Chapter 248: Nascent Soul of Heaven and Earth
All the power exchanged from burning the Sword Core was poured into the Grand Golden Core, driving its rapid transformation. Yet, this Grand Golden Core of the true body was no ordinary core. Burning a single Sword Core was far from enough.
Thus, the second Sword Core was ignited, then the third, the fourth, the fifth. Beyond that, Gu Mo's incarnation also absorbed and refined the remaining Tier-4 Sun Essence, feeding it all into the Grand Golden Core.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Just as Gu Mo was about to ignite the sixth Sword Core, a voice came. At that, his incarnation slowly opened his eyes. He knew this person—during the Heavenly Chosen Battle, the man had sat beside the Valley Master of Shennong Valley.
"I greet you, Sect Master." Lin Wu rose slowly and saluted. "This junior has no other choice."
"Then you must bear the consequences of the path you have chosen." The Sect Master of Yin-Yang Sword Sect had no intent to stop him. This single word of warning was already his limit.
After all, Gu Mo's incarnation had not yet formally entered the gates of Yin-Yang Sword Sect, nor had he taken a master. Strictly speaking, he was not yet a disciple of the sect.
And for peerless geniuses, sheer obstruction was useless. Such prodigies had their own thoughts, and it was precisely these unrestrained ideas that allowed them to open new roads of cultivation, walking farther than others.
"Yes. Thank you, Sect Master, for lending me this small space." Gu Mo bowed once again. As he spoke, the sixth Sword Core within him ignited. In an instant, his incarnation's aura surged once more.
"This, this is…"
The moment the Sword Core ignited, the Sect Master of Yin-Yang Sword Sect narrowed his gaze, for he sensed six blazing flames within this young man's body.
Each flame was a burning Sword Core. This youth had actually condensed a shocking six Sword Cores. Within the sect's history, there had been a record of two Sword Cores, achieved by a disciple who had mastered both Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang Sword Intents.
Beyond that was only the dazzling founder of Grand Yan Sword Sect, who had once forged three Sword Cores. Since then, none had ever broken this record.
But now this record was not just broken—it was utterly crushed.
Though the number of Sword Cores did not define everything, a swordsman with two was unquestionably stronger than one with only a single core.
At last, the Sect Master of Yin-Yang Sword Sect understood why this youth's combat power was so overwhelming, and why during the Heavenly Chosen Battle he could ignite a Sword Core without his cultivation collapsing. The reason was simple—he held not one, but many Sword Cores within.
"You…"
Even the Sect Master could not help wanting to persuade him again. For in his eyes, Gu Mo's incarnation was relying on the forbidden Heavenly Demon Self-Destruction Art, burning Sword Cores to force a breakthrough. The chances of success were slim to none.
And even if, by some miracle, he succeeded, such a breakthrough would come at the cost of consuming his very foundation, leaving him only an ordinary Nascent Soul True Lord at best.
But just as the words left his lips, the Sect Master froze. From Gu Mo's incarnation came the aura of a seventh flame.
As this seventh Sword Core ignited, his aura touched upon a certain boundary. In that instant, dark clouds rolled across the sky.
"Rumble!"
Thunder rumbled with heaven's might within the clouds. It was the Tribulation of Nascent Soul.
With seven Sword Cores burned, Gu Mo's incarnation had refined the true body's Grand Golden Core to full completion. Of course, the year's worth of Tier-4 Sun Essence the true body had given played a decisive role.
Without that year of Sun Essence reserves, the incarnation would likely have needed to burn all twelve Sword Cores just to push the Grand Golden Core to perfection.
After all, the true body's Golden Core foundation was in no way inferior to the incarnation's.
"This…"
The Sect Master gazed at the Tribulation in shock. He had never imagined that this youth had not six but seven Sword Cores.
And more than that, he had actually made this insane method work—forcing a breakthrough with the Heavenly Demon Self-Destruction Art. The Tribulation of Nascent Soul hanging above was proof enough.
With the heavenly tribulation descending, even the Sect Master had to withdraw. Otherwise, he too would be targeted.
Gu Mo's incarnation stared at the looming tribulation, feeling the dense immortal force within his Golden Core condense, gestating something new.
"Boom!"
Before he could carefully perceive the change within his core, a bolt of lightning struck down. Though the tribulation clouds were not yet fully formed, the thunder could no longer hold back, descending in advance.
Normally, a cultivator at Golden Core perfection would only face tribulation once the Nascent Soul fully formed. Yet here, while the Nascent Soul was still gestating, the thunder fell.
Perhaps it was punishment for attempting such an unorthodox path.
But when the lightning struck, it caused Gu Mo's incarnation little harm. Long ago, using the Spirit-Tempering Art, he had forged his physique to the level of Nascent Soul. His soul, under the Focusing Technique, had also been raised a tier. As for the final piece—raw power—his burning Sword Cores had already brought him to Nascent Soul levels.
Usually, those who crossed this tribulation were fresh Nascent Soul True Lords. But Gu Mo's incarnation, though not yet through, had already matched one in every aspect.
Perhaps the thunder mistook him for already advanced, and so fell early.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After the first bolt, several more thunderclaps followed in quick succession, giving him no time to breathe. Anyone else would have long since perished beneath such a dense barrage.
But Gu Mo endured it head-on. What's more, he ignited the eighth Sword Core. At once, his aura surged higher still, the Grand Golden Core gaining new strength, hastening the birth of the Nascent Soul.
"This is…"
From afar, the Sect Master sensed this new eruption. He knew instantly—it was yet another Sword Core. The eighth!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The eruption of Gu Mo's aura instantly provoked the tribulation clouds, which responded with three more bolts. Yet they could do nothing to harm him.
"Eight bolts already… just one left."
Far away, the disciples of Yin-Yang Sword Sect had long since been drawn outside their gates by the tribulation. Now they were counting the strikes one by one.
"This Lin Wu is terrifying. He's barely entered Golden Core, yet he's already storming into Nascent Soul. And the tribulation seems to pose him little threat."
"Boom!"
Amidst the crowd's murmurs, the ninth heavenly thunder struck down, yet it still failed to pose any threat to Gu Mo's incarnation. Thus, the Nascent Soul Tribulation—something countless perfected Golden Core cultivators feared like tigers—was passed just like that by Gu Mo's incarnation.
But soon someone noticed something amiss. "Wait, the tribulation clouds in the sky aren't dispersing. They're growing denser."
"It's a special tribulation!"
The Nascent Soul Tribulation was fixed at nine bolts. Anything beyond that counted as a special tribulation. The most recent case was when the Shennong Valley's True Lord of Ten Thousand Arts endured one.
And now, Lin Wu of the Grand Yan Sword Sect was facing such a special tribulation. In truth, many had already expected this. After all, Gu Mo's incarnation had displayed such overwhelming strength—facing a special tribulation at breakthrough wasn't all that surprising.
"This is troublesome."
The Sect Master of Yin-Yang Sword Sect sighed inwardly as he saw Gu Mo's incarnation facing a special tribulation. If this young man were breaking through normally, with such a profound foundation, he would still have a high chance of succeeding even under a special tribulation.
But the problem was, this youth's cultivation had been forced through the Demonic Self-Dismantling Secret Art, burning the sword cores within him to draw out power. In this state, encountering a special tribulation left him with almost no chance of survival.
If this young man were to die within the tribulation, then all of Xuan Tianhen's efforts would have been wasted.
"Crack! Crack!"
Gu Mo's incarnation paid no attention to the changes in the tribulation. His entire focus was on that great Golden Core. After the previous round of lightning, cracks had appeared upon it, and within surged a mighty force ready to shatter the core and burst forth.
Seeing that only one final step remained, Gu Mo's incarnation didn't hesitate. He ignited the ninth sword core. With its power, the great Golden Core instantly shattered, and from within emerged a palm-sized Nascent Soul radiating a unique aura.
"This is the aura of a Heaven and Earth Spirit Root!"
Gu Mo fixed his gaze upon the Nascent Soul within his incarnation's dantian. Instantly, he thought of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root his master Qi Chunde had given him. Gu Mo had used its genes to refine his Golden Core into a Dao Seed.
Originally, Gu Mo had intended to nurture that Dao Seed into the Tree of Ten Thousand Arts. But to grant his incarnation even greater strength, he had chosen instead to burn the incarnation's sword cores, allowing his true body's Golden Core to break normally—shattering into a Nascent Soul.
The Dao Seed's natural breakthrough had thus condensed a Nascent Soul imbued with the essence of a Heaven and Earth Spirit Root—or rather, the Nascent Soul itself was such a Spirit Root.
The Nascent Soul settled into the incarnation's dantian. With the faintest beckon, heaven and earth spiritual energy surged madly toward him. This ability to command spiritual energy was unmistakably that of a Heaven and Earth Spirit Root.
Immediately, the incarnation's body was tempered anew, Golden Core power rapidly transformed into true essence, and even his soul ascended to an entirely new realm.
As the incarnation's strength soared from the Nascent Soul's feedback, the tribulation clouds above the sky roiled with terrifying force. The sheer momentum left many Yin-Yang Sword Sect disciples pale-faced.
Immersed in the profundity of the Nascent Soul realm, Gu Mo's incarnation now raised his head. Condensing the Nascent Soul was only the beginning. To truly step into this realm, one had to survive the Nascent Soul Tribulation.
The greatest difficulty was that a cultivator, having just stepped from the Golden Core stage into this new realm, had no time to master the newfound power before facing the tribulation. Most fresh Nascent Soul cultivators perished here.
But Gu Mo didn't need to grow accustomed. Back in the Golden Core stage, he had already experienced Nascent Soul-level strength many times over.
He was long familiar with the power of this realm. Moreover, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root Nascent Soul, with a simple motion, drew in a vast tide of spiritual energy, granting the incarnation the confidence to unleash his full strength.
This sudden surge gave Gu Mo's incarnation absolute faith he could withstand the coming special tribulation.
"Then come."
Gu Mo's incarnation raised his head toward the heavens. The Great Sun Sword Intent erupted. Unleashed at the Nascent Soul realm, its might dwarfed anything it had been at the Golden Core stage.
The blazing sun manifested, dominating a swath of sky, standing in defiance against the black tribulation clouds.
Provoked, the rolling tribulation clouds discharged a searing thunderbolt. Its force exceeded the combined might of the previous round.
"Sword Reversal!"
Gu Mo's incarnation stared straight into the lightning. Using the Ice-Fire Semi-Spirit Weapon to form the Two Rites Sword Formation, he executed the Sword Reversal technique from the Nameless Sword Canon, meeting the bolt head-on.
"Boom!"
Before the first thunderbolt had faded, a second one descended, intent on obliterating Gu Mo's incarnation in a single strike.
Seeing this, Gu Mo slashed, returning the refined energy of the first bolt against the second.
The two forces collided midair, releasing an earth-shaking explosion. Though the thunderbolt proved stronger, its power was greatly reduced, and Gu Mo's incarnation easily withstood it.
Then came the third, the fourth. Each bolt stronger than the last. For ordinary cultivators, a single one would have meant instant annihilation.
But with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root Nascent Soul endlessly gathering spiritual energy, Gu Mo's incarnation had the reserves to fight back at full strength.
"Boom!"
When the fifth thunderbolt crashed down, Gu Mo's hand produced the supreme-grade spirit weapon, the Goldfiend Sword. Instantly, murderous sword intent roared skyward. At the Nascent Soul level, Gu Mo's incarnation could now unleash its full power.
"Sever the Heavens!"
A radiant sword light, brimming with the force to cleave heaven and earth, slashed upward, cutting the thunderbolt clean in two. Witnessing this, every Yin-Yang Sword Sect disciple was left utterly shaken. Being sword cultivators themselves, they knew exactly how terrifying that strike was.
"This tribulation has already gone beyond the scope of an early Nascent Soul. How will you deal with what comes next?" The Sect Master of Yin-Yang Sword Sect gazed into the distance at Gu Mo's incarnation.
That last bolt already neared the level of a mid-stage Nascent Soul. Which meant the sixth would definitely strike with mid-stage might.
For a Nascent Soul tribulation to escalate to mid-stage power—such was truly the nature of a special tribulation, entirely unreasonable.
But then again, that youth's performance had been nothing but unreasonable from the start.
Under countless watchful eyes, Gu Mo's incarnation lifted his hand. A sword core emerged, igniting into blazing flame and fusing into the Goldfiend Sword.
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