Chapter 634 - 502: Gathering Storm at the Peak of Chaoyang

The might of the thunder tribulation far surpasses ordinary thunder techniques, no cultivator is willing to enter where others are undergoing a breakthrough.

"As you command."

...

As orders were issued one by one, disciples of the Golden Spirit Sect were all abuzz, heatedly discussing what had happened to cause the sect leaders to mobilize so dramatically.

Zhuu Xiangrong arrived at the Treasure Pavilion and asked:

"Junior Brother Jia, what exactly happened? You’re working at Sunrise Peak, surely the ancestor’s orders would have informed you of the reason."

The sect’s commotion was significant, but no word had been leaked beforehand, leaving him very puzzled.

Not only him, many fellow sect members were also puzzled, and they elected him to ask for clarification, so everyone could respond accordingly.

Jia Yu smiled mysteriously and said:

"It’s good news, just wait and see, Senior Brother."

Zhuu Xiangrong grinned, how could a fully activated Mountain Protection Array be good news?

Suddenly, a possibility struck him, and his voice trembled, "Could it be that Junior Brother Ji is about to break through?"

A few years ago, Ji An suddenly returned, causing a sensation among acquaintances, and everyone who heard the news found it unbelievable.

A cultivator who comprehended all the Five Elements Mutual Generation Divine Intent in just over twenty years, something unheard of, at least in the history of the Western Continent.

If it was to prepare for Ji An’s breakthrough, then it all made sense.

Jia Yu smiled without speaking, as it wasn’t hard to guess.

...

Three days later, Ji An burned incense, bathed, and drank a cup of extremely potent Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea.

The originally fragrant tea had an indescribable bitterness, yet he found it as sweet as nectar.

He walked out of the grotto mansion, feeling that the sky was wide and the earth vast, with a refreshing breeze.

Riding the cloud to the foot of the mountain, he used the Teleportation Array to reach Ningcui Cliff, then transferred to Sunrise Peak.

Master Yuxiao looked at him, whose eyes radiated determination, and smiled,

"Have you decided on your future Dao name?"

Ji An scratched his head and laughed, "Not yet."

Worrying about what Dao name to take before successfully becoming a Daoist Master seemed a bit inauspicious to him.

"Haha, relax a bit! Looseness within tension, tension within looseness, oscillation is the way of cultivation."

The two arrived at a grotto mansion facing the cliff, and Master Yuxiao pointed at the entrance covered with wild grass, speaking with a bit of emotion:

"Here, Senior Brother Zhengyang broke through to the Golden Core Stage, becoming the sect’s first Daoist Master.

Here, I also made a successful breakthrough, and now, it welcomes its third guest."

This grotto mansion holds special significance for the sect, so they sealed it, only opening it for cultivators preparing for the Golden Core breakthrough.

He performed a spell to disable the Mimic Array, making the wild grass disappear and revealing a tidy little platform.

Master Yuxiao handed over the Black Jade Bottle and said:

"Enter, your accumulation is deeper than that of Senior Brother and me back then, thus solidifying the Golden Core will surely be much smoother."

Even with the same aptitude, cultivators have different endowments.

He had carefully sensed this disciple’s aura, and in terms of life force, it hardly differed from that of a newly entered Golden Core cultivator.

Vigorous life force indicates a similarly vigorous Primordial Life Fire, indirectly proving that the opposite party’s amount of magical power is significantly greater than that of ordinary cultivators.

Things are different now; the other party enjoys nourishment from the Tier Two Top-grade Soul Nourishing Wood Spiritual Artifact, supplemented with Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea as water, making their spirit soul strength far superior to ours when we broke through back then.

With ample magical power and strong spirit soul among other enhancements, as long as the other party breaks through successfully, the quality of their Golden Core will surely be better.

His only concern was that, as a Spirit Farmer, the other might be at a loss when facing the mighty heavenly power of the thunder tribulation.

As long as the other party can overcome the psychological hurdle, success is already half-achieved.

...

The Mountain Protection Array of the Golden Spirit Sect was fully activated, isolating all interactions between inside and outside.

Now, the entire mountain peak was left with only one cultivator, along with some inconspicuous small animals and insects.

Master Yuxiao left Sunrise Peak, riding a cloud to a small hill nearby.

There, a parasol covering about ten-feet area was set up, with tables and chairs arranged, and spirit fruit pastries placed on the table.

Jia Yu approached, "Ancestor, please take the main seat. How many days will the cultivator’s Core Formation last?"

The time required for Core Formation was considerable, but the exact duration was unknown to him.

"If everything goes smoothly, ten days will be enough, let’s just watch."

Master Yuxiao didn’t continue speaking, as if things didn’t go smoothly, it wouldn’t be uncommon to drag on for a month or so.

His heart involuntarily tensed up, even though he had faith in his disciple, breaking through a Great Realm always came with its share of unexpected events.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, knowing that all he could do now was silently offer blessings.

Half an hour later, Master Yuxiao felt the surrounding spiritual qi rapidly flowing, with the direction pointed clearly at Sunrise Peak.

He suddenly sat up straight, was it happening so soon? This was a good sign!

The process of starting Core Formation usually involved a period of brewing, discarding distracting thoughts to adjust one’s state, with some spending seven to eight hours on this.

Some would even spend over a dozen hours fine-tuning for an optimal breakthrough state.

After another half hour, the spiritual qi atop Sunrise Peak surged like a tide, gathering into multicolored mist in blue, red, yellow, white, and black hues.

The mist radiated with clarity, swirling for a moment before transforming into a funnel shape, instantly causing winds and clouds to arise.

Master Yuxiao unconsciously clenched his fists, his eyes fixed without blinking on Sunrise Peak, knowing that such a manifestation signaled the beginning of the breakthrough state.

...

Inside the grotto mansion, Ji An sat cross-legged on a pudun, eyes closed with posture upright.

As his cultivation technique ran, like a massive whale absorbing water, spiritual qi was drawn into his body, surging like waves through the Immortal Veins.

The Five Elements Divine Mansion radiated brilliance, different glows appearing on his skin, while howls occasionally echoed within the grotto mansion.

The key to breaking through from the Chao Origin Stage to the Golden Core Stage was to crystallize spiritual qi from its viscous paste form, centering it around the Primordial Life Fire, akin to an invisible force pulling the magical power to converge at the center.

He manipulated it using divine sense to create sufficient ’pressure,’ thereby crystallizing the magical power.

The task now was to inject as much magical power as possible into the Dantian.

Thanks to unremitting diligence over a hundred years, Ji An’s aptitude had reached its pinnacle, and with the assistance of ten Dao Seeds, the speed of refining spiritual energy was fast enough.

As long as there was enough spiritual energy outside being absorbed into his body, he could refine it in a short time.

Furthermore, the Immortal Veins, after years of nourishment, had reached a peak both in width and resilience, resistant to prolonged flushing by spiritual qi.

The first step in condensing the Golden Core was to refine a Pill Seed, analogous to when a droplet of magical power first liquefies during the Foundation Establishment Stage breakthrough from the Qi Refining Stage.

Once the Pill Seed is condensed, crystallizing magical power becomes much easier.

Core Formation is influenced by many factors: aptitude, magical power, divine intent strength, mindset, and even the elusive luck.

Ji An’s aptitude had been supplemented to its utmost; he wasn’t sure if his total magical power exceeded other cultivators, but its quality was undoubtedly superior;

his spirit soul was strong, divine sense strength rising with it, rendering it more enduring and stable.

As for luck, fate is determined by the heavens, while fortune is self-made; the heavens move, and gentlemen strive for self-improvement tirelessly.

The lake of magical power compressed inward, a slight misstep would bring eternal damnation, but Ji An’s mindset remained calm without joy or sorrow, precisely controlling the compression speed of magical power, maintaining maximum compression intensity.

Do nothing if you don’t want to, but when doing something, don’t be distracted; focus solely on the goal, gathering all attention on one point.

Work lies in man; when you do your utmost, even the heavens will assist you.

Unknowingly, a small yellow grain the size of a millet grain emitted light, and the Primordial Life Fire suddenly brightened, its flames rising several inches.

Master Yuxiao saw the five-colored mist gathering over Sunrise Peak suddenly swell a great deal, and he stood up abruptly, "Good!"

He understood that his disciple had already condensed a Pill Seed, the first step toward Core Formation had been taken.

Taking this step was not commendable, but achieving it in less than two hours meant something different.

Based on the Senior Brother’s account, it took him six full hours to complete this step back then! Their potentials were not even on the same level.

Next, the disciple would be in a state to more vigorously purify the Golden Core impurities and better face the thunder tribulation.