The memories of Tai Bing Chi swirled in Bai Xing's mind, showing him a huge secret about the heavens. He didn't just see cultivation, but why it existed. Cultivators could live for millions of years, but never truly become immortal. Why? Because there were just too many Daos (ways of doing things) and techniques. No one person could ever learn them all.
To fix this, the heavens created the Avatar. This was a new way for cultivators to make a separate body in each major realm after the Nascent Soul stage. Think of it like having a second self. This other self could learn different Daos, or spend a lot of time on difficult skills like making pills. It was the best helper, a way to learn many things at once and reach your full potential. But this gift came with a cost: you needed more souls. And that's where the Nascent Soul came in.
Bai Xing now understood that the nascent soul was the first, most important step. It grew the very essence of a soul that could later be split off to make an Avatar. But it was just the start. To make even the first Avatar, you needed not just a nascent soul, but a deep understanding of a Dao and to be at the highest level of the Transformation Realm. And the higher a cultivator went, the harder it became to create these extra selves.
"It's a long way until I can make an Avatar," Bai Xing whispered, looking far away, lost in the knowledge he'd gained. "But it will be super useful later." He thought about the old writings in his mind; the sheer scale of what the heavens had created almost overwhelmed him. "I still wonder why the heavens made so many paths, so many different Daos. Is it just to become immortal, or are there bigger, deeper reasons?"
That question, a nagging feeling, settled in his soul. The heavens, it seemed, weren't just creators; they were like architects of a huge, ongoing experiment, trying to achieve something massive, something too big for humans to grasp. But the answer remained a mystery, like a soft whisper on the cosmic wind.
For ten long years, Bai Xing worked hard at his cultivation. Every day showed his strong will as he carefully gathered qi (life energy), making his nascent soul stronger. It grew slowly, marking the passage of time inside its spirit form. He watched as it matured, reaching the age of one year – the very start of the Nascent Soul Early Layer. To go further, to truly break through to the Middle Layer, his nascent soul needed to reach the age of two.
Reaching two years of nascent soul growth in only fifteen years would have been impossible for most cultivators. But Bai Xing wasn't "most cultivators." He had Spirit Grade Pills and the rare Five Spiritual Roots, which gave him advantages that broke normal rules. Spiritual energy flowed through him, making him faster, pushing him closer to his goal.
He cultivated for another year, completely focused, every bit of him dedicated to this huge task. Finally, after endless effort and strong dedication, something big changed inside his spiritual core. A wave of energy spread out, showing a successful leap.
Nascent Soul Middle Layer!
Far away, in the empty yet amazing Central Region of the Spirit World, three powerful cultivators met. Inside a huge, ancient hall, filled with a strong sense of power, sat three Transformation Peak Cultivators, their presence showing immense authority. These were the leaders of the Three Great Spirit Sects.
"The Reincarnation Battlefield date is coming soon," said Grand Elder Tianli, the old leader of the Heaven Spirit Sect, his voice deep and strong. "It's time for the Three Great Sect Competition."
Matriarch Li Hua, the elegant leader of the Blossom Spirit Sect, her eyes holding ancient wisdom, sighed softly. "It's already been a thousand years. It feels like just yesterday we met for this."
"Hm," grunted Patriarch Lei Jin, the strict leader of the Thunder Spirit Sect, his voice rumbling like distant thunder. "This competition is super important. It will decide which sect gets to enter the Reincarnation Battlefield first."
They talked about the detailed plans for the upcoming competition, discussing rules, who would take part, and battle plans. Then, the talk moved to how their own sects were doing. Grand Elder Tianli and Patriarch Lei Jin shared their thoughts freely, their voices often overlapping, showing their dominant positions. Matriarch Li Hua, however, mostly stayed quiet, only giving a polite nod now and then. This unspoken way they acted came from a harsh truth: on the outside, these three sects pretended to be friends, but underneath, there was a constant current of plotting and rivalry. The Blossom Spirit Sect, being the weakest of the three, was often subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, undermined.
The difference was clear. The Heaven Spirit Sect and the Thunder Spirit Sect each had fifteen Transformation Realm cultivators, a strong force. The Blossom Spirit Sect, however, only had twelve. The main reason for this imbalance was that it was a girls' sect, and people thought it couldn't teach more than two main Daos well. That it had managed to raise twelve Transformation Realm masters was, in itself, seen as a miracle. A common saying in the cultivation world perfectly described their ongoing fight: "In the cultivation world, the weak are looked down on and the strong are praised. This is our test: to cultivate until we are among the best." For a million years, this was the goal of the Blossom Spirit Sect.
Finally, the discussion turned to a problem that had been bothering them.
"It's already been sixteen years, and we still have no new information about him," Grand Elder Tianli said, his gaze becoming harder. "It's true that in the past, we didn't take him seriously because he was a new cultivator. But now, I think we should send some elders from our sects to look into it more."
Patriarch Lei Jin scoffed, making a deep rumbling sound. "Sending Transformation Realm cultivators after just a Nascent Soul junior? If that news got out, we'd be the joke of the entire spiritual world!"
"You're still underestimating him, Lei Jin," Grand Elder Tianli shot back, his voice unusually serious. "He escaped two late Nascent Soul Realm cultivators right after he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm. And remember, he might also have help from an Immortal. Our own Supreme Elders, as powerful as they are, haven't been able to find him."
A tense silence filled the hall. Patriarch Lei Jin's bluster disappeared, replaced by a hint of worry. "So what should we do now? If even our Supreme Elders can't find him, what hope do we have?"
"On this matter," Grand Elder Tianli continued, his voice getting a little lower, "I've already talked to Lord Ling Xiao of the Heavenly Court."
Matriarch Li Hua's eyes widened almost without her meaning to. "That only Transformation Peak Heavenly Dao cultivator?"
The heavens, in their endless wisdom, had also made their own special Dao. Heavenly Dao was a rare and deep path, one of the top ten spirit Daos. It gave its users the amazing ability to see the future, which was truly valuable. But, like everything in the grand plan, there was a balance. Heavenly Dao came with big downsides: users lived much shorter lives, couldn't learn any other Dao, and people who naturally had the ability for it were extremely rare. Even rarer were those who managed to cultivate it to the Nascent Soul stage, and those who reached the Transformation Realm could be counted on less than a hundred fingers throughout the entire history of the spiritual world. Ling Xiao was one of those rare ones, a special genius born once in a million years.
"Yes," Grand Elder Tianli confirmed. "He said that after the Reincarnation Battlefield, we will meet him."
Patriarch Lei Jin's earlier scorn vanished, replaced by a grim determination. "If Ling Xiao himself has spoken, then there's no doubt. But for him to actually dare to come into the Reincarnation Battlefield… I don't care if he has an Immortal's legacy, I will end his life there." His voice echoed with a chilling resolve, the promise of a deadly fight hanging heavy in the air.