novelraw Chapter 272
Chapter 272
Only a few hundred drops remained. At his current cultivation speed, it would take no more than two years.
In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.
It was now the fifty-third year and eighth month of Wang Yu’s service as a Deacon.
After refining a supreme-grade Ice Lotus Pill, his true essence accumulation finally reached the limit of the Foundation Establishment stage—nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine drops, not one more or less.
After readjusting his condition, Wang Yu, though unafraid of the Core Formation lightning tribulation, still carefully arranged the Thunder Lotus Dao Platform and the Heavenly Heart Lightning Dispersion Tribulation Avoidance Formation—just in case.
When all was ready, he calmed his heart for several more days before swallowing the high-grade Core Formation spiritual material, [Frozen Blood of Ice Plains], in one gulp.
The blood, possessing extreme cold properties, instantly caused his sea of True Essence to boil. Within a few breaths, it expanded to the very limit that his dantian could contain.
Crystalline patterns began to appear, this was the manifestation of True Essence solidification.
Unlike other Core Formation spiritual materials that affected the divine sense or life force, this one worked solely on true essence, pushing Wang Yu’s success rate to the peak.
The Mysterious Origin Demonic Embryo, having fused a massive number of spiritual roots, is now exerting the effect of its “dual spiritual roots,” frantically absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to provide a slight boost to the transformation of his true essence.He has pushed every preparation within his power to the absolute limit.
Failure was impossible.
The absorption of spiritual energy from heaven and earth continued for a long time, far exceeding what his dantian could normally contain. Yet, as fragmented True Essence crystals formed, his capacity also increased accordingly.
At a certain moment, Wang Yu suddenly opened his eyes.
“Golden Core… CONDENSE!”
His Qi Sea erupted. Waves of crashing sounds echoed, and then began rapidly contracting before the naked eye.
A black-blue core, round as an egg and only the size of a fingernail, gradually solidified from illusion into reality, emitting a faint spiritual radiance. Thin strands of mana seeped out—pitifully few, but unmistakable.
He had succeeded.
Before he could even rejoice, dark clouds surged over the heavens outside. The immense might of the heavens descended, covering the entire City Lord’s Mansion of Jade Spirit City in oppressive divine power.
Real Personage Qingyang and Commander Xu Ruozhou both revealed astonishment.
“So soon… Compared to the City Lord, all these years of my cultivation really have gone to waste.”
“The City Lord… is forming his Core?!”
Xu Ruozhou clenched his fists. He knew Wang Yu was barely ten years older than himself, yet was already advancing a full major realm ahead—an almost unbelievable feat.
At the Golden Abundance Tower, Jin Miaoshan leaned against a corridor railing, staring at the tribulation clouds above, feeling a chill run down her scalp.
“So fast… The opportunities near You Prefecture…”
“Come to think of it, the few days he returned coincided with the end of the Luofu Mountain Spirit Fruit struggle. Was that the opportunity?”
“Meow~”
In her arms, the black-furred Cloud-Stepping Lynx lazily stretched, utterly unbothered by the incoming heavenly might.
In the Heaven Treasure Pavilion, the City Lord’s good elder brother, Real Personage Han Jia, also noticed the disturbance at the City Lord’s Mansion and instantly deduced what was happening.
“So it’s Brother Wang Yu!
“Jinlong, Yinfeng, quickly come observe the ceremony. Prepare a congratulatory gift. We’ll pay our respects to the Lord of Jade Spirit City together.”
The twin siblings exchanged glances. The sister, Yinfeng, murmured, “Brother, you and I are both over twenty years older than Wang Yu, yet we’re only at mid Foundation Establishment.”
Han Jinlong sighed in admiration.
“The City Lord’s talent must be that of a Heavenly-grade Spiritual Root, though unpublicized. Truly enviable.”
“Indeed.”
Across Jade Spirit City, various factions reacted differently. Most hastily prepared gifts. Some sects even began organizing a celebration for the birth of another Core Formation cultivator.
Although the Blood Reversal Sect would never hold such festivities, the status of a Core Formation cultivator was worlds apart from before. The very inheritances one could access would no longer be the same.
Inside the cultivation chamber, the tribulation had not taken long to gather.
Soon, the first bolt of heavenly lightning descended, tearing through the hall and striking deep into the ground, locking precisely onto Wang Yu.
He summoned his Bloodline True Artifact, the Demonic Dragon Armor, covering his entire body. Without resistance, he let the lightning strike him directly. The violent thunder force caused little damage.
Instead, it felt invigorating—the benefit of third-rank body refinement. The armor and his physique were tempered by heavenly lightning, advancing further.
The second bolt soon followed, much stronger than the first.
The thunder filled his body. His internal organs felt intense pain, but when he activated the Yin Nether Demonic Dragon Art, the pain quickly subsided.
“Zzzzt—”
The final bolt of tribulation lightning, blue and white intertwined like a thunder pillar, fell from the heavens. Wang Yu’s expression turned solemn. He punched upward with the Demonic Dragon Fist.
A demonic dragon formed from blood and qi soared skyward.
It collided head-on with the lightning.
A deafening explosion followed. The lightning pillar shattered into countless serpentine bolts that continued to rain down on him.
The power was greatly weakened. Apart from a tingling numbness, the Demonic Dragon Armor absorbed streaks of thunder, the dragon head pattern devouring several heavenly lightning sigils.
Ordinary artifacts or true weapons could never withstand this level of impact.
“This must be the growth potential granted by the Dragon Vein treasure,” he thought.
The tribulation was over. The prepared lightning-avoidance treasures were never needed. This was within his expectations—it was not waste, but proof that his strength had surpassed his own estimates.
In truth, it was a good thing.
Focusing inward, he could feel the transformation in the essence of life brought by his breakthrough still ongoing.
As the lightning dissipated, an unseen divine blessing descended from the tribulation clouds, accelerating his metamorphosis.
His body, after enduring the flood of spiritual energy, underwent refinement on every level—flesh, meridians, and divine sense alike.
All of these were the blessings that came with breaking through to a higher realm.
Dantian Qi Sea.
As the Golden Core condensed, ten strands of nearly tangible mana coiled and swirled around it. At this stage of cultivation, the main focus was still on accumulating mana and strengthening the Golden Core.
Wang Yu had just broken through, stepping into the first layer of the Core Formation realm.
When his mana reached three hundred strands, he could advance to the second layer. After accumulating one thousand strands, he could break through to the third layer. Upon reaching three thousand strands, he would arrive at the peak.
By then, he would face a new challenge—Fortifying the Core.
Just like “Spirit Refining” during the Qi Refining Stage and “Essence Condensation” during the Foundation Establishment Stage, breaking through the mid-stage of Core Formation required injecting all three thousand strands of mana into the Golden Core.
It was the “fruit” of a cultivator’s path. By strengthening it, one’s overall power would rise accordingly.
If summarized by size: 1 li, 2 li, 5 li! [1]
These three diameters represent the standard scales for a cultivator's Golden Core. However, there are also some exceptionally powerful special individuals who can elevate their Golden Core to a diameter of 9 li.
Wang Yu felt that his Golden Core was indeed larger than most, but the true difference would only become clear after reaching the mid-stage of Core Formation.
At the beginning, every cultivator’s Core looked roughly the same.
His divine sense and physique had also improved with the breakthrough, each rising by a minor realm, marking a new stage of strength.
“Everything feels different now.”
Next, besides stabilizing his realm, he wanted to test the new cultivation speed and observe the changes in his Idle Slots.
It was not that a new slot had been added, but that with his cultivation realm improved, their efficiency should naturally increase—after all, they were extensions of his own foundation.
[Idle Slot 1: Heavenly Cold Yin Blood Technique (third-rank / perfected / cannot be advanced further)]
[Idle Slot 2: Heavenly Cold…]
[Idle Slot 3: Demonic Dragon Fist (Third-rank / Battle Art / Physical Divine Ability)]
(Demonic Dragon Fist 15/100: practice 9 times per day, will reach perfection in 65 years.)
[Idle Slot 4: Ice Chi Alchemy Technique (second-rank / currently being completed…)]
(Ice Chi Alchemy Technique 45/100: three derivations per day, perfection in twenty years.)
[Idle Slot 5: Corpse Demon Secret Technique (second-rank / currently being completed…)]
(Corpse Demon Secret Technique 99/100: practice 1,440 times per day, perfection in one month.)
[Idle Slot 6: Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal (third-rank / divine ability)]
(Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal 40/100: practice 24 times per day, perfection in 40 years.)
The nearly renewed efficiency filled Wang Yu with joy.
The Corpse Demon Secret Technique, which was already close to the third rank, would now be completed within just a month. By then, the minor residual flaws in his body would be perfectly resolved.
At the very least, his bodily sensitivity would return to normal.
Afterward, Wang Yu used the sixth slot to rotate through and inspect the exact progress of each of his arts and secret techniques.
(Ancient Soul Art 20/100: practice 3 times per day, perfection in three hundred fifty years.)
This was a Nascent Soul-level divine sense art. Being far from perfection was completely normal.
(Lesser Asura Killing Fist 65/100: practice 9 times per day, perfection in twenty years.)
This divine ability had already been cultivated to the Great Accomplishment stage, so this shortened duration was reasonable.
(Soul-Extinguishing Finger 32/100: practice 24 times per day, perfection in 40 years.)
(Yin Fiend Corpse Refining Technique 52/100: practice 1,440 times per day, perfection in 10 years.)
(Ten Thousand Miles Tracking...)
(Heavenly Soul One Qi...)
After a full review, Wang Yu replaced the Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal and Demonic Dragon Fist with Lesser Asura Killing Fist and Yin Fiend Corpse Refining Technique, prioritizing those close to perfection.
After reaching Core Formation, he planned to return to the sect to obtain new third-rank cultivation arts, along with matching divine abilities, spirit treasures, and inheritance. However, he would not return immediately.
Calculating the time, it had taken him three years to reach the Core Formation threshold.
During that period, he consumed a high-grade Core Formation spiritual item, the Frozen Blood of Ice Plains, absorbing vast amounts of heaven and earth spiritual energy to temper his body, compress his True Essence, and finally condense the Golden Core—a process that lasted two years.
Altogether, this secluded cultivation had taken five years, half the time he had originally expected.
It was now the 55th year and eighth month of Wang Yu’s tenure as an elder.
“Ninety-three years old, first layer of Core Formation.
“Barely achieved my goal of forming the Core before a hundred. Compared to a cultivator with Heavenly Spiritual Roots, I might not match the top tier, but I’m roughly equivalent to an ordinary Heavenly Spiritual Root.”
“And I still have one Earth Spirit Fruit left.”
At that thought, a second fruit appeared in Wang Yu’s hand.
According to Xiong Huan’s memories, the Yellow Springs Sect’s Yellow Springs Pill used this fruit as its main ingredient. Once refined, the resulting spiritual pill could increase one’s mana by a thousand strands.
It also carried some unknown benefits. The Blood Reversal Sect should have a similar type of pill. When he returned, he could refine it and consume it for maximum effect.
“Continue the seclusion. I’ll wait until the Idle Slots return new progress.”
Stabilizing his cultivation would still take some time.
On the second day after his breakthrough, as the feedback from both Idle Slots arrived as expected, Wang Yu couldn’t help but show a bitter smile. The progress was too slow.
Each Idle Slot generated one strand of mana per day. With two slots, that was two strands per day. At this rate, it would take 145 days to reach the second layer of Core Formation.
“Hmm...One hundred forty-five... days?!”
[1]Note:- 厘 (li): A traditional Chinese unit of length, equivalent to about 1/3 of a centimeter (or ~0.33 cm).