"Dao Armament cultivation? Is that related to the Armament Cultivation like Sword Cultivation?" Wu Mengqi asked as Wu Long sat surrounded by his beauties.
This time it was Hong Ye who sat in his lap though, her crimson eyes tinged with delight as she felt his hand gently patting her head.
"Yes, it is part of it, but slightly different. Whereas Armament Cultivation requires one to contemplate on the armament they chose and achieve new comprehensions to advance, Dao Armament is when a practitioner turns their cultivation itself into a weapon, a Dao Armament", Ye Ling nodded, replying to her.
"Mm, Dao Armament Cultivators do not have a Crystal Core, as their Dao Armament in itself is their Crystal Core, and thus the weapon grows in power along with the cultivator, as the cultivator adds more abilities to it by cultivating it", Wu Long added on to that.
"But didn't you say it was an Ancient Inheritance?", Hua Ziyan asked, a bit confused.
"Indeed, which is why there are so few of Dao Armament cultivators around", Wu Long nodded, "The art of creating Dao Armaments from scratch only exists in theory in Current Era, as we have seen references to it in Ancient Texts. All the existing Dao Armament Cultivators obtained their Dao Armaments from Ancient Era inheritances"
Ye Ling supplemented his answer, "When a cultivator in Five Origin Realms or higher dies in right circumstances, not always, their cultivation has a minor chance of not dissipating, but condensing into their Crystal Core which gains material form and is left behind"
She then added, "Commonly called the Fallen Cores, they are considered to be a great treasure, as it contains the secrets of that practitioner's cultivation, including parts of their cultivation methods and even battle skills. The same goes for the Demonic Cores or Neidans of all types of Beasts of Origin Grade and higher, as they at that point contain innate abilities of those Beasts"
The beauties widened their eyes at the explanation, realizing the implications.
Wu Long picked up from there, "Fallen Cores from Ancient Times, therefore, are deemed an extremely valuable inheritance, and it is often through them that an Ancient Technique is obtained in the Current Era. Dao Armament Cultivators' Fallen Core is their Dao Armament itself, which is how the technique could be obtained"
He then continued to add the last bit, "Which is why Fairy Yunxi's whip actually contains inheritance of a cultivator from Ancient Era, rather than just her own cultivation, so at this point the Dao Armament is far more powerful than she is, and she can only unleash a bit of its power. She would have to reach the level at which the practitioner who left behind that Dao Armament was at the time of their death to begin actually cultivating the Dao Armament itself to further heights, until then she would be just unlocking its potential"
"But... doesn't that mean it could be taken away by simply killing the one who has received the Dao Armament as long as they are in the Five Origin Realms or above?", Shen Min asked.
"It isn't so simple", Wu Long shook his head, "There is a much greater chance of that Dao Armament to be lost, as a lot of the probability of a Fallen Core forming seemingly relies on pure chance, even if all the conditions are right, which aren't easy to achieve either. Additionally, a Fallen Core doesn't just pop up whenever a cultivator dies, it has to form very gradually over a very long period of time in the corpse of the cultivator. And the higher their cultivation, the longer it takes for it to fully form"
"Plus at that point, those who could kill a cultivator in the Five Origin Realms have to themselves be in Five Origin Realms, higher, or at least close to level. It would be impossible to merge the Dao Armament into their cultivation unless they were as skilled as Wu Long at breaking their entire cultivation to its very foundation in higher realms, and there aren't that many people like that", Ye Ling added.
"Not to mention", Wu Long added, "That there is the issue of compatibility. Not everyone, even if they are still within lower of the Nine Mortal Realms, could obtain a Dao Armament and have it merge into their cultivation. It has to be a compatible practitioner, and the conditions are countless, including bloodline, elemental attributes, compatibility of Spiritual Qi, and sometimes even temperament and personality characteristics, though there of course are much more factors than I listed"
"Isn't a Crystal Core extremely important though? Don't the Dao Armament Cultivators incur significant risks in bringing it out to fight?", Luo Mingyu then asked, as a Crystal Core was considered a vital point for any cultivator.
"What they are bringing out is the physical manifestation of their Dao Armament not its entire existence, in principle, it is akin to when any of us use our battle cultivation techniques which have to be coded into the Crystal Core, the technique itself is still within our Crystal Core in the Dantian, but the Spiritual Qi flows out to make the shape of the technique on the outside", Wu Long explained.
"This is why in a certain sense their weapons are indestructible. As even if they get severely damaged in combat, and even if they are completely destroyed, they will repair or 'regrow' to their usual state as the practitioner cultivates, it just takes time and cultivation resources", Ye Ling added as well.
Wu Long explained a bit more of minor details of Dao Armaments as the evening slowly arrived. The topic of the conversation then shifted, eventually arriving on the Yang-attribute natural treasure.
"Yes, it is a 3rd-tier Profound Grade Sunflare Emberfruit, a rare find even among its tier and grade", Wu Long nodded, "Together with the Night Tears Orchid we obtained from the Sun Shadow Secret Realm, which is of equal tier and grade, we can actually amplify the effects of both"
"Eh? Won't they cancel each other out?", Cao Mei asked.
"Yin and Yang attributes can certainly cancel each other out, but if mixed in certain ways, can amplify each other beyond what is possible separately. This is the principle on which Dual Cultivation works", Hua Ziyan explained.
"Wouldn't that mean an extreme strain on you though?", Yu Huan instantly understood that he planned to consume the pill created from both natural treasures, as creating such an Alchemy Pill was the only way they could combine the effects of both in a synergistic effect.
And Wu Long was the only one who could consume such a pill, channeling the Yin energy to them through the bond of Dual Extremes Infinite Union Art while using the Yang energy himself.
It would mean he would be torn from inside by two opposing immense powers, while having to both refine one himself and send out the other part at a rate they could accept.
"It's not that big of a deal", Wu Long chuckled, as it was better to have to endure that strain than to let go of such a prime opportunity to massively amplify their collective gains.
"We would have to wait a bit before doing it though, since right now I don't plan to advance, and this would be the best opportunity to gain momentum to advance", he then clarified.
"Is it because of the Dao Runes?", Luo Mingyu asked.
"Yes", he chuckled, "Although I cannot be certain, my hunch tells me I need to obtain all five of the Five Elements Dao Runes before advancing. Only time will tell if I am right about that, but I would better be unnecessarily extra careful now than sorry later"