Legacy of the Spirit Stone

Chapter 63 – Observing the Ceremony

As the words fell, the three Core Formation cultivators moved their arms in unison, and dozens of strands of true essence emerged from their palms, flying several meters from the cloud platform and beginning to transform.

When one reaches the Perfected Qi Condensation Stage, breaking through requires condensing true essence in the Qi Palace using spiritual power.

The true essence accumulates continuously and eventually forms a core, marking the achievement of the Core Formation Stage.

This method of breakthrough seems simple, but since all operations are conducted within the Qi Palace, it is extremely difficult and perilous in practice.

Without the correct guidance, it is akin to courting death.

Even with the method for Core Formation, one must be extremely cautious. A slight mistake could lead to severe injury and regression in cultivation, or even death and the end of one's path.

The dangers of condensing true essence lie mainly in two aspects.

First, converting spiritual power into true essence is not merely about compressing and condensing; it involves refining it multiple times to purify it, removing the dross and retaining the essence. Any mistake here could cause the unformed true essence to explode within the Qi Palace, damaging the foundation of cultivation.

Second, before the core is formed, the true essence is extremely unstable within the body and must be constantly suppressed. Otherwise, it could run rampant, leading to death as it bursts through the body.

This is why many cultivators at the Perfected Qi Condensation Stage remain stuck at that twelfth level for years.

Cultivation is hard-earned, and many are the pillars of their families. Without great assurance, no one is willing to take the risk.

However, high risk often comes with high reward. Achieving the Core Formation Stage broadens one's horizons immensely.

The ability most talked about among Qi Condensation cultivators is the power to ride the wind and soar through the skies.

With a single step, accompanied by clouds and mist, one roams freely between heaven and earth!

How carefree, how elegant, truly the demeanor of an immortal.

This is the most well-known use of true essence, followed by the protective true essence.

With this layer of protection, no Qi Condensation spell can harm a Core Formation cultivator in the slightest, marking the chasm between realms.

In the Qi Condensation Stage, there are instances of challenging higher levels, but defeating a Core Formation cultivator with Qi Condensation power has never occurred in the history of the Tiger-Chasing Dynasty.

Besides this, true essence has many other wondrous uses.

For instance, at this moment, the three Core Formation cultivators of Moonwatch City summoned their true essence, transforming it into various Qi Condensation spell forms.

The elder with the long beard was the first to act, holding a jade token and softly chanting, "One of the Five Elements: Metal!"

Zheng—

The first true essence transformation completed, turning into hundreds of sharp metal shards, sparking and clashing with each other, the sound of metal ringing throughout the venue.

After a brief clash, the metal shards transformed again, becoming metal stones, metal light, metal bodies... showcasing the myriad transformations of metal techniques.

Within the mountain cave, all cultivators practicing metal techniques of the Five Elements focused intently on the sky, fearing to miss any detail.

After a quarter of an hour, the elder demonstrated all the metal techniques, gently flicking his fingers to restore the true essence, which flew back to his palm.

The cultivators watched with lingering interest, some frowning, some enlightened, and others bewildered.

"Second of the Five Elements: Wood!"

...

"Third of the Five Elements: Water!"

...

"Fourth of the Five Elements: Fire!"

...

"Fifth of the Five Elements: Earth!"

The elder demonstrated the Five Elements techniques in turn, then withdrew his divine abilities.

"It's coming."

Yang Lingrui perked up, focusing intently on the next demonstration by the burly man.

Following the sequence, after the Five Elements techniques, it was time for the wind and thunder techniques.

"First of the Two Spirits: Wind!"

Whoosh—

With a voice like a bell, a gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, howling through the cave.

Wind is formless, so to make it visible to the observing cultivators, the burly man condensed a few points of spiritual light, casting them upon the spell.

Yang Lingrui watched intently as the fierce wind raged for a few moments before suddenly ceasing.

But through the spiritual light, it was clear that the spell had not ended; the wind technique was hidden within the flow of spiritual energy, undetectable.

"Marvelous, such a method!"

Yang Lingrui noted this technique, then continued to observe carefully.

The spiritual light changed again, becoming strands that seemed weak but left grooves on the mountain wall as they brushed against it.

"A gentle breeze can also kill! It's not necessary to gather into wind blades to increase power!"

...

"Wind has no form, so it can penetrate everywhere. If it cannot be defeated from outside, then break it from within!"

...

"Wind leaves no trace, intention leaves no trace, I too can leave no trace!"

A quarter of an hour of demonstration left Yang Lingrui thoroughly satisfied.

Watching such experts demonstrate was far better than pondering alone at home.

Previously, his thinking was limited to how to make wind blades faster, wind cones more condensed, and more powerful, and how to control more wind blades simultaneously.

The only technique he had managed to use was the Gale Wind encircling him, which Yang Lingqing had pointed out to him.

But after today, he felt he had opened the door to a new world in the way of spell techniques.

No longer confined to fixed moves within spells, but moving towards integration and mastery!

Li Cheng, seeing Yang Lingrui seemed to have gained some insight, did not disturb him and even set up a spiritual power barrier to shield Yang Lingrui from the noise of the next thunder technique demonstration.

Li Cheng felt somewhat guilty towards Yang Lingrui. After arguing with his sister yesterday, he reflected on his previous behavior and realized he had been in the wrong.

"Thank you, Young Master Li."

As the demonstration neared its end, Yang Lingrui returned to his senses, saw the barrier around him, and quickly expressed his gratitude.

"No need to be so formal with me."

Li Cheng waved his hand and continued, "Earlier, you mentioned wanting a personal booth at the Hundred Arts Hall. It's been arranged. Come with me."

"Great!"

Yang Lingrui followed Li Cheng across the floating bridge to the Hundred Arts Hall located in the lower half of the cave.

This place was where various cultivators showcased their products. If someone was interested, they could sign a large-scale purchase contract under the witness of the Immortal Patrol cultivators of Moonwatch City.

These contracts were endorsed by the Dynasty, holding significant power. If either party violated the contract, the Dynasty would intervene.

Thus, transactions here were far more secure than in ordinary marketplaces.

The demonstration was not yet over, so there were not many people here, allowing for preparation time.

Li Cheng led Yang Lingrui to a personal booth. The space was small, accommodating only one person, but it was sufficient for displaying items.

Yang Lingrui had inquired with Gao Hui and knew that such booths were very rare, even the Li Clan had few of them, so he was very grateful to Li Cheng.

However, Yang Lingrui did not know that this booth was not something Li Cheng had secured for him.

Li Cheng did not have such influence, as the Li Clan only had three spots, with none to spare.

It was last night when Li Cheng, while apologizing to Li Qingwan, mentioned this matter inadvertently.

Upon learning of it, Li Qingwan used her connections to secure a spot for Yang Lingrui.

But she did not want Yang Lingrui to know, so she had Li Cheng make an excuse, saying that a late-stage Qi Condensation rogue cultivator could not attend, leaving this spot available.

"The demonstration is over; I need to go back home to help."

"No problem, Young Master Li, go ahead."

After Li Cheng left, Yang Lingrui took out four talismans from his storage bag.

A high-quality Tranquil Mind Talisman, a high-quality Evil-expelling Talisman, a low-quality Fire Talisman, and a low-quality Swift Talisman.

These four talismans were carefully selected by the Yang Clan.

They couldn't be too rare, nor could their quality be too high.

They needed to avoid arousing suspicion while ensuring they could be sold.

Yang Lingrui arranged the four talismans, and soon the crowd from the demonstration began to pour in.

His booth was in a relatively remote location, and he expected to wait a while before anyone inquired. However, to his surprise, less than half an hour after the crowd entered, a cultivator in a robe with a sword on his back approached.

"Hiss—Fellow Daoist, what's the price for your Tranquil Mind Talisman and Evil-expelling Talisman?"