"Tianzhi! With your talent, youâre the most likely to make it through the Refining God Ladder. If you run into Lin Changâsheng in the sixth layer space, make sure you kill him. Take thisâitâs a gift from your master. Itâll come in handy when the time comes!"
Ding Changhai, Hall Master of the Yin Yang Hall, took an item from his sleeve and handed it to Bu Tianzhi.
Bu Tianzhi was unquestionably one of the top geniuses in Demon Evil Sea.
His aptitude was not the least bit inferior to Lin Changâshengâs.
Thatâs why Ding Changhai said what he did.
"Yes, Master!"
Bu Tianzhi replied.
He wanted nothing more than to reach the peak of the Refining God Ladder himself.
Whoosh, whoosh, whooshâ
The next instant, seventy-two rays of light streamed into Lin Changâshengâs body, instantly restoring the magical power he had burned up.
After absorbing 72 years of cultivation, Lin Changâsheng instantly advanced to the peak of Golden Core Late Stage, just a step away from condensing a Nascent Soul.
"Is this the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid?"
Lin Changâsheng noticed that atop the 72-step stone platform, a white bottle had appeared, inside which was a single drop of viscous green spiritual liquid.
Lin Changâsheng didnât have time to see if this treasure was as powerful as they said.
The next moment a burst of light descended and Lin Changâsheng immediately picked up the spiritual liquid.
The light enveloped Lin Changâsheng, teleporting him rapidly away from that spot.
Just before leaving, Lin Changâsheng looked toward Ling Yue and saw the edge of the space swarming with hordes of secretive Black Armor insect beasts.
These Black Armor insect beasts did resemble the Heaven-Devouring Worms somewhat.
"Damn, doesnât that mean Ling Yueâs in danger?"
Lin Changâsheng muttered to himself.
No wonder Ling Yue got hurtâthese black armor insects must have played a huge part.
After all, in the Refining God Ladderâs space, everyoneâs magical power was suppressed, and the closer you get to the ladder, the stronger the suppression.
But as Lin Changâsheng tried to warn Ling Yue, the light swept him directly into the sixth layer space.
Although Lin Changâsheng was teleported away, his name was engraved atop the 72-step ladder.
On the 72-step ladder, besides Lin Changâshengâs name, there were three others.
One belonged to Ling Wuji, another to Jiang Yukun, another to Bu Shichen.
Ling Wuji and Jiang Yukun were renowned geniuses in the Southern Domain Cultivation Realm, known to all.
It was no surprise they made it to the 72 steps of the Refining God Ladder.
But Bu Shichen was little-known by most.
Because Bu Shichen was the greatest genius in Demon Evil Sea in the last millennium.
He ascended to the Upper Realm even earlier than Ling Wuji and Jiang Yukun.
From the similarity in names, it was clear that he must be related to Bu Tianzhi of the current Yin Yang Hall.
"Aptitude: adequate; receives twenty-five years of cultivation; may enter the second layer space!"
"Aptitude: adequate; receives twenty-six years of cultivation; may enter the second layer space!"
"Aptitude: excellent; receives forty-five years of cultivation; may enter the third layer space!"
"Aptitude: adequate; receives twenty-one years of cultivation; may enter the second layer space!"
....
After Lin Changâsheng left, countless demonic cultivators were continually teleported away.
Yet not a single one could catch up to Lin Changâshengâs pace.
Even talents like Wan Wushuang and Jian Kefa only managed to hold out past forty steps before they couldnât go any further, receiving excellent aptitude and entering the third layer space.
It wasnât until Bu Tianzhi appeared that hope was rekindled among the Demon Dao crowd.
Just like Lin Changâsheng, Bu Tianzhi progressed unimpeded, marching directly up more than sixty steps before slowing down his advance.
Splurtâ
Unable to move forward, Bu Tianzhi spat a mouthful of blood onto his palm, then slapped it to his own forehead.
In an instant, his divine consciousness power surged, allowing Bu Tianzhi climb further upward.
He finally reached the 70th step but could go no farther.
"Aptitude: monstrous; receives seventy years of cultivation; awarded one volume of Demon God Celestial Tribulation Skill; may enter 6th Layer Space!"
The old, hoarse voice rang out again.
Immediately, the Yin Yang Hall crowd erupted in excitement.
They finally had a truly outstanding genius in their ranks.
After getting the fortune of seventy yearsâ cultivation, Bu Tianzhi broke straight through to Golden Core Middle Stage.
Such talent left ordinary geniuses eating his dust.
"Ahhâdemon beastsâ!"
"Run!"
Just as everyone was celebrating, a dark swarm of Black Armor insects surged up from behind.
Though these insect beasts were only crocodile-sized, their whole bodies were covered in impenetrable black armor, impervious to blades.
Maybe due to the space suppression here, the Black Armor insects hadnât grown large, but their strength was formidable.
With their magical power suppressed, even killing these Black Armor insects was no easy task for the cultivators.
Luckily, their physical bodies were tough enough that they wouldnât die easily.
Seeing the Demon Dao crowd descend into chaos, Ling Yue hurriedly stepped onto the Refining God Ladder.
He knew this was just the beginning.
With his Middle Stage Nascent Soul cultivation, Ling Yue managed to walk 59 steps, and with outstanding aptitude, entered the fourth layer space.
Clearly, this space doesnât judge aptitude solely by cultivationâitâs more comprehensive.
...
While chaos reigned in the first layer space, Lin Changâsheng was already inside the sixth layer space.
Here, magical power and cultivation suffered no suppression whatsoever.
Lin Changâsheng spread out his divine senseâit reached 3,500 miles, already at the level of Late Stage Nascent Soul, even rivaling Great Cultivators.
"I wonder what the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid can really do? They say taking it lets you forge a Flawless Nascent Soul?"
Lin Changâsheng mused, planning to take the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid first to prepare for forging his Flawless Nascent Soul.
After all, he was now in the sixth layer space; it would be a while before the demon cultivators caught up.
So Lin Changâsheng found a mountain cave, entered it, and took out the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid.
He tilted his head back and swallowed it right down.
At first, he felt a cooling sensation inside.
But that coolness quickly dissolved and turned scorching hot, like raging fire burning through his eight extraordinary meridians.
"So hot... Maybe youâre not supposed to take the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid this way?"
Lin Changâsheng was confusedâwas swallowing it wrong? Why did it feel so damn hot?
The intense burning made him feel as if even his blood was boiling inside.
"Such a precious treasure, and youâre just swallowing it like thatâwhat a waste!"
Xiaobaiâs voice echoed in Lin Changâshengâs mind.
"Then how should I take it?"
Lin Changâsheng was puzzled.
"A single drop of Divine Essence Spirit Liquid can forge two Flawless Nascent Souls. If you take it all yourself, isnât that a waste? Still, as long as you donât die, the boost will be massive! But letâs see if you can withstand it!"
Xiaobai felt a bit sorry about the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid; if she could take it, sheâd recover a tenth of her cultivation for sure.
"No wonder those demon cultivators looked at me like they wanted to eat meâthis stuff is way stronger than I imagined!"
Lin Changâsheng came to a sudden realization.
A single drop of Divine Essence Spirit Liquid could actually forge two Flawless Nascent Soulsâthe effect was utterly insane.
But he had the Dragon God Golden Body Saint Body, so refining the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid was no big deal, just painful.
Lin Changâsheng immediately activated his Dragon God Golden Body Saint Body, ramping up his physical strength.
Otherwise, refining the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid really would be tough.
Soon, Lin Changâshengâs entire body was glowing red, like a bar of burning-hot iron.
The essence of the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid was being refined little by little, streams of spiritual energy pouring into Lin Changâshengâs divine sense.
As all that spiritual energy converged in his mind, it felt like rivers flowing together to become a vast ocean.
In the end, it gathered in Lin Changâshengâs mind as an expansive Sea of Consciousness.
"Sea of Consciousness?"
Lin Changâsheng was shocked to see his divine sense turn into a Sea of Consciousness.
Normally only Nascent Soul powerhouses get one of those.
And now he hadnât even reached the Nascent Soul stage, but he already had it?
Lin Changâsheng also noticed a vaporous little figure hovering at the center of the Sea of Consciousness, faintly visible.
It looked like the beginnings of a Nascent Soul.
"Damn, this Divine Essence Spirit Liquid is really overpoweringâmy Sea of Consciousness has already formed, and thereâs a Nascent Soul phantom too!"
As Lin Changâsheng kept refining the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid, he marveled inwardly.
As time passed, one hour laterâ
Just as Lin Changâsheng was about to finish refining the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid, he was shocked to see another phantom figure appear above his Sea of Consciousness.
That left Lin Changâsheng puzzled and confused.
"Could this be Twin Nascent Souls? I heard the demon cultivators say that besides forging a Flawless Nascent Soul, the Divine Essence Spirit Liquid could also forge Twin Nascent Souls!"
Thinking back to those demon cultivatorsâ words, Lin Changâsheng finally understood.
The appearance of the dual Nascent Soul phantoms even made Xiaobai view Lin Changâsheng with new respect.
Lin Changâsheng didnât know how big of a deal Dual Nascent Souls were, but Xiaobai, as someone with experience, understood perfectly well.
Only when oneâs Sea of Consciousness is strong enough is it possible to generate Dual Nascent Souls.
And both Nascent Souls were Flawless Nascent Souls.
It might not seem especially powerful during the Nascent Soul Stage.
Mostly, it just means your divine sense is stronger.
But when you reach the Divinity Transformation Realm, its terrifying power will be revealed.