That night.
Qiandi Dao Sect.
Beneath its rear mountain, within a highly secretive cave dwelling.
Qian Yuan Sect Master sat cross-legged inside, his body flickering with Dao Yun, his aura magnificent.
However, his mind was constantly focused on his own Primordial Spirit.
One hundred days of Foundation Establishment to solidify the Golden Core, arduous cultivation of the Golden Core to form the Nascent Soul, the Nascent Soul comprehends Dao to become Primordial Spirit...
He was a Cultivator of the Divinity Transformation Realm.
He naturally possessed a Primordial Spirit.
At this very moment.
Qian Yuan Sect Master was still contemplating those words.
To cultivate from top to bottom...
To retrace the path of cultivation, to return to one's true nature, to ascend to immortality.
Although he was currently in the Divinity Transformation Realm, that did not impede his understanding of these words.
If he truly grasped the opportunity of ascension, wouldn't his future cultivation be smooth sailing?
Thinking of himself reaching the Tribulation Transcending Stage and ascending in one fell swoop made him almost burst into laughter.
Only...
Qian Yuan Sect Master still couldn't grasp the beginning of that understanding and could do nothing but continuously introspect his own Primordial Spirit.
If he were to cultivate from top to bottom, his next step would be to transform his Primordial Spirit back into a Nascent Soul.
But how could a Primordial Spirit, which had already become a Primordial Spirit, revert to a Nascent Soul?
This was clearly impractical.
Yet according to the Great Elder.
That reclusive being did indeed go from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Golden Core Realm, and it was a genuine transformation, not a disguise.
In other words.
That being's Nascent Soul directly shattered, turning into a Golden Core.
But theoretically, this was simply not possible.
There have been cases of a Golden Core shattering to form a Nascent Soul, but never of a Nascent Soul shattering into a Golden Core.
He couldn't comprehend how that reclusive existence achieved it.
Qian Yuan Sect Master was baffled.
Bang!
Just then.
A pebble from the roof of the cave suddenly fell down, crashed to the ground, shattered, and made quite a noise.
Qian Yuan Sect Master turned his head to look, noticed it was merely a pebble breaking apart, and didn't pay much mind.
Wait.
Upon a closer look.
Inside that pebble, there was actually a piece of jade hidden within.
Jade in stone!
If he were to sell this piece of jade, it would probably be enough for a mortal family to live on for a lifetime.
But that's not the point...
It's that there was jade hidden inside the stone.
This sudden realization made Qian Yuan Sect Master think of something.
"Right! That's exactly the point! Without destruction, there can be no establishment; only through breaking can it be established!"
"Before the stone was broken, no one knew there was jade hidden within it. Only after it broke did the jade become visible to the eye. Without destruction, there can be no establishment; only through breaking can it be established—that's the meaning!!"
Qian Yuan Sect Master had an epiphany.
His mind felt incredibly clear.
Without hesitation, he gathered his energy and fiercely employed a secret technique of the sect, the Soul Severing Technique, on his own Primordial Spirit!
Boom!!
A force struck his Primordial Spirit, instantly causing him indescribable pain, as if every part of his body was being slashed with a knife.
This pain was beyond description.
Qian Yuan Sect Master's face turned pale, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, yet he still clenched his teeth and endured.
To endure the bitterest of the bitter is to be an ascender among men!
He endured for a whole six hours.
After six hours.
The pain had not subsided.
But Qian Yuan Sect Master was nearly at his limit.
Just as Qian Yuan Sect Master was about to collapse, a white light suddenly shone from his chest.
In an instant, all the pain Qian Yuan Sect Master was feeling disappeared.
Gasping for breath, Qian Yuan Sect Master knelt on the ground and took out a broken jade stele from his chest, his eyes wide with shock.
This was one of his life-saving trump cards, the Life-Substitute Jade Stele!
If he were to face a life crisis, this jade tablet would come into play and block a danger for him once.
The act of shattering his own Primordial Spirit just now had endangered his life, so the jade tablet activated.
What a pity to use up such a life-saving trump card...
But, this act of breaking and then re-establishing should be completed now, right!
The Qian Yuan Sect Master smiled as he looked inward at himself.
Hmm, the Primordial Spirit is indeed gone.
Wait, what about my cultivation level?
Hmm? Hmm???
The Qian Yuan Sect Master's smile stiffened.
His cultivation level...
Gone...
Not even a Nascent Soul to speak of.
Losing even the Golden Core.
Completely a mortal.
What happened to the promise of "no destruction, no establishment; break and then establish"?!
Had his act of breaking swept away all his cultivation levels???
Now he was really done for.
The Sect Master of the Holy Ground of the Eastern State's Qiandi Dao Sect, with his cultivation completely ruined—and by his own hand, no less.
If this news were to get out, where would that leave him!
The more the Qian Yuan Sect Master thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Great Elder, you have deceived me!!!"
The Qian Yuan Sect Master gritted his teeth, wishing he could smash the Great Elder into pieces.
Anger aside.
He quickly calmed down.
Given his current situation, he must not let anyone know that his cultivation was all gone.
Otherwise, he feared he wouldn't even keep his head.
The Qian Yuan Sect Master tidied up a bit and then left his cave dwelling.
He must return to the Sect Master's Palace where he usually resided to ensure his safety.
He stepped out of the cave, and like a mortal, began to walk step by step toward the mountain.
All the while, he continued to grumble to himself.
"Who's the accursed wretch who made this mountain path so hard to walk on? Isn't this just making things difficult for me?"
The Qian Yuan Sect Master had completely forgotten that it was he who had once given the order not to fix the mountain road.
...
The Qian Yuan Sect Master walked for a long time.
As he was about to reach his palace, a voice suddenly entered his ears.
"Sect Master, what brings you here in the dead of night?"
It was the voice of the Great Elder.
Upon hearing this voice,
The Qian Yuan Sect Master nearly stumbled backward in fright but managed to contain himself in time and put on a dignified facade, looking up and saying to the front, "Great Elder, come here."
A streak of light flashed over.
The Great Elder appeared before the Qian Yuan Sect Master, looking at him with a puzzled face, "Sect Master, what brings you here in the middle of the night?"
What am I doing here...
What am I doing here...
No, wait.
The palace ahead is mine, shouldn't I be asking the Great Elder what he's doing here???
With a strange expression on his face, the Qian Yuan Sect Master countered, "The palace in front is mine, if I'm not here, where should I be? Conversely, what are you doing here? You... seem to have come out of my palace, right?"
Upon hearing this, the Great Elder coughed a few times and said, "The Sect Master's Dao companion mentioned the Spirit Gathering Array in the Sect Master's Palace was broken and asked me to come take a look. It's already fixed, and I was just about to leave."
The Spirit Gathering Array was broken??
Shouldn't they have called for the sect's Array Master to fix it?
Why call for the Great Elder?
While the Qian Yuan Sect Master was deep in thought,
The Great Elder hurriedly pressed on, "By the way, Sect Master, you seem a bit different today. Could it be that you've comprehended some Ascension technique? If you truly have, please don't hesitate to teach me."
As soon as these words came out,
The Qian Yuan Sect Master shivered, worried that his complete loss of cultivation levels would be discovered, and quickly babbled his way through.
Both men 'with their own ghosts,' slyly exchanged a few words, and then parted ways...
...
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