9 Chapter 9: 1st Layer Infant Soul Realm!

"Great success!"

Looking at the Consciousness Opening pills in his alchemical cauldron, Yuan Tianzhu's eyes sparkled like never before. He never expected to be able to refine nine pills into one set of herbs!

It was to be said, that for this to happen one should have great achievements in alchemy, and understand well the effects of the herbs he planned to extract the medicinal liquid from them. And not only did he had to understand the formula for the pills he was planning to refine.

It was not only about skills and talent, but also his knowledge of herbs and their effects.

Yuan Tianzhu took a deep breath, he soothed his nerves and took a pill from the alchemical cauldron with his snow-white hands. Without thinking twice he put the pill in his mouth, when the pill entered his mouth, Yuan Tianzhu just felt that it had dissolved leaving only a heat that ran all over his mouth starting from his mouth.

Yuan Tianzhu felt some discomfort in his head, as an unbearable pain surfaced without knocking on the door. Yuan Tianzhu was not frightened, as he knew that this was the effect of the Consciousness Opening Pill. The Consciousness Opening Pill, as its name said, opened your consciousness leaving it cleaner, increasing the speed of thinking capacity, preparing the mind for an extreme transformation.

Extreme, we could say that it was just torture that you couldn't give up once you started, otherwise you would be killed by the potent effects of the Consciousness Opening Pill. With this torture, your mind and soul would be tempered to the extreme, beyond human capacity, making the soul stronger than ever as it was the greatest weakness of a living being.

Strengthening the soul to the point of entering the first layer of the Infant Soul Realm! Soul realms were different from profound or body cultivation, as every five small layers reached one could gain a magic power according to their talent and affinity. Some could obtain the talent to control everything that is metal, earth, water, or even space and time. These magic powers varied from person to person, and the rarest of them could not be obtained without having a luck that even the gods would be envious.

The realms of soul cultivation were divided into: Infant Soul, Adolescent Soul, Mature Soul, Soul Transformation, Adult Soul, Soul Perfection..... These were divided into nine small layers, from 1st Layer to 9th Layer, with the 1st layer being the weakest and the 9th layer being the strongest.

A strong mysterious energy drove towards Yuan Tianzhu's Soul, tearing it apart and rebuilding it at the same time, the pain he was going through couldn't be imagined but only felt!

The mysterious energy strengthened more and more his Soul, making it stronger than ever. Yuan Tianzhu immediately remembered a supreme soul cultivation technique, from the Memories of the Ancient Gods who reached the peak of cultivation, the name of the technique was Nine Rounds Divine Soul Transformation!

The Nine Rounds Divine Soul Transformation was a Heaven-Level technique, only with that one could already know how strong this technique was. When cultivating this technique, one could have access to ancient and strong magic powers like space, time, swords, etc. Alone, this detail made Yuan Tianzhu very happy, and it was not only what the Nine Rounds Divine Soul Transformation could do, it could also make it so that when one advanced five layers into the Soul realm, one could awaken a Martial Spirit!

A Martial Spirit was the living manifestation of the Soul in the living world. Martial Spirits could take many forms, such as beasts, humans, weapons, etc. A Martial Spirit was specially awakened when one passed the realm of Soul Perfection. Also, a Martial Spirit could give a soul cultivator several advantages, such as awakening the Divine Sense, and the Martial Spirit Integration.

Yuan Tianzhu immediately began circling the Nine Rounds Divine Soul Transformation when it popped into his mind, as he directed the mysterious energy to refine his Soul as quickly as possible. The pain he felt also increased as he circled the Nine Rounds Divine Soul Transformation even more, a normal human or even a cultivator of the Nascent Profound Realm could not bear this terrifying pain, if he did not have great will and determination.

Yuan Tianzhu didn't even know how many hours had passed, he just knew he had been in hell for a long time, and that he couldn't even remember when it started. He just knew that if he gave up midway through the process of refining his Soul, he would surely die a dog death and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. Even being practically immortal, because his body could die but not his Primordial Soul. As long as his Soul was intact he could be reborn as many times as he wanted, but of course his cultivation would also die with him and he would have to start all over again.

Suddenly, Yuan Tianzhu felt his Soul quivering rapidly like a leaf exposed in the wind, his Soul contracted several times, his Soul was like the fire of a candle about to go out. His soul kept contracting until it finally stopped, when Yuan Tianzhu took a slight look at his Soul he was very surprised, because his Soul at that moment looked like a child who had been born!

This immediately reinforced Yuan Tianzhu's thought that his Soul had reached the Infant Soul Realm! His Soul appearance as a newborn was very normal, as his Soul would grow up as he increased his soul cultivation. However, that didn't stop Yuan Tianzhu from being happy that he had finally reached the Infant Soul Realm.

He didn't have much time to check out his newborn Soul, when his vision suddenly dimmed and his consciousness blacked out. Yuan Tianzhu had probably forgotten about the tortu-refinement he had gone through, his Soul was subjected to a refinement which he could die in the process, just him being awake for a few moments was already amazing, as physical injuries did not compare to mental injuries.

...

"Ugh!"

Yuan Tianzhu suddenly woke up with a big headache, he could hear buzzing inside his head, he even thought he had lost his mind. But after he remembered the tortu-refinement he had gone through, he dismissed that thought quickly.

Yuan Tianzhu stood up with some difficulty, he could barely stand up, it was like his mind and body were disconnected. He sat in a lotus position and began circling the Dragon Transformation Skill. Without further ado, a strong, profound strenght attacked his powerless body, restoring its energy and vigor. It didn't take that long before he got back to his prime as it was Dragon Transformation Skill he was using.

When he recovered, Yuan Tianzhu immediately headed to the training room with a Middle Level Mortal Grade sword to train the Sword Cutting Through the Heavens. This was the only profound skill he hadn't trained perfectly before arriving in the Nascent Profound Realm, as he needed to train with a sword to level up his profound skill and since he had entered the second floor of the Primordial Five-Story Pagoda, he could pick up a sword and train those profound skills.

The Sword Cutting Through the Heavens was a profound skill that aimed to turn a mortal into a human sword, as after one successfully cultivated it, one could even use one's fingers as swords, slashing their enemies mercilessly.

Once in the training room, Yuan Tianzhu started practicing the same profound skill and also took his time to perfect the other profound skills. However, even with his exceptional talent it was not that easy to perfect those profound skills, especially the Sword Cutting Through the Heavens. It was very difficult to turn your body into a sword at the same time you use a sword in your hand and cut with it. He had to work hard to perfect them, but with his understanding beyond imagination he managed to master them. As the saying went "99% hard work and 1% talent".

After training hard, Yuan Tianzhu's body fell heavily to the ground, his breathing was labored, every muscle in him was screaming for help. He could barely get up, all of his body was sore, but the sacrifice was worth it when he saw certain notifications on his status screen.

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

Ding!!*[Congratulations your Profound Skill "Sword Cutting Through the Heavens" has leveled up. Leveling to the Level. Max!]

Ding!!*[Congratulations your Profound Skill "Dragon-Elephant's Scalding Palm" has leveled up. Leveling to the Level. Max!]

Ding!!*[Congratulations your Profound Skill "Steps of the Thunder Dragon" has leveled up. Leveling to the Level. Max!]

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

Seeing these notifications Yuan Tianzhu was very happy, as his efforts bore ripe fruits, he thought to test the strength of his profound skills being at the level. Max. He had already set up the training room in a flora habitat. So, Yuan Tianzhu found himself in a forest full of gigantic trees like the one in which he later woke up when he was reborn.

Already in the artificial forest, first, Yuan Tianzhu started using the Steps of the Thunder Dragon, as it was the first profound skill he had used the first time when learned the others and he had already become familiar with it.

Krrrrrrr!

Immediately, thunder sounds sounded without his ears, black thunders manifested in his entire body, it was as if he was getting one with the thunder, he looked like a Super Sayan 2. He inhaled a large amount of air, before-

Swish!

At the speed of light, his body disappeared into black particles leaving no trace that he was there, only the dust hanging in the air could be seen. If it had people there watching, few would likely be able to follow his movements unless they had unfathomable cultivation. He seemed to be moving at the speed of light, it was almost impossible to see his body!

Whoosh!

Black thunder exploded on a thick branch of a tree, surprisingly the black thunder exploding didn't make any rumbling noise as before, it was a silent explosion. Then, from the thunder blasting silently, it began to transform into a human body with white hair and red eyes. He was Yuan Tianzhu, he disappeared and appeared out of nowhere in a tree without any warning. He continued to do this for a few minutes, before stopping as he had to save energy to try out the other martial arts.

Quickly appearing on the forest lawn, Yuan Tianzhu wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead, "Huff... Huff, it's faster and stronger than before... I almost crashed into several trees... But with more training I'll be able to avoid that... And also the color of the thunders changed to black, something I never imagined would happen."

He had also noticed that the weakness of this martial art, which was fast, very fast, but when it reappeared it made a lot of noise, which was like thunder exploding, had disappeared, it was as if it had never existed, was that the benefit of get to the Level. Max of this profound skill?

Yuan Tianzhu shook his head slightly, there was no use thinking about it now, he just had to concentrate on testing the other profound skills. Well, he had to make sure of his strength before going to the outside world, not forgetting that it was a cultivation world, where the weak get weaker and the strong get stronger.

Afterwards, after a good monologue, he began testing at that time the Dragon-Elephant's Scalding Palm, which was a profound skill that didn't need weapons, as it was a fist profound skill. Yuan Tianzhu directed the profound strenght into his right and left arm, which at one time shimmered with a faint golden light.

Shffff!

Several golden scales began to appear on his arms out of nowhere, spreading out like the Sasuke's curse mark. The golden scales continued to appear until it formed into a golden dragon's arm, at the same moment golden flames manifested in his left right arm while in his right arm a white and black flame manifested.

Seeing those flames on his right arm, Yuan Tianzhu immediately knew what flame it was, the flame on his right arm was the Ice and Fire Ghostly Flame!

Yuan Tianzhu immediately felt an explosive power coming from his right and left arm, it was like a bomb that could destroy the Heaven and Earth.

Clenching his golden fists, he moved his lower limbs, running at full speed. Spotting a large, thick tree in view of him, Yuan Tianzhu accelerated his speed even more. Once he got close to the tree, he lunged at it swiftly, quickly, he opened his fist and stretched out his fingers voluntarily as they snapped at the same movement.

Bang!

Yuan Tianzhu quickly slapped it in the shape of an X, with both hands as if he was slapping in the air powerfully, creating a shrill, deafening sound that rippled everything around him. The golden, white and black flames flickered with an intense light as they grew even larger, engulfing Yuan Tianzhu's arms, thus increasing the power and strength of his blow.

Coming with his attack, a afterimage of a mixture of dragon and golden elephant appeared roaring with might. The afterimage gave an impression of magnificence and frenzy, its roar was so powerful that it almost ripped the space in the training room!

Roaaaaaarrrrrrr!

Yuan Tianzhu's powerful attack slammed into the large, thick tree, impacting it completely, creating a huge explosion that raised winds and toppled trees, creating small rips in the space of the training room.

Booooom!

The force of the blow was so great that it completely wiped out all the trees around it, creating a large vertical crater where the attack passed through. Looking at it Yuan Tianzhu felt a shiver on his scalp, he never thought the power of the Lv. Max Dragon-Elephant's Scalding Palm would be this terrifying.

Yuan Tianzhu sighed heavily, he calmed down as he still had another profound skill to test. He took the black and gold sword from his waistband, the sword still in its scabbard. He played with his sword for a while, before assuming the famous swordsman pose.

Taking the grip of his golden and black sword, Yuan Tianzhu remained in the same position for a while while looking at a tree around him. Beads of sweat fell from his handsome face, while he tried to remain extremely calm in the same situation.

*Silence*

The training room was suddenly silent, the only sounds that could be heard were Yuan Tianzhu's heartbeat and his heavy breathing. Time seemed to have frozen, at that moment Yuan Tianzhu felt as if he had become one with a sword, he felt like the sword, being able to feel his own touch on the sword as if the sword were himself.

Thin!

Yuan Tianzhu brandished his gold and black sword from its scabbard slowly, before putting it back into its scabbard. The move was as simple as drinking water, without any style or beatings to get into that move.

Swishhh!

Suddenly, clear cuts immediately appeared in all the trees around Yuan Tianzhu, they were all cut in half. If it had expert in sword dao at that very moment, they would certainly be surprised, as Yuan Tianzhu had used a technique extremely sought after by swordsmen.

Boom!

The trees that had been cut in half fell heavily to the ground, while the undersides of the trees remained stuck to the ground like a parasite. Looking at such a feat, Yuan Tianzhu nodded his head in satisfaction, and a bit of embarrassment, he never thought the day would come when he would do such a awkward pose!

Good thing nobody is here, otherwise I would die of shame, Yuan Tianzhu thought. Yuan Tianzhu walked to a fallen tree and knelt before it, raising his hands, he swung it vertically at a great speed, only leaving a residual image of his hand because of its great speed.

Swishhh!

When Yuan Tianzhu looked at the tree again, he noticed that his hand had made a very deep cut in the tree. He had trained the Sword Cutting Through the Heavens, which could turn any part of his body into a sword, so it was no surprise to Yuan Tianzhu what he had just done. However, this was not for everyone as a profound skill that could do this in the Deep Continent of Heaven.

Yawn!

Yuan Tianzhu yawned, as he was already annoyed and a little tired of testing his deep skills. He had already been in the Primordial Spirit Ring for days and was thinking it was time to get out of the forest that was only fucking deep beasts! He was already tired of being here where there were only wild plants and beasts, he was already feeling a little lonely without having anyone to talk to. So, he decided it was time to get out of the forest and see the new world out there.

With that thought in mind, he tried to get his conscience out of the Primordial Spirit Ring. He saw his surroundings becoming distorted while he himself also became distorted. When he realized, he was already back in the dark cave where he was before entering the Spirit Primordial Ring, it had not changed, everything was as he had gone to the Spirit Primordial Ring.

"I've been in this nerd forest for a long time, it's time to get out of this shit forest and find a civilization, if it have one...."