After leaving the Shendu Mountain Range, Zhang Yan flew forward with his sword, pushing his True Power to its utmost. A streak of Rainbow Light zipped across the azure skies like a flash of lightning, swift as a shooting star, racing northward tirelessly day and night.
Nine days later, he arrived at the convergence point of East Splendor Continent and Beiming Continent. Here, verdant mountains and crystal-clear rivers adorned the land; the Jin Clouds wove intricately. Peaks and ridges rose and fell between heaven and earth—thousands of cliffs and valleys, majestic streams flowing in mighty torrents, endless mountains surging like waves, and birds soaring in the high skies, competing to outmaneuver one another.
This magnificently vast landscape filled Zhang Yan’s chest with exhilaration, making him almost want to look up and let out a long, unbridled howl or wander freely to his heart’s content.
However, condensing his Golden Core took precedence, so he had no mind for sightseeing. He suppressed his Sword Light, lowered himself from the boundless Yun Tian, transformed into a subtle streak of light, and continued his search among the peaks and valleys.
This area, being the convergence of two realms where Earth Veins intertwined, indeed lived up to its reputation. Spiritual Energy surged like tides, Gang Winds rampaged fiercely, forcing his Sword Light to wobble constantly, as if it could be dispelled at any moment. He hurriedly steadied his tunneling light and carefully flew through, muttering to himself, "No wonder few dare venture here. Even with my Sword Escape’s unmatched speed and ferocity, I am struggling in this place, let alone anyone else."
As a result, his tunneling speed slowed slightly. Even so, it took only one day and night before he discovered three Spirit Cleansing Caves. After a quick inspection, he found all of them to be filled with pure Clear Qi, untainted by even the slightest speck of dust—excellent Earth Caves, eliciting a surge of delight within his heart.
He didn’t bother seeking a better option and chose one of the caves. With a swift maneuver of his Sword Light, he broke through the barrier of Qi and descended.
Upon entering the Earth Cave, gentle breezes brushed past his face, and waves of Qi surged upward. After just a few breaths, he felt his lungs soothed, his body relaxed, and an unparalleled sense of tranquility enveloped him.
This Earth Cave was connected to the Earth Root and twisted endlessly, resembling a bottomless abyss. Knowing this place could not harbor any filth, Zhang Yan boldly flew deeper in.
After traversing roughly a thousand zhang in depth, he spotted a stone cavern about one zhang high. Green vines draped around the entrance, and the inner walls were smooth and spotless as if cleansed by water. Able to fit just one person, the sight brought a sparkle to his eyes and a faint smile to his lips. He said, "This is the place."
He leapt forward into the cavern, then fetched a trace of Wood Essence Qi from his Sleeve Bag. Grabbing a few vine branches casually, he slapped them with his hand. Under the urging of the Wood Essence Qi, within an hour, the vines crept across the stone walls and covered the entrance tightly.
With a shake of his robe sleeve, Zhang Yan unleashed several talismans, sticking them onto the vines. The talismans glimmered faintly before disappearing from sight.
Though this place lay in a deserted expanse thousands of miles wide, Zhang Yan took precaution nonetheless. Overdoing it would only reveal his whereabouts to others, so he opted for sealing the entrance loosely on the outside while tightening security within. This way, the vines could sense external changes in the Qi Mechanism, ensuring utmost prudence. Should anything occur, he could respond swiftly.
Once seated securely, he shrugged his shoulders and summoned Water Element True Light, shaking out demon birds trapped within its aquatic veil. Then, without hesitation, he unleashed Sword Light in a Flying Slash.
Disoriented from spinning within the Water Element True Light and rendered incapable of discerning direction, these demon birds became entirely powerless, offering no resistance as Zhang Yan slew them one by one, extracting their spinal Essence Qi. He carefully stored the extracted Essence Qi in jade bottles he had prepared beforehand.
Within a mere quarter of an hour, including a ferocious Golden Eagle among them, Zhang Yan had killed over a hundred demon birds. All his jade bottles were filled. Assessing this ample reserve of Hidden Marrow Refining material sufficient for condensing his Golden Core, he promptly ceased action, releasing a streak of Taiyin Golden Fire Xuan Light that wiped the leftover blood feathers and bones of the demon birds clean.
At this moment, his eyes gleamed brilliantly with Divine Light. With both outer and inner six elixirs prepared, he now stood at the pivotal point of refining elixirs and Golden Core condensation!
Condensing the Golden Core involved two steps. First, with external refinement techniques, he would produce one Elixir Seed. Then, swallowing it, he would finalize the process with inner refinement methods to properly solidify the core.
External refinement was relatively straightforward, requiring only adherence to the principle of "purity."
From this moment onward, until the conclusion of the core condensation, every breath he drew must be supplied solely by the pure Spirit Qi emitted from the One Qi Ganoderma, without the slightest intrusion of turbid Qi.
Nevertheless, external refinement was a Dharma technique aimed at discarding the impure and preserving the essence. Inevitably, impurities would arise during the process, necessitating the use of the perpetual cleansing flow of Spirit Qi from the Spirit Cleansing Cave to purify the contaminants. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel·fire.net
This matter determined the success or failure of his pursuit of the Great Dao, so Zhang Yan dared not slacken for even a moment. Silently focusing his breathing and stabilizing his Heart and Spirit, he then shook his sleeve, bringing out the One Qi Ganoderma and Bright Stone Milk, placing them together. With the Spirit Cleansing Cave complementing these items, the trio constituted the Outer Three Elixirs.
Once the One Qi Ganoderma emitted its first translucent wisp of Spirit Qi, Zhang Yan took a deep breath. Uttering a low shout, he activated his Mysterious Skill. In his Qi Sea, eighty-one streams of Clear and Turbid Qi surged, propelling five Xuan Seeds out of his crown chakra to hover above his head.