Chapter 397 - 382: Demonic Qi Core Formation
One hundred sixty zhang deep beneath Mozhou.
Nine nested Spirit Demon Transformation Arrays were running at full capacity. At their core Array Hub, the Demonic Qi was so dense it had begun to condense into droplets.
Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the very center of the Array, holding up the thumb-sized black pearl.
"Equip."
[Equipped: Demon Qi Pill Platform Core (Complete)]
[Demon Pill Creation (Purple) is now active.]
[Permanence Condition for Demon Pill Creation (Purple): Form a Demon Qi Golden Core (Incomplete)]
Li Yuan took a deep breath, adjusting his condition to its absolute peak.
His Sea of Divine Sense, perfected by the Concentrating Soul-Invoking Skill, was perfectly calm, while an invisible shield from his iron-walled Divine Soul securely guarded his core. Fortified by four Body Refining Techniques, his physical body was as tough as steel. Especially after mastering the Golden Body Skill, all the deep tendon nodes within his body had been fully opened. In his Dantian, the Demonic Qi from his Demon Essence Skill was filled to the absolute brim.
His Essence, Qi, and Spirit—the Three Elements—had all reached the true limit of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
The Core Formation began.
With a thought, Li Yuan activated the special effect of his purple entry, "Demon Pill Creation."
’I’ll choose to increase the difficulty of Core Formation.’
The moment he made that decision, a powerful, unseen suppressive force descended upon his Dantian.
The resistance to Core Formation skyrocketed. The once smoothly flowing Demonic Qi felt as if it had been plunged into a mire. The success rate was forcefully slashed by thirty percent, and the upper limit for the resulting pill’s quality was locked, lowering it by one grade.
But at the same time, the purple glow of the "Demon Pill Creation" entry flared brightly in his equipment menu.
The success rate for Demonic Qi Core Formation was increased by fifty percent.
The base success rate, minus thirty percent, then plus fifty percent, meant his net success rate was actually twenty percent higher than a normal Core Formation attempt.
Ready, Li Yuan completely released his suppression of the Demonic Qi at the Array Hub.
The pure, liquid-dense Demonic Qi from outside surged into his body like a flood from a broken dam, pouring madly through his major acupoints.
Inside his Dantian, the Demonic Qi began to form a violent vortex.
This was the first step of Core Formation: Qi Condensation.
As more Demonic Qi from the outside poured in, the vortex in his Dantian spun faster and faster, causing the pressure at its center to increase exponentially. Under this extreme pressure, the gaseous Demonic Qi began to be forcibly compressed into viscous, jet-black droplets of True Essence.
Because he had increased the difficulty, the repulsive force at the vortex’s center was astonishing. The Demonic Qi nearly broke free from the confines of his meridians and exploded outward.
At this moment, another hidden feature of "Demon Pill Creation" came into play.
Perfect Control.
Li Yuan discovered he had an incredibly meticulous level of control over the flow of every wisp of Demonic Qi in his body. Five Divine Sense Lines plunged directly into the Dantian’s vortex, pinning down the rampaging Demonic Qi and forcing it back onto its intended path. Not a single wisp of excess Demonic Qi was wasted; all the energy was precisely stacked at the vortex’s center.
「One day passed.」
「Three days passed.」
「Ten days passed.」
Li Yuan sat motionless in the transformation array, like a clay statue. Outside, a large Spirit Vein continuously supplied Spiritual Qi, which the Array crushed and converted into Demonic Qi to fill the seemingly bottomless void in his Dantian.
When the Demonic Qi True Essence in his Dantian condensed to a critical point where no more could be added, the second step began.
Essence Blood Enters the Cauldron.
Li Yuan mobilized the immense Qi Blood within him, forcing out the purest essence of his lifeblood from deep within his heart. It rushed up his conception vessel straight to his Dantian, plunging into the mass of jet-black Demonic Qi True Essence.
This was the fusion of physical power and cultivation power. The convergence of Essence and Qi erupted in terrifying heat, turning his Dantian into a veritable furnace.
The Demonic Qi devoured and fused with the essence blood, bit by bit. A deep, dark red hue appeared within the originally pure black Demonic Qi True Essence.
「Another five days passed.」
The fusion of Essence and Qi had completely stabilized. The dark red mass of True Essence had condensed to the size of a fist, hovering in the center of his Dantian and pulsing slowly, like a second heart.
The final step: Spirit Fuses with the Pill.
Li Yuan stripped nearly half of the Mental Power from his Sea of Divine Sense, forming it into an invisible spiritual brand that he slammed down into the True Essence core in his Dantian.
Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
At that moment, the three elements completed their final collision.
The "Perfect Control" granted by his Demon Pill Creation was pushed to its limit. His Divine Sense met no resistance, imprinting itself smoothly into the deepest part of the True Essence core.
A crisp cracking sound, like a shell breaking, echoed from within his body.
The fist-sized, dark red mass of True Essence violently imploded. Its volume shrank dozens of times in an instant, finally solidifying into a dim, round pearl the size of a longan fruit.
The pearl was entirely black, its surface shimmering with an extremely subdued luster. The moment it formed, an immense pressure unique to the Golden Core Stage radiated from within it, instantly flowing through all his meridians and cleansing his body and Divine Sense.
Core Formation successful.
Due to the penalty from increasing the difficulty with Demon Pill Creation, the Demon Qi Golden Core—which could have been formed at the Top Grade thanks to his vast resources and profound foundation—was ultimately lowered by one grade.
A Middle Grade Demon Qi Golden Core.
A Demon Qi Golden Core formed with no external Demon Dao elixirs, relying solely on the Demon Essence Skill and his own profound foundation.
Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
He had broken through.
Early-stage Golden Core. Although it was a Demon Qi Golden Core, the absolute power that surpassed the Foundation Establishment Stage was tangibly flowing through every fiber of his being.
’Now that Core Formation is complete, I have to consider the next step. With the help of my two entries, I can attempt Core Formation two more times. That should be enough to get a higher-grade Golden Core, though it means I’ll have to shatter this one at some point.’