Changes in the Nascent Soul Stage

On the way flying back to Great Xia, while everyone was resting, Lu Yang finally found the time to contemplate the wonders of the Nascent Soul stage. Ever since his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage on the Altar of Heaven, one matter had followed another without pause, leaving him no time at all to study it properly. "Spatial power..." Lu Yang opened his palm. The space above it twisted slightly, tearing, stretching, and warping until it formed something resembling a vortex. One of the hallmarks of the Nascent Soul stage was a rudimentary grasp of spatial power. Storage rings were the most typical spatial magical treasures. The entry-level cultivation required to forge a storage ring was the Nascent Soul stage; if one wished to encompass even larger spaces, it required the handiwork of grand figures at the Soul Formation stage or the Body Integration stage. For example, Dao Seeking Sect's identity jade pendants were a special type of storage ring, all forged by the Fifth Elder. Before Eldest Senior Sister gave him the Green Blade Sword, the most expensive magical treasure on Lu Yang had been his identity jade pendant. He could feel that his speed, strength, agility, divine sense, and more had all undergone earth-shattering changes. That so-called number one supreme genius of Great Xia, Lu Yang, was mere child's play compared to him now! Lu Yang also discovered that his spiritual space had expanded tenfold, rivaling the size of a football field—a level of mental fortitude possessed only at the Soul Formation stage. If he so wished, he could crush any Nascent Soul cultivator using purely divine sense attacks, leaving them dazed at the very least or reduced to fools at worst. Lu Yang slowly closed his eyes, calmed his mind and gathered his focus, then called out softly, "Soul projection!" Leaving behind an empty physical shell, his soul stepped outside his body. He felt a refreshing, cool breeze—the yin wind permeating the world. Only a soul could perceive it. To a soul with an unstable foundation, this wind was a disaster, but to Lu Yang's soul, the yin wind was nothing more than a mildly chilly breeze, posing no threat whatsoever. In this state of soul projection, his perception leaped yet another tier. Soul projection was another hallmark of the Nascent Soul stage, though Lu Yang had already been capable of projecting his soul back in the Foundation Establishment stage. Back then, after slaying the tiger demon, he had obtained the technique to drive ghost servants from it. By cultivating that technique, he could command his own soul as a ghost servant, achieving the effect of soul projection. However, back then, his soul was far too fragile. The slightest gust of wind or rustle of grass would injure it, and serious damage could even harm his foundation. That was why Lu Yang had refrained from ever using that trick. Thus, when a cultivator wished to seize a body, there were two prerequisites: first, their cultivation had to reach at least the Nascent Soul stage; second, they had to abide by the Body Seizure Law and go through the procedural approval process before seizing a body. "They say that with soul projection, one can roam tens of thousands of li, visiting the Eastern Sea at dawn and Mount Cangwu at dusk. What a perfect chance to try it." Lu Yang chuckled excitedly. His soul fully detached from his body and sprinted forward at full throttle to see how fast he could fly. Then, he watched helplessly as his physical body, seated cross-legged on the clouds, drifted farther and farther away from him. The auspicious cloud was being steered by Jiang Lianyi, and its speed was astonishingly fast—nowhere near something Lu Yang's soul-projected flight speed could match. "Hey—wait for me!" Lu Yang's soul hurriedly shouted. "You rascal." Noticing something amiss with Lu Yang, the Great Elder scolded with a chuckle and reeled Lu Yang's soul back in. Lu Yang rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a silly grin, then continued observing his changes. Peering inward, he discovered a plump, pale-skinned Nascent Soul resting in his dantian—and right beside it, the Immortal Fairy was doubled over with laughter, tears practically streaming down her face. "Hahahahaha! You actually dared to let your soul leave your body while Lianyi was steering the cloud! Aren't you afraid of being left behind?!" With a dark expression, Lu Yang didn't want to be mocked by the Immortal Fairy. "Fairy, what are you doing in my dantian?" "What kind of question is that? Is where this Immortal goes any of your business?" The Immortal Fairy planted her hands on her hips. With Lu Yang's body being so vast, where couldn't she go? "Never mind that. Look at your Nascent Soul—doesn't it look a bit like me?" Lu Yang rolled his eyes, thinking the Fairy was talking nonsense again. "How could that be possible? My Nascent Soul naturally looks like me... Holy crap, why does it really look a bit like you?!" The Nascent Soul was plump, fair-skinned, and utterly adorable, and the space between its brows bore a striking resemblance to the Immortal Fairy. What was going on?! "Did you forget? Back when this Immortal was the Acting Sect Master, you helped me handle sect affairs, and I helped you cultivate." "In other words, part of your Golden Core stage cultivation was cultivated by this Immortal on your behalf." "It's only natural for your Nascent Soul to resemble me by ten or twenty percent." Lu Yang: "..." If I had known this would happen, there is no way I would have let you cultivate for me! You should have handled the sect affairs yourself! It was too late for regrets now. "What use does this Nascent Soul have?" Lu Yang had heard that the Nascent Soul stage held boundless mysteries. Aside from spatial power and soul projection, the crux ultimately lay in the Nascent Soul itself. The quality of the Golden Core and the cultivation methods of the Golden Core stage directly determined the strength of the Nascent Soul. Considering that a senior cultivator like the Immortal Fairy was right here, it was far more convenient to ask directly. Speaking of this topic, the Immortal Fairy chuckled smugly, looking very proud of herself. "This Nascent Soul was formed from the shattering of the Invincible Core. The entire essence of the Invincible Core is concentrated in this infant!" "Therefore, your Nascent Soul is vastly different from ordinary Nascent Souls. Other Nascent Soul cultivators summon their Nascent Soul and control it in combat." "Theoretically speaking, in your Nascent Soul stage, once you summon your Nascent Soul, it can fight all on its own." "It's that smart?" Lu Yang was startled. That was equivalent to having two of himself. When using his wood clone, he wouldn't need to divert mental focus to control the wood clone anymore; he could engage in two battles simultaneously. This was a literal doubling of his combat power! All his painstaking efforts to maintain a one-hundred-percent win rate during the Golden Core stage had not been in vain! "So, this Immortal has given this kind of Nascent Soul a name: the Invincible Nascent Soul!" "...Can we change the name?" "No!" the Immortal Fairy said adamantly. "All right, then." "Powerful as the Invincible Nascent Soul is, having it fight on your behalf comes with a prerequisite." "What prerequisite?" "You need to defeat your Nascent Soul." "???" Lu Yang's head filled with question marks. Still, considering his peerless combat power, defeating his own Nascent Soul shouldn't be difficult. "Want to give it a try?" the Immortal Fairy suggested. "Let's try it!" The Immortal Fairy pulled Lu Yang's soul and his Nascent Soul into his spiritual space and directed him: "Focus and feel carefully. Does it feel like there's an invisible thread connecting you to your Nascent Soul?" "There does seem to be such a feeling." "Sever that thread!" "Use your imagination. Imagine that thread is really there, and that you're holding a pair of scissors capable of snipping it!" Following the Immortal Fairy's instructions step by step, Lu Yang severed the connection with his Nascent Soul. The instant the connection was severed, the Nascent Soul snapped its eyes open and pounced toward Lu Yang with a ferocious burst of speed. "So fast!" Lu Yang exclaimed in surprise. "Still no match for me, though!" Half a quarter of an hour later, Lu Yang lay on the ground, pinned down and pummeled by the Nascent Soul. Gasping for breath, he looked up at the Immortal Fairy. "Fairy... why is this Nascent Soul so strong?" The Immortal Fairy nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Didn't I tell you? It's the Invincible Nascent Soul. If it can beat even you, doesn't that make it invincible?"