A band of cultivators halted their journey through the forest when their leader—a middle-aged man with sharp eyes—raised his hand in a silent command. The group immediately stopped, their movements disciplined and synchronized.
"Boss, won't we be late if we rest now?" one of the subordinates inquired, concern etching his features.
The leader didn't respond verbally. Instead, he simply pointed upward toward the heavens. The disciples followed his gesture, their eyes widening as they took in the sight above.
"That's..." the subordinate began, his voice trailing off in recognition.
"That's right," the boss confirmed. "Someone is undergoing a tribulation here."
Excitement rippled through the group, their faces brightening with anticipation like predators sensing wounded prey. One of the more eager disciples stepped forward.
"Should we interfere?" he asked, barely concealing his eagerness.
The boss waved his hand dismissively. "No need. From the size of it, it's probably just a Golden Core realm breakthrough. The ten of us are already at the Golden Core realm. There's no reason to risk being struck by tribulation lightning just to interfere."
His eyes narrowed calculatingly before he continued, "Let's just wait for them to breakthrough. Even if they succeed, could they possibly be a match for the ten of us?"
"As expected of the boss!" one disciple exclaimed, admiration thick in his voice.
The others quickly echoed the sentiment, creating a chorus of praise. "The boss is wise!" they chanted in unison, their voices blending together in reverent harmony.
A smug smile curled the boss's lips as he surveyed the surrounding area. His careful assessment confirmed what he'd suspected—there wasn't another soul in sight. This was certainly a lone cultivator without protection, attempting something as significant as a Golden Core breakthrough.
He thought to himself that such a daring individual must have acquired some valuable treasure or inheritance. The rumors he'd heard about an immortal treasure appearing in the eastern region flashed through his mind. If he could claim such a prize, he might finally break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
"Alright, everyone get to work," he commanded with authority. "Let's set up camp. We might be here for a while, so we might as well use this time to rest."
His subordinates scattered to fulfill his orders, each moving with efficiency as they prepared for what promised to be a profitable hunt.
...
Li Yao concentrated on her core with unwavering focus, feeling the lightning energy accelerate as it circled with increasing momentum. Each lap built upon the previous one, creating a whirlwind of pure electrical force that spiraled through her cultivation base. She couldn't help but marvel at the Empress's brilliance—devising such an innovative method.
Gratitude washed over her as she recalled following the crucial instruction to avoid practicing her ice element. Had she ignored this advice, the frigid energy would have significantly slowed her lightning qi, preventing it from reaching the critical velocity needed for transformation.
The lightning's pace intensified dramatically, nearly doubling with each passing second. Tremors rippled through her core, vibrating outward until her entire being shook with barely contained power. Electricity crackled visibly around her physical form, static charge lifting every strand of her hair until it stood perfectly upright, creating a corona of dark strands surrounding her concentrated expression.
Pain shot through her cultivation base as the lightning began scraping against her core, its wild trajectory impossible to contain perfectly within the center. Each lap removed tiny fragments, an agonizing process that felt like having her essence slowly sanded away. Li Yao gritted her teeth, knowing that a single moment of lost concentration could cause her core to explode completely, undoing years of painstaking advancement in an instant.
[Get ready, I'll be opening up your spiritual sea,] the Empress's voice resonated through her consciousness.
Though the Empress had already formed the spiritual sea within Li Yao's inner landscape, Li Yao had been unable to access it fully due to her limited mind cultivation. After days of intensive mental technique practice, her mind level hovered just beneath the threshold of breakthrough.
The Empress gathered her energy, focusing intently on the spiritual sea's boundaries. With a subtle gesture, she dissolved the seal that had contained this vast ocean of potential. Immediately, Li Yao's consciousness flooded with sensations and awareness as she connected with her spiritual sea for the first time.
It was overwhelming—a tsunami of information threatening to drown her nascent mental faculties. The Empress acknowledged to herself the risk in this approach; exposing Li Yao to a mind level 10 spiritual sea with her low mind cultivation was undeniably dangerous. Yet she remained confident in Li Yao's heavenly enlightenment, trusting the girl's inherent talent to navigate this perilous transition.
True to the Empress's faith, Li Yao's extraordinary enlightenment allowed her to process the influx with remarkable ease. She instinctively compartmentalized the new information, creating mental barriers that prevented it from disrupting her delicate qi circulation. Though taxing, she maintained control of both processes simultaneously.
[Now I want you to guide your core slowly from your dantian and bring it all the way into the spiritual sea,] the Empress instructed.
Li Yao's face contorted with strain as she attempted this unprecedented maneuver. The task was monumental—she needed to physically relocate her core while simultaneously ensuring the rapidly circulating lightning qi remained stable. A single misstep would spell disaster.
With excruciating patience, she nudged her core upward from the dantian, the traditional energy center located below the navel. Every millimeter of progress required perfect concentration as she maintained the lightning's circulation throughout the journey. Despite several harrowing moments where the energy nearly spiraled out of control, she eventually guided her core into the vast expanse of the spiritual sea.
Relief washed over her as the spiritual sea's calming energies helped stabilize the volatile lightning. She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, her shoulders slumping slightly as tension temporarily ebbed.
[Don't let your guard down yet, it's time to start forging the core,] the Empress warned, immediately bringing Li Yao back to full alertness.
[Now that the core is inside the spiritual sea, you can finally start deconstructing and reconstructing your core,] the Empress continued, causing Li Yao to shiver at the choice of words.
[Since it's in the spiritual sea, it won't fall apart easily. You can start deconstructing a single part at a time, then reconstructing it with pure lightning energy. As long as you do that, you'll be able to breakthrough to the golden core realm,] the Empress explained.
"Is it always like this?" Li Yao questioned, confusion evident in her voice. The cultivation manuals she'd studied had never mentioned such a complex procedure. This deconstruction and reconstruction sounded far more intricate than the traditional advancement methods.
[Well, normally, the core would bathe in spiritual energy for a long time. It would then shed its skin and become a golden core after entering the spiritual sea,] the Empress clarified, [but since you want to form a special golden core, we have to do it this way. You need to manually reconstruct the golden core into a lightning core.]
Li Yao sighed deeply at this explanation, mentally preparing herself for the arduous task ahead. She consoled herself with the knowledge that once this reconstruction was complete, she would be halfway through the process. With renewed determination, she concentrated her energy on a tiny section of her core and began carefully breaking it apart...
...
Xiang Yu opened his eyes within the vast expanse of his spiritual sea, his expression stern as he contemplated the countless battles he had fought in simulation. After reaching a hundred, he had simply lost track. The extensive time spent in battle simulations had pushed his mental endurance to its limits, though thankfully his elevated Mind level allowed him to withstand the strain without breaking.
A satisfied smile spread across his face. After countless iterations, he had finally progressed to the point where he could put up a respectable defense against the peak Core Formation Meiling. Victory still eluded him, but this wasn't due to any inherent weakness on his part—it was merely a matter of technique mastery. Once he perfected one of his techniques or reached the Great Completion stage, the gap would narrow significantly.
With a thoughtful sigh, Xiang Yu decided it was time to return to his physical form. The soul infant remained perched atop his head, deeply immersed in its cultivation routine. With gentle movements, he carefully lifted the tiny being and placed it on the shimmering surface of the spiritual sea. The infant didn't stir from its meditative trance, its small features locked in perfect concentration. After confirming the little one's condition was stable, Xiang Yu withdrew his consciousness.
His eyes opened to the familiar surroundings of the spirit vein. Having acquired new professions in farming and medicine, he decided to dedicate this session to developing these skills. He approached his garden plot.
Though there wasn't much maintenance required, he took the opportunity to expand the cultivated area significantly, planting additional seedlings in neat rows and irrigating the established plants. He also infused spiritual qi into the soil, enhancing its nurturing properties. Though just slightly since it already had adequate qi concentration.
After tending to his garden for some time, Xiang Yu's thoughts turned to medicine. While he had several ideas in mind, he needed to consult with his martial aunt before proceeding further. For now, he would focus on a different project.
Leaving the spirit vein, Xiang Yu made his way to the animal pen where he'd been gradually assembling a collection of creatures. Over time, he had increased his menagerie to twenty boars, along with several vicuñas and other species. He transported the entire collection to the spirit vein, constructing separate enclosures for each animal type. The careful segregation would prevent unwanted interaction while allowing him to monitor each species independently.
With the animals settled, Xiang Yu proceeded to his planned experiment. Among the valuable resources Meiling had provided were several lightwell flowers. He refined these into seventh-grade healing pills.
Next came the challenging part—transforming some of the lightwell flowers into midnight flowers for crafting qi absorption pills. Activating his divine ability, he began the painstaking process of converting each blossom. The transformation drained his energy considerably, but fortunately, his soul infant's diligent cultivation accelerated his recovery. As his strength returned, he would craft a pill, then move on to transforming another flower. Through this approach, he successfully produced fifteen qi absorption pills.
He decided to set aside five pills for Xiuying as he didn't want the stress of refining qi absorption pills later without the infant restoring his energy. Xiang Yu reserved the remainder for his spirit beast creation project..
From the remaining ten pills, Xiang Yu carefully administered one to a female boar, ensuring that Zero would have a mate for reproduction. He remained uncertain whether offspring from a normal mother would inherit spirit beast characteristics, and preferred not to risk finding out through trial and error. Two more pills went to a male and female vicuña.
The final seven pills were reserved for the junglefowl he had captured. His reasoning was practical—these birds reproduced more quickly than the larger mammals. Once they laid eggs, he could employ specialized techniques from his farmer profession to accelerate incubation, reducing hatching time to mere days. The young birds would also mature much faster than the larger animals, providing him with a sustainable source of spirit beasts in the shortest possible timeframe.
...
Xiang Yu's eyes narrowed in concentration as he monitored their effects. The timing was crucial—he needed to wait until each pill had absorbed a significant amount of qi without becoming completely saturated. At this precise moment, when spiritual energy actively flowed into the animals from the surrounding environment, he administered the healing pills.
The healing energy worked exactly as he had theorized, restructuring the animals' internal systems around these temporary energy channels. As the medicinal power spread through their bodies, it solidified these pathways into permanent meridians, transforming ordinary creatures into genuine spirit beasts. One by one, the animals' auras shifted perceptibly, their eyes gaining an unmistakable spiritual gleam that distinguished them from mundane counterparts.
A satisfied exhale escaped Xiang Yu's lips as he observed the successful transformation of each test subject. Only one question remained unanswered—would these newly created spirit beasts produce spirit beast offspring, or would their progeny revert to ordinary animals? This critical detail would determine the sustainability of his entire project.
The junglefowl offered the most practical test case. With a pregnancy period of mere weeks rather than the boar's four-month gestation. "I'd be fossils by then if I waited that long," he thought wryly.
Though he had methods to help the male junglefowl fertilize the females from his spirit farmer profession, Xiang Yu had an even better idea. Of the seven birds he'd transformed, six were females with just a single male. This imbalanced ratio would maximize offspring production, assuming the lone male could service all potential mates.
A mischievous smile played across Xiang Yu's face as he withdrew a special pill from his sleeve. After giving his master the majority of his "special" pills, he'd saved one for precisely this situation. This enhancement would ensure the male bird could fulfill its reproductive duties with exceptional vigor.
"If this male doesn't fertilize all the females with this pill, it's probably impossible," he thought with smug confidence, administering the medicine to the unsuspecting bird.
As Xiang Yu departed the enclosure, the sounds of energetic activity already emanated from within. Even the ordinary junglefowl that hadn't been transformed were responding to the commotion, their excited squeaking adding to the cacophony. The enhanced male was clearly embracing its role with extraordinary enthusiasm.
"Well, it's out of my hands now," Xiang Yu thought. He could also use this chance to test whether spirit beasts could reproduce with ordinary animals while preserving their spiritual characteristics in the next generation...