care of a child was indeed quite exhausting.
So he changed the subject.
"The reason I was able to cultivate so quickly is also because of this 'Inner Alchemy Method'..."
Hu Mang briefly explained his conjecture about the connection between the Three Flowers of essence, energy, and spirit and the Golden Core.
With the eldest disciple absent and the master unreliable, only this person before me seems like a proper cultivator, someone I can consult.
Lu Shuichan carefully flipped through the "Wuzhen Danfa" (Awakening to Truth and Elixing the Elixir Method), without even looking up, and said:
"The method of performing rituals within a snail shell is rare, but not uncommon. What's truly remarkable is this method of forming the Golden Core, which takes a completely different approach and seems to have created a new cultivation system. At least with my current level, I can't figure out how to use the Golden Core to cultivate the Yin Spirit."
Hu Mang seemed to be deep in thought. So, the two cultivation systems are indeed incompatible?
"Moreover, I can vaguely sense that in this cultivation system, states of attainment are states of attainment, and methods are methods, and they are not interconnected."
Hu Mang was taken aback and asked:
"Shouldn't we separate realms of understanding from methods of practice?"
Lu Shuichan shook his head.
"It seems our Uncle Ge really didn't tell you anything."
"Essence Training to Qi Transformation, Qi Training to Spirit Transformation, Refining Spirit to Return to the Void, and Void Refinement Dao —these are not isolated from each other."
Lu Shuichan extended his palm, and a white halo first appeared in his palm, thick and heavy like solidified emulsion; then, a wisp of golden energy rose from the white halo, swirling and circling above his palm; finally, a transparent purple light bloomed from the tip of the golden energy, and then a bright divine light appeared, and all three disappeared. However, in the palm of this Senior Brother Lu, the "Three Mountains and Five Peaks" of the Mysterious Peak Sect appeared.
"It is heaven and earth," Hu Mang blurted out.
"That's right. Essence is the foundation of Qi, Qi is the support of Shen (spirit), Shen is the gateway to Xu (emptiness), and Xu is the destination of Dao (the Way). But ultimately, what is Dao? It is the Way of Heaven and Earth."
"But the method you gave me, I can't sense the Dao of Heaven and Earth within it. There are only one realm after another: Qi Training, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core. If you treat it as a series of steps, then with my cultivation level, I can't see what lies beyond."
There is no way of Heaven and Earth!
Is there no Heavenly Dao?
Hu Mang was taken aback and fell into deep thought.
The cultivation methods of Heavenly Gate lack the Heavenly Dao?
The "Awakening to Reality: Elixir Chapters" belongs to the ancient cultivation method, which does not have the Heavenly Dao, so modern cultivation methods are even less likely to exist.
Heaven and Earth, the Heavenly Dao, the Way.
Seeing that Hu Mang was lost in enlightenment, Lu Shuichan did not disturb him, but silently sat on the viewing platform and gazed at the distant scenery.
The cultivation methods of Heavenly Gate have no Dao!
As the sun sets, its last rays paint the clouds on the horizon a deep golden-red.
The distant hills gradually blurred in the twilight, turning into a hazy silhouette; a mountain breeze began to rise, causing the robes of the Hu Mang to flutter, but he was completely unaware, simply standing there blankly, staring into the distance, as if looking at something, yet as if looking at nothing at all.
After an unknown amount of time, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck the Hu Mang's brain, shattering all the chaos.
Therefore, the next level after the Golden Core stage is the Nascent Soul!
In the Azure Mysterious Realm, Nascent Soul Ascension is a method of ascension, and it is an endless method of ascension.
It doesn't need to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, nor does it need to resonate with Heaven and Earth. It only needs to condense its cultivation to a sufficient level, then forcibly tear apart the constraints of space, break free from this world, and head to a higher level.
The cultivators who created the entire Heavenly Gate cultivation system also knew that this method was incompatible with Heaven and Earth.
That's why it "ascended to heaven".
Since heaven and earth cannot exist, then let us break away from them!
The moment this thought arose, the Hu Mang's Divine Sense trembled violently, as if it had broken free of some invisible shackles, and began to expand, sublimate, and undergo a qualitative change at an incredible speed.
His Divine Sense was no longer confined to his surroundings, nor limited to the viewing platform and the Li Flame Mountain. Instead, it was like a pillar of light piercing through the clouds, soaring straight into the sky, penetrating the clouds, penetrating the atmosphere, and penetrating some more distant and profound existence.
His "Golden Core," or rather, "Golden Core illusion," trembled violently in his ancestral aperture between his eyebrows, its surface radiating a burst of golden light before shattering with a deafening roar.
The outer shell of the Golden Core transformed into countless tiny specks of light, dancing like fireflies within his body. They then reformed and recombined, eventually transforming into a small, humanoid figure of light and shadow identical to himself, sitting cross-legged in his Dantian with his eyes closed, his hands forming a mudra, and surrounded by a faint golden halo.
Then it dissipated along with the halo.
Nascent Soul.
His Divine Sense directly broke through the Golden Core level and reached the Nascent Soul Realm!
"Senior brother, what is this?"
Xu Nuoning looked at the Hu Mang with amusement. Although the Hu Mang's physical body seemed to be still in the same place, it also seemed to be gone.
This feeling is wonderful.
Even Lu Shuichan, one of the Five Dwarfs of Mystic Peak, was taken aback.
I never expected that Chunwuzi's junior brother would have such amazing comprehension.
With just a few casual pointers, his skill level improved by leaps and bounds.
It even gave him a sense of evolution that only the Primordial Spirit realm could provide.