Chapter 369: Core Formation Decree (Congratulations to the Silver Grand Alliance Leader)
Chapter 369: Core Formation Decree (Congratulations to the Silver Grand Alliance Leader)
Tai Shu Hong's gaze darted back and forth between the demonic core and the jade slip.
Evidently, he had directly discarded the first option.
Within the Three Kingdoms, how difficult was it to obtain an opportunity for Core Formation?
Not to mention that a False Core cultivator's cultivation could not advance an inch, yet a False Core still possessed the power and lifespan of an early-stage Core Formation cultivator. How many Earth-grade spiritual root cultivators yearned for it but couldn't even obtain it!
Tai Shu Hong was actually quite clear: he was no longer young, and Core Formation opportunities within the Three Kingdoms were truly scarce.
As for going to the Yuan Kingdom?
It would probably be even harder to compete with those sect cultivators.
Perhaps what this Island Master offered was the greatest opportunity of his life.
Tai Shu Hong gazed at the jade slip, a trace of fervor in his eyes, but his hand reached for the jade box containing the demonic core: "What does an ancient sword cultivator's technique matter? High cultivation realm is true strength!"
Fang Xi felt a slight pity upon seeing Tai Shu Hong choose the third-order demonic core.
He had actually quite wanted to witness the might of the 'Tai Bai Sword Art'. If Tai Shu Hong's talent in the way of the sword had satisfied him, it wasn't impossible for him to support the other party in condensing a true Golden Core in the future.
However, since the other party had already made his choice, a mere high-grade metal spiritual root wasn't worth any further guidance from him.
"Since you have made your choice, so be it!"
Fang Xi abruptly formed a hand seal with both hands. Within his Dantian Qi Sea, his External Avatar performed the same action.
A spell imprint emerged, landing within Tai Shu Hong's body.
Tai Shu Hong was startled, but immediately scanned his body with his divine consciousness, only to feel that it was no different from before.
What Fang Xi used was a minor trick from the Six Paths of Reincarnation technique within the Yama Emperor Dao.
With the strength of his External Avatar, the restriction he placed was not to mention Tai Shu Hong being merely at Foundation Establishment Perfected; even a Core Formation Perfected cultivator would find it difficult to discover.
One would only be able to break free from the control after ascending to the Nascent Soul realm.
"Many thanks for the Island Master's generosity! From this day forward, Tai Shu Hong shall be the sword in the Island Master's hand!"
Tai Shu Hong clasped his fists again and saluted.
"Mm, here is some of my Core Formation experience. Go down and study it carefully; do not waste this demonic core."
Fang Xi tossed out a jade slip, finally allowing the overjoyed Tai Shu Hong to withdraw.
For a Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivator to refine a demonic core and achieve a False Core, there was actually a certain failure rate.
It was just that the probability of condensing a False Core, increased by refining a demonic core, was similar to the probability of condensing a true Golden Core for a cultivator who consumed a Five Elements Spirit Fruit.
With this as a foundation, plus some auxiliary spirit medicines, as well as the cultivator's own temperament, willpower, and the Core Formation probability inherently provided by their cultivation technique realm, the success rate was quite high.
"There are still two demonic cores. . . one of which happens to be earth-attribute. What a pity that Hai Da Niu isn't more ambitious; if he were already Foundation Establishment Perfected, I would have readily bestowed it upon him. . ."
Alas, Fang Xi knew that this was the current reality for the vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Three Kingdoms Cultivation World.
Not to mention advancing to the late stage or even perfected.
Even advancing to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment was cause for great celebration. Many were trapped at the early stage of Foundation Establishment by a bottleneck for their entire lives!
Just like in the Yuan Kingdom, most Core Formation cultivators were only at the early stage of Core Formation, or even at the External Core and False Core levels!
Fang Xi sighed softly, tapped his foot, and arrived in the peach blossom forest.
A gentle breeze swept through, and peach blossom petals drifted everywhere.
From within the peach forest emerged a woman with features as picturesque as a painting, her temperament like an empty valley's secluded orchid – it was Ruan Xiuxiu!
Unfortunately, this woman's cultivation was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment!
Fang Xi glanced over, then took another gulp of Green Bamboo Wine, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
"Ruan Xiuxiu pays her respects to the Ancestor!"
Ruan Xiuxiu gracefully prostrated herself on the ground, clearly also one of the people summoned by Fang Xi.
"What a pity. . ."
Fang Xi flicked his finger, and the Green Reaping Sword flew out, like a green flood dragon.
With a flash of cold sword light, the temperature within the peach forest plummeted!
Green light shimmered, peach blossoms danced everywhere, and a spiritual peach tree branch was cleanly cut down, revealing an incredibly smooth incision.
Then, a few wood shavings fell, and a wooden talisman landed in Fang Xi's hand.
Fang Xi extended his right hand, a dot of green light shimmering on his index finger as he drew a talisman script onto the wooden talisman.
With a flash of green light, the originally brand-new wooden talisman became warm and lustrous like jade, faintly emitting a refreshing peach wood fragrance.
"Take it. . ."
Fang Xi casually tossed it, handing the wooden talisman to Ruan Xiuxiu.
"Ancestor. . ."
Ruan Xiuxiu held the wooden talisman in both hands, feeling quite at a loss.
"This is this Venerable's Core Formation Decree. . . With this as proof, if the Ruan family cultivates a Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivator in the future, they may hold this decree and come to this Venerable to exchange it for a Core Formation Spiritual Item!"
Fang Xi said solemnly.
"Many thanks, Ancestor!"
Ruan Xiuxiu immediately kowtowed, her heart filled with immense excitement.
"You may withdraw. . ."
Fang Xi waved his hand, letting out a sigh.
Ruan Xiuxiu bowed again, saluted, and took her leave. As she exited the peach blossom forest, she suddenly felt a pang of regret in her heart, thinking of the previous family head. . .
What she didn't know was that while Fang Xi had given a promise, he had left himself some leeway.
If he encountered a successor who truly pleased his eye, he could naturally give them a proper Core Formation Spiritual Item.
If he wasn't entirely satisfied, a single demonic beast inner core was still an opportunity for Core Formation that others desperately sought but couldn't obtain.
He might even just dismiss them with 'Black Water Liquid'.
After all, this item was the accompanying spirit liquid of 'Black Water Crystal Essence', and demonic cultivators had indeed collected quite a lot of it.
...
A few days later.
Having dealt with the matters of Dragon Fish Island and dismissed most of the cultivators who came to pay respects, Fang Xi finally returned to a peaceful life.
Dragon Fish Island's spirit vein was only a high-grade second-order one, making cultivation progress very slow.
Fang Xi simply decided to put cultivation aside for a while and wander around. He even made a special trip back to Peach Blossom Island to look around, and after meeting various old acquaintances, he conveniently bestowed some minor opportunities.
He cultivated to enjoy life better and for longer; this point would never change.
It was a rare opportunity, so he might as well relax properly.
...
One year later.
Inside the Mountain Sea Pearl's cave abode.
Fang Xi, who was seated cross-legged beneath the Demonic Tree, suddenly opened his eyes: "Nowadays, Dragon Fish Island's spiritual energy can't even compare to the quasi-third-order spirit vein within the Mountain Sea Pearl. . ."
A quasi-third-order spirit vein could barely supply a Core Formation cultivator's cultivation.
It was just that the progress would be a bit slower.
For Fang Xi's extended lifespan, it wasn't really much.
In fact, if he truly wanted to find a place to cultivate in peace, whether he went to the Three Sects or White Peace Immortal City, there were cave abodes with third-order spirit veins. But Fang Xi found it troublesome, as he still had matters to attend to on Dragon Fish Island.
Furthermore, he had an emotional attachment to Myriad Islands Lake, and it was a rare opportunity to return to his second home, so he might as well stay longer. Being a salted fish, so be it.
As for going to the Red Sun Realm? In truth, Floating Slaughter Mountain's spirit vein was just ordinary. Back then, the Yama Dao Palace Master's advancement to Nascent Soul was primarily achieved by taking crooked and evil paths, sustaining himself with the labor of an entire realm. Moreover, after breaking through to Nascent Soul, his cultivation stagnated, constantly remaining at the early Nascent Soul realm.
Otherwise, Fang Xi might not have dared to eye the other party's Dao Offspring.
'Given this, the Red Sun Realm must be considered one of the weaker types among the three thousand minor realms beneath the Earthly Immortal World, right? Then, might there be particularly powerful worlds? Such matters are probably only known to a few disciples of Soul Transformation sects. . . '
Fang Xi suddenly recalled his century-long pact with the old ghost possessing Zhan Tu.
"Zhan Tu is roughly the same age as Zhong Hong Yu, now over one hundred and sixty years old. With the old ghost's cultivation, Core Formation shouldn't be difficult. Perhaps he might even give me some small surprises?"
"Only a little over ten years remain until the century-long pact. . . That old ghost hides his true strength well; he has a deep connection with the last ghost cultivator on Emerald Island, and might even be. . ."
"Once all matters on Dragon Fish Island are settled, I could go to the Black Heaven Sect and borrow a cave abode from Zhang Zhu Sheng to cultivate in seclusion for ten years. . ."
Fang Xi's cultivation had now reached the late stage of Core Formation. There would be no further bottlenecks, and as long as he cultivated patiently, he would eventually reach Core Formation Perfected, meeting the conditions for condensing a Nascent Soul!
But no matter how fast his cultivation progress was, it would still require at least several decades of diligent effort.
"My cultivation realm can no longer advance for now; I should consider the risks of exploring the ruins with that old ghost. . ."
After all, those were ruins related to Green Emperor Mountain, and Green Emperor Mountain had produced Soul Transformation cultivators. Naturally, its array formations and restrictions would be no small matter; even Nascent Soul cultivators would need to be extremely careful if they went.
"The best solution would naturally be to refine an External Avatar. . ."
"Unfortunately. . . the External Avatar technique I comprehended cannot refine a second External Avatar."
Fang Xi already had an External Avatar; it was the 'Outer Dao Nascent Soul' within him.
Moreover, the technique was somewhat incomplete, making it utterly impossible to refine a second External Avatar.
Otherwise, he would definitely have taken action long ago.
Furthermore, that old ghost hides his true strength very well. Even if he could refine an External Avatar, an avatar hastily refined would at most possess Core Formation strength, and might not be able to break the situation.
"I'll still have to act personally. . . That old ghost certainly won't expect me to possess Nascent Soul combat power within such a short period!"
"But in that case, the safety of my main body becomes very important."
"Coincidentally, a demonic secret art from the Yama Dao Palace Master's memories could be put to use."
Fang Xi's expression suddenly turned a little mysterious: "It's just. . . I still need to try it out first."
Cultivators in the cultivation world actually always liked to seek out hidden wonders and explore secrets, searching for ancient cultivator cave abodes or mystic realms, and then obtaining opportunities from them.
Of course, such activities were also very dangerous; Yan Dong Qing, for instance, had perished during one such exploration.
Fang Xi had never participated in such activities, precisely to minimize risks.
"I have already refined an Outer Dao Nascent Soul, so the possibility of being instantly killed is small. . . And relying on my various treasures and secret arts, buying time for my golden finger to teleport for survival shouldn't be an issue. . ."
"The most crucial point is that after traversing, I would return to the original spot. . . If I were trapped within a certain mystic realm, it would mean I'd have to abandon the entire South Barrens Cultivation World."
"This problem could be solved through an External Avatar, but unfortunately, I cannot refine a second External Avatar. . ."
Back then, Fang Xi had used the characteristics of his External Avatar to pull off a 'Great Teleportation Art' in the Red Sun Realm. He leveraged the characteristic that after traversing between two realms, his External Avatar would serve as an anchor point!
"From this, it's clear that the All-Heavens Precious Mirror uses my divine soul as an anchor point. If there were no divine soul, I would only appear at the original location. . ."
"As long as I leave a part of my divine soul in the South Barrens Cultivation World, or even Dragon Fish Island. . . even if I get trapped within a grand array or mystic realm, as long as I cross over to the Red Sun Realm and then cross back, I can return directly to Dragon Fish Island. . . It can truly be called a supreme secret art for preserving life!"
"Furthermore. . . if I set up a few more locations, it could even achieve the power of an 'ancient teleportation array'. For example, if I wanted to go to the Yuan Kingdom Cultivation World again, I could arrive in an instant. It's just that I don't know how the teleportation would choose between multiple divine soul anchor points in different realms. . . Alas, this kind of method can only be used temporarily. Once the exploration is complete and I return, I must inevitably reabsorb my divine soul."
After all, how crucial was a cultivator's divine soul? Even if a single wisp of it were obtained by another cultivator, they could completely use it to cast spells to pinpoint one's whereabouts, or even be used by demonic cultivators to cast cursing arts!
If one wished for their divine soul to possess the power of self-preservation, then only the secret art of 'External Avatar' would suffice.
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