Inside the Universal Separation Courtyard, Li Fan appeared to be quietly meditating, just as he usually did during peaceful times.
In reality, profound changes were taking place within his body.
The dual-colored golden pill, resembling black and white, completely absorbed the various types of forces in the dantian vortex, strengthening itself.
As time passed, the vortex gradually shrank.
Meanwhile, the golden pill became more solid and agile.
Its appearance became increasingly rounded, and the black and white colors on the surface circulated more rapidly.
When the vortex was completely consumed, black and white finally merged at an extreme speed.
A fluctuation erupted from it, sweeping through the dantian in an instant and then spreading throughout Li Fan's entire body.
Wherever the fluctuation passed during the process of forming the golden core, all the chaotic energies lingering throughout his body vanished completely.
All disturbances returned to tranquility.
This sweeping fluctuation quickly retraced its path, carrying spiritual energy from all parts of the body and the calamity body in the dantian, used to store cultivation.
The luminous sphere transformed by [Still True] also followed this fluctuation, turning into a wisp of clear light and diving into the interior of the golden pill.
Completing the final piece of the puzzle, Li Fan's golden core finally formed completely.
In an instant, the golden core fell into absolute stillness, followed by a dazzling light emanating from it.
Radiating across his entire body, it even interrupted Li Fan's introspection process.
As the light gradually retracted, when Li Fan looked again, he saw an unremarkable, plain-looking golden core peacefully floating in his dantian.
Before Li Fan could reflect on it, a majestic spiritual power surged out from the golden core, flowing through his limbs and bones.
It was a completely new power, surpassing both in quality and quantity what he had during the Foundation Establishment stage.
Every cell in his body seemed to be emitting cheerful cheers as they soaked in the nourishment of the spiritual power from the golden core.
The long-lost vitality and a sense of youth emerged from Li Fan's heart.
"After numerous hardships and dangers, experiencing several near-death situations."
"Today, I finally achieved the golden core."
"It wasn't easy, but it was fortunate."
Li Fan sighed in his heart, opened the [Still True] interface, and checked the changes after forming the golden core.
Name: Li Fan
Cultivation Stage: Early Golden Core
Physiological Age: 48/599
Mental Age: 1240/4200↑
Virtual Foundation Charging Progress: 200%
Anchor Charging Progress: 2%
Current Anchor Points: 3
Current Available Anchor Points: 0
Bound Items: "Thousand Mechanisms Jade Celestial Golden Scroll," Taiyan Boat, Remaining Stele (Damaged), Blood of Ten Thousand People, Dao Stone
Cultivation Techniques: Profound Yellow Heart Refining Incantation, Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique, Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art, Creation Furnace Technique, Thousand Mechanisms Jade Celestial Golden Scroll, Sitting Mountain Technique, Mind Spirit Illusion Technique
Supernatural Abilities: Life and Death Chain, Formless Killing Intent, Insect Binding, Sword of the Cong Clouds, Overturning Palm
Special: Eternal Remembrance (Sun Heaven) (Usable once)
...
"My lifespan has increased from four hundred years to nearly six hundred years all at once, almost half more. The upper limit of my mental age has also begun to increase again."
"The disparity in cultivation accumulation between the golden core and the Foundation Establishment stage is indeed immense. I thought the several calamity bodies I accumulated before could push me to the middle Golden Core stage immediately after forming the golden core. Now the progress has just passed one-third..."
"Perhaps this might be due to forcefully using the Nine Laws Golden Core."
"The Nine Laws Golden Core is naturally incomparable to an ordinary golden core."
Recalling the process of forming the golden core just now, Li Fan had to admit that luck played a part in his success this time.
The Five Elements Power was hastily assembled by him. The power of water and fire was much greater than that of metal, wood, and earth.
This led to the operation of the Five Elements Power not being as harmonious and smooth. Instead, it constantly showed signs of being out of control, almost causing his efforts to fail.
"Fortunately, the final result is not bad, and I barely formed a somewhat powerful golden core."
Now that the golden core was formed, it was already integrated with Li Fan.
Regarding its various uses, Li Fan naturally knew them well.
The Nine Laws Golden Core, and even the various functions of [Still True] as a Foundation Establishment wonder, all converged into this golden core.
In the future, when Li Fan cast Five Elements spells, he would be able to control them effortlessly, receiving a certain degree of enhancement.
Among them, the effects of water and fire were more prominent.
The Five Elements generated each other endlessly. The sustained combat capability, compared to the previous Hateful Branch, was many times stronger.
Li Fan was confident that if he returned to the desolate land without spiritual energy now, relying solely on the spiritual energy within his body, even in a constant state of battle consumption, he could persist for a considerable amount of time.
The existence of the Hidden Recovery method could also allow Li Fan to rapidly recover from his injuries.
The combination of these two factors made Li Fan almost an entity that couldn't be exhausted or defeated.
The Blue Flame Phantom Spirit had already disappeared and no longer existed in the Sea of Consciousness. It had become part of the rules of the golden core. Now, Li Fan could enter the absolute rational state he had before, even without relying on the Blue Flame Phantom Spirit.
As for the final Heaven Execution and Ink Slaughter...
At the moment of achieving the golden core, Li Fan inexplicably gained insight and contemplation, formulating a move that integrated the characteristics of both.
Driven by the core of the Five Elements Power, with the power of Heaven Execution and Ink Slaughter annihilating everything as the sword's edge.
Combined with the bold momentum of the 28 Clouds Sword that went straight ahead, with every sword guaranteed to hit.
In Li Fan's imagination, he named it the "Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword."
"Unfortunately, this is my last resort and cannot be easily exposed. The Universal Separation Courtyard is under heavy surveillance, making it impossible to test its effectiveness here."
After mentally simulating the power of this new supernatural ability, Li Fan reluctantly suppressed the thought.
After summarizing what he had gained, Li Fan reflected on it and planned for the future.
"The disharmony of the Five Elements will need to be addressed sooner or later. Otherwise, even if there is no problem with the golden core stage, when seizing the flawless and self-contained Five Elements Grand Dao, it will undoubtedly encounter setbacks."
The new method of the Celestial Lord is fast in cultivation. However, when breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, one will inevitably face the counterattack of heaven and earth.
Previously, the method of peeking into the heavens and the earth was compared to copying on a canvas.
Then, seizing the essence of the heavens and the earth could be likened to forcibly taking precious paintings from a museum full of treasures.
Naturally, it would face the countermeasures of the defense system.
Li Fan is not yet clear on the specific details, but he has read bits and pieces about it before.
"Next, practice while collecting relevant information."
"Whether it is information about the Five Elements Grand Dao or the Five Elements powers comparable to Hanhai and Chih Yan, they are not easily obtained."
"Careful planning is needed."
When Li Fan, now in the golden core stage, resumed cultivation, he felt the long-lost slow progress in his cultivation.
He couldn't help but miss Xiao Heng, He Zhenghao, and Su Xiaomei.
"At this moment, Xiao Heng should be in Shilin Prefecture, and Su Xiaomei has not yet come out of the remains of the Chao Yuan Sect."
"He Zhenghao has ended his closed-door training, but it seems that he is busy with his duties and has not had a chance to cultivate."
"Well, they have all successfully reached the golden core stage. If they want to make further progress, it is not something that can be achieved overnight."
"It seems it's time to cultivate some new crops."
(End of this chapter)