Eternal Tale
chapter-197

In the distance.

The decay on Chen Xun’s body gradually dissipated, and a tender sprout seemed to grow from one of the Nascent Souls.

Then, each of the five Nascent Souls sprouted a tender shoot, which quickly transformed before the naked eye.

These were the five flowers infused with the energy of the Five Elements, exuding an aura of profound mystery, beyond comprehension or understanding.

Chen Xun slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning. The long accumulation of experiences had given him the greatest motivation.

He would create the Five Elements Spirit Root and cultivate the Five Elements Immortal Path!

His entire aura was simple and unassuming, his divine light restrained, with no vast fluctuations of spiritual energy—he appeared like a true mortal.

There was no need to deliberately hide his aura anymore; he had already transcended the cultivation world, and no one could see through his reality.

“But still, I can’t escape the framework, as if something important is missing.” Chen Xun frowned slightly. The Five Elements Immortal Path was far from complete. “The Five Elements are merely a starting point, far from the essence.”

At this realization, a peaceful smile appeared on his face, and he felt a surge of joy in his heart. This was the kind of cultivation he had truly been searching for.

Fighting and killing, showing off in front of others, or breaking through realms—after cultivating for a thousand years, all of it had become dull.

With newfound clarity and enlightenment, he looked into the distant sky, finally understanding what he truly desired.

Chen Xun’s cultivation level was still at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul, but his aura was completely absent, even the surrounding spiritual pressure had vanished, and there was no spiritual energy flowing within him.

“I need to create new cultivation techniques and alchemy formulas. As a newcomer to this path, I’ll have to borrow from the works of my predecessors.” Chen Xun slowly stood up, clasped his hands toward the sky, and then looked at the distant, timid black ox. “Damn it, old ox, get over here!”

“Moo!” The big black ox responded with excitement, recognizing that this was the real Chen Xun.

The Chen Xun from a moment ago had an aura that was too unfamiliar, to the point where the ox almost didn’t recognize him.

Chen Xun laughed heartily, a shadowy figure instantly appeared before him, and he hugged the ox’s head tightly, saying, “Old ox, I’ve carved out a new path.”

“Moo?”

“Just a moment, let me jot down some notes in a little book, and later, you can come over. I’ll share my experience with you on how to sever the path.”

“Moo?!”

“Don’t worry, our Five Elements Golden Core and Five Elements Nascent Soul have already laid the foundation; this is just a matter of timing.”

“Moo~”

The big black ox squatted beside Chen Xun, nodding repeatedly, a glint of understanding flashing in its eyes. In fact, its control over the Five Elements was even more advanced than Chen Xun’s.

The next day, tension filled the Flower Rain Valley.

Chen Xun was in the east, and the big black ox was in the west.

“Old ox, use the Starfall technique, and fire at me!”

“Moo!”

The big black ox suddenly stood up, exhaling through its nose as vast spiritual energy surged in all directions. Fiery golden discs appeared in the air.

It swung its hoof, releasing five-colored light like rolling thunder, instantly exploding within the valley.

A massive fireball, burning intensely, slowly emerged from the disc, its internal spiritual energy violently turbulent and emitting terrifying waves.

The immense pressure caused the ground to tremble, cracking in all directions.

“Moo!” The big black ox roared, glaring at the distant Chen Xun, and struck with all its might!

Chen Xun looked at the massive fireball hurtling toward him like a meteor, a gleam of sharp light flashing in his eyes.

If anyone were caught in its path, they would be instantly obliterated, vaporized into a mist of blood.

But Chen Xun merely raised his hand slowly, calm as a breeze, as the energy of the Five Elements flowed at his fingertips.

**Boom—**

**Boom—**

The fireball suddenly exploded without warning, transforming into a raging sea of fire that engulfed the area.

The aura of destruction surged in all directions, terrifying beyond measure, like a blood-red ocean sweeping across the sky.

However, this scene lasted only a moment. With a calm gesture from Chen Xun, the sea of fire was instantly decomposed into spiritual energy, returning to the earth…

“Moo?!”

The big black ox was shocked, its tail flicking so fast it became a blur. Chen Xun hadn’t even resisted, “Moo, moo, moo?!”

It had witnessed the scene clearly: its spell had been completely neutralized. Chen Xun hadn’t shattered it, nor had he used spiritual energy to counter it.

“Heh, old ox, is that all?!” Chen Xun laughed arrogantly, transforming into a breeze, and appearing instantly before the big black ox. “This is the power of the Five Elements, a natural suppression of spiritual energy!”

The big black ox nudged Chen Xun, its eyes filled with disbelief. Its master had become so formidable.

“I estimate that as long as the spell isn’t too far beyond my strength, I can neutralize it.” Chen Xun coughed lightly and cautiously glanced up at the sky, “I’m doing a good deed for the heavens, turning power into spiritual energy and returning it to the world.”

“Moo!” The big black ox nodded firmly, convinced once again.

“Go get ready. I’m going to think about the Five Elements Immortal Path and guard you while you break through.”

“Moo!” The big black ox rubbed against Chen Xun, then ran off excitedly, eager to sever its own immortal path.

Not long after, a thunderous explosion echoed through the valley as the Five Elements energy gathered wildly.

Chen Xun glanced at it briefly before sitting down in a corner of the valley, lost in thought.

The Five Elements Immortal Path was far from complete; it was only the first step. There was still much to refine.

For now, he had only converted his spiritual energy into the energy of the Five Elements, and his Nascent Soul cultivation method had stalled, unable to advance further.

However, his meridians and other aspects remained unchanged. He was still a half-baked cultivator, forced to follow the path of his predecessors.

“It must be that my level of insight into the world isn’t deep enough yet.” Chen Xun licked his lips and instinctively took out some herbal tea, taking a sip. “What is missing from the Five Elements Immortal Path above the Nascent Soul?”

He pulled out his little notebook again, already mastering how to convert spiritual energy into the energy of the Five Elements.

When it came time to create new cultivation methods and alchemy formulas, he would need to test the speed of cultivation. He believed it wouldn’t be as slow as before.

At that moment, he planted a medicinal seed and began using the Water Spirit Technique. Suddenly, Chen Xun’s expression changed drastically:

“Oh no, it mutated?!”

The water sphere surrounding him was no longer spiritual energy but was infused with the power of the Five Elements, which was highly compatible with plants, far more than before.

Chen Xun furrowed his brows, and his gaze grew deeper. A small flame rose from his fingertip, and the Five Elements energy in the world began to gather slowly.

This small flame even had a tendency to grow on its own, albeit slowly, but the change would certainly deepen over time.

“Amazing…”

Chen Xun sighed deeply, admitting defeat. The spells he had been practicing had already started transforming from spiritual energy to the energy of the Five Elements, a complete and total enhancement.

He gently waved his hand, directing the Water Spirit Technique towards the seed in the soil, completely driving out the faint spiritual energy within it.

Chen Xun squinted, observing the seed closely—it hadn’t died.

He then condensed a drop of green liquid in his hand. He had studied this for a long time, knowing it contained many things, though he couldn’t fully understand it.

“The Five Elements… they are indeed in here.” Chen Xun muttered to himself, dripping the green liquid onto the seed.

His expression was tranquil as he sent his divine sense into the seed, continuously observing its changes.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Chen Xun, and he pulled out his notebook to record it. Why hadn’t his divine sense evolved? The records about divine sense in the cultivation world were scarce.

He felt there must be some mystery in it, something he would need to explore further if given the chance.