Chapter 68: Chapter 68 The Golden Core is Formed
"After passing the second assessment, Chang Xiao is able to cultivate in the Wuji Dao Sect for a hundred years before taking the third assessment."
"If he passes, it will be the beginning of Chang Xiao's immortal journey and a blessing for our Sect."
"Disciple, you must also work hard."
"Master, rest assured, I will definitely work hard," Yang Ji nodded as he spoke.
How could he not work hard? The Dao Sect was a powerful aid on his path to becoming an immortal, and he was determined to strive to stay within it.
Lately, he chatted with Jian Yuanzi and then left the great hall to get some fresh air and clear his mind.
During his leisurely stroll within the Sect, he encountered Qing He True Person, the only grandmaster alchemist of Canglan Sect. All the demon cores he had taken since joining the Sect had been refined by him.
The medicine pills contained no impurities or residual demonic power; it was clear that Qing He True Person's alchemy mastery had reached an extremely profound level.
To refine Demon Essence Pills must be a task well within his capabilities.
Upon seeing Yang Ji, he approached enthusiastically, smiling as he said, "Nephew, the Demonic Miasma Sea has just sent over a batch of high-grade Demon Companion Herbs and Demon Cores. I see you are at leisure, how about accompanying your uncle to the Alchemy Hall for a visit?"
"Learning a few alchemy techniques from your uncle could greatly benefit you once you join the Dao Sect," he said cheerfully.
Seeing this, Yang Ji also smiled and said, "Then I will accompany uncle to take a look. If I can learn a bit of alchemy from my uncle's hands, it would be my honor."
"Haha, then let's go. Your uncle will certainly teach you everything he knows," Qing He True Person heartily laughed and then grabbed Yang Ji, flying towards the Alchemy Hall.
Inside the Alchemy Hall.
While Qing He True Person refined pills, Yang Ji watched attentively.
As the two conversed, interchangeably exchanging thoughts, Qing He True Person was astonished to find that Yang Ji had a profound understanding of alchemy, with quite an advanced mastery.
Qing He True Person shifted from one-sided instruction to discussion.
The more they discussed, the more amazed he was by Yang Ji's accomplishments in alchemy—his understanding of medicinal properties and effects was like the back of his hand, his control of the heating, and the near-perfect fusion of various medicinal liquids was truly befitting of a grandmaster alchemist.
Qing He even wondered at one point if Yang Ji was an Alchemy Saint.
So outstanding, regardless of the year of the ingredients or how they were combined, he could create medicine pills with supreme efficacy and a hundred percent success rate in pill formation. It was simply astounding.
Qing He True Person was astonished and engaged in deep discussions and research with Yang Ji.
Yang Ji also realized that Qing He True Person indeed deserved the title of grandmaster alchemist. He was learned and skilled, far surpassing ordinary people in alchemy, adept at drawing from related fields, and open-minded.
In their discussions, Yang Ji learned a lot as well.
The two stayed in the Alchemy Hall for a whole year. During this time, Yang Ji and Qing He True Person together perfected many pill recipes, from the Demon Essence Pill to the Spirit Qi Pill and so on, amounting to over a hundred different kinds.
They made perfect annotations on how various years' ingredients should be matched, presenting an appropriately ranged ratio that made the process appear as simple as following a formula.
Yang Ji perfected many pill recipes also as a way to repay Canglan Sect. With these recipes, the pills produced would be of higher quality, and the overall strength of the Sect would also see a slight increase.
Because of this, the identity of Yang Ji as a grandmaster alchemist quickly spread among all the Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
They were astounded; they never expected that their potential Void Refining Seed was also an alchemist.
With such abilities, even if his aptitude and talent were not outstanding, the treatment he received in the Sect was on par with that of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
Everyone wished to see Yang Ji refine pills in person, but their visit to the Alchemy Hall was in vain.
For at that very moment, Yang Ji had already returned to Sword Peak and resumed his secluded cultivation.
Two years went by in a hurry.
Yang Ji's cultivation had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
[Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment Peak (819200/819200)]
At this moment, the True Rigidity Divine Art was continually activated, causing the spiritual energy vortex to furiously refine the spiritual liquid.
The spiritual liquid within his Dantian began to boil.
In an instant, the spiritual light within the Dantian flourished, and strands of golden light emerged, which were the True Qi born from countless times of refinement of the spiritual liquid.
True Qi was the essence of the spiritual liquid, and it was furiously refining and transforming at this moment.
This golden True Qi, unique to the cultivation of the True Rigidity Divine Art, was like metallic filaments, each thread conveying a sense of sharpness, firmness, and weight.
Unable to contain himself, Yang Ji immediately summoned a strand, and a golden light burst forth from his hand, slashing at the wall of the secret chamber.
Pu!
Stone chips flew, and a half-foot-long mark appeared on the surface of the tough Black Rigid Rock, the edges as sharp as if they were cut by a knife.
Yang Ji withdrew the True Qi with a flick of his wrist and chopped again.
Put put put!
The True Qi slashed at the Black Rigid Rock like a knife, cutting countless intersecting gashes that were shocking to behold.
"True Qi as sharp as a knife, much more powerful than spiritual power. Mere strands of True Qi woven into a dense net can reduce an average Foundation Establishment Realm to minced meat. If one were to wield sword moves with True Qi, the power would probably increase by several or even dozens of times compared to sword moves executed with spiritual power."
Yang Ji was elated, knowing that True Qi was one of the strong indicators of a Golden Core True Person.
He was now touching upon it because he was attempting to break through to this realm.
At this moment, the Daoist-grade cultivation technique, True Rigidity Divine Art, finally revealed its extraordinary nature. The golden True Qi cultivated was of extremely high quality, both in purity and in power, several or even dozens of times better than True Qi cultivated from ordinary top-grade techniques.
From the initially born first strand of golden True Qi to the second, and then more and more until finally, there was a multitude of them.
A year later, the entire Dantian was aglow with golden light.
Everywhere there were interweaving strands of golden True Qi like golden silkworm threads, which, intertwined, instantly formed a dazzling and brilliant glow.
The golden True Qi was compressing at extreme speeds, condensing more and more.
This condensed and compressed golden True Qi was the embryonic form of a Golden Core.
With the utmost compression, the True Qi light sphere vaguely showed signs of forming a core.
It was in this extreme compression that the True Qi continued to collide and spark against each other until, with a boom, flames burst forth from the light sphere.
The flames were a pale yellow, emitting terrifying high temperatures; as soon as they appeared, even Yang Ji felt a scorching heat.
Yet, upon seeing these flames, a smile appeared on his face.
These flames, born from the collision and friction of True Qi, were the Samadhi True Fire. The appearance of this fire also signified that the True Qi light sphere was sufficiently compressed and condensed, and it was about to form a Golden Core.
Samadhi True Fire, besides True Qi, was another strong indicator of a Golden Core True Person.
With this fire, he could finally forge his own Lifebound Magic Weapon.
Looking at the flames, Yang Ji's smile soon faded, and he began to compress the True Qi light sphere with all his might, striking at the realm.
Three days later.
Hum!
A resonating tremor, like striking a metallic sphere, suddenly emanated from within the Dantian, and with that sound, the True Qi light sphere shined brilliantly, bursting forth with dazzling golden light.
As the tremor gradually subsided, and the golden light slowly receded.
At last, all the golden light shrunk into a fist-sized golden sphere within the Dantian.
Hum hum hum!
With the final faint tremor fading away, the golden sphere stopped trembling, and the yellow flames surging on its surface completely retracted.
Yang Ji looked at the golden sphere in his Dantian, beholding the core filled with enormous energy, akin to a nuclear bomb, and his face finally broke into a radiant smile.
The Golden Core, at last, was formed!
(The rest is written in the author's note, not for them to see.)