Chapter 315 - 152: Core Formation
"I wonder how they’ll fare. In the end, how much they can comprehend is up to their own fortune."
The Cold Pool Wanderer...
Chen Xuanfeng and the others sighed with emotion. Such a figure was truly awe-inspiring.
Just then, one of them spoke up. "I heard that back in the day, Huangfu Qi, a True Disciple of the Penglai Sect, knew the Cold Pool Master. Afterward—and who knows if he was influenced by the Cold Pool Master—he actually withdrew from the Sect and returned to the Central Origin Island Martial Arts Academy to retire."
"I’ve heard about that too. I wonder if there’s a connection."
Chen Xuanfeng let out a sigh.
’Who could truly say what happened all those years ago?’
...
While Chen Xuanfeng conversed outside, Liang Cheng sat motionless on a meditation cushion, his face illuminated by the faint, icy-blue glow from the stone wall.
Within his Dantian, nine Gang Qi Seeds slowly rotated. Their azure light was as solid as pearls, so full they seemed on the verge of bursting.
He was just one step away from Core Formation and Breaking Mortality.
He had originally planned to take this final step only after joining the Penglai Sect. Then, he could obtain a Refining Spirit Skill and achieve Core Formation and Breaking Mortality.
But now, things hadn’t gone according to plan.
He looked up at the stone wall.
In his eyes, those carvings were no longer unfamiliar Runes.
Every stroke and every line resonated with the Ice Soul Scripture recorded on the Jade Slip he carried. They clearly shared the same origin.
Liang Cheng lowered his head.
He had been afraid that by cultivating the Ice Soul Scripture, the Penglai Sect would consider him a disciple with outside training and refuse to treat him as a True Disciple. Now, however, he no longer had such concerns.
’After all, with the stone wall right in front of me, if I claim I comprehended the Ice Soul Scripture from it, who could possibly say I’m wrong?’
At this thought, he hesitated no longer.
’If that’s the case, I’ll take this godsent opportunity.’
With that thought, he closed his eyes again.
Within his body, the Broken Wave Technique began to circulate at full force. The nine Gang Qi Seeds spun faster as azure Gang Qi surged like a raging tide, scouring his Meridians.
’I need to reach my absolute peak condition!’
One Circulation.
Two Circulations.
Three Circulations.
With every circulation, the Gang Qi grew a fraction more solid.
Under the sustained impact, cracks gradually began to appear in the thin bottleneck.
’Still not enough.’
’I’m missing the Refining Spirit Skill that can bring about the ultimate transformation.’
Liang Cheng took a deep breath.
With a mere thought, he recalled the Ice Soul Scripture. The icy-blue glow from the stone wall seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, slowly converging around him.
He wasn’t actively absorbing it; rather, the circulation of the Ice Soul Scripture’s Refining Spirit Skill had naturally triggered a resonance with the stone wall.
The essence of the Ice Soul Scripture inscribed on the stone wall and the one he possessed shared the same origin.
Liang Cheng’s mind sank into a state of unprecedented clarity.
Within his Dantian, the ninth Circulation was complete.
BOOM—!!
The nine Gang Qi Seeds trembled in unison!
Their azure light flared violently as the distance between them suddenly shrank, and they slowly began to draw together and merge.
The first and second seeds touched at the edges, their light intertwining and merging seamlessly.
The third and fourth followed close behind.
The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth—
The Nine Stars Linked Pearls!
In the span of a single breath, all nine Gang Qi Seeds fused together!
They transformed into a fist-sized ball of light, interwoven with azure and icy-white!
But this was only the beginning, not the end.
Liang Cheng did not stop the Circulation of the Celestial Qi.
Following the Ice Soul Scripture Heart Method, he began to assault the final barrier.
A chill began to form. Inside his Dantian, a gossamer-thin layer of ice crystals condensed on the surface of the ball of light, like the first skim of ice on a lake in early winter.
The layer of ice gradually thickened!
The Second Layer.
The Third Layer.
The Fourth Layer.
The Fifth Layer.
With each new layer, the chill intensified and the ice thickened, until finally, the ball of light in his Dantian was completely encased in three-inch-thick Profound Ice.
It resembled an orb of frozen amber.
At that moment, a thought stirred in Liang Cheng’s mind.
’Break the ice, and be reborn!’
A crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the Profound Ice that encased the fused ball of light.
CRACK.
The crack spread.
Then, the cracking sound grew incessant—
The layer of ice shattered!
Shards of ice flew about, turning into a cloud of ice dust within his Dantian. Meanwhile, the ball of light, having broken free of its icy prison, actually began to collapse inward!
An extreme compression.
The ball of light shrank from the size of a fist to the size of a pigeon’s egg, then to the size of a thumbnail...
The collapse and compression grew more and more violent.
Sweat began to bead on Liang Cheng’s forehead.
The pressure from this compression felt as if the entire Profound Ice Island was crushing his Dantian, but he did not stop.
The ball of light continued to shrink until it was the size of a soybean, perfectly round and solid.
It was as transparent as crystal.
But this was still not enough.
The transformation continued.
Liang Cheng focused his entire being.
The so-called Refining Spirit Skill was the process of Qi Refining and Divinity Transformation.
This was the final step of Core Formation.
Using one’s lifetime of Gang Qi Cultivation as kindling to ignite the True Fire.
To burn away all impurities.
Leaving only the True Pill.
BOOM—!!
Within his Dantian, that soybean-sized ball of light suddenly erupted in icy-blue flames!
This was no ordinary fire.
It was True Fire.
This fire did not burn the physical body.
It burned only one’s Cultivation.
The entirety of his Cultivation, the culmination of the nine fused Gang Qi Seeds, now served as fuel. The True Fire refined it bit by bit, transforming impurities into wisps of smoke that dissipated from his body.
The essence was tempered again and again, condensing into the very core of the ball of light.
A final, minuscule core coalesced in the center of the ball of light.
At first, it was like a speck of dust.
Then, like a grain of rice.
Then, like a bean.
The True Fire burned ever brighter, and the core grew ever more solid.
Liang Cheng’s face was deathly pale. His aura flickered, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, like a candle guttering in the wind.
Just then, the Crossing the Sea True Intent Fragment within him suddenly began to circulate frantically. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was madly drawn into his body.
The True Fire within him, seemingly refueled, burned for a full Quarter Hour.
During that Quarter Hour, Liang Cheng felt as if he had died and been brought back to life.
Finally, the True Fire died out.
Within his Dantian, the ball of light had completely vanished.
In its place was an icy-blue True Pill, the size of a baby’s fist, perfectly round and flawless.
The Pill was as transparent as ten-thousand-year-old ice. Within it, an azure brilliance slowly circulated, ebbing and flowing like the tide, ceaseless and full of life.