For a good while, the only change in the Owen Stone was that its radiance gradually softened, with no other transformation occurring—this was clearly very different from Evan Parker's first encounter.

Just as Evan Parker was feeling puzzled, a stern and chilling voice, as if imbued with magical power, suddenly reverberated in his mind: “Boy, stop looking around. I went to great lengths to bring you to Xuanyuan Star—not so you could waste precious time.”

“Who are you?” This was almost Evan Parker's instinctive first reaction.

That magical voice echoed leisurely in Evan Parker's mind: “You, boy, were brought here by me from that planet Earth, which is utterly devoid of spiritual energy... There, I am called George White!”

“George White...” Two sharp glints flashed in Evan Parker's eyes, but the fury in his heart far outweighed his surprise.

“I don’t care if you’re George White or Hei Qi. You dragged me to this godforsaken place and still have the nerve to show yourself... I—damn—you—to—hell—”

In all these years, Evan Parker had probably never spoken as much as he did in this string of curses. It took a full ten minutes before he finally vented enough, caught his breath, pinched the Owen Stone between his fingers, and made as if to smash it: “Now that I’ve had my fill of cursing, I can’t be bothered to waste words with you. I’ll smash this pearl, and we’ll go our separate ways.”

George White's voice was as deep as ever, resonating in Evan Parker's heart without a trace of anger: “Boy, if this Hongmeng Pearl is destroyed, you can forget about ever returning to your homeland in this lifetime...”

“What?”

At these words, Evan Parker immediately abandoned the idea of smashing the pearl, and asked with a questioning tone, “By ‘homeland,’ you mean?”

“Earth,” George White replied simply.

“What are the conditions?” Evan Parker was not naive enough to think this would be an easy matter.

“It’s not difficult. Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, you’ll be able to traverse the stars and return to your homeland.”

“Nascent Soul stage...”

Upon hearing this, Evan Parker's expression turned quite grim. After these years of learning about Xuanyuan Star, Evan Parker was well aware of what “Nascent Soul stage” meant.

The path of cultivation is divided into nine major realms, starting from the Innate Realm for beginners, followed by Foundation Establishment, Opening Light, Fusion, Spirit Silence, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body, and then Nascent Soul...

As for what comes after the Nascent Soul stage, it probably exists only in ancient legends—at least, that’s the case on Xuanyuan Star.

And as far as Evan Parker knew, even among the nine great sects that ruled Xuanyuan Star, there were probably fewer than twenty cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage.

What George White said was like a heavy blow, completely dashing Evan Parker's newly kindled hope of returning home.

“In that case, having this pearl or not makes no difference.”

George White's voice sounded in Evan Parker's mind at just the right moment: “Boy, don’t act so defeated. Since I’ve told you the method and said it’s ‘not difficult,’ I naturally have my ways. You really lack confidence. The Nascent Soul stage is nothing—with my help, not only can you reach the Nascent Soul stage, but even higher realms are not out of the question.”

“You? Hmph.”

Evan Parker snorted coldly, his tone full of disdain: “You keep calling yourself ‘this honored one,’ yet you’re trapped in this tiny Owen Stone, and you have to coax and trick a mere Innate Realm ‘boy’ like me to help you break free. Why should I trust you?”

After their previous conversation, with Evan Parker's wit, he had already analyzed this entity communicating with him via divine sense and figured out most of its intentions. Now, speaking bluntly, he finally elicited a hint of surprise in George White's always calm and deep voice.

Chapter 7: The Method of Cultivating the Divine

“No wonder you’re the one I chose. Though your aptitude is a bit lacking, you make up for it with a quick mind—that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Boy, you guessed right. I do need your help to escape from the Hongmeng Pearl, but in return, I’ll give you benefits beyond your imagination.”

“Let’s hear it...” Evan Parker took the initiative.

“With my help, you can reach the Nascent Soul stage within a hundred years. Isn’t that enough? You’ve already set foot on the path of cultivation—you should know what reaching the Nascent Soul stage in a hundred years means...”

At the beginning of the “Cultivation Miscellany” in Evan Parker's hand, there was a sixteen-character maxim: “Ten years to Innate, a hundred years to Golden Core, a thousand years to Nascent Soul, Nascent Soul comes by fate.”

These sixteen words summed up the difficulty of the cultivation path in a single phrase, and also made Evan Parker doubt George White's claim of “Nascent Soul in a hundred years.”

“Since you need something from me, anyone can make empty promises. Show some sincerity.”

“Boy, you really don’t want to lose out. Fine, I’ll now teach you the ‘Divine Slaughtering Art.’ This is a method of cultivating the divine, far beyond any cultivation technique you know. With this art, it’s like ascending to the heavens in a single step...”

“Divine Slaughtering Art?”

“How does it compare to a Heaven-grade technique?” Evan Parker was skeptical, hearing the other speak so grandly.

“Compared to a Heaven-grade technique? What a joke—they’re not even comparable. One is a method for cultivating immortality, the other for cultivating the divine. One is in the heavens, the other on the earth—how can they be compared!”

“What does it mean to cultivate the divine?” Evan Parker didn’t care about the rest; if he didn’t understand, he asked.

“Cultivating immortality is a prerequisite for cultivating the divine. Only after achieving success in cultivating immortality can you cultivate the divine...”

“So how do I cultivate it?”