Chapter 298 : Beginning the Core Formation

Chapter 298: Beginning the Core Formation

After ending the call, Chen Beiwu shook his head.

Once the initial excitement wore off, his parents came back to their senses and began asking how confident he was in forming a core, bluntly suggesting that if he wasn’t confident enough, he could remain in seclusion for further cultivation.

Chen Beiwu understood this.

After all, over the years, there had been no shortage of cultivators from the Immortal Alliance who had perished during Core Formation.

His parents liked to lecture, fearing he might act rashly and recklessly attempt Core Formation due to youthful arrogance—it was perfectly reasonable.

Fortunately, he had the Tribulation-Breaking Golden Core and the Foundation-Stabilizing Origin Condensation Pill, which could put his parents' minds at ease.

Thinking of this, Chen Beiwu sent a message to both Xu Zhiqing and Xu Lingling.

"Buzz."

The next moment, his phone vibrated.

Chen Beiwu answered. As the screen lit up, holographic projections of Xu Zhiqing and Xu Lingling appeared simultaneously.

"How confident are you in forming your core?"

Xu Lingling pressed her lips together. Her tone was no longer as familiar as before, but now carried a trace of worry.

The vast differences in talent, strength, and status easily created a sense of disparity.

Now that Chen Beiwu had become a prodigy of the Jade Purity Immortal Sect, Xu Lingling no longer dared to be sure whether he still cared about their old friendship.

After all, back in Yuan Kong County, she could be considered a noble daughter of an aristocratic family, but placed in Tianyuan Prefecture under the Dao of Cosmos, she was insignificant.

"I have a ninety-nine percent chance."

Chen Beiwu replied with a confident smile, speaking in a joking tone.

"Bragger again." Xu Lingling smiled, her mood easing considerably.

Core Formation was by no means easy. Even with the Tribulation-Breaking Golden Core, success rate could only be increased by forty percent. Even the prodigious seniors of the Skyblaze Immortal Sect occasionally failed.

Even if Chen Beiwu was exceptionally gifted and had gained much from the Jade Purity Immortal Sect, it was impossible for him to have a ninety-nine percent chance at Core Formation.

But Xu Lingling knew Chen Beiwu's temperament. Since he dared to say such a thing, it meant his chances were extremely high and there should be no issue.

Xu Zhiqing didn’t speak, remaining silent as her gaze shifted between Chen Beiwu and Xu Lingling.

Though she had succeeded in secretly making her move, she did feel a bit guilty towards her best friend, but had never had any intention to push the relationship further.

As the saying went, beware fire, theft, and best friends.

Over the past few years, whenever Xu Lingling suggested visiting the Jade Purity Immortal Sect together to see Chen Beiwu, Xu Zhiqing would always tactfully refuse, successfully dissuading her best friend's idea.

"Core Formation is important, I won't bother you anymore."

Seeing Chen Beiwu full of confidence, Xu Zhiqing promptly ended the video call, and her hologram disappeared.

‘Did Zhiqing give up?’

Xu Lingling blinked, not understanding why Xu Zhiqing’s attitude toward Chen Beiwu had grown colder over the past few years. Could it be that she had found someone new?

But seeing her best friend’s hologram vanish, she knew she couldn’t keep bothering Chen Beiwu either.

Even if she had a thousand things she wanted to say, she could only exchange a few pleasantries before ending the call.

"Buzz."

As expected, not long after the video call ended, the phone vibrated again. The caller was Xu Zhiqing.

‘Zhiqing is great in all aspects, but her thoughts are always too tangled.’

Chen Beiwu shook his head and didn’t answer. Instead, he replied with a text message stating that he needed to focus on Core Formation for a while, and the duration of his closed-door cultivation was undetermined.

"Na!" (Too hard!)

Elsewhere, the Five Qi Vine’s body trembled slightly as it awoke from a drowsy state, its gaze toward the jade slip filled with wariness.

Such a dangerous technique—it had actually been put to sleep without even noticing.

"Calm your breath and focus."

Chen Beiwu activated the Jade Purity Ninefold Primordial Core Scripture with full force, condensing a wisp of five-colored Dao-rhyme essence at his fingertip, which he then tapped onto the Five Qi Vine’s forehead.

"Buzz!"

Sensing resistance from its Sea of Consciousness, Chen Beiwu transmitted mentally: ‘Don’t resist. I’m passing on an immortal technique to you, not forming a Companion Contract.’

Upon receiving the message, the Five Qi Vine hesitated for a moment, then stopped resisting and began immersing itself in the Dao-rhyme of the immortal technique.

Three days, seven days, fifteen days…

As time passed, a month went by. The Five Qi Vine raised its tip, guided by Chen Beiwu’s mana. A five-colored flower bloomed above its head, emitting five different colored divine lights, among which:

The golden light rang with sword-like clarity.

The green light pulsed with vibrant life.

The blue light surged unceasingly.

The red light burned away impurities to refine the true.

The brown light was steady and as immovable as a mountain.

These five divine lights rotated and interwove, forming exactly the Five Elemental Divine Radiance needed for Chen Beiwu’s Core Formation.

"Na?" (That easy?)

The Five Qi Vine widened its eyes, staring at the flickering Five Elemental Divine Radiance in midair.

"Five Elements generate and overcome each other, returning to One; Yin and Yang rise and fall to merge into Truth!"

Though it had the innate talent of Five Qi Genesis, it usually required one to three years to refine a single Five Elemental Divine Radiance.

But under Chen Beiwu’s guidance, it didn’t even need to think. In just a month, it had refined a strand of Five Elemental Divine Radiance—it couldn’t even slack off if it wanted to. The efficiency was ridiculously high.

So this was the might of human immortal techniques!

"The efficiency is a bit low," Chen Beiwu frowned slightly, somewhat dissatisfied.

If he had formed a Companion Contract with the Five Qi Vine, he could continually refine the divine radiance during Core Formation until the golden core was forged.

But without a Companion Contract, he had to prepare enough Five Elemental Divine Radiance in advance before attempting Core Formation.

According to the Jade Purity Ninefold Core Scripture, forging a Primordial Golden Core required at least eighteen strands of Five Elemental Divine Radiance.

To be cautious, Chen Beiwu decided to have the Five Qi Vine refine thirty-six strands.

Which meant that just the preparation stage before Core Formation would take three years.

Five Qi Vine: "???"

Wasn’t that a bit much?

Chen Beiwu glanced at the Five Qi Vine, understanding its shock.

Five Elemental Divine Radiance was no ordinary light. It was innate divine light jointly refined by cultivators of the Primordial Core Scripture and the Five Qi Vine using elemental qi. It was exclusive and couldn’t be used by others.

Simply put, the Five Elemental Divine Radiance refined using Chen Beiwu’s Primordial Core Scripture and the Five Qi Vine could only be used by him.

Even if other cultivators practiced the same scripture, they couldn’t use it. Forcing it would only cause their foundations to collapse.

This was why the Five Qi Vine was so surprised.

"Better to have more than be one strand short. The extras can nourish my golden core." Chen Beiwu said calmly.

Since this concerned whether the Primordial Golden Core could be formed, he wouldn’t allow the slightest mistake.

Given the lure of treasured herbs, what could the Five Qi Vine say?

It could only obediently follow Chen Beiwu’s guidance and continue refining the Five Elemental Divine Radiance.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the Five Qi Vine suddenly trembled. Brilliant five-colored lights converged like rivers to the sea, finally forming the last strand of divine radiance.

The moment it formed, the divine glow around the Five Qi Vine gradually dimmed, its body becoming more jade-like and translucent.

Over the past three years, it had worked diligently and tirelessly. In the process of refining thirty-six strands of Five Elemental Divine Radiance, it had gained considerable fortune—not only had its cultivation soared, even its bloodline had advanced slightly.

Do not underestimate this slight improvement. Once a bloodline reached the level of a Heavenly Gang Mystic Beast, even a sliver of enhancement could increase combat power and mystic ability by ten percent. Otherwise, the Five Qi Vine would’ve gone on strike long ago.

"You’ve worked hard."

Chen Beiwu stored away the Five Elemental Divine Radiance and handed over three Southern Wasteland treasured herbs, each cleansed through the gacha bead lucky blind box.

"Na."

The Five Qi Vine perked up, accepted the herbs, and slowly closed its eyes.

It was exhausted—so tired that it didn’t even want to say another word.

"Iron Egg, help the Five Qi Vine rest well."

As he spoke, Iron Egg immediately carried the Five Qi Vine into a side room, then returned quickly and stood guard at Chen Beiwu’s side alongside Golden Egg.

"Begin!"

Chen Beiwu activated the token and launched the Three Peaks Cave Abode formation, then visualized the Supreme Oneness to bring his essence, qi, and spirit to their peak.

Three days later, Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, and a Soul-Fixing Pill and a jade slip appeared in his hand.

Before entering the Jade Purity Mountain Range, he had already informed the sect patriarch that he had gained some insights from studying the Five Direction and Five Old Taiyi Core Formation Method and needed to travel through the Southern Wasteland to form his core.

The patriarch had not approved, believing that forming a core outside the Mirror Moon Sect was unsafe.

Only after multiple petitions did the patriarch reluctantly agree, bestowing upon him a fourth-rank mystic talisman, A Flicker of the Vast Sea, for protection.

Thinking of this, Chen Beiwu swallowed the Soul-Fixing Pill without hesitation.

As soon as the pill entered his abdomen, it dissolved instantly.

Chen Beiwu immediately felt a stream of cool energy rush from his dantian to his Sea of Consciousness. His spiritual platform cleared of all fog, becoming incomparably lucid.

Even the previously obscure and difficult-to-understand Jade Purity Ninefold Primordial Core Scripture suddenly became clear and fully comprehensible in that moment.

Yet, he did not begin Core Formation right away. Instead, he took out the Supreme Infinite Salvation Scripture and began reading.

“The core is born of the innate Qi.”

“Superior salvation, wondrously aligned with the mysterious origin.”

“When spirit and Qi unite, the core forms naturally from the heavens.”

“……”

As Chen Beiwu comprehended the true essence of the scripture, his entire body’s spiritual power surged. Before long, he entered a state of enlightenment naturally, and within his dantian’s qi sea, the embryonic core began to radiate an unprecedented brilliance.

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

No one knew how much time had passed. When Chen Beiwu awakened from his state of enlightenment, the flawless Dao foundation within his qi sea had already disintegrated into countless specks of light, converging around the embryonic core.

Cracks also began to appear all over the surface of the embryonic core.

Chen Beiwu closed his eyes and observed this inwardly. His heart was as still as water—completely untroubled.

As the saying went: When the three barriers are cleared, the core naturally condenses; when the nine revolutions are complete, the Dao is within reach.

For Immortal Alliance cultivators to form a core, they had to overcome three barriers: Foundation-Shattering, Core Condensation, and Gold Tempering.

Among them, Foundation-Shattering was the most dangerous.

After all, to shatter the foundation was akin to severing one’s roots—it pierced the very soul.

Without sufficient willpower and strong divine consciousness, a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily lose control during this stage. The surging spiritual power, like a flood bursting through a dam, would wash through their limbs and bones, inflicting severe internal damage or even leading to instant death.

However, with the power of the Supreme Infinite Salvation Scripture, Chen Beiwu had already successfully overcome the Foundation-Shattering stage and suppressed the rampaging spiritual power within.

Gulp.

Golden Egg swallowed nervously, clearly tense.

Through the sense connection of the Companion Contract, it sensed that Chen Beiwu was like a nearly burnt-out log—though radiating endless light and heat from within, he was also in danger of burning himself to ashes.

“Woof.”

Iron Egg let out a low growl, silently watching the surging aura around Chen Beiwu, its gaze firm and unwavering.

Though it couldn’t help, that didn’t mean it couldn’t give him encouragement.

‘Form and spirit in harmony, united with the Dao.’

Chen Beiwu’s expression didn’t change. Borrowing the strength of the Companion Contract, he began the Core Condensation.

In an instant, the Dao foundation fragments within his qi sea spun wildly, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. Finally, the embryonic core collapsed entirely, and a pure crimson light gradually emerged.

Boom!

Golden Egg didn’t dare be careless. It fully activated the All-Methods Converging Flow Jianmu Scripture, spitting out a Flood Dragon Core to aid Chen Beiwu.

‘Condense for me!’

Chen Beiwu formed the Primordial Core Seal with both hands, shouting aloud. The Taiyi True Qi he had cultivated painstakingly for years gathered at a single point. Using the secret of Nine Returns and Seven Refinements, he nourished that crimson light with all his strength.

What was Seven Refinements and Nine Returns?

The Seven Refinements drew upon the essence of Earth Fiend energy, repeatedly refining True Qi through seven stages to return it to its innate primordial state.

The Nine Returns referred to spiritual power circulating through nine revolutions. With each revolution, the core would shed a layer of acquired impurities, refining the postnatal into the prenatal.

Such a divine-grade core formation technique was something even Senior Brother Jiang Chuan had failed to master.

Yet Chen Beiwu had successfully deduced and refined it through the Five Direction and Five Old Taiyi Core Formation Method, creating a unique path of beast-assisted cultivation.

Boom!

When the Nine Returns and Seven Refinements reached completion, Chen Beiwu suddenly opened his eyes. A golden brilliance erupted from his gaze.

Within his dantian’s qi sea, a core had been born—neither gold nor iron, impervious to tribulation, capable of manifesting the myriad elements—a Primordial True Core.

It was called a Primordial True Core, not a Primordial Golden Core, because though Chen Beiwu had passed the Core Condensation stage, he had not yet completed the final Gold Tempering stage.

Even so, the moment the Primordial True Core formed, the skies above the Jade Purity Immortal Sect shifted dramatically. A vast phenomenon unfolded, startling countless sect members and students.

“Someone’s forming a Golden Core?”

“What terrifying phenomena! That must be a top-grade core!”

“Top-grade? With a phenomenon this vast, it might be a Titled Core!”

True Monarch Jiang Chuan ignored the divine sense transmissions around him. His gaze turned toward the direction of Chen Beiwu’s cave, brows slightly furrowed.

To Foundation Establishment cultivators of ordinary talent, the Foundation-Shattering stage was the most dangerous. If one passed it, Core Formation was practically guaranteed.

But to prodigies of peerless talent, while Foundation-Shattering was indeed dangerous, it was the Gold Tempering stage that was the true turning point.

Because the success or failure of Gold Tempering would determine the quality of one’s core.

Thinking of this, True Monarch Jiang Chuan turned slightly to face the Jade Purity Immortal Sect’s main gate.

……

Ordinary Immortal Alliance cultivators needed to refine their true cores into golden ones using superior Earth Fiend essence. By guiding their True Qi to form the Dragon-Tiger Stealing Essence, they could steal a wisp of innate Earth Fiend essence, making their spiritual power pure and unified to complete the process.

But the Primordial Golden Core that Chen Beiwu cultivated was different. It required harvesting the five-elemental Earth Fiend essence before the Core Condensation stage to forge a true core untouched by any acquired impurities.

For Gold Tempering, instead of using superior Earth Fiend essence, it required tempering with the Five Elemental Divine Radiance.

Chen Beiwu now formed seals with his hands. Five-colored light flowed around him like mist and cloud.

These radiant mists were the very Five Elemental Divine Radiance he had spent the past years refining with the Five Qi Vine.

Three strands, six strands, nine, eighteen…

As one strand after another merged into the core, the Primordial True Core became increasingly pure, spinning autonomously. Its color gradually shifted from crimson to dark gold—but Chen Beiwu’s expression was no longer calm.

The reason was simple: the thirty-six strands of Five Elemental Divine Radiance he had prepared in advance were not enough to fulfill the needs of the Primordial True Core to give rise to its golden nature and transform into the Primordial Golden Core.

By his estimation, he needed at least seventy-two strands to meet the Primordial Core Scripture’s standard of: “Where divine light shines, golden nature arises.”

‘Is this anomaly due to the Taiyi Core Formation Method, or because I took a shortcut in refining the Five Elemental Divine Radiance?’

Chen Beiwu had no time to think further. Activating the Mirror of Oneness to extinguish distracting thoughts, he simultaneously ran the Five Direction and Five Old Taiyi Core Formation Method and the Primordial Core Scripture.

So what if he hadn’t formed a Companion Contract with the Five Qi Vine?

With Golden Egg’s help and his near-perfected mastery of the Taiyi Core Formation Method, he could continue refining the missing strands himself. The only drawback was a slower tempering speed.

“Na.”

Outside the formation, the Five Qi Vine gulped, looking at Chen Beiwu with clear hesitation.

It had barely rested when the stirring of its bloodline had jolted it awake. It roughly understood that Chen Beiwu’s true core was unstable, its golden nature unformed, and that he now needed a large amount of Five Elemental Divine Radiance.

When a friend is in trouble—should one help or not?

That was a question worth pondering.

Helping would allow Chen Beiwu to succeed in Core Formation, and it could, through the feedback of the Primordial Golden Core, gain an immense fortune, evolving its bloodline. The price was the possible loss of its freedom.

Not helping meant Chen Beiwu might still succeed, and it would remain free—but it would lose the opportunity for bloodline evolution and perhaps its only friend.

That’s right. After three years together, the Five Qi Vine had already grown used to Chen Beiwu’s presence.

With Chen Beiwu around, it no longer had to sneak around in secret, nor talk only to puppets. It could freely share its joys and sorrows with someone by its side.