sinovels Chapter 185 Core Formation
Chapter 185 Core Formation
"Little Hong... Now that you've obtained the Core Formation Elixir, aren't you going to investigate the successor of the Devouring Sea Demon Art?"
Within his sea of consciousness, the old tortoise was urging him on again.
Zhan Hongxiu said with some helplessness, "Let's wait a little longer... Master Zhong suddenly announced that he would launch a northern expedition against the Bihai Sect... I think that Fellow Daoist Fang's chance to fight to the death is about to arrive. He must have observed a cultivator forming his core, right?"
"Hehe... You're from Taibai Island now, which side are you going to stand on this time?"
Old Turtle was somewhat curious.
"Naturally, I won't take sides... After all, my benefactor, that 'White Guest Elder,' is said to have taken the Golden Core and then left directly..." Zhan Hongxiu said.
"For a cultivator like you, even if you remain neutral, you are still expressing your stance..."
Old Turtle seemed to have thought of something and said no more.
Inside the herb garden.
Bei Lingshu is tending to a second-tier spirit herb.
Her face was unnaturally pale. She made a hand seal, which turned into spiritual rain that fell on the roots of the spiritual herbs.
After the spell was cast, dewdrops appeared on the leaves of the spirit herb, crystal clear and reflecting the sunlight, making it exceptionally beautiful.
"I wonder how the sect is doing?"
After tending to a patch of spiritual herbs, Bei Lingshu stood up, wiped her cheek, and said with some melancholy, "I heard that Zhong Lingxiu has launched another attack on the Bihai Sect, with great fanfare... Even True Person Heiyuan has been mobilized. Could it be that another great war is about to break out in the cultivation world? Alas... I am now a traitor to my sect, what right do I have to worry about the Bihai Sect?"
Back then, she made a mistake and didn't immediately commit suicide, so Zhong Lingxiu sealed her cultivation and imprisoned her.
Later, Xiang Dahu and Fang Qing came to visit several times. Finally, they came to terms with reality and half-surrendered. They were only responsible for the usual spiritual flowers and herbs and resolutely refused to harm their former fellow disciples.
Zhong Lingxiu was a magnanimous person, and actually agreed.
"Alas... I, a surrendered man, can't care about so many things. I only hope that my fate won't be too bad..."
Bei Lingshu thought of Xiang Dahu again, such an honest and simple person, who was actually the first to kneel in front of Zhong Lingxiu back then!
"As expected, you won't see a cultivator's true colors until you're facing a life-or-death situation..."
After taking a breath and preparing to continue planting herbs, Bei Lingshu's expression suddenly changed!
Rumble!
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged violently, affecting the entire Taibai Island!
Countless spiritual energies emerged from the void, the earth, snow-capped mountains, and vegetation, converging in the sky and transforming into a cloud of spiritual energy carrying a profound and oppressive aura, which enveloped a certain cave dwelling.
"This... is a celestial phenomenon of Core Formation?"
Bei Lingxu, being from a Core Formation sect, possessed considerable insight and knowledge. He merely glanced at the group and was immediately astonished: "Who on the island is currently at the Core Formation stage?"
Rumble!
A sudden tremor shook Taibai Island, accompanied by faint Buddhist chants, falling flowers, and golden lotuses emerging from the ground—the third-tier grand formation had been activated! Xiang Dahu's voice, along with the third-tier formation, echoed throughout the island: "By order of the Island Lord, the grand formation is activated… All cultivators are forbidden to move rashly, or… will be executed!"
"This is... Xiang Dahu? As the Grand Steward of Taibai Island, he certainly has authority over formations... Could it be that Master Zhong has arranged for a Core Formation seed to secretly form his Core?"
Bei Lingxu recalled all the Foundation Establishment cultivators on Taibai Island, and it seemed that apart from the mysterious "White Guest Elder" who had long since left, there was no other candidate.
"Don't trust this man... Xiang Dahu, you're nothing but a dog raised by my master, how dare you betray your master?"
A streak of snow-white light flew up, seemingly carrying a Zhong family member who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, looking quite exasperated.
But in the next instant, a beam of light descended.
Before the Zhong family's Foundation Establishment cultivator could even utter a scream, he was reduced to a skeleton, scattering in mid-air...
"Those who violate this rule will suffer the same fate as this person!"
Xiang Dahu's voice was filled with murderous intent.
Bei Lingshu's eyes lit up: "The sky over Taibai Island... is about to change? Could it be that Senior Brother Xiang has been enduring humiliation all this time?"
"Just who is this Core Formation cultivator?"
"So that's how it is... I was wondering how Island Master Fang dared to form his core in the enemy camp; he had been prepared all along..."
Upon witnessing this scene, Zhan Hongxiu suddenly realized: "I've met this tiger before. He was utterly loyal to that island lord, the first to surrender back then. It turns out it was a feigned surrender... He's endured humiliation and hardship for years, gaining the trust of Master Zhong and control of the great formation. Could it be that he's planning to rebel one day? This is risking his life over a Core Formation cultivator! Even if he succeeds, offending a Core Formation cultivator is no joke. It's practically putting life and death aside..."
This was actually just a charade arranged by Fang Qing for his subordinates.
Firstly, he needs a large formation to protect him before he can form his core.
Xiang Dahu was the only candidate to control the formation.
And his defection to the enemy years ago? No! That was just to find an opportunity to turn against them!
It's just a whitewash.
Anyway, just wash!
You can wash them either way!
"These are all minor matters... With the third-tier grand formation in place, that kid's Core Formation won't be disturbed by external forces, and with his Golden Core already formed, he should be able to reach the 'True Core Condensation' stage. It all depends on the quality of the Core and the subsequent Heavenly Tribulation..."
The voice of the old turtle echoed in his mind.
"Quality of Core Formation?"
"Indeed, the process of condensing a True Core actually varies in quality depending on the cultivation method... Our Zhou Tian Star Palace's internal secret manual has three classification standards: Low-grade True Core, Mid-grade True Core, and High-grade True Core... This 'True Core' corresponds to the 'False Core' at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Its quality is closely related to the cultivation speed during the Core Formation stage, the strength of the bottleneck, and even the future breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage... Generally speaking, those who condense a Low-grade True Core will never have hope of reaching the Nascent Soul stage in their lifetime..."
The voice of the old tortoise giving instructions came from behind.
"That Master Zhong..." Zhan Hongxiu asked curiously.
"That ice spirit root cultivator is a mid-grade true core cultivator. Although the possibility of him reaching the nascent soul stage in the future is very small, he has a certain chance of cultivating to the late stage of core formation and becoming a great cultivator in the core formation stage."
"As for the other cultivator from the Azure Sea Sect, the one who has formed his Core Formation and that demonic cultivator... they have both only formed low-grade True Cores, and it will be extremely difficult for them to even break through to the mid-stage of Core Formation in this lifetime..."
"Little Red...you should take this as a warning."
The old tortoise instructed, "Don't think that having the Golden Elixir means you're all set... You still need to cultivate the Golden Elixir Formation secret method of the 'Tortoise and Crane Longevity Technique,' and try to find one or two more Golden Elixir Formation spiritual objects..."
A moment ago.
Inside the cave, Fang Qing opened his eyes, his spirit and energy now at their peak.
The core formation content of the "Azure Sea Technique" flowed gently through his mind like a stream…
"The so-called 'Core Formation' in Qi Refining is nothing more than transforming liquid true essence into a solid true core... And there are three grades of true core quality. To form a superior true core, one needs a solid foundation, a top-level cultivation technique, and the assistance of Core Formation elixirs and spiritual objects..."
"According to Master Bihai, if I master a Core Formation technique, its effect will be equivalent to obtaining a top-tier Core Formation spiritual artifact..."
Let's begin!
He closed his eyes and silently began his quest to break through the bottleneck of Core Formation.
Splash!
As the Azure Sea Technique was activated, the spiritual energy within the cave rose and fell like the tides, or like raging waves, all of which was absorbed by Fang Qing. Above the cave, the spiritual energy converged, transforming into an astonishing celestial phenomenon of Core Formation!
"The Core Formation stage, like the Foundation Establishment stage, also has three stages!"
The powerful spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured down, posing a great test to Fang Qing's physique.
"The first hurdle, the Qi and Blood hurdle... Thanks to the help of the two Taras, I have already reached the third stage of body refinement."
Fang Qing handled it with ease, controlling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to flow through his meridians without any discomfort. The energy then entered his dantian, transforming into surging magical power, which continuously struck and pounded the semi-solid magical power pill.
"The Secret Technique of Core Formation, the Hundred Turns and Thousand Reversals, uses magical power to simulate the raging waves of the ocean, constantly hammering the core of magical power in order to forge it into steel!" At this time, the spiritual consciousness of the core cultivator is put to the ultimate test, and the slightest mistake can easily cause the cauldron to fly away and the core to be destroyed.
Fortunately, Fang Qing's divine sense had already reached the third level. At this moment, his powerful divine sense was fully displayed, controlling every bit of magic power, and he used all his strength to compress and pound that liquid magic power pill.
Thanks to this, the azure elixir continued to compress, and the magical power within it increasingly tended to crystallize and solidify...
The mental barrier passed without anyone noticing.
Next comes the final test of magical power!
This challenge requires transforming liquid true essence into true pill power, which tests one's usual cultivation!
Fang Qing finally felt a bit strained for the first time.
"With the Dao-Born Pearl, my magic power is completely free of pill poison and is incomparably pure... However, I encountered the same problem as when I was in the Foundation Establishment stage, which is that most of my magic power was increased by taking pills, and it is slightly unstable... But it's not a big deal. Breakthrough pills are used at this time." He took out the genuine "Golden Core Pill" and swallowed it.
Splash!
As soon as the Golden Core entered the abdomen, it was dissolved by the innate true fire, instantly generating streams of incomparably pure magical power that flowed into the liquid core. Within that semi-solidified core, a point of golden light appeared, then grew brighter and brighter…
Thanks to Fang Qing's early completion of the Qi and Blood, and Divine Sense trials, the power of this Golden Core was not wasted at all, and was entirely concentrated in his dantian. "The Dao-Born Pearl!"
In addition, with a thought, the many Yuan Jie he had previously stored up surged down, transforming into the same source of the "Azure Sea Technique" power, which was then injected into his true core.
Boom!
His dantian trembled violently, and a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth poured in, causing a true elixir of cyan color to quietly emerge.
As soon as this true elixir was produced, a rich and full-bodied elixir power instantly emerged, emanating a terrifying aura…
"Halfway to Core Formation... The power of a True Core is indeed vastly different from the liquid true essence power of Foundation Establishment..."
Fang Qing took a deep breath, and the spirit-gathering array set up around him instantly activated. One by one, the high-grade spirit stones ignited, and the abundant spiritual energy gathered, turning into drops of spiritual liquid that dripped onto the newly condensed true core, making the true core more and more full and its aura more and more terrifying...
"Quality improvement... has begun."
A thought struck him as he sensed that the quality of the true core within his body had reached the limit of a low-grade true core, and he suddenly broke through.
Fang Qing felt a bottleneck within his body break through instantly, resulting in a significant improvement in both his spiritual sense and his internal energy.
The azure-green elixir shrank considerably in an instant, appearing even more dazzling and radiant.
"Mid-grade True Pill..."
He sensed the craving for the true elixir and continued to frantically devour the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The power of a mid-grade True Pill surged continuously until it encountered a bottleneck…
"It's reached its limit..."
"Could it be that this time I can only condense a mid-grade True Core?"