Chapter 253: The Nascent Soul Returns
"Phew~~ it's finally over!"
As the final sword-light of the Storm Sword Formation tore apart the void and cut down the Nascent Soul Perfection Demon Lord, Gu Mo's incarnation exhaled deeply.
This battle had wrung every last drop of strength from him. Even the ceaseless flow of true essence within his body was nearly exhausted, unable to keep up with the massive drain of the Storm Sword Formation. Not even his Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul could recover in time.
Fortunately, everything had ended smoothly.
The loss of a Nascent Soul Perfection Demon Lord was a wound the Demonic Sect would feel for a long while. What's more, now that it was clear even such a powerhouse could not handle Gu Mo's incarnation, these ambushes should finally come to a halt.
After all, if the Demonic Sect wanted to keep making moves, they would have to send out a Soul Transformation cultivator. But that possibility was slim—both righteous and demonic paths had not yet reached the point of tearing all pretenses away and clashing head-on in the final war.
Unspoken rules and tacit understandings still bound them, and no one would lightly break them. Precisely because both sides abided by these conventions, the current relative stability was possible.
Thus, this battle was the incarnation's true foothold. From now on, Gu Mo's incarnation could be counted as a force who could stand on his own.
Just as Gu Mo was rejoicing that his incarnation had finally shaken free of the Demonic Sect's pursuit, suddenly, a towering figure appeared in the sky. Compared to this figure, the soul-shadow formed by the Demon Lord burning his spirit earlier was like fireflies before the blazing sun.
"A Soul Transformation cultivator!"
In an instant, Gu Mo's incarnation understood what it was.
Before he could react, that towering figure extended a single finger and pressed down. In that moment, it was as if the heavens and earth themselves collapsed upon him. The crushing might pinned him completely still.
"Boom!"
As expected, under that one finger, Gu Mo's incarnation was annihilated without a trace. Against a Soul Transformation expert, it made no difference whether he was in his weakest state or at his peak.
After pressing him to dust, the towering figure quickly dissipated. Just as it was about to vanish, an ancient tree manifested in the sky, equally towering.
A branch lashed out violently at the fading figure.
"Hmph!"
With a muffled groan, the figure disappeared entirely. At the same time, the phantom of the great tree also dissolved.
"Disciple, disciple!"
Only now did Xuan Tianhen's escape light belatedly arrive, but what greeted him was emptiness. Gu Mo's incarnation had been utterly obliterated by that finger, leaving nothing behind.
Shennong Valley.
"A Soul Transformation made a move? What's going on?" Gu Mo's true body forced down his pounding heart. Though only his incarnation had perished, his awareness with it was shared—he had personally experienced what it felt like to be crushed to death by a Soul Transformation expert.
What he could not understand was—why would one target him? Wasn't it said that those at the Soul Transformation realm would not act lightly?
After some thought, Gu Mo rose and headed into the sect's secret realm. He had to find out the truth. His ignorance this time had cost his sword cultivator incarnation's life.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
Within the secret realm, Gu Mo met with the Azure Venerable. Of course, this was not the true body of the venerable, but a Treant incarnation—a fifth-rank spirit plant that had been cultivated. The one who had struck earlier was this very Treant incarnation.
Don't be fooled by the word "incarnation"—in battle, this Treant incarnation was even stronger than the Azure Venerable's true body. After all, the Azure Venerable was a spirit plant master, and this avatar had been raised specifically for combat.
Of course, when it came to survival, this incarnation could not compare. The true body could wander freely without fear of danger, and even if it fell, the venerable could be reborn through this Treant incarnation.
Thus, this avatar rarely left Shennong Valley. Only because a Soul Transformation had appeared nearby had the Azure Venerable chosen to act.
"Have you encountered difficulties in cultivation?" the Treant incarnation asked when it saw Gu Mo. The venerable valued this outstanding disciple greatly.
"I have doubts outside of cultivation that I wish to ask Ancestor about," Gu Mo said respectfully, voicing the question from his true body's perspective.
"That should be the Demonic Sect's newly risen Soul Transformation. His action doesn't exactly violate the agreement—after all, he wasn't present when it was made." At Gu Mo's words, the Azure Venerable's face grew solemn.
Unnoticed, the Demonic Sect had birthed yet another Soul Transformation expert. If not for this exposure, when the righteous path's Soul Transformations clashed with theirs, a hidden hand could have delivered a devastating blow.
To eliminate Lin Wu, the Demonic Sect had even revealed this hidden Soul Transformation. The cost was enormous.
Now that he had been exposed, he could no longer act so freely. The righteous path was on guard; ambushes would no longer succeed.
One could say Lin Wu had truly forced the Demonic Sect to bleed this time. Of course, his death was also a tremendous loss to the righteous alliance.
Such a monster—one who had only just advanced to Nascent Soul yet could slay a Nascent Soul Perfection Demon Lord—if allowed to grow, would almost certainly reach Soul Transformation one day.
Judging by his performance in both Core Formation and Nascent Soul, once he reached Soul Transformation his power would surely be formidable. Even if he could no longer leap multiple realms to fight as before, merely being unrivaled among peers would be enough to pressure the Demonic Sect.
It was precisely because the Demonic Sect had seen this that they spared no cost—revealing a hidden Soul Transformation if that's what it took—to erase Gu Mo's incarnation.
And beyond that, the disturbance they caused had cost them heavily elsewhere as well.
"Don't worry. The Demonic Sect may dare target disciples of the Grand Yan Sword Sect, but they won't dare move against you." Thinking Gu Mo was worried about being hunted himself, the Azure Venerable reassured him.
Such was the benefit of having a powerful backing. If Gu Mo's incarnation had belonged to a top-tier sect, the Demonic Sect would never have dared act against him.
Unless they directly attacked the mountain gate of a top sect—but that would be an open declaration of all-out war. And a top sect's mountain gate was not so easily breached, not even by a Soul Transformation.
Having obtained the answers he sought, Gu Mo bade farewell to the Azure Venerable and returned to his courtyard. Then he summoned Xiaohua to help retrieve something.
Though the sword cultivator incarnation had perished, the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul had escaped by tearing through the void. The Demonic Sect's Soul Transformation clearly had not comprehended the Dao of Void, and thus could not stop it. Only formations like the Storm Sword Formation, imbued with Void principles, could possibly hinder the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul's escape.
At this moment, that Nascent Soul was far away, weakened by its use of Void-breaking. Letting it return on its own was far too dangerous, so Gu Mo planned to send Xiaohua to fetch it.
"On it!"
Hearing there was a big job, Xiaohua happily accepted.
Tianyuan Cultivation Realm.
In a secluded forest, Xiaohua's figure slipped out from within a large tree. "Xiaomo said the delivery should be here." As she spoke, Xiaohua's body floated up, beginning her search among the trees.
Before long, Xiaohua sensed a familiar aura. "Eh? Did Xiaomo come too?" Feeling that familiar aura, she was puzzled.
Following the aura, Xiaohua spotted a tiny figure about the same size as herself, curled up beneath a leaf. What puzzled her even more was the tender sprout growing from that figure's head.
At that moment, Xiaohua found herself wondering when she had gained a little brother. But why did this "little brother" carry exactly the same aura as Xiaomo?
This Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul was formed from Gu Mo's Grand Golden Core, so naturally its aura was that of Gu Mo's true body. His incarnations, however, cultivated different methods, causing their auras to differ slightly. But this Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul's aura was completely identical to Gu Mo's true self.
"Xiaohua, stop messing around and come back. Otherwise I'll have to leave a bad review."
The Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul slowly opened his eyes, gazing helplessly at Xiaohua's little hands roaming over his body.
"Ah, it really is Xiaomo."
Startled at first when she heard him speak, Xiaohua quickly calmed down. Xiaomo had always felt very close and familiar to her. Now it seemed Xiaomo truly was of the same kind as her.
From beginning to end, Xiaohua never once suspected this was Gu Mo's Nascent Soul. After all, Gu Mo's Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul was nothing like ordinary Nascent Souls.
After all, what kind of Nascent Soul could sprout leaves?
"Don't give me a bad review, I'll head back right away!" After her initial amazement, Xiaohua hurriedly scooped up the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul, cast her Wood Escape, and rushed back toward Shennong Valley.
Half a day later.
Gu Mo received his Nascent Soul from Xiaohua. In truth, his true body's cultivation was still only at the Golden Core stage, yet he already possessed a Nascent Soul.
With a single thought, the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul turned into a stream of light and returned into his body. In that instant, Gu Mo's aura shifted dramatically.
The core power of his Golden Core was swiftly refined into true Nascent Soul–level essence under the breathing of the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul.
Gu Mo's physique, tempered with the Spirit-Forging Art and fourth-rank Sun Essence, had long since reached the Nascent Soul level. His divine soul had also stepped into the Nascent Soul stage when his incarnation crossed its tribulation. The only thing missing was cultivation level itself.
Now that the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul had rejoined the true body, that last step was filled in. At this moment, Gu Mo could rightfully be called a true Nascent Soul Lord.
And since Gu Mo's true body had advanced to the Nascent Soul realm without undergoing a heavenly tribulation, no one in the world knew of his breakthrough.
A few hours later, Gu Mo's aura rapidly converged. Now, within his dantian, the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul sat cross-legged, holding a Golden Core in its hands.
This was the new Golden Core Dao Seed that Gu Mo had been cultivating. Surrounding the Nascent Soul were twelve sword shadows—the twelve Sword Cores of his incarnation.
When the Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul tore through the void to escape, it had carried with it the origin of those twelve Sword Cores. They were, in effect, the inheritance left behind by his incarnation for the true body.
As for the Goldfiend Sword and the half-spiritual Icefire weapon, both had been shattered beneath that Soul Transformation expert's single strike.
"Hmph, killing my incarnation… this debt, I'll remember it well." Thinking of how hard he had worked to cultivate that incarnation only to lose it, Gu Mo ground his teeth in frustration.
But the enemy was too strong for now. He couldn't defeat them yet. Truth be told, this wasn't the first time an incarnation of his had been destroyed—his last one had been slain by a Nascent Soul from Fenghua Sect.
He couldn't yet take on the Demon Sect's Soul Transformation expert, but the Fenghua Sect's Nascent Soul… that revenge, perhaps, could be taken right away.
Now that Gu Mo himself was also a Nascent Soul Lord, and had inherited the Sword Cores of his incarnation, all the sword techniques and formations his incarnation wielded could also be displayed by his true body. At this point, even without relying on his plant legion, Gu Mo's battle power was formidable.
If he added the plant legion into the mix, the feats his incarnation had accomplished could be matched, perhaps even surpassed, by the true body.
The only thing he truly felt guilty about from the fall of his incarnation was Xuan Tianhen, the sword master who had been his incarnation's teacher. The loss of that incarnation would surely deal a crushing blow to the old man.
Grand Yan Sword Sect.
Xuan Tianhen stood silently before the shattered mountain gate, his eyes vacant. The death of Gu Mo's incarnation had struck him like a thunderbolt.
"My disciple… it was your master's incompetence. But I will not let you die in vain." His voice was a low murmur. Then he walked into the ruins of the sect gate. After some digging, he unearthed a lamp—the soul lamp of a sect disciple.
All of the lamps had already been extinguished. Yet Xuan Tianhen continued to dig, searching for Gu Mo's incarnation's soul lamp. Once he had it, he would storm into the Demon Sect's territory, cutting down all he met to avenge his disciple's death.
Before long, he found the soul lamp belonging to Gu Mo's incarnation. But his deadened gaze suddenly rippled with hope—for the lamp was not extinguished.
That meant his disciple had not perished. Even under the strike of a Soul Transformation expert, his disciple had survived.
Unbelievable as it seemed, remembering the many miracles his disciple had shown, it was not impossible.
"Good child, wait for me. Your master will come find you." Xuan Tianhen pinched the lamp's flame out completely. The news that his disciple still lived must never leak.
Thus the soul lamp could not remain. Though searching without it would be more difficult, Xuan Tianhen feared no hardship. As long as his disciple lived, that was enough.
He also guessed that escaping from a Soul Transformation expert's strike must have come at an enormous cost. His disciple's condition was surely dire. Without lingering further, Xuan Tianhen soared away in a streak of light, beginning a long journey to find his disciple.
"Gone!"
At the very moment Xuan Tianhen extinguished Gu Mo's soul lamp, Gu Mo's true body faintly sensed it. Since his true self and incarnation shared a single consciousness, as long as the true body remained, the incarnation's soul lamp would never truly go out. That lamp was always a flaw. But now, Xuan Tianhen had erased that flaw for him.
"When the time is right, I'll condense another incarnation and rebuild the Grand Yan Sword Sect." Gu Mo swore silently. This was a debt he owed Xuan Tianhen, and to the sect as well.
For now, however, the incarnation Lin Wu could not reappear. Not only that, Gu Mo also decided to leave the Tianyuan Cultivation Realm for a time, heading toward the Qinghe Cultivation Realm to settle certain karmic debts.
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