Chapter 648: Eighty Years of Happy Cultivation

Chapter 648: Eighty Years of Happy Cultivation

"Oh?"

Chu Ning couldn't help but exclaim in surprise at the sight of the various materials spilling out of Yu Changge's storage pouch.

Among these materials were many rare and precious items.

Most notably, there were two crucial materials required for the final stages of crafting the Ethereal Key: Purple Heaven Iron and Azure Sky Wood.

Additionally, there was even a small piece of Omnipresent Crystal.

Although it was not as large as the one Cen Zijin had previously shown him, Chu Ning was still pleasantly surprised.

On their journey back to the Jiuhua Sect from Demon Mountain, Chu Ning had been deep in thought about his Chaos Immortal Art's fourth layer, which had fused with spatial power.

He wondered how he could enhance the Chaos Spirit Sword in his possession to match his magical energy.

Initially, Chu Ning considered crafting another spatial spirit sword.

However, he gradually abandoned this idea.

The Chaos Spirit Sword in his hand was already composed of seven blades.

But that didn't necessarily mean that more swords were better.

Perhaps a different approach, allowing the Chaos Spirit Sword to harness spatial power, like the might of the Gale Wind Dart, could be a better choice.

For nearly thirty years, Chu Ning had held the Gale Wind Dart, and he was already familiar with the various talisman patterns and formation arrays on it.

By analyzing the Symbolic Origin Law and combining it with his previous understanding of crafting techniques, especially the method for crafting spatial treasures like the Ethereal Key, Chu Ning believed he could make some progress.

Although he couldn't completely restore the crafting method of the Gale Wind Dart, he felt that with further reasoning, he could incorporate it into his Chaos Spirit Sword.

However, the materials required for crafting spatial artifacts were all rare and precious.

Chu Ning had some materials, but they were intended for crafting the Ethereal Key.

Now, he had unexpectedly obtained a small piece of Omnipresent Crystal from Yu Changge.

With the addition of other heavenly materials, there would be no obstacles to enhancing the Chaos Spirit Sword.

After all, in the Demon Mountain, he had obtained two pieces of Ethereal Stone and two pieces of Heavenly Wall Crystal.

Hearing Chu Ning's exclamation, Yu Changge realized that there were items Chu Ning could use.

When he heard that Chu Ning had gathered all the materials needed to craft the Ethereal Key, a delighted expression appeared on his face.

"If you're crafting such a treasure, is there anything else we can do to help?" Yu Changge asked.

Chu Ning shook his head.

"The rest is something I need to figure out on my own.

Technically, one should only be able to craft such a treasure after reaching the Divine Transformation Stage.

But I happened to gain some insights into spatial power in the Void Space, giving me some hope of being able to craft it.

However, the actual crafting process won't happen just yet. I still need to cultivate further and strengthen my control over spatial power before proceeding."

Chu Ning smiled at Yu Changge and said, "You can rest assured, Senior Brother. Even if this world truly descends into chaos, it won't happen overnight.

I believe that if it does descend into chaos, it will still be related to the Immortal Seeds."

Hearing Chu Ning's words, Yu Changge felt much more at ease.

After a while, the group chatted for a long time before Chu Ning and Cen Zijin returned to their cave abode on Celestial Peak.

The cave abode was just as they had left it, and as they walked in hand in hand, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Although the small pocket dimension inside Demon Mountain had more abundant spirit energy and was more suitable for cultivation, it still couldn't compare to the comfort of our own cave abode," Cen Zijin said with a smile.

She then pointed to some spirit herbs in the medicinal garden outside the cave abode and said, "Look at these treasures of yours. Although they haven't been tended to for the past thirty years, I made sure to take care of them for several decades before that."

Chu Ning glanced at the herbs and smiled at Cen Zijin, "No matter how precious these treasures are, they are not as precious as you.

I'm not too concerned about their appearance, but I want to make sure you haven't suffered any injuries."

"I didn't get hurt, did I?" Cen Zijin asked, puzzled.

"In that battle thirty years ago, I did sustain some injuries, but the heavenly materials and treasures in that small pocket dimension helped me recover quickly.

You should be able to sense that my injuries have healed," Chu Ning explained.

"That won't do!" Chu Ning said sternly.

"I haven't thoroughly examined you yet. Besides, you're wearing your cultivation robe, so I can't sense your condition accurately."

Hearing this, Cen Zijin's face turned slightly red, and she gave Chu Ning a reproachful look.

"You're a late-stage Essence Incarnation cultivator, and yet you're still so shameless..."

Chu Ning laughed, "What's wrong with being a late-stage Essence Incarnation cultivator?"

"I mentioned before that even cultivators need to have desires and emotions.

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Come here, let your husband take a look at your cultivation progress."

As he spoke, Chu Ning had already embraced Cen Zijin by the waist.

Cen Zijin gently pounded on Chu Ning's chest as she buried her head in his embrace.

Within the cave abode, the water-attributed jade bed soon began to ripple with waves.

A scene of dual cultivation unfolded.

After a long while, Cen Zijin sat on the water bed and cultivated using the Dark Yin Orb.

Chu Ning, on the other hand, left the cave and headed to the medicinal garden ahead.

The garden indeed grew many treasures, but for Chu Ning, who had seen countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures, only two kinds caught his attention.

One was the three-thousand-year-old Snow Crystal Herb.

Cen Zijin hadn't harvested the Snow Crystal Herb for thirty years, and many of its leaves had already condensed spirit liquid, turning transparent.

"It's somewhat similar to the leaves I obtained from the Ice Crystal Giant Tree."

However, it only contained pure spirit energy and lacked primordial energy.

Chu Ning felt a slight disappointment.

The Ice Crystal Tree's leaves not only possessed astonishing ice-attributed spirit energy but also contained primordial energy.

So, during the time Chu Ning cultivated using those leaves, he was able to cultivate primordial energy without the aid of origin stones by simultaneously practicing the Nine Transformations Body Refinement Art.

At this moment, Chu Ning's gaze shifted to another cultivation area.

It was where the Purple Origin Fruit was grown.

He walked in and saw dozens of Purple Origin Fruit trees laden with purple spirit fruits.

A smile naturally appeared on his face.

He had brought this fruit from Spiritless Island and discovered that it could surprisingly absorb spirit energy.

After much care, it had become the current Purple Origin Fruit.

In terms of the richness of primordial energy, the Purple Origin Fruit couldn't compare to the Ice Crystal Tree's leaves or the Ten Thousand Spells Fruit.

However, its advantage lay in its abundance, which could significantly aid Chu Ning's cultivation.

"I should visit the Ten Thousand Spells Valley again when I have the time."

Chu Ning plucked several Purple Origin Fruits while thinking to himself.

He suspected that the Ten Thousand Spells Tree, the Ten Thousand Spells Incense, and the Ice Crystal Giant Tree might not be native to this realm.

By absorbing and merging with the Ten Thousand Spells Fruit's energy, Chu Ning had first merged with primordial energy in the Ten Thousand Spells Valley.

He felt that both the Cloud Soaring Alliance and himself might have underestimated the true potential of the Ten Thousand Spells Fruit.

Chu Ning made up his mind and returned to his cultivation chamber.

He then took out a black jade vessel from his storage pouch.

Holding the vessel that sealed the demon soul from beyond the realm, Chu Ning's eyes sparkled.

In fact, his current cultivation direction, whether it was creating the Chaos Immortal Art or merging with primordial power, was based on everything the Immortal Seeds had told him.

But all of this was according to what the Immortal Seeds had said.

To truly understand, he still needed to find the cultivator who had come from the Immortal Demonic Realm.

He wondered if the level of this beyond-realm demon soul in his hands was sufficient to know these things.

With this thought, Chu Ning activated the fourth layer of the Chaos Immortal Art, and spatial power began to fluctuate.

The next moment, the Void Secret Technique was unleashed again.

At the same time, Chu Ning opened the jade vessel and released the demon soul.

"What are you doing, Chu!"

In the void space, the demon soul couldn't fully utilize its magical energy or demonic energy.

The feeling of being at the mercy of others made this beyond-realm demon furious.

Chu Ning, however, paid no heed to the demon's shout.

He cast a series of incantations directly onto the demon soul.

Chu Ning was using a soul-searching technique meant for cultivators' Nascent Souls.

He wasn't sure if this method would work on the demon soul, but he could only try.

The reason he chose to set up the Void Secret Technique first was to prevent the demon from self-destructing as soon as he started the soul-searching.

As Chu Ning's incantations landed, the demon soul's aura gradually weakened, and it seemed to realize something, starting to struggle violently.

But being restricted by spatial power, its efforts were ultimately futile.

Chu Ning took this opportunity to continuously search through the demon soul's memories using the soul-searching technique.

Two hours passed before Chu Ning's face turned slightly unnatural, and he resealed the demon soul into the black jade vessel.

After removing the Void Mirror, he shook his head lightly.

Then, he closed his eyes and began cultivating the True Spirit Art to restore his divine perception.

Soul-searching this demon soul was far more exhausting and troublesome than Chu Ning had imagined.

Firstly, the demon soul's divine perception was far stronger than that of an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Although Chu Ning also possessed powerful divine perception, it wasn't to the extent of overwhelming the demon.

Additionally, this demon soul had entered this realm twenty thousand years ago, and it retained memories of being a beyond-realm demon.

After entering this realm, the memories of multiple cultivators were too complex, making it extremely difficult for Chu Ning to search for souls.

After cultivating the True Spirit Art several times and fully recovering his divine sense, Chu Ning slowly opened his eyes.

His face showed a calm expression.

"Although the memories of this demonic soul are complex, and for some unknown reason, many memories from the Immortal Demonic Realm are missing.

However, the memories of entering this realm are still intact, and I've gained quite a bit of information. It seems my efforts weren't in vain."

From the memories of this demonic soul, Chu Ning could basically confirm that what the Immortal Seed had said earlier was mostly accurate.

This demon entered this realm two million years ago, following a Divine Transformation Stage Sky Demon.

Their task was to search for the Immortal Seed that had escaped from the Immortal Demonic Realm.

However, from this demon's memories, Chu Ning learned that the Immortal Seed's true concern was not about advancing from the Nascent Soul Stage to the Divine Transformation Stage.

Instead, there was a legend that if one could obtain the Immortal Seed, they might be able to enter the True Immortal Realm from the Refining Void Stage after reaching the Divine Transformation Stage.

Regarding the Primordial Energy, it was also mostly consistent with what the Immortal Seed had said earlier. The Immortal Seed had indeed opened the Primordial Energy Channel in this realm.

That's why Divine Transformation Stage cultivators from the Immortal Demonic Realm were able to enter.

Cultivators from the Immortal Dao Alliance relied on Primordial Energy, while cultivators from the Demon Dao Alliance relied on True Demon Qi.

But with the disappearance of the Immortal Seed and the closure of the channel, under the influence of Planar Force, neither Primordial Energy nor True Demon Qi could enter this realm.

However, Chu Ning couldn't find any information about the Primordial Power from the memories of this Beyond World Demon.

Perhaps this level of Sky Demon didn't have a deep understanding or insight into the power of origins.

Nevertheless, combined with the experiences of the Nine Evolution Elder in the Nine Evolution Spirit Mountain, Chu Ning could now basically confirm the truth of what the Immortal Seed had said.

So at this moment, he could also confirm that his cultivation direction was not wrong.

"After cultivating the Chaos Immortal Art to the fourth layer's perfection, I should be able to reach a level equivalent to the Demigod Realm.

My cultivation will be comparable to that of a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator, but to truly become a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator and even ascend to the upper realm,

I still need to integrate the Primordial Power and cultivate the fifth layer of the Chaos Immortal Art!"

Chu Ning realized this point and understood that the focus of his next step would be on cultivating the fourth layer of the Chaos Immortal Art.

Chu Ning's plan was to cultivate while enjoying a leisurely immortal life with Cen Zijin on Celestial Peak.

However, after the news of Chu Ning's safe return spread throughout the Western Alliance Continent, it shocked many Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.

First, Qin Changkong and his brothers from the Cloud Soaring Alliance came to visit, followed by Situ Yuanlian from the Spirit Vast Alliance, Xia Huai'an from the Wilderness Alliance, Meng Qiongyu from the Green Robe Alliance, and Zhao Lang from the Heaven Eagle Alliance.

Even Yin Chuan Ghost Ancestor from the Demon Dao Alliance came.

Chu Ning's ability to rival a Divine Transformation Stage Sky Demon, along with his survival after being swallowed by a spatial rift, convinced everyone that he was the number one cultivator in the Western Alliance Continent.

After receiving several groups, Chu Ning noticed that some Intermediate Nascent Soul Stage cultivators were also coming one after another, so he decided to temporarily leave with Cen Zijin to avoid the crowds.

The destination he chose was the Northern Cold Region.

Although Cen Zijin had come to the Western Alliance Continent from the Eastern Holy Continent, this was her first time in the Northern Cold Region.

Upon arriving in the Northern Cold, Cen Zijin realized that the Longkong Pavilion Chu Ning had mentioned was indeed very influential there.

Despite Chu Ning's absence for decades, Longkong Pavilion's position in the Northern Cold was as solid as a rock.

Chu Ning and Cen Zijin thoroughly enjoyed the sights of the Northern Cold and cultivated in Longkong Pavilion for many years.

After that, they returned to the Celestial Peak of the Jiuhua Sect and resumed their leisurely cultivation life.

Chu Ning contemplated and cultivated the fourth layer of the Chaos Immortal Art, researching the Void Secret Technique and the Spatial Crafting Technique.

Every now and then, he would dual cultivate with Cen Zijin, living a carefree life.

As Chu Ning continued to cultivate the fourth layer of the Chaos Immortal Art, his cultivation level improved, and his control over spatial power also strengthened.

Under Chu Ning's comprehension and control of spatial power, the Void Secret Technique also continuously improved.

After cultivating the fourth layer of the Chaos Immortal Art for forty years, Chu Ning perfected his research on the Void Secret Technique and completed the refinement of the Chaos Spirit Sword.

However, Chu Ning remained relatively cautious about refining the Ethereal Key.

After all, refining a spirit sword and creating a small pocket dimension were completely different concepts.

Another forty years passed, and Chu Ning's cultivation of the Chaos Immortal Art approached perfection.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end