Chapter 325: A Man's Name, a Tree's Shadow, Chu Ning's Name

Chapter 325: A Man's Name, a Tree's Shadow, Chu Ning's Name

The golden spiritual energy emanating from the Golden Spirit Seed flowed into Chu Ning's dantian.

It was quickly refined by his Five Elements Chaos Technique and transformed into metallic spiritual power.

But Chu Ning didn't stop there; he continued to activate the technique, transmuting it further into water-attribute spiritual power.

"It's indeed easier to directly transmute metallic spiritual power into water-attribute spiritual power."

As Chu Ning thought about this, he suddenly sensed a violent fluctuation in the hidden spirit vein deep underground.

Immediately, streams of pure water-attribute spiritual energy flowed along with his circulating spiritual power and entered his body.

However, the water-attribute spiritual energy was too dense, and even with Chu Ning's full effort in absorbing and refining it, he couldn't keep up with the rate at which it was entering his body.

Soon, he found himself enveloped by the dense water-attribute spiritual energy, turning him into a ball of white mist.

Chu Ning was initially surprised by this turn of events, but he quickly felt delighted.

The refinement of the Spirit Resonance Energy had already allowed him to draw in heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, so it wasn't entirely unexpected that refining the Golden Spirit Seed would have a similar effect.

What surprised Chu Ning slightly was whether it was because he had used the Five Elements Chaos Technique to directly transmute the golden spiritual power into water-attribute spiritual power, or if the island itself had a higher concentration of water-attribute spiritual energy compared to metallic spiritual energy, or perhaps a combination of both.

At this moment, an enormous amount of pure water-attribute spiritual energy had been drawn out.

Having already experienced the process of condensing metallic spiritual power, Chu Ning knew that in this situation, completing the transmutation of his spiritual power would be much easier.

Without hesitation, he continued to activate the Five Elements Chaos Technique, drawing out more golden spiritual energy from the Golden Spirit Seed while cycling through the refinement and transmutation process.

At the same time, he absorbed and refined the water-attribute spiritual energy from the hidden spirit vein.

Chu Ning remained in seclusion, and outside the cultivation room, Bai Ling blinked in confusion.

"Half a month ago, Master already broke through to the late Golden Core stage. Why hasn't he come out of seclusion yet?"

The aura of a late Golden Core stage cultivator that had been emanating from the cultivation room had long since dissipated, but there was still no sign of Chu Ning, which baffled Bai Ling.

What surprised her even more was that month after month passed, and Chu Ning still didn't appear.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by without any activity from the cultivation room.

If not for her belief in Chu Ning's current cultivation level and the assumption that breaking through to the late Golden Core stage wouldn't cause any issues, she might have already barged into the cultivation room to find out what was going on.

On this day, as Bai Ling waited outside the cultivation room, the restrictions on it suddenly fluctuated.

The next moment, Chu Ning finally emerged.

"Congratulations, Master, on your successful seclusion!" Bai Ling exclaimed joyfully at the sight of Chu Ning's faint smile.

Chu Ning nodded at her and asked, "Bai Ling, thank you for your hard work during this time. Has anything happened on the island?"

"Nothing!" Bai Ling replied with a beaming smile.

"Oh, Big Gold and Little Gold have fallen into a deep sleep. They should be on the verge of breaking through to the fifth rank."

"Oh? Big Gold and Little Gold are about to break through?" Chu Ning's eyes lit up at the news.

But when he thought about it, it made sense. The two Golden Thunder Eagles had awakened from their slumber before he had broken through to the mid Golden Core stage.

Back then, not only had the beast crystals on their bodies disappeared, but they had also advanced from third-rank to fourth-rank beasts.

It had been over thirty years since then, and they had devoured countless beasts, even consuming quite a few fifth and sixth-rank beast carcasses.

So it was only natural that they would be on the verge of advancing to the fifth rank.

"What about you? Are you close to breaking through?" Chu Ning asked, turning to Bai Ling.

It had been over twenty-five years since Bai Ling reached the fifth rank.

However, as he had been in closed-door cultivation for most of those years, it didn't feel like such a long time had passed.

"I'm almost there too. The breakthrough from fifth to sixth rank doesn't require crossing a major boundary." Bai Ling replied with a smile, then asked curiously, "Master, you broke through to the late Golden Core stage half a year ago, and within about half a month, I could sense that you had stabilized your cultivation.

Your aura was no longer leaking out, so why did you remain in seclusion for so long this time?"

"I was mainly refining the Golden Spirit Seed during my seclusion!"

Chu Ning didn't elaborate on the specifics of cultivating the Five Elements Chaos Technique.

But as soon as he mentioned the Golden Spirit Seed, Bai Ling immediately understood. She blinked and asked, "So, Master, have you already refined the Golden Spirit Seed? It's said that it can help cultivators break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Did you gain any special insights from refining it?"

"Not yet," Chu Ning shook his head. "I've only refined a small part of it."

For over half a year, Chu Ning had been refining the Golden Spirit Seed daily, using it to draw in and absorb the spiritual energy from the hidden spirit vein, eventually completing the transmutation of all his spiritual power.

This process had taken twice as long as when he refined the Spirit Resonance Energy at the mid Golden Core stage.

This was naturally due to the increased thickness of his spiritual power.

Even though Chu Ning had spent six months refining it, he had only managed to refine a tiny fraction of the Golden Spirit Seed.

According to Chu Ning's estimations, even if he refined it non-stop, it would probably take almost ten years to completely refine the Golden Spirit Seed.

By then, he would likely have perfected the third layer of the Five Elements Chaos Technique and reached the pinnacle of the late Golden Core stage.

Of course, it was obviously impossible to refine it non-stop for ten years without a break.

Such haste would likely lead to dire consequences, such as falling into a manic state or being devoured by inner demons.

Chu Ning's inference that he would reach the pinnacle of the late Golden Core stage upon refining the Golden Spirit Seed was based on his understanding of the technique's intricacies.

[Refine God Technique, Fourth Layer (64,000/64,000)]



The effects of the Golden Spirit Seed were indeed powerful. In the past six months, Chu Ning's Five Elements Chaos Technique had been increasing rapidly, reaching a speed of nearly 60 points per day.

If he continued to cultivate at this rate, it would take him around ten years to perfect the third layer.

However, after completing the conversion of his spiritual power, Chu Ning noticed that his rate of refining the Golden Spirit Seed had slowed down significantly.

Even with uninterrupted cultivation throughout the day, he could only manage an increase of around 25 points.

Moreover, the phenomenon of drawing upon the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy no longer occurred.

Now, even when refining the Golden Spirit Seed, Chu Ning couldn't achieve the effect of frantically gathering heavenly and earthly spiritual energy.

It was merely a bit faster than ordinary cultivation in absorbing spiritual energy.

Nevertheless, Chu Ning gave it a try and found that refining the Golden Spirit Seed did not conflict with consuming Snow Crystal Herbs or pills that enhanced spiritual power.

On the contrary, consuming the Snow Crystal Herbs even promoted the refinement of the Golden Spirit Seed.

Thus, in the following days, he could cultivate with peace of mind, utilizing these resources.

After briefly explaining the situation to Bai Ling, Chu Ning furrowed his brows in contemplation.

"As for the Spirit Seed aiding in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, I haven't gained a deep understanding yet.

After all, I've only refined a small portion of the spirit seed, and if I refine it entirely, I might gain some insights."

After Chu Ning finished speaking, he turned to Bai Ling and said, "Since Big Gold and Little Gold are asleep, you might as well stay on this island and guard our home.

With your cultivation and the protection of the formation, there shouldn't be any cultivators or demonic beasts in the Inner Sea that can pose a threat.

I'll make a trip to the Iceland Immortal City to get a rough idea of the current situation in the Northern Cold Land.

Then, I'll see if I can find the soul of an eighth-rank water-attribute demonic beast somewhere to refine a water spirit sword treasure."

Even though he had already broken through to the late Golden Core stage and his spiritual power had become more robust and substantial, and he now had quite a few tricks up his sleeve, Chu Ning still didn't dare to seek out an eighth-rank demonic beast lightly.

After all, such beasts were comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators.

Moreover, going out to the outer sea was too dangerous, as there were not only eighth-rank beasts but also other threats.

However, the soul of an eighth-rank demonic beast was indeed a rare find, and as for whether he could obtain one elsewhere, it would all depend on luck.

"Alright, go ahead, Master," Bai Ling replied with a smile.

"If I really can't beat them, at worst, I'll just imitate the aura of a tenth-rank demonic beast and scare them away."

"But doing so might attract late Nascent Soul stage cultivators, and we might not be able to stay on this island anymore."

"Don't worry," Bai Ling immediately reassured him. "That would only happen in an extreme situation.

The secret technique of simulating the aura of a tenth-rank demonic beast consumes a lot of energy, and I wouldn't dare to use this Cold Marrow Pearl casually."

Chu Ning nodded.

Indeed, Bai Ling had told him before that the secret technique consumed a lot of energy, which was why she hadn't demonstrated it to him despite having cultivated it successfully with the help of the Cold Marrow Pearl.

However, Bai Ling had simulated the aura of a seventh-rank demonic beast without the aid of any external objects, and even with his keen sense of aura and powerful divine sense, Chu Ning hadn't been able to tell the difference.

So, it was likely the same for simulating the aura of a tenth-rank demonic beast.

After entrusting the island to Bai Ling's care, Chu Ning released his divine sense to check for any other cultivators in the surrounding area before flying out from the island, heading toward the Iceland Immortal City.

With his new robe, his Godwind Escape technique was faster and consumed less spiritual power.

Although the island was only two thousand miles away from the Iceland Immortal City, it wouldn't take him long to get there.

So, he didn't bother using a teleportation formation on one of the inner sea islands along the way.

During his flight, Chu Ning also paid attention to the number of cultivators in the area and noticed that there were fewer cultivators in this sea area, especially those at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Even when he occasionally spotted cultivators flying over the sea, they were mostly Core Formation cultivators.

This was quite different from what he had observed in this area over a decade ago.

Back then, there were Golden Core cultivators stationed on the islands in the inner sea, and cultivators were generally more active in hunting demonic beasts.

"It seems that something has happened recently," Chu Ning mused. "I was supposed to go and guard one of the islands, but I left directly instead.

I wonder if I've been put on the blacklist by the Longkong Temple."

Chu Ning pondered, but since he hadn't stayed in the Iceland Immortal City afterward, he figured that the Longkong Temple probably wouldn't treat him any differently because of this incident.

However, he had originally intended to fly directly to the Iceland Immortal City, but now he decided to find out more about the recent situation first.

With that in mind, Chu Ning released his divine sense and soon detected the presence of several Core Formation cultivators about two hundred miles away.

At that moment, two men and two women, a total of four Core Formation cultivators, were flying through the air about two hundred miles away.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man with a square face who was flying in the front spoke up, "Do you guys feel like someone's locking onto us with their divine sense?"

"Someone's locking onto us with their divine sense?" The other three were slightly startled upon hearing this.

"I don't sense anything."

They all shook their heads.

Of course, they didn't know that after Chu Ning had discovered them with his divine sense, he had directly locked onto one of them.

Moreover, he hadn't tried to conceal his divine sense, which was why the Core Formation cultivator had sensed it.

"One hundred and thirty li!"

Chu Ning muttered this number to himself.

With his divine sense extending to a range of one hundred and thirty li, there was no diminution in its intensity.

This distance marked a thirty li increase compared to fifteen years ago.

Back then, when he had just perfected the fourth layer of the Refine God Technique, he could project his divine sense up to three hundred li, but only within a hundred li was its strength unaffected.

Speaking of which, in the past ten years, Chu Ning had not stopped cultivating the Refine God Technique.

However, half a year ago, when Chu Ning tried again, he found that to maintain the strength of his divine sense, he could only manage a range of about one hundred and twenty li.

Now, being able to break through to one hundred and thirty li was undoubtedly due to his qualitative improvement in strength after breaking through to the late Golden Core stage.

Although his proficiency hadn't led to any new breakthroughs, the enhancement to his divine sense strength was indeed substantial.

A distance of two hundred li was but a moment's effort for Chu Ning.

The square-faced middle-aged cultivator who was leading the other three had been feeling uneasy ever since he sensed Chu Ning locking onto them with his divine sense. He urged his companions to quickly make their way towards Iceland Immortal City.

Just then, he suddenly saw a beam of light flying towards them, and the aura it exuded was clearly far superior to theirs. He immediately said in a low voice, "Not good, there's a Golden Core cultivator, and it seems he's been locking onto us with his divine sense all this time.

Looks like he's coming for us. If anything goes wrong, everyone should flee for their lives."

Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged cultivator's eyes landed on the figure within the beam of light.

His expression changed drastically, and he sighed inwardly. He quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior."

Chu Ning's divine sense had already perceived everything clearly, even the sound transmission among the four cultivators had been intercepted by his powerful divine sense.

At this moment, his gaze fell upon the square-faced middle-aged cultivator, and he asked indifferently, "Do you know me?"

The middle-aged cultivator was slightly startled upon hearing Chu Ning's question, but he quickly replied respectfully, "Junior has seen Senior once before in the Immortal City's marketplace."

"You've seen me in the marketplace?" Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to recall, then asked, "Was it when I disciplined that cultivator in the lower city who tried to forcibly take something, and then the enforcement team from the city came to handle the matter?"

Chu Ning thought for a moment. It seemed that the only incident that could have left a deep impression on other cultivators in the past ten years was that one.

After all, he hadn't shown himself in Iceland Immortal City during this period.

When the middle-aged cultivator heard Chu Ning's words, his expression changed in surprise.

He hadn't expected that Chu Ning would guess it right on the mark.

He bowed again and said, "Yes, Senior."

Chu Ning nodded and didn't press the matter further.

"In that case, you're also a loose cultivator from Iceland Immortal City, which makes things easier.

I've been in closed-door cultivation for the past ten years. Tell me, what major events have happened recently?"

"Major events?" The middle-aged cultivator pondered for a moment before replying, "Respectfully, if we're talking about Iceland Immortal City, there have only been two major events in the past decade.

First, the Snow Mist Valley, which opens once every ten years, has been closed for some unknown reason.

It was supposed to open this year, but many cultivators waited outside the valley for two months, and it still didn't open."

"The Snow Mist Valley is closed and didn't open?" Chu Ning was slightly surprised to hear this.

The Snow Mist Valley opened once every ten years, and this pattern had been extremely consistent. Chu Ning had experienced this three times during his stay in Iceland Immortal City.

The first time, he had just arrived in the city for eight years and didn't join the crowd. Instead, he went to the Central Sea region to hunt for magical beasts.

It was during that trip that he unexpectedly obtained the Snow Crystal Herbs from an elder of the Illusion Spirit Sect and a loose cultivator.

The second time, Chu Ning participated, and that was when the incident in the Snow Mist Valley occurred.

As for the subsequent two openings, Chu Ning had been in closed-door cultivation and didn't join.

Indeed, according to the pattern, the Snow Mist Valley should have opened again this year.

The middle-aged cultivator continued, "Later, some cultivators spread rumors that the Snow Mist Valley closes once every three to five hundred years.

Apparently, there's more to it than that.

However, no one can pinpoint the exact timing or reason for its closure."

Chu Ning nodded and asked, "What about the second event?"

"The second event isn't specific to Iceland Immortal City, but it concerns the entire Northern Cold Land."

The middle-aged cultivator's face turned solemn as he spoke.

"Starting half a year ago, the Central Sea region has been plagued by the appearance of eighth-rank demonic beasts.

And it's not just one area; they've shown up in both the Iceland Immortal City and the Sea Cloud Basin seas.

Fortunately, the strait near the Cold Rock Continent hasn't seen any signs of them yet."

"Eighth-rank demonic beasts in the Central Sea region?"

Chu Ning was taken aback upon hearing this.

It was worth noting that even seventh-rank demonic beasts rarely appeared in the Central Sea region before.

The square-faced cultivator nodded. "Overall, the demon beasts are moving from the outer sea towards the inner sea. In addition to the eighth-rank demon beasts in the Central Sea region, there have also been fifth and sixth-rank demon beasts appearing in the inner sea region. However, they are mostly concentrated in areas closer to the Central Sea. As a result, many third and fourth-rank demon beasts have been forced to migrate inland. In the past two months, there have been frequent reports of demon beast attacks on the islands. Fortunately, there are Golden Core cultivators stationed on each island, so the damage hasn't been too severe. But everyone is definitely more cautious about venturing out."

After listening, Chu Ning fell into contemplation. It seemed that the conflict between human cultivators and the demon race had intensified compared to thirty years ago.

"Have there been any movements from the Nascent Soul cultivators on our side?" Chu Ning asked further.

The square-faced cultivator shook his head. "As of now, no Nascent Soul cultivators have appeared, and no one has spoken up either. However, in the inner sea region, the Longkong Temple has increased the number of Golden Core cultivators on patrol."

Chu Ning's brows furrowed slightly as he heard this. He had, after all, spent over forty years in the Northern Cold Land. During his time in Iceland Immortal City, he had also interacted with many cultivators. Thus, he was aware that the reason why cultivators of different levels and demon beasts occupied separate regions in the Boundless Sea and Snowpeak Mountains was due to an agreement between the Nascent Soul cultivators and the transformed demons.

Now, with all the Nascent Soul cultivators in the Northern Cold Land remaining silent, something was clearly amiss.

However, these people were just Foundation Establishment cultivators, so they probably didn't know the reason behind this unusual situation. Returning to Iceland Immortal City might provide an opportunity to gather more information from the Golden Core cultivators.

With that in mind, Chu Ning asked another question. "Have there been any other significant events recently? Feel free to include anything from the Sea Cloud Basin or the Cold Rock Continent."

After Chu Ning's inquiry, the four cultivators exchanged glances, and one of the female cultivators spoke up. "There is one more thing that has happened in recent years, and I'm not sure if Senior is interested. It is said that there was a Nascent Soul cultivator who disguised himself as a Golden Core cultivator and went to the Sea Cloud Basin and the Cold Rock Continent, specifically targeting Golden Core cultivators. This person is said to be proficient in metal-attribute spells and possesses a formidable pair of iron fists. Over a decade ago, the young master of the Illusion Spirit Sect and the Black and White Twin Demons of Biling Peak fell victim to his schemes. He disappeared for four or five years, only to resurface in the past ten years, but instead of targeting the major sects, he has been preying on smaller sects and solitary cultivators. Now, everyone in the Northern Cold Land is on the lookout for him."

Upon hearing the female cultivator's words, Chu Ning's expression remained calm, but his mind was in turmoil. It was obvious that the person they were talking about was him. It seemed that his actions against the Black and White Twin Demons of Biling Peak had caught the attention of the Illusion Spirit Sect, leading them to connect the dots.

However, she also mentioned that this person had been active outside for almost a decade, targeting smaller sects and solitary cultivators. This didn't align with his own experience, as he had remained on the island for the past fifteen years without leaving.

With a casual tone, Chu Ning asked, "This person dared to target the young master of the Illusion Spirit Sect. Why didn't the sect pursue and punish him?"

The female cultivator didn't know how to respond, so the square-faced middle-aged cultivator took over. "It is said that over ten years ago, several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Illusion Spirit Sect went to the Cold Rock Continent to pursue him, and they even had some disagreements with cultivators from the Divine Sound Valley and other sects. However, after that incident, this cultivator continued to cause trouble, but the Illusion Spirit Sect didn't take any further action. It's quite puzzling."

Chu Ning listened intently and asked a few more questions, feigning interest. But as these cultivators couldn't provide any more useful information, he let the matter drop. After expressing his gratitude, he bid them farewell and flew away.

Even after Chu Ning's figure had long disappeared, the square-faced cultivator heaved a sigh of relief. "Brother Luo, who exactly is that senior, and why were you so respectful towards him?"

At this moment, the other female cultivator curiously asked the square-faced middle-aged cultivator. The other two cultivators also looked at him with anticipation.

"Do you all remember the incident that occurred thirty years ago in the Snow Mist Valley, where numerous demon beasts attacked and killed human cultivators?" The square-faced middle-aged cultivator asked in response.

"Of course, we remember," the other male cultivator replied immediately. "That was one of the biggest events in the past few decades, with over a thousand Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators perishing. How could we forget?"

The square-faced cultivator continued, "Then, do you remember the rumor about a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator who killed over ten sixth-rank demon beasts and rescued more than twenty Golden Core cultivators at the entrance of the valley?"

"Are you saying that he... is that Chu senior? But he looks so young!" The female cultivator who had spoken earlier exclaimed in surprise.

The square-faced cultivator nodded. "Yes, it's him. This Chu senior is the same person who killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator in Iceland Immortal City and was allowed to leave by the Longkong Temple."

"It's a good thing that Senior Chu only asked us a few questions and didn't cause us any trouble."

Upon hearing this, the other three cultivators looked at each other and nodded in agreement, feeling relieved.

As the saying goes, a man's reputation precedes him like a tree's shadow.

They were well aware that if Chu Ning had wanted to harm them, they wouldn't have stood a chance.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end