Translator: CinderTL
"Phew!"
In the cultivation chamber.
Li Chunjun exhaled deeply.
His gaze fell upon his Lifebound Flying Sword, a ripple of emotion flickering in his eyes.
"So weak."
This Lifebound Flying Sword was far too fragile.
Though it was exceedingly sharp, capable of instantly slaying both Golden Core and True Core cultivators with its blade...
Just a few clashes had already caused it to sustain damage. It was simply too weak.
No wonder Sword Cultivators, despite their unparalleled offensive prowess and near invincibility within the same realm, still struggled to become the mainstream in the cultivation world.
One minute of battle, three to five years of nurturing.
Who could endure that?
Of course, many Core Formation level cultivators might only encounter a handful of life-and-death battles in their entire lives.
In their long lifespans spanning three to five hundred years, having a few dozen glorious battles where they decisively defeated Core Formation opponents of the same realm would already be considered legendary.
It was only Li Chunjun who felt his Lifebound Flying Sword was too delicate.
The nurturing process took far too much time.
Fortunately...
He could use his Essence Blood to refine the sword.
After estimating the amount of "experience" he still lacked, he calculated that he could perform the sword consecration ritual in two to three months.
"Wait, I should start refining the Myriad Spirits Divine Light now to advance my cultivation to the True Core Realm. Once I reach the True Core Realm, the effects of refining the sword with Essence Blood will be even better. If all goes well, I might even be able to incorporate void materials into the sword, elevating the level of my Scarlet Sky Sword by another tier."
As Li Chunjun spoke, he took out the Myriad Spirits Divine Light that had already been handed over to him.
Without hesitation.
He directly refined the Myriad Spirits Divine Light into his body.
The moment this treasure merged with his being, every minute detail within his body became clearly visible under the illumination of the Myriad Spirits Divine Light.
The circulation of his Essence Qi and spirit was laid bare, with no secrets remaining.
Even the fundamental logic at the cellular and genetic levels was clearly presented before him.
"Truly a treasure."
Li Chunjun sincerely remarked.
Under the illumination of the Myriad Spirits Divine Light, it was almost as if the answers to an exam were directly laid out before him.
All he needed to do was record and copy them.
The difficulty of cultivation was reduced by more than just a little.
It had to be said, the Taixu Sword Sect's heritage was profound.
As long as one could overcome the hurdles of major realms, transitions and improvements within smaller stages of a realm could be facilitated through various methods.
At the very least, the time needed for accumulation within a realm could be significantly shortened.
Seizing this opportunity, Li Chunjun wasted no time, quickly delving into and taking control of the power at the cellular and genetic levels within his body.
If before reaching the Core Formation Realm, a cultivator could at best control 3% to 5% of their entire body, with the maximum not exceeding 10%, then upon reaching Core Formation, this figure would increase to at least 20%.
For the more exceptional ones, it could even reach 30% or 40%!
Now, what Li Chunjun was doing was pushing beyond this 30% or 40%, steadily advancing towards 50%, 60%, and even 90% or 100%!
Moreover, the efficiency of this advancement was extremely rapid.
In recent days, while cultivating with Jiang Wanyu, he had gained a detailed understanding of the True Core state through careful observation of her body.
With his life level elevated, his mental strength had also grown to rival that of a Golden Core cultivator. Coupled with various perceptions that surpassed even Golden Core cultivators, his progress in this step of cultivation was remarkably swift.
Now, with the aid of the Myriad Spirits Divine Light's "copying answers" style of cultivation, the efficiency of his self-mastery could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.
Almost every day, his control over his own power would advance by 1 percentage point towards the perfect 100% mastery.
In just two months, the progress had already exceeded 95%.
At this stage, Li Chunjun naturally wouldn't delay.
With one final push, he directly infused his Divine Sense and perception into every corner of his body, thoroughly transforming into the "Core Formation" that controlled every part of his being.
At this point, a cultivator could truly be said to have reached the limit of what a carbon-based life form could achieve.
In terms of strength, even the human body's limit could only unleash a force of two to three thousand pounds.
Any higher, and it would cause biological system disorders and physical collapse.
But in reality...
With the structure of human bones and muscles, and through special methods of exerting force, it was theoretically possible to deliver a force of over ten thousand pounds.
The True Core Realm could enable an untrained mortal to exhibit such strength.
Of course, this was just a hypothetical scenario.
Without cultivating Divine Sense, it was basically impossible to break through the human body's constraints, and without breaking those constraints, one could not reach the True Core Realm.
To cultivate Divine Sense, one must have a strong physique to nurture Essence Qi, Spirit, and Vitality.
This itself was a gradual cultivation process.
And what did perfect control over oneself mean? It meant being able to easily overcome one's instincts, using breath-holding to suffocate oneself.
It also meant being able to utilize other parts of the body to temporarily take over the heart's function, ensuring that even if the heart stopped, one wouldn't die immediately.
At this stage, a cultivator had no fatal weaknesses except for the head.
Some True Core cultivators with strong mental power could even forcefully command their bodies to cause a specific part to die directly.
This was the true mastery of a cultivator over their physical body!
"True Core Realm."
Li Chunjun felt the changes within himself.
If he had possessed True Core Realm cultivation earlier, he wouldn't have needed to rely on his Lifebound Flying Sword to clash head-on with Xiang Li and Zhou Tianyu.
The Four Symbols Heaven Sealing Gate wouldn't have been able to suppress his Scarlet Sky Sword.
Similarly, under the intimidation of Sword Intent, Xiang Li wouldn't have had the chance to summon a Spirit Artifact to counter the Scarlet Sky Sword.
Before they could react, the Scarlet Sky Sword, unleashed at full speed, would have torn their bodies to shreds with overwhelming force.
"Having reached the True Core Realm, the next step is to further tap into my own power, subtly adjusting my life form at the cellular and genetic levels to optimize it to the highest degree."
Li Chunjun recalled Jiang Wanyu's Golden Core body... and compared it to his own.
There was much room for optimization.
But...
The difficulty of optimization was also considerable.
"The Myriad Spirits Divine Light is useful from the Virtual Core to the True Core Realm, and it also has some effect from the True Core to the Golden Core Realm, albeit slightly less. But if I could obtain three to five strands of Myriad Spirits Divine Light, I could still reach the Golden Core Realm within a year... or even half a year."
Thinking this, Li Chunjun quickly adapted to his changes and contacted Peak Master Jiang Yuqiu.
Before long, Jiang Yuqiu arrived through the air.
Seeing Li Chunjun, who had already emerged from the cultivation chamber, and sensing the distinct "dominance" aura that differed from the "Virtual Core," her eyes lit up: "You've reached the True Core Realm?"
"Yes, it went smoothly."
Li Chunjun nodded.
"Great! Your talent is even higher than I expected. I thought that after refining the Myriad Spirits Divine Light, it would take you at least a year or two to stabilize before you could step into the True Core Realm. I didn't expect you to break through so quickly!"
Jiang Yuqiu looked at Li Chunjun with immense satisfaction in her eyes: "Our understanding is almost unable to keep up with the speed of your cultivation progress."
"Actually, I can go even faster."
Li Chunjun said, "Give me five more Myriad Spirits Divine Lights, and within a year, I will complete the comprehensive optimization of my Essence Qi, Spirit, and Vitality, reaching the Golden Core Realm that represents true perfection and completion."
"Five Myriad Spirits Divine Lights..."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuqiu couldn't help but let out a bitter smile: "It's almost impossible. Although the Myriad Spirits Divine Light is one of the producible resources, its main material is the Grand Dao Divine Radiance emitted by the Enlightenment Divine Tree, which is extremely precious and considered a strategic resource. Our Blue Star lineage can only exchange for one every sixteen years."
She glanced at Li Chunjun: "Although this was agreed upon in advance as one of the rare treasures for nurturing the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy, it is even more valuable than Taiyi Essence Gold and Black Flame Diamond. This is why we gave you Taiyi Essence Gold and Black Flame Diamond beforehand but didn't mention the Myriad Spirits Divine Light."
"One every sixteen years? When will the next one be available?"
"Theoretically, it will take nine years. However, with the opening of the Star Gate, our lineage holds a thirty percent share of this gate. With the profits from this, the time to exchange for the Myriad Spirits Divine Light will be shortened to five or six years."
Jiang Yuqiu explained.
Five or six years...
Upon hearing this, Li Chunjun immediately gave up.
Too long.
"Have any void-type rare treasures arrived?"
Li Chunjun inquired.
"The only decent void-type rare treasure left in the sect is the Primordial Mass Stone. Its quality is close to the fifth tier, but... it has a flaw."
Jiang Yuqiu looked at Li Chunjun: "This is a strengthening material. If refined into a sword, it will make the Flying Sword more solid and heavy, turning it into a heavy sword adept at frontal combat, which goes against your requirements. If truly refined into a sword, your sword speed would likely decrease again."
"Decreasing sword speed..."
Speed is crucial for a Sword Cultivator.
Especially...
If you can't win, at least you can run.
He wanted void-type materials precisely for this reason.
The Primordial Mass Stone was clearly not very suitable.
Jiang Yuqiu looked at the disappointed Li Chunjun, hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't speak. She just said, "I'll have the sect leader apply to the higher-ups to see if there are any new void-type materials available."
"That's the only way."
Li Chunjun nodded.
Jiang Yuqiu then discussed some key points of cultivation from the True Core Realm to the Golden Core Realm with Li Chunjun and soon left.
After she left, Li Chunjun also re-focused his mind.
He "glanced" at the "experience" value behind his life level...
"In a few more days, I'll have enough to level up. Next, I need to prepare for the sword offering."
Once his Lifebound Flying Sword is repaired, he will return to his peak state.
At that time...
He will once again set foot in the Great Shang territory within the Chiyang Sword Sect.
And, unlike the last time when he had to retreat after killing only seven Core Formation cultivators.
This time, in his war with the Chiyang Sword Sect...
The roles of offense and defense will be reversed.
...
"Junior Brother, have you finished your cultivation?"
At this moment, a soft call reached Li Chunjun's senses.
Li Chunjun raised his head: "Yes."
Soon, Jiang Wanyu's figure appeared outside the courtyard.
Seeing this, Li Chunjun had no choice but to open the courtyard gate and welcome her in.
"Senior Sister, is there something you need?"
Li Chunjun asked.
Jiang Wanyu faintly felt that this Junior Brother...
seemed a bit different.
However, she simply thought he was busy with his cultivation and didn't dwell on it further. She got straight to the point: "Junior Brother... are you looking for a void-type material that can increase sword speed?"
"Yes."
Li Chunjun nodded: "My sword speed is too slow. When encountering an enemy at the Core Formation stage, if they choose to retreat without engaging, it's difficult for me to catch up."
"Here, take this."
Jiang Wanyu directly took out a box: "This should be helpful for you, Junior Brother."
"What is this?"
Li Chunjun opened the box with a puzzled expression.
But when he saw a crystal inside that resembled a flowing galaxy, he was momentarily stunned and quickly recognized it.
"A top-tier fifth-grade material of the void path, the Starry Sky Profound Crystal!?"
(End of the Chapter)
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