Time passed silently in the cave abode on the deserted island. On this day, a sudden surge of immense spiritual pressure quietly swept away the year's worth of dust shrouding it.
Han Li sat cross-legged at the heart of the Spirit Gathering Array, his aura as deep and unfathomable as the sea. The lingering trace of cold, baleful energy had vanished completely, replaced by an upright, tranquil water-aspected spiritual pressure, dense and mellow. His cultivation had firmly stabilized at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from the false core realm!
He slowly opened his eyes. The light in them was gentle and restrained, no longer edged with the ferocity his baleful energy had once lent them, but instead possessed the stillness of a deep pool. After more than a year, with the aid of spirit-cleansing cattail, the incomplete Azure Water, Elixir Heart Treatise, and a large quantity of profound water crystal bricks, he had successfully transformed his foundation into pure water-aspected spiritual power, erasing every trace of the Profound Fiend Asura Art. Within his dantian, the phantom of an azure water true core had begun to condense. It was the size of a longan fruit, blue throughout, with rippling patterns flowing across its surface. Though it had yet to solidify completely, it radiated spiritual power far more immense than before.
"I've finally mastered the basics of the Azure Water True Art." Han Li gently exhaled a breath of turbid air. Feeling the spiritual power rushing through him like mighty rivers yet responding perfectly to his will, he felt reassured. Successfully changing cultivation methods had not only resolved the hidden danger in his spiritual power's attributes; the upright, tranquil nature of the Azure Water True Art had also made his control over his magical power more precise.