Spirit Calming Jade

During the crafting of the Nascent Soul talisman puppet, evil soul-refining techniques of the demonic path had been employed, making it an inherently wicked puppet. Even true Nascent Soul cultivators, unless they had attained the realm of divine consciousness corporealization, would have their origin souls gnawed on by the essence spirits within the puppet whenever they commanded it, causing damage to their origin souls. Initially, this damage was tolerable. After a period of quiet cultivation, the puppet's master could slowly recover. Compared to possessing a combat asset on par with the Nascent Soul realm, such a minor cost was hardly an issue. Furthermore, the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace discovered an astonishing function of the talisman puppet. Because that founding master had left behind very few records, later generations never knew whether it was due to the materials, the effect of some secret technique used during its crafting, or an unknown mutation resulting from the fusion of those secret arts. Every origin soul gnawed upon by the puppet left behind a soul phantom within it, eternally bound inside its body. By sensing the Nascent Soul phantoms within, disciples in the Core Formation stage could actually experience firsthand a trace of the wondrous transformations of the Nascent Soul realm while still at Core Formation. The benefits were obvious: it could drastically increase their chances of breaking through the bottleneck. However, obtaining this experience was by no means easy. The talisman puppet dared to devour even the divine souls of Nascent Soul cultivators, to say nothing of Core Formation disciples. One careless misstep, and far from reaping any benefits, their entire origin soul would be devoured by the puppet, never to be reborn. Not until the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace obtained the crafting method for the secret talisman known as the Neijing Origin Talisman did this function of the Nascent Soul talisman puppet truly show its full power. At that time, the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace flourished for an era, basking in unmatched glory. Old Man Dique had plotted against Daoist Xuanyu and schemed to obtain the Neijing Origin Talisman precisely because he had heard that the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace's Neijing Origin Talisman helped in forming a Nascent Soul. In truth, he had misunderstood. What genuinely assisted in forming a Nascent Soul was the Nascent Soul talisman puppet; the Neijing Origin Talisman served only as a secondary aid. Still, it was not entirely wrong to say it helped, as the Neijing Origin Talisman did provide assistance in weathering the inner demon tribulation. The true purpose of the Neijing Origin Talisman was to form an internal landscape space within the purple palace, allowing the origin soul to conceal itself within and receive a measure of protection. Crafting this talisman required a cultivator to begin refining it upon first entering the Foundation Establishment stage, expending immense energy year after year without interruption and continuously nourishing it with divine consciousness until reaching the peak of the Core Formation stage, at which point it could finally achieve great completion. Consequently, this spirit talisman could only be used by its master. Upon the master's death, the Neijing Origin Talisman would be destroyed along with them; outsiders could never seize it. Even if Qin Sang had not disrupted things back then, Old Man Dique would never have obtained the Neijing Origin Talisman. When the disciples of the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace refined the Neijing Origin Talisman, by the time the secret talisman was complete, their cultivation would also have reached the peak of the Core Formation stage. Facing the hurdle of forming a Nascent Soul, they could enter the talisman puppet to experience it under the protection of the secret talisman. Although refining the Neijing Origin Talisman was extraordinarily difficult, with the temptation of the Nascent Soul realm before them, nearly every disciple of the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace possessed one in those days. However, as time passed, circumstances changed. Due to an unexpected catastrophe, all of the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace's Nascent Soul cultivators perished in a single day, and their fortunes plummeted drastically. With the doom of their sect looming, a disciple at the peak of the Core Formation stage was appointed in the hour of peril. Facing formidable incoming enemies, he took command of the Nascent Soul talisman puppet to do battle. That battle was exceptionally brutal. Though the disciple succeeded in driving back the enemies with the puppet, he discovered to his horror that nearly half of his origin soul had been devoured by the Nascent Soul talisman puppet—damage that could never be repaired. With an incomplete origin soul, even if he survived in the world, he had forever lost the chance to form a Nascent Soul. If samsara and reincarnation existed in this world, even that might be affected. Later on, a new Nascent Soul Patriarch emerged in the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace, and the sect's situation improved. Yet as the Nascent Soul talisman puppet devoured more and more origin souls, the price paid each time it was controlled grew ever steeper. Eventually, even the Nascent Soul Patriarchs found it hard to bear. The Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace had once produced a late Nascent Soul great cultivator whose divine consciousness could corporealize and whose cultivation reigned supreme across the Beichen Realm. He had sought to refine away the soul phantoms inside the Nascent Soul talisman puppet to eliminate this hidden danger once and for all. Only then did he discover that countless soul phantoms were already imprisoned within the puppet, like myriad ghosts devouring souls. Even with his might, though he could barely control the puppet, attempting to refine those chaotic phantoms would result in severe backlash and injury; it was simply impossible. By now, the interior of the puppet had grown even more chaotic. Experiencing the Nascent Soul phantoms had become increasingly perilous. Contemporary disciples of the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace did not dare attempt the experience even if they completed a Neijing Origin Talisman. They could only shelve and seal away the Nascent Soul talisman puppet, using its reputation to deter petty schemers outside. Only when the sect faced mortal peril would it be awakened. Otherwise, how could the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace have gone so long without producing a single Nascent Soul cultivator? As for the Neijing Origin Talisman, while its effects were wondrous, its allure had greatly diminished. Moreover, its refining process was long and consumed far too much cultivation time, so only disciples of extraordinary talent chose to make this secret talisman their primary pursuit. Successive palace masters of the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace were chosen from direct disciples groomed from childhood—individuals of benevolence and virtue who were prepared at any moment to sacrifice themselves for the sect. The previous palace master, Tieguanzi, had been forced to deploy the Nascent Soul talisman puppet once. He staked everything on one desperate gamble, treating Ziwei Palace as his final hope, only to perish there. In bringing the Nascent Soul talisman puppet out this time to help him search for the Blood Zhi Herb, Gongliang Yu certainly had no desire to forfeit his chance of forming a Nascent Soul. What he relied on was that jade ornament—the Spirit Calming Jade. The Spirit Calming Jade was an ancient treasure he had acquired by chance. Its function was similar to that of the Neijing Origin Talisman, but its power far surpassed it; regrettably, it could only be used once. Relying on this treasure to pass the Nascent Soul inner demon tribulation would have made success virtually certain. Yet if he could not even cross the hurdle of condensing his Nascent Soul, how could he speak of the inner demon tribulation? To secure the Blood Zhi Herb, Gongliang Yu did not hesitate to consume the Spirit Calming Jade. Still, his heart was fraught with apprehension. He harbored a deep fear of the Nascent Soul talisman puppet, uncertain whether the Spirit Calming Jade could truly keep him safe. After all, even Nascent Soul Patriarchs suffered bites to their origin souls when commanding it. "What a treasure! Truly a fine treasure!" Gongliang Yu's face beamed with delight as praise tumbled repeatedly from his lips. He was, of course, praising the Spirit Calming Jade. The wisp of azure spiritual light sealed within the Spirit Calming Jade had an unknown origin, but it shielded his origin soul steadfastly. No matter how the Nascent Soul talisman puppet gnawed, not a shred of harm befell him. Deprived of any gain, the talisman puppet's gaze grew increasingly frenzied. Seeing this, Gongliang Yu knew time was running short; he had to find the Blood Zhi Herb before that wisp of azure spiritual light dissipated. Daring not delay, he pinched a hand incantation and pointed toward the blood river. "Go!" The wicked sneer on the Nascent Soul talisman puppet deepened. Though looking somewhat reluctant, it ultimately obeyed Gongliang Yu's command and plunged straight into the blood river. "Phew..." Gongliang Yu exhaled a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Having been fixed with the frenzied stare of that Nascent Soul talisman puppet, a chill had seeped straight into his heart. This puppet possessed the might to contend even against a mid Nascent Soul cultivator, two full tiers above him. That it had not turned on its master and allowed him to direct it was already no small feat. Had he not trusted the secret arts passed down by his sect, Gongliang Yu would never have dared attempt it. What filled the blood river was not actual blood, but blood mist condensed to the absolute extreme. *Whoosh!* The Nascent Soul talisman puppet plunged into the river of blood. With the talisman puppet blazing the trail ahead, Gongliang Yu hurriedly leaped in after it.