"Why is it different from the rumors?" Han Li's heart tightened when he saw this. He didn't know if he was happy or worried.
However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that there were specks of white light shooting out of the black threads in that acupuncture point. It was as if there was a white umbrella of light inside that blocked the black threads outside.
Han Li's heart stirred as he murmured to himself, "This is… the power of stars!"
It turned out that this aperture coincided with one of the 36 apertures that he had opened before. He didn't expect that the power of the stars contained in the aperture would have such a miraculous effect on resisting aperture decay.
Seeing this, he was relieved. He was not in a hurry to use the method. Instead, a thought flashed in his mind, and he planned to continue observing the process of the aperture decay.
If this scene was seen by ordinary Perfected Immortal Realm cultivators, they would be so angry that they would faint. Who could deal with the aperture decay tribulation so easily?
The black threads of aperture decay and the power of the stars in the aperture were fighting like two warriors. The former had the advantage of the weather, while the latter had the advantage of the terrain. They were in a stalemate, and it seemed like they were evenly matched.
However, Han Li discovered that the Aperture Frailty Black Threads were always able to gain the upper hand by a hair's breadth. This didn't mean that they were more powerful than the power of the stars. Instead, it was because even though they were profound apertures, they were still considered acupoints.
To a certain extent, it greatly enhanced the resistance of the immortal aperture to the power of aperture decay, making the process of aperture decay very slow, but it couldn't prevent the aperture decay from happening.
In other words, the power of the stars in the aperture could buy a period of precious time for the cultivator to resist the third blight, but if the cultivator couldn't find a way to resist it, he would eventually be unable to escape the fate of aperture decay.
After watching for a while, Han Li felt a little bored, so he made a gesture with both hands. The golden light behind him suddenly shone brightly, and the Mantra Treasure Wheel whizzed out. After a sharp turn, it hovered in front of him.
The three hundred and sixty time dao marks on the treasure wheel shone with a translucent light as intense time law fluctuations spread out. The golden eyeball at the center shot out a golden light that landed on that immortal aperture.
After the golden light landed, it turned into visible golden threads that intertwined with the black threads in the immortal aperture, pulling the black threads out like pulling a carrot.
As soon as the two forces came into contact, Han Li immediately felt as if his skin was being pulled by someone. It wasn't being cut by a knife, but it was being torn apart. He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
An indescribable pain spread from that immortal aperture to his sea of consciousness.
Han Li hurriedly clasped his hands together and pointed his fingers forward. The golden treasure wheel immediately spun rapidly, and the time dao pattern on it became brighter and brighter. Suddenly, a golden crystal thread flew out from the light released by the Eye of Truth.
The golden crystalline thread was none other than the thread of the Laws of Time that he'd painstakingly condensed, and it contained the extremely pure energy of the Laws of Time.
Like a straight arrow, it flashed and shot into Han Li's immortal aperture.
As the golden thread entered the aperture, a layer of golden light rippled and covered the entire aperture.
As soon as the black light in the immortal aperture came into contact with the golden light that contained the power of law, it immediately dissipated like snow meeting the blazing sun. Soon, it was cleansed.
This process seemed long, but in fact, it only took a few breaths.
After the black light completely dissipated, the surrounding heaven and earth spirit qi surged and poured into the immortal aperture again.
The Aperture Decline Tribulation that would make ordinary Perfected Immortal late-stage cultivators turn pale was actually silently turned into nothingness by one of the three supreme laws, the time law.
This made Han Li heave a sigh of relief, and he continued to close his eyes to cultivate.
About eight minutes later, the 36th immortal aperture was finally opened.
A loud explosion rang out from within Han Li's body, and the 36 immortal apertures on the surface of his body lit up at the same time. A dazzling golden light shot into the sky from his body and penetrated the layers of dark clouds.
"What … what's going on?
He passed the Aperture Decline Tribulation so quickly. The combination of the Mysterious Immortal Body and the law of time … "Daoist Xie murmured to himself with a rare look of surprise on his face.
However, now that the crisis had been resolved, he returned to the green bamboo pavilion at the edge of the city in a flash.
"Rumble …"
Thunder continued to rumble in the sky, and the dark clouds gradually dissipated. However, what was revealed was not a clear sky, but a golden pool of lightning that was over a thousand feet in radius. The lightning in the pool had condensed into liquid form and was reflecting light.
Han Li looked up before making a grabbing motion, and the exquisite jade box that had been placed before him immediately flew into his hand.
With a wave of his hand, he removed the talismans on the outside of the box. With a "pa" sound, he opened the lid of the box.
After the lid was opened, a peculiar medicinal aroma immediately wafted out from within, and a golden pill the size of a longan was revealed. This was none other than the Golden Soul Pill that was refined using the Golden Immortal Nascent Soul as the main ingredient.
Han Li gently picked up the pill with two fair fingers, and after inspecting it for a moment, he abruptly raised his head and swallowed it.
As the pill slowly slid down his throat, a ball of gentle golden light lit up on his chest and abdomen, making it seem as if his entire face had been painted with a layer of golden paint.
A burst of peculiar energy emerged from his chest and abdomen, but it didn't descend into his dantian. Instead, it surged directly into his mind and fused with his soul.
Han Li was struck by a sharp stabbing pain in his head, following which he became extremely clear-headed. In that instant, his five senses had been elevated to an ethereal state.
The world before him was still the same world, but it also seemed to be a completely different one.
He could see the spiritual power flowing in the air, and he could hear the sounds of dust particles colliding with one another. It was as if all of his pores had been completely opened up, and he could sense every single wisp of wind that passed through his body.
In fact, he didn't even need to use his divine sense to sense every corner of the secret realm and every change that was taking place. He could even hear the feeble pulse of the core inside Daoist Xie's body without missing any of it.
Right at this moment, his ears suddenly twitched, and he seemed to have heard something special beneath the stone platform in the abandoned garden. There seemed to be something there?
Just as Han Li was about to probe further, this temporary ethereal state suddenly disappeared. His five senses returned to normal, and his soul became even more substantial.
Han Li immediately focused his mind, no longer distracted. He knew that the final hurdle before becoming a Golden Immortal had arrived.
After taking a deep breath, he laid a hand onto the top of his head, upon which a small humanoid figure that was several inches in size and enshrouded in a layer of golden light immediately flew out. The golden light around its body was solid, and its facial features were identical to Han Li's. This was naturally none other than his Nascent Soul.
After leaving his body, the Nascent Soul circled around his body once before rising up into the sky and plunging headfirst into the golden lightning pool.
The Nascent Soul of a Golden Immortal was extremely difficult to kill, and it was vastly different from that of a True Immortal. This was because before a True Immortal became a Golden Immortal, the Nine Heavens Lightning Pool would appear in the sky. As long as a True Immortal's Nascent Soul could withstand the baptism of the golden liquid in the lightning pool, its quality would undergo a qualitative leap.
As soon as Han Li's Nascent Soul entered the lightning pool, it was like a drop of water splashing into a pot of boiling oil, causing the entire pool to churn.
The purest golden liquid surged forth, crashing toward Han Li's Nascent Soul like a massive wave. However, the latter made a hand seal and sat down with his legs crossed on the surface of the lightning pool.
His body rose and fell along with the golden liquid, but he remained completely still, allowing the golden lightning to strike his body.
"Zzz!"
Strands of dense golden lightning strands covered the body of the Golden Immortal like a golden garment. They collided with the golden light on the Golden Immortal's body and flickered with dazzling light.
Han Li's main body sat cross-legged, still maintaining his original posture. His eyes were tightly shut, and his brows were tightly furrowed. His face was filled with pain.
At this moment, in his sea of consciousness, there was also a horrifying scene of a violent storm and a tempestuous storm.
Streaks of dazzling golden lightning intertwined and flashed, almost filling up his entire sea of consciousness. Every time there was an explosion, it was as if his spirit was directly struck.
He could clearly feel every time the lightning struck his Nascent Soul in the lightning pool. The pain that went straight to his spirit was even more unbearable than having his skin and bones torn apart.
Han Li did not know much about the refinement of the Nascent Soul in the lightning pool. He originally wanted to ask Daoist Hu Yan for some advice after this trip to the Immortal Abode, but he did not expect to be trapped here and have a breakthrough now.
In fact, for a Perfected Immortal cultivator, opening 36 immortal apertures was only one step into the Golden Immortal realm. Whether the other foot could cross over depended on the results of the refinement of the Nascent Soul in the lightning pool.
The refinement of the Nascent Soul depended on both the will of the heavens and human effort.
Once the Nascent Soul entered the lightning pool, it was equivalent to entering a lightning cage. The reopening of the cage was completely up to the will of the heavens. The shortest time would be half a day, while the longest time would be several days.
Usually, the longer the refinement time, the greater the improvement of the quality of the Nascent Soul. However, at the same time, the possibility of the Nascent Soul not being able to withstand the collapse of the Nascent Soul was higher.
There was always a difference between people. Some people's spirits were frivolous and their Nascent Soul was not stable. If they entered the lightning pool rashly, it would be no different from courting death. It was impossible for them to endure the cleansing of the purest Nine Heavens Thunder in the lightning pool's golden liquid. In the end, they would only end up with their Nascent Soul destroyed and die.
Han Li was different. His Nascent Soul was much stronger than ordinary Perfected Immortals, and he had also cultivated the Spirit Refinement Art to the fourth level. Although he had not completely mastered it, his spirit was naturally more stable than many Golden Immortals. In addition, he had taken the Golden Soul Pill, so he had a more obvious advantage in dealing with the refinement of the Nascent Soul in the lightning pool.
However, how long would his tempering last in the Lightning Pool?