Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1008 - 1008 0599 Gold Core Formation_2

Chapter 1008: Chapter 0599: Gold Core Formation_2 Chapter 1008: Chapter 0599: Gold Core Formation_2 For cultivators, too much Spirit Qi rushing in often leads to only one result: the practitioner’s meridians would burst apart. A little carelessness and the cultivator’s meridians would be severed, broken into segments, each possibly only an inch long. For a cultivator, such an outcome is unimaginably tragic—an Immortal Pill might not even save them. From then on, they would be completely cut off from the path of cultivation, their entire being ruined.

However, this cultivation method, deemed perilous for others, was just perfect for Qi Tian.

Since the beginning of his cultivation, Qi Tian’s meridians were different from those of ordinary people. He fused the medical theories from his previous life on Earth with his foundation, making it exceptionally solid. His meridians were not only numerous, but also each was longer, sturdier, more resilient, and had a larger capacity than those of other cultivators.

This allowed Qi Tian’s ability to absorb the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth to far surpass that of other cultivators, and not just by a slight margin, but by a wide berth. Compared to some cultivators, he even had a multiple-fold advantage.

Moreover, aside from having meridians unlike others, Qi Tian possessed another advantage that no other cultivator had: the existence of the Heavenly Dao Engine. All the Spirit Qi absorbed by Qi Tian did not directly enter his meridians but first went into the Heavenly Dao Engine. There, the Heavenly Dao Engine refined and purified the Spirit Qi, removing impurities and the violent components unsuitable for cultivators, making it purer and easier for Qi Tian to absorb.

After being purified by the Heavenly Dao Engine and rushing into Qi Tian’s meridians, these energies underwent a full circulation within him before arriving at the sea of consciousness. There lay the most crucial thing for Qi Tian to date—an unformed Gold Core.

Qi Tian was at the Half-step Golden Core realm. He had made attempts before, trying to truly step into the Gold Core Realm, but various reasons always thwarted him, particularly inadequate external conditions for cultivation, preventing him from crossing that threshold.

Now, Qi Tian felt that his chance to cross the threshold had arrived. He directed all the Spirit Qi that rushed into his sea of consciousness toward the unformed Gold Core. At the moment, the Gold Core was like a loose ball of wool—fluffy and formed by many strands of Spirit Qi loosely intertwined, loosely assembled into a cluster, failing to form a solid mass or interweave tightly, maintaining significant distance from one another.

Then, under Qi Tian’s drive, the Spirit Qi entering the sea of consciousness flowed like myriad rivers into a vast sea, with countless energies converging.

Despite the large volume and purity of these Spirit Qi, upon entering the sea of consciousness, they became trivial. They infused into each strand of the unformed Gold Core, and with every surge, the strands would thicken just slightly. The alterations in volume with each change were minuscule, almost negligible.

Qi Tian was undaunted. With his relentless effort and the circulation of cultivation techniques over and over, more and more Spirit Qi was transferred, and though each change in the Gold Core’s strands was small, the multitude of changes added up. Eventually, a quantitative change led to a qualitative transformation—two neighboring strands joined, their ends extending, touching, and finally merging into a single strand. More and more strands began to touch and merge with one another.

As these strands fused more and more, a seemingly ethereal, somewhat translucent sphere slowly formed within Qi Tian’s sea of consciousness. This sphere was the goal that cultivators risked their lives for—the Gold Core.

When the Gold Core first formed, it was incredibly fragile, akin to an egg without a hard shell, one which would shatter upon the slightest touch, unable to exist in this world.

Qi Tian would certainly not make such a mistake; he did not let his cultivation come to a halt. He aimed to solidify his Gold Core, to stand firmly within the Gold Core Realm rather than, like some Gold Core Stage powerhouses, lose footing due to some accident, and fall back down to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

More and more Spirit Qi was funneled by Qi Tian into his sea of consciousness, where it exclusively merged into the Gold Core. With the influx of Spirit Qi, Qi Tian’s Gold Core grew increasingly stable. If Qi Tian’s initially formed Gold Core had looked somewhat like a balloon, it now contained more and more substances that could fortify the balloon, preventing it from easily shattering.

Of course, the Gold Core cannot absorb Spirit Qi without limit. After sending more Spirit Qi into his Gold Core, Qi Tian temporarily halted this process, but he did not stop cultivating. He had a clear understanding of how to cultivate to the Gold Core Stage and what to do upon just stepping into the threshold of the Gold Core Realm, and he had made plans much earlier.

Stepping into the Gold Core Stage does not signify that everything is going well. On the contrary, it is but an inconspicuous milestone on the lengthy road of cultivation. Without looking too far ahead, just in the immediate future, if he ever wanted to reach the Nascent Soul Stage, then he absolutely could not afford any carelessness in the Gold Core Stage. Every minor realm within the Gold Core Stage must be treated seriously, and the foundations must be firmly and securely established.

How to establish a firm foundation?

Qi Tian had perused many relevant materials, especially the legacy of Master Ming Ren, which he had reviewed dozens of times, thereby forming a mature plan.

He attempted to compress his Gold Core; it appeared large and seemed sturdy, but Qi Tian was clear on one thing: his Gold Core was not as large or solid as it appeared to be. There were still many aspects he could manipulate.

Under Qi Tian’s efforts, his Gold Core began to rapidly shrink. Bubbles, fissures, and unnecessary impurities within the Gold Core were squeezed out during the compression process.

The time Qi Tian spent condensing his Gold Core was not short, but he took even longer to compress it, several times longer than the former process. In the end, Qi Tian exhausted all kinds of methods and used every trick he knew, but he could no longer shrink his Gold Core any further. Qi Tian knew he had reached his current limit, and it was impossible to advance any further.

Qi Tian compared the results before and after compressing the Gold Core. At the time of formation, the Gold Core was about the size of a peanut. Such a result, if compared with other Gold Core Stage powerhouses, would certainly not claim to be unparalleled, but it was quite rare. If word got out, it would definitely attract envious, jealous, and resentful gazes from countless people. However, after compression, the size of the Gold Core was only a fraction of its original, now only the size of a grain of rice—a very small size indeed. If this size were known to outsiders, most of the other Gold Core Stage powerhouses would probably look at him with pity.

According to some unwritten rules in the Cultivation World, a cultivator’s potential to go further is immensely influenced by the size of their Gold Core at the time they first enter the Gold Core Realm. Typically, the larger, the better, akin to raising fish in a river—the larger the fish grows, the easier it generally is for it to survive.

Qi Tian was actually aware of this rule, but he did not value it. He firmly believed that his choice was not wrong; his choice was the most correct one. A Gold Core that is too large is merely bloated and has unstable foundations, making future progress exceedingly difficult. Although his current Gold Core was small, it was incomparably sturdy. If he were to clash his Gold Core against others’, Qi Tian was entirely confident that he could obliterate theirs, leaving them no chance whatsoever.