Volume Five: Emerging Prominence Chapter Three: The Moment of Crisis

In the realm of immortals, time flows differently. A single session of deep meditation can last for decades or even centuries. However, since Li Chengzhu arrived in the Immortal Realm, he had never encountered anyone who spent decades in meditation; even for himself, a dozen days or so was considered a remarkable achievement.

Ever since Xiao Ying sat on her meditation cushion and entered a deep trance, Li Chengzhu and Gu Linglong, overwhelmed by the dense and abundant spiritual energy in the room, could not resist sitting down to cultivate as well.

When Li first arrived in the Immortal Realm, he had spent over a year by the Immortal Conception Lake. Back then, he had paid little mind to his master’s advice that the area around the lake was ideal for cultivation, assuming that the density of spiritual energy was uniform throughout the realm. It was only after he ventured beyond the Heaven-Covering and Earth-Carrying Grand Formation that he realized his master had spoken the truth. If the Immortal Conception Lake was a paradise, then the rest of the Immortal Realm was a common marketplace; the disparity in the quality and density of spiritual energy was more than a thousandfold.

Once filled with self-reproach for his recklessness and failure to heed his master’s advice, he now seized every moment to cultivate, grateful for the reappearance of the lake’s spiritual energy. Besides, he needed to watch over Xiao Ying for several months, and without cultivation to pass the time, the wait would have been unbearable.

The ever-resourceful Li, however, was not content with mere meditation. He stripped Gu Linglong of her robes, revealing her skin like fine, lustrous suet jade, and had her sit across his lap so they could engage in dual cultivation while absorbing the surging spiritual energy.

Generally, it is unwise to disturb a cultivator in deep meditation, as it can lead to spiritual backlash or, at worst, a deviation into madness. But Xiao Ying was not cultivating; she was using a secret technique to alter the Five Elements of the energy within her womb to strengthen her unborn child. Thus, every few days, Li and Gu would help her stretch her limbs and massage her shoulders and legs to ensure proper blood circulation and promote the child’s development.

Every time Li woke from his meditation, his first act was to press his ear against Xiao Ying’s belly to listen. Occasionally, a thud would echo from within, or the child would kick against the skin, and at those moments, Li’s weathered face would bloom into a radiant smile.

By the sixth month, through the probing of his primordial spirit, Li discovered that the child in Xiao Ying’s womb was already beginning to form a Nascent Soul.

This discovery left not only Li astonished but also Gu Linglong, whose cherry lips parted in disbelief. Neither of them were natives of the Immortal Realm. While they had heard legends that children born in the Immortal Realm possessed at least a Nascent Soul level due to the abundance of spiritual energy, they had always dismissed it as mere folklore.

Xiao Ying’s pregnancy had validated this legend, broadening their horizons while simultaneously leaving them feeling a bit dejected. Gu Linglong, in particular, felt the sting; it had taken her a full century of cultivation to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Compared to this unborn child, she felt like a total fool—a naive novice who had dared to call herself a genius.

Still, as this was the flesh and blood of the Li family, their shock quickly turned to excitement.

If a Nascent Soul formed by the sixth month, what realm would the child reach upon birth? It was unimaginable. A fetus in the womb absorbs innate spiritual energy; once born, it must absorb acquired energy, which, whether in the Immortal or Mortal Realm, inevitably introduces impurities into the body. Therefore, the mother’s womb is the supreme place for cultivation, and an unborn infant progresses faster than anyone else.

Li suddenly realized that both he and Xiao Ying were only in the late stage of the Spirit Severing realm. A wave of shame washed over him; if the child were born at the Integration stage, his and Xiao Ying’s pride would be severely wounded. And what if the child grew up and became unruly? He wouldn't even be able to discipline them. Shuddering at the thought, Li grabbed a stark-naked Gu Linglong and dove back into dual cultivation.

Li had been in the late Spirit Severing stage for some time. Stimulated by the unborn child, he threw himself into the formation for several months, his physical body breaking through to the early Integration stage, while his Nascent Soul reached the late Integration stage. Even Gu Linglong showed signs of breaking through to the late Immortal stage, making her appear even more dignified, noble, and enchanting. Had she not been completely unclad, watching her sit there with her eyes closed and hands forming spiritual seals, Li might have mistaken her for a Bodhisattva descending to enlighten him.

***

As the day of Xiao Ying’s delivery drew near, Li and Gu did not dare to be careless, remaining by her side in their clothes.

During this time, Li had used his primordial spirit to check on the Jade Blood Ring. The little creature, bored to tears, had been throwing its weight around, engaging in a chaotic brawl with the eight captive Nascent Souls.

The eight Great Vehicle stage experts, once so high-spirited when they possessed physical bodies, were now reduced to being bullied by a rodent. They scurried about, fleeing the creature, but the space within the ring was limited, and without their physical bodies to anchor them, they couldn't cast even the simplest spells. They could only rely on the instincts of their Nascent Souls, darting here and there to avoid the attacks of the beast with its copper-bell-sized eyes.

The eight Nascent Souls were in agony. Was this really a Treasure-Seeking Mouse? Had that treacherous woman lied to them?

The little creature, strictly following Li’s instructions, didn't actually harm them. It would catch them, pat them with its paws, give them a light nip, or lick them with its long, pink tongue.

The saliva, the barbs on that tongue—the mere thought of it made the eight Nascent Souls tremble.

Before long, the eight Nascent Souls were drenched in the creature’s slobber, looking haggard and pathetic as they ran for their lives, shrieking for help.

Li, watching from the outside, couldn't help but laugh. Using his primordial spirit, he bound the little creature—which was currently sticking its tongue out with glee—and gave it a sharp flick on the forehead.

When Keba saw his savior, his former arrogance vanished. Tears streaming down his face, he poured out his grievances, while the others chimed in, detailing their harrowing experience.

Having already been terrified of the creature, and now knowing from Li that it liked to devour Nascent Souls, the eight men became even more cautious. Through Keba’s explanations, they finally understood their plight and what they would face in the future. Li had even set up a Spirit Gathering Array for them, so they settled down to meditate.

For the first few days, there was peace, with the creature sleeping soundly. But eventually, it would begin to growl before launching its assault—the tongue-licking campaign—and the eight men would realize they weren't dealing with a mere mouse, triggering another round of cat-and-mouse chases.

Watching the eight men weep as they recounted their ordeal, Li could only offer a bitter smile.

In the end, Li had to bring out the Heavenly Mystery Stone to appease them. The eight Nascent Souls, exhausted from months of running, were trembling even while meditating, as if trapped in a nightmare.

Li gently patted the little creature’s head. This little beast was too adorable. If these Nascent Souls ever disobeyed again, he’d just toss the creature in with them; they’d surely be more obedient than a tiger facing a cat.

***

After warning the little creature not to cause any more trouble and promising to release it in a few days, Li withdrew his primordial spirit from the ring.

Gu Linglong was massaging Xiao Ying, and Li offered her a faint smile before leaning down to press his ear to Xiao Ying’s belly.

These days, the forty-eight Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones used to set up the array were shrinking, a testament to the massive consumption of this secret technique. Even the two pieces of Wood Essence had dimmed in luster. Yet, they remained unchanged in form, a discovery that solidified Li’s intuition: the Wood Essence was comparable to the Heavenly Mystery Stone.

Gu Linglong looked down at her husband’s childlike behavior and smiled, wondering when she might bear a child herself, though she hesitated, fearing the change to her physique. Recalling the image of a pregnant belly and the life growing within, Gu’s body grew warm, her hands becoming scalding. Even beads of sweat began to drip from Xiao Ying’s forehead.

Gu Linglong’s body jolted, and she pulled her hands back as if burned by a hot iron, her voice trembling as she cried out, "Chenzhu, Xiao Ying, she..."

Li felt the sudden heat against his cheek where he had been pressed to Xiao Ying’s belly. Hearing Gu’s cry, he quickly looked up.

Xiao Ying’s teeth were tightly clenched, her brows furrowed as if enduring immense pain. Cold sweat drenched her face, and the cycle of white-and-cyan spiritual energy accelerated rapidly.

"What’s happening?" Li grabbed Xiao Ying’s arm and projected his primordial spirit inside.

"I don't know!" Gu Linglong, fearing she had caused a disaster, backed away, her voice choked with tears. Despite her millennium of cultivation, she knew nothing of the mundane world and was suddenly at a loss.

Through his primordial spirit, Li discovered that the child in Xiao Ying’s womb was frantically absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy—even drawing the spiritual energy from Xiao Ying’s own body toward itself.

Li was horrified. How could this be? His father-in-law hadn't warned him of this! What should he do? If he let the child continue to absorb energy like this, Xiao Ying would be drained dry before the birth.

"What is it... Chenzhu?" Gu, possessing the cultivation of a late-stage Immortal, managed to steady her initial panic. She realized this wasn't a result of her massage; something was wrong with Xiao Ying or the child.

"The child is absorbing spiritual energy," Li replied in a deep, heavy voice, his mind racing for a solution. "It’s absorbing it like a bottomless pit."