Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 189 True Core Transformation

Half a month later.

Taibai Island.

One after another, the five-toothed warships sailed into the area, but they did not find a single Zhong family cultivator.

Bei Lingxu's face was dreamlike as he arrived at the spirit herb garden. He found that all the mature spirit herbs had been harvested, but the seedlings were all left behind, which was very polite and courteous.

Her face showed even more confusion.

Fang Qing took her and Xiang Dahu with him when he went to Taibai Island.

Following the instructions of Ancestor Fang Qing, Xiang Dahu endured hardship and humiliation for many years, and risked his life to activate the formation to protect him when he reached the Core Formation stage, thus making a great contribution! As for Bei Lingshu, though physically in the enemy camp, her heart remained in Bi Hai, so she could also be considered to have made a contribution...

The result was as if it were child's play; the entire Taibai Island was "reclaimed," and now a group of array cultivators, led by Qin Ruxue, are busy setting up a real third-order array for Taibai Island.

"As expected of my Nascent Soul stage master uncle, being here allows him to obtain a third-tier array from the sect... This is a huge expense for the sect..."

"It is said that after that, Senior Sister Qin Ruxue will be stationed here year-round to oversee the formation... Xiang Dahu was relegated to the position of assistant, but he was happy to accept it... "After going around in circles... apart from the addition of Qin Ruxue, it feels like nothing has changed."

"After going around in circles, I'm back here again."

Inside the Ice Soul Cave, Fang Qing stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Ice Soul Cold Spring before him.

"Although it may seem like nothing has changed, the changes are actually huge. The main difference is that I now have the power of life and death over the disciples on the island... and I can dispose of whatever spiritual herbs are planted in this spiritual herb garden, or the Ice Soul Spirit Heart in the Cold Spring. It's like turning the public domain into private property..."

He flipped his palm, and a Five Elements Spirit Fruit appeared.

This is the one from the Azure Sea Sect. Ruan Zhixuan gave it to him directly, claiming that all he needed to do was give the sect a genuine Golden Core Pill, which could be considered a form of compensation...

Adding that third-tier formation, it really shows a lot of sincerity.

"I can reliably produce two high-quality Golden Core pills... I'll keep one for Yu Xiang'er... she'll need it someday." "As for Qin Ruxue and Xiang Dahu... if they reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, I still have a Five Elements Spirit Fruit to use..."

If someone around him can reach the Core Formation stage, Fang Qing will naturally offer his support without hesitation.

Unfortunately, most of them don't reach that level...

For example, if he hadn't been consuming pills that enhance mana, which are rare for Foundation Establishment cultivators, every day, how could he, with his mere average aptitude, have perfected his Foundation Establishment mana cultivation at around 100 years old?

It should be noted that the sect leaders Linghu and Shi were both more talented than him, but they only barely reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm around the age of 150. Shi Tiexin was even stuck at the bottleneck for many years and only managed to break through with the help of that "Great Barrier Breaking Pill".

"Qualifications and time..."

"Achieving Foundation Establishment perfection at one hundred years old is completely different from achieving it at one hundred and fifty years old... As for achieving Foundation Establishment perfection at nearly two hundred years old? There's hardly any chance of breaking through to Core Formation anymore..."

This is the significance of the large amount of resources consumed previously!

If it were taken out, it would be enough for a dozen or so people with superior aptitude to spend decades cultivating to the peak of Foundation Establishment.

The goal, however, is to enable Fang Qing to reach the Foundation Establishment Perfection stage at an even faster pace, so that he can seize the opportunity of this secret realm and achieve continuous progress from the first step!

"Even with my aptitude, I still need to take drugs!"

"Fortunately, I prepared in advance, and this time when the secret realm opened, I gained about 70-80% of the expected benefits..."

"These spiritual herbs are enough to solidify my early-stage Core Formation cultivation, and perhaps even allow me to advance further..."

"And... it's time to go into seclusion and cultivate to break through to the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm."

After forming his core, Fang Qing rushed off to ambush and kill people... He didn't even have time to improve his own Qi Conversion Dao realm.

Fortunately, his cultivation level was high enough that he didn't need any supplementary pills; his breakthrough was a natural process.

As for refining the Golden Core elixir?

Of course, it should be placed after one's own cultivation...

Fang Qing returned to his cave dwelling, went to his secluded cultivation room, and communicated with the Dao Life Pearl again, witnessing the scene where Zhong Lingxiu bestowed the Longevity Turtle Inner Core upon Zhan Hongxiu. This was actually at his behest.

Zhong Lingxiu was a pawn he sent to the cultivation world in the East Sea, so naturally she needed a capable person to assist her.

As a woman of destiny, Zhan Hongxiu is destined to stir up a storm.

As long as the situation isn't swayed in their favor, the death of a servant is insignificant. On the contrary, it would allow Fang Qing to see more of the true nature of the East China Sea forces and obtain more intelligence.

The demon core of that Longevity Turtle was naturally from the Longevity Turtle of the Jiang family on Sanyuan Island back then.

"Zhan Hongxiu... may have some doubts in her heart. After all, third-level body refiners are extremely rare, and the possibility of two appearing in the same place at the same time is even lower... and I withstood the heavenly lightning with my bare body, ultimately revealing some of my trump cards in order to gain great benefits..."

"But I have done her a favor regardless of my identity, and it's an open secret... Besides, I also paid her hush money."

"I'm actually quite looking forward to this woman's experiences in the cultivation world of the East Sea..."

A slight smile played on Fang Qing's lips as he began his seclusion...

Time flies.

Inside the cave.

Fang Qing was enveloped in a layer of water mist, and streams of [Ji Shui] radiance enveloped his entire body, making him appear even more otherworldly.

"Late stage of Dao Foundation...accomplished."

Recalling how easily he broke through, Fang Qing couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed... high cultivation level is the key."

This seclusion was much easier and took less time than the previous breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation.

"After reaching the Purple Mansion realm, the requirements for cultivation level are even higher..."

"Of course, the risks faced by cultivators are also greater... They are more likely to suffer the calamity of Dao transformation. Is it that cultivators are pursuing the Great Dao, or is the Great Dao chasing after people?" Fang Qing sighed in his heart.

Since his seclusion period was still short, he wasn't in a hurry to come out. Instead, he took the time to familiarize himself with the various Dao foundations.

He is currently focusing on the *Listening to the Mysterious Spring Scripture*, but once he attains enlightenment, it is permanent. The foundations of all his other cultivation methods have reached the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, each gaining considerable depth and mystery. The insights gained from these advancements are worthy of his prolonged contemplation…

"sword!"

Several months later, Fang Qing, dressed in a blue robe, softly uttered a toast.

The light of the [Ji Shui] gathered in the void and transformed into a sharp, semi-transparent scalpel.

In terms of quality, it is almost on par with a first-stage flying sword.

"Although I've tried various Dao foundations, none of them are as comfortable as my [Ji Shui] Dao foundation..."

"Furthermore, the talent of 'verbal sparring' has been enhanced once again... Now it is somewhat useful in Dao Foundation battles."

He had never seen such a talent for magic on any other Dao foundation, except for the [Ji Shui] Dao that suited his own destiny.

"Perhaps it's because my cultivation in other techniques is insufficient? After all, my cultivation in the [Ji Shui] technique is definitely the most profound..."

Fang Qing even had a vague premonition at this moment.

His own innate magic was only a minor skill when he was at the Foundation Establishment stage. If he waited until he broke through to the Purple Mansion stage and mastered supernatural powers, his supernatural powers would be in harmony with his destiny, and he might even generate more strange and wonderful abilities!

"Now that the Lesser Universe is unified and there has been no major war, the ruins will likely remain unopened for at least several decades..."

"Zhong Lingxiu and the others also went to the cultivation world in the East Sea..."

"It's time to focus more on Ancient Shu and consider my own path to the Purple Mansion..."

The Purple Palace is difficult to reach! It's as difficult as ascending to heaven!

Thinking that even with Sangji's initial savings, he had struggled for decades and almost failed to break through, only managing to do so with the help of the True Lord's ascension and the spiritual energy of the Great Benefit Earth Virtue, Fang Qing knew that achieving the Purple Mansion realm was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

"And... although Du Zi can also cultivate, it's strange, and it easily attracts attention..."

"Breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm can be done through the Qi Refining Path... I don't want to be attacked by some inexplicable spiritual energy, leading to failure and death... "Although there are no benefits here, there are no drawbacks either... In other words, the spiritual energy here is balanced in the five elements, extremely stable, and unchanging for ten thousand years... Of course, this "stability" does not mean that the five elements are absolutely equal. For example, on this Taibai Island, there is more icy spiritual energy, but the other attributes of fire, water, and wood also exist.

Furthermore, although it may change due to cultivators' practice, formation changes, and other factors, it is like the tides of the ocean, rising and falling, and then maintaining an average level, unlike the bizarre surges and crashes of ancient Shu...

It won't affect a single prefecture or even the entire country, and it won't last for several years or even decades...

After completely transforming the ancient Shu Road foundation and carefully experiencing it, Fang Qing took out the Black Yuan True Man's natal magic weapon, "Black Heaven Halberd".

He converted his Qi Refining Dao's Core Formation power back into his own, and within the emerald green core, a spark of alchemical fire emerged, refining the Black Origin True Man's natal magic weapon. "Indeed, it resisted, and its power was permanently reduced by several tenths... However, since it was the Black Origin True Man's natal magic weapon, its quality was quite good, and it had been constantly refined by his alchemical fire... It surpassed ordinary low-grade magic weapons by a notch, but it was still inferior to the Jade Flute and the Sea Transformation Pearl."

After advancing to the Core Formation stage, the innate true fire within his body from the time of Foundation Establishment has transformed into the "Core Fire" unique to Core Formation cultivators.

This fire can refine true elixirs and even nurture natal magic treasures. Over time, it can even cause natal magic treasures to break through ranks along with the cultivator's breakthroughs... "After the 'Azure Sea Technique' reaches the Core Formation stage, there are also many secret techniques for cultivating lamps..."

"I could even switch to the Devouring Sea Technique! With the Dao-Born Pearl, I can use other techniques to conceal my true power most of the time, and only pull out the real thing when it matters, without fear of being discovered..."

Fang Qing's expression was somewhat strange, and his aura suddenly changed!

Strands of wood-attribute spiritual energy gathered, enveloping his body in a layer of azure light.

The Dao Sheng Pearl spun around, and the top-grade true pill in his dantian was dissolved.

Instead, there was a bright blue, vibrant true pill, the very one formed from the "Turtle and Crane Longevity Technique"! Qi Refining cultivators possess all five elements, so they can naturally cultivate other attribute techniques, though the efficiency would be very low. But with the Dao Life Pearl infusing him, he doesn't need to cultivate at all.

"Also of superior quality, but surpassing ordinary superior-grade true pills..."

After some thought, Fang Qing felt a chill run down his spine: "Is it because the quality of the core formed by my 'Azure Sea Technique' is limited? No matter what kind of technique I transform it into, the quality of the true core can never surpass that of the 'Azure Sea Technique' true core?"

However, the fact that the Dao Sheng Pearl can dissolve the true elixir and freely transform cultivation methods already demonstrates its great power.

He wasn't greedy; he merely sensed the power of the "Turtle and Crane Longevity Technique" and shook his head: "Without a contracted natal spirit pet, my current power limit is just this; no matter how I cultivate, I can't improve... and it doesn't have the ability to prolong life. It's just an ordinary health cultivation technique..." The key to this technique lies in contracting a natal spirit pet. Fang Qing's ability to cultivate this technique to the Core Formation stage without a natal spirit pet is already cheating.

He hadn't originally intended to use this skill for anything; he was just preparing for the worst.

"After all, this technique was cultivated by Zhan Hongxiu, that woman of destiny, and it's vaguely related to the Zhou Tian Star Palace... It might involve some kind of fortuitous encounter." Some secret realms and treasures have restrictions... that require specific cultivation techniques to open!

For Fang Qing, the only use of this health-preserving exercise was this.

If you really want to use a disguise to kill and steal treasure, you might as well use the "Black Mystic Scripture" to transform a demonic core...