Time passed silently in the Four Seas Profound Mansion, where there was no alternation of day and night, only the occasional flicker of runes on the jade pillars of the palace, marking the passage of time.
Chen Sheng immersed all his heart and spirit into cultivation and alchemy.
The spiritual qi on the first level of the Profound Mansion was astonishingly rich, with the spiritual mist in the air emitting a faint luminous white glow, reaching the Tier Five standard.
With each deep breath, these spiritual mists poured into his body through his nose and mouth, transforming in his meridians into a fine stream that washed over his already condensed mana, making it ever more pure.
With the Tier Six inheritance of the "Four Seas Void Transformation Atlas" and the "Four Seas Pill Book" as guidance, along with the continuous supply of high-tier spiritual objects from the treasure vault,
his cultivation progress was like riding the great wind, several times faster than before.
The alchemy room was where Chen Sheng most often stayed. The ground was paved with fireproof black stone, and the walls were engraved with fire gathering runes to ensure the stability of the pill fire.
At the moment, the Five-Colored Dust Transformation Cauldron was floating mid-air, its body flowing with five streams of spirit light in blue, red, yellow, white, and black, like five lively ribbons entwining it.
The cauldron lid trembled slightly, and the thick and long-lasting fragrance of pills seeped through the cracks, carrying the freshness of Nine Heavens Jade Dew and the chill of Vast Sea Snow Lotus, filling the entire alchemy room.
Chen Sheng sat cross-legged on a cushion in front of the cauldron, wearing a plain-colored Daoist robe, flicking his fingers:
"Go!"
A wisp of golden pill fire, like a tamed spirit sparrow, flickered erratically at his fingertip, and with a slight movement of his heart spirit, it precisely fell into the cauldron.
Inside the cauldron, the Nine Heavens Jade Dew and Vast Sea Snow Lotus, already transformed into liquid under the baking of the pill fire, turned into transparent droplets, shimmering with a gentle light, like condensed moonlight, while the Snow Lotus became a milky white slurry, carrying a hint of ice crystal chill.
Under Chen Sheng's control of his divine sense, the two masses of liquid slowly approached, his divine sense like a fine net, carefully perceiving every detail of their fusion.
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This was his fourth attempt in crafting the Tier Four Middle Grade Elixir "Concentration Pill."
At this moment, he slowed his pace, letting the warmth of the Jade Dew gradually seep into the Snow Lotus slurry, like spring water melting icy ground, forming a clear light cyan liquid inside the cauldron.
Time passed slowly...
"It's done!"
With a low shout, Chen Sheng suddenly executed a spell, runes flickered at his fingertips, infusing the cauldron body, and with a "clack," the cauldron lid suddenly flipped open, and three smooth pills slowly rose from within.
The pills were about the size of longan, their surfaces glowing faintly like the finest pearls, surrounded by a golden pill pattern.
He waved his hand, and a gentle spiritual power caught the pills, holding them in his palm, the fragrance of the pills becoming ever clearer, stirring a sense of relief and ease in his heart.
On this day, it had been exactly a hundred years since he had entered the Profound Mansion, and he finally refined his first batch of Tier Four Middle Grade Elixirs!
...
In the following three hundred years, alchemy became an unchangeable daily practice for Chen Sheng.
He gradually refined the Tier Four Middle Grade Elixirs recorded in the "Four Seas Pill Book" to enhance his alchemy skill.
With one batch of pills after another, his proficiency in Tier Four Middle Grade Elixirs increased, and later he could even produce a batch every three months, with the pill success rate stabilized at over eighty percent, occasionally crafting top-grade elixirs with three golden patterns.
These elixirs became a booster for his cultivation—taking a few Concentration Pills every ten years allowed him to achieve a calmer heart spirit while comprehending the "Four Seas Void Transformation Atlas."
The Tier Four Middle Grade Immortal Ascension Qi Gathering Pill accelerated his mana accumulation, sparing him the need to spend excessive time absorbing spiritual qi, transforming the mana in his dantian from initial luminescent white gradually to light blue, becoming increasingly condensed and substantial.
In less than three hundred years of entering the mansion, he reached the peak of Mid-stage Nascent Soul, with the sword-carrying Nascent Soul inside him swelling from five inches to seven inches.
The Nascent Soul wore a miniature version of the Daoist robe, and the long sword on its back became ever clearer, the hand gesture of holding the sword exuding a few more traces of imposing dignity capable of commanding the heavens, with a void mark between its brows subtly pulsating, emitting faint spatial fluctuations.
Yet at this moment, a bottleneck, like an invisible wall, quietly stood in front of him.
Beginning with the path of alchemy, he set his sights on the Tier Four High Grade Elixir, "Breaking Misfortune Pill," an area he considered himself most familiar with.
However, crafting a Tier Four High Grade Elixir not only required the combination of over ten kinds of Tier Four spiritual objects but also needed to integrate one's understanding of the void during the alchemy process.
According to the "Four Seas Pill Book," one must use the void power to guide the circulation of "primordial spirit" in the pill liquid, allowing the elixir to contain a trace of spatial Dao rhyme.
Yet, no matter how Chen Sheng attempted, issues always arose from the fusion of void power and primordial spirit—sometimes the void power was too strong, tearing the primordial spirit apart, while other times the primordial spirit was too fragile to bear the spatial Dao rhyme.
More often than not, when the elixir liquid fuses, it causes minute spatial disturbances, ultimately either turning into a pool of useless paste or forming a half-wasted "residual pill," devoid of any medicinal effects.
After failing repeatedly, Chen Sheng had no choice but to admit that he seemed to have reached the limit of his talent.
The threshold to becoming a Tier Four High Grade Alchemist was like an invisible barrier that no matter how he tried to breach, he could never cross.
His path of cultivation had also come to a halt. He had long since refined a Tier Four Middle Grade "Realm-Breaking Pill." The pill was entirely light-golden in color, containing overwhelming mana, enough to ensure that he wouldn't be bound by mana bottlenecks when he advanced.
However, the key for a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator was not merely the accumulation of mana, but mastering the "Void Domain."
One must condense their understanding of Void Power into a domain, deploy the void domain with a thought, control the spatial flow within it, and even momentarily distort the trajectory of an enemy's attack.
Over the years, Chen Sheng has been comprehending the "Four Seas Void Transformation Atlas," and he could already skillfully deconstruct and reconstruct Void Power.
With a flick of his finger, he could tear open minute spaces, and the small void vortex condensed in his palm could absorb the surrounding spiritual qi, yet he was always separated from "domain formation" by a faint film.
At times in meditation, he seemed to touch the edge of the domain, envisioning a region constructed by Void Power before his eyes, where spiritual qi flowed slowly, and the light became distorted.
But upon opening his eyes, such understanding vanished like bubbles, elusive like a flower in the water or the moon in a well, visible yet unreachable, illusory and distant.
On this day, Chen Sheng ceased his alchemy and put away the Five-Colored Dust Transformation Cauldron, standing alone on the black stone floor of the palace.
He looked up at the exotic beast carvings on the dome—a statue of the Kunpeng with wings spread wide, its feathers clearly visible, as if it might dive down the next moment.
The silence within the Profound Mansion enveloped him like a tide, without the sound of wind or birds, only the sound of his own breathing echoing in his ears, with a sense of frustration filling his heart.
He muttered to himself in his heart:
"Alchemy and cultivation, both at a bottleneck, progress over two hundred years is minimal."
"Logically, I should venture out to the Great Wilderness to observe void transformations—witness double star black holes devour the void and the flames of Red Flame Volcano warp space. Perhaps I could find a breakthrough opportunity there, but the Profound Mansion has confined me here."
He sighed slightly, a hint of self-mockery flashing in his eyes:
"Still lacking comprehension and aptitude. The Refining Void Great Power choosing a successor perhaps assumes that Nascent Soul cultivation with sufficient resources is a straightforward path, no need to accumulate worldly insights through travel. But I don't have such heaven-defying talent and perception."
Taking a deep breath, he slowly suppressed the agitation in his heart, trying to calm himself down.
Years of cultivation had taught him that forcing a breakthrough would only backfire; it's better to go with the flow. He muttered in his heart:
"After five hundred years of seclusion, perhaps it's time to relax and let the tense heart and spirit take a break."
As for the way to relax, he had already thought it through—sword refining, array formation, artifact refining, and tea meditation, all capable of calming his heart.
...
As time slowly passed, in the days that followed, besides his daily alchemy and cultivation, Chen Sheng gradually put more energy into other affairs.
In the early mornings, he would wield the Tingyu Flying Sword in the open space of the palace, cutting through the void with the sword light, leaving behind transient ripples, like water waves gradually spreading out.
He no longer deliberately pursued the sharpness of the sword momentum, but rather felt the flow of the void in his sword swings!
How the sword light merged into the void, how it used the power of space to accelerate, and how the Sword Qi remained longer in the void, understanding the connection between sword momentum and the void with each strike and move.
In the afternoon, he would take out seventy-two array banners, using the profound restrictions around the Profound Mansion as a reference, setting up various arrays within the palace.
Starting with the basic Five Elements Array, arranging the banners in the order of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, feeling the resonance of the Five Elements and space.
Then, a complex Void Array, hiding the banners in the void, using spatial fluctuations to confuse sight, honing his array dao insights during the array's operation, and occasionally attempting to integrate two types of arrays to create new small arrays.
In the evening, Chen Sheng would go to the Artifact Refining Room, taking out ore from the Profound Mansion Treasure Vault, trying to refine some small magical artifacts, like storage pouches, protective talismans, and sword scabbards.
He infused his alchemy fire technique skills into artifact refining, using the precision of controlling pill fire to master the fire control in artifact refining, letting the ore slowly take shape in the flame, and occasionally carving simple runes on the magical artifacts to enhance their power.
Though most were Tier Three and Tier Four Lower Grade Magical Artifacts, it deepened his understanding of the Artifact Dao.
When occasionally free, Chen Sheng would brew a pot of Spirit Tea beside the Jade Stele, savoring the bitterness and aftertaste in the tea.
He quietly felt the warmness of the tea sliding down his throat, gradually soothing his tense heart and spirit, as if the fatigue of five hundred years dissipated somewhat in this cup of tea.
Another two hundred years passed, quietly flowing in the tranquility of the Four Seas Profound Mansion.
There was no sun or moon revolving, only the flickering of the Spirit Fire in the Pill Room, the soft hammering sounds in the Artifact Room, and the Sword Light breaking through the air in the Sword Room, forming the melody of Chen Sheng's daily cultivation.
The resources from the Profound Mansion Treasure Vault were like an inexhaustible fountain, providing a solid and luxurious support for his diverse cultivation.
These were conditions he never had in the Great Wilderness, which allowed him to make simultaneous progress in alchemy, sword refining, array formation, and artifact refining.
In the Profound Mansion Array Room, the walls of this secret room were engraved with Ancient Array Patterns, and the floor was inlaid with Void Stones that could simulate void fluctuations.
Chen Sheng sat cross-legged at the center of the Stone Array, with seventy-two re-tempered array banners floating before him.
Using the "Void Array Principle" recorded in the Four Seas Void Transformation Atlas as a foundation, he engraved the Ancient Runes he had comprehended earlier in the Mist Concealed Stone Forest onto them.
"In the past at the Mist Concealed Stone Forest, I only found the runes mysterious. Now, combined with the Void Array Principle, I understand their true meaning!"
Chen Sheng mused to himself while injecting a trace of Void Power into the array banners, which instantly vanished into the void, leaving only faint traces of Spirit Light.
Before long, seventy-two array banners formed the "Void Trapping Dragon Array" in the void; the array patterns resonated with the Void Stones in the secret room, the surrounding space began to distort, forming invisible chains as if a giant dragon were truly trapped within.
He raised his hand and pointed, the array banners swiftly reorganized into the "Five Elements Demon Slaying Array," with five streams of spiritual light—green, red, yellow, white, and black—circulating within the array, effortlessly tearing the surrounding void. He shook his head with a smile:
"The power of this array is ten times stronger than what I could arrange in the Daoist Sect back in the day. Now, just a slight fingertip movement can trap and kill an ordinary Nascent Soul Early-stage cultivator."
...
In the Artifact Room, Chen Sheng conjured Pill Fire in his palm, merging it with Earth Fire into a dual-colored flame, precisely enveloping the ore.
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"Fire Technique Temperature Control is the foundation of alchemy; now using it in artifact refining proves equally adept."
Under the heat of the flame, the Primordial Thunder Crystal and Netherworld Cold Iron gradually melted into two streams of liquid, slowly merging under his Divine Sense control.
While adjusting the flame temperature, he incorporated his understanding of Void Power, engraving Void Runes onto the artifact mold.
"In earlier years, the Tripod Banners were makeshift, but now with good materials, I must refine a handy Spiritual Treasure!"
With the successful refinement of the first Tier Four Middle-Grade Spiritual Treasure, the "Void Ten Thousand Miles Fan," its fan surface was engraved with void patterns that could invoke the power of the void to ward off attacks.
Subsequently, Chen Sheng spent six months refining the Five-Colored Dust Transformation Cauldron and seventy-two array banners, elevating them to Tier Four Middle Grade; the Five Elements Spiritual Light from the cauldron became more intense, while the void concealment ability of the array banners greatly enhanced.
The most significant change was with the Lifebound Flying Sword "Tingyu."
This sword, cultivated with his life force, was not constrained by artifact refining skills and could naturally advance through nourishment with Spiritual Materials and tempering with Sword Intent.
To further it, Chen Sheng expended a hundred years of merit to exchange for "Tier Five Red Sky Copper" and "Void Marrow" from the Treasure Vault!
The former is the top material for refining sword weapons, capable of infusing the sword body with intense Power of Breaking, while the latter is the essence of condensed void, allowing the Sword Light to merge into the void, killing silently.
In the Sword Room, the Tingyu Flying Sword floated in mid-air, as Chen Sheng sat cross-legged, placing Red Sky Copper and Void Marrow on either side of the flying sword, reciting the Sword Nourishing Technique under his breath, emitting a pure strand of Sword Intent from his brow, entwining the sword body like threads.
"Tingyu, you have followed me for many years, today I shall help you ascend another level!"
He whispered in his heart, under the urging of Sword Intent, the Red Sky Copper gradually melted into a red liquid, slowly infiltrating the sword body along the spine, while the Void Marrow transformed into a faint blue mist encasing the flying sword, dyeing the sword body with a layer of deep silver-blue.
This tempering lasted a hundred and fifty years.
During this period, Chen Sheng nurtured it daily with Sword Intent, injecting Void Power once a week, watching as the sword body's color shifted from lustrous white to silver-blue, and the patterns on the sword spine became clearer from indistinct.
Those patterns were naturally formed Void Runes; with each additional rune, the flying sword's harmony with the void deepened.
"It's done!"
When the final trace of Void Marrow fused into the sword body, the Tingyu Flying Sword suddenly emitted a clear and resonant sword cry.
The Sword Light flashed, leaving a faint fissure in the void within the Sword Room, the silver-blue of the sword body grew deeper, akin to a congealed starry sky.
Chen Sheng raised his hand and grasped the hilt, a cool and sharp sensation coursed through him, and he laughed to himself:
"Tier Four High Grade... now your power can rival the Lifebound Spiritual Treasures of Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivators!"
In subsequent sword practice, the Tingyu Sword's Sword Light was no longer confined to mere physical cutting.
The sword blade glided through the void, carrying a strand of Void Power, leaving fine fissures in the void, easily cutting through even the Void Stones of the Profound Mansion's secret room.
...
On this day, the Earth Fire in the Alchemy Room had finally dimmed temporarily.
Chen Sheng had just finished refining a batch of Tier Four Middle-Grade Gathering Yuan Pills, the Pill Fragrance permeating the secret room as he gazed at the smooth Pills in the cauldron, exhaling softly:
"After centuries of alchemy, Tier Four Middle Grade is now at my fingertips, yet Tier Four High Grade still eludes perfection... never mind, let's rest for today."
Carrying a pot of freshly brewed Spirit Tea, he arrived at the jade stele in the center of the palace. The tea had been brewed with Thousand-Year Stone Milk, a special Four Seas Ancient Tea unique to the Profound Mansion.
The cup was an "Ice Heart Lamp" of Tier Four Middle Grade personally refined by him—the body of the lamp was as translucent as ice, with fine runes engraved on its walls that retained the tea's fragrance.
He poured himself a cup, the pale yellow tea gently swayed in the cup, the tea leaves floating within like jade, exuding a fresh aroma mixed with the faint breath of time by the jade stele, calming one's heart and spirit.
Chen Sheng held the cup, his fingertips caressing the cool wall of the lamp, his gaze falling on the floating tea leaves in the cup, his heart devoid of past anxiety, left only with tranquility.
"The path of cultivation, alternates between tension and relaxation."
He murmured to himself, recalling the bits and pieces over the past two hundred years—the setbacks of Alchemy, the complexity of Artifact Refining, the tedium of Sword Refining, the confusion of Array Formation... in hindsight, they all became invaluable sediment.
"I still have a hundred years of lifespan, if I can't break through to Late-Stage Nascent Soul in this life, then I shall await the next."
He had silently recited this countless times in his heart, but this time, when spoken aloud, it bore no trace of self-mockery or frustration, only pure relief.
As his words fell, he drank the tea in one gulp, the clear tea slid down his throat, leaving a hint of mellow flavor seeping into his being, as if washing away five hundred years of fatigue.
Just then, a wondrous change suddenly emerged within his body!
The layer of "membrane" that had always obstructed his path of cultivation, like thin ice brushed by a spring breeze, quietly shattered with a "crack."
Inside his dantian, that seven-inch tall sword-carrying Nascent Soul suddenly opened its eyes, a glint flashing through the previously closed sword gaze, the Void Mark at its brow erupted with brilliant light.
The patterns in the mark swiftly darted about like living things, causing the surrounding mana to boil like a serene lake stirred into towering waves.
"This is..."
Chen Sheng was taken aback, then uncontrollable joy surged within him, he could feel clearly that his understanding of Void Power was like having the Ren and Du Meridians cleared.
The previously vague concept of "domain" now became incredibly clear, as if it could be touched with an outstretched hand.
Instinctively, he pointed his finger, the surrounding void rippling, centered around him, an invisible force instantly enveloped a hundred-mile diameter space.
In this space, the void fluctuations were entirely under his control, the flow of spiritual energy slowed, the refraction of light distorted, and even the air seemed to solidify, forming a visible "Void Barrier."
"Is this... the Void Domain unique to a Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator?"
Chen Sheng waved his hand, the power of the void in the domain transformed into chains, winding around a distant jade pillar, with a light pull, the void power left a shallow mark on the jade pillar.
"A stone of another mountain can polish jade! My two hundred years of Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Array Formation seemed to deviate from the main line of cultivation, but in fact, they were all polishing the understanding of the void, and now it has finally accumulated to a breakthrough!"
Chen Sheng smiled lightly, immediately sitting cross-legged.
Without deliberate guidance, the spell in his body spontaneously began to operate, like a dragon awakening after years of slumber, greedily absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.
The Tier Five Spiritual Qi of the Profound Mansion's first layer, as if summoned by an invisible force, gathered from all directions, turning into visible spirit pillars, cascading into his body, quickly flowing into his dantian through his meridians.
The mana in the dantian, like a dried-up river being flooded, began to surge wildly, the originally pure white mana gradually dyed with a faint silver-blue, symbolizing the integration of Void Power, becoming more condensed and substantial.
The sword-carrying Nascent Soul, nourished by the mana, grew at a speed visible to the naked eye—from seven inches to eight, and then to nine inches.
The long sword behind the Nascent Soul also became more solidified, the Void Runes on the sword body and the domain fluctuations echoed, emitting sharp Sword Qi.
Chen Sheng's divine sense expanded along with it, from the original one thousand five hundred miles, abruptly breaking through to two thousand miles, two thousand five hundred miles... finally stabilizing at three thousand five hundred miles, the coverage area more than doubling from the Mid-stage Nascent Soul period.
Every thread of void fluctuation and every strand of spiritual energy flow within the domain clearly presented themselves in his perception.
...
The breakthrough process lasted a full six months.
During these six months, the spirit pillars continually poured in, the mana continually surged, and the void domain grew increasingly stable.
When the last trace of spiritual energy merged into his dantian, Chen Sheng slowly opened his eyes, a ripple of the void flashed in his eyes, his aura like a deep and unfathomable ocean.
It bore the heavy pressure of Late-Stage Nascent Soul, yet carried the ethereal and elusive quality of Void Power, the two qualities perfectly fused, appearing increasingly profound.
He grasped the Tingyu Flying Sword beside him, the sword body instantly resonating with the void domain, the Sword Light flashed, drawing a perfect arc within the domain, the spatial cracks spread like cobwebs yet instantly repaired under his control, leaving no trace behind.
"Now that I have advanced to Late-Stage Nascent Soul, coupled with Tingyu, I can be considered a top combat power even in the Great Wilderness!"
Chen Sheng gently caressed the sword body, feeling the joyful vibrations from within the sword, a relieved smile curled at the corner of his lips.
He stood up, stretching his muscles and bones.
With the various Spiritual Objects in the Profound Mansion, he had successfully cultivated the "Great Wilderness Dragon Transformation Chapter" to the eighth layer, comparable to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul, his Dharma Body no weaker than a Tier Four Middle-Grade Spiritual Treasure.
At this moment, his body emitted crackling sounds, each breath could trigger slight tremors in the surrounding void, as if even the air was dancing to his rhythm.
"Seven hundred years have passed, and I have finally achieved Late-Stage Nascent Soul!"