Chapter 4553 — A Step Away

"Innate cultivation? What's that supposed to mean?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback; this was the first time he had ever heard the term.

"Just as the words say—it's the cultivation path Heaven itself tailor-made for you. Any other path is a wrong turn: either too slow, or it sends you into qi deviation. Innate cultivation is the boon every spirit beast dreams of, yet among a thousand thousand beasts, not one may ever truly attain it. It's not something you can obtain just by wanting it." Ghost Thing sighed with emotion.

"Why is that? By your reckoning, Senior, innate cultivation ought to be simply the method best suited to oneself. Surely for any spirit beast with even a shred of insight, finding the method best suited to itself shouldn't be all that hard?" Wei Zhao could not help asking, puzzled.

"True enough as you say, but we spirit beasts are not like you human cultivators. You humans, even if your constitutions and talents differ, are all of one kindred after all, and can learn from one another. But our spirit beast races number in the tens of thousands, and many high-tier beasts pass down a single lineage—where would so many templates for borrowing come from?" Ghost Thing paused, then went on: "Moreover, any high-tier spirit beast's racial talent is usually utterly unique. Even after finding its innate cultivation path, it still needs a correspondingly extraordinary environment to cultivate in. Unless one's fortune fairly bursts the heavens, how easy is it to find such a perfect cultivation ground?"

"That is true..." Wei Zhao nodded in sudden understanding. If he thought of himself as a spirit beast—had he not been caught off guard and forced to flee into the Five Poisons Swamp this time, then even knowing he had a five-element spiritual root, he would never have guessed that beneath the marsh lay such hidden depths. Innate cultivation would have been out of the question.

The sudden appearance of the Old Sect of the Western Hills ought to have been a calamity for Wei Zhao, yet looked at now, it seemed rather a blessing than a curse.

In truth, for some time past Wei Zhao had nursed a certain feeling: that the boundless, rich true qi within his jade pendant's space seemed faintly to be thinning.

He did not know the reason—perhaps it was his own illusion, perhaps because, as his strength kept rising, the true qi supplied by the jade pendant's space was no longer quite enough for him. One thing, at least, was clear: the pendant space's auxiliary effect on his cultivation was no longer as pronounced as before. His cultivation progress had, without his noticing, slipped by a notch.

Yet even having noticed, Wei Zhao could do nothing about it. The pendant space's weakened aid was only relative to before; compared with the outside world it was still a world apart. So Wei Zhao could only go on as before, relying on the pendant space's spiritual qi to cultivate.

But now, by a stroke of luck, he had suddenly discovered a place whose spiritual qi was even denser than the pendant space's—and where he could at any time draw on the five-element killing qi for innate cultivation. For Wei Zhao this was a treasure ground bestowed by Heaven itself. Once he got out, he really would have to properly "thank" the Old Sect of the Western Hills.

As the two spoke, the jade pendant's warning rang out again. Not far off, another bolt of five-element killing qi came roiling and drifting forth, exactly as before. Wei Zhao was still unable to touch it**—**still his body felt carved by knives, in utter torment. But he had grimly endured even the earlier ones, and now that he knew the immense benefit within, it was all the more impossible to slacken midway.

Enduring the tempering of the five-element killing qi's aftershocks, all Wei Zhao had to do now was grit his teeth and hold on. Each time the aftershock tempered him, the true qi in his body grew a level stronger. Even his physical body was undergoing earth-shaking change.

This bitter tempering that forges steel through a hundred refinings was more effective even than panaceas and miracle elixirs. Strength gained from elixirs was like a castle in the air, hollow; one needed time to consolidate it, or the unstable foundation might easily lead to the disastrous end of qi deviation. But this tempering was different—every ounce gained was true, solid strength, and the foundation was not weakened but only made stronger.

Once, twice, three times...

What Wei Zhao did next was simply repeat, over and over. Each time was an incomparably difficult challenge, yet each time benefited him deeply—though of course the risk kept pace. In the space of a single hour, Wei Zhao was flung off the high platform and pillar three whole times.

Not because his resolve had weakened, but because those three times he had come far too close to the five-element killing qi. With his present strength he could at most withstand the aftershocks; he was far from enduring the tempering of the killing qi head-on.

Fortunately, his five-element spiritual root constitution made him far, far more resistant to the five-element killing qi than ordinary people. Otherwise, those three brushes with the killing qi alone would have been enough to send him to his death.

Three days—Wei Zhao held on for three whole days. To any cultivator such a span was negligible, a mere snap of the fingers. But for Wei Zhao, tormented by the tempering of the five-element killing qi, these were perhaps the longest three days he had ever known, a trial of body, mind, and resolve that pushed him to the very limit.

Yet correspondingly, the benefit Wei Zhao gained was peerless. On entering he had been merely at the peak of the mid Golden Core stage, but after three days of baptism and tempering, Wei Zhao had astonishingly touched the barrier of the late Golden Core stage—only a step away from advancing further.

This result delighted Wei Zhao enormously. Outside lurked the Old Sect of the Western Hills, watching like a tiger; every extra measure of strength was an extra measure of life-preserving capital. Every layer broken through might mean the distance between life and death.

Still, though he had successfully touched the late Golden Core barrier, breaking through in the short term would be somewhat difficult. After all, Wei Zhao had only recently advanced to the peak of the mid Golden Core stage; though he was the strongest Golden Core expert, one who had broken through perfectly, reaching a threshold like the late Golden Core stage was not something one could cross as easily as drinking plain water—it still required a suitable opportunity.

That opportunity could be taking a Golden Core elixir, or some other special circumstance. Once the opportunity came, with Wei Zhao's strength and foundation, the breakthrough would naturally follow like water flowing into a channel.

If he truly wished to break through in a hurry, Wei Zhao still had the Myriad Crossing Golden Core Fruit on hand. Refine it into a Golden Core elixir, and the late Golden Core stage would be right before his eyes! (To be continued..) R527