Immortal of the Nine Realms

Normally, when cultivators reached the Enlightenment Realm, they would be able to separate their Nascent Soul from their body and wander freely, allowing them to perform extraordinary feats.

The Nascent Soul would have become solidified at that point, much like Senior Yun He when Fang Chen first met him. Back then, he had conversed with him and even made tangible contact with him. Senior Yun He had merely given him a light whack, and Fang Chen’s soul was forced back into his body.

However, this was already the norm for Fang Chen before he even reached the Enlightenment Realm. His unique soul could already wander freely.

By the eighth year, with the refinement of the Enlightenment Realm chapter and the top-grade spirit stone, the Nine Heavens Profound Mother Primordial Spirit had become even more solid. It had a faint sense of flesh and blood to it.

Looking closely, there seemed to be fine blood vessels on it.

”It’s time,” muttered Fang Chen.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air. He didn’t move and remained seated. However, his Nascent Soul slowly stood up and floated in mid-air.

Powerful Yin energy surged from all directions, continuously pouring into the Nascent Soul. The slightly ethereal soul became increasingly solid. By the end, if anyone were present, they would have a hard time distinguishing which one was Fang Chen’s true body.

His Nascent Soul and body had become identical, with no differences at all. The Nascent Soul’s breathing even became palpable.

The only difference was that the Nascent Soul had a Zhu Long coiling around it, while the physical body did not.

”The Yin energy... It seems that this is the unique aspect of the Nine Heavens Profound Mother Primordial Spirit. It doesn’t require spiritual energy, but rather Yin energy....”

As this thought crossed his mind, Fang Chen’s focus shifted, and a flash of purple lightning flickered in his palm.

He smiled.

The purple lightning instantly dissipated. Then, within the grand hall, flying swords formed from the power of the purple lightning appeared.

As the flying swords vanished, 2 heads grew from his Nascent Soul’s shoulders. Along with them, 4 arms also sprouted.

It was the technique ”Three Heads and Six Arms.”

In a short amount of time, Fang Chen, in his Nascent Soul form, performed various techniques. Not only did he execute them with ease, but their power was also far greater than when his Nascent Soul was at the grand completion stage, about 10 times stronger.

”So this is the Enlightenment Realm,” Fang Chen muttered to himself.

He suspected that the Enlightenment Realm and the Nascent Soul Realm should, in fact, be the same. The former was the beginning of the realm, and the latter was the peak of its level.

The spiritual energy within his physical body hadn’t increased due to the breakthrough into the Enlightenment Realm. It was just that his Nascent Soul had become extraordinary.

The solidification of the Nascent Soul wasn’t due to the immense spiritual energy poured into it just now. Instead, it was the result of a special qualitative change. It was similar to how a tadpole would grow into a frog, or how a caterpillar would turn into a butterfly.

Fang Chen’s Nascent Soul now not only had the ability to change its form at will, becoming either invisible or solid, but it could also perform any of his techniques. It was like he had gained an additional body.

Fang Chen pondered thoughtfully. After the middle three realm, could it be that the focus of cultivation shifts from the physical body to the soul? Future stages like the Soul Splitting and Fusion Realm might have something to do with it.

A few breaths later, he put aside his distractions and quietly began to feel how his current state differed from when he first carried out the soul-crossing ritual.

He gradually realized that the Nascent Soul in the Mortal Realm felt as if it was locked in place, unable to unleash its full power.

This was completely different from the Underworld. When he crossed over, his soul power was equivalent to a Yin Monarch, which was akin to the Immortal King in the Mortal Realm, a cultivator of the Ascension Realm. That indicated that his soul had already reached the level of an Immortal King. Despite that, in the Mortal Realm, he couldn’t exert the power an Immortal King should possess.

It was as if, somewhere in the unknown, a force was suppressing him.

After pondering for a few breaths, Fang Chen suddenly looked at his physical body with a hint of realization.

Could it be... related to the physical body? Is it because my physical body has yet to reach the level of an Immortal King that my Nascent Soul couldn’t exhibit its true power?

Fang Chen thought, Is my physical body... the limiter affecting my Nascent Soul? Is it because this limiter is absent in the Underworld that I could wield powers equivalent to that of a Yin Monarch?

He wasn’t sure if his idea was correct, and there was no one he could ask. Cultivators like him, with a soul much stronger than their body, were rare cases. There was no way to compare them to others.

There was, however, one way to test his hypothesis.

If he destroyed his physical body, it might confirm whether his guess was right, but that method came with great risks. Unless absolutely necessary, Fang Chen wasn’t willing to go that far.

”From here on, it’s just a matter of slow progress. As long as I continue to solidify my Nascent Soul, making it solid enough to divide the spirit, I will naturally progress to the Soul Splitting Realm.”

The Enlightenment Realm chapter of the Three Thousand Dao focused primarily on refining the Nascent Soul.

This seemingly simple method of promotion was, in reality, as difficult to overcome for ordinary cultivators as a towering snow mountain would be for mortals.

It had taken Fang Chen 28 years to break through from the grand completion stage of the Nascent Soul Realm to the Enlightenment Realm. This might seem like a short period when tied to the feat of achieving a breakthrough to the Enlightenment realm. However, this feat had been realized in this timeframe thanks to the help of the top-grade spirit stone.

Without it, it would’ve easily taken Fang Chen 10 or even 20 times longer.

An Enlightenment Realm Cultivator had a lifespan of only 1,200 years. If a practitioner broke through at 500 years old, they could live for another 700 years.

If the process of advancing from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Enlightenment Realm was this difficult, then after reaching the Enlightenment Realm, it would become even more challenging to advance to the point where the spirit could be divided. Many cultivators, if they didn’t encounter a suitable opportunity, might remain stuck at that level for their entire lives, gradually aging until their lifespan runs out.

After some comparison, Fang Chen made a certain guess. ”My cultivation speed... Seems is... slow. Not only that, but it seems that because the foundation the Three Thousand Dao Art lays is profound, it’s ever slower than the average cultivator.”

It had taken him 28 years to make a breakthrough, even with the help of a top-grade spirit stone.

If it weren’t for his special soul, allowing him to make progress by exhausting his spiritual energy, he would’ve likely still been a Foundation Building Realm cultivator till this day.

He wasn’t sure whether the unusual cultivation path would still work after his breakthrough into the Enlightenment Realm.

With his soul returned to the body, Fang Chen stepped out of the Dao Palace and stood at the edge of the platform, gazing into the vast void. He began practicing various techniques.

A day later, his spiritual energy was depleted.

The spiritual energy rapidly replenished at a visible speed, and it increased a little. However, there was no change in his Nascent Soul, as if his cultivation hadn’t progressed at all. Only the available spiritual energy within him had increased.

Fang Chen remained calm. This time, his Nascent Soul was performing various techniques.

Again and again.

After several full days, his Nascent Soul gradually became ethereal, and even though Fang Chen tried to solidify it, he couldn’t. That indicated that the Nascent Soul had reached its limit.

The next moment, a cold, icy energy began flowing into the Nascent Soul from the surrounding world.

The Yin energy in the Mortal Realm was already scarce, but now, it seemed as though all of it was at Fang Chen’s disposal.

After several breaths, Fang Chen’s Nascent Soul returned to its peak state. It had become more solid than before, and his cultivation advanced slightly.

”Indeed, after reaching the Enlightenment Realm, what you truly refine is the Nascent Soul. It’s not just me; everyone else is the same.”

A smile appeared in Fang Chen’s eyes.

As long as this special cultivation method of his could still work, there was nothing to worry about.

Perhaps one day, when this method no longer worked, he would follow the traditional path like other cultivators, locking himself in seclusion and laboriously gathering spiritual energy.

Suddenly, Little Sword flew over excitedly. It joyfully revealed, ”Little Chen, I... I’m about to reach the fifth rank!”

It was eager to merge with Fang Chen, but when it arrived, it realized it had missed its target.

Fang Chen smiled. ”This is my Nascent Soul; my physical body is still in the Dao Palace.”