Bidding farewell to the Southern Frontier Witch Village, Tang Xiaoqi did not rush back to Qingxu Temple, nor did he immediately seek that legendary Deity Transformation opportunity. He sensed something within himself—from the Eastern Sea where he won hearts through virtue, peacefully settling the chaos of millions of sea clans without bloodshed, to the Southern Frontier Witch Village where he transmitted teachings and completed an ancient inheritance. This journey, seemingly about helping others, was actually a profound practice and tempering of his own "guardian" Dao.
Within his dantian, that "Dao Seed" which had sprouted after enlightenment at the Heavenly Dao Palace originally emitted only a faint glow with somewhat blurry outlines. Now, after being refined through the myriad aspects of the mortal world, experiencing the longing for survival and development from different races and civilizations, understanding the deep satisfaction and tranquility that came from using power to quell conflicts and knowledge to ignite hope, this Dao Seed condensed and became complete at a visible rate, its entire body radiating a warm and hazy brilliance, like a chaotic primordial egg nurturing infinite vitality and possibilities.
Upon the Dao Seed, mysterious patterns naturally emerged. These were not any known runes, but crystallizations of Xiao Qi's own understanding of the Dao. Looking closely, the patterns seemed to contain the purity of the Green Lotus, the balance of the Four Symbols, the compassion of Buddhist dharma, the ancient simplicity of witchcraft, and a more fundamental attachment and will to protect this heaven and earth, all living beings, with the most pristine devotion.
"To guard is not to imprison, not to give charity, but to respect one's nature, guide one's actions, help one grow strong, and give one hope." Xiao Qi stood upon the clouds, looking down at the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers below, towns and villages scattered like stars, his enlightenment becoming increasingly clear. His guardianship had long transcended the boundaries of sect and race, rising to a beautiful wish and sustenance for "existence" itself. This intention, pure and firm, was the foundation of his Dao Seed's perfection.
He no longer deliberately pursued the improvement of power, but completely opened his body and mind, wandering between heaven and earth with an almost "traveling" mentality.
He once incarnated as a storyteller in the bustling markets of the Central Prefecture Imperial City, telling tales of overseas wonders and immortal realm anecdotes. Amidst laughter and mockery, he imperceptibly wove basic breathing exercises and methods for cultivating body and mind into his stories, enlightening ignorant children and guiding troubled mortals. Seeing someone become healthy from his casual guidance, or seeing someone's eyes reignite with passion for life from a single story, the Dao Seed in his dantian would tremble slightly, its glow intensifying.
He also ventured into the desolate villages eroded by wind and sand at the edge of the Western Desert, where water was scarce and livelihood difficult. He did not use vast magical powers to create water from nothing, but carefully observed the terrain, combining what he had learned at the Witch Village with his own understanding of water element laws to guide villagers in finding traces of underground rivers. He taught them a crude method of using special plant root systems and sand filtration to collect trace water vapor from the air. When he saw a bit of new green finally sprouting on the cracked earth, and the villagers' faces blooming with long-unseen smiles, he felt his own Dao thoughts resonate with that faint water vapor and tenacious green shoots, becoming more resilient and enduring.
He even went deep into the bitter cold lands of the Northern Plains, into a small tribe isolated from the world, where he encountered a rare "Soul Cold Silence" that even cultivators found troublesome. This was not an external attack, but a mental exhaustion, numbness, and despair that the entire tribe collectively developed from living in extreme harshness and loneliness for a long time. Like an invisible cold tide, it froze vitality. Xiao Qi used no spells, but simply lived like an ordinary traveler, staying in the tribe, hunting with them, sitting around campfires, listening to their ancient and desolate songs, sharing stories from the outside world. Through the most ordinary companionship and communication, he bit by bit melted the ice in their hearts. When the first child let out a clear laugh because of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace story he told, when the first elder's cloudy eyes rekindled with yearning for distant places, that "Cold Silence" shrouding the tribe quietly dissipated, replaced by a warm vitality named "hope." In that moment, the Dao Seed in Xiao Qi's dantian burst forth with light, its perfection reaching its peak!
He even restrained his aura again, entering the mortal world, experiencing the most ordinary birth, aging, illness, death, love, hate, and separation. He worked as a guard at a security escort agency, protecting goods and employers; he was an apprentice at a medical hall, feeling the fragility of life and the benevolence of healers; he even sold calligraphy and paintings on the streets, experiencing the smoke and fire of market life and the warmth and coldness of human relationships.
These experiences had nothing to do with the strength of magical power, only with the realization of character. He saw the struggle and resilience of the weak, witnessed the rise and fall and helplessness of the powerful; felt the purest goodwill between people, and saw souls twisted by desire. He was like a calm observer and a passionate participant, taking all the myriad aspects of the mortal world and all forms of sentient beings into his heart's lake, reflecting them upon his Dao Seed.
This journey lasted three years.
In three years, his cultivation, though not deliberately practiced, steadily improved as naturally as water flowing downhill, long reaching the peak of the Golden Core stage. His spiritual power was refined and profound, his spiritual sense vast as the sea. Yet he still felt a thin but exceptionally tough membrane separating him from that crucial step of breaking the core to form the Nascent Soul.
Until this day.
He arrived at an unnamed valley at the border between the Central Prefecture and the Southern Frontier. It was late autumn, the maples in the valley were red as fire, the stream trickled, quiet and uninhabited. He sat on a bluestone by the stream, watching the fish play in the water and fallen leaves drift with the current, his heart completely clear and bright.
Everything he had seen and heard, felt and realized over three years, like countless trickling streams, at this moment returned to the sea like a hundred rivers, all pouring into that perfected Dao Seed.
The trusting gaze of Ao Qin and the figures of millions of sea clan members laying down their weapons in submission at the Eastern Sea shore; the excited tears of the old village chief and the reverent cheers of the villagers at the Southern Frontier Witch Village; the laughter of children and the hope in the elders' eyes at the Northern Plains tribe; the villagers' ecstasy when well water gushed forth at the Western Desert village; the thirst for knowledge shining in the eyes of listeners beneath the storyteller's platform in the Central Prefecture Imperial City; the deep bond with colleagues at the escort agency, the gratitude of patients recovering at the medical hall, the warm atmosphere of ordinary households in streets and alleys...
Scenes upon scenes, figure upon figure, emotion upon emotion, all finally condensed into an incomparably clear belief—what this body cultivates, what this heart yearns for, is all to guard everything worth protecting in this world. Even if the road ahead is long, even if tribulations are numerous, this resolve will not shift, this Dao will have no regrets!
"Boom!"
Like the first thunder when the universe opened, like the slight crisp sound of a seed breaking through the soil. Within Xiao Qi's dantian, that flawless Dao Seed with its restrained radiance suddenly erupted with indescribable brilliant light at this moment!
The light did not spread outward but converged inward, frantically devouring all the Golden Core spiritual power, spiritual sense power, and even Xiao Qi's essence, qi, and spirit within the dantian. The heaven and earth spiritual energy of the entire valley was stirred up by this, forming a massive vortex that madly poured in with him as the center.
That membrane that had hindered him for so long, under the impact of this magnificent power from within and without, from heart and body, shattered with a sound!
Xiao Qi had a flash of insight, instantly understanding.
The opportunity to condense the Nascent Soul was right at this moment!
He no longer suppressed, no longer hesitated, his mind completely sinking into his dantian, guiding that shattered Dao Seed and vast energy to begin the most crucial transformation of his life level—shattering the core to form the Nascent Soul!
He clearly felt that a spirit body identical to his original self, yet more pure and closer to the Dao's origin, was slowly being nurtured and shaped within that endless light and energy.
The Nascent Soul realm was within reach!
Xiao Qi took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, his eyes becoming incomparably determined and focused. He knew that next, he would face the most crucial and dangerous challenge on his cultivation path. He had to find a place to seclude himself, mobilize all his mind and accumulation, to welcome the baptism of the Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation, in order to truly take this transcendent step.
Without a moment's hesitation, his figure flickered, transforming into a barely visible stream of light, rushing toward a hidden mountain range that was nearest and most suitable for undergoing tribulation according to his memory—the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
The Nascent Soul opportunity had arrived; seclusion to breakthrough was now!