Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 364 - 352: Nascent Soul Realm! (2/3)

Chapter 364: Chapter 352: Nascent Soul Realm! (2/3)

Chapter 352: Nascent Soul Realm!

"What use is this pool?" Zhou Heng asked from a distance.

Huo Tian did not respond, but hummed a tune, splashing water around without any intention of addressing Zhou Heng’s question.

Zhou Heng suppressed the strong urge to approach and take a closer look.

Huo Tian’s nonchalant bath in the pool was due to her arrogance; in her eyes, all beings were mere ants, unworthy of her attention. It was like when humans bathe, would they care if a dog was nearby?

Half an hour later, Huo Tian lazily finished her bath. Her black hair was dotted with droplets of water, and her skin was crystal clear and incomparably beautiful.

A warmth surged in Zhou Heng’s heart, but his interest in the pool was even greater. He walked to the edge and hesitated, unsure of what use the milky liquid served: to drink directly or to bathe like Huo Tian?

Drink?

Although he liked Huo Tian, he hadn’t thought about drinking her bathwater!

Therefore, after some thought, he undressed and entered the pool. The moment he stepped in, a sense of warmth instantly permeated his body, enveloping his still unformed deity, nourishing and strengthening it.

A strong lethargy seized him, as if he could fall asleep right there.

Falling asleep in this place was definitely not a good idea!

Zhou Heng tried to rouse himself, but the drowsiness only intensified, as though he had returned to the amniotic fluid of infancy, giving him a sense of security and a feeling of return. Eventually, his consciousness sank into his spirit, and he fell into a deep sleep.

And so, he floated on the surface of the water.

Time passed, and Zhou Heng awoke.

The moment he opened his eyes, he immediately noticed something different: the once milky water had become incredibly diluted. Although it was not yet clear like water, the bottom was faintly visible.

Then, he realized that his deity had undergone an earth-shattering change!

The golden figure had fully formed!

He felt refreshed as if every pore was exuding spiritual energy.

No wonder the liquid had become so diluted—it had all been absorbed by him!

The liquid could not increase spiritual power or cultivation level, but it was immensely beneficial to the growth of the deity! Before, he had only made fifty steps on the path to forming a deity, but now, he had ascended to the heavens in one step, completing the process.

With the deity formed, he could now strive for the Nascent Soul Realm!

Zhou Heng was elated and quickly got dressed, summoning the women from the Nine Mystic Trial Tower. Although the water had thinned out a lot, it had not completely lost its effects.

"My lord!" "Zhou Heng!"

The women immediately began calling out to him like a group of cheerful birds. Having not seen him for several days, they were naturally longing for Zhou Heng. It was only when he mentioned entering the pool for a bath that the women all showed strange expressions.

"Zhou, you are really too lecherous!"

"Exactly, watching me bathe comes with a price!"

"My lord, are you unable to restrain yourself after just a few days?"

The women chattered incessantly.

Zhou Heng’s face darkened. These women actually thought he was lustful and wanted to watch them bathe naked? He shook his head and said, "This is Treasure Water, extremely beneficial for bolstering deities. Although none of you have formed a deity yet, I believe it will still help!"

Otherwise, Huo Tian wouldn’t have been the first to bathe in it.

Upon hearing Zhou Heng’s explanation, the women realized they had misunderstood him. An Yumei, Xiao Huoshui, and a few other women who had already been intimate with Zhou Heng began to undress. They did not mind Zhou Heng seeing them naked and soon turned into mermaids, plunging into the pool with a splash.

Zhou Heng turned and retreated. He was now ready to challenge the Nascent Soul Realm!

Huo Tian was one hundred yards away, and Zhou Heng asked her how long he had been asleep; it turned out to be only half a day.

He sat cross-legged, eyes closed, and began his attempt at the Nascent Soul Realm.

The Nascent Soul meant allowing the deity to transform into an infant and be nurtured and grown in the Inner World. When the cultivation level reached its peak, a Divine Infant would be born, marking the strength of one in the Divine Infant Realm!

The difficulty in transitioning from the Spirit Sea to the Nascent Soul lay in forming the deity. After that step was taken, everything else was just a matter of time, and things would naturally fall into place.

In the Inner World, the golden figure sank into the depths of the Earth, where it would form an infant and become the deity of the Inner World. Once fully grown, it would reach the Divinity Transformation Realm, able to tear through the void and ascend to the heavens as an Immortal!

As time flowed, a golden light shield formed around the golden figure, enveloping it like an egg.

Rumble! Rumble!

The world trembled, and the space in his dantian began to expand.

The golden figure constantly struck with sword and fists, hammering at the Earth Core, commencing the development of the Inner World from its deepest parts.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

Sounds of the Great Dao roared within his body. The breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm was unlike any other; crossing this threshold would make one a Half-Step Immortal!

Transcendent and extraordinary, naturally in harmony with the Dao, resonating with the chant of the great Dao.

Observing a Martial Artist breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm was of tremendous benefit to others, for it was the embodiment of the heavenly Dao!

Ying Mengfan and the other women’s Divine Sense were being cleansed by the pool’s water, and now, as they listened to the chant of the great Dao, the benefits to their Martial Path were immense. Especially for Ying Mengfan and Han Yulian, who had reached the Spirit Sea Realm and were not far from forming into Deities—the two of them naturally gained the most benefits.

Zhou Heng was completely oblivious, his Inner World expanding continuously. Although a Martial Artist post entering the Nascent Soul Realm needs to cultivate both Spiritual Power and Divine Sense, that doesn’t mean the role of Spiritual Power diminishes, as both complement each other and require equal attention.

Onefold, twofold, threefold, the Dantian Space kept expanding tumultuously, as if creating the heavens and earth, in unity with the Dao.

When expanded a thousandfold, the rapid expansion gradually slowed down but didn’t come to a stop—instead, it became more gentle. The golden figure in the Earth Core was incredibly solid, every detail visible.

The Divine Fetus was solidifying, and when it became indestructible, the expansion of the Dantian Space reached its pinnacle. Apart from expanding threefold each time a minor Realm was crossed, it would only continue to grow after the Divine Fetus had fully matured, breaking free from the fetal core, thus shattering its shackles to continue growing.

Therefore, the present moment was invaluable, as wasting a second meant losing a second of time to expand the Dantian Space.

Generally, a Martial Artist who broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm could expand their Dantian Space a thousandfold—that was the bare minimum. Beyond that, every bit of improvement was an unexpected joy.

But it was precisely from this point that expanding the Dantian Space by even one multiple was like breaking through limits, as if the body was about to burst or tear apart, an incredible agony.

A thousand and one hundred times! A thousand and two hundred times!

Zhou Heng had no intention of stopping, when else to strive if not now! The more solid his foundation, the greater his potential for development. And with the Black Sword capable of absorbing the Living Spirit Qi into his own Spiritual Power cultivation, there was no need to worry about the accumulation of Spiritual Power.

Without day or night, without waking or sleeping, Zhou Heng was in an extremely subtle state, seemingly in slumber, yet seemingly conscious and in control of everything.

A thousand and three hundred times! A thousand and four hundred times! A thousand and five hundred times!

His whole body was soaked with cold sweat as if in a downpour, his bones crackling crisply. His skin tore open, and blood seeped out, instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure.

A thousand and six hundred times! A thousand and seven hundred times! A thousand and eight hundred times!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

His entire skeletal frame erupted with noise until they finally began to break one by one!

The strength of his bones had surpassed that of a Nascent Soul Realm Magic Artifact, yet his Spiritual Power had also advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, and not just by a little but by multiples far exceeding the realm of a regular Nascent Soul Martial Artist. Such unyielding pressure was bound to shatter even a Nascent Soul Realm Magic Artifact.

A thousand and nine hundred times!

Zhou Heng gritted his teeth, which also crumbled one by one. His body no longer had a single intact bone.

He had reached his limit, to continue would mean to torment himself to death!

Still, what a waste!

Zhou Heng didn’t dare to proceed any further, watching helplessly as the Divine Fetus solidified, consuming the last bits of time.

A two thousand times expansion of the Dantian Space!

Considering his original Dantian Space already surpassed that of an average Spirit Sea Realm by three hundred and twenty times, he was now exceeding a typical Nascent Soul Realm Old Ancestor by six hundred and forty times in terms of Spiritual Power level!

He was almost able to take on a thousand by himself!

Boom!

As nature’s spiritual energy washed over him, Zhou Heng opened his eyes, Divine Intent swirling amidst them. His bones rapidly healed, followed by his meridians and flesh, instantly transforming into a body brimming with vitality, his bare muscles emitting the heat of flames, teeming with life.

The Nascent Soul Realm!

Zhou Heng clenched his fists, his Divine Sense spreading out—hum, within a hundred miles, everything was within his grasp!

A typical Nascent Soul Realm Old Ancestor could only expand their Divine Sense up to a range of a hundred yards; this was their strongest combat distance, where Deity and Spiritual Power acted in union to unleash the full Battle Power of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Yet Zhou Heng’s Divine Sense could stretch up to a hundred miles!

While the level of Spiritual Power was influenced by the Realm and size of the Dantian Space, Divine Sense was different—it had no distinction of Realms. Whether Nascent Soul, Divine Infant, or Divinity Transformation Realms, Divine Sense could vary as much as heaven does from earth.

With a mere thought, a golden egg-shaped presence arose above his head, with a golden figure seated inside.

Where Divine Intent went, there was nothing unknowable, nothing impossible!

"Husband, you’ve advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm!" Han Yulian walked over gracefully, her eyes filled with pride.

Zhou Heng laughed heartily, pulling her into his arms and giving her lips a fierce kiss. "Now, I have the strength to protect all of you!" he said.

There was a world of difference between the Nascent Soul and Spirit Sea Realms, even a Spirit Sea Realm on the cusp of forming a Deity!

He was now a Half-Step Immortal; even facing a Divine Infant Realm Expert, there would be room for maneuver, unlike before, when being secretly targeted and ambushed by such beings was tantamount to a death sentence.

— Unless Huo Tian was within ten paces of him.

Han Yulian’s emotions surged like fire, her body as pliable as water ripples against his chest, giving him a soul-stirring look of desire, too shy to speak.

"Ahem! Ahem!" Ying Mengfan and the other women all coughed, reminding the couple that there were more people present besides them!

(This is filler content modified since the word count was fixed previously and had to exceed the original count for changes to be made, please forgive us!)(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly passes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)