Secluded Cultivation

Inside the secret chamber where the Green Jade Table and Gold Box had originally stood.

I sat quietly atop the jade cushion, my hands constantly forming different seals. Strands of True Primordial Energy flew toward every corner of the chamber, following strange trajectories as they seeped into the ground throughout the room.

After a long while, I carefully examined the restrictions in the room. My old skills had not deserted me; this Five Elements Black Tortoise Grand Array was still perfectly intact. Unless someone's cultivation had reached the Soul Departure Stage, breaking my restrictions would be impossible.

Of course, the formation worked the same way inward as outward—it could defend as well. I was worried that if my power erupted while cultivating and destroyed all of Star Peak Manor, I would not even have a place to cry.

I looked around the secret chamber. At this moment, there was only a jade cushion, a huge piece of Mysterious Sky Stone, and the top-grade jade stone in my arms. As for the original Green Jade Table and Gold Box, I had naturally given them to Brother Wang long ago, to replenish our manor's financial resources!

Everything was ready!

The most important period of secluded cultivation had begun. Though I had experienced this once before, now that it was happening again, I still did not dare let down my guard in the slightest.

Once one entered the ranks of cultivators, the most important things were a flying sword bound to one's life and a Spirit Battle Armor that would one day protect one's Nascent Soul. Naturally, the first thing I needed to refine now was a flying sword.

With a light wave of my right hand, that massive stone flew before me. Looking at such a huge piece of Mysterious Sky Stone, I smiled.

I had never imagined that I would have a day like this—a day when I could use Mysterious Sky Stone alone to refine a flying sword. Back in the Cultivation World, I would not even have dared dream of it! But in this world, I had an inexhaustible supply of Mysterious Sky Stone. Hahaha...

I calmed my delighted heart, and my body and mind gradually sank into a state where self and object were both forgotten. My mind was utterly empty. Then, a weapon that was neither sword nor blade suddenly appeared in my thoughts, and I could not help feeling somewhat puzzled.

Usually, upon entering such a state, the form of the flying sword most suited to oneself would appear in one's mind. Yet I had never expected to see a weapon that was neither sword nor blade. But the instant I saw it, I liked it. It was a fondness from the depths of my soul, impossible to describe with words—only the feeling of meeting an old friend.

Following the feeling in my heart, I spread my hands, and two streams of True Primordial Energy immediately lifted the entire Mysterious Sky Stone before my eyes. I stared at it with a solemn expression. At this moment, all my focus was fixed upon the Mysterious Sky Stone; I did not dare be careless in the least.

A strand of Samadhi True Fire, like a tangible blade aura, slowly cut away roughly one-third of the Mysterious Sky Stone. Only, this Samadhi True Fire was golden, while blade aura was white.

Even Samadhi True Fire found it so difficult to cut through Mysterious Sky Stone—it was easy to imagine just how hard this stone truly was! But the harder it was, the happier I became. Did that not mean my future flying sword would be of a far higher grade? Oh, not a flying sword—a flying blade. No, that was not right either. What should I call it?

I had only just split off a piece of the Mysterious Sky Stone and had not even begun refining my weapon, yet I was already thinking of its name. Hehe...

When I realized I was actually acting like this, I could not help laughing at myself. Forget it, no more thinking. Refining it came first—that was the urgent matter!

Opening my mouth, I released a massive surge of Samadhi True Fire that enveloped the Mysterious Sky Stone. The fire continuously refined the stone, which was not all that pure to begin with; it still contained quite a few impurities.

I watched as the Mysterious Sky Stone grew smaller and purer. It seemed it could no longer be refined any further, but it was still a little too large for me. A flying sword—or blade—did not need such a large piece of Mysterious Sky Stone.

I could only helplessly divide the already extremely pure Mysterious Sky Stone into two halves. What a pity—I had expended so much True Primordial Energy! Forget it, regret was useless now. Looking at the Mysterious Sky Stone floating before me, I could not help smiling happily as I drew the remaining piece into my Dantian.

Now I would slowly refine it with even more powerful core fire, shaping it into the form I envisioned.

I sensed a piece of Mysterious Sky Stone suspended above my Golden Core. The Golden Core released tiny flickers of golden flame, and above that flame, the Mysterious Sky Stone constantly changed shape. It seemed that trace impurities were still being refined into gas and expelled from my body.

One could not rush when refining with core fire. One could only wait patiently for the core fire to temper it. Not wishing to waste time, I followed the Demon Subduing Vajra Art and the Heart Sutra to separately control the True Primordial Energy and Buddha Primordial Energy within my body.

I slowly entered a state where even the self was forgotten, sinking into deep cultivation. I completely shut off my six senses, leaving only a thread of spiritual awareness floating within the secret chamber. If Brother Wang and the others needed anything, they could awaken me through this thread of awareness.

At this moment, time no longer held any meaning for me. I could no longer sense whether it passed quickly or slowly. I only knew to cultivate without pause...

I opened my eyes, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of my lips.

Opening my mouth, I summoned a weapon that was neither quite a sword nor quite a blade before my eyes. It was twice as long as an ordinary flying sword and roughly one and a half times as wide. Only one side was sharpened, while the other resembled the spine of a blade. Yet if one called it a blade, it was far narrower than an ordinary one.

Looking at its purple sword-blade body, I named it Purple Blade.

With a thought, True Primordial Energy immediately covered Purple Blade's surface, then effortlessly seeped inside. At another mental command, Purple Blade flew forward and slashed. It was as though it had torn through the air itself. The whooshing, swishing sound genuinely startled me. It had actually reached such speed! I had barely used any power at all—how could it be this fast?

I could not figure it out no matter how much I thought about it. Forget it. My weapon was powerful; who cared about the reason?

Excitedly, I played with this weapon that would one day be bound to my life...

At last, I recovered from the excitement of obtaining a new weapon. Now it was time to refine the Spirit Battle Armor. The Spirit Battle Armor was no longer as important to me as it had been in the Cultivation World, because I now had the Demon Subduing Vajra Art.

Opening my mouth, I drew the other half of the Mysterious Sky Stone that had been cut off earlier into my Dantian. I had already refined it from the start, so now I only needed to use core fire to refine it directly.

The process was the same as before. The piece of Mysterious Sky Stone hung above my Golden Core within my Dantian, while the darker core fire began refining it once more...

My Dantian suddenly shook, and I immediately awakened from deep cultivation.

The True Primordial Energy within my meridians surged endlessly like the tidal bore of the Qiantang River. Fortunately, my body had been tempered through the Demon Subduing Vajra Art, so I felt nothing. I vividly remembered the agony worse than death when I advanced from the Golden Core Stage to the Nascent Soul Realm in my previous life in the Cultivation World, and I could not help feeling fortunate for myself. (I seemed to have forgotten the even more painful experience of cultivating the Demon Subduing Vajra Art. Quite optimistic, hehe.)

My Golden Core suddenly trembled and slowly began to split apart...

"Core shatters, Nascent Soul forms." Those words from the Heart Sutra surfaced in my mind, and I clearly understood that I was about to break through the Golden Core Stage.

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