Chapter 165: Core Formation Realm

Chapter 165: Core Formation Realm

Silence settled over the ruins.

The tribulation clouds had dispersed. The silver lightning was gone. Only shattered pieces of the Ancient Palace remained, floating above the battlefield.

On one of the larger fragments lay two figures.

Lothe and Seana.

Their clothes were torn and scorched. Blood covered their bodies. Neither had the strength to move.

Yet deep within them, their breakthroughs were still underway.

——————————

Darkness.

Lothe no longer felt uneasy within it this time. The darkness seemed familiar—almost a part of him. And beneath it, he could sense something deeper: the faint presence of the Void.

A purple light appeared.

Slowly, the darkness receded, revealing the network of meridians that ran through his body. At their center lay his Core—the foundation of his cultivation.

HUMMMMM!

Scattered Qi began to flow toward a single point.

Purple spatial energy gathered there, compressing again and again as the pressure increased. A tiny sphere of light formed within his Lower abdomen. At first, it was no larger than a grain of sand.

Then it began to grow.

Every strand of Qi in Lothe’s body flowed toward it. But the sphere drew in something else as well: his Spirit Root. His Superpower.

A single, purple strand, fine as a hair, floated within his dantian. It looked insignificant beside the gathering energy, yet it was the source of his affinity for space and the origin of his ability.

As the core continued to form, the strand drifted toward it.

HUMMMMM!

The Spirit Root entered the sphere.

BOOOOOOM!

Lothe’s inner world trembled. Purple spatial Qi surged from the forming core, spreading through his dantian.

The sphere expanded until it enclosed the Spirit Root completely. No trace of the strand remained visible.

It hadn’t disappeared. It had become part of the foundation of his new core.

The sphere contracted. Its surface grew denser and steadier. Faint spatial patterns appeared across it.

THUMP!

The core pulsed, sending a powerful wave through Lothe’s inner world.

But the transformation wasn’t complete.

A familiar cultivation art began to circulate.

[VOID DEVOUR — STAGE 2!]

[QI CIRCULATION INITIATED!]

Purple energy rushed through Lothe’s meridians. The Void Devour technique circulated his Qi as quickly as his damaged body could bear.

Again.

And again.

The Qi returned to his dantian, where the forming core absorbed and compressed it. His meridians trembled under the strain, but the circulation continued.

HUMMMMMMMMM!

The purple core rotated faster. Spatial patterns connected across its surface, forming three anchor points at key junctions in the surrounding meridians.

Then—

THUMP!

The core released another pulse. The Qi settled. Its rotation slowed and stabilized.

[CORE FORMATION SUCCESSFUL!]

[CULTIVATION REALM: CORE FORMATION — INITIAL STAGE]

[SPIRIT ROOT INTEGRATION: COMPLETE]

[VOID DEVOUR QI CIRCULATION: STABILIZED]

Lothe had entered the Core Formation Realm.

His Spirit Root was now integrated into his Void Core, forming the foundation of his new cultivation.

But he remained unconscious. His body still needed time to recover from the tribulation.

Then something called to him.

Something familiar.

Something broken.

Far away, four fragments of metal began to tremble.

Lothe’s Void Spear had been broken to form the Fourfold Void Array, its pieces used as spatial anchors. Now, a faint purple glow appeared across their surfaces.

TINK!

The first fragment lifted from the ruins. The other three followed.

SHUUUUU!

All four fragments shot through the shattered Palace toward a single destination: Lothe.

They stopped above the floating platform, directly in front of him, and formed a line.

Then they began to rotate.

HUMMMMM!

A thin strand of purple light shot from the fragments and entered Lothe’s forehead.

His awareness stirred.

Something had entered his mind. It wasn’t a voice or a clear message, but an instinctive understanding.

His fingers twitched.

Then his eyes snapped open.

They were clear, though exhaustion still weighed on him.

Without a word, his hands formed a series of unfamiliar seals. Purple Qi danced around his fingertips, twisting the air.

He didn’t know where the knowledge had come from.

But he understood what to do.

His fingers shifted into the final seal.

"Return."

A thin purple beam shot toward the fragments.

SHUUUUU!

They vibrated and flew toward one another. Their broken edges joined as spatial Qi flowed between them.

CLANG!

The fragments fused. Cracks disappeared. The shaft reformed, followed by the spearhead.

BOOOOOOM!

A wave of spatial Qi swept across the platform.

The Void Spear was whole again.

Lothe reached out and caught it. The moment his fingers closed around the shaft, a strong resonance passed through his body. His newly formed Void Core responded.

His lips curved slightly.

"Behave."

The spear gave a soft vibration, as if answering him.

Lothe rose, ignoring the exhaustion weighing on his body. He adjusted his grip and rotated the spear. Its shaft swept through the air, leaving graceful arcs of purple Qi.

A thrust.

A horizontal sweep.

One final rotation.

WHOOSH!

He stopped, holding the spear at his side. A distant piece of stone split apart from the spatial ripple left by his last movement.

Lothe raised an eyebrow.

His strength had increased. So had his control of the spear. The weapon followed his movements more naturally than before.

He glanced at it. "Not bad."

With a thought, the Void Spear disappeared into his Soul Manor.

He wanted to check his status, but the pain in his body changed his mind.

Later.

He had broken through, but he was in no condition to do anything else.

Lothe raised his hand. Purple spatial Qi spread beneath the floating platform. The fractured stone trembled, then began to descend toward the battlefield.

Behind him, Seana remained unconscious.

——————————

Inside Seana’s inner world, crimson energy began to gather.

Her Crimson Blood Cycle activated.

THUMP!

Her heart beat.

Crimson Blood Qi rushed through her meridians and converged in her dantian.

The circulation accelerated, drawing in the remaining spiritual energy and compressing it into a small, crimson sphere.

HUMMMMM!

The sphere grew as the Crimson Blood Cycle continued. Its energy compressed again and again, but the pressure threatened to destabilize it.

Still, the cycle continued.

Her Qi flowed through her meridians, returned to her dantian, and gathered around the forming core.

Again.

And again.

Until—

BOOOOOOM!

Crimson light filled her inner world.

The sphere contracted into a dense, solid core. Fine patterns appeared across its surface, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

THUMP!

A wave of Crimson Blood Qi spread through her body. Her meridians trembled as her cultivation foundation completed its transformation.

The core rotated once more.

Then stabilized.

[CORE FORMATION SUCCESSFUL!]

[CULTIVATION REALM: CORE FORMATION — INITIAL STAGE]

[CRIMSON BLOOD CYCLE: STABILIZED]

Seana had entered the Core Formation Realm.

The crimson light faded. Her new core continued to rotate within her dantian, releasing faint waves of Blood Qi.

Her breakthrough was complete.

But the price had been enormous. She had exhausted herself maintaining the Crimson Lotus Sanctuary, and the tribulation had pushed her remaining strength to its limit.

Even after breaking through, she had almost nothing left.

Her eyelashes trembled.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

——————————

The floating platform continued its descent.

Lothe turned toward Seana. Their gazes met.

Neither spoke at first. They could both feel the change within themselves—the formation of their cores and the transformation of their cultivation.

They had made it.

After everything the Palace had thrown at them, they had both reached the Core Formation Realm.

But the exhaustion left by the tribulations was overwhelming. Lothe tried to stand straight, but his legs trembled. Seana tried to sit up, but her arms gave way.

"hey..." Lothe managed.

She gave him a faint smile.

Then—

THUD!

They both suddenly collapsed onto the platform.

Their breakthroughs were complete. But Their bodies had reached their limits.

For a moment, everyone simply stared.

Then General Vaelric Ashford stepped forward. "Medics! Now!"

Several soldiers rushed to the platform.

"Check their conditions!"

One soldier knelt beside Lothe. Another examined Seana.

"They’re alive, General!"

Vaelric released a breath. "Of course they are. Prepare two stretchers. Be careful."

He looked toward the shattered Palace, then back at Lothe and Seana.

"We’re returning to the Glacial Spirit Sect."

A soldier hesitated. "General, what about the remaining ruins?"

"They can wait," Vaelric said. "These two can’t."

The soldiers carefully lifted Lothe and Seana onto separate stretchers.

Nyren watched as they carried Lothe away. Oren stood beside her, his expression unusually quiet as he looked toward Seana.

Asher glanced up at the sky, remembering the pressure of the thirty-six lightning strikes.

Professor Sy remained behind for a moment, his gaze resting on the restored Void Spear. Something about it troubled him, but he couldn’t yet say why.

Finally, he followed the others.

The soldiers began the journey back to the Glacial Spirit Sect.

Behind them, the shattered Palace remained silent. Its core was destroyed. Its formations had fallen. The survivors were finally leaving its ruins.

Yet two faint auras still rose from the stretchers.

One purple.

One crimson.

Both had entered the Core Formation Realm.

And neither knew how much their breakthroughs had changed them.?