Chapter 255: Pill Concoction

Chapter 255: Pill Concoction

"The Pseudo-Core realm!"

Upon hearing Ling Cang's words, everyone's gaze immediately shifted to Chu Ning.

With the cultivation levels of those present, they couldn't discern whether Chu Ning had reached the Pseudo-Core realm.

However, they naturally understood what this realm implied.

It was equivalent to having one foot in the Golden Core realm.

Hearing this, Chu Ning smiled faintly.

Given that he had perfected his cultivation of the Blazing Divine Wood Art, he was indeed in the Pseudo-Core realm at this moment.

This meant that his spiritual power couldn't be further improved, and he could only cultivate his divine sense and adjust his physical condition in preparation for core formation in the future.

This process could take as little as a year or two, or as long as several decades or even a century.

There were also cultivators who remained stuck at this stage for their entire lives.

It varied from person to person.

However, for Chu Ning, after switching to the Five Elements Chaotic Formula, his spiritual power, after transformation and tempering, could still be further improved.

So, in a sense, Chu Ning at this moment couldn't be equated to the traditional Pseudo-Core realm.

Of course, Chu Ning didn't bother to explain this.

After all, he did need some time to cultivate at this stage.

He also wasn't sure how much further he had to go after completing the transformation and tempering of his spiritual power.

Calling it the Pseudo-Core realm wasn't entirely inaccurate.

At that moment, He Yanmao had just finished concocting a pill on the pill concocting platform, and upon hearing Ling Cang's words, he was also greatly surprised.

He then sighed, "Senior Brother Chu entered the late Qi Refining stage twenty years later than me, yet he reached the Pseudo-Core realm so quickly.

It seems it won't be long before he forms his Golden Core."

Chu Ning shook his head at this moment and said, "It's not that simple. Countless people are stuck at this stage for their entire lives."

Ling Cang nodded and said, "Indeed, forming a Golden Core requires one's essence, energy, and spirit to be in an optimal state, and one must also rely on opportunities."

As he spoke, Ling Cang turned to Chu Ning and asked, "What are your plans for the next period?"

Chu Ning then explained his intentions for coming to the Pill Concocting Pavilion.

"I came to the Pill Concocting Pavilion this time to refine a batch of pills. After that, I plan to continue my seclusion for a while."

"Pill concoction? Seclusion?"

Ling Cang glanced at Chu Ning but ultimately didn't say anything further. He merely nodded slightly.

Then he said to Chu Ning, "In that case, you can refine the pills right here in this dojo, and the other disciples can observe as well."

Chu Ning didn't refuse, and after agreeing, he asked the person in charge of spiritual herbs in the pavilion to help him retrieve the necessary ingredients.

Then he stepped onto the pill concocting platform and began refining pills, one furnace after another.

Ling Cang found it strange that Chu Ning was refining earth-attribute spirit pills, but he didn't ask further questions.

However, after watching Chu Ning refine several furnaces of pills, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Chu Ning's understanding of pill concoction far surpasses that of ordinary cultivators. If he forms a Golden Core, I'm afraid he'll surpass even me."

Thinking of how Chu Ning had already entered the Pseudo-Core realm, Ling Cang smiled to himself.

He vaguely guessed that this day might not be too far off.

Under the observation of the cultivators from the Pill Concocting Pavilion, Chu Ning refined several furnaces of pills and also exchanged insights on pill concoction techniques with them.

With that, the pill concocting exchange at the Pill Concocting Pavilion that day came to an end.

Chu Ning had originally intended to leave directly, but after some thought, he went upstairs and retrieved a large pile of spiritual herbs before entering the pill refining room once more.

Over the years, Chu Ning had been researching not just this type of earth-attribute pill.

Based on the cultivation characteristics of the Five Elements Chaotic Formula, Chu Ning had spent a full year researching a spirit pill that incorporated wood, fire, and earth attributes, using the Twin Birth Pill as a foundation.

Since he was already at the Pill Concocting Pavilion, he might as well take advantage of the available materials and refine this pill as well.

After spending three days at the Pill Concocting Pavilion, Chu Ning finally succeeded in refining both types of pills.

As he exited the pill refining room, Chu Ning prepared to leave the Pill Concocting Pavilion.

Su Yuqing approached him at this moment and said with a smile, "Senior Brother Chu, have you been in seclusion for too long?

I just met Rongrong outside, and she mentioned that you had asked the Artifact Forging Pavilion to collect several types of materials for you some time ago.

They've had the materials ready for almost two months now, but you haven't gone to collect them."

"Oh, it has been some time since I last visited, but those materials aren't particularly urgent," Chu Ning replied casually.

Over the past one or two months, he had first been focused on perfecting his cultivation of the Blazing Divine Wood Art.

Now, he was working on cultivating the Five Elements Chaotic Formula and completing the transformation of his spiritual power as soon as possible.

Artifact forging had been temporarily set aside.

Su Yuqing nodded upon hearing this, and the two chatted casually for a while.

However, Chu Ning didn't linger for too long and soon left with the pills.

Watching Chu Ning's departing figure, Su Yuqing blinked gently, a look of admiration on her face.

"They say I have a calm temperament suited for cultivation, but compared to Senior Brother Chu, I still fall short.

Senior Brother Chu is not only talented but also capable of enduring ten years of bitter cultivation without a break.

In the over ten years since he returned to the sect from Honghukou, he hasn't left even once."

It was precisely because Su Yuqing had a naturally calm temperament that she understood how difficult it was to achieve this.

"The heart of a seeker!"

Su Yuqing whispered these four words, her heart filled with emotion.

As Su Yuqing was lost in her thoughts, Chu Ning had already returned to his cave abode.

He then headed straight for the cultivation room.

In the following months, Chu Ning spent most of his time in seclusion within his cave abode, rarely stepping out.

He continued to take a pill every few days while constantly transforming and tempering his spiritual power.

However, unlike the previous month when he had solely focused on cultivating the Five Elements Chaotic Formula, he also continued to cultivate the Nine Transformations Body Refining Formula and the Divine Sense Tempering Art during this period.

This was to ensure that his essence, energy, and spirit remained in an optimal state.

Time flew by, and another six months passed in the blink of an eye.

Within the cave abode on Lingyan Peak, Chu Ning sat in the cultivation room and let out a long sigh.

The wood and fire dual-attribute spiritual power in my dantian has completely transformed into the wood, fire, and earth tri-attribute spiritual power of the Five Elements Chaotic Formula.

Compared to before the transformation, my spiritual power is even denser.

In fact, I have truly entered the Pseudo-Core realm at this moment."

As these thoughts flashed through Chu Ning's mind, he examined the proficiency of his cultivation techniques in his mind's eye.

【Five Elements Chaotic Formula (Middle-grade Celestial Tier), First Layer (1000/50000)】

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Formula, Second Volume, First Layer (14415/45000)】

【Divine Sense Tempering Art, Fourth Layer (33701/64000)】

Just as Chu Ning was about to get up, a very mysterious feeling suddenly arose in his heart.

Chu Ning was taken aback for a moment, then he turned his attention inward to observe the condition of his dantian.

"This is..."

When he saw the state of the spiritual power in his dantian, a look of surprise flashed in Chu Ning's eyes.

He discovered that the normally liquid-like spiritual power had begun to swirl and compress towards the center.

And in the vortex's center, there were signs of the spiritual power condensing!

"Is this... a prelude to core formation?"

Realizing this, Chu Ning, who was unprepared, felt both surprised and delighted.

Over the past decade or so, Chu Ning had naturally gained some knowledge about core formation.

In fact, because he knew that after perfecting the Blazing Divine Wood Art, the next step would be to refresh his spiritual body and cultivate a new technique, as well as form a core.

So, Chu Ning had naturally learned more about these topics.

At this moment, he could identify that this was indeed a sign of impending core formation.

This was far beyond Chu Ning's expectations. According to his plan, after completing the relevant transformation and tempering of his spiritual power, he would still need some time to cultivate before reaching this juncture.

He never expected that merely completing the transformation and tempering would bring him to the brink of core formation.

"Perhaps it's because I've already adjusted my essence, energy, and body to their optimal state during these six months of seclusion?"

As this thought flashed through his mind, Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and his expression immediately turned solemn.

Core formation was a major event and not something to be taken lightly.

He quickly calmed his mind and focused his entire being.

Then, Chu Ning began to circulate the Five Elements Chaotic Formula.

At the same time, he directed his spiritual sense into his dantian's spiritual power, guiding it to rotate and condense towards the center.

Simultaneously, the spiritual energy in the surroundings rushed into Chu Ning's body.

The effects of his three spiritual bodies of Yin Wood, Wu Fire, and Xu Soil were fully unleashed, allowing him to absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and earth at an astonishing rate.

Even so, it was still insufficient to meet the demands of his body.

Chu Ning quickly took out the recently refined pills from his storage bag and swallowed one.

A high-grade lower-tier spirit pill would normally take Chu Ning three days to refine and absorb.

However, at this moment, he had finished refining and absorbing it in just three hours.

Chu Ning's spiritual energy and spiritual power became abundant once again.

However, this state didn't last long.

Chu Ning once more felt the deficiency of spiritual energy in his body, and he immediately took out another pill and consumed it.

One after another, he swallowed the pills as the days passed.

Five days went by.

Then ten days.

A month passed.

The hundred pills that Chu Ning had refined were completely exhausted.

Sensing that the condensation of spiritual power within his body was far from complete, Chu Ning immediately took out all the spirit stones from his storage bag.

The tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones that Chu Ning had obtained from the two demonic sects over a decade ago had long been exchanged for medium-grade spirit stones.

Over the years, Chu Ning had also received a considerable number of spirit stones from the Nine Lotus Sect.

He took out all these spirit stones, amounting to nearly a thousand medium-grade spirit stones.

Whenever he felt a lack of spiritual energy, he would casually pick up a spirit stone and absorb its energy.

Chu Ning remained single-mindedly immersed in his cultivation.

Gradually, the spirit stones around Chu Ning were reduced to powder, one by one.

His spiritual power became increasingly condensed, and the aura emanating from his body grew more and more powerful.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time had passed, a tri-colored bead could be vaguely seen within Chu Ning's dantian.

And on its outer layer, there was only a thin layer of liquid-like spiritual power remaining.

What was surprising was that a normal Golden Core cultivator's core was only the size of a thumb.

However, Chu Ning's core, which had not yet fully formed, was already the size of a small egg.

"Perhaps it's because I used the Mysterious Spirit Elixir Method when I built my foundation, resulting in my spiritual power far surpassing that of cultivators at the same level?"

A thought flashed through Chu Ning's mind, but he didn't hesitate at all.

He controlled the last strand of spiritual power and pressed it towards the tri-colored round core in his dantian.

At the same time, a powerful force burst forth from the core.

Chu Ning felt as if his dantian, sea of consciousness, and even his entire body were being impacted by this immense force.

"Here it comes!"

Chu Ning knew that this was the most crucial and dangerous moment of core formation.

He quickly embraced his original yuan and stabilized his mind.

However, perhaps because this core was too large, the force was far stronger than Chu Ning had imagined.

In his sea of consciousness, his spiritual sense liquid was rapidly depleting.

And outside his body, the Immortal Golden Body's spiritual power shield appeared on its own.

As a vague sense of his body about to explode and perish emerged, a trace of fear arose in Chu Ning's heart.

It was also at this moment that from Chu Ning's breastbone, hand bones, leg bones, and skull, surged forth a torrent of vigorous energy.

This vitality-filled energy surged out and instantly infused into Chu Ning's every limb and bone.

Instantly, the feeling of his body about to burst disappeared, replaced by a vibrant vitality.

It seemed as if every part of his body was being reborn!

Sensing the state of his body, Chu Ning no longer hesitated and controlled that stray strand of spiritual power that had not yet merged with the Golden Core, once again forcefully compressing it towards the tri-colored bead!

"Condense!"

Withstanding the Golden Core's powerful impact, this final wisp of spiritual power was completely gathered into the tri-colored round bead!

The Golden Core was formed!

Instantly, the powerful impact disappeared.

Replacing it was a feeling of extreme hunger that Chu Ning felt throughout his body.

He needed a massive amount of spiritual energy!

At this moment, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth began to automatically rush into Chu Ning's body.

However, the spiritual energy in the room was clearly insufficient.

The remaining dozen or so spirit stones by Chu Ning's side were almost instantly reduced to powder, turning into streams of spiritual energy that, along with the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, were absorbed into Chu Ning's body.

But even this was still not enough.

Immediately, all the spiritual energy in the entire cave abode, and on Lingyan Peak, began to converge towards Chu Ning's cultivation room.

At the same time, the surrounding spiritual energy continued to gather towards this location.

Above Lingyan Peak, dark clouds suddenly gathered, and silver snakes of electricity danced wildly.

The spiritual energy that covered nearly 200 li (about 50 miles) of airspace above the Nine Lotus Sect.

All of it frantically converged towards Lingyan Peak, forming a visible vortex of spiritual energy above Chu Ning's cave abode.

Such a startling change naturally attracted the attention of all the Nine Lotus Sect cultivators.

"What's going on? Why is the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in chaos?"

"Hey, why is there a huge vortex of spiritual energy over there?"

Some of the Qi Refining cultivators gazed at the vortex in the sky, their faces filled with astonishment.

Meanwhile, the Foundation Establishment cultivators revealed delighted expressions.

"Core formation! Someone is about to form a core!"

"That seems to be in the direction of Lingyan Peak, could it be... Brother Chu Ning!"

Everyone exclaimed in delight and quickly flew towards Lingyan Peak.

Even Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators could sense this anomaly, so naturally, the other cultivators in the sect noticed as well.

In fact, as soon as the spiritual energy started acting up, Tang Xuan, Yu Changge, Gong Yuyuan, Ling Cang, Ge Liuyang, Liu Zhaolin, and others...

One by one, the Golden Core cultivators flew out of their cave abodes and swiftly made their way towards Lingyan Peak.

Aside from the two Golden Core cultivators on rotation at Honghukou, Tang Xuan, the Nascent Soul cultivator, and the remaining eight Golden Core cultivators were now gathered not far from Lingyan Peak.

"It's Chu Ning forming a Golden Core! I never heard him say he was going into seclusion to form a core."

Everyone present had experienced core formation themselves, so they naturally knew that such a heaven and earth phenomenon was caused by the successful formation of a Golden Core, as the new core absorbed spiritual energy.

Ling Cang's eyes widened in astonishment as he exclaimed,

"Half a year ago, when Chu Ning came to the Pill Concocting Pavilion, I saw that he had entered the Pseudo-Core realm.

But in just half a year, he has successfully formed a core?"

Hearing Ling Cang's words, Tang Xuan, Yu Changge, and the others all wore astonished expressions.

Ge Liuyang cried out in surprise, "From the Pseudo-Core realm to core formation in just half a year? That's incredibly fast!

And why does he need so much spiritual energy after forming his core?"

Not only Ge Liuyang, but the others also looked surprised.

Yu Changge's eyes fixed on the direction of Lingyan Peak, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.

"Then there's only one possibility: the Golden Core that Chu Ning has condensed is extremely powerful.

If I'm not mistaken, our Nine Lotus Sect is about to have a powerful Golden Core cultivator!"

Hearing Yu Changge's words, everyone's gazes fell on him.

Several people recalled that when Yu Changge had formed his core, the heaven and earth phenomenon had also far exceeded that of ordinary people.

So, Yu Changge's words were naturally very credible.

Ge Liuyang immediately asked, "Sect Master, how does Brother Chu Ning's core formation phenomenon compare to yours?"

Hearing this, Yu Changge smiled and said,

"If we're just talking about this phenomenon, it's far stronger than mine!"

Upon hearing Yu Changge's words, the eyes of the Golden Core cultivators revealed shocked expressions.

After all, Yu Changge was a genius among geniuses.

Among cultivators of the same stage, his abilities were enough to suppress everyone else.

At this moment, Tang Xuan also spoke up, "Indeed, this phenomenon is far beyond what Changge was able to achieve when he formed his core.

To be precise, I've never seen anyone at the core formation stage able to absorb spiritual energy from such a wide area."

Since even Tang Xuan said so,

The others looked towards Lingyan Peak with even more curiosity.

Just then, after continuing for a while, the spiritual vortex began to gradually weaken.

Then, it disappeared without a trace.

And the dark clouds and lightning that had covered Lingyan Peak also instantly vanished.

As soon as he saw this, Tang Xuan smiled and said, "Chu Ning is about to come out of seclusion. Let's go and take a look at our sect's new Golden Core cultivator!"

With Tang Xuan taking the lead, everyone flew towards Lingyan Peak.

The other Foundation Establishment cultivators also found the situation intriguing and eagerly followed suit.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end