The location for this retreat is much better than before.
What kind of environment was that before? Any random cave you dug into was considered your secluded retreat, there wasn't even a proper house.
Putting everything else aside, the place where I'm staying for this secluded cultivation is much better than before.
Inside the classical pavilion sculpted by the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique, Li Xingkong sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly lowered, his mind focused entirely on his body. After scanning his entire body with his Divine Sense, he began a new round of cultivation.
This time, the location of my seclusion is slightly different from before. Previously, the areas where I secluded myself were all within the coverage of the Earth Vein, which were blessed with abundant Spiritual Qi. During my cultivation, I could use both Divine Sense and Spiritual Qi for assistance. However, this time, the location of my seclusion is outside the coverage of the Earth Vein.
The only usable Spiritual Qi he possessed was the amount he brought with him; there was no additional source.
This choice was made after Li Xingkong discussed it with the system.
While Spiritual Qi is wondrous and plays a vital role in opening the path of cultivation and even in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, excessive reliance on Spiritual Qi Spiritual Qi renders it no different from the oxygen we had on Earth Star.
This also became a shackle restricting practitioners from traveling.
Therefore, in the later stages of cultivation, cultivators must gradually break free from their dependence on Spiritual Qi, eventually reaching a state where they can come and go freely without the aid of Spiritual Qi.
Given this goal, the system suggests that from this stage onwards, one can intentionally exercise some control and use one's own Divine Sense to replace Spiritual Qi.
Based on the system's suggestion, Li Xingkong decided to go all in and directly chose a place that was not yet covered by Spiritual Qi to cultivate.
As it turned out, Li Xingkong did experience some discomfort during the first few days of his seclusion after being separated from Spiritual Qi. His previously smooth-flowing Magic Power became somewhat sluggish, and many minor spells required more complicated methods to cast.
It wasn't until he had been in seclusion for nearly a month that his control over Magic Power returned to its previous level of precision.
Spiritual Qi can serve as an enlightenment and accelerate development during the early stages of growth. Once one can move freely without Spiritual Qi, one must find ways to adapt to this situation.
Otherwise, they'd be like the monsters in the old movie " The Mist," who, despite having evolved superhuman aggression and mobility, could only move after the Mist had cleared.
If Li Xingkong had to compare this Spiritual Qi to something more straightforward, he felt it was what the Zerg called the Zerg. Within its range, combat power could be greatly enhanced, but outside of it, one shouldn't become completely powerless.
After adapting for nearly a month, Li Xingkong's current strength and condition have reached his best state in an environment without Spiritual Qi. Although his combat power is slightly less than in an environment with Spiritual Qi, the impact is not as great as imagined, at most about 10%.
After adapting to the cultivation mode in this environment, Li Xingkong began a new round of cultivation of the " Heavenly Evolution Foundation Establishment Method ".
The Foundation Establishment Method has already been practiced six times. This is the seventh time. Based on the previous practice speed, this practice is expected to take about 128 weeks, or about two and a half years.
However, with the blessing of External Core, the cultivation time will be greatly accelerated.
Hanging the External Core around his neck, Li Xingkong activated the switch, and the entire External Core trembled, beginning to radiate a large amount of light and heat in all directions. At the same time, Li Xingkong began cultivating the Foundation Establishment Method, absorbing all the light and heat released by the External Core.
With the intervention of the External Core, Li Xingkong felt that his Divine Sense cultivation speed immediately increased significantly.
If we were to describe the effects of External Core using a term from the game, it would be: a 50% increase in cultivation speed, a 50% reduction in cultivation time, and a doubling of the growth rate of Divine Sense.
Originally, when in seclusion, Li Xingkong's Divine Sense could expand to a range of about 1.5 kilometers per day, but with the blessing of the External Core, his Divine Sense can now expand to 3 kilometers per day.
The time required for the seventh round of Foundation Establishment Method has also been halved; what was originally expected to take 128 weeks can now be completed in just 64 weeks.
This External Core greatly enhanced his abilities; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a divine artifact.
It seems my thinking is too slow to expand; applying the system's so-called previous cultivation civilization experience to myself is clearly not applicable.
Among the civilizations described in the system, those at the Foundation Establishment Stage are nothing more than slightly stronger cannon fodder. Where would they find the resources to directly use External Core, especially someone like Li Xingkong who directly builds a large nuclear power plant as his External Core?
Not to mention that only Golden Core cultivators can begin to explore the use of nuclear energy, in cultivation civilizations, every piece of radioactive material is a treasure that ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cannot access.
Of course, while the product is excellent, one's own physique and cultivation foundation are equally important. This is one of the reasons why Li Xingkong can control the External Core in his current state. If it were someone with a lower level of cultivation, they would be lucky not to be killed by the energy emitted by the External Core, let alone utilize it.
Having tested the effects of the External Core, Li Xingkong stopped thinking about it, discarded all distractions, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.
Time flies. Even 64 weeks is only a year, but the results of this year's cultivation are vastly different from before.
He originally thought that this cultivation would only take a little over a year, and his Divine Sense would only increase by a maximum of 1,000 kilometers. But unexpectedly, in the end, his Divine Sense increased by nearly 3,000 kilometers.
It should be noted that Li Xingkong's original Divine Sense before his seclusion was only a little over 1,000 kilometers. This year of cultivation directly quadrupled his Divine Sense.
This is the power of top-tier Foundation Establishment Method; the longer one cultivates them, the greater the benefits.
What does it mean to have Divine Sense range of 4,000 kilometers? Li Xingkong only needs to sit in the Imperial Capital. If he fully releases his Divine Sense, he can directly scan the entire territory of Cherry Blossom Country. Even if he extends towards Southeast Asia, he can still scan Hanoi.
His Divine Sense could essentially cover the entire Divine Land.
While his Divine Sense could reach places that were not as physically present as he could, he could easily use it to explore, manipulate objects, transmit sound, and perform any other function that his Divine Sense Divine Sense could perform.
Of course, this achievement is far from something to brag about. You must know that in the eyes of the system, if Divine Sense cannot reach ten thousand miles, then one cannot be considered to have reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection. And for Li Xingkong personally, the requirements are even higher.
This can be seen from the content of Li Xingkong's Foundation Establishment graduation assessment.
For Li Xingkong to complete this test, his Divine Sense would need to be able to encompass the entire globe.
The progress we've made so far is still a long way off.
That's clearly not enough for mere cultivation.
After a few days of short rest to relax his mind, Li Xingkong immediately began the next stage of his cultivation.
With the blessing of the External Core, the next stage of cultivation was shortened considerably. What originally required five years can now be completed in just two and a half years.
Two and a half years was naturally nothing to Li Xingkong.