The cultivation steps of the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique were exceptionally regular: first, the Three Light Refining Qi, followed by the cultivation of the Holy Embryo Body, then the Beidou Seven Refinements, and finally the Nine-Turn Golden Pill.
The corresponding realms were, in order: Qi Refinement, Body Refinement, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core—these four realms.
However, the traditional realms consisted of Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Divine Shrine, Divine Embryo, and Golden Core—these five realms.
There was obviously a problem here!
Chen Shi’s expression was serious.
A significant problem!
Though the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique added the Body Refinement, it omitted the realms of Divine Shrine and Divine Embryo, definitely lacking the robust mana characteristic of the traditional realms.
"Moreover, after achieving the Golden Core, one can temper the body with the Golden Core; Body Refinement is also included in the traditional realms, just not singled out. Therefore, at the Golden Core Realm, the traditional realms will definitely be much stronger than the Golden Core of the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique!"
He thought to himself, "The True King’s Tomb had these cultivation techniques inscribed outside, obviously harboring ill intentions, leading those tomb-robbing gentlemen here to start practicing the techniques inscribed on the stele, ultimately ruining their foundation. But..."
He sighed; although he was not one of the tomb-robbing gentlemen, and lacking the Divine Embryo, he was left with no choice but to cultivate the clearly treacherous Three Light Righteous Qi Technique.
The best location to practice Golden Core cultivation was the Mountain Lord Temple.
Chen Shi immediately packed up, brought some dry food, and instructed Black Pot, who was eating a mouse, "Black Pot, I’m going to the Mountain Lord Temple to cultivate for a day. If anything happens, use the Armored Horse Talisman to come to the Mountain Lord Temple to inform me. I’ve left you two pounds of Exotic Beast Meat hanging on the wall; eat it yourself if you’re hungry. If you want it cooked, you’ll have to start a fire yourself."
Black Pot could not help but shake its head; its young master never treated it like a dog, even asking it to cook meals.
Could I even cook a few dishes?
Besides, it was eating a mouse and wouldn’t be hungry for a day or two.
Chen Shi arrived at the Mountain Lord Temple and set down his bookcase.
It had been a while since he last visited the Mountain Lord Temple, and there was no longer any sunlight in the temple.
Chen Shi activated the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, stepping on the Beidou stars; Beidou Star Talismans exploded under his feet, tempering his body while his Qi-Blood surged within him, rushing toward the Dantian.
The so-called Golden Core was a major medicine within the human body, a medicine not sought externally but concocted from one’s own essence, energy, and spirit.
To concoct a Golden Core, one needed to undergo the Nine Palaces, also known as the Nine Cauldrons tempering.
The first palace was called the Danyuan Palace, also known as Danyuan Cauldron; the Golden Core was formed here, culminating in fire purity; when completed, it was blue.
The second palace was called Zhuling Palace, also known as Zhuling Cauldron; the Golden Core was tempered here, and it was red.
The third palace was called Lantai Palace, also known as Lantai Cauldron; the Golden Core was white.
The fourth palace was called Tianhong Palace, also known as Tianhong Cauldron; the Golden Core was black.
The fifth palace was called Huangting Palace, the central palace, also known as Huangting Cauldron; the Golden Core was yellow.
The sixth palace was called the Spirit Talisman Palace, also known as Spirit Talisman Cauldron; the Golden Core was purple.
The seventh palace was called the Chief of Staff Palace, also known as Chief of Staff Cauldron; the Golden Core was green.
The eighth palace was called Jade Palace, also known as Jade Cauldron; the Golden Core was aqua.
The ninth palace was called Jiang Palace, also known as Jiang Cauldron; the Golden Core was ochre. (Organized from Dao Shu’s Nine-Turn Golden Pill volumes, the described Golden Core is Daoist, not the traditional xianxia novel Golden Core and might contradict common knowledge.)
Unintentionally, Chen Shi had already stepped into the threshold of this path, his Qi-Blood condensed, using Divine Qi as medicine and Danyuan as the cauldron, beginning to refine the Golden Core.
Cultivating the Golden Core without a Divine Embryo was a reluctant act, but Chen Shi’s cultivation was surprisingly smooth; he soon completed the Danyuan Cauldron, as if there was a boundless sea of fire within his Dantian, where essence, energy, and spirit converged, coalescing into a pill.
This pill was limitless and naturally formed.
Essence, energy, and spirit condensed within the pill, transforming into something unknown, unnamed.
As he was immersed in cultivation, losing sense of self and surroundings, a light sound, ’da,’ came from inside the bookcase, and a faint blue light emitted from the jade seal.
The light correspondingly radiated from the stone casket, with a crisp sound originating from within, as if a lock was being undone.
After a moment, another crisp ’da’ resounded, and then the sounds became more frequent, as if numerous locks inside were being unlocked by some mysterious force!
Suddenly, the stone casket vanished, replaced by a perfectly square, quietly resting stone block inside the bookcase.
A blue light burst from the bookcase, soaring into the sky, exploding silently, yet mingling with the dense extraordinary power inside the Mountain Lord Temple, eventually vanishing without a trace.
In the temple, sunlight fell, and the sky of Huaxia Divine Continent appeared above the temple, deep and boundless. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"The seed left behind has been released, and my power can finally connect."
A soft sigh echoed in the temple, the voice filled with joy.
"Finally, I can condense my form, to greet the heavenly changes!"
Chen Shi was completely unaware of this, still deeply engrossed in his cultivation; the sunlight and moonlight from Huaxia Divine Continent grew stronger within him, forming surging Qi-Blood, which was then melded into his flesh through the Beidou Seven Refinements, nourishing his essence, energy, and spirit.
Essence, energy, and spirit were heavy as lead and mercury, and in the Danyuan Cauldron, through the fire tempering, were refined into the Golden Core.
He was not in a state of meditation, but continually moving with the seven stars, his eyes half-open, half-closed, and his steps became peculiar, occasionally walking up walls, columns, even onto the temple roof, yet his figure remained steady, not falling.
Unknowingly, his cultivation session had lasted twelve hours, yet he had not stopped.