Finally, after a few hours, Sect Leader Xuan had absorbed most of the Resplendent Mercury Breath pill's medicinal essence. Thus, he suddenly let his vitality burst forth. Even Cao Yun was surprised. Although he had refined the pill himself and knew of its quality, his master had truly used it completely. One might think that a pill would always have the same effect on anybody, but there was also an art to swallowing a pill, or rather to using its medicinal effect. Unlike mere mortals, cultivators could more or less control the energies within their bodies, including medicinal essence. And Sect Leader Xuan had used the pill as much as anyone could.

Not only had he qualitatively improved his postnatal Jing, but Cao Yun could also tell that even his prenatal Jing had been somewhat transformed. It wasn't much, but even a slight improvement was incredible, especially for a powerful cultivator at the end of his lifespan. For sure, Sect Leader Xuan had gained a few decades of life. But he had also gained great vitality. With a stronger Jing, he could use less of it for better results. Even now, Cao Yun could feel a greater vitality emanating from his master. Honestly, the first thing Cao Yun thought was that it would be great for his cultivation. Then, he caught himself and thought that it was great that his master could live longer.

"Your pill was truly great. Apart from four or five geniuses in our Hongchen Kingdom, I don't think anyone could refine such a pill. This old decrepit man thanks his young disciple."

"No, no, Master. This humble one was just lucky in his alchemy. Besides, there is no need to thank me. What you're about to do for me is far more important and valuable than that meager pill."

"Hmm... Are you ready then? Know that our souls will intertwine. Not only will we see each other's memories, we will quite literally feel everything as though we've lived them. I only went through this one time with my own master, the former Sect Leader. And I can assure you that this can be a bit traumatic. Even if you think you know what you're getting into, you might not have thought of everything. Thankfully, I don't think that my life is too terrible... But we will feel and experience everything. No matter what, you must not lose yourself. Don't try to focus on your memories or on mine, just let them pass and forget them as fast as they come into focus. If you latch onto them, they will disturb the process and the results won't be as good."

"I understand, Master. I've thoroughly studied the method you gave me. I understand it all, and I'm ready to begin as soon as you are."

"Then, let's begin. Circulate the mantra and send your Qi through the Wind path. My soul will enter via your Fengfu the Palace Gate, first of the Flood Gates. Keep your intent on it but do not focus too much, there shouldn't be any stagnation there."

The Wind path was a specific pathway of acupoints in which one could circulate their Qi. It was very common and Cao Yun had no problem performing this circulation. Then, his intent did go to the back of his head, the root of his skull, where Fengfu the Palace Gate was. Since Cao Yun had already learned to open his acupoints, so it wasn't very difficult to watch this acupoint without focusing too much. It was like focusing on a muscle without contracting it at all. He relaxed as much as he could, which was a lot. Then, he felt a warm sensation go through the back of his head. Slowly, it crept its way into his spine and finally inside his skull and Upper Dantian.

With Cao Yun's mastery of his Upper Dantian, he could literally feel how the spiritual senses of Sect Leader Xuan were moving inside him. They were going through his nine chambers in a very specific pattern. At last, they were distributed everywhere and a flood of Qi drowned his body. It spread throughout his meridians and Extraordinary Vessels. Suddenly, without even trying to, Cao Yun found himself in his own sea of consciousness.

He was seeing everything without being focused on a single point. In the center of his Nine Soul Peaks, his Soul Embryo was now completely different. The silver embryo hadn't changed itself, but there was something more all around him. Indeed, there was a large black turtle. To be exact, Cao Yun could only see its shell as the rest of the turtle was beneath the surface of the infinite ocean. And this black shell was encompassing his silver Soul Embryo. However, it didn't stop Cao Yun from sensing his Soul Embryo, so he knew that the small thing was safe.

According to 'Snake Strangles Kid, Turtle Shields Kid', this shell was a manifestation of Sect Leader Xuan's Hun. Then, from the infinite water below, seven large snakes emerged. Their eyes were as red as blood and they had various patterns all over their scales. Without much work, Cao Yun recognized his master's seven Po. Unlike Cao Yun, he had not tamed his Turbid Demons, but he had learned how to control his Po so it wouldn't turn into Turbid Demons. As such, his Po was much more calm but it wasn't as powerful as Cao Yun's.

Those seven snakes flailed in the air, as if they were looking for invisible targets. Suddenly, they bit the air. The young man felt a strong pressure and then, he sensed as if someone was tugging on his very soul. A few memories of his emerged in his mind but he didn't focus on them at all. They were just a huge blur, only emotions surged from those memories. Those emotions were completely chaotic as he could feel sadness, anger, joy, excitement, gloominess, everything was mixed together as different memories were emerging. But he also felt memories that weren't his. With all the foreign memories he had already experienced, this didn't surprise Cao Yun at all.

Only a handful of them truly formed. He saw his master when he was much younger. He saw him train, he saw him happy about his results but also depressed because he wasn't getting strong enough, fast enough. Other memories also emerged. Cao Yun saw Sect Leader Xuan's son and daughter die of old age before him. He saw most of his family die in various ways. But he also saw his kids and grandchildren being born as well. Everything was mixed together. Of course, Cao Yun was curious but he didn't focus on anything. He let those memories flow through him. Just like his, they were a big blur after a while. As soon as they had entered his mind, he forgot them. But he could still feel his master's emotions.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

What Cao Yun was experiencing, his master was too. Both of them could see and feel everything the other had experienced. However, the memories themselves were not clear, just vague images. The only thing that truly remained were the emotions themselves. Sect Leader Xuan had not lied, his life wasn't too terrible. But he had lived a very long time, so even the few moments that truly were terrible for him had a huge impact on Cao Yun. On the other hand, despite his short life in comparison, Cao Yun's feelings really stabbed Sect Leader Xuan in the heart. There was rage, sorrow, hatred, despair, guilt. Sect Leader Xuan felt even worse. This young man had suffered a lot. Thus Sect Leader Xuan thought about the current generation.

With this war, the younger generations were also suffering tremendously. Although his life hadn't been all happiness, he had never gone through so much pain himself. Losing one's family to old age wasn't the same as seeing them being slaughtered before one's eyes. Many young people had probably experienced this pain throughout the Hongchen Kingdom. But Cao Yun's torments had come from the hands of this very Hongchen Kingdom. Sect Leader Xuan felt guilty about all of that, he should have done better. If only he had been able to break through, he could have changed so much.

Thankfully, Sect Leader Xuan caught himself. He was getting taken over and overwhelmed by emotions. This was exactly what he had warned Cao Yun about. To be fair, Cao Yun had a stronger mind cultivation and he too was tempted to let the emotions take over.

At last, the seven snakes dove into the black turtle shell. Their heads disappeared into the shell as their bodies coiled around it, always moving around and slithering. Then, Cao Yun felt his own soul in contact with his Soul Embryo. For the first time ever, his soul literally entered his Soul Embryo, parts of his soul at least. They were not rejected because Sect Leader Xuan's Po was keeping them there. Although Cao Yun was a 5th-grade Spirit Warrior, this was the training of a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior. However, his Soul Embryo couldn't accept it as easily. Soon, it would revolt.

Sect Leader Xuan was observing it as much as he could. The very moment he felt that Cao Yun's Soul Embryo couldn't take it, one of the snakes erupted from the shell and let go of Cao Yun's soul. But it didn't disappear. Instead, it looked for another target. Moving in the air, it bit emptiness once again and went back into the shell.

This process lasted for quite a while. In a matter of hours, Cao Yun achieved results he would have obtained after weeks if not months of cultivation. Of course, it was exhausting. But Sect Leader Xuan's vitality was brimming thanks to Cao Yun's pill, and Cao Yun's blood was so rich, it wasn't a problem at all for him. Indeed, in this place, Cao Yun had been able to completely unseal his blood cultivation. As such, he truly was a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. Since his master knew everything, there was no point in hiding it, especially during cultivation.

At some point, Cao Yun got an idea. He activated his Drop of Wrath. The drop of blood turned into Axiu Qian and his seven Turbid Demons appeared out of it. Since Cao Yun and Sect Leader Xuan's souls were intertwined at the moment, they both knew what the other had in mind and acted in perfect coordination. This was very strange as neither of them had to speak or even think. It was as though they were one singular entity. In fact, Cao Yun wasn't even sure whether it was his idea or Sect Leader Xuan's.

Anyway, one of the seven snakes coiled around one of the Nine Soul Peaks, it slithered its way around the roots of the world tree seed. Suddenly, those roots shot toward the Flying Poison, completely trapping it just like its chains. Then, the snake crept along the root and coiled itself all around the Flying Poison. Finally, it bit the Flying Poison and dragged it toward the black shell. The chains linked to Axiu Qian were pulling in the opposite direction, but a very small part of the Flying Poison was forced inside the shell while the rest of its body remained outside. Cao Yun, or Sect Leader Xuan's idea worked.

One by one, parts of the Turbid Demons were forced inside the shell, speeding up Cao Yun's cultivation. In fact, Cao Yun even began to cultivate 'Asura Strengthens Deva, Deva Enlightens Asura'. His very Turbid Demons struck the shell of the turtle as though they were trying to break out of it. The vibrations of those strikes went deeper and deeper into Cao Yun's Soul Embryo. The young man could see it change before his own eyes. Soon, it had almost the same face as Cao Yun when he was a kid. But it didn't stop there. His body was also changing, growing and becoming more like Cao Yun's as well.

-

At some point, both men were thoroughly exhausted and had to stop everything. Of course, they slowly finished the session so as to not cause any injury. Then, Sect Leader Xuan's soul completely left Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. His Qi and spiritual senses also retreated back into himself. The two men were covered in perspiration. Honestly, neither of them had any idea how long they had cultivated. It turned out that they had spent three entire days in the 'Heart of the Turtle Soul'. But it had been worth every single breath. Indeed, Cao Yun was almost halfway to the 6th-grade Spirit Warrior. More than that, he felt as though he was almost a 7th-grade Spirit Warrior already. Indeed, this 'Snake Strangles Kid, Turtle Shields Kid' was just too similar to what a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior would do.

The last grades of the Spirit Warrior realm were all about one's Soul Embryo. In the 5th-grade Spirit Warrior stage, Impregnation of Soul, Cao Yun had to nourish his Soul Embryo with his own soul to give it an impression of his emotions and personality, to make his Soul Embryo fully compatible with his soul. Then, there was Merging of Spirits, in which Cao Yun had to send his soul deep into the Soul Embryo to nourish it further. At that stage, his Soul Embryo should accept his soul fully and Cao Yun could literally keep his soul in his Soul Embryo, slowly infusing it. In a way, it was a bit like tea...

After that 6th-grade Spirit Warrior stage came Spiritual Harmony. As the name suggested, Cao Yun had to perfectly merge his soul and his Soul Embryo. This stage was considered over when there was no distinction between soul and Soul Embryo. The Soul Embryo was the soul. In this stage, Cao Yun was aiming to turn his Soul Embryo into his Hun, since he already had a Po in his Drop of Wrath. After that, Cao Yun had to open the Third Eye of his Soul Embryo. Experiencing the world directly without the medium of his body could be traumatic for one's soul, so it was also very delicate. Honestly, it depended on the cultivator.

Only after all of those stages could one attempt to break through to the Sage realm. For this 9th-grade Spirit Warrior stage, Cao Yun would have to 'Ascend to the Firmament'. It consisted of connecting one's Third Eye to one's Bai Hui in an attempt to pierce through the Dao and finally be able to perceive even a tiny fraction of it. This was known as the Greater Tribulation because the Dao wouldn't let itself be seen so easily.

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