Xu Ziqing held his breath and focused, not daring to slack off for even a moment.
Before long, his spirit was invigorated, his energy abundant, and he had already returned to his optimal state.
At the same time, countless profound meanings of life and death flowed through his eyes, like a long river, ceaselessly rolling.
The path of life and death reincarnation was what Xu Ziqing sought throughout his life, the great road of seeking the Dao and inquiring about immortals!
Under this mysterious will, Xu Ziqing seemed to become ethereal.
He fell into a peculiar state, as if he were himself yet also outside of the heavens, vague and indistinct, gazing down at himself.
In the dantian, the pulsation of the Golden Core grew more intense.
More spiritual energy poured in, and the “Ten Thousand Woods Great Heart Planting Technique” ran wildly, transforming spiritual energy into true essence and infusing that true essence into the Golden Core.
Xu Ziqing’s consciousness focused on the Golden Core, aiming to polish its outer shell bit by bit, layer by layer.
“Peng! Peng! Peng!”
The sounds of pulsation were like haunting incantations that could steal away one’s soul!
A voice questioned sternly, “Your talent is good, but your heart is impure; it’s difficult to achieve the great path!”
Xu Ziqing kept his eyes tightly shut and countered, “Since I began my cultivation, I have been diligent and careful, not daring to indulge; how can my heart be impure?”
The person sneered coldly, “Your heart is filled with love; your Dao heart has wavered several times due to this love. If you do not forget love and abandon desire, there will be no great path to speak of!”
Xu Ziqing’s heart trembled: “The path I cultivate is not one devoid of emotion; love allows me to retain my original intent and is by no means an obstacle to attaining the Dao!”
The person continued, “You cling to your shixiong at every turn. Without him by your side, with your weakness, you would achieve nothing!”
Xu Ziqing replied with a calm heart, “My shixiong and I are like one; where is there talk of clinging? As fellow Dao companions, we should advance hand in hand. Yesterday I relied on my shixiong, and in the future, he may also rely on me. If I become mired in my own troubles, always calculating, my thoughts will become muddled, and it will only serve to create a mental demon.”
In an instant, that voice quarreled with Xu Ziqing endlessly.
One person said, “Your shixiong has extraordinary talent. If it weren’t for your hindrance, he would have long since cleared the obstacles and achieved the highest Dao!”
Another replied, “My shixiong’s heart is steadfast; he will not be shaken in his Dao heart because of this. What he seeks is surely his true desire!”
Someone else said, “You can never match your shixiong; how can you be worthy of him!”
Another retorted, “Even if I cannot match him, I should strive forward. A temporary shortcoming does not equate to a lifelong inadequacy. I will not belittle myself, nor will I belittle my shixiong!”
Yet another voice chimed in, “You are too soft-hearted; it is difficult to achieve greatness. Rongjin’s murderous aura is overwhelming and will ultimately seize your soul!”
To this, another responded, “Rongjin has already awakened spiritual wisdom and is easy to guide, so there will be no mistakes. My Dao heart is resolute; how could it be taken?”
One more said, “Your shixiong governs death, while you govern life; life and death cannot coexist. You and your shixiong will ultimately become strangers!”
Another replied, “Where there is life, there is death; the cycle of life and death is my path. Amidst countless murderous intentions, there is also a thread of opportunity. My shixiong and I complement each other; how can there be talk of strangers?”
The voices droned on, seemingly endless.
But Xu Ziqing took a deep breath and spoke loudly, “You need not say more to shake my resolve.”
“You seek to dig into my inner demons, trying to control me. Though I may be inadequate, I am not a shallow person.”
“Do not try to deceive me; you are my heart’s demon. Every time there is a gap, you seek to cause trouble—quickly retreat!”
He spoke with a thunderous voice, each word echoing: “What heart demon, what heart barrier? I, Xu Ziqing, have long since established my original intent. No matter how much you prattle on, you cannot disturb me!”
After he uttered this, the many buzzing words finally disappeared.
Xu Ziqing also broke out in a cold sweat, dampening half of his body.
Just now, the heart demon had taken advantage of an opening to return, but it was also an internal interrogation.
Had Xu Ziqing not already been tormented by the heart demon once before, and merged with Yun Lie’s primordial spirit, resolving his heart barriers, it would likely not have been so easy to expel it now. However, after this, he would have a good period of tranquility.
After slowly adjusting his breath, Xu Ziqing once again turned inward.
At this moment, he noticed that a crack had appeared on the Golden Core.
This crack was growing larger under the continuous infusion of true essence and the persistent polishing of the primordial spirit’s will, with many fine little fissures appearing around its edges.
At the same time, Xu Ziqing’s primordial spirit began to sting.
The green light that had been directed downwards suddenly retracted, vanishing in an instant into the embryonic form of the Small Universe.
And then, the Golden Core shattered unexpectedly.
At that moment, it transformed into a burst of golden powder!
A stronger vitality erupted forth, a joy of new life.
After the golden powder dispersed, the place where the Golden Core had been was replaced by a Nascent Soul!
This soul was only the size of a fist, but it had complete eyes, ears, mouth, and nose—a green-skinned nascent soul.
Its form was solid, and while its features appeared youthful, upon closer inspection, it looked strikingly similar to Xu Ziqing!
The Nascent Soul had been successfully formed!
This was indeed Xu Ziqing’s primordial soul!
However, after the primordial soul took shape, it was far from complete.
At that moment, the will of the Heavenly Dao descended with overwhelming force.
This will was incredibly terrifying, making Xu Ziqing’s consciousness feel like an ant amidst it, or like a drifting reed in the ocean, weak and insignificant.
But this did not shake him.
Xu Ziqing calmed his heart and focused, conveying his own path through his primordial spirit.
Life and death reincarnation, reincarnation of life and death—there is life and there is death, and there is no birth and no destruction.
His will became a pillar in the sea, like a rocky reef, remarkably stable and resilient.
The “Ten Thousand Woods Great Heart Planting Technique,” under the laws of the Heavenly Dao, underwent peculiar changes.
This method was originally a legendary cultivation technique, which allowed practitioners to gain more gifts from the Heavenly Dao when forming their Nascent Soul!
In the blink of an eye:
Within the Zifu, the embryonic form of the Small Universe continuously expanded and matured rapidly, forming a true Small Universe. Its space increased millions of times, and all the world’s rules became clearer, about to transform into tangible existence.
In this newly born Zifu Small Universe, the ten thousand woods grew even faster, as if thousands or tens of thousands of years had passed in an instant, causing their vitality to surge dramatically, making them extraordinarily ancient and powerful.
The Bloodthirsty Demon Vines of Rongjin continuously split and grew. After just a few breaths, there were already tens of thousands of them!
Each vine was incredibly thick, so robust that two or three people could not embrace one, shooting up into the sky.
Its root system extended deep into the ground of the Small Universe, occupying an extremely vast area. It spread its claws, already dominating half of the sky.
This was the true form of the Bloodthirsty Demon Vines!
Only upon reaching Xu Ziqing’s Nascent Soul stage could its true appearance manifest!
Once the Bloodthirsty Demon Vines fully unfurled, three sword-shaped trees rose from the ground, surrounding the area occupied by the Bloodthirsty Demon Vines and forming their unique domain.
Rou Baigu originally only had seeds, but now, under the gifts of the Heavenly Dao, it immediately matured again, occupying its own piece of land. After maturing, its seeds fell and new Rou Baigu formed continuously, astonishingly claiming a patch of medicinal field.
Several other trees of utmost yang also grew individually and settled down, forming a protective stance around the central Bloodthirsty Demon Vines.
Within the Zifu Small Universe, there were nearly earth-shattering changes.
However, at this point, the land within the Small Universe began to crack.
If it were ordinary trees, it wouldn’t matter, but these ancient ferocious creatures and extraordinarily rare spiritual treasures were stretching out completely. A young cultivator who had just formed his primordial infant simply could not bear this weight.
Even with a legendary cultivation method, it lacked such capacity.
Xu Ziqing felt a chill in his heart.
His sought-after path was correct, yet he had still overestimated his own abilities…
At that moment, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.
The land of the embryonic form of the Small Universe was cracking, its shape becoming somewhat blurred, with overwhelming pain coursing through him, as if the Small Universe was about to collapse!
And that primordial infant, which had just been formed, also dimmed slightly.
It seemed… it was about to fail…
Xu Ziqing broke out in a cold sweat, feeling utterly unwilling.
If he failed to form his primordial infant this time, he would delay for a hundred years or even longer.
This failure might even mean that the opportunity would be hard to come by again.
How could he, how could he fail!
Perhaps his thoughts were too intense, and suddenly, a sense of resonance came from his storage bracelet.
It seemed that something within it was eager to break free…
Xu Ziqing bit his tongue to calm himself down.
In such a situation, he should trust his instincts.
Without hesitation, he turned his thoughts and released that item!
In an instant, a streak of flowing light rushed in.
Xu Ziqing saw clearly that what was hovering before him was a brown hard lump, about the size of a pigeon egg.
It was neither metal nor wood, but looked like a piece of hard soil.
This is…
Just as he was puzzled, the object suddenly emitted a strong radiance.
It seemed to want to break through something, to enter something.
Xu Ziqing’s heart stirred. Could it be that it wanted to enter the Zifu Small Universe? After a moment’s thought, he decided to open the Zifu. If it wouldn’t speed things up, why not give it a try?
The next moment, the hard lump charged straight towards Xu Ziqing’s brow and violently crashed into the Zifu Small Universe!
As it entered, the entire Small Universe underwent drastic changes!
It felt as if it had stabilized significantly.
After the hard lump entered, it instantly expanded infinitely in the air.
Only then did Xu Ziqing realize that the expanded hard lump resembled fertile soil!
It quickly grew to an enormous size and then fell down, merging instantaneously with the original land.