119 Trouble During Nascent Soul Formation

Luo Yu walked alone to the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, waved his hand to release "Stealing Heaven," and sat cross-legged directly beneath it. He closed his eyes to compose himself; his expression gradually smoothed, his aura grew increasingly serene, and his breathing rhythmically ebbed and flowed like waves crashing against a reef, slowly merging with the surroundings. His entire being turned ethereal, as if he had become one with the sea, the sky, and the earth.

As his mind settled into a state of deep meditation, the sounds around him faded into the distance. Luo Yu felt as though he were in a void filled with spiritual mist, surrounded by boundless emptiness, alone in an infinite space. He eased his mind, letting memories of the years spent with his family and the various mischief he had shared with Qin Yue drift by. There were no regrets, no fears, and no anxieties.

A faint smile touched the corners of his mouth. Luo Yu slowly channeled the spiritual energy within him, circulating it around his Dantian. As the energy rotated, his Golden Core began to spin faster; a certain "magnetic field" within his body opened up, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy and forming a small vortex.

Atop the cliffs of the northern island, the young man in white sat motionless in the center of the lawn. A breeze stirred a few green leaves, which danced around him like mischievous sprites. Soon, the wind picked up, evolving into a small tornado that stretched upward, eventually forming a majestic, colossal column of wind in the sky.

The changes were far from over. As the surrounding air converged toward the wind column, a thin, eerie mist appeared in the otherwise clear sky. These mists grew, expanded, and formed a ring of clouds around the tornado. Drawn by the suction, they merged with the wind, rotating slowly in the heavens.

Like a butterfly flapping its wings to trigger the "butterfly effect," the clouds grew thicker and wider, spreading like ink dropped into clear water until they entirely blanketed the island. Rolling, churning black clouds swallowed the sunlight like a dark night, turning the sky over the nearby sea gloomy and ominous, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Luo Yu, the "butterfly" that had triggered this celestial phenomenon, was currently enduring the agony of his body undergoing a qualitative transformation. Spiritual energy poured in through his pores, expanding his meridians while simultaneously transmuting every cell. Impurities from both the energy and his own body were squeezed out, causing waves of excruciating pain to assault his nerves. When the pain reached its peak, long-lost hallucinations finally began to emerge. Luo Yu kept his mind clear, inwardly relieved: "Finally, I'm numb to the pain. What kind of heart demon trial is this?"

He found himself in a crystalline jade palace, where ethereal clouds and hanging veils swayed in the breeze, looking like a celestial abode. Luo Yu reached out to brush aside a curtain, and in a daze, he saw a beauty’s couch. Qin Yue lay half-reclined, draped in white silk, shoulders partially bared. She reached out with jade-like arms to pull Luo Yu into her embrace, licking his earlobe and whispering, "Do you... want me? Anything you like... come here..." With that, she parted her legs and wrapped them around his waist.

Luo Yu gazed at the seductive beauty, his mind reeling. He shook his head vigorously: "No, Qin Yue wouldn't be like this. This is a heart demon trial; if I don't stay sober, I'll be pulled in! Damn it, why is it so confusing this time? It’s all Qin Yue’s fault for not letting me hold her—the heart demons are getting stronger! I can't take advantage of this, or I'll lose my life... better get out of here quickly!"

Luo Yu stabilized his mind, firmly ordering himself: "Wake up!" The illusion vanished instantly. His body felt as if it were waking from a deep sleep, his senses gradually returning. The pain had subsided significantly; the impurities had been purged, and the transmutation of his meridians was complete, leaving him ready to withstand the influx of energy during the Nascent Soul formation.

Lightning flickered within the clouds above, and tribulation thunder mixed with magical power had taken form. However, guided by "Stealing Heaven," it was continuously diverted into the ground, having no effect on Luo Yu.

Luo Yu calmly adjusted his posture, focusing his consciousness on absorbing the spiritual energy. The massive vortex seemed to have its floodgates opened, pouring energy directly from his crown into his Dantian.

Luo Yu gritted his teeth against the impact. The Golden Core within him rotated faster and faster; the centrifugal force from the super-speed rotation intensified until, at a certain moment, the Golden Core shattered quietly. It merged with the incoming energy, gradually condensing into a mist the size of an egg.

As more energy flooded in, the misty shadow began to solidify, adjusting its form: tiny limbs, a small body, and a head appeared. Its features grew clearer until it finally solidified—a close inspection revealed that it looked exactly like Luo Yu: tender, white skin as if carved from ice and mutton-fat jade, chubby little hands and feet, and sparse, soft hair on its head. Its movements were identical to his own, maintaining a meditative posture, a perfect miniature infant version of Luo Yu.

Luo Yu greedily drank the energy like a whale, until he suddenly realized he couldn't absorb any more.

Full?

Luo Yu blinked, hurriedly projecting his divine sense into his Dantian, only to find a new entity there. Overjoyed, he moved closer to observe it. Before he could examine it in detail, he felt a jolt to his spirit, and his soul was suddenly ejected from his body.

"Chirp?" A massive phantom of a phoenix hovered in mid-air, scanning the surroundings innocently. The energy vortex had stopped, the lightning had thinned, the dark clouds still churned over the sea, and many dead fish with white bellies floated in the bay. The entire northern cliff had become a disaster zone, ravaged by lightning and hurricanes. Forgetting to experience the sensation of entering the Nascent Soul stage, Luo Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "My sins, my sins..." Before he could finish, he was suddenly sucked back into his body.

Slowly opening his eyes, Luo Yu felt something was wrong: Where was he?

He found the environment very familiar, yet he had never seen it before—warm, red light permeated the space, soft and comfortable.

Luo Yu tried to stand up in surprise, but his legs gave way, and he fell into a heap of softness.

"Eh eh eh!!???" Luo Yu stared at his palms in astonishment. How did they become like this? Ah? How did he turn into a small kid? Did he die? Did he transmigrate? A rebirth? That's not right, there’s no umbilical cord... it clearly worked... he even saw his own Nascent Soul!

In his panic, Luo Yu caught sight of several things circling him: a crystalline butterfly, a gold-black bead, two balls of fire, a drop of water, and a tiny bead of blood.

In an instant, Luo Yu seemed to understand. He crawled on all fours, cautiously navigating the "soft cotton." After a few steps, his eyes lit up: blue sky, the sea... it was indeed the place where he had formed his Nascent Soul!

Luo Yu looked down: he was strangely positioned in the middle of a piece of white cloth that passed through his body, leaving his head exposed. Beneath him, a pair of giant legs sat cross-legged on the grass. He looked up... and was shocked. Isn't that my body? My soul has crawled out!!!

Luo Yu panicked for a moment, but soon calmed down. He could feel that his body was not dead; there was still a mysterious connection between them. "Right, this is the 'Nascent Soul leaving the body'!"

Luo Yu was stunned again. He quickly crawled out of the flesh and floated onto his own shoulder following his clothes. The Nascent Soul's spiritual body was very light, as if it had no weight; ordinary winds couldn't blow it away, so he didn't have to worry about being whisked off.

He curiously touched his cheek, discovering that if he willed it, his fingers could pass through the flesh; if he didn't, he could touch his own body. Although he didn't understand the science behind it, the discovery delighted him so much that he kept poking his own face.

The dark clouds at the center of the vortex had dissipated, and the light from the clearing sky rimmed the gap with a magnificent golden edge.

When Qin Yue and Luo Li, who had been guarding from afar, arrived at the site, they saw a palm-sized, naked infant floating beside Luo Yu's cheek, constantly slapping his face while giggling, "Giggle~."

Black lines immediately appeared on Qin Yue's forehead.

Luo Li comforted him in a low voice, "Brother, don't worry, Nii-san hasn't turned stupid! When attached to the Nascent Soul, one's personality becomes a little childish! ...The infant Nascent Soul's brain isn't fully developed; this is a normal phenomenon!"

Infant Luo Yu turned to see them, his eyes lighting up. With a wiggle of his bottom, he flew lightly toward Qin Yue, sat on his head, and began pulling his hair, laughing in a milky voice: "Giggle~ So fun! Qin Yue, do you have lice? Let me help you find some!"

Qin Yue kept a straight face and endured it for a while before using two fingers to pluck the infant off his hair. The baby grabbed onto his hair tightly in protest: "Let me play a while longer! I'm going to build a nest! Very soon, very soon~"

Qin Yue forcibly rescued his hair, held the infant in front of his face, and recited expressionlessly, "Naked bottom. Naked bottom. Naked bottom..."

The infant froze, his little face flushing red, and with a "Whoosh!", he dived back into his body.

After a long while, Luo Yu remained sitting on the ground, motionless.

Qin Yue walked up to him, squatted down, and said flatly, "Get up. You're blushing; do you still want to keep pretending?"

Luo Yu opened his eyes as if waking from a dream, looking bewildered and innocent: "Eh? You guys are here?"

Qin Yue: "..."

Luo Yu's face turned even redder: "Uh, what happened just now? I'm not quite sure, I forgot... it seems... I attached myself to the Nascent Soul? It felt quite good; you must remember to try it when you form yours!"

Qin Yue: "..."

Taking advantage of the fact that the spiritual energy gathered by Luo Yu hadn't completely dissipated, the three moved to the southern part of the island, set up "Stealing Heaven," and let Qin Yue proceed with his Nascent Soul formation. Luo Yu and Luo Li guarded him, spreading their divine sense to drive away nearby sea life to minimize casualties.

As Qin Yue entered meditation, the sky darkened once more—clouds rose and fell like ocean waves, accumulating explosive power. Luo Yu and Luo Li stepped on their Kunlun Lan to drift far away, finding a comfortable spot to enjoy the "lightning rain." Luo Yu even took out his phone, ready to take pictures at any moment.

Luo Li laughed, "Without the protection of an array, satellites will definitely monitor these tribulation clouds! We are the only three cultivators to form a Nascent Soul in a hundred years; humans will definitely find the appearance of these clouds very strange!"

Luo Yu adjusted the camera angle and said, "The news will report it... UFO camouflage clouds discovered in the Sea of Japan! Haha!"

"Huh?" Luo Li suddenly turned her head toward the Japanese mainland: "Something is coming over!"

Luo Yu felt the magical fluctuations at almost the same time: "It seems very powerful. I only noticed it now that it's so close... this is trouble!"

As the siblings spoke, a small white dot appeared on the horizon. It approached with lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was clearly visible: snow-white all over, its four sharp claws treading on the sea as if it were solid ground. It had a pair of large, pointed ears, a slender snout, long and sharp blood-red eyes, and nine fluffy tails waving behind it.

"Bastards! Who dares to cause trouble in Lord Nine-Tails' territory? Are you looking for death? I shall grant all of you your wish!"