Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 682 - 329: Two Paths! Yin-Yang Holy Body!_1

Using merit to temper a Magical Treasure is an act unprecedented in the current cultivation world. Across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, there should be no such method or precedent! Only before the current epoch, in ancient times, did such a practice exist! And as it happens, I possess a legacy of the Forging Techniques from that very era!

Wang Xiu's eyes shone brightly as his mind raced, accessing the legacy information of the Primordial God Refining Technique. Decades had passed since he first obtained this Forging Technique. However, he had never truly delved deep into the field of Artifact Refining. The only two things he had done were to create the Soul Fighting Machine, which allowed cultivators to hone their Daoist Divine Powers and combat skills, and to pass on a chapter of this technique to the Artifact Sect of the Sanqing Immortal Sect. The former played a significant role on the battlefield of Demon Sea Island, while the latter enabled the Artifact Sect to rise to prominence. By the time Wang Xiu left, it had already become a renowned holy land for Artifact Refining in the Cangyuan Realm.

Neither of these accomplishments was minor, and many in the Cangyuan Realm secretly hailed Wang Xiu as a once-in-a-millennium Refinement Grandmaster. But as for Wang Xiu himself, he had never identified as an Artifact Refiner. After all, he had spent far too little time immersed in it, accounting for only a tiny fraction of the past few decades. He had never even used this art to forge any divine weapons or Immortal Path Magical Treasures for himself.

This was one of the major differences between him and many other cultivators. Along his journey, apart from when his Realm was still low and he needed various items like array flags and Flying Swords, he rarely used any treasures once his cultivation had reached a decent level.

There were many reasons for this. First, he possessed a vast number of exquisite and unparalleled Divine Skills. His Divine Abilities alone were enough to handle the vast majority of situations. Moreover, upon careful reflection, he had never truly encountered a crisis that required him to use all of his techniques.

Looking back on the major and minor battles of his life, not a single enemy had ever managed to force him to reveal all his trump cards. Furthermore, his 'golden finger' was exceptionally powerful. Often, before an enemy could even figure out his current trump cards, he would have already acquired new ones. These Divine Skills covered all aspects of combat and utility. Anything others needed Magical Treasures to accomplish, he could do even better with his Divine Skills.

The only treasure he used with any regularity was the Asura Heaven Punishment Sword.

Upon introspection, Wang Xiu admitted he was no Swordsman. He lacked the unstoppable, sharp-edged sword heart, nor did he possess a Sword Dao adept at severing all things. He hadn't even cultivated many sword techniques. Compared to his other Divine Skills, his attainments in the Sword Dao had long since failed to keep pace with him.

Even the signature technique of the Sanqing's Sword Sect, Same Life as Heaven and Earth, could no longer be considered one of his ultimate trump cards. Even if it meant burning his lifespan, so what? Among the various Daoist scriptures he had mastered, were there not similar techniques? And their power far exceeded that of Same Life as Heaven and Earth.

But perhaps it was fate. This sword had followed him for so many years, from Foundation Establishment until now. The sword itself, having seized numerous opportunities, had continuously advanced to its current level of an Earth Immortal Instrument. It must be said that this was a kind of destiny, though it was uncertain whether that destiny was tied to the sword… or to the soul within it, Nie Linglan.

Gazing at the person and the sword submerged in the sea of merit above him, a myriad of thoughts suddenly filled Wang Xiu's mind. There was sorrow, there were sighs. He couldn't help but reflect. Am I getting old? Seventy or eighty years old… compared to his current lifespan of tens of thousands of years, he wasn't even an infant. At most, he was an embryo. At this thought, he couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, refocusing on the grand task of absorbing merit.

「Just half a month later.」

Nie Linglan was the first to reach her limit. She was still clad in her red dress but appeared completely free of the Yin Sha Qi characteristic of a Nine Yin Girl Ghost. Instead, she was radiant and stately, her face aglow with an auspicious light, like a fairy from the heavens. Under this luminous veil, even her face, a blend of purity and allure, gained an air of inviolable sanctity.

Her aura was much stronger than before. As the Sword Spirit of an Immortal Artifact, her own Realm had already been significantly elevated by the Asura Heaven Punishment Sword. Now, after absorbing a vast amount of merit, she was not far from the Earth Immortal Realm!

"Young Master, this servant can hold on no longer!" Her red dress fluttered lightly as she appeared before Wang Xiu, her willow-like brows furrowed. "There is too much merit! This servant truly cannot take any more!"

Wang Xiu chuckled. "If you can't hold on, then rest for a while. If you continue, you'll soon have to undergo Tribulation Transcendence, right?"

Nie Linglan nodded.

Wang Xiu looked up at the Asura Heaven Punishment Sword still bathing in the golden light of merit, continuously casting spells as seal after seal landed on the blade.

He spoke suddenly, "Linglan, do you want a body?"

Nie Linglan froze, panic flashing in her eyes. Shaking her head like a rattle drum, she clutched Wang Xiu's arm and pleaded, "This servant does not want a body! This servant just wants to be a Sword Spirit, to always be by the Young Master's side!"

Seeming to have misunderstood something, her eyes reddened as she bit her lip. "This servant can still persevere! As long as the Young Master doesn't send this servant away!"

With that, she once again shot into the air, flying toward the sea of merit.

Wang Xiu quickly intercepted her, smiling. "You've misunderstood. I have no intention of sending you away."

Nie Linglan said nothing, her gentle, watery eyes fixed intently on Wang Xiu's.

Wang Xiu spoke calmly, "Once I condense my origin brand, my future path will be set. The Sword Dao… is not my path, and it's very likely I won't use a sword in the future. If you remain a Sword Spirit, you might just end up gathering dust in my Storage Bag!"

Hearing this, Nie Linglan's expression first turned to surprise, then she quickly said, "Then… Young Master could reforge the Asura Heaven Punishment Sword! No matter what kind of Magical Treasure it becomes, this servant can handle it!"

Wang Xiu looked at her. "To reforge the Asura Heaven Punishment Sword, you, as its Sword Spirit, would have to endure unimaginable pain and torment…"

Before he could finish, Nie Linglan rushed to say, "This servant is willing!"

Wang Xiu continued, "The problem is that the Asura Heaven Punishment Sword has a ceiling. Fusing with that Primordial Divine Iron was a good step, but the amount was too small. An Earth Immortal Instrument is its final destination! Sooner or later, I will have to replace it. Even if I constantly refine it and embed new array patterns within it, a day will come when it can no longer keep up with me!"

"If you were to leave this sword and become the Artifact Spirit for another Magical Treasure, the process would be incredibly dangerous, with the risk of your soul dissipating at any moment. And even if you succeeded by a fluke once or twice, could you possibly succeed ten times, or a hundred?"

His eyes were calm, his gaze incomparably clear and firm as he looked at Nie Linglan. "You may not believe me, but I must say it. The Earth Immortal Realm is not my final destination, nor is the Quasi-Emperor Realm. My goal is the ultimate Great Dao between heaven and earth! Perhaps that means becoming a Great Emperor, or an even higher existence!

"Unless you can become the spirit of a supreme treasure that I can use until the very end of the Dao, you will have to face choices like today's countless more times!"

Wang Xiu's tone was frank and composed. Having perceived his own path, his Dao Heart was now unshakably firm.

Furthermore, there was one thing he left unsaid: the further he progressed, the less he would need any divine weapons or Magical Treasures. For his chosen path, any treasure was merely a temporary companion in his pursuit of the Great Dao. He might use them for a while, but in the end, even the mightiest supreme treasure would be inferior to one's own Dao.

After hearing Wang Xiu's words, Nie Linglan bit her lip, her beautiful eyes filled with conflict and pain.

After a long while, she slowly raised her head. "But… Young Master, with my constitution, if I had a physical body, my cultivation speed would be insufficient. I still wouldn't be able to keep up with you…"

"I have already thought of a solution for that," Wang Xiu chuckled. "There is an ancient Divine Skill in the Netherworld that can help Ghost Cultivators obtain a Yin-Yang Holy Body!

"The so-called Yin-Yang Holy Body is one that walks the path of both yin and yang, allowing one to be human or ghost. As a human, you would have flesh and blood, no different from a living person. At the same time, you could transform that flesh into a spiritual body at will, reverting to your Ghost Cultivator form!

"Generally speaking, as long as Ghost Cultivators have sufficient Yin Sha Qi and resentment, their cultivation speed is much faster than that of ordinary Cultivators! The downside is that when it comes to facing the Heavenly Tribulation, Ghost Cultivators are naturally more vulnerable, and a single misstep can cause their souls to shatter and disperse.

"And the most incredible thing about this Holy Body is that by granting you a physical form, it completely eliminates the innate weakness Ghost Cultivators have—their fear of the Heavenly Tribulation! In short, it significantly increases the success rate of Tribulation Transcendence!"

Nie Linglan's eyes flashed with delighted surprise. "Such a method truly exists?"

Wang Xiu nodded, smiling. "This technique is ancient and was only prevalent in the Netherworld, so most people don't know of it. Moreover, the most crucial part is that cultivating the Yin-Yang Holy Body requires a sufficient amount of water from the Yellow Springs!"

"Water from the Yellow Springs?" Nie Linglan paused, then turned her head to look at the lake. "Isn't this… water from the Yellow Springs?"

Wang Xiu laughed heartily. "Exactly! This is truly fate at work!"

The Yellow Springs here was a genuine stretch of the river, cut off from the Netherworld by some unknown entity. Although much time has passed, making its water less potent than the true source, the sheer volume was more than enough to help Nie Linglan form her Yin-Yang Holy Body.

"Then, you will be able to leverage the cultivation advantages of the Ghost Dao Holy Body while avoiding the fatal weakness Ghost Cultivators have when facing Heavenly Tribulations. Your path of cultivation will surely be smoother than that of ordinary people!" Wang Xiu said with a gentle smile.

"So, what do you think? Care to give it some serious thought?"

"No!" Nie Linglan declared in a firm yet delicate voice. "There's no need to consider it. This servant wants this!"

She was merely love-struck, not foolish.

Wang Xiu's meaning was perfectly clear: he was pursuing the Great Dao and would not stop for anyone or anything—not even for her. If she wanted to keep up with him, how could she possibly do so through normal cultivation? The Young Master was a peerless prodigy whom countless other chosen ones couldn't hope to match!

Only this path offered her a chance to stay by the Young Master's side forever, whether in the mortal world or the heavens.

Wang Xiu nodded. He reached out and gently caressed Nie Linglan's ethereal cheek. "Good," he said. "Prepare yourself. Let's begin."