Chapter 509 - 478: Catch That Nascent Soul

At a bend in the mine tunnel, Zhang Ping sat in a pool of blood.

Her head was tilted as if in deep thought. In her bloodshot eyes, amidst the chaos and madness, there was a trace of bewilderment.

Bewildered about what?

Zhang Ping thought:

’Compared to the descendants she had so meticulously nurtured, she, who had been given up on by her clan long ago, had instead steadily advanced in her Cultivation. Now, as a dual cultivator of the Nascent Soul and Refining Spirit paths, her strength could even surpass that of an ordinary Human Race Celestial Immortal.’

’Perhaps more than just ordinary ones. Zhang Ping clearly remembered she had even killed a Mid-Stage Celestial Immortal before.’

’So, was it worth it?’

’Why, in the end? Why had she ended up like this?’

’What had she truly gained in her life? What had she left behind?’

’A battle record that shook the Nine Provinces?’

’It seemed not. Killing one Mid-Stage Celestial Immortal wasn’t nearly enough to let her shake the Nine Provinces.’

’Was it the endless generations of descendants...?’

’In truth, she didn’t seem to long for endless generations of descendants all that much. After all, if she herself could live for ten thousand, or a hundred thousand years, what need was there for an endless line of progeny?’

’And if she was destined to die one day and not live long, then no matter how many descendants she had, it seemed meaningless to her.’

Zhang Ping thought with uncertainty, ’Did I have too many? Maybe I didn’t need so many... just two or three would have been fine?’

’If she had been able to focus more energy on herself, would she be more than just an Earth Immortal today? Perhaps she could have even cultivated to the level of a Celestial Immortal?’

’If she became a Celestial Immortal and achieved Soul Emergence, then she, Zhang Ping, would truly have a place in this Nine Provinces World.’

’At that point, facing this paltry Giant Spirit Realm, why would she need to hide and scurry about like she was now?’

’Wouldn’t she be able to kill whomever she pleased? Mine whatever she wanted?’

Zhang Ping spat out a mouthful of blood and burst into laughter.

Amidst her laughter, a boundless, heroic spirit suddenly welled up within her chest.

Zhang Ping recited loudly, "A hundred years to sharpen one sword, now I draw it from its sheath! I should have understood sooner, I should have understood! HAHAHA, Soul Emergence! Soul Emergence! Soul Emergence!"

She shouted "Soul Emergence" three times as a Nascent Soul rose from her Dantian and, in a flash, shot out from her mouth.

The Nascent Soul was naked and bloody, about three inches tall, with features identical to a miniaturized version of Zhang Ping.

There were only two major differences. First, Zhang Ping herself had a face full of wrinkles, projecting a contradictory feeling of being both kindly and fierce. The Nascent Soul that shot from her mouth, however, had a smooth face and looked very young.

The other difference was that blue veins coiled around the Nascent Soul’s body like dragons and snakes, bulging prominently. At first glance, it looked like a baby playing with serpents—both hideous and bizarre, exuding an indescribable, terrifying tension.

Zhang Ping was still continuously spewing blood from her mouth. Like a fountain or a dragon’s tail, the blood shot straight toward the Nascent Soul hovering in midair.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Everything was like a flash of lightning, a fleeting glimpse of a night-blooming cereus.

HSSS HSSS HSSS!

Somehow, Zhang Ping’s body suddenly became like a leaking leather ball. Bloody holes burst open from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, from her limbs and her entire frame.

Streams of blood gushed out from them. Zhang Ping screamed, shouting "Soul Emergence!" or "I’ve attained enlightenment!" but in reality, her own aura was rapidly weakening.

In less than a ten-thousandth of a second, her aura had faded to almost nothing.

Her already withered and ancient body seemed to transform into a sheet of dried skin stretched over a withered skeleton.

Song Ciwan stepped out of the void, raised her palm, and pressed down lightly. Heaven-Stealing Day-Changing was successfully cast.

She had used the Marvel, the Fake Treasure-Collecting Gold Coin, to exchange for Zhang Ping’s Nascent Soul!

At this moment, Zhang Ping was on the verge of death but not yet gone. The emerged Nascent Soul was still an "object" that belonged to her.

This Nascent Soul seemed to be alive, yet it also resembled an inanimate object. Because Zhang Ping’s own aura had weakened to an extreme degree, the nature of the Nascent Soul was now closer to that of a dead thing.

Heaven-Stealing Day-Changing was fundamentally a Qimen Daoist Skill that could exchange a speck of dust for a star.

Its properties were so bizarre and unpredictable that it bordered on the domain of fundamental principles.

However, Song Ciwan’s current Cultivation was limited, far from being able to actually exchange dust for stars.

Under these circumstances, the more "advanced" the item she used for the exchange, the less power she needed to exert, and the higher the success rate.

For Song Ciwan to use the Fake Treasure-Collecting Gold Coin to exchange for this Nascent Soul was like bringing out a cannon; she could be said to be placing the utmost importance on this matter.

And this caution was not in vain. In an instant, that terrifying Nascent Soul landed in Song Ciwan’s hand!

The moment the Nascent Soul was in her grasp, Song Ciwan immediately felt a slight, prickly itch in her palm.

Countless tentacles were clearly emerging from the Nascent Soul, trying to burrow into her palm!

But Song Ciwan had now cultivated the Thunder Fire Body Devouring Technique to the Fourth Layer, reaching the Opening the Universe realm. In this state, her skin, bones, and muscles appeared ordinary, but in reality, they had long been like copper skin and iron bones—

And this wasn’t just ordinary copper skin and iron bones. It was Shoushan Copper, Copper of Ten Thousand Refinements, Celestial Iron, and Iron Gold Essence.

The countless tentacles extending from the Nascent Soul merely managed to give Song Ciwan a little tickle.

The next moment, she squeezed her palm, unleashing her Infinite Divine Power.

Under the pressure of this boundless giant power, the Nascent Soul in her palm immediately fell silent and ceased its struggles.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ping, sitting cross-legged at the bend in the mine tunnel, finally lost all trace of her aura at this moment. She was dead.

With its master dead, the Nascent Soul was naturally ownerless.

Song Ciwan pinched the Nascent Soul and placed it on the Heaven and Earth Scale. The scale displayed: [Item: Nascent Soul. Description: A damaged Nascent Soul containing a larva of the Ancient Divine Insect Race. Status: Semi-deceased. Tradable.]

Huh?

’Larva of the Ancient Divine Insect Race?’

Song Ciwan’s heart stirred. This was the first time she had seen such a description from the Heaven and Earth Scale.

Previously, when she had taken Ye Sheng’s Golden Core, the Heaven and Earth Scale’s description was: A Golden Core containing the Egg of the Ancient Divine Insect Race.

But now, for the Nascent Soul, the description was: Containing the larva of the Ancient Divine Insect Race.

Song Ciwan recalled the fragments of Zhang Ping’s Heart Demon she had seen earlier and immediately had a realization:

’For Cultivators of the Golden Core Dao, during the Foundation Establishment Stage, their Tao Foundation merely contains a seed. Although this seed belongs to the Ancient Divine Insect Race, it hasn’t hatched, so its influence on the human body is actually limited.’

’Once they reach the Golden Core Stage, this seed matures and becomes enveloped within the Golden Core, forming a complete Egg of the Ancient Divine Insect Race.’

’But an egg is still just an egg. The Insect Egg has not yet hatched, so emotionally, a typical Golden Core Cultivator’s humanity still outweighs their "insect nature."’

’For example, in Zhang Ping’s memories, during her Golden Core Stage, she had an ethereal, graceful bearing and still possessed a clear heart for the Dao.’

’But upon reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, the Insect Egg begins to hatch!’

’The hatching egg starts to release all sorts of strange substances, which then subtly influence the Cultivator’s temperament.’

’Just as in Zhang Ping’s memories, after cultivating to the Nascent Soul Stage, the once ethereal and graceful Zhang Ping suddenly became erratic and moody.’

’Nameless fury would often well up from the depths of her heart, causing her to have all kinds of violent thoughts for no reason.’

’To be constantly filled with rage while Cultivating Immortality—is that normal?’