At the Nascent Soul realm, the difference between cultivators was astonishing. With different foundations, the small differences in the past would be magnified countless times.
Because it involved the number of nascent souls and the number of tribulations, as well as the experiences of different races and individuals, the difference in strength couldn't be seen at a glance like the Heavenly Palace Golden Core Realm.
Unless the difference was extremely great and one's aura could be sensed.
Otherwise, they would have to weigh the pros and cons carefully when attacking fellow Nascent Soul cultivators.
However, fundamentally, all races had one basic understanding.
"The first tribulation is to imbue the fake nascent soul with true meaning, allowing it to truly become a Dao Nascent, possessing the power of a nascent soul.
As for the second tribulation, it enhanced the nascent soul and increased its power by twofold. At the third tribulation, the nascent soul would have three times its original strength!
For example, the Heavenly Mask Race cultivator Xu Qing had encountered previously. He was a heaven's chosen of his race. Although he didn't have a life lantern, he still had seven Dao Nascents and had experienced two tribulations.
Therefore, his basic combat strength could be seen as the combat strength of 14 nascent souls.
This was also the reason why he still attacked after sensing Xu Qing's 13 nascent souls.
His past cultivation foundation could be seen through this. He had seven Heavenly Palaces when he was at the Golden Core Realm and four life fires when he was at the Foundation Building Realm.
His magic aperture would definitely be 120.
He didn't reach the extreme of 121 apertures.
After all, on Xu Qing's journey, he had never encountered anyone who had truly reached 121 magic apertures other than Saintly Star and Kong Xianglong.
Perhaps there were more, but Xu Qing couldn't judge since he didn't see them.
However, these were only the basics. In the Heavenly Palace Golden Core Realm, Heavenly Palaces could still be used as a way to judge strength. However, the changes in the fight between Nascent Soul cultivators were extremely great.
Other than realms, there were also treasures and cultivation arts. It also included the different talents of the various races and their adaptability in actual combat.
Every one of them was very important and could determine the outcome of the battle.
Hence, the power of the nascent souls couldn't be used as absolute judgment of combat strength. It could only be used as a simple reference.
Many times, they would need to fight to know who was stronger and who was weaker.
It was the same for Xu Qing.
All 13 of his nascent souls had experienced a tribulation, so theoretically speaking, the foundation he had now was the combat strength of 13 nascent souls.
However, his Dao Nascents were too special. There was an emperor-level cultivation art, something related to gods, supreme treasures like the Heavenly Dao's enhancement and the Bottle of Time, there was also the morning glow and the Sundial life lantern.
All of these factors caused Xu Qing's combat strength to surpass the normal range at the Nascent Soul realm. It was equivalent to allowing the strength of his Dao Nascents to be comparable to a cultivator who had experienced two tribulations.
In other words, the most basic combat strength Xu Qing possessed now was 24 nascent souls!
The reason why it wasn't 26 was because he still had two life lanterns that hadn't been refined. Once the remaining two were turned into Sundials, he would have the combat strength of 26 nascent souls.
However, Xu Qing was still cautious. This was because just because he could make the Dao Nascents special didn't mean that others couldn't. Moreover, it was the same logic for treasures and cultivation arts.
This was also why Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't easily decide a battle when fighting each other.
After these thoughts flashed through Xu Qing's mind, his body soared into the sky from the magma. His 13 nascent souls erupted completely, forming a terrifying combat strength comparable to 24 nascent souls as he headed straight for the sky.
His speed was so fast that he instantly appeared in front of a one tribulation Mirror Image Nascent Soul cultivator.
The expression of the Mirror Image Race cultivator changed. Even though he had channeled half of his energy into the array formation, his rich combat experience and adaptability still made him instantly retract most of his attention and the six nascent souls in his body erupted.
He even spat out a flying sword. The mirror at his forehead shone, illuminating Xu Qing's figure. His face turned blurry and he actually became similar to Xu Qing.
This was one of the racial talents. It enhanced his body, allowing his combat strength to instantly leap to the level of eight nascent souls.
This talent coupled with his reaction speed was already very extraordinary. If it was another first tribulation cultivator launching the sneak attack, they would probably not succeed.
However, if the absolute difference in strength was too great, then many uncontrollable variables would have no choice but to be controlled.
Hence, when Xu Qing moved past, a cold light flashed and the head of the Mirror Image Race cultivator was directly separated from his body.
Blood gushed out crazily. By the time the sound spread, Xu Qing had already rushed toward another Nascent Soul.
At the same time, Xu Qing's Poison Restriction also spread in the surroundings. Its target wasn't Nascent Soul cultivators but those Golden Cores.
As Xu Qing's strength increased, his Poison Restriction Pill also displayed an even more vicious and terrifying might. As it spread, at least seven Golden Core cultivators screamed in fright.
Before they could even react, their bodies instantly turned purple-black and began to rot.
Heart-rending screams spread in all directions.
There were also a few Golden Core cultivators whose bodies trembled and their eyes instantly turned pitch-black. A demonic smile appeared on their faces as they suddenly turned around and headed straight for the giant mirror array formation. After they got close, they suddenly self-destructed.
As the rumbling echoed, a red bolt of lightning surrounded a fishbone as it shuttled through the enemies, killing all the Golden Cores in its path.
This scene caused the expressions of the Mirror Image Race cultivators to change intensely.
Chaos erupted almost instantly.
Duanmu Zang, who was resisting the pressure of the giant mirror, was also stunned. After noticing those poisoned Mirror Image Race cultivators, his pupils constricted and he immediately recognized the source.
"It's that treacherous kid!"
Hence, he shouted.
"Don't waste time. End the battle quickly and kill the Nascent Soul cultivators outside. If the energy to the array formation is stopped, I'll be able to escape!"
