Shi Pan Begins Core Formation!

After the war at Evil Water Marsh ended, this perilous land, shrouded in poisonous miasma for thousands of years, finally enjoyed a rare period of peace.

Time flies, and five years have passed in a flash.

Abundant Water City grew larger and larger, and the wasteland on the outskirts was reclaimed inch by inch and planted with low-level spiritual herbs resistant to poison; the spiritual gold ore dug from the ground filled one flying ship after another and was transported to Ming Province in an endless stream.

White Cloud Temple is finally thriving, with its annual income of hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stone enough to support the increasingly large sect.

The massive resources are used to support the sect, improving it in one aspect.

The most direct manifestation of this is that the concentration of Spiritual Qi within the mountain gate is 30% higher than it was five years ago. In the medicinal gardens of each peak and vein, the spirit medicine herbs are growing well. Even the outer disciples who are usually only fit to do odd jobs are receiving two more low-grade Spirit Stone as offerings each month.

On the other hand, the number of Core Formation Cultivator and powerful demons at White Cloud Temple is increasing.

The required salary naturally increases exponentially, even with an annual output of hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stone.

However, each year, the stipend given to each Golden Core Ancestor starts at 100,000 low-grade Spirit Stone, which is equivalent to 1,000 mid-grade Spirit Stone.

At present, it is already quite difficult to maintain the expansion of strength.

Yun Du sat in the main hall of the main peak, flipping through the account books for the month. The more he looked, the happier he became, and he beamed with joy.

The Evil Water Marsh was truly a treasure trove. Shi Jian was expanding the territory at the front, while he managed the foundation at the rear, which complemented each other perfectly.

However comfortable it may be.

Yun Du knew in his heart that peace in the cultivation world had always been achieved through fighting.

Without strength, no matter how many resources you have, you're just food on someone else's plate. Fortunately, the foundation of White Cloud Temple is quietly undergoing a qualitative change.

Cloud Sword Mountain Range, Northern Mountain Range: Boulder Peak.

This mountain peak was not originally ranked among the peaks of White Cloud Temple.

The mountain is short and stout, with sparse vegetation and rough gray rock everywhere. There isn't even a decent spring, and the Spiritual Qi is mediocre.

Later, it became the ancestral land of the Boulder Bear Boulder Line, which not only improved the Spiritual Qi concentration of the entire Spirit Mountain, but also used this mountain as a foundation to develop a prototype of a Blessed Land Earth Dao.

This is also where Shi Pan now lives in seclusion.

In terms of talent, Shi Pan is not as naturally gifted as Shi Yin; in terms of ferocity, he is not as brave and skilled in battle as Shi Mo.

Although they were all Shi Jian, one of the three bears who Enlightenment together back then.

Shi Pan, however, was the most mediocre of the three brothers. In his early years, he cultivated under the tutelage of the patriarch, and in his youth, he followed Sun Yao, struggling together in humble beginnings...

Relying on his own, step by step, he persevered and reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection, the pinnacle of a level four Demon Beast, and has come this far.

It was an incredible stroke of luck that he obtained a wisp of the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi.

However, this came at the cost of the deaths of his two old friends, Lei Huan and Lei Nu.

Now, more than 30 years later, with the accumulation of abundant resources, the heritage of Shi Pan has been polished to perfection.

Shi Yin succeeded, Sun Chengzu succeeded, it's time, it's his turn!

One day, early morning.

The celestial phenomena above Boulder Peak have changed.

The once clear sky suddenly became clouded with a layer of yellowish-brown.

The clouds were extremely thick and hung very low, causing the gravity within a radius of several miles to increase exponentially. Countless living beings felt a profound sense of heaviness at that moment...

That majestic aura constantly oppressed the birds and beasts in the mountains and forests. Some were even forced to lie prostrate on the ground, bowing their heads in submission.

Core Formation has begun!

Inside the cave abode deep within the Boulder Peak, the Shi Pan revealed its true form.

A giant brown bear, nearly three zhang long, sat in the center of the stone chamber, its body covered with a thick, earthy-yellow Spiritual Qi.

It opened its enormous mouth wide, continuously absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth!

The Spiritual Qi of White Cloud Temple was already abundant, and now, drawn by it, it transformed into a giant funnel, pouring down towards Boulder Peak from all directions.

The Qi Sea is churning.

Under the pressure of the immense Spiritual Qi, the true essence within Shi Pan's body began to contract frantically inward, while the spiritual liquid, like nectar, struggled to circulate within his body.

For an ordinary Demon Beast, its meridians would have burst under such intense compression, but Shi Pan was different.

He has suffered more beatings and hardships in his life than all the spirit beasts in White Cloud Temple combined. When Qi Refining, he was almost killed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

During the Foundation Establishment stage, he dared to directly confront the methods of the Golden Core cultivator.

The Earth element may lack the power of killing and the unorthodox methods, but it certainly doesn't lack the element of toughness!

His meridians, forged through repeated severe injuries and recoveries, had become even more resilient than fine steel, and his physical body was as Shi Jian rock.

Half an hour later.

The true essence within the Dantian was finally compressed to its limit, continuously merging into the body and gathering on the Demon Core.

The first test of Spiritual Qi Trial has been passed.

Its smoothness is flawless; this is the result of a profound foundation.

Shi Pan slowly opened his eyes, his dark yellow vertical pupils showing no joy whatsoever. The real test was about to begin!

Absorbing the Heaven and Earth Qi, facing nine deaths and one life.

Shi Pan silently circulated the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi within his body. This wisp of earth element might not be of top quality, but it was hard-won.

He had to consider whether this was his only chance in his life!

From the moment this wisp of turbid, heavy energy began to merge with itself and integrate into its flesh and blood...

The entire Boulder Peak suddenly sank downwards.

This was not an illusion; the earth had truly sank.

The ground around the mountain kept cracking, forming several bottomless ravines, and the muffled sounds of rock strata fracturing echoed from the ground.

The moment when the Heaven and Earth Qi enter the body and begin to merge.

"Roar--"

A low, suppressed growl echoed from the cave abode.

Flesh and blood seemed to be torn apart, and life began to slowly fade away!

The moment the Heaven and Earth Qi entered his body, Shi Pan felt as if he had swallowed an entire mountain range. His internal organs were crushed by this extreme weight, and his bones made a grinding sound that made his teeth ache.

The celestial phenomena in the outside world have also undergone the most dramatic changes.

The earth surrounding Boulder Peak seemed to come alive.

Earth and rocks churned and rolled, and mud surged to the sky.

Centered on Boulder Peak, the geological veins within a radius of thirty miles were forcibly reversed. The originally short and stout Boulder Peak began to rise taller under the pull of the Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi!

One zhang, ten zhang, one hundred zhang!

An invisible force ripped the rock strata from the ground, piling them up layer upon layer. The sparse vegetation on the mountain's surface was uprooted and turned to dust.

Rough limestone, under immense pressure, transforms into hard black crystal.

It's not just the Boulder Peak that's rising higher.

Along with it, dozens of surrounding peaks were also affected by the earth's veins, rising up together, causing the mountains to tremble and the earth to shake!

The protective array of White Cloud Temple was activated on its own by this rupture of the earth veins, and array light screens lit up, firmly protecting the foundations of the other main peaks.

Standing on the edge of the main peak, the old Yun Du looked at the world changing in the distance and plucked out several hairs from his beard.

"This commotion... is much bigger than when I Core Formation."

"Indeed, it bears some resemblance to Shi Jian's breakthrough back then. This scene is as vast and boundless as ever..."

The spectacular sight of the mountains rising up lasted for several days.

When everything calmed down, Boulder Peak had become the tallest solitary peak in White Cloud Temple, even a few degrees higher than Purple Firmament Peak.

The mountain resembles a giant black stone sword piercing the clouds, pointing straight to the sky and radiating a chilling, heavy pressure.

But deep within the cave abode, Shi Pan's situation had reached its most dangerous point.