Qing Jiao looked at Wang Dong, who had suddenly split into two beings. Although he knew it was one of his master's supreme abilities, he still felt a bit at a loss.
Especially when he gazed at Wang Dong's true self, the cold, indifferent eyes and the emotionless face immediately reminded him of ancient ice. The chill in the air made him shudder involuntarily.
Wang Dong sensed the new body he had acquired. It still wasn't fully aligned, with a certain awkwardness. The integration between soul and body would take several hundred thousand years to achieve full harmony.
This was normal. Even if it was a relatively simple vessel, it would take thousands of years to fully synchronize. Not to mention that his body was derived from the rare Twelve-Petal Green Lotus, a superior vessel. As the saying goes, "What is gained must be lost." The higher the quality of the vessel, the more complex its structure and the greater its potential, meaning the longer the time required for integration. After all, the body wasn't his own, so understanding and merging with it would naturally take a long time.
In fact, Wang Dong could control the body without waiting hundreds of thousands of years. However, during his seclusion, as he analyzed his strengths and weaknesses, he realized that his current state in the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm was not perfect. He understood many things, but he didn't truly grasp their essence.
It was like how everyone knew that exercise could strengthen the body, but only professional athletes understood the principles behind it. Similarly, cultivation could not be faked. The deeper one understood oneself, the firmer the foundation, the richer the inner power, and the greater the potential to break through to higher realms.
Therefore, Wang Dong would rather spend hundreds of thousands of years fully integrating with the Green Lotus body than rush ahead with his split soul. After all, the path to cultivation was gradual. If one was too eager, it might cause harm.
After sensing his own condition, Wang Dong looked at his true self. Although he knew that after the soul split, his true self would become like an iceberg, he still couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had long known that when the soul was divided, even if the true self dominated the body, there would still be some influence on the original being. It wouldn't be so cold and detached.
Indeed, once the soul split, the rational nature of the true self was fully revealed. His face became as cold and unfeeling as a carved stone statue, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. After many emotional elements were separated along with the split soul, this rationality became so intense that it even affected the body's appearance. His eyes turned silver, and his hair became as white as snow.
After the split, the true self's realm fluctuated slightly, but with his deep foundation, it was not a big issue. He still remained at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, while the Green Lotus split soul was at the peak of the Xuanxian realm. It was estimated that once the Green Lotus split soul fully integrated with the body and understood its origin, it would break through to the Golden Immortal level. Compared to others, it would be easier for Wang Dong to refine the acquired spirit into innate spirit.
In fact, this was beneficial for Wang Dong. If he had manifested directly as a Golden Immortal, he would have had to spend a lot of time fixing his foundation, since he would have lacked the opportunity to hone his understanding of the Dao. Moreover, foundational work was hard to make up for later.
Though the Xuanxian realm was slightly lower, this allowed Wang Dong to further solidify his foundation.
"True self, it seems like I still need you to guard this place for a few hundred thousand years. Once I harmonize with the Green Lotus body, we can proceed with the next steps," Wang Dong said.
The true self merely nodded indifferently. He tossed the Green Lotus Ancient Sword to Wang Dong and flew toward the summit of the main peak, not looking back.
"Ugh, sigh..." Wang Dong was speechless. Dealing with the true self was so cold that even a stranger might be driven mad by it. "I really wonder if the true self could ever have a girlfriend in the future," Wang Dong thought, imagining the scene of a beautiful girl talking to a detached, god-like being. The thought struck him as quite strange.
Shaking his head and dismissing these unnecessary thoughts, Wang Dong turned his attention to Qing Jiao, who was still in a daze. Wang Dong realized that Qing Jiao had been his mount for almost 300 years now. Since giving him a cultivation method, Wang Dong hadn't had the time to pay much attention to him, and he felt a little guilty about it.
"Qing Jiao, why haven't you transformed yet?" Wang Dong asked curiously. After all, Qing Jiao was already at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm and could have transformed long ago.
"I think it's fine like this. It's strong enough," Qing Jiao replied, proudly flaunting his long, serpentine body, making the surrounding water energy stir in response.
"Alright, since you like it this way, then so be it. After all, your main cultivation is based on your serpent body, so it's beneficial for you to comprehend the nature of water element energy," Wang Dong said, patting Qing Jiao's head helplessly.
In fact, Qing Jiao had his own thoughts. With his somewhat simple mind, he had assumed that Wang Dong had taken him as a mount partly because of his unique serpent body. After all, Wang Dong had never taken a golden-scaled creature as a mount, despite its large size.
Moreover, there were rumors in the mount-riding world that when a mount transformed, its original owner would sometimes take it as a servant, recognizing its long service. The mount would then be allowed to cultivate independently, while a new mount would be chosen. Afterward, the mount that remained in its original form would quickly surpass its predecessor in cultivation, making the transformed mount regret its decision.
Therefore, despite being at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm, Qing Jiao stubbornly refused to transform. He had made up his mind to remain the most powerful mount.
Wang Dong had no idea about Qing Jiao's strange reasoning. He simply thought that he hadn't paid enough attention to him and should offer some guidance.
Thus, Wang Dong remained on Penglai Island, harmonizing with his new body and studying the sword path contained in the Green Lotus Ancient Sword. Occasionally, he would guide Qing Jiao.
Meanwhile, the true self quietly pondered the relationship between soul, consciousness, will, rules, and laws. After extensive contemplation, he finally understood the connections. Consciousness and will were both aspects of the soul, but they manifested in different forms, like water, which could exist as steam or ice.
Consciousness focused on scanning and perception, with a broad capacity, while will was about obsession, intense and domineering, like someone exuding killing intent or a sinister aura.
Rules were subcategories of laws, akin to the relationship between national constitutions and local laws. The constitution set the general framework, while the local laws were more detailed and specific.
These days, the atmosphere was calm and fulfilling, yet on the vast and ancient continent, hidden currents of chaos swirled beneath the surface, as if a storm were about to break.