Chapter 372: A Hundred Years (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Chapter 372: A Hundred Years (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The chasm of Core Formation!
For any Foundation Establishment cultivator, besides those with Heaven-grade spirit roots, it is an unavoidable bottleneck!
Taisui's Core Formation had failed several times, wasting several third-order demon cores, as well as precious spiritual medicines like the Earth Essence Pill from the Red Sun Realm.
In the end, it was only after Fang Xi refined a furnace of high-grade pills, primarily using a mid-grade third-order wood-attribute inner core as the main ingredient, that it barely managed to pass.
Tai Shu Hong himself possessed a superior-grade spirit root, so he wouldn't hinder the Core Formation process. Furthermore, refining a beast inner core was much less difficult than truly forming a Golden Core.
Only Green Corner Fish Dragon. . . had been pure luck!
But when it came to Zhong Hong Yu, the situation turned grim.
After all, she only had a mid-grade spirit root, which made Foundation Establishment somewhat difficult; for Core Formation, it was a definite drag.
Even with her unyielding will and the aid of Fang Xi's pills, she only just managed to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment at over one hundred and seventy years old, touching the threshold of Core Formation.
Without Fang Xi's sponsorship, she might not have been able to break through before her lifespan ran out.
However, during Core Formation, the true test began.
Although she was fortunate enough to use the 'Water-Fire Core Forging' secret art to refine 'Mystic Crystal Essence' and 'Heavenly Fire Glaze,' a configuration considered even more luxurious than consuming Five Elements Spirit Fruits, it only increased her chances of Core Formation by two or three-tenths.
Even acquiring a Five Elements Core Formation Pill wouldn't have been as effective as these two spiritual items.
After all, the Five Elements Core Formation Pill had spirit root attribute requirements, while the 'Water-Fire Core Forging' secret art was applicable to any spirit root attribute.
One could say that without Fang Xi's spiritual resource aid, Zhong Hong Yu might have failed her Core Formation from the very beginning!
But now, with the help of the secret art and spiritual items, she had successively overcome several major hurdles, preliminarily condensed a nascent Golden Core, and even triggered the Core Formation phenomenon!
Fang Xi's powerful Divine Consciousness entered her Dantian, where he saw a slightly illusory nascent Golden Core, its surface covered in countless cracks.
This scene was very familiar to him; it was exactly like when he had barely managed to form his Golden Core back then. If the Golden Core could not circulate smoothly and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to transform into a flawless Golden Core, it would eventually collapse, leading to a true Core Formation failure!
But looking at Zhong Hong Yu, she seemed to be on the verge of exhaustion at this point, unable to push any further.
"Is it going to fail?"
"Just this last bit short?"
"Wouldn't that mean all my efforts were in vain, not only wasting precious Core Formation Spiritual Items but also failing to observe the evolution of the void runes and spiritual opportunities of the Void Spiritual Root's Core Formation?"
"Fortunately, I had a contingency plan."
Fang Xi sighed, his figure flickering, already by Zhong Hong Yu's side.
"Young Master. . . I. . ."
Zhong Hong Yu's face was pale, revealing a desolate smile.
"Calm your mind. I still have a way to remedy this. . ."
Fang Xi immediately recited a incantation.
Upon hearing it, Zhong Hong Yu's cheeks flushed. . .
...
Outside.
Zong Ling Hu watched as the convergence of heaven and earth origin qi became increasingly difficult, her expression unreadable: "This celestial phenomenon seems quite arduous. . . It looks like Sister Zhong's Core Formation this time might be a bit. . ."
Suddenly, she watched in astonishment as the Core Formation phenomenon, which had been on the verge of dissipating, re-condensed, and then smoothly continued its evolution.
Rumble!
A pressure belonging to a true Core Formation cultivator radiated outwards!
Zhong Hong Yu had successfully formed her Golden Core!
At this moment, many Zhong family members on Dragon Fish Island wept with joy, while other cultivators wore exceedingly complex expressions!
...
Inside the secret chamber.
Zhong Hong Yu picked up the clothes on the ground, her face flushed: "Young Master. . ."
"No need to thank me. If you hadn't reached the final step, or were just a sliver of origin qi away from successful Core Formation, I wouldn't have been able to transfer origin qi to you through my secret art."
Fang Xi cast a cleansing spell on himself; his clothes instantly became fresh and new.
He then recalled the complete silver runes that had emerged when Zhong Hong Yu's Golden Core finally solidified, and his heart surged with excitement, wanting nothing more than to enter secluded cultivation to thoroughly comprehend them.
"Thank you, Young Master, for your great kindness. . ."
Zhong Hong Yu curtsied: "If my affairs caused Young Master to suffer a great loss of origin qi, this concubine would not be able to atone for her sins even with a hundred deaths. . ."
"Since you have successfully condensed your Golden Core, in the future, you should address me as Fellow Daoist. . . As for the origin qi, such a small amount will return after a few months of meditation. You need not dwell on it. I will return to secluded cultivation first; you should familiarize yourself with your new realm. . ."
Fang Xi departed gracefully, leaving no trace behind.
"Just 'Fellow Daoist'?"
A bitter smile appeared on Zhong Hong Yu's face, but it quickly faded into serenity as she began to meditate, comprehending the profound mysteries of the Golden Core.
After Core Formation, one must avoid extreme joy or sorrow, as it can easily lead to a drop in cultivation, turning happiness into sorrow. . .
...
Inside the secret chamber.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged, several blank talisman jade slips laid out before him.
He closed his eyes and meditated, the silver runes that had appeared within Zhong Hong Yu's Dantian Golden Core during her cultivation earlier vivid in his mind.
At the same time, insights from his External Avatar's comprehension of the Star-Patterned Chessboard. . .
His insights from creating 'Forbidden Space Talismans'. . .
Inspiration from comprehending the countless restrictions and formations within the teleportation array. . .
And the incomplete runes he had obtained years ago while observing Zhong Hong Yu's Foundation Establishment. . .
And, of course, the extremely vague but seemingly Dao-infused patterns on the All-Heavens Precious Mirror. . .
All these floated in his mind, constantly converging and merging. . .
Finally!
Fang Xi's eyes snapped open, two streaks of lightning seemingly flashing through the void.
The next moment, he raised a hand, a blank jade talisman flew out, and the silver powder in another box instantly melted, used as ink by his divine sense, carving upon the blank jade talisman.
Before long, a brand new 'Forbidden Space Talisman' appeared!
"Rune completeness. . . sixty-seven percent! Not enough!"
Fang Xi closed his eyes, continuing his comprehension.
Time flowed like water. . .
In the blink of an eye, several more years passed.
While Zhong Hong Yu stabilized her early Core Formation cultivation, emerged from seclusion to awe the cultivators of Myriad Islands Lake, and held her Core Formation celebration, Fang Xi remained engrossed in silent comprehension.
Inside the quiet room.
Jade talismans lay scattered across the ground, any single one of which would make a Core Formation cultivator envious.
Yet, they were discarded like trash.
"Combine!"
A flash of spiritual light erupted from Fang Xi's hand, merging into a jade talisman.
As the talisman fell, it was seized by a green magical power hand and brought before him.
"Eighty percent completeness. . . this is the limit."
He sighed, then formed another incantation, infusing it into the new 'Forbidden Space Talisman'.
A wondrous sight unfolded.
This 'Forbidden Space Talisman' slowly began to transform, turning into a white. . . chess piece? !
The External Avatar smiled and beckoned, and this white chess piece swiftly merged into the Star-Patterned Chessboard, continuously shrinking and becoming still.
"Combined with the Star-Patterned Chessboard, this void-attribute treasure, this new 'Forbidden Space Talisman' should be even more powerful, right?"
"Besides that, my attainments in array formations have also progressed by leaps and bounds. I should now be able to grudgingly set up ultra-short-range teleportation arrays. . ."
An 'ultra-short-range teleportation array' naturally referred to a teleportation array with a range of no more than a thousand li. Strictly speaking, it was largely useless.
However, it indicated further progress in Fang Xi's array formation skills, giving him a glimmer of hope for setting up short-range teleportation arrays over a thousand li in the future, or even true teleportation arrays over ten thousand li, and even ancient teleportation arrays.
"Hm?"
Just then, Fang Xi's expression changed.
He could sense that the arrangements he had made outside Emerald Cliff had yielded results!
"Has it finally arrived?"
"The hundred-year covenant?"
Fang Xi muttered, a hint of expectation in his eyes as he looked towards Emerald Cliff.
...
Emerald Cliff.
A streak of green flew forth, revealing the figure of a Core Formation cultivator, none other than Zhan Tu!
"Myriad Islands Lake. . . Dragon Fish, Emerald. . ."
"I'm finally back."
Zhan Tu murmured, a sense of sighing and emotion on his face.
"Hmph!"
Within his sea of consciousness, a cold snort echoed: "This old ghost must have been blind back then, to have chosen you to perform that life-linking secret art. . . If only I had chosen the Dragon Fish Island Master. . . that person is already at late-stage Core Formation!"
The old ghost said indignantly: "We've passed by these past few days and heard that the spirit beasts and cultivators on that island. . . have recently formed their Golden Cores one after another. You, this fellow who barely managed mid-stage Core Formation after all the old ghost's painstaking efforts, aren't you going to smash your head and die?"
"The Island Master didn't even go to Emerald Cliff during the time the relic appeared, old ghost, you're overthinking it. . . Besides, the Withered Glory Chant is profound, and it's already quite good that I've cultivated to mid-stage Core Formation."
Zhan Tu sighed: "I just didn't expect. . . Zhong Hong Yu also formed her Golden Core, and it's not a False Core, but a true Golden Core! If it weren't for the urgency of the matter, I'd actually want to attend her Core Formation celebration. . . After all, she and I were from the same batch of immortal seedlings produced on Dragon Fish Island."
"By the way. . . why did you make that hundred-year covenant back then, old ghost? Were you so certain the Island Master could cultivate to late-stage Core Formation within a hundred years?"
Zhan Tu suddenly remembered something and asked.
"Fool. . . How could this old ghost calculate a cultivator's exact progress? It's just that if I hadn't said that at the time, would that Island Master have let you leave?"
The old ghost scoffed: "What's more. . . this old ghost was also worried that a simpleton like you wouldn't be able to successfully condense a Golden Core or advance to late-stage Core Formation. . . I just pulled in an extra helper as a safeguard. I never expected that old contingency plan would actually come into play. . . And luckily, that Dragon Fish Island Master advanced to the late stage; otherwise, with your mere mid-stage Core Formation cultivation, entering that relic mystic realm would be extremely troublesome. . . If you were already at late-stage Core Formation, we could have just ditched that person and gone it alone."
"So that's how it is."
Zhan Tu nodded: "So, should we notify the Island Master now?"
"Wait a moment. . ."
The old ghost suddenly said: "There seems to be something amiss up ahead!"
"Hmm?"
Zhan Tu snapped to attention, a streak of green sword qi instantly flying out, swirling in mid-air to reveal an array formation restriction.
"A concealment restriction? It's an array formation!"
The old ghost cried out strangely: "Someone was just spying on us. . ."
"Hmph!"
Zhan Tu, being a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, immediately snorted coldly. A green wood sword artifact flew out, trailing a dozens of zhang-long green rainbow, striking fiercely upon the restriction.
The array formation instantly crumbled, leaving only a wooden puppet within.
Without a second thought, Zhan Tu was about to grab the wooden puppet to study it closely, but the next moment, the restriction Fang Xi had placed inside the wooden puppet activated.
The wooden puppet spontaneously combusted, turning into ash without a trace remaining. . .
Comments