Cultivation Starts from Farming Chapter 996 - 428: Gaining the Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Marrow Jade; Accompanying Innate Spiritual Liquid (3)

While one's lifespan is inherently long, who would ever reject an even greater extension of their years?

The progression of one's cultivation is even more fundamentally vital.

Instead of immediately partaking, Xu Ping dedicated a full fortnight to meditation and breath adjustment, ensuring his condition was brought to its absolute zenith.

His spiritual power flowed in abundance and harmony, his divine sense was sharp and crystal clear, his vital Qi surged like liquid mercury, and his entire being was primed for optimal absorption and refinement.

Sensing that the opportune moment had arrived on this particular day, Xu Ping wasted no further time. He removed the stopper and in a single motion, consumed the cool, clear innate spiritual liquid.

Upon entering his stomach, the spiritual liquid did not induce a burning sensation. Instead, it dispersed like eternally profound ice, an intense coldness permeating his limbs and bones, seemingly on the verge of freezing his very blood and meridians.

Yet, almost immediately following this, an indescribable and exceptionally pure life essence erupted from the depths of that coldness, akin to a dormant volcano suddenly unleashing its fury.

Xu Ping swiftly initiated his core cultivation technique, expertly guiding this immense energy through his body along the designated meridian pathways.

The ambient spiritual Qi within his secluded abode was drawn in, converging towards him with incredible intensity, even forming a miniature vortex of spiritual energy directly above his head.

This refining process spanned a considerable duration of two full months.

Throughout this period, Xu Ping remained immersed in a dense mist of spiritual Qi, which came perilously close to solidifying into a liquid state.

His internal spiritual power, cleansed and augmented by the innate spiritual liquid, grew progressively more refined and potent. Simultaneously, his nascent soul appeared to achieve greater stability, radiating an even more dazzling brilliance.

"Hoo!"

On this day, Xu Ping’s eyes snapped open abruptly, a brilliant, lightning-like flash igniting within them.

A formidable aura uncontrollably emanated outwards, instantly vaporizing the suspended droplets of spiritual liquid surrounding him into a fine mist.

"The efficacy of this innate spiritual liquid surpasses even my expectations!"

Xu Ping meticulously evaluated the internal transformations his body had undergone, a mixture of astonishment and delight apparent on his features.

With a mere thought, a familiar data interface materialized within his consciousness:

[Lifespan: 526 / 4651 years]

[Realm: Mid-Stage Nascent Soul: 83 / 100]

...

"My lifespan has been extended by 210 years, and my realm progression has advanced by 8 points!" Xu Ping's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

While he could now regard an increase in lifespan with a degree of equanimity, the substantial progress in his cultivation realm was genuinely exhilarating.

These progression points signified his steady approach towards the threshold of the Late-Stage Nascent Soul.

"However, the realm's advancement is occurring at too rapid a pace, and the auxiliary spiritual items and preparations necessary for a breakthrough are falling somewhat behind."

A breakthrough to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul is an undertaking of considerable magnitude, demanding meticulous preparation.

"Perhaps… I could enlist the assistance of the Outer Sea Human Race alliance." A notion began to form in Xu Ping’s mind.

Considering the current delicate state of affairs in the Outer Sea, he was undoubtedly a highly coveted asset by various influential factions.

Leveraging this position to acquire essential, scarce resources for his breakthrough would not pose a significant challenge.

With this strategic plan conceived, Xu Ping temporarily set aside the matter of his impending breakthrough and retrieved the storage ring he had acquired from the gaunt cultivator.

His divine sense penetrated its depths; it contained a substantial quantity of items – Spirit Stones, pills, various materials – a veritable treasure trove, attesting to the cultivator's success in his illicit activities of plundering and robbery.

However, Xu Ping had a specific objective in mind and swiftly focused on a jade box secured by multiple layers of protective restrictions.

With a simple gesture, he shattered the restrictions. Inside, contrary to his expectations of a jade slip or a cultivation manual, lay an extremely ancient, dark yellow fragment of paper with edges singed as if by intense fire and ravaged by lightning.

The paper bore no inscriptions, only an exceptionally intricate and peculiar pattern meticulously drawn with countless fine lines, bearing resemblance neither to a sword nor a talisman.

As Xu Ping's divine sense swept over it, a tremor ran through his heart; he perceived an inexplicable resonance, confirming that this artifact was indeed linked to the technique that summoned the primordial Qi of heaven and earth.

Nevertheless, regardless of how deeply he probed with his divine sense or infused it with his spiritual power, this paper fragment remained inert, like an inanimate object.

After a brief period of contemplation, Xu Ping summoned forth the gaunt cultivator, who had been confined within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

At this juncture, the gaunt cultivator's nascent soul was visibly depleted, his spiritual power suppressed, and his gaze was filled with a mixture of sheer terror and utter despair as he confronted Xu Ping.

Xu Ping directly posed his inquiry, "Does this paper fragment contain the record of your swordsmanship technique that summons the primordial Qi of heaven and earth?"

Upon glimpsing the fragment held within Xu Ping's hand, the gaunt cultivator's expression fell, and he remained conspicuously silent.

After a brief pause, he spoke slowly, 'Release me first and swear a heart demon oath not to harm my life, and then I will tell you the activation method.'

'Otherwise, even if you attempt a soul search, you will gain absolutely nothing.'

'A Nascent Soul cultivator safeguards their essence; unless an expert at the Divinity Transformation stage intervenes, a forced soul search will invariably lead to the self-detonation of the nascent soul, annihilating both of us!'

The divine soul of a Nascent Soul cultivator is intimately linked to their core essence; should they resolve to perish to protect it, extracting information through a soul search becomes exceedingly difficult, carrying a significant peril of shattering the soul entirely.

Nevertheless, upon hearing this, Xu Ping merely let out a cold smirk.

Even without resorting to a soul search, he possessed other means.

Wasting no further words, Xu Ping, with a mere thought, commanded the Soul-Breaking Needle to once again manifest as a spectral gleam, fiercely piercing into the emaciated cultivator’s sea of consciousness.

'Ah!'

A soul-wrenching scream erupted from the emaciated cultivator; his already critically wounded divine soul suffered another devastating blow, his consciousness instantly becoming a blur, plunging him into a state of stupor.

At this juncture, Xu Ping’s lips moved subtly, uttering a profound incantation imbued with peculiar magical power that resonated through the divine soul. This was the formidable 'Demonic Chant,' a technique he had successfully cultivated to the Minor Success Realm.

'Speak now, how is this artifact activated?'

With a severely damaged divine soul and a muddled consciousness, how could the emaciated cultivator possibly resist this mind-targeting technique?

His eyes unfocused, resembling a puppet controlled by unseen strings, he stammered intermittently, 'With... with one's own pure sword qi... inject it into the center of the pattern... only then can it be activated...'

'So, it requires sword qi for activation.'

A flicker of comprehension dawned in Xu Ping’s eyes.

This indeed seemed consistent with the inherent characteristics of a sword dao inheritance.

Following this, Xu Ping posed several more inquiries regarding the fragment, to which the emaciated cultivator also provided fragmented responses.

Having secured satisfactory answers, Xu Ping ceased to pay any heed to the now weak and powerless emaciated cultivator, resealing him within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

He formed his fingers into a sword-like shape, cautiously channeling a highly refined and pure sword qi into the central core of the peculiar pattern etched upon the paper fragment.

Buzz!

The instant the sword qi made contact with the pattern, a sudden and drastic transformation ensued.