Paragon of Sin

Mana. 

A single word, yet it was infinitely profound. To cultivators who've stepped into the Qi Condensation Realms, their steps on the path of cultivation relied on it heavily. It had many other names, but amongst cultivators, the word 'Mana' had a unique Dao charm of truth.

What did it mean? What was mana? 

It starts at the Sixth Stage of Qi Condensation, the False Reality Phase. To ascend to that level, one needed to sense mana, absorb mana, and use it to facilitate the fusion of yin and yang energies. This bestowed cultivators the ability of 'Creation'. The Metaphysical Qi they produce can interact with the world with it, sustain itself for long periods of time, and much more.

Some call it World Qi, as Wei Wuyin originally did. Long Chen had called it Essence. Not the Essence of Heaven and Earth that's used to cultivate, but the Essence of the World. It acted as the agent to bind energies, allowing all things to interact, bind, transform, change, and exist. 

Others referred to it as a unique vibration that exists perpetually in the world, impacting all things, allowing a subtle resonance between yin, yang, and all energies in existence.

Without mana within an object, that object will inevitably vanish into nothing, having no true effect on the world itself. This was the case for those below the Sixth Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

By absorbing a minute amount of mana, a cultivator starts their truest path of cultivation. They turn the world's mana into their own personalized mana via refinement. The Spirit within the Heart of Qi absorbs the world's mana, refines it, and the Spirit transforms. With this mana, it can now merge with the energies of the world.

This opened the path to the Eighth Stage of the Qi Condensation, the Infused Spirituality Phase, where Spirit merges with the Heart of Qi, becoming a Natal Soul. It can be considered a legitimate existence to the world. 

The very next step of cultivation from this point is to reinforce the Natal Soul, Qi Essence. Qi Essence required the intermixing of the Natal Soul's core energies and the world's mana refined continuously, and then the Natal Soul would birth a mote of it. By reabsorbing this Qi Essence changes the compositional state of the Natal Soul.

The strength and potential of which is defined by Mortal States, from 1st to 9th. If Qi Essence's composition can be determined as 99.9% Natal Soul's energies and 0.01% of the World's Mana, then the final Essence that produces a Zenith Mortal State is the exact opposite. The extreme concentration of mana initiates an evolution of unimaginable proportions.

The resulting Metaphysical Qi & Astral Force reaches a similar extreme degree of quality and potential. The more connected the Natal Soul was connected to the World, the more benefits received from the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation. 

Wei Wuyin experienced this first hand as he received the design for Elemental Origin Intent, Saber Intent, Elemental Heart Intent, and Saber Heart Intent. While he hadn't been able to comprehend Elemental Heart Intent due to lacking three Intents for fire, water, and wind, he received the full overview and was enlightened towards Saber Heart Intent and Elemental Origin Intent.

He knew that those of the lower Mortal State would receive less clarity and likely lack a full overview of the designs to comprehend these Intents, but not the Zenith Mortal State.

Mana was too essential for cultivators, and it existed in everything. Mana wasn't just there to hold together the world, it was much more profound than simply that. Wei Wuyin felt that each independent Dao had its own 'mana'. The Dao's mana stabilizes itself in this world, but they didn't act against the world's. In fact, it might even allow its existence with glee.

This was primarily because of the Heavenly Daos. When he absorbed the punishment of the Heavenly Daos after killing Yuan Longshi, turning karmic sin for killing a Blessed into karmic luck, his Celestial Eyes observed another type of 'unique substance' that was constructing the punishment together. It hadn't controlled the world's mana; it 'rode' it.

This was further substantiated when his Mortal Stars during the tribulations for Kratos and Eden. The moment they initiated their tribulations, they experienced vastly different changes. Firstly, the Alchemic Eden Astral Soul's, or Eden, tribulation had directly descended into his mind.

As for Kratos, it took him on a trip through time and space. He still didn't know if it was real or not, but his memories were divided into two different lives. While these lives weren't massively different, what he experienced had subtle effects in his past the more he inspected these memories. The only issue was he couldn't verify if he was in his timeline or the other one currently.

They both led to the same ends.

Now, as he observed his Astral Souls, he realized their action of accumulating the golden lightning was the same as gathering a uniquely high-quality concentration of the world's mana. The golden lightning baptized his body and mind, allowing him to control the ambient mana. This was the Sky Pressure those in the Sky Ruler Phase was renowned for.

He could, at will, walk on the ambient mana like the golden. He could touch it, twist it, gather it, and disperse it. He became a ruler of the world's mana, and it was a feeling that felt as if he ruled the entire world. The phase's name was aptly termed, and he felt divine.

As for Astral Souls, they were using the golden lightning and the core energies of each other to refine it, over, and over, and over. It was constant and a four-man effort. 

"They're trying to create Qi Essence?" As he noted their actions, he realized that the golden lightning was just high-quality mana that exceeds the ambient mana of the world, concentrated and transformed. They were refining this golden lightning mana using the same process of creating Essence. But he had never heard of such a thing.

While he knew there were Alchemical Products that can enhance a Natal/Astral Soul's Mortal State, he'd never once seen a recipe that refined mana with Astral Core Realm level of energies. In fact, it was possible to do so, but the result would be pointless. Practically speaking, how could cultivators not try?

After all, no one wished to remain with a weak foundation if there was an alternative, but it simply wasn't useful. It wasn't that an Astral Soul's state can't change, but the Principle of Mana Phasing existed. This principle states that when Qi or Astral Force lacks sufficient quality of mana, below the world's mana, the world's mana slowly ebbs away the personalized mana. This causes the Qi and Astral Force's compositional energies, physical, spiritual, mental, and essence to slowly deteriorate at their seams and disperse.

This was a principle even Wu Jiao understood. It's the very reason cultivators find it difficult to obtain permanence in their ability to create. When Qi or Astral Force, supported by personalized refined mana at the Zenith level, equates to the same level of strength as the world's mana, it negates the Principle of Mana Erosion.

The world's mana could no longer eat away at and reclaim the personally refined mana of others. 

But the problem lies in the energy of the Astral Core Realm level, even the weakest. It exceeds the limits that the world's mana can withstand. Trying to refine it was going to cause it to disperse. Furthermore, Qi Essence was like trying to change the body constitution of a seven-meter giant with a drop of water. There simply wasn't any point. An Astral Soul has been transformed by the unique energies of the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation, and this makes it difficult to change.

Only the Dao of Alchemy can interact and create unique existences like the Everlore Ascension Pills can alter an Astral Soul's constitution post-transformation. The energies within are compatible and influence the Astral Soul in ways cultivators can barely conceive. To replicate this effect with their own power?

Impossible.

At least, impossible for those at the Astral Core Realm. Above? He didn't know.

"The golden lightning mana is a stronger version of the world's mana! You four want to change your Astral Soul's Mortal State?!" He deduced their intentions immediately, trying to create personalized mana that exceeded the normal world's mana limits!

No wonder they needed so much golden lightning and even tricked it using their auras. If it wasn't for their forced dormant state after initiating their Astral Tribulation, he had no doubt these four would be more brazen!

They might stack thousands or hundreds of thousands if they could! The thought caused him to shiver slightly. While ten of these things hurt little, he couldn't imagine so many entering his body.

"It's here!" His Celestial Eyes brightened as he observed their final efforts. This...what was going to happen?