NOVEL NEXT Chapter 421: Old Monster Duan
In the past few hundred years,
As the foremost core defense fortress of the Damo Realm, the core fighting force of the Demon Gate has always maintained a relatively stable number:
Generally, the Demon Gate would station six to eight Nascent Soul practitioners within, with adjustments made based on the battle situation.
Among these Nascent Soul cultivators,
The majority were only at the early-stage Nascent Soul, between the First-Layer Nascent Soul and Third-Layer Nascent Soul.
In the past, when discussing the transaction related to the celestial array with the rabbits, Yang Bolin revealed a very important piece of information:
During a certain attack from the Demon Realm, the Demon Gate once decided to send two top-tier Nascent Soul Great Cultivators to explore the Demon Realm together.
These two Nascent Soul practitioners were mighty beings who had attained the Dao over three hundred years ago, with an imposing reputation.
One was at the Third-Layer Nascent Soul Stage, and the other at the Fifth-Layer Nascent Soul Stage—these were also the highest-level cultivators who had emerged over the past few hundred years.
One focused on attack, the other on defense, one fast and one slow.
Together, they could even battle against Nascent Soul Great Cultivators of the Fifth or Sixth Layer.
They also carried several ancient talismans, theoretically allowing them to escape unscathed even if anything unexpected happened.
However, shortly after they stepped out of the Demon Gate and entered the Demon Realm through a domain breach,
The soul tablets of these two Nascent Soul Great Cultivators completely shattered.
The shattering of the soul tablets represented a single outcome...
Fallen, life consumed by the Dao.
This shocking event also led to a redistribution of the top fighting forces in the Damo Realm,
To prevent a surprise attack from the Demon Realm, multiple Nascent Soul practitioners provided emergency support to the Demon Gate.
As far as Yang Bolin knew, there were more than fifteen Nascent Soul Great Cultivators, not to mention the hidden forces sure to exist.
Yet the appearance of Si Boyun and Ye Tuhong in the Star Sea was not for defensive adjustment, but related to the fallen Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
Or more accurately, it was related to the one at the Third-Layer Nascent Soul Stage.
This person's real name had been long forgotten, known only by his surname Duan, having formed his Nascent Soul over three hundred years ago.
Those of the same realm called him Old Monster Duan, while those of lower realms referred to him as Master Duan or Elder Duan.
Apart from his obscure name, the most distinctive aspect of 'Old Monster Duan' was...
His aptitude was only Three Spiritual Roots.
Exactly.
Three Spiritual Roots.
In the Damo Realm, though not called common,
Three Spiritual Roots could only be considered as small prodigy-level aptitude, far from reaching the concept of a genius.
For small families or loose cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots, they might reach about the Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation level by the age of fifty.
The relatively better example among them was the former Wei Fan, yet even with the increase from his patriarch status, his cultivation was only at Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Perfection.
If not for the help from the rabbits, breaking through to Foundation Establishment would have taken at least another five or six years.
For medium and large families with Three Spiritual Roots, perhaps breaking through to Foundation Establishment wasn't difficult, but that would be the limit—the best example of this was the former Mo Peidong, who, despite his efforts throughout his life, only reached Third-Layer Foundation Establishment.
Even a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator's own child with Three Spiritual Roots could, at best, break through the Core Formation Realm.
With such difficulty in forming a Core, let alone progressing to the Nascent Soul Realm.
According to Si Boyun's understanding,
Of all the current Nascent Soul Great Cultivators, Old Monster Duan was the only exception with Three Spiritual Roots.
But that's not all.
Not only was Old Monster Duan's own cultivation mysterious, but his descendants also seemed off:
Perhaps due to his own average aptitude, Old Monster Duan's offspring Duan Yun also had only Four Spiritual Roots—Si Boyun himself attended Duan Yun's birthday ceremony, ensuring no illusions or tricks were involved.
Theoretically speaking,
Even with a Nascent Soul Stage father, Duan Yun at most would reach First or Second-Layer Foundation Establishment in his life.
Unexpectedly,
In just a few decades, Duan Yun broke through barriers consecutively,
When Si Boyun saw Duan Yun again, he had already become a Third-Layer Core Formation Realm cultivator.
This absurdity was akin to C9 advancing on the second day, a scenario even novels wouldn't dare depict.
Perhaps it was due to the father-son connection in fortune.
After Old Monster Duan's fall, Duan Yun also met with a bad end:
During an outing, he was ambushed by Pill Raiders and ultimately met with an unfortunate demise.
This matter was once mentioned by Yang Bolin to the rabbits, involving some past matters of the Yang Family.
However, there was a sequel to this incident that even Yang Bolin and Yang Zhengchu didn't know:
The news of Duan Yun's assassination quickly reached the Demon Gate's ears, sparking rare anger among several Nascent Soul Great Cultivators:
Though Old Monster Duan's actions oscillated between righteousness and evil, and he had done some unsavory things in his early days,
This time, he ultimately fell for the Demon Gate, and could even be said, for the human race.
Yet after his death, someone targeted his child?
Killing and taking possessions, this was undoubtedly a provocation against the Demon Gate!
Therefore, upon receiving the news,
The Demon Gate dispatched a Third-Layer Nascent Soul Realm Great Cultivator, using calculation methods to lock on the Pill Raiders' location, launching a thunderous strike.
Two of the three Pill Raiders were killed, and one injured, with Duan Yun's stolen Golden Core and storage pouch being recovered.
The human aspect ended here, and naturally, the inspection of items followed.
Duan Yun didn't carry much, only around a hundred or so scattered items.
Apart from pills, spirit stones, and talismans, there was a slightly damaged map.
This map, both in material and text, had a strong ancient style, evidently quite old.
Later, after analysis by another Nascent Soul Great Cultivator,
The Demon Gate confirmed it was a star relic map, most likely left with Duan Yun by Old Monster Duan.
The Nascent Soul Great Cultivators conducted a deeper investigation.
Discovering that the map had been activated only a few times, they immediately reconstructed the activation points.
With fewer activations, reconstruction becomes simpler.
It's like analyzing tire tracks.
Five sets of tracks and fifty sets of tracks are entirely different complexities.
Also mentioned long ago.
Besides a powerful physique, Nascent Soul practitioners have high brain development.
Being able to vaguely compare to some basic supercomputers.
Thus quickly, numerous Nascent Soul Great Cultivators noticed a situation:
The traces of divine sense activating the map matched almost perfectly with the time frame of Old Monster Duan's disappearance.
Besides,
They even deduced the first activation time of the map by Old Monster Duan:
Four hundred years ago.
According to Old Monster Duan's records,
Four hundred years ago, he was merely an ordinary Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivator.
After Old Monster Duan's return, his cultivation experienced a significant surge.
His speed surpassed many talents!
The other traces were similar, with cultivation rapidly rising after returning.
The most recent trace indicated the same, increasing rapidly after returning.
The activation time of the map was even deduced to the exact month.
That month was... right after Duan Yun's birthday banquet!
We can say that,
Almost every time the map was used,
The cultivation of Old Monster Duan or close ones experienced a huge leap.
Moreover, the relic seems capable of more than just boosting capabilities below Nascent Soul; it's even possible...
To break through realms?
Thus,
With these questions,
Si Boyun and Ye Tuhong embarked on the secret expedition, driven by a connection to the fallen Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
And to be precise, concerning the one at the Third-Layer Nascent Soul Stage.
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