Chapter Fifty-Six: The Awakening of the Primordial Spirit

In an instant, an incredibly fierce and surging stream of vital energy rose within Ye Mo’s abdomen. This current of energy flowed along his meridians, spreading throughout his body and seeping deep into his flesh, blood, and bones, attempting to transform into the essence of qi and blood.

The essence of qi and blood is the source of a martial artist’s strength. When this essence reaches an extremely dense state, it begins to convert into vital energy. Yet this process is anything but easy—even at the peak of Body Refinement’s ninth level, even peerless martial artists find it extremely difficult to transform the essence of their qi and blood into sufficiently concentrated vital energy. Without the guidance of medicinal pills, it is nearly impossible for a martial artist’s essence to convert into large quantities of vital energy. And the faint amount produced is far from enough to merge with the soul shadow and cultivate the nascent spirit.

Ye Mo was in no hurry. Sitting cross-legged in the prison cell, he quietly guided every trace of his vital energy, cleansing his muscles and bones over and over, tempering his body in preparation for the final breakthrough into the nascent spirit.

Cultivating immortality differs from martial cultivation in several ways. The advancement of a martial artist generally depends on two factors. One is the practice of martial techniques, involving intense training at the limits of the body, day after day, year after year. The other is the use of body-tempering herbs, which not only heal the bruises and strains left by prolonged training but also increase a martial artist’s qi and blood, strengthening the muscles and bones and thus boosting their strength.

But cultivating immortality is not the same as body refinement. Cultivation requires a spiritual root. From the ancient text Ye Mo found in the island cave, he learned that ordinary mortals possess spiritual roots rated below five points; most are unsuitable for cultivation. Even with such poor aptitude, if one were to miraculously break through to the nascent spirit and enter the foundation stage, without further miracles, they would remain at the very first level of foundation establishment for life, unable to progress any further.

The lower a cultivator’s spiritual root, the more vital energy is required for each step forward. This means consuming vast quantities of vital energy pills. The cost for a great cultivation family to nurture a single heir is so high that even if an entire nation on the Nine Provinces Continent were to pool its resources, it would not be enough.

During this time, Ye Mo had studied the ancient texts retrieved from the cave, acquiring a much deeper understanding of cultivation, physiques, and spiritual roots. The more he learned, the more he realized how precious vital energy pills were.

After reaching the peak of body refinement, a martial artist can gradually convert part of their qi and blood essence into vital energy. When this potent energy merges with a wisp of soul shadow within the Mind Palace, a mysterious and powerful nascent spirit is born. This nascent spirit is, in fact, the cultivator’s soul, now greatly strengthened by the absorption of vital energy.

This is the greatest mystery behind the birth of a cultivator.

Ye Mo felt his foundation was now extremely solid. The vital energy within him was nearing saturation. He began guiding this current toward the Mind Palace.

The Mind Palace is the mysterious sea of consciousness between the brow and the back of the head. Floating silently within this sea was a faint, almost imperceptible soul shadow, bordering on nothingness.

Not a single mistake could be made here. The slightest error could shatter the sea of consciousness in the brain, turning a person into an idiot or a lunatic.

Ye Mo directed the current of vital energy to the entrance of the Mind Palace, only to find he could not enter. A membrane blocked the threshold. The energy surged left and right, unable to find a way in, nor could it seep through.

“It seems I must use this energy to break through the membrane at the entrance to the Mind Palace—the barrier that prevents the soul shadow and vital energy from fusing. Only by merging the vital energy outside with the soul shadow within can the nascent spirit be born!” Ye Mo thought to himself.

The ancient text merely stated that vital energy must merge with the nascent spirit, but did not explain the exact method. It must be here! There was nowhere else to enter.

Ye Mo manipulated the flow of energy, striking against the gray membrane outside the Mind Palace.

A sharp cry escaped his lips as a wave of excruciating pain tore through him. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he refused to stop the energy’s assault on the membrane.

Before long, nearly a third of his vital energy was consumed, but the membrane seemed to loosen considerably. With the remaining energy, Ye Mo continued to batter the gray barrier.

“No matter how much it hurts, I must endure! This is the final bottleneck before forming my nascent spirit—I cannot fail at the last hurdle!” Ye Mo clenched his jaw, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, enduring the most intense pain of his life.

Inside the prison cell, the other seven had already been alarmed by Ye Mo’s strange behavior during his breakthrough.

“What’s he doing? Meditating... but why is he sweating all over, as if he’s burning up? Is he running a high fever?!” Zhao Dafu exclaimed in surprise, unable to resist reaching out to shake Ye Mo awake.

The moment his hand touched Ye Mo, a violent tremor repelled him. Zhao Dafu cried out in pain, his arm going numb and sore, his face contorted as he stared at Ye Mo as if he were a monster.

“Don’t touch him! He’s breaking through—don’t interrupt!” Qian Ying’s eyes turned cold as she warned in a low voice. She, too, was puzzled. Such a powerful protective aura was nothing like the phenomenon seen when martial artists advanced to a higher level. Just what kind of breakthrough was Ye Mo undergoing?

By this time, the medicinal effect of the vital energy pill had been completely absorbed by Ye Mo. The energy within him reached its most intense state.

“Break it for me!” Ye Mo, enduring the tearing pain at the Mind Palace, gave a low cry.

The mass of energy gathered outside the Mind Palace instantly formed a protruding sphere and rammed into the faint gray membrane.

Weakened by the previous assaults, the membrane was no longer firm. With a barely audible “pop,” it quietly ruptured under the full-force impact of the energy.

The flow of vital energy was now much diminished, its radiance slightly dimmed. But a tiny crack had appeared in the membrane.

Small as it was, it was enough!

The vital energy, being an all-pervading force, swiftly seeped into the Mind Palace.

Within, the nearly nonexistent soul shadow drifted aimlessly in the sea of consciousness, having wandered for so long in the dark solitude that it had nearly forgotten its own existence.

Ye Mo could not control this soulless wisp. Suddenly, it was jolted awake and, almost instinctively, drifted toward the fracture in the membrane.

As the energy entered the Mind Palace, it quickly moved toward the soul shadow. An instinctive attraction drew them together, both eager to absorb the other.

Soon, the soul shadow met the energy flow and, with a swift “whoosh,” burrowed into it, voraciously absorbing the vital energy.

The energy offered no resistance and was rapidly consumed.

The sea of consciousness was plunged into darkness.

Within Ye Mo’s Mind Palace, the faint soul shadow, after absorbing a massive amount of vital energy, finally began to emit a faint glow, gradually condensing into a bean-sized gaseous entity.

This soul shadow quickly awakened, exulting, chasing after every strand of vital energy in the Mind Palace.

It was as if it had awakened from an eternal slumber, opening its eyes to see the world clearly at last.

This was a true metamorphosis.

From an insubstantial soul shadow to a tangible nascent spirit, from an unconscious wisp to an awakened spirit with self-awareness.

Such a transformation was the lifelong dream of most martial artists on the Nine Provinces Continent.

If completed, Ye Mo would break through the peak of Body Refinement’s ninth level, give birth to his nascent spirit, and become one of the legendary cultivators.

An immortal!

For ordinary mortals, such beings were as distant as legends—unreachable, unimaginable.

The vital energy brought immense security to the bean-sized soul shadow, freeing it from the endless darkness of the consciousness sea. It was as if this radiance was its hope, filling it with warmth and safety.

Soon after, the flow of vital energy in Ye Mo’s body accelerated toward the Mind Palace, quickening the fusion of soul shadow and energy.

As the vital energy dwindled, the soul shadow grew ever brighter.

The bean-sized nascent spirit became increasingly crystalline, emitting a soft and brilliant glow that instantly illuminated an area a few meters wide in the otherwise silent darkness of the consciousness sea.

For the first time in eighteen years, Ye Mo’s sea of consciousness was bathed in such dazzling light.

“Refine essence into qi, refine qi into spirit!”

“Let the soul shadow absorb vital energy and forge the nascent spirit! At last, I’ve taken the most crucial step on the path of cultivation!” Ye Mo was wild with joy.

A surge of excitement overwhelmed him as he finally remembered who he was—he was Ye Mo’s nascent spirit.

The nascent spirit wandered within the lonely darkness of the consciousness sea, reveling in the world within that circle of light. Though all around was still endless night, that light was his world.

With his eyes closed, Ye Mo now felt his consciousness as clear and empty as the void.

His awareness could project beyond his body; without opening his eyes, he could sense everything within the cell, detecting the slightest movement within a few meters.

The sensation was indescribably wondrous.

He could even “see” a tiny insect hatching eggs in a pile of dry grass in the corner.

Ordinary mortals rely on hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch to perceive their surroundings. Their souls are too weak, trapped within the sea of consciousness, utterly unable to sense the world beyond their bodies.

Martial artists possess sharper senses than common folk, but even so, their awareness is limited to heightened perception, not true spiritual consciousness.

But only with a nascent spirit does one possess spiritual sense.

Even the faintest spiritual sense is far stronger than ordinary awareness. With the nascent spirit, spiritual sense extends beyond the physical body into the outside world, breaking free from the limits of hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch, directly sensing reality.

“Cultivators truly are powerful! I’ve only just formed my nascent spirit, yet I can already use spiritual sense to perceive everything within a few meters! What about those at the mid and late stages of Foundation Establishment, or even greater experts?”

Ye Mo was both elated and awed.

“But that’s for later! I’ve only just formed my nascent spirit and haven’t even learned any spells! Right now, the most important thing is to break out of this cell, rescue Mo Ling, Gao Jian, and the others, and wipe out these pirates on the ship!”

All this patience under the threat of these pirates had been for this moment—waiting to break through to nascent spirit and make his escape at last.