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True Essence
I Can See Martial Art Compatibility
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | True Essence |
| Alias(es) | 真元 |
| Occupation/Role | Liquefied cultivation energy wielded by True Essence Realm martial artists |
| First Appearance | Chapter 55 |
Power Progression
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Half-Step True Essence | 110 | Ye Yun’s True Qi began faintly liquefying after he opened two-thirds of his Governing Vessel; his True Qi increased by at least tenfold. |
| Early True Essence Realm | 174 | Ye Yun compressed all of his True Qi into liquid True Essence after shattering the final Impurity Barrier in his Governing Vessel. |
| Middle True Essence Realm | 189 | Refining a Spirit Source raised Ye Yun’s dantian reserves to 30%, meeting the threshold for advancement. |
| Late True Essence Realm | 239 | The Crystal Vermilion Fruit increased Ye Yun’s dantian reserves from 49% to 70%. |
| Perfected True Essence Realm | 239 | The remaining energy of the Crystal Vermilion Fruit filled Ye Yun’s dantian completely, leaving him one step from the Core Elixir Realm. |
| Core Elixir Realm | 278 | Ye Yun condensed his True Essence into an Elixir Core after incorporating Soul Sense, ending his True Essence Realm cultivation. |
Nature and Formation
True Essence is the liquid form of True Qi. Its quality and power are stated to be at least ten times greater than True Qi, making its creation the defining transformation of the True Essence Realm. 55
A martial artist must first open the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians before attempting the conversion. They then compress their True Qi within the dantian until it liquefies into True Essence. 55
- The compression process is highly dangerous; a loss of control can cause the True Qi vortex to explode and endanger the cultivator’s life. 55
- The Essence Condensation Pill assists the liquefaction process, making a breakthrough safer and easier. 55
- Ye Yun’s conversion was accelerated by the Ice Jade Divine Art, which refined spiritual and cold energy while he assaulted the final barrier in his Governing Vessel. 174
Realm Structure
| True Essence Realm stage | Dantian fullness | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Early | — | The initial stage after True Qi has fully transformed into True Essence. |
| Middle | 30% | Reached when True Essence fills roughly thirty percent of the dantian. |
| Late | 70% | Reached when dantian reserves reach roughly seventy percent. |
| Perfected / Completion | 100% | The dantian is full, allowing the cultivator to begin preparing for Core Elixir formation. |
The power gap between the Early, Middle, Late, and Completion stages is described as vast. 93 180
Once a martial artist reaches the True Essence Realm, cultivation no longer centers on opening meridians or acupoints; advancement depends on continuously increasing the amount of True Essence in the dantian. 180
Applications
Martial Techniques and Defense
True Essence can be circulated through martial arts to substantially increase their strength and can be shaped into defensive barriers or shields. 181 200
- Ye Yun formed a True Essence barrier to defend against the Flame Lion-Tiger Beast’s fireball, though the attack still injured him. 181
- Zhou Meng and his allies formed True Essence shields in an attempt to block Ye Yun’s attacks. 200
- True Essence can be condensed into external constructs, such as the ice-blue palms Ye Yun used to seize the Frost-Ice Soul and Earthheart Flame. 311
Physical Tempering
True Essence can circulate through a cultivator’s meridians and acupoints to strengthen the body and help it adapt to a breakthrough. 174
- Ye Yun tempered his flesh, meridians, and acupoints while cultivating toward the True Essence Realm. 174
- Repeated depletion and restoration of True Essence through combat can accelerate its growth. 184
- The Frostbound Divine Body technique was cultivated alongside True Essence refinement to strengthen Ye Yun’s physique. 189
External Manifestation
At higher levels, True Essence can be projected beyond the body as attacks.
- After entering the Core Elixir Realm, Ye Yun manifested an icy-blue fist imprint that froze a lake’s surface on contact. 278
- During the suppression of the Frost-Ice Soul and Earthheart Flame, Ye Yun used True Essence to restrain two opposing heaven-and-earth spiritual treasures simultaneously. 311
- Sustaining powerful techniques can rapidly exhaust a cultivator’s reserves, leaving them vulnerable to backlash or further attacks. 181 200 311
Cultivation Resources
- Spirit Source — Contains pure energy that can be refined directly into True Essence; Ye Yun used one to reach the Middle True Essence Realm. 189
- Crystal Vermilion Fruit — Its exceptionally pure spiritual energy allowed Ye Yun to advance from 49% dantian capacity to the Perfected True Essence Realm. 239
- Fury Origin Pill — Increases a Core Elixir Realm martial artist’s True Essence, but its violent medicinal power limits use to once every half month. 338
- Essence Restoration Pill — A third-rank pill used to restore expended True Essence. 212
- Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rock Marrow — Instantly restores depleted True Essence and can also slightly improve its quantity and purity. 367
Transition to the Core Elixir Realm
When a True Essence Realm cultivator’s dantian is full, their liquid True Essence must be tempered and condensed into crystalline particles. These particles form an Elixir Core embryo within the dantian. 239 278
- A portion of the cultivator’s soul must be separated into Soul Sense and merged into the forming Elixir Core. 257 278
- The core must grow from a soybean-sized embryo to approximately the size of a pigeon egg before the Core Elixir Realm is attained. 278
- During later Core Elixir cultivation, True Essence continues nourishing the Elixir Core and strengthening the Soul Sense within it. 278