Time dissolved into nothingness.

Han Lie entered a state of profound metaphysical clarity. His consciousness roamed the spaces between heaven and earth, absorbing the laws of the universe with terrifying speed. Perhaps it was the residual will of Daoist Star-Sucker, an ancient monster of the Nascent Soul realm, but Han Lie’s comprehension defied logic. Even as a transmigrator, he found the depth of this enlightenment staggering.

What is Cultivation?

At its root, it is the desperate clawing for two words: Eternal Life.

But once longevity is secured, the heart yearns for more. Some seek absolute power to ascend as immortals. Others seek the limits of mortal pleasure, the joy of lineage and kin. And a rare few seek spiritual transcendence—to become an existence so free that not even the laws of Time and Space can bind them.

In this trance, a year flickered by like a dying spark.

Han Lie finally assimilated Daoist Star-Sucker’s lifetime of wisdom. When his consciousness snapped back to reality, the phantom eyes of his soul flashed with a piercing, ancient light. The world looked different now—transparent, solvable. The legacy had not granted him free power, but it had given him something far more valuable: the roadmap to conquer the heavens.

His gaze shifted to the sphere of blood floating beside him.

Thrum… Thrum…

The sphere pulsed with golden light, the liquified flesh and blood churning with vibrant, chaotic life.

“Now,” Han Lie’s soul whispered, his will hardening like steel. “It is time to storm the gates of the Nascent Soul.”

He took a metaphysical breath, steadying his resolve.

“Rise!”

Han Lie’s soul formed a rapid series of seals. The Golden Core, shrouded in a brilliant golden mist, slowly ascended from the center of the blood sphere.

Using the Golden Core as a furnace and his own soul as the fuel, he began the fusion.

Roar!

Torrents of Pure Yang spiritual energy flooded the pocket dimension. The heat was absolute, boiling the atmosphere until space itself twisted and screamed. Under this terrifying pressure, the essence of the Golden Core began to shift.

The condensation of a Nascent Soul is usually a glacial process, a test of patience measured in decades. But here, time held no meaning.

Finally, the last wisp of his soul merged with the Pure Yang fire. Suspended in the void, sitting cross-legged where the Golden Core once was, a miniature, radiant infant of pure energy solidified.

The Nascent Soul had formed.

BOOM!

A shockwave of golden light swept through the secret realm. Han Lie’s aura detonated like a dormant volcano waking in fury.

It was violent. It was euphoric.

In mere moments, the suffocating ceiling of the Golden Core Perfection stage shattered. The shackles that held him to mortality snapped.

He had broken through.

“Hahahaha!”

Han Lie threw his head back, his soul roaring with laughter that shook the void.

“I did it! This Daoist has succeeded!”

The grin on his spectral face was uncontrollable. Ten years ago, he was a dying old man, rotting in disgrace, counting his final breaths. Now? In the blink of an eye, the old worm had broken its cocoon and emerged as a dragon.

He had transcended the realm of ants. He was now a Nascent Soul powerhouse—a titan of the cultivation world.

“Hahahahaha!”

His laughter was wild, bordering on madness. If his enemies could see him now, they would tremble. The old man they mocked was gone. In his place stood a monster.

Outside – The Buried Immortal Mountain Range

High above the peaks, the silent black vortex suddenly erupted with blinding golden rays. A terrifying pressure, ancient and heavy, washed over the valley below.

In a small teahouse nestled between the cliffs, two women froze.

Xiao Yuruo had purchased this building years ago, turning it into a sanctuary for their vigil.

“Daoist Han?!”

“Brother Lie!!!”

Xiao Yuruo and Bai Ling tore themselves from their meditation and flashed out of the building, staring up at the sky.

“That aura…” Xiao Yuruo exchanged a look with Bai Ling, her voice trembling. “He succeeded?”

Tears of relief welled in their eyes. They had waited in this mountain range for four long years.

“Fairy Xiao,” Bai Ling asked, her hands clasped tight. “If Brother Lie has advanced… why hasn’t he come out?”

“Patience, Fairy Bai,” Xiao Yuruo said, her smile radiant. “His aura is stable. He has crossed the threshold. Now, he must prepare himself. We just need to wait a little longer.”

Inside the Secret Realm

It took days for Han Lie’s manic joy to subside. As the adrenaline faded, his focus sharpened.

“Heh. Now for the final step. Forging the vessel.”

The Nascent Soul was complete, but it was naked, exposed. He needed a body—not the decaying shell of an old man, but a fortress worthy of his new power.

This was a divine reconstruction. He was building the foundation for his path to immortality. There was no room for error.

Thrum! Thrum!

Han Lie manipulated the Pure Yang flames, wrapping them around the churning sphere of blood and bone fragments.

“Burn.”

He roasted the biological material, purging impurities, tempering the essence.

Under the relentless heat, the bone fragments began to change. They ceased to be white calcium and transformed into something translucent and indestructible.

Jade-ification.

For six months, he did nothing but temper the bones. When the 206 skeletal segments finally coalesced, they gleamed like supreme white jade, humming with power.

Next came the flesh.

Han Lie wove the muscles and tendons over the jade frame with the precision of a master artist. The meridians were laid out like great rivers, the internal organs placed like stars in a constellation.

A month later, the torso was complete. The skin was a healthy, sun-kissed bronze, the muscles sculpted and dense, radiating explosive strength without appearing bulky.

Han Lie examined the work with a critical eye. “Perfect.”

Then, he moved to the head.

He summoned the memory from the depths of his mind—his appearance at thirty years old. It was his prime.

He sculpted the features carefully. Sharp, distinct lines. Thick, sword-like eyebrows. Eyes that held the depth of the ocean. It was a handsome face, but it possessed a rugged, masculine edge that the ‘pretty boys’ of the cultivation world lacked. The jawline was strong, signaling maturity and an iron will.

“Yes. That is it.”

Three months of painstaking detail work followed.

Finally, the process ended.

Suspended in the void, a perfect physical specimen floated in silence. The skin was flawless, the muscles were coiled springs of violence, and the face was that of a king in his prime.

Han Lie’s Nascent Soul drifted forward and sank into the new vessel.

The eyes of the new body snapped open.