Frigidsect roared with laughter before tousling Bai Xiaochun’s hair.
“I’m not finished yet! Stop interrupting!” Then, his expression turned serious. “Xiaochun, much like Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, there are three ways to enter the Nascent Soul stage. The first is the simplest, and yet the most dangerous because of the high failure rate. Although you can make the attempt multiple times this way, every failure leads to a loss of longevity. That method is… using Nascent Soul Pills!”
Bai Xiaochun was listening very intently. There was no information in the sect records about the Nascent Soul stage, so this was his first time hearing such an explanation.
Frigidsect shook his head before continuing, “That method leads to a low-grade Nascent Soul, with only a slim chance of ever becoming a deva. It is also the most commonly used method….
“The second method is… by using a five elements heavenbeast soul! The so-called heavenbeast soul is the soul of a dead Deva Realm beast. All such souls have a certain measure of five elements power, and any cultivator who steps into Nascent Soul with one will not only be very powerful, they will also have a good chance at becoming a deva!”
Bai Xiaochun was shaken, and immediately committed the words ‘five elements heavenbeast soul’ to memory. Never could he have imagined that it was possible to reach the Nascent Soul stage with the soul of a deva-level beast.
“Then there’s the third method….” Frigidsect paused for a moment, his eyes shining brightly with both veneration and madness. This sort of expression was something rarely seen on his face.
Bai Xiaochun instantly started to get even more nervous.
“This last method is the stuff of legend. In fact… in the Heavenspan Realm, only one person has ever done it. The requirements are incredibly strict. That method is… by using five elements deva souls!
“A deva soul is the soul of a dead Deva Realm cultivator. One of the unique properties of deva souls is that each one contains the power of one of the five elements, either metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. To reach the Nascent Soul stage using this method requires… five different deva souls!
“Anyone who succeeds… becomes completely invincible within the Nascent Soul stage!”
Bai Xiaochun gasped. “Five deva souls?!”
To him, it seemed almost inconceivable. Devas were already rare to begin with; even in the Middle Reaches, there were currently only three of them. If you added in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, there wouldn’t even be ten.
Considering all of that, using the five elements deva souls method seemed virtually impossible.
Frigidsect sighed. “From ancient times until now, the number of devas who have existed is very limited, and the souls of any who die are rare and precious items…. Because of that, you can see why using the five elements deva souls method to step into Nascent Soul is unimaginably difficult, and thus, the stuff of legend.”
Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and couldn’t hold back from asking, “Patriarch, didn’t you just say that someone did succeed once? Who is that person…?”
Frigidsect didn’t respond for a moment. Looking up into the sky, he said, “The Celestial!”
“The Celestial?” Bai Xiaochun was taken aback.
“He is the most powerful cultivator in the Heavenspan Realm… and also the one who rules over the four great riversource sects…. He lives on the island in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea…. The Celestial!
“Common people like us can’t even speak his name. If you do, he will sense it, and no one wishes to do that. That is why people simply call him… the Celestial!” Frigidsect sighed yet again.
“According to the legends, he reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, Heaven-Dao Gold Core, and used the five elements deva souls method to reach Nascent Soul. The entire time, he walked the heavenly path 1. You’ve had some contact with the Wildlands, so you can probably imagine what type of position the Celestial occupies!”
1. In Chinese “deva” consists of the characters for “heaven” and “person” put together, so all three of these paths have “heaven” in them
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Chapter
378: I’ll Be Back!
Bai Xiaochun reeled as he thought back to the old Wildlander he had spoken to by means of Chen Manyao. The things that old man had told him clicked into place with what he had learned just now, and suddenly, he understood.
If the four main branches of the Heavenspan River and the sects that grew near them were the feudal governments, then this Celestial… was the emperor!
Bai Xiaochun sat there in silence with Frigidsect for a long moment. Finally, Frigidsect rose to his feet and extended his right hand, within which was a blue-green walnut!
Apparently, the walnut had been crafted from jade, and inside of it was… a sleeping soul.
It didn’t emanate any soul fluctuations at all, and in fact, even examining it with divine sense didn’t reveal the slightest fluctuation. Bai Xiaochun stared at it blankly for a moment.
“Is that…?”
Frigidsect looked at the walnut, then at Bai Xiaochun, his expression alive with anticipation.
“Xiaochun, your service to the River-Defying Sect has gone above and beyond the call of duty. The fact that you are a member of the River-Defying Sect… is a true blessing. Unfortunately, we are too small and weak now, and are unable to provide you much in the way of help. However, after discussing matters with the Fellow Daoists from the other divisions, we all agreed that it was appropriate to take this… a deva soul… and give it to you!” Frigidsect’s voice echoed like thunder in Bai Xiaochun’s ears, causing his mind and heart to tremble.
“A deva soul!?” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes widened. If he hadn’t just heard Frigidsect’s explanation of the rarity of five elements deva souls, he wouldn’t have thought this item to be of much value. But now, now that he understood everything, his heart was filled with waves of shock.
It wouldn’t be a wild guess to assume that this deva soul was the only one in the entire River-Defying Sect. In fact, there might not even be a second one in all of the eastern cultivation world of the Middle Reaches.
After all… deva souls were items that Middle Reaches sects usually wouldn’t possess. It was only because the Spirit Stream Division had once been the Frigid School that it had one!
“This….” For the first time ever, Bai Xiaochun didn’t reach out to take the treasure being offered him. It was so valuable that he didn’t dare to even touch it.
“We were going to give this to you eventually anyway,” Frigidsect said with a smile. “We’re just handing it over a bit early. Don’t feel any pressure. After all, reaching the Nascent Soul stage by means of a five elements deva soul is something legendary, to say the least. Think of this wood-type deva soul as a direction to follow. If you can’t collect any other deva souls, then perhaps you can find someone in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect who will trade you a five elements heavenbeast soul for it. Either way… we have long since begun to think about how to make your path to the Nascent Soul stage as clear as possible!”
Bai Xiaochun was trembling, and was even having trouble breathing. He looked up at Frigidsect for a long moment, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.
“Many thanks, Patriarch!”
“Very well. I’ve said everything I needed to say, and it’s nearly dawn. I’ll wait for you at the grand hall on Mount River Defiance with the rest of the patriarchs.” Patting Bai Xiaochun on the shoulder encouragingly, he turned to leave. For some reason, he seemed especially old underneath the pale moonlight.