Chapter 330: Core Formation (For Elvin2016's Silver Alliance Leader Celebration! )
Chapter 330: Core Formation (For Elvin2016's Silver Alliance Leader Celebration! )
"The Profound Ice Palace's Grand Elder Mu Yu disappeared, publicly declared to be in death-seclusion. . . and it was concealed for nearly a decade."
"If not for several major incidents recently requiring Mu Yu's appearance. . . the Profound Ice Palace might have continued to conceal it indefinitely."
"If this palace cannot find a powerful backer soon, it will most likely suffer the same fate as the Golden Sword Sect. . ."
Fang Xi placed the jade slip back, pondering to himself.
Immediately, he settled his Spirit Stone bill and walked out of Wenfen Tower.
...
A few days later, having completed his purchases, Fang Xi returned to his cave abode to continue his seclusion.
Wenfen Tower.
"Before, after leaving our Wenfen Tower, he successively visited several pill shops, selling pills and buying spirit herbs, suspected to be an alchemist. . . then returned to continue his seclusion. He truly is a devoted cultivator."
"As for his origins. . . the Yuan Kingdom is vast, and there are too many Foundation Establishment cultivators to truly identify him. . . perhaps he even used a false identity."
"So that's how it is. . . " The shopkeeper stroked his chin.
"Shopkeeper. . . this person's assets are truly abundant, far exceeding those of a typical Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivator. . . " The attendant seemed a bit unwilling.
"Our Wenfen Tower only deals in intelligence transactions. . . " The shopkeeper sighed, "What's more. . . in this Baiyuan Market, there's a Core Formation Ancestor watching. What do you intend to do?"
Upon hearing this, the light in the attendant's eyes dimmed, and he instantly appeared much more dejected.
"I see this person has a firm dao heart, taking a gamble by long-term renting a third-tier cave abode. He might be preparing to cultivate straight through to Core Formation in one go. We'll just have to see if he succeeds or fails. If he succeeds, he'll naturally soar into the heavens. If he fails, his end. . . tsk, tsk."
The shopkeeper shook his head and sighed.
He also knew in his heart: without the aid of a Core Formation Spiritual Item, how difficult would it be to successfully form a Core with just that sliver of a chance of Core Formation?
Geniuses who historically succeeded in forming a Core on their own were all Nascent Soul seeds!
Even within major sects like the Hunyuan Sect and the Red Blood Cult, there were few such individuals.
That person went out to rent a cave abode to attempt Core Formation, surely without the backing of a major force; he must be a Rogue Cultivator.
For a Rogue Cultivator to achieve Core Formation, how difficult was it?
...
Fang Xi, of course, didn't know that he had merely used resources that were slightly more abundant for a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he had already attracted the attention of many observant individuals in the market town.
However, even if he knew, it would merely be something to dismiss with a laugh.
After closing his cave abode, he once again immersed himself in his arduous cultivation, practicing at fixed times daily, occasionally refining pills, and comprehending formations.
Three years later, inside the icy cave abode.
On the meditation cushion, two figures were surprisingly seated face to face.
Fang Xi withdrew his final hand seal, looking at the External Avatar before him. "Not bad, not bad. . . you've actually managed to cultivate the 'Dao-Snatching Art' to such a level. The next step should be Core Formation for a spell cultivator, yes?"
"Precisely. . . " the External Avatar replied with a faint smile.
His progress in cultivating the 'Demon Lure Art' and 'Soul Splitting Art' was exceptionally swift. After all, the 'Demon Lure Art' attracted only Qi Refinement-level external demons, which were mere snacks for the External Avatar!
Furthermore, a powerful Divine Consciousness was quite beneficial for cultivating the 'Soul Splitting Art'.
As for the 'Dao-Snatching Art'?
After the External Avatar, using its demonic corpse body, employed its soul-devouring and spirit-gnawing abilities to capture and consume some powerful evil spirits, its progress was likewise quite rapid.
Not to mention, a large portion of the pills Fang Xi refined also ended up in the External Avatar's belly.
Now, after more than a decade of arduous cultivation, it had actually reached the threshold of Core Formation!
Fang Xi naturally wasn't going to waste this opportunity; he intended to have his External Avatar form a Golden Core in the Southern Barrens Cultivation World!
In this way, he would have a "Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon" that couldn't be more real, enough to upgrade this identity to a high-stage cultivator at the "early Core Formation" realm.
As for the External Avatar, it was already known publicly as a Daoist in the Red Sun Realm. If it were to trigger a Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon again, it would inevitably seem strange if discovered by outsiders.
Finally, the process of forming this spell cultivator's Golden Core was something Fang Xi wanted his External Avatar to undertake right under his nose, to eliminate any potential risks!
'I will achieve Core Formation from Foundation Establishment. . . even if my background isn't entirely clean, it won't be too bad. Under Core Formation cultivation, it can be ignored. When the time comes, there will be no shortage of forces trying to win me over. . . and high-grade spiritual vein cave abodes will naturally follow. '
Having made up his mind, a faint smile appeared on Fang Xi's face.
He touched his storage ring, and two jade boxes landed on the ground.
Upon opening them, a blue and a red light instantly filled the entire cave abode. They were none other than Core Formation Spiritual Items—'Profound Crystal Essence' and 'Heavenly Fire Glaze'!
"The secret art of Water-Fire Core Formation isn't particularly rare. . . there was already a copy in the Saint Son's library."
"The most crucial thing is, what are the differences between a spell cultivator's Golden Core and a regular cultivator's Golden Core, and will they conflict?"
Fang Xi gazed at the two spiritual items, lost in thought.
These two spiritual items were not particularly rare in the Xuan Wu Mystic Realm, also known as the Shard World.
At the very least, after entering the mystic realm, every demonic sect disciple, even if they dared not covet the 'Five Elements Spirit Fruit', would prepare a set for themselves.
Thus, the chance of finding them in a demonic sect disciple's storage bag was quite high. . .
Furthermore, demonic sect disciples' storage bags generally had significantly larger capacities than those of Golden Core cultivators in the Southern Barrens.
Most cultivators' storage artifacts were in the form of storage bags, differing only in capacity.
Beyond that, there were also some uniquely shaped ones, such as belts, gourds, rings, bracelets, and so on. . . all depending on personal preference.
Whether a storage artifact was high-grade or not depended solely on its internal capacity, unrelated to its appearance.
However, those like the Saint Son's 'Mountain Sea Pearl', capable of forming a realm of their own and allowing cultivators free entry and exit, were undoubtedly top-tier!
Fang Xi released his Divine Consciousness, all of it entering his External Avatar's body, to experience the peculiarities of the 'Dao-Snatching Art'.
'This Dao art is extremely mysterious. . . it's almost entirely focused on spiritual cultivation. . . and in the end, the Golden Core isn't condensed in the Dantian's qi sea, but within the sea of consciousness. . . '
'Although I don't know where Golden Cores formed by other Red Sun Realm cultivation methods are located, this art seems to not conflict much with the cultivation methods of the Southern Barrens. . . '
Of course, it appeared to be non-conflicting, but Fang Xi wasn't entirely certain what hidden dangers might arise afterward.
His main body, as long as it cultivated steadily along the 'Withered Glory Chant', had hopes of achieving Soul Transformation and ascension in the future. Naturally, he wouldn't haphazardly cultivate any chaotic or strange techniques.
But his External Avatar had no such concerns.
"My foresight isn't exceptional, but at least at the level of a spell cultivator's Golden Core, there shouldn't be much of a problem. . ."
"To be safe. . ."
Fang Xi took out the jade box containing the 'Nine-Eyed Bodhi Seed', placed the bodhi seed in his palm, clasped his hands together, and began to comprehend.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, gazing at the Nine-Eyed Bodhi Seed, whose green light had dimmed once more by a fraction. A hint of heartache flashed across his face as he carefully put it away.
"I didn't expect. . . there were still some omissions. . . if I were to directly attempt Core Formation, there truly could be a conflict. . ."
"But now, there shouldn't be any major issues. Let's begin!"
Aided by the comprehension provided by the Nine-Eyed Bodhi Seed, Fang Xi had already clarified many critical points, and the difficult and obscure passages within the original 'Dao-Snatching Art' scripture had suddenly become clear to him.
Without further hesitation, he instructed his 'External Avatar' to hold the Profound Crystal Essence in its left hand and the Heavenly Fire Glaze in its right, and began to refine them using the secret art.
"Water and fire are Yin and Yang. . . when water and fire merge, and dragon and tiger embrace, the Golden Core will form!"
Having already experienced Core Formation once, Fang Xi was naturally at ease with the process of forming another Core.
His main body closed its eyes, beginning to wholeheartedly assist the 'External Avatar' in condensing its spell cultivator's Golden Core. . .
...
Outside the icy cave abode.
Unbeknownst to anyone, another two years passed.
Aside from the group of people who had been quietly observing Fang Xi, few others still remembered this diligent cultivator in seclusion.
And since Fang Xi had paid thirty years of cave abode rent in one go, naturally no one came to disturb him during his seclusion.
Until this day.
Wenfen Tower.
"Shopkeeper. . . that guest just now was inquiring about the Profound Ice Palace again. It seems the Profound Ice Palace is truly in decline, ever since their previous Grand Elder passed away, and then two years ago, that Foundation Establishment Perfected elder rashly attempted Core Formation and failed. . ."
The Foundation Establishment cultivator behind him spoke, his tone filled with lament.
"That group of female cultivators can still cling on for a while with their third-tier formation. . . but the Ice Fiend Sect has long been restless, seizing the opportunity to claim the profits from several spirit ore veins. . . now, I fear they have set their sights on the Profound Ice Palace's spiritual vein itself."
The shopkeeper stroked his chin, a look of anticipating a good show on his face. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, "How is that person?"
"Still in seclusion. It's already been five years. . . Is he really planning to cultivate straight through until his rental period expires?"
The Foundation Establishment cultivator behind him showed a skeptical expression.
"He truly is quite wealthy. . ."
The shopkeeper had just spoken a sentence, intending to add more, when his expression suddenly changed.
He exchanged a glance with the Foundation Establishment cultivator behind him, then transformed into two streaks of light, rushing out of Wenfen Tower.
Within a radius of several tens of miles, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was violently fluctuating, converging towards a certain cave abode.
The sky was gloomy, and a vast amount of spiritual energy could be seen gathering in a visible form, as if forming a funnel, continuously pouring into the central cave abode!
A powerful spiritual pressure emerged, making nearby Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators feel as if an immense weight was pressing down on them.
"This is. . . a Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon! There's no mistaking it. . . it's Core Formation!"
The shopkeeper's face was distorted with emotion, filled with intense envy and sorrow, clearly thinking of his own hopeless path to Core Formation.
"Someone is actually forming a Core in the market town? !"
The Foundation Establishment cultivator behind the shopkeeper was equally shocked, then looked towards the direction where the spiritual energy vortex was concentrated. "There. . . it seems to be where the rented cave abodes are located in the market town. . . judging by the direction, it's precisely that person's cave abode!"
"It's actually him. . . he actually formed a Core?"
The shopkeeper seemed to realize something, jolting and patting his chest. "Truly a close call. . . luckily, we only quietly gathered information and never offended this person. . . judging from the celestial phenomenon, this person has a very high chance of succeeding in the Dao of Golden Core. . ."
"Shopkeeper, should we. . . ? " The Foundation Establishment cultivator behind him, his face full of jealousy, asked with a slight tremble in his voice.
"Don't even think about it. . . Since that person is forming a Core, how could they not be prepared? In the market town now, apart from that 'Red Leaf True Person', no one can stop them!"
The shopkeeper shook his head, his voice stern. "You are already blinded by greed. I will apply to the higher-ups to transfer you away, lest you cause me more trouble!"
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