CHAPTER 164: CORE FORMATION WITHIN REACH

So this is the Illusory Core Realm?

True essence surged vastly like a great lake and flowed like rushing rivers. It was as if there were no longer any barrier of skin or flesh, and the primal qi of heaven and earth could directly merge with his true essence.

Speckled with faint starlight, the qi sea slowly rotated. It was the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra, yet not entirely. After all, the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent was fused within the power of pure yang.

Although everyone inherited the same cultivation technique from their sect, each person's comprehension of the Dao differed. The path to immortality they walked also diverged in subtle ways. The destination and the scenery along the journey naturally varied from person to person.

Gradually, Wang Sheng stopped drawing in primal qi. His qi sea no longer expanded or shifted, and the violent and swift flow of true essence within him began to slow down.

Brimming with endless mysteries, the qi vortex resembled an elliptical galaxy amid the universe. It drew observers into its depths, inviting contemplation, exploration, the search for connections between man and the cosmos, and the unraveling of the secrets between the Daoist Canon within the human body and the eternal starry heavens.

After a brief period of contemplation, Wang Sheng's attention was drawn back to the Illusory Core that floated up and down at the center of the qi vortex.

Is this the foundation of my future Golden Core?

It resembled a fragile bubble that could be popped at any moment. Wisps of a pale, golden aura encircled it and drifted away, merging into the qi vortex. In turn, they attracted threads of true essence from the vortex.

It was an endless cycle with an unknowable profundity.

Wang Sheng tried to move the Illusory Core. Slowly rising from the qi sea, it coursed through him along his meridians. Streams of true essence enveloped the core, which released an aura different from true essence, as it flowed through the meridians to nourish every part of his Dao body.

"Mm..."

It was soothing. The wondrous sensation it evoked was like soaking in a tub of warm water after complete exhaustion or lying upon white clouds with a gentle breeze, drifting idly to and fro.

By principle, the cultivation methods that the Daoist sects passed down began at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Afterward, one would condense qi into a core and use it to nourish their spirit and body.

However, in ancient times, powerful cultivators devised the Illusory Core Realm to lower the difficulty of forming the Golden Core. It was akin to breaking the process into stages to shrink that "heavenly chasm."

At the Illusory Core Realm, cultivators could already sense the extraordinary nature of the Golden Core.

Over the coming months, Wang Sheng's Illusory Core would slowly refine his spirit and temper his marrow, allowing his Dao body to shed the mundane and transcend. He would also gradually grow stronger in small increments.

During the middle and late stages of the Illusory Core Realm, the Illusory Core would continuously change until it was near a fully solid state. At that point, he could attempt to break through to the Golden Core Realm, which granted an eight-hundred-year lifespan. It was the true foundation of the Dao.

With a sense of satisfaction and longing, Wang Sheng examined his spiritual platform, feeling the changes between the two sword intents. He then circulated his true essence to nourish the celestial-grade flying sword inside him. Afterward, he ended the internal examination and let his spiritual consciousness expand outward.

Senior Sister?

Opening his eyes, Wang Sheng was greeted by white as delicate as frost.

Mu Wanxuan had never been particularly reserved around him. Still, after she had physically matured and become more familiar with the internet, she learned better than to change clothes in front of Wang Sheng, lest she disturb his Dao Heart and affect his cultivation.

Seeing her clad only in undergarments, Wang Sheng's gaze unconsciously fell upon her delicate collarbones. He quickly looked away, not daring to glance at her seamless, finely textured yet somewhat old-fashioned undergarments.

Ahem. Calm down, calm down.

He naturally had a few stray thoughts. However, when he took in the layout of the room, he was left only with a sense of deep emotion.

To help him successfully break through without any hindrance, Mu Wanxuan had clearly reversed the polarity of her true essence, transforming it back to primal qi for him to absorb freely. Although this process would not harm her cultivation, it was mentally exhausting. Her delicate face was etched with deep exhaustion, filling Wang Sheng's heart with guilt.

Probing lightly, he found that Mu Wanxuan had used up more than half of her true essence. Right now, she was concentrating on drawing in primal qi from the Qi-Nurturing Stones.

Wang Sheng glanced at the time. It was only past four in the afternoon—still early for the New Year's Eve dinner.

When Qing Yanzi broke through to the Illusory Core Realm, he had remained in seclusion for several days to comprehend the realm, hesitant to move about due to inexperience. Unlike him, by the time Wang Sheng broke through to the Illusory Core Realm, he already fully understood what to do and what to expect. With Mu Wanxuan's assistance, the process had pushed through without a hitch.

He raised his hand. Threads of true essence emerged from his palm, and the dozens of Qi-Nurturing Stones around him slowly floated into the air. They then began to rotate gently, forming the grand qi-gathering formation that he had acquired the formation spirit.

Primal qi swiftly surged out from the Qi-Nurturing Stones. Though clearly fatigued, Mu Wanxuan absorbed all the primal qi at once.

Roughly half an hour later, the Qi-Nurturing Stones had grown dull and dim. Mu Wanxuan had recovered about fifty percent of her true essence.

"You should rest for a bit, Senior Sister. I'll stay here and watch over you. Take your time replenishing your true essence," Wang Sheng said softly.

"Mm..."

Mu Wanxuan opened her eyes with effort, smiled gently at Wang Sheng, and then yawned. The only thing that had been keeping her from falling asleep was her desire to protect him until the end. The process of depleting and reaccumulating her entire pool of true essence had drained a great deal of her mental strength.

As Wang Sheng stood up, Mu Wanxuan stretched lazily, unaware of the breathtaking scene that she had created and the impact it had on the sword cultivator beside her.

She then lay down naturally on the bed. Originally, she intended to grab her phone and send a few memes to congratulate her junior brother on successfully entering the Illusory Core Realm and being one step closer to forming the "stone." However, Wang Sheng had already performed the grand quilt-sealing technique of tucking her in tightly.

"Just rest for a while. I'll draw in some primal qi and help you recover a bit more true essence."

"Okay," she answered obediently with just her head poking out. Unable to hold on any longer, she closed her eyes and soon drifted into deep sleep.

Normally, sleep was the quickest way to restore one's mental energy, but cultivators were usually filled with primal qi and vitality. They rarely needed rest.

Wang Sheng pulled over a chair and sat by the window. He then opened the window just a bit, immediately noticing that his senior sister had sealed the room with the Yin-Yang Grand Formation.

He tapped his finger lightly, creating an opening in the formation's automatic cycle. Forming a hand seal and making the projection of his Illusory Core hover between his palms, he began guiding strands of turbid primal qi from outside through the gap.

The Illusory Core spun gently, drawing out the impurities within the primal qi and refining it into pure, primal qi. Instead of absorbing any of it, Wang Sheng released it into the formation.

Even in her sleep, Mu Wanxuan's true essence continued circulating through her meridians. She would absorb the refined primal qi over time.

By 8:00 PM, the room was already so thick with primal qi that it had nearly condensed into a visible mist. Only then did Wang Sheng stop and use his true essence to seal the formation's opening.

He switched his phone to silent mode and sent his master the good news and some insights that he had recently gained.

Qing Yanzi quickly told him not to worry about cultivation matters for now, advising Wang Sheng to stay at home with his senior sister for a few days and enjoy themselves. Whether they chose to return to the Wudang Mountains or the Zhongnan Mountains later to resume cultivation was up to them. For now, they were to stay out of the conflict between the righteous and corrupt paths.

Wang Sheng had just been about to offer himself for duty. Now that he had reached the Illusory Core Realm, he could easily flee using the regular and reversed Seven-Star Sword Formation, Spiritless, and his celestial-grade flying sword if he encountered a Golden Core Realm Daoist. Moreover, he was confident that he could fight corrupt Illusory Core Realm cultivators head-on, no matter who or how many.

However, Qing Yanzi's next message instantly made him give up the idea of volunteering for battle.

According to him, two days earlier, the Special Investigation Unit had launched a surprise raid on a local branch of the Yin-Yang All Creation Sect. They had successfully rescued several captured investigators and righteous cultivators, two of whom had already been subjected to soul-searching. According to their confession, the Yin-Yang All Creation Sect had been interrogating them about Mu Wanxuan.

It was clear that the corrupt sect had uncovered something. Before, they had only suspected that the sect was targeting Mu Wanxuan. Now, they were certain that those corrupt cultivators had already set their sights on his senior sister.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Sheng sent a reply.

Wang Sheng: Master, don't worry. If anyone dares harm Senior Sister, I'll fight them to the death.

Qing Yanzi immediately scolded him.

Qing Yanzi: Little Sheng, you have to be smarter and more tactful. Stop talking about throwing your life away all the time. How many lives do you think you have? You need to use your brain. Instead of waiting for danger to come knocking on your door, learn to avoid it.

Wang Sheng scratched his head in frustration. It wasn't that he didn't understand; he just wanted to express where he stood.

After being lectured, he sent a message to his parents, letting them know that he and his senior sister were meditating and would come out later to eat.

His father replied with an "OK" emoji and told him everything was fine. He had already taken care of the New Year's Eve dinner and offerings.

Gazing at his sleeping senior sister's beautiful and ethereal face, Wang Sheng felt a sudden impulse. He quietly approached the bed and, with careful and gentle movements, reached for his sword case.

He took out Spiritless. The blade was flawlessly sharp—it had not even the slightest imperfection.

"Spiritless, o' sword of mine, do you truly have no spirit at all?"

Wang Sheng used his Illusory Core to wrap his spiritual consciousness around the blade once more, quietly sensing it.

Still no response.

Fine.

He didn't force it. After putting Spiritless away, he began using the power of his Illusory Core to nourish his celestial-grade flying sword.

He wondered how powerful his Sword-Controlling Art would be now that his strength had increased significantly after the breakthrough.

If he and Fei Lianzi unleashed the Wind-Chasing Dual Swords again, they might even be able to injure a Golden Core Daoist.

As for his celestial-grade flying sword...

During his last visit, he had left the Shu Sword Sect too hastily. It was the New Year, and he should have gone to the peak of the Seventy-Two Swords to offer incense to the old formation geezer. Next year, he would definitely make the trip, and he would bring his senior sister with him.

After that, Wang Sheng turned his focus to something that had been on his mind for a while: the Sword-Controlling Art's Sword-Controlling Flight Technique. Only cultivators at the Illusory Core Realm and above could practice it.

Once his senior sister woke up, he would step onto his celestial-grade flying sword and take her soaring into the heavens. They could feel the chill of the high-altitude winds together!