Chapter 673 - 367: Bottleneck

’So it’s called the Dao Transmission Jade Disc.’

Lü Zhong thought, ’What a coincidence. I already have two Dao Transmission Jade Disc Fragments on me. If I can find the last one, I can piece together the complete Dao Transmission Jade Disc.’

The only problem was, how would he find it?

Just then, Feng Rui flicked his finger, shooting out a streak of white light. Lü Zhong drew it into his palm and heard Feng Rui speak. "This is an improved Seeking Disc Mantra. It only works on Dao Transmission Jade Disc Fragments and can give you a general location. Your job is to find all three fragments, then assemble a complete Jade Disc."

Lü Zhong listened and thought, ’Talk about a timely blessing. I was just stressing over how hard it would be to find the last fragment, and I never expected Feng Rui to give me a Technique Mantra like this. It can actually pinpoint the location of the Dao Transmission Jade Disc. This will save me a lot of trouble.’

"By the way, you don’t need to search the Southern Barbarian lands. You must go to Central Earth. If your luck is good enough, you might even find a complete Dao Transmission Jade Disc in the possession of those Family and Major Sects. As for a deadline, I hope for it to be within a hundred years." After this reminder, Feng Rui took a few steps forward, transformed into a stream of light, and vanished.

After watching Feng Rui leave, Lü Zhong tried out the Seeking Disc Mantra.

Just as Feng Rui had said, he performed the mantra several times in a row without any reaction. He then tried channeling a large amount of Magical Power into it, hoping to greatly increase the Seeking Disc Mantra’s power.

Finally, it worked.

A wisp of clear qi condensed into an arrow, vaguely pointing in one direction.

Lü Zhong knew at a glance that it was pointing to the Jade Disc Feng Rui carried. This gave him a preliminary understanding of the Seeking Disc Mantra’s effective range. He couldn’t help but think, ’If I’m not mistaken, as long as I provide enough Magical Power, the Seeking Disc Mantra’s detection range should increase significantly.’

Then, another thought occurred to him.

’Since injecting more Magical Power enhances the mantra’s tracking ability... ’

’...what would happen if I injected Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi instead?’

A bold idea suddenly surfaced in Lü Zhong’s mind.

He took out a Jia Yuan Heavenly Talisman and activated it without hesitation, using the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi within as a medium to cast the Seeking Disc Mantra once more.

Unlike the previous attempts, two arrows condensed after he cast the Seeking Disc Mantra this time, seeming to represent the whereabouts of multiple fragments.

The first arrow was thick and bold, likely pointing toward Feng Rui.

The other arrow was as thin as a hair, almost invisible.

It was pointing precisely toward Central Earth.

’It seems my guess was correct. Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi really does amplify the effects of a Technique Mantra,’ Lü Zhong thought.

In that case, things were much simpler.

Regarding the search for the Dao Transmission Jade Disc Fragment, Lü Zhong didn’t plan to handle it personally. Instead, he was preparing to send an Incarnation to Central Earth with Baqiong.

He had two reasons for doing this. First, it was a precaution against Feng Rui trying to lure the tiger from its mountain. Second, it would free up time for his cultivation, allowing him to break through to the Late-stage Nascent Soul sooner.

More strength meant more security.

Lü Zhong didn’t believe that Feng Rui, when faced with a great opportunity, would choose to remain at peace with him. He fully expected the man to turn on him without a second thought. Therefore, breaking through as soon as possible was absolutely necessary.

His decision made, he transformed into a rainbow and shot into the sky.

In mid-air, he changed direction and flew towards Tide Cave.

...

Lü Zhong remained in seclusion, and ten years passed.

Thanks to the Six Yang Sandalwood True Pill, his cultivation had improved considerably.

Not long ago, Lü Zhong had been able to vaguely sense the existence of the Mid-stage Nascent Soul bottleneck. It was like an invisible wall.

The closer he got, the more awe-inspiring it felt. It simply blocked his path forward, and only by breaking through the bottleneck could he advance to the Late-stage Nascent Soul.

Breaking through the bottleneck was easier said than done.

It required fusing the Primordial Spirit with the Nascent Soul.

To make them truly become one.

Completing this step would open the Path of Divinity Transformation. After that, he would only need to accumulate his Magical Power until he reached Nascent Soul Perfection and nurture the fused Nascent Soul to the stage of Great Success. Only then could he attempt to ascend to the peak of the mortal world by triggering the legendary Nine-Nine Celestial Tribulation.

As for how to achieve this fusion, the Flying Star Inheritance did offer a Secret Skill.

It was called the True Self Unity Seal.

By practicing this Secret Seal, one could accelerate the fusion process.

The only issue was the time it would take, which was rather long.

Lü Zhong made a rough calculation and found that it would take at least five hundred years. This was with him possessing the Pure Spirit Body, which increased the fusion speed. If it were an ordinary cultivator, that number would double, taking a full thousand years to complete.

Of course, this was all without the help of any auxiliary Spiritual Objects.

According to the ancient texts, this realm contained many rare Spiritual Objects capable of accelerating the fusion of the Primordial Spirit and Nascent Soul, which could drastically reduce the time needed to break through the bottleneck. Their effects varied widely. Lesser ones might shave off two or three years, while more potent ones could cut the time by thirty to fifty years. There were even legends of an Immortal Grass that could complete the fusion overnight.

’I’ll still have to go out and search for opportunities,’ Lü Zhong lamented.

If it weren’t for the impending Destruction Realm crisis and the Demon Court eyeing him like a tiger stalking its prey, he would have loved to just hole up in his cave abode for five hundred years and not come out until he broke through to the Late-stage Nascent Soul.

But alas, things rarely go according to plan.

Crushing his stray thoughts, Lü Zhong opened the dossiers before him.

As the master of a sect, he naturally didn’t need to do the tiring work of gathering information himself. All he had to do was sift through it and select a specific target.

A brief scan revealed that the target Spiritual Objects were, without exception, located in the world’s most perilous lands. This was hardly surprising. After all, any Spirit Medicine that was easy to harvest would have been taken long ago. Even if some weren’t yet mature, they would have been hidden away, making them impossible to find easily.

’So my only hope lies within these Forbidden Lands?’