One of Wu Long's biggest gains from the enlightenment was of course, a greater grasp over the Earth Rune that he could now control with almost as much efficiency as he did with Water Rune, although his ability to manipulate the elemental attribute was not as great yet, as it required practice.
Another significant, perhaps even greater, achievement, was that he was able to figure out how to control all of the vortexes within the Ring of Spiritual Qi that formed around his Core, and through them, how to control the current of the Spiritual Qi within the Ring itself.
Much like his previous enlightenment allowed him to instantly increase his cultivation, this one did as well, and as he concentrated all of that on only one of the vortexes, he was able to push it to start condensing small crystals, effectively pushing it into a state similar to Foundation Building Realm.
'Hmm, now that I know almost for certain that this crystal core will not be functioning the same as a normal one, and that I will have to form at least one new crystal core in the belt of Spiritual Qi around it, it's better to call it something different...', he then stumbled onto a thought that amused him since it wasn't that important, but at the same time fun nonetheless.
'How about...', he inwardly thought and finished out loud, "Grandmist Core"
The moment he spoke it, he could feel some kind of reaction within the newly named Grandmist Core, its colorless mist still swirling at the same even pace, giving off the same mysterious and profound feeling, but he still perceived an unknown change within, that he could not clearly describe or name.
"Haha, back to the drawing board then...", he then made a slightly dry laugh as he realized that he had to once more go through the process of forming a Crystal Core.
And as he already confirmed, it required as much effort and resources for him to advance any one vortex of Spiritual Qi as he required for his original one.
Thus it felt almost as if he returned back to being at the gate of the Foundation Building Realm while still holding all the powers that a Core Reformation Realm cultivator had.
The only salvation was that, his cultivation partners including but not limited to his Dao Family have all advanced in cultivation, and thus were able to provide him with much greater amounts of Yin Qi, and thus it would not be as hard for him to achieve the same results as the last time.
He was also now not limited by the boundaries of a Fractured World, and could venture far in search of valuable resources and better environments for cultivation.
He also knew that he held an insane potential for growth in having the ability to cultivate numerous cores, that he could evolve in different ways.
And, as he realized once he gained control over the vortexes and the Ring of Spiritual Qi, he could grow the number of vortexes at will, though he did not know whether there was an upper limit.
In a sense, as soon as the vortex he was currently cultivating reached peak Core Reformation Realm, and form a Crystal Core of the Mortal Transcendence Realm, he would be seemingly following in the same cultivation path that he used to before receiving the Blessing of the Grandmist Keepsake, but it was at the same time distinctly different, and he did not know yet how his path would evolve in higher Cultivation Realms.
But aside from that, he also had valuable gains in other areas, which all collectively gave him a significant work for the foreseeable future, as he still had to slowly digest and incorporate it all into his current strength, and put theory into practice.
As he organized his thoughts, he took out a separate Profound Grade Spatial Ring and transferring its contents to another spare ring, then proceeding to fill the ring he emptied with soil, first the one that rose around him, before, and then continuing to raise and absorb more.
Any insects or small animals residing deep within the ground were expelled, as these Spatial Rings could not hold living beings, and looking at that he chuckled thinking of the reaction to this scene if his ladies were currently with him.
Fen Baihu was not far away, still looking at him with a curious gaze, but she was completely immune to this sight of hundreds of various insects, lizards and small snakes falling to the crater created as the earth around them disappeared into the Spatial Ring.
He proceeded to collect more and more earth and sand into the new Earth Ring that he put on a strap hanging from his belt along with the Water Ring and the Talisman Ring, leaving only his regular use Spatial Ring on his hands.
This was not as secure and efficient as having them on his fingers, but at the same time he foresaw that as the number of special use rings increased it was becoming unsustainable to keep wearing them normally.
As he was collecting enough earth for him to not have to worry about adding for some time, he also finally had time to turn his attention outward, discovering that the Spiritual Qi improvement was proceeding even more rapidly at the moment.
But as he checked the state of the crack behind his back, he did not see any notable improvement there.
"Heh, you finally noticed", Fen Baihu appeared near him from thin air. Her appearance was not abrupt, but soft and almost inconspicuous, like a mirage.
"I had other things to concentrate on", Wu Long chuckled in reply, and she nodded, conceding him that argument, as that much was apparent to her just from what she witnessed previously.
"This is not more of better quality Spiritual Qi coming in through the links from the outside, but the countless Spiritual Lands throughout this World are resonating and producing higher quality Spiritual Qi in larger quantities", the Celestial Fox then raised her face upward, closing her eyes and breathing in the Spiritual Qi which was like a breath of pure and crispy fresh air to her.
"Haha, must feel nice to taste this Spiritual Qi after a while", he smiled, looking to the side at her.
After all, she has been stuck in the Three Continents amid this Fractured World, stifled by the environment, and her injury not getting any better at all.
Though this Spiritual Qi was nowhere near what she was used to, but it was already at a level that was quite impressive for the Boundless Mortal World in general.
"Mm, I honestly already slightly lost hope for some time, biding my time", Fen Baihu opened her eyes, and then surprise appeared in her eyes, as she was not sure why she felt like admitting it out loud.
She did her best to not face the truth of the circumstances surrounding her before, almost in denial of her situation.
However, she then shook her head, making her fox ears slightly sway.
'Why would there be some special reason? It must be just the spur of the moment', she inwardly shrugged the issue off, refusing to give it any special meaning and explaining it away by the relief she felt from inhaling this fresh and much purer Spiritual Qi.