The First Immortal of Destiny-Chapter 497: Intention of Core Formation_1
"My cultivation level has already reached the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm. It’s time to prepare for the formation of my Golden Core!"
Shen Mo stopped his breathing exercises, took out a jade slip, and began carefully studying it. This slip was inscribed with the insights of cultivators like Zhou Zhiwei, Yuan Heming, and many other patriarchs of the Riverside Sect regarding Core Formation.
Every Sect Disciple of the Riverside Sect, no matter who they were, could receive this jade slip from a few of the sect’s patriarchs once they reached a certain cultivation level.
Of course, if they succeeded in forming a Core, they were also expected to write a detailed account of their experiences and combine it with the others!
This was the invisible foundation of a millennium-old sect. The pioneers had painstakingly blazed the trail, laying out a relatively easy path for those who would come after them. This alone gave them a tremendous advantage over other minor immortal sects, cultivation families, and rogue cultivators!
The "Chaotic Yuan and One Qi" cultivation method that Shen Mo was mainly cultivating now was also fairly popular within the Riverside Sect.
Out of the Sect Disciples who had enough Sect Merit and Spirit Stones to trade for a spiritual level cultivation method, around twenty percent chose this path.
However, in history, only three patriarchs had achieved Core Formation using this method, far less than the aforementioned percentage.
It was not that the "Chaotic Yuan and One Qi" was of poor quality, but for a long time in the Red Flame Zone, the Golden Core Realm had been believed to be a spiritual domain only accessible by those possessing Spiritual Bodies.
This included the Riverside Sect, where most of the inherited spiritual level cultivation methods had a major attribute bias.
For instance, Zhao Lingyin with the Green Wood Spirit Body, Yu Yan with the Fire Spirit Body, and Lu Ming with the Thunder Body... They never had to worry about cultivation systems; as long as the Riverside Sect’s history featured a Spiritual Body, there would be corresponding cultivation methods and magic.
Even suitable Elixirs and types of magic treasures were all readily available.
As for those three patriarchs who formed Cores using "Chaotic Yuan and One Qi," they were naturally not Spiritual Bodies. Being able to successfully form a Golden Core was already an extraordinary achievement for them!
Thanks to their wisdom, Shen Mo now had related experiences and insights that he could reference.
These Seniors were not Spiritual Bodies, but they must have possessed top-tier spirit bones...
Now, my Talent has been elevated to the Purple quality ’The Chosen,’ which is not inferior to a Spiritual Body!
Besides, I have the Destiny Panel to assist me; forming a Golden Core shouldn’t be difficult, Shen Mo glanced at the panel and pondered secretly.
[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]
[Vitality: Divine Fetus]
[Talent: The Chosen]
[Fortune: Starry]
[Appearance: Handsome]
[Wisdom: Foresighted]
[Fate: ???]
[Lifespan: ???]
Over the past couple of years, the majority of the amassed Destiny Points were used to advance the Special Destiny [Examine (Purple)], finally raising it to Orange quality.
Therefore, concerning the promotion of the five Basic Destinies, Shen Mo had only upgraded his Vitality from [Dragonlike Body (Blue)] to [Divine Fetus (Purple)], and his Wisdom from [Strategist (Blue)] to [Foresighted (Purple)].
The strength of his Dao Body and his qi and blood force had further increased. Coupled with the amplification from his external magic, Shen Mo dared to battle a peak Class III demonic beast using only his physical power, without utilizing any Mana and True Yuan.
His thought processes had also become more nimble and clear than before. Many questions that he previously could not comprehend now became crystal clear with a little thought!
Four Purple and one blue; only the Basic Destiny of Appearance remained, still at blue quality!
According to Shen Mo’s many years of cultivation experience, in the Talent category, "Excellent Talent" and "Genius" respectively corresponded to high-grade spirit bones and top-grade spirit bones. His current ’The Chosen’ status was equivalent to possessing the cultivation talent and root bones of a Spiritual Body!
As for the cultivation progress of Zhao Lingyin, Yu Yan, Lu Ming, and other Spiritual Body cultivators, they were far behind him. This was actually related to the level of mastery of their main cultivation method!
Shen Mo’s "Heavenly Yuan Magic" and "Purple Knack Sutra" had both reached the Epic realm of Extreme Perfection, and his "Chaotic Yuan and One Qi" had also entered the Elite realm.
Even if they were Spiritual Bodies and had cultivated their main cultivation method to Perfection, their speed of absorbing nature’s spiritual energy, refining Mana, and advancing their own cultivation level could not catch up with Shen Mo!
That is to say, Shen Mo’s current cultivation speed surpassed that of Spiritual Bodies, not because he had an advantage in Talent or root bones—in this respect, they could only be said to be neck and neck.
However, in terms of mastery in cultivation methods, Shen Mo had an edge over the several Spiritual Bodies.
This was what had allowed him to become the one with the most rapid cultivation progress among the younger generation!
For Shen Mo, he was not actually very worried about whether he could form a Golden Core; it was merely a matter of time.
However, the quality of Golden Cores also varied, with distinctions between good and bad, superior and inferior!
Like the grading of Elixirs, there were a total of five types: Substandard, Middle-grade, High-grade, Perfect, and Top-grade.
Just from the names, one could discern the differences between these five types of Golden Cores.
Substandard Cores were barely congealed Golden Cores where the transformation of Essence and Qi was not thorough.
Although their strength far surpassed the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, cultivators who formed this type of Core had already severed their future prospects. Without a huge stroke of luck, it would be extremely difficult for them to even advance to Layer II of the Golden Core Realm!
They could only waste away their later years or focus on enhancing their mastery in magic and the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, thereby strengthening their own power through indirect means.
Among the experts of this realm, the vast majority had congealed a Middle-grade or High-grade Golden Core.
The four Supreme Elders of the Riverside Sect—Yuan Heming, Zhou Zhiwei, Feng Daogu, and Gongsun Jiuru—all possessed Middle-to-High-grade Golden Cores. Their Essence and Qi had, for the most part, completely transformed, but there were still minor flaws.
Those with larger flaws had Middle-grade Golden Cores; those with smaller flaws had High-grade Golden Cores!
There was no significant difference between the two in essence; both could continue to advance towards the Divine Bridge Realm. It was just that the difficulty of the journey ahead and their own strength differed slightly based on the quality of the Golden Core. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
As for Perfect quality Golden Cores, naturally, their Essence and Qi were completely transformed, without a single flaw!
Those who could congeal such Golden Cores were all extraordinary and brilliant individuals. To call them one in ten thousand was an understatement; it should be more like one in tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions.
As for Top-grade quality Golden Cores, that went without saying.
They surpassed perfection, reaching a realm that ordinary people could hardly comprehend. However, this only existed in legend. In the recorded history of the Red Flame Zone, no one had ever reached this height!
Theoretically speaking, the better the quality of the Golden Core, the greater the future possibility of erecting the Divine Bridge and advancing to Heavenly Monarch.
I am not asking for a Top-grade Golden Core; I would be content as long as I reach Perfect quality, Shen Mo murmured to himself as he pondered over the jade slip of insights.
The quality of a Golden Core, like the grading of Elixirs, could be said to be cut from the same cloth!
This was not an illusion. In Ancient Times, among cultivators, the method of refining an External Core and using it to achieve the Golden Core Realm was the most mainstream path to Core Formation, unlike today.
Ancient cultivators painstakingly gathered Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and dedicated immense effort to improving their Alchemy Paths.
After reaching the required realm, they would exhaust all their resources to refine a top-grade Elixir compatible with themselves, swallow it, and entrust their Essence and Qi to this External Core to undergo a transformation of their life’s essence!
