178: Is this the true meaning of the Nascent Soul level?

Midnight Gao Sou wasn't always like this.

Sometimes, in the dead of night, he would reflect on himself.

He would reflect on why he hadn't changed his persona sooner.

“If I had known being an evil Cultivator was so profitable, I would have gone down the evil path much earlier.”

This was a thought Midnight Gao Sou often had recently.

As a streamer, a persona is often for profit, to attract fans, to make them recognize him, and then to shower him with money.

The former Midnight Gao Sou's persona was a moral paragon, and he truly was moral.

Of course, occasionally he would create some contrast for streaming effect.

So, when he chose to become an evil Cultivator, Midnight Gao Sou was a little worried that his fans would be disappointed in him, leading to a drastic drop in income.

However, he found that while some old fans were indeed disappointed and left, even more new fans poured in.

Along with them came a host of advertisers.

As his evil Cultivator strength continued to grow, more and more players gathered in the Great Love Sect, and its commercial value also rose. Midnight Gao Sou earned an income in these days that he previously couldn't even imagine, and gained a fan base that he could never have achieved before.

He had an epiphany.

There was no such thing as an evil Cultivator, no such thing as morality.

It was all just to make a living.

Therefore, when he discovered that Ye Chun was about to threaten the commercial value of the Great Love Sect, he immediately made a decision: kill Ye Chun, and then destroy the Heshui Prefecture guild.

Only by ensuring the unique characteristics of the Great Love Sect could he continue to receive advertisements and generate income.

The dual positive feedback brought by the continuous improvement of his Realm in the game and his income outside the game made Midnight Gao Sou deeply engrossed, completely unwilling to struggle free.

Not only him, but Old Potato and others also shared the same idea; they had also earned a lot these past few days.

So, the matter was quickly settled. The elites of the Great Love Sect gathered, several Immortal Foundations plus a host of Mortal Foundations, and a large group set off towards Ye Chun.

Boom!

A loud bang.

A bloody giant hand shattered a pavilion, revealing the warehouse inside, filled with countless stone boxes and jade boxes, containing medicinal ingredients of various grades.

And in the middle of these boxes, there was a small jade bottle, which contained a wisp of Immortal Qi.

“Take it.”

Midnight Gao Sou shouted, and a player specializing in Qi gathering techniques stepped forward, forming hand seals and casting spells, then took out a brand new jade box from his storage ring and carefully placed the bottle inside.

Immortal Qi was a very important strategic resource, almost equivalent to a potential Immortal Foundation powerhouse, so the Great Love Sect had to take it seriously.

“Ye Chun is not here, let's go to the next place.”

Midnight Gao Sou waved his hand, leading his people to the next location.

Before long, they saw a Spirit Peak, shrouded in clouds and mist, clearly a good place for a Breakthrough.

Midnight Gao Sou grunted, his Immortal Foundation blooming, and a bloody giant hands shot towards the Spirit Peak, intending to directly shatter the entire Spirit Peak.

As an Immortal Foundation powerhouse, and with the blessing of Star Fiend, he indeed possessed such strength now, far exceeding his past self.

However, the next moment the bloody giant hand struck, a sharp Spear Intent suddenly rose from the depths of the Spirit Peak, transforming into the most dazzling light. This light even obscured the sun, instantly piercing the eyes of Midnight Gao Sou and the others.

“Run!”

Star Fiend issued the command immediately, then forcibly possessed Midnight Gao Sou, casting a Blood Escape technique, and retreated at the fastest speed.

But Old Potato and the others nearby were not so lucky; they had no time to react and were instantly pierced by the dazzling light.

The light was brilliant and vast, appearing like a torrent covering everyone from the outside.

However, strangely, when the light dissipated and Old Potato and the others fell from the sky, their bodies remained outwardly intact, only their heads had a hole, roughly the size of a long spear.

“Spear Intent…”

Midnight Gao Sou hovered in the distance, seeing the Immortal Foundations and Mortal Foundations fall, his hair standing on end, frozen in place, his mind blank, as if he had witnessed a great horror.

The fear of being dominated by the Golden Core's last Clarity Qi resurfaced.

No, this time it was even more terrifying than before.

Ever since he had Star Fiend, Midnight Gao Sou had gained more and more understanding of the Xuanhuan World, and of course, he had inquired about information regarding the demise of Golden Cores.

When a Golden Core Cultivator is nearing the end of his Lifespan, no matter what he thinks, whether he is unwilling or composed, all his Cultivation and Divine Abilities can no longer be restrained by himself. They will resonate and interact with heaven and earth, triggering various anomalies.

Therefore, Sect Old Ancestors often need to find an Immortal Cave for a death seclusion before their Lifespan is near its end, to conceal these anomalies and prevent their enemies from knowing of their impending death.

And when he reaches the last moment of his life, his entire Cultivation and Divine Abilities will completely dissipate and merge into heaven and earth, which is called “Merging with the Dao.”

Thus, during the transition from his conscious state to a complete loss of consciousness, there is a special critical state. The Qi exhaled at this point is called the “last Clarity Qi.”

Whether it's a Cultivation Technique or a skill, whether it's a spell or a Divine Ability, it ultimately requires consciousness to wield. Once it merges with the Dao, it will transform into spiritual resources, losing all its profound mysteries. Therefore, this last Clarity Qi not only possesses the characteristic of being difficult to dissipate and communicating with heaven and earth after Merging with the Dao, but also retains the various marvels of the Cultivator's own Cultivation and Divine Abilities.

Therefore, the anomalies triggered after the Clarity Qi is released are extremely astonishing. It is said that the Clarity Qi exhaled by the top-tier Golden Core Cultivators before their demise can even affect tens of thousands of miles and linger for thousands of years.

Astonishing, shocking.

But considering that a Golden Core Cultivator only has one chance in his lifetime to exhale the “last Clarity Qi,” it becomes less difficult to accept.

However, the Spear Intent that appeared now truly left Midnight Gao Sou dumbfounded.

This was not something condensed from Cultivation and Divine Abilities interacting with heaven and earth before the end of a Lifespan.

It was merely a True Intent left casually by a spear Cultivator for future generations to comprehend.

It had even been significantly consumed by previous generations, with only a wisp remaining.

But it still possessed the effect of protecting its master, capable of instantly killing the Immortal Foundations and Mortal Foundations present.

If Star Fiend hadn't intervened in time, Midnight Gao Sou would have also perished here.

Moreover, Midnight Gao Sou vaguely sensed that it wasn't that Star Fiend's current strength could evade this Spear Intent, but rather that because he was a Void Gazer Cultivator, the Spear Intent “showed mercy.”

“Is this the True Intent of the Nascent Soul Realm? It's truly… shocking.”

Midnight Gao Sou pondered for a long time before finally uttering this sentence.

After he achieved Immortal Foundation, his awe of powerhouses diminished significantly, and he even felt that he was already a great figure dominating one side.

But now… he once again recalled the terror of facing Golden Core pressure for the first time.

The true powerhouses of the Xuanhuan World don't need to act themselves, don't need to show their faces; things they casually leave behind can still cause current Prodigies to fall even thousands of years later.