Chapter 256: Core-Formation

　　Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

　　Mo Tiange entered the Virtual Sky World when it was time for her to face her core-formation, but she also deliberately placed a stone sculpture puppet outside, disguising it as herself.

　　Usually, when she cultivated, she could use formations to mislead Lord Daoist Jinghe’s divine sense because he wouldn’t pay too much attention to her anyway. During her core-formation, however, Lord Daoist Jinghe’s divine sense would definitely focus on this place. Considering the secret Virtual Sky World, she better make the illusion a bit more realistic.

　　Fortunately, she obtained the Xuanji Formation Book, so her formation skills were much better than ordinary people. Her stone sculpture puppet originally had the spiritual aura fluctuations of a late stage Foundation Building cultivator, so it wouldn’t be a problem to disguise it as herself with only a few tricks.

　　But after she formed her Gold Core and came out of the Virtual Sky World, she would need to do quite a lot to create core-formation celestial phenomena.

　　Inside the Virtual Sky World, she placed all the medicinal pills she concocted as well as some treasures prepared by Lord Daoist Jinghe where she could conveniently reach them at any point.

　　First were the Dustless Pills. These pills weren’t like the Foundation-Building Pills taken during foundation-building. To be precise, they were a kind of medicinal pill used to protect oneself from their Inner Demon. Because Inner Demons were the biggest threat during the core-formation process, this pill was the most important medicinal pill during core-formation. This had remained the same from ancient times until now, and in ancient times, the only medicinal pills used to guard against Inner Demons during core-formation were also Dustless Pills.

　　There was also Extreme Clear Pills. These pills contained an extreme amount of spiritual aura and had a similar effect to Foundation-Building Pills. After one took this pill, it would instantly release an extreme amount of spiritual aura inside one’s body. With the help of this spiritual aura, one could start forming their Gold Core.

　　Last was the Nectar of Immortality. This nectar was a medicinal pill in liquid form, concocted from liquidized Seven Leaves Purple Heart Lotus and Jade Heart Grass as well as several dozens of immortals’ roots and spiritual plants. Mo Tiange found the pill recipe for this inside the Virtual Sky World. Upon noticing that this spiritual panacea could be helpful in core-formation and that its main ingredients also existed in the Virtual Sky World, Mo Tiange cautiously looked for the rest of its ingredients on the outside world, and she finally succeeded in creating it not too long ago.

　　When everything was adequately prepared, Mo Tiange began meditating. She stopped thinking about everything, allowing her mind to return to an empty and still state.

　　In fact, she’d never been as confident as she was now. She was no longer the Aura Refining disciple of that year, who, despite possessing a Pure Yin Constitution, was endowed with five spiritual roots which practically made her a waste. Right now, she had outstanding talents, countless spiritual panaceas, extraordinary formations, and also a cultivating environment which wasn’t inferior to the Distant Past era—why did she have to worry she’d fail in making a realm-breakthrough?

　　She slowly adjusted her breath and slowly moved her spiritual aura, letting herself sink into the continuously circulating spiritual aura.

　　Inside her dantian, there was a small place in which there wasn’t only Yin spiritual aura, but there was also Yang spiritual aura. Unlike ordinary people’s auras that blended together, her Yin and Yang spiritual auras wound together, thus forming a cycle.

　　Once the YinYang cycle achieved a balance and the five elements possessed two kinds of forms, both Yin and Yang… the state of the Origin was finally formed.

　　Although the Yang spiritual aura inside her body was abysmal, it was enough to occupy the deepest nook in her dantian.

　　Mo Tiange began from this little cycle of the Origin. She conducted the Yin spiritual aura inside her body by slowly regulating her breathing… Inside the Virtual Sky World, endless pure spiritual aura revolved around her. Gradually, she entered a state of nothingness…

　　The Distant Past era was untamed. The world was created. Countless Gods appeared…

　　The ancient times were vague. Gods created humans. Mankind emerged…

　　Gods left the world. The immortals and devils stood as separate entities. The world changed…

　　The Middle Ages were bleak. Mankind was reborn. The righteous and the devils were at war…

　　A period of several million years circulated in her vision, allowing her to experience life from time immemorial. This was the immemorial breath unique to the Virtual Sky World.

　　It was as if she was only a grain of dust from the Distant Past era, drifting around for several hundreds of thousands of years.

　　Mo Tiange opened her eyes, feeling as if her heart was only a grain of dust. It rose along with the wind and fell when the wind stopped. Although it moved freely, it didn’t cause any waves.

　　In succession, she took the Extreme Clear Pill, the Nectar of Immortality, and the Dustless Pill.

　　Unlike the Foundation-Building Pill which created an explosion-like spiritual aura whirlpool once ingested, the Extreme Clear Pill was very mild. It slowly passed through her throat into her stomach. Then a thread of warmth similar to the warmth of the sun spread, gradually submerging her inside that warmth.

　　This made her recall the time when she was nothing but a child. Every winter, her mother often sat outside with her, basking under the sun. It felt comfortable and warm, just like her mother’s embrace.

　　At that moment, she lost consciousness. The spiritual aura in her whole body began to shrink automatically. Meanwhile, the countless spiritual aura inside the Virtual Sky World also surged madly, racing against each other to reach her body.

　　Her eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and even every pore in her skin were opened, letting the spiritual aura enter her body while blocking the impurities outside. Only the purest Yin spiritual aura was accepted into her body.

　　This process went on for a very long time, but Mo Tiange’s consciousness already melted into this immemorial breath, so even if one year passed, she only experienced it as several days.

　　Time passed by, one day after another…

　　One day, Mo Tiange suddenly felt pain as if something exploded inside her body from her dantian to her meridians to her internal organs. She came to, but she couldn’t do anything, thus allowing the Yin spiritual aura to wreak havoc inside her body.

　　Nevertheless, it wasn’t like her spiritual aura was going out of control. The Yin spiritual aura was flooding her whole body, but her meridians and dantian could completely accommodate it. It was just that it increased too quickly, causing a violent clash with her meridians and dantian which always tried to constrain it.

　　This kind of clash brought about wrenching pain. Mo Tiange clenched her teeth and endured the pain. According to Lord Daoist Jinghe’s instructions, she did her best to breathe in and out, letting the spiritual aura in her whole body regain a kind of pattern in their movement.

　　After some time, her body finally adapted to the pain from the expansion of the spiritual aura. She could finally control the tiny lump of spiritual aura of the Origin. She placed that lump of spiritual aura at the entrance to her sea of knowledge inside her dantian.

　　By the time she finished moving that lump of spiritual aura, the spiritual aura that could no longer be contained by her meridians surged violently towards her dantian.

　　Mo Tiange firmly controlled the lump of spiritual aura of the Origin as she let her dantian continue to swallow spiritual aura. When her dantian was already full to the brim, however, there was still countless spiritual aura outside rushing towards it, so the pain she felt got even more intense.

　　She almost thought that in the next second, her dantian and meridians would burst because they could no longer contain any more spiritual aura.

　　But they didn’t. The moment the spiritual aura could no longer be contained, it started to be compressed. Initially, it was already a liquid-like substance. After being compressed, it became even finer, leaving almost no gap between adjacent auras.

　　Mo Tiange knew the most crucial moment had come.

　　She closed her eyes. She could already adjust to this kind of pain, the pain from having her dantian pressed by spiritual aura. But next, everything would depend on whether or not the process of spiritual aura compression progressed smoothly.

　　She regulated her breathing. Her meridians opened up, but her dantian tightened.

　　Sometimes, a container that was obviously full to the brim could surprisingly be filled with even more things.

　　This was the current state of Mo Tiange’s dantian. It was already completely filled, but it could still accommodate the incoming spiritual aura. The liquid-like spiritual aura gradually thickened—it was practically agglutinating.

　　Her dantian expanded and so did her meridians. Mo Tiange was already accustomed to the kind of pressing pain that came from them. Her body felt as if it was being torn apart. If the spiritual aura was even a bit more violent, she would explode and die without a body left. Nevertheless, the power of Extreme Clear Pills was indeed gentle. From the beginning, the spiritual aura was slowly compressed.

　　The Nectar of Immortality also had its effect. The gentle liquid moistened her dantian and meridians, helping them to expand and healing the injuries sustained during the expanding and pressing process.

　　At this time, the benefits of having her meridians and dantian undergoing the Five-Spirit Cultivating Body process finally showed themselves.

　　Mo Tiange’s core-formation wasn’t the same as others in which every inch of their meridians broke and even a bit of carelessness would result in failure. Her meridians were strong and supple. Even though it felt extremely painful when they were stretched out, they still wrapped around the spiritual aura firmly. When injuries occurred, the Nectar of Immortality would immediately heal them bit by bit.

　　Facing these kinds of durable meridians, those spiritual auras could only retreat in defeat, thus pressing towards each other instead and consequently reducing the distance between them.

　　In the end, a tiny white granule emerged at the entrance of her sea of knowledge where the spiritual aura of the Origin was located.

　　It was only the size of a grain of rice, but it possessed a practically uncontrollable force. The moment it appeared, all spiritual auras rushed madly towards it, gradually enveloping it inside them.

　　Spiritual aura wrapped around it layer after another, almost turning it into a small liquid ball. But this still wasn’t enough. This granule emitted a white light that carried an enormous attractive force, hence engulfing all the spiritual aura.

　　Although that granule was extremely tiny, it could contain an unpredictable amount of spiritual aura. When the liquid spiritual aura was squeezed into it, it simply enlarged bit by bit.

　　Outside the Virtual Sky World, endless spiritual aura once again surged violently into Mo Tiange.

　　Her meridians and dantian once again suffered enormous pressure. This time, not only was there the pressure from the spiritual aura, but there was also the attractive force from that white granule—wrong, that white granule had now turned into a small ball the size of a thumb.

　　That small ball was still gradually growing in size. It enlarged as it swallowed the spiritual aura.

　　This process lasted for a very long time, maybe several months, maybe several years. All along, Mo Tiange firmly controlled herself so that she didn’t collapse under the pain.

　　Along with the passage of time, the absorption speed of that small ball continued to decrease. It went from a maddening speed in the beginning until it slowly came to a stop in the end.

　　It seemed as if it had already eaten its fill. Its originally faint white color had already turned into a bright radiance. It was currently already the size of a child’s fist and emitted a bright clear luster.

　　Once it no longer absorbed spiritual aura, the lump of spiritual aura of the Origin which had been revolving around it all along began to wind closer around it, firmly binding it up. Consequently, that small ball became light golden in color.

　　Her Gold Core was formed!

　　However, the core-formation process didn’t end there. The real test was coming.

　　In the split second her Gold Core was formed, Mo Tiange’s consciousness was lost in her vast sea of knowledge.

　　Outside the Virtual Sky World, in the main hall of Clear Spring Peak’s Shangqing Palace, two people sat upright silently.

　　Autumn had passed that year and winter had come. The season of flowers had already passed, but the fragrance of white plums drifted about. The maids at Shangqing Palace had cut several wintersweet branches and placed them in the hall, hence filling the hall with their soft fragrance.

　　“Three years…” Lord Daoist Jinghe mumbled. He looked behind him. His divine comprehension penetrated many pavilions and pagodas until it reached a certain place in the mountain. However, he couldn’t sense any abnormalities. There were only spiritual aura fluctuations that came from several Foundation Building cultivators.

　　A wintersweet flower fell from the top of the branch and floated down. Qin Xi reached out to break its fall, but its petals fell apart and slipped down from between his fingers. “She took more than two years to build her foundation. Presumably, spending several years in her core-formation won’t matter.”

　　Lord Daoist Jinghe lowered his line of sight then showed a smile. “You’re very confident in her. You’re certain she’ll succeed in forming her Gold Core? Don’t you think she might be trapped in her Inner Demon?”

　　“No.” Qin Xi’s gaze was tranquil, and his face showed no emotion. “She won’t be trapped in her Inner Demons. She definitely won’t.”

　　In fact, the two of them weren’t at all similar. His cultivating journey went too smoothly, so it was hard for him to break out once he was trapped and it was hard for him to stand up again once he fell. She, on the other hand, had gone through all kinds of difficulties and walked on the most dangerous roads, so once she saw through the facts, she could firmly give up her obsessions.