There was no telling how much time had passed. Li Dalong kept absorbing and compressing, absorbing and compressing, until at last, compressed to its utmost limit, a gleaming gold core formed, spinning in his dantian like a suspended sun.
As the core formed, Li Dalong's aura also climbed to its peak. A powerful presence radiated from his body, swiftly filling the entire cave abode before roaring out like a storm, blowing a passage through the tide of spiritual energy.
"I did it!"
"The Golden Core Realm!"
Feeling the surging spiritual power within him and the mighty strength coursing through his body, Li Dalong breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he had a little capital to keep himself alive in this world.
Li Dalong did not rise, instead continuing to consolidate his cultivation. His gold core had only just formed, and he was still at early gold core. Taking advantage of the tide of spiritual energy stirred up by his breakthrough, he absorbed as much as possible to stabilize his cultivation. As he circulated his cultivation art at full power, his cultivation gradually settled firmly at early gold core.
Having broken through to the Golden Core Realm, he could now officially practice the continuation of the Righteous Qi Art: the advanced Righteous Qi Formula, which could only be cultivated after reaching the Golden Core Realm. He already had the foundation provided by the Righteous Qi Art, which was itself a simplified version of the Righteous Qi Formula. The Righteous Qi Formula's circulation routes were far more complex, requiring him to open and circulate energy through more meridians than the Righteous Qi Art. It also built upon the Righteous Qi Art by expanding and strengthening the meridians he had already opened, further refining and compressing his gold core. What was concentrated was the essence-that saying was certainly true.
Now that he was in the Golden Core Realm, he once again stood at the pinnacle of the sect's cultivators. Of the Righteous Qi Sect's more than ten thousand disciples, only a small number of disciples, elders, and those above them had reached the Golden Core Realm. His strength was now more than ten times greater than it had been in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He was currently at the Early Golden Core Realm, and there was still a long road ahead before he could break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. That was not something he could achieve anytime soon. Nor could he spend every day doing nothing but cultivating and raising his cultivation; it was time to learn other things as well. He also very much wanted to look inside the Ancestral Grounds, which the sect had kept sealed and designated as forbidden territory for tens of thousands of years. Together with the powerful restrictive seal outside, that left him itching with curiosity.
Then I'll start studying formations today. His predecessor had studied them too, but only superficially, so he would still have to start from scratch. His earlier system check-ins had also rewarded him with jade slips concerning formations, along with various materials. He now had everything he needed to learn. Although he was cut off from the outside world, with the powerful system at his disposal, he was not currently short of cultivation resources.
Li Dalong settled his mind and began sorting through the formation-related resources he had obtained from the system. Spirit stones, magical treasures, cultivation arts, spell formulas, and other things had all been tossed haphazardly into the system space without being organized. His own storage space, on the other hand, was completely empty. Since he was not venturing out anywhere at present, leaving them in the system space made no difference. After sorting through them, he found that the formation-related check-in rewards he had received since obtaining the system included the Introduction to Basic Formations, the Detailed Guide to Basic Formations, Formation Principles from Another Perspective, and the Formation Grandmaster's Commentary. Together with the formation knowledge contained in the Righteous Qi Formula, he had everything from introductory knowledge to grandmaster-level teachings.
Formations were an exceedingly mysterious and powerful skill, using elements such as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and the power of the five elements to produce mighty effects. They encompassed several forms of energy in the universe—consciousness, matter, ability, time, space, and force. A formation, in essence, borrowed the momentum of heaven and earth to bring about cause and effect. At a suitable location, time, and space, the caster used various materials to arrange the desired formation within a particular spatial setting.
He extended his Divine Sense into the jade slip of the Introduction to Basic Formations and began studying formations.
I. The origins of formations
II. Formation fundamentals also included:
1. Magical formations and restrictions
2. Formation size: small formations, medium formations, large formations, and super formations
3. Inward-facing and outward-facing types
4. Special formations
III. Formation principles
IV. Formation components and materials
V. Formation usage: single formations, linked formations, and composite formations. Each differed in application and power, and their degrees of complexity varied even more. The more formations there were, the more complex they became and the greater their relative power. They consumed more materials, imposed stricter conditions for their arrangement, and demanded more from the formation master.
A formation master used terrain, formation materials, and a formation core to construct a specific spatial network for channeling spiritual power, thereby achieving the intended purpose of the formation.
Formations were, in fact, merely another application of energy, much like casting spells. One released the spiritual power stored within the body in a particular way. Formations likewise used materials rich in spiritual energy, or the spiritual power in the natural environment, to maintain balance within the formation's space or to attack. It was much like the law of conservation of energy on the blue planet he had lived on before transmigrating.
Thus, Li Dalong quickly understood the fundamental principles of formations, which would prove immeasurably valuable to his future study, understanding, and application of them. A formation's power depended on the skill of its creator, the quality of its materials, the terrain and concentration of spiritual power at its location, its purpose, its range, and other factors.
He practiced as he studied, beginning with simple formations before moving on to complex ones.
As he alternated between studying formations and cultivating, time passed swiftly. Both his proficiency in formations and his cultivation strength improved at a tremendous pace.
After his formation skills improved, Li Dalong went to the restriction at the Ancestral Grounds to test and study it. Whether he tried unraveling it with formations or attacking it with brute force, he could not open it. He figured he would have to wait until he reached the Nascent Soul Realm or became a formation grandmaster, when he would be strong enough to open it and discover what lay inside.
After returning from the entrance to the Ancestral Grounds, Li Dalong keenly felt that his strength was still far from sufficient. The Golden Core Realm placed him only in the middle ranks of the cultivation world, with a long way still to go before he was safe. He could not even get through a restriction the sect had laid down tens of thousands of years ago, much less handle the complicated and dangerous situation outside.
With the system in hand, I'm sure it won't take long before I can stand proud above the cultivation world. For now, I'd better stay put, check in, and build up my strength.
Once I'm a little stronger, I'll go out and explore.
In the days that followed, Li Dalong cultivated in his cave abode, traveling between the forbidden areas from time to time to check in and obtain system rewards. As time passed, his strength rose rapidly.
"Ding-dong. Would you like to check in outside Changchun True Person's cave abode?"
"Check in."
"Check-in successful. Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Top-Grade Flying Sword, the Azure Cloud Sword."
As the system notification faded, Li Dalong froze for a moment, then delight spread across his face.
This was the first time a check-in had yielded a Top-Grade Flying Sword. Although he had obtained some flying swords and magical treasures before, none had been of such a high grade.
With a Top-Grade Flying Sword in hand, his combat power had received another tremendous boost. Paired with the Yin-Yang Ninefold Splendor Sword-Controlling Art, the Azure Cloud Sword would allow him to challenge opponents above his own rank.
The Yin-Yang Ninefold Splendor Sword-Controlling Art had originally been created by a grandmaster of the Righteous Qi Sect and was divided into nine levels. Its power was immense, but parts of it had been lost after the great upheaval in the Righteous Qi Sect. Although some of those gaps had been filled over tens of thousands of years of development, both its power and the difficulty of cultivating it had decreased considerably. The Yin-Yang Ninefold Splendor Sword-Controlling Art awarded by the system was the complete version. If the Righteous Qi Sect learned of it, they would surely reclaim it at any cost.
Before you continue