Everyone a Nascent Soul

"Yushan has a very good point," Liu San chimed in. Li Fan nodded as well. "Let us observe the situation for a while first. While we have this time, it would be best to manufacture more End Discs. If possible, we should also test whether it can affect the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. After all, even I covet such a divine artifact." Fang Zaiji's eyes lit up. Holding an End Disc before his eyes to examine it closely, he remarked thoughtfully, "Now that you mention it, Sect Master, both of these things were birthed from the Heavenly Profound Mirror—perhaps they truly can be combined. Still, if we want to achieve that, we'll likely need to get our hands on one of those Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirrors to study it firsthand." ... While those in the Medicine King Sect were pondering their future path, more details regarding the conquest of pocket worlds were gradually revealed within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. When a cultivator possessing a Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror discovered the entrance to a pocket world, two choices lay before them. The first was to explore it on their own; if they could sweep through the world single-handedly, they could monopolize all the merits awarded for discovering a world. The richness of such rewards was unimaginable. Of course, if one's personal strength was insufficient to eliminate all resistance encountered, they could also choose to share the entrance. At that point, every bearer of a Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror would be notified of the entrance's existence and swarm toward it. Beyond the merits granted for reporting the discovery, the initial discoverer would also receive a share of the merits and contribution points earned by the cultivators who followed. Although this percentage was minuscule, the sum across a multitude of cultivators would undoubtedly amount to an immense fortune. In short, whether they chose to keep it for themselves or share it, the discoverer of a pocket world's entrance stood to become wealthy overnight. This provided massive incentive for cultivators to conduct exhaustive explorations. And after a campaign conquering a pocket world concluded, the distribution of spoils was even more thrilling. Any grotto-heaven discovered during these campaigns would be listed within the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror after the battle. With sufficient merits, one could directly exchange them for ownership of that grotto-heaven! Furthermore, the discoverer of the grotto-heaven or pocket world possessed the right of first purchase! As soon as this news broke, cultivators who were already itching to act were instantly whipped into a frenzy. After all, in the Xuanhuang Realm today, the Nascent Soul realm was an unmistakable watershed. For Golden Core cultivators, comprehending techniques could still rely on innate comprehension. Yet a Nascent Soul grotto-heaven had to be found either through sheer luck or secured through connections and background. Out of a hundred Golden Core cultivators, there might not even be one who achieved Nascent Soul. That alone showed how immense the difficulty was. But now, the Alliance was sweeping across all quarters to achieve the great reunification of the Xuanhuang Realm. At that time, every existing grotto-heaven in the realm would be laid bare for all to see. Luck and background would no longer be the deciding factors. So long as one worked hard enough, there was a chance to "seize the essence of heaven and earth to form a Nascent Soul!" The glorious age where all could become Nascent Souls had arrived! Alongside their boundless excitement, an inevitable sense of urgency welled up in the cultivators' hearts. Anyone knew that the total number of grotto-heavens in the Xuanhuang Realm was fixed—first come, first served. If one was a step too slow, they might forfeit all hope of reaching the Nascent Soul realm in this lifetime. To break through after that, they would have to wait until a Nascent Soul cultivator perished and a new grotto-heaven formed! Thus, a peculiar spectacle unfolded across the Alliance's territories. Cultivators swept across the land like a swarm of locusts, meticulously scrutinizing every inch of ground. Deep mountains, vast lakes, dense forests, and treacherous swamps—not a single suspicious spot was overlooked. The once-empty wilderness was instantly teeming with the figures of cultivators. Only then did people suddenly realize with a start that the Alliance actually held such a staggering number of cultivators. Under these circumstances, before long, the first pocket world outside the Alliance's control was discovered. Named Zhuo, it was a barren pocket world devoid of spiritual energy, inhabited solely by mortals. That fortunate fellow named Cheng Shi took less than three days to complete a world scan using the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. No one knew the exact sum of rewards he received, but after this incident, Cheng Shi directly bought a detached courtyard residence in Tianyun City's immortal cave district. He settled in, never ventured outside again, and focused entirely on cultivating in peace—merely waiting for the Alliance to make grotto-heavens available for exchange so he could ascend straight into the Nascent Soul realm! With such a living example right before their eyes, the cultivators grew even more impassioned. Soon, a second and third grotto-heaven pocket world were discovered in rapid succession. While the cultivators were swept up in a collective frenzy, Xu Bai also entered the Heavenly Profound Mirror. "Generate private version of [Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror]?" The Heavenly Profound Mirror's prompt rang in his ear. Compared to its former emotionless mechanical tone, there was now a hint of liveliness. Xu Bai pondered for a moment and chose yes. In his sea of consciousness, a diamond-shaped crystal forged from the End Disc as raw material was radiating a seven-colored luminescence. This was the preliminary plan devised by Fang Zaiji and the others after a brief period of study. To prevent the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror from secretly scanning the contents of the sea of consciousness, they utilized the End Stone Platter's shielding properties to protect it. At the same time, the diamond crystal disguised itself externally, continuously emitting various thoughts to ensure no abnormality would be detected by the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. Naturally, these exposed thoughts were deliberately projected and entirely trivial, intentionally allowed for the mirror to perceive. In simple terms, it placed a lock upon the sea of consciousness to prevent the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror from prying. After several tests, it indeed proved effective at shielding the sea of consciousness. Fang Zaiji was currently researching a method for physical body protection. His true self remained in the Valley of Longevity, waiting with rapt attention, ready to activate True Reversion at the slightest anomaly. Meanwhile, Xu Bai quietly observed the changes within his sea of consciousness. An invisible ripple seemed to sweep through his body. A moment later, a square, bronze-colored miniature mirror appeared in his sea of consciousness. The diamond crystal floated quietly above it, entirely undetected by the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. *It seems everything is fine,* Xu Bai thought to himself. When his divine sense made contact with it, a wealth of information surged forth. Just as previously learned, all features were fully intact and accessible. "It truly is convenient." With a single thought, a map of the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals flashed into his mind. Furthermore, he could clearly see four striking red dots blinking continuously on the map, as well as six calm, green dots. "Red marks worlds that have been shared by cultivators and are currently under conquest, while green represents worlds where exploration is complete." Understanding dawned in Xu Bai's mind. Glancing toward Shilin Province and seeing that the location in his memories seemed undiscovered, Xu Bai smiled faintly. Exiting the Heavenly Profound Mirror, he headed straight for his destination. That was right—the place he was heading toward was none other than the Empire created by Xu Ke! "I wonder what price they would be willing to pay for a treasure that can protect them from the Xuanhuang Realm's conquest?" "And when they see this body, bearing an appearance identical to Xu Ke's, just how will they react?"