204: Destruction and rebirth, half-step Nascent Soul

After seeing off the Southern Frontier Inspector, the deliberation hall returned to silence, leaving only Shen Yuanmo and Shen Qiming, father and son.

"Yuan Mo, your injuries..."

Shen Qiming quickly stepped forward, grabbing his son's arm. That hand, which once held the Family's authority and was steady and powerful, now trembled uncontrollably.

He wanted to say something but didn't know where to start. His eyes welled up with lingering fear, worry, and an undisguised, surging pride.

"Father, don't worry, I'm fine."

Shen Yuanmo's voice was as steady as ever. He gently patted his father's hand, offering the most direct comfort.

"It's just that my magic power is exhausted; I need time to recuperate."

He spoke lightly, but only he knew the true cost of that battle.

The moment he unleashed his final sword, everything within him—magic power, blood Qi, Divine Soul, and even his comprehension of the Dao—was drained and squeezed dry, transforming into that single strike that annihilated the forbidden Profound Truth, Purple Micro Heavenly Starfall.

If his Foundation hadn't been monstrously profound, he would have perished, leaving only an empty shell without a Soul.

"That's good... that's good!" Shen Qiming nodded repeatedly, his eyes slightly red. The immense boulder that had been weighing on his heart finally settled a bit more.

He gazed at his son's face, which was far calmer and more resolute than those of his peers, as pride and heartache intertwined within his chest like a sea.

This son, whom he should have protected, had now grown into the pillar of the entire Family, and even the entire Southern Frontier.

"Go back to the secret chamber to recuperate." Shen Qiming took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, and regained the authority of a Family head. "I'll handle matters outside! No one will disturb you!"

"Mm."

Shen Yuanmo nodded, saying no more.

He turned and walked step by step into the familiar cultivation chamber.

The heavy stone door slammed shut, completely isolating all external clamor and Karma.

Inside the secret chamber, all was silent.

Shen Yuanmo sat cross-legged on the Ten-Thousand Year Cold Jade Bed. The bone-chilling coldness surged up his spine and into his limbs, quickly cooling his Physical Body, which was burning from exhaustion.

He did not rush to circulate his cultivation for healing. Instead, he closed his eyes, his mind like an abyss, plummeting to the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness.

The gains from this battle needed to be tallied.

The deathmatch with Half-step Soul Transformation Song Xuanyi was, for him, nothing less than a baptism hovering on the edge of destruction and rebirth.

From the clash of Formations, the slaughter of elites with his sword, to finally dismantling the Great Array and, as a Mortal, invoking the power of heaven and earth to unleash that transcendent sword strike.

Every step was like dancing on a blade's edge.

Every moment could have meant the annihilation of his Dao and body, plunging him into eternal damnation.

It was precisely this extreme pressure of walking on the line between life and death that elevated his understanding of power, Law, and the ethereal "Dao" to an unprecedented new dimension.

His Divine Sense transformed into his true form within his Sea of Consciousness, slowly raising a hand.

As his mind willed it, his Sea of Consciousness churned, and battle scenes, imprinted by his Divine Soul, began to rewind and re-enact.

That was the trajectory of how, when Song Xuanyi activated the fifth-tier Magic Treasure, Purple Flame World-Ending Light, billions of runes within it lit up like stars, and energy surged and roared.

That was how, in the Purple Sun Burning Heaven Battle Array, the magic power of thirty Golden Core Cultivators resonated, intertwining into lines, ultimately constructing the Law Veins of that flaming giant.

And even more so, it was the torrent of Nascent Soul Divine Charm, infinitely close to true rules, when Song Xuanyi sacrificed himself with blood and roared out the forbidden Profound Truth, Purple Micro Heavenly Starfall!

Insight into Origin!

Perfect Deduction!

His two talents were pushed to their extreme!

All images, all trajectories, all Laws, were slowed down billions of times in his Sea of Consciousness, mercilessly dismantled and analyzed, until they were reduced to the most primitive energy particles and Law lines, leaving no secrets whatsoever.

"So that's how it is..."

"The power of Soul Transformation is no longer merely a surge in magic power, but a higher-level 'borrowing,' 'leveraging,' and even... 'controlling' of the Laws of heaven and earth!"

Shen Yuanmo's consciousness was completely immersed, ravenous and infatuated.

Especially that last sword strike.

Discarding everything, abandoning all, bringing together all his essence, Qi, spirit, and myriad Dao and Law into a single sword.

Dao Heart as one, man and sword as one.

That profound and mysterious state of sublimation still sent shivers deep into his Soul as he recalled it now.

At that moment, he touched the invisible barrier that stood before all Golden Core Cultivators, like an uncrossable chasm.

That was a Domain that transcended mere techniques, truly touching the Dao!

After sorting through all his battle insights, Shen Yuanmo's mind descended, like a hidden Dragon entering the sea, into his Dantian Qi Sea.

In the center of the Qi Sea, the once perfectly round and flawless five-colored Golden Core floated quietly.

Its volume had actually shrunk by an entire circle compared to before the battle, now only the size of a pigeon's egg, yet the pressure and Dao Charm emanating from it were several times more terrifying than when it was at Golden Core Great Perfection!

The surface of the Golden Core was no longer smooth and glazed, but covered with dense, mysterious, and unfathomable golden divine patterns. Each pattern was naturally formed, like the traces of the Dao imprinted when heaven and earth first opened!

This was an essential transformation that had spontaneously evolved after absorbing the violent energy of the entire Great Five Elements Cycle Array and the Nine Heavens power it guided, enduring extreme consumption and compression, and further undergoing the ultimate sublimation of man and sword as one!

It could be said that the quality of his Golden Core had already surpassed any known Golden Core in the history of this world!

"The Foundation is solid, the Dao Heart is clear..."

"Then..."

A hint of almost insane determination flashed in the depths of Shen Yuanmo's eyes.

What he wanted to do was not to steadily advance to Nascent Soul.

What he wanted to do was to perform a Heaven-Defying act on the basis of this perfect Golden Core!

To push the power of this Golden Core to its theoretical limit, forging a cultivation myth unprecedented and perhaps unmatched in the future!

"Great Five Elements Glazed Art, circulate!"

With a thought, the remaining vast Five Elements magic power in his Dantian transformed into five-colored divine radiance, like a warm stream, repeatedly flushing and nourishing the five-colored Golden Core covered with divine patterns.

At the same time, he separated a wisp of incomparably powerful Divine Sense, like the most delicate surgical knife, and with extreme caution, peeled off that supremely overbearing Dao Charm of destruction from his analysis of Purple Micro Heavenly Starfall.

That was a true fragment of a Soul Transformation-level rule!

It was filled with the aura of ending all things and annihilating all life.

This was a deadly poison!

For any other Golden Core Cultivator, even a trace would instantly corrupt their Golden Core, collapse their Dao Foundation, and turn thousands of years of arduous cultivation into flowing water!

But Shen Yuanmo's five-colored Golden Core, with its core being the continuous cycle of the Five Elements, already contained a trace of true destruction due to serendipitous Opportunity.

Buzz—!

The moment that Nascent Soul Divine Charm, like a purplish-black thread, touched the five-colored Golden Core!

Not only did the Golden Core not collapse, but it emitted an extremely eager, extremely excited hum!

The golden divine patterns on its surface suddenly lit up, like a starving glutton that had been hungry for eons, actively opening an invisible giant mouth and beginning to frantically devour and refine that higher-level Dao Charm!

As it was refined, the golden divine patterns became increasingly complex and profound, as if they were evolving into a Universe.

New insights, like the Nine Heavens Milky Way pouring down, exploded in his mind.

Where the Five Elements cycle, there is creation and destruction.

The extreme of life is death.

The end of death is life.

Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin!

Unbeknownst to him, astonishing phenomena reappeared in his eyes.

In his left eye, a five-colored divine wheel slowly rotated, as if stars were being born and all things were coming into being within it.

In his right eye, destructive black flames quietly burned, as if worlds were withering and all things were returning to silence within it.

Two diametrically opposed supreme powers achieved an incredible perfect balance within his body!

"Now!"

Shen Yuanmo seized that fleeting eternal spark!

He transformed his new insights into life and death, and destruction, his supreme Sword Intent of man and sword as one, and his entire will and Soul, all into an ultimately brilliant Divine Soul imprint!

Then, he fiercely carved it onto that Golden Core, which was undergoing an extreme transformation!

"Condense—!"

Crack!

An extremely crisp shattering sound, without any warning, suddenly echoed from the deepest part of his Dantian Qi Sea!

That sound was like a perfectly crafted glazed artwork being mercilessly smashed by an iron hammer!

Shen Yuanmo's mind was violently shaken!

His Golden Core shattered?!

Had he taken the wrong path?!

No!

He "saw" that his perfect five-colored Golden Core had not developed any cracks; instead, it became even more brilliant, with divine patterns flowing and Dao Charm naturally arising.

The crisp sound actually came from directly above the Golden Core!

There, the Void Realm seemed to be torn open by an invisible force, and a phantom, about an inch in size, broke out of its "shell"!

That phantom's facial features were identical to his own, entirely composed of the purest Divine Soul and Dao Charm power, sitting cross-legged in a solemn and dignified posture, like an innate deity!

It was not a projection of the Golden Core, nor a manifestation of magic power!

It was a new life form, independent of the Golden Core and superior to the Physical Body!

Nascent Soul Embryo!

The moment it appeared, it produced a profound and mysterious resonance with the five-colored Golden Core below, as if a monarch was inspecting his territory!

Boom!

The next moment, the Nascent Soul Embryo suddenly opened its eyes!

Life energy surged in the left eye, while the right eye was filled with Death Qi!

A new aura, far surpassing Golden Core Great Perfection, and even several times more terrifying than that of an ordinary Nascent Soul Initial-stage Cultivator, mixed with a wisp of ethereal, vast, and supreme Dao Charm that overlooked all beings, erupted from Shen Yuanmo's body!

The Spiritual Qi in the entire cultivation chamber was swept clean, and even the incredibly hard walls showed fine cracks!

Half-step Nascent Soul!

It was a success!