Chapter 490: Mortal Transformation First Layer Peak!

Returning to the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, Zhang Xuan went straight to his residence. Once in the meditation room, he immediately activated the spirit gathering array.

Having just been reading books and studying formations while also practicing sword intent, saber intent, and spear intent, he was already exhausted. If not for a single thought sustaining him, he would have long given up.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the spirit gathering array, he flipped his wrist, and a pile of spirit stones appeared around him.

Sizzle!

As soon as the spirit stones entered the array, the spiritual energy within them was drawn out, making a sizzling sound like greens in a hot oil pan. Immediately, the concentration of spiritual energy in the meditation room began to rise rapidly.

Three times!

Four times!

Five times!

…

In the blink of an eye, the concentration reached six times that of the outside world.

Crackle!

As more spiritual energy was extracted, some spirit stones began to shatter. Zhang Xuan paid no attention and continued adding more spirit stones, letting the array extract freely.

Finally, the concentration stabilized at around ten times.

This level of spiritual energy concentration was almost equivalent to directly absorbing spirit stones.

Begin!

Once prepared, Zhang Xuan opened all the acupoints on his body, frantically absorbing the dense spiritual energy around him, converting it into Heavenly Dao true energy to replenish his previous consumption.

An hour later, all fatigue had vanished, and he was full of energy, his condition adjusted to its peak.

Break through!

With a low shout, the abundant Heavenly Dao true energy violently impacted the barriers, and the power within his body rapidly increased.

Crack!

After an unknown period, a sound rang out, like a chick pecking through an eggshell. Immediately, the true energy within him seemed to break some kind of shackle, undergoing a remarkable transformation.

Every cell of his body, even his soul, was nourished and enhanced at an astonishing rate.

His lifespan, which had been stuck at around 100, visibly increased.

110!

120!

130!

…

The muscles and skin of his body also seemed to renew themselves, becoming more delicate and full of vitality.

In a person's life, the skin is best during infancy and childhood. At that time, the vitality within the body is strong, and even if there are some injuries, they can recover quickly.

As age increases and one consumes grains and miscellaneous foods, impurities in the body gradually increase, and the aura of decline grows. One can no longer resist aging, becoming weak and losing function.

The Mortal Transformation realm is precisely about breaking through this shackle.

If the breakthrough succeeds, it is like being reborn. Even an elderly person in their twilight years will radiate vitality once more.

Although the Heavenly Dao true energy Zhang Xuan cultivated was extremely pure and greatly beneficial to both body and soul, in terms of lifespan, as long as one had not reached Mortal Transformation, one could only remain at the level of an ordinary person.

This is a difference in life level, like ants and elephants. No matter how strong an ant is, it cannot defeat the weakest elephant.

Now, taking this step, his lifespan seemed to be nourished by the purest power of heaven and earth, making him feel refreshed and energetic.

Continue!

Having reached the Longevity realm, he threw out another pile of spirit stones and, with a low shout, the Mortal Transformation Heavenly Dao technique operated swiftly, breaking through the cultivation barriers one after another.

Longevity realm initial stage!

Longevity realm middle stage!

Longevity realm late stage!

…

An hour later, he had successfully reached the peak of the Longevity realm.

At this point, his lifespan had doubled from around 100 to 200!

Longevity realm peak, lifespan doubled.

When he exhaled a breath, instead of a foul odor blocking the breath, it carried the fragrance of licorice.

Upon reaching Mortal Transformation, life transforms, and the physical body becomes like a newborn baby, without impurities or pollution.

Children rarely have bad breath due to their strong internal vitality, and Zhang Xuan was now the same.

Hearing, sight, smell... the five senses also underwent astonishing changes!

Opening his eyes and looking into the distance, he could clearly see ants dozens of meters away, and even hear the chirping of birds hundreds of meters away.

The increase in realm had also enhanced his five senses, and even his reaction speed had at least doubled.

The increase in perception made it easier to align with nature, absorb spiritual energy, and cultivate faster.

No wonder people say, 'Without entering Mortal Transformation, you are but an ant!' Only by personally reaching this level can one understand the terror of this realm.

It seems Ding Hong was merely the weakest Longevity realm. If he were a bit stronger, it would not have been so easy to defeat him.

Having reached this level of strength, he realized how fortunate he had been in his battle with Ding Hong.

That fellow had worked behind closed doors. Although he had broken through the realm, he was the weakest. If he had encountered a Mortal Transformation initial stage from the Ten Nations Alliance, winning would certainly not have been so simple.

Having reached the peak of the Longevity realm, my total strength amounts to a full two hundred thousand cauldrons!

Clenching his fist, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly.

When others break through to Mortal Transformation, they only increase their lifespan. A hundred thousand cauldrons of strength is a major hurdle that cannot be crossed. But he had already possessed that strength at the half-step Mortal Transformation stage.

Now, with the increase in realm, his strength had doubled, reaching the two hundred thousand mark!

In terms of pure strength, he was no weaker than a Mortal Transformation second layer, Primordial Energy realm middle stage expert.

Primordial Energy realm initial stage: 150,000 cauldrons; middle stage: 200,000 cauldrons; late stage: 250,000 cauldrons... and so on.

This was only in terms of true energy cultivation. If combined with an understanding of nature, his strength would be even greater.

The Heavenly Dao technique breaks through quickly, but... the consumption is truly too great!

Having collected thousands of techniques, he naturally knew the normal breakthrough speed for Mortal Transformation first layer. Even the most talented person would need several years of hard cultivation to go from the initial stage to the peak, but he had done it in just an hour...

Such speed would surely leave people dumbfounded and scared to death.

However, while the speed was fast, the consumption was also terrifying.

With the advancement in cultivation, the Heavenly Dao true energy had also transformed, becoming purer and finer.

If the previous true energy was like sand, able to enter rock crevices and small holes without obstruction, now it was like flowing water, able to easily enter even invisible cracks without any hindrance.

The true energy was purer, so naturally, the demand for spiritual energy was greater. The tens of thousands of spirit stones he had obtained through coaxing and trickery, though numerous, were not much after being purified and absorbed. Almost nine-tenths, or even more, were wasted.

He had thought that tens of thousands of spirit stones would be enough for him to cultivate to Mortal Transformation third or fourth layer without worrying about spirit stones, but now it seemed he had been too naive.

This time, the spirit stones obtained from betting, giving pointers, and selling the Soul-less Golden Man at the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion were almost completely depleted!

In other words... a full fifty thousand spirit stones had only taken him from the initial stage of the Longevity realm to the peak.

For someone else, that many spirit stones would be more than enough to break through to Mortal Transformation fourth layer.

I'm broke again...

With a wry smile, he shook his head helplessly.

Three days ago, after coaxing and tricking, he had obtained over fifty thousand spirit stones, thinking he was wealthy enough to rival a nation. Unexpectedly, after just one cultivation session, he was back to this...

No wonder they say cultivation is a money-burning business. Now it certainly seems so.

Without spirit stones, future breakthroughs would likely require even greater consumption.

This kind of low-grade spirit stone can no longer satisfy my cultivation...

After his wry smile, Zhang Xuan pondered future matters.

Tens of thousands of spirit stones had only increased his cultivation by one layer. If he wanted to break through to the Primordial Energy realm or even higher, wouldn't he need even more spirit stones?

Hundreds of thousands, millions, perhaps even more would be far from enough.

Moreover, once cultivation reached a certain level, the spiritual energy in these spirit stones was not pure enough for the body to absorb. No matter how many, they would become like stones and lose their effect.

It seemed that to advance quickly in the future, he would have to seek higher-grade medium-grade spirit stones.

Such spirit stones had higher purity and would be easier to absorb.

Three days have passed. Luo Zhu should be arriving soon. Let's go to the Soul Master's tomb and find a way to cure Lu Chong!

Standing up, he walked out.

When he went to the Formation Master Guild, over two days had already passed. He had spent most of the day at the guild, and now after cultivating for over two hours, the time agreed with Luo Zhu was almost here. It was time to go.

This trip to the Soul Master tomb was crucial for waking Lu Chong; there must be no mistakes.

Arriving at the living room, he saw Luo Zhu already waiting.

Zhao Ya and the others had also finished their cultivation and stood in a row.

These students had not disappointed his expectations. In three days, they had all reached the Sovereign realm, especially Zhao Ya, who was at the Sovereign middle stage, with a strong aura and abundant power.

Sun Qiang had not been idle these three days either, fully consolidating his Mortal Transformation first layer middle stage strength. Although still far behind Zhang Xuan, reaching such a level from the True Energy realm in such a short time was quite remarkable.

Teacher Zhang!

Seeing him arrive, everyone stepped forward.

Mm, if you're ready, let's set off! Zhang Xuan looked over.

Everything is prepared! Luo Zhu nodded.

These three days, he had been preparing items for the trip to the Soul Master tomb, and now everything was ready.

Are you all coming with us, or returning to Ten Nations City?

Zhang Xuan looked at Zhao Feiwu and the others.

The Soul Master tomb is dangerous, so we won't go...

Jin Conghai was about to refuse when Zhao Feiwu interrupted: Of course we're going! Soul Masters, this ancient profession, I've only seen in ancient texts. If I can glimpse their inheritance, no danger is too great!

Young... Young Master, your body...

Jin Conghai was startled and quickly said.

His strength was not weak, and he could protect the young master from ordinary troubles, but... Soul Masters were too eerie. Even he found them terrifying. The young master had no cultivation and going there would be fraught with danger.

As a servant, he dared not make such a decision.

Don't worry, although I'm not strong, I'm good at staying alive! Zhao Feiwu smiled lightly. Besides, isn't Teacher Zhang here? I want to see how he stirs up trouble in the Soul Master tomb!

This...

Seeing his firm and unquestionable tone, Jin Conghai, full of inner conflict, finally nodded in agreement.

Alright, let's set off!

Since everyone had decided to go, they did not hesitate. They climbed onto the back of a flying spirit beast and left the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion directly.

This time, they were still riding Zhao Feiwu's spirit beast. Its back was broad, and even with over a dozen people riding together, it did not feel crowded.

Its wings beat the air, soaring through the sky.

Soul Master tomb, here we come!