A Fame Shakes the Realm; Forming the Nascent Soul (Part 2)

The woman surnamed Mu had flown barely over ten li when a sudden, inexplicable dread descended upon her. The spiritual energy in the air began to churn violently, coalescing into countless spiraling vortexes in the blink of an eye.

The phenomenon, catching her off guard, caused her to stumble, nearly falling from the air along with her magical tool.

Startled, Mu quickly channeled her spiritual power with all her might, barely managing to stabilize herself amidst the turbulent energy. She then hastily looked around, and the sight before her left her stunned.

In the sky over a hundred zhang above, countless motes of spiritual light, visible to the naked eye, had appeared. These lights were of every color, flickering on and off, but each one contained essence of purest heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, creating a dazzling and beautiful spectacle.

Mu was horrified. Her gaze swept briefly into the distance, and her face lost all color.

Wherever her bright eyes turned, the sky was filled with the points of light—boundless, as if without end.

Heavens! What was happening?

Hovering in the air atop her tool, Mu stared at the bizarre scene before her, dumbfounded.

In truth, this marvel of coalescing spiritual light had spread across the entire area within a hundred li radius of Han Li’s cave dwelling.

At the same moment the woman detected the spiritual energy anomaly, tens of thousands of other Falling Cloud Sect cultivators also sensed this immense shift.

Those within a hundred li witnessed the spectacle as she did.

However, the experience was far from pleasant for those caught within its domain.

Cultivators at Foundation Establishment or above managed to maintain their composure, aside from physical discomfort and inner unease. But the vast majority, those at Qi Condensation, clearly felt an enormous spiritual pressure. They were panting slightly, and those with even shallower cultivation found it difficult to breathe.

Filled with terror, and not bothering to ponder what this heavenly omen signified, they immediately sat down where they were to meditate and breathe, resisting the bizarre transformation that made their very hair stand on end.

As for cultivators outside the Falling Cloud Sect, though unable to witness the sight, they could more or less sense the violent agitation of the world’s spiritual energy. Some extremely profound cultivators, even from a thousand or ten thousand li away, cast startled gazes toward the Falling Cloud Sect’s location.

Though the vast majority of cultivators had never seen such a sign, and did not know what its appearance portended, those who did understand reacted with shock, joy, alarm, or awe—but most of all, with envy and jealousy bordering on resentment.

High atop the Falling Cloud Sect’s main peak, within a cave dwelling several thousand zhang above, a silver-haired old man sat cross-legged, breathing with a pallid complexion, as if just recovering from a severe illness.

At the very moment the spiritual lights began to manifest hundreds of li away, the old man’s white brows twitched. His eyes snapped open in shock, revealing an expression of utter disbelief.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he ceased his technique and transformed into a streak of white light, flying out of his cave dwelling.

A moment later, the silver-haired elder appeared at the peak of the main summit, standing atop a massive stone. He stared solemnly in the direction of Han Li’s cave dwelling, his expression shifting between uncertainty and deep thought.

Just then, a yellow light flew over from the horizon, heading directly toward the elder’s cave. Seeing the silver-haired man already standing outside, the yellow light descended before him. As its brilliance faded, a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion appeared.

“Elder Brother Cheng! You sensed it too? There’s no mistake? Someone is forming a Nascent Soul within our Falling Cloud Sect!” the middle-aged man exclaimed as soon as he appeared, his voice filled with shock, as if he still could not believe it.

“Mistake? How could that be? We both have gone through this process before. Indeed, someone is forming a Nascent Soul somewhere within our sect. They are at the final stage; the Nascent Soul will be complete very soon,” the silver-haired man replied, his eyes narrowing slightly without turning his head.

“How strange! The only ones among our sect who have reached late Core Formation are Junior Fellow Feng and that spy surnamed Hu. But Junior Feng has been striving for the Great Perfection stage these past two years; he cannot even reach the False Core stage in such a short time, let alone form a Nascent Soul. As for that spy from the Heavenly Fiend Sect, most of his cultivation is ruined, and he has fallen several realms—it is even less likely to be him,” the middle-aged man murmured, his words lacking any conviction.

“Hmph! Do you and I not know the cultivation levels of those junior disciples? Although this cultivator is forming his Nascent Soul within our sect, it does not necessarily mean he is one of our own. Some brazen fellow may have snuck in or infiltrated our sect. After all, the Yunmeng Mountain Range is rich in spiritual energy and is indeed an optimal location for forming a Nascent Soul,” the silver-haired elder said calmly, deducing Han Li’s identity with remarkable accuracy.

“Elder Brother, what should we do now? Should we just let him succeed?” The middle-aged man frowned, sounding reluctant to accept it.

“You are correct, Junior Brother. Let us do nothing and simply wait. Though we cannot know if he will survive the final tribulation of Inner Demons, it would be meaningless to interfere now. The process of enduring Inner Demons may feel like months or even years to the one forming the Nascent Soul, but to us, it is but a moment’s work. Don’t you remember your own experience with Inner Demons when you formed your Nascent Soul, Junior Brother Lu?” The silver-haired elder’s face was pale, but his demeanor was calm.

“Forget? How could I! I have no desire to relive that memory. The backlash of Inner Demons shows you the very things you fear most, the very thoughts that terrify you, conjured into existence within your mind. Had I not consumed a Settling Spirit Pill when I formed my Nascent Soul, I surely would not have survived that torture of spiritual refinement,” the middle-aged man surnamed Lu said, shuddering involuntarily as soon as the elder mentioned the Inner Demons. His expression turned extremely sour, showing alarm at the mere mention of the words.

“Exactly. If this man fails to endure the final barrier and does not form his Nascent Soul, then we may decide how to handle him at our leisure. Why rush? But if he truly manages to step into the Nascent Soul stage by fortune, it is already too late for us to stop him. There is no need to make an enemy of him. Let us simply observe and await the outcome. Besides, his successful formation of a Nascent Soul may not be a bad thing for our Falling Cloud Sect. Perhaps we can befriend him, or even recruit him into the sect.”

“You mean… this man is a rogue cultivator?” The middle-aged man was clearly taken aback.

“Yes, it is very likely. If he belonged to a clan or sect, why would he risk forming his Nascent Soul in our Yunmeng Mountain? Even with a poorer environment, he should have a retinue of high-level cultivators for protection. Do you recall the great precautions our own sect took when we formed our Nascent Souls?” the silver-haired elder said, turning to the middle-aged man with a faint smile.

“How could I forget? For the months I was forming mine, the entire sect was on alert, the mountain sealed, and even the sect-guarding grand formation was activated. Looking at it this way, this man is likely an unaffiliated rogue cultivator.” The middle-aged man chuckled, remembering those times.

“If he manages to form his Nascent Soul as a rogue cultivator, we must do our utmost to court him and not offend him easily. After all, rogue cultivators who form Nascent Souls seem to have a tougher path than we do, but once they succeed, each one possesses remarkable abilities not to be taken lightly. Without the burden of a sect, they have fewer reservations than we sect-born cultivators. They bear grudges easily. Take that eccentric Han, for instance—he is not someone we would provoke lightly, in large part because of his immense cultivation, far exceeding his peers, and his utterly unrestrained methods, which even many major sects of Tiannan find deeply unsettling,” the silver-haired elder said slowly.

The middle-aged man listened in silence and nodded, seemingly in agreement.

“It has begun!” The elder’s eyes flashed sharply, and he murmured without thinking.

Startled, the middle-aged man quickly projected his spiritual sense into the distance.

Above Han Li’s cave dwelling, the motes of spiritual light were increasing, gradually merging into a continuous sheet.

Within moments, the sky within a hundred li was covered in an endless expanse of five-colored clouds. Amidst the clouds, the sounds of wind, rain, and thunder grew loud. Swaths of multicolored clouds rolled and tumbled with the thunder, rushing rapidly from all directions toward the center.

Above the small rocky mountain where Han Li’s cave dwelling sat, the light was blinding, forming a massive sphere of light about a li in diameter. Inside, spiritual light swirled so intensely that no one could look directly at it.

Suddenly, a thunderclap that shook heaven and earth erupted, causing the entire mountain to tremble. Then, a pillar of azure light shot up from the mountain, plunging directly into the sphere of light high above.

Immediately, dark clouds gathered around the huge sphere, and wind, rain, lightning, and thunder raged. The sphere began to shrink and deform amidst the dark clouds, its five-colored spiritual light flashing ever brighter.

Some cultivators who were relatively close had already arrived near the small mountain. Gazing at the astonishing celestial phenomena above, they looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Before long, under the astonished eyes of the onlookers, the massive sphere of light condensed into a fist-sized crystalline orb. The sheer, terrifying spiritual energy it contained caused the faces of all the cultivators present to change dramatically. No one dared to make a single reckless move.