Chapter 271: I am the Master of My Fate (Part 2)

With only a few hundred drops left, at his current cultivation speed, it would take him at most two years.

Two more years passed in the blink of an eye.

It was August of Wang Yu's 53rd year as a deacon.

After refining a top-grade Ice Lotus Pill, his true essence accumulation finally reached the limit of the Foundation Establishment stage, totaling exactly nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine drops.

After readjusting his state, Wang Yu, though not fearing the Core Formation lightning tribulation, still meticulously set up the Thunder Lotus Dao Platform and the Heavenly Heart Scattering Thunder Tribulation-Evasion Array.

Just in case.

After several more days of quiet meditation, he swallowed the high-grade Core Formation spiritual item, Ice Plains Frozen Blood, from the jade bottle in one gulp.

This frozen earth blood, imbued with extreme cold properties, instantly caused Wang Yu's lake of true essence to boil. Within a few breaths, it expanded to the Dantian's maximum capacity.

Crystallization began, a clear sign of his true essence solidifying.

The Core Formation spiritual item focused its effects entirely on his true essence, rather than his divine sense or vital energy, thereby maximizing Wang Yu's success rate.

The Profound Origin Demonic Embryo, having integrated numerous spiritual roots, also exerted its "dual spiritual root" effect, furiously absorbing spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to aid in the transformation of his true essence.

He had made every possible preparation to the fullest extent.

Failure was simply not an option.

The process of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth lasted for a long time, far exceeding the Dantian's Qi Sea capacity. However, the fragmented true essence crystals forming within simultaneously increased this capacity.

At a certain moment, Wang Yu's eyes snapped open.

"Golden Core... condense!"

The Qi Sea surged violently, with continuous crashing sounds, yet it was also shrinking at a visible rate.

A perfectly spherical, black-blue core, about the size of a fingernail, solidified from an ethereal state. It emitted a hazy spiritual glow, with faint wisps of magical power permeating from it.

It was done!

Before he could fully rejoice, dark clouds began to roll across the sky outside. A distant, awe-inspiring heavenly might spread, enveloping the entire Guiling City Lord's Mansion and causing a sense of dread.

True Master Qingyang and Commander Xu Ruozhou both wore expressions of astonishment.

"So fast... Compared to the City Lord, this old Qingyang has truly lived a wasted life."

"The City Lord... is about to form his core?!"

Xu Ruozhou clenched his fists. He knew Wang Yu was only a little over ten years older than him, yet he was already a major realm ahead, which was almost unbelievable.

At Jinman Tower.

Jin Miaoshan leaned against the corridor, watching the tribulation clouds in the sky, her scalp momentarily tingling.

"So fast. The fortunate encounter near Youzhou..."

"Come to think of it, he returned just as the competition for the Earth Spirit Fruit on Mount Luofu concluded. Could that have been the fortune?"

"Meow~"

Woyun Taxue, nestled in her arms, lazily stretched its body, completely unconcerned by the approaching heavenly might.

At Tianbao Pavilion.

True Master Han Jia, City Lord Wang's sworn brother, also noticed the unusual activity at the City Lord's Mansion and immediately surmised the situation.

"It's my brother Wang Yu!"

"Jinlong, Yinfeng, quickly come observe the ceremony. Prepare a congratulatory gift for your father, and then come with me to visit the Guiling City Lord."

The dragon-phoenix twin siblings exchanged silent glances. The younger sister, Yinfeng, murmured, "Brother, you and I are more than twenty years older than Wang Yu, yet we've only reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

Han Jinlong also sighed in admiration.

"This City Lord Wang's aptitude, I fear, is an unrevealed Heavenly Spiritual Root. It's truly enviable."

"Indeed."

Various factions in Guiling reacted differently. Most hastily prepared congratulatory gifts, while some sects even began planning celebrations for the addition of another Core Formation cultivator.

Although the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect wouldn't go to such lengths, the status of a Core Formation cultivator was vastly different from before. The accessible inheritances alone would be completely transformed.

Inside the cultivation chamber.

The lightning tribulation's momentum didn't last long. Soon, the first heavenly thunderbolt pierced down, shattering the great hall, splitting into the ground, and precisely striking him.

Wang Yu summoned his bloodline true artifact, the Fiendish Dragon Armor, to cover his body. He offered no resistance, allowing the lightning tribulation to strike him directly. The violent force caused no significant damage.

Instead, he felt remarkably comfortable. This was the benefit of his third-tier body refinement; both the Dragon Armor and his physique were tempered by the heavens and earth, allowing them to advance further.

The second lightning tribulation that followed was significantly more powerful.

As the lightning tribulation surged through his body, he felt intense stinging pain in his internal organs. Yet, when he circulated the Yin Nether Demonic Dragon Art, the pain quickly subsided.

"Crack—"

As the final tribulation lightning bolt, a blue and white pillar of thunder, struck down, Wang Yu's expression grew much more serious. He launched his Demonic Dragon Fist towards the sky.

The Yin Nether Demonic Dragon, materialized from his vital energy, soared skyward!

It collided head-on with the tribulation lightning, resulting in a thunderous explosion. The pillar of thunder dispersed into hundreds of electrical snakes, which then continued to fall upon Wang Yu.

However, its power had drastically diminished. Apart from a tingling sensation, wisps of the tribulation lightning were absorbed by the Fiendish Dragon Armor, causing the dragon-headed beast on it to gain a few more heavenly thunder talismans.

Ordinary magical treasures and true artifacts could never achieve this feat.

"This must be the growth potential afforded by a Dragon Vein treasure."

He found the answer within himself.

The lightning tribulation had passed. The tribulation-evading treasures he had prepared were not needed, a possibility he had already anticipated. This wasn't a waste; rather, it was a testament to his strength exceeding his own expectations.

In fact, it was a good thing!

He focused his attention inward. The transformation of his life essence, brought about by the breakthrough in his cultivation realm, was still ongoing.

Even as the lightning tribulation concluded, an unseen, mysterious heavenly blessing descended from the tribulation clouds, accelerating his transformation even further.

His body had been thoroughly cleansed by a vast amount of spiritual energy, leading to different levels of improvement in his physical body, meridians, and divine sense—all benefits of his realm breakthrough.

As the Golden Core condensed, ten wisps of seemingly substantial magical power appeared, swirling around it. Cultivation at this stage primarily involved accumulating more magical power and strengthening the Golden Core.

Wang Yu had just broken through, entering the first layer of the Core Formation realm.

Once his magical power reached three hundred wisps, he could advance to the second layer of Core Formation. Accumulating a thousand wisps would allow him to reach the third layer, and cultivating to three thousand wisps would bring him to the peak.

At that point, he would face a new challenge: Core Fortification!

Similar to "Spirit Refinement" in the Qi Refining stage and "Essence Condensation" in the Foundation Establishment stage, breaking through to the mid-Core Formation stage would require injecting three thousand wisps of magical power into the Golden Core.

It is the "fruit" of a cultivator's practice at a certain stage; strengthening it will enhance one's power.

In terms of size, they are typically 1 li, 2 li, or 5 li in diameter.

These three diameters are the standard sizes for a cultivator's Golden Core, though some exceptionally powerful individuals can enlarge their Golden Core to a diameter of 9 li.

Wang Yu felt that his Golden Core was indeed somewhat larger, but the more significant differences would only become apparent after he cultivated and broke through to the mid-Core Formation stage.

When first forming the core, most cultivators' Golden Cores were quite similar.

His divine sense and physique also each advanced a minor realm with this major breakthrough, moving his strength into an entirely new phase.

"Everything is different."

Next, besides solidifying his realm, he looked forward to experiencing the speed of cultivating magical power and observing the changes in his 'placement slots.'

It wasn't that an extra placement slot had been added; rather, its efficiency should also have improved with his fundamental realm advancement, as the slots were based on his own cultivation.

Slot 1: Skyfrost Yin Blood Art (Tier 3/Perfected/No further derivation)

Slot 2: Skyfrost...

Slot 3: Demonic Dragon Fist (Tier 3/Combat Technique/Body Divine Ability)[Demonic Dragon Fist (15/100): Nine practices per day, perfected in sixty-five years.]

Slot 4: Frost Chi Alchemy (Tier 2/Completing...)[Frost Chi Alchemy (45/100): Three derivations per day, completed in twenty years.]

Slot 5: Corpse Demon Secret Art (Tier 2/Completing...)[Corpse Demon Secret Art (99/100): One thousand four hundred and forty practices per day, completed in one month.]

Slot 6: Yellow Springs Grand Hand Seal (Tier 3/Divine Ability)[Yellow Springs Grand Hand Seal (40/100): Twenty-four practices per day, perfected in forty years.]

The almost completely renewed efficiency filled Wang Yu with delightful surprise.

The Corpse Demon Secret Art, already nearing completion at Tier 3, had accelerated even further, now requiring only one month to be fully restored. At that point, the minor lingering issues he had would be perfectly resolved.

At the very least, his bodily sensitivity would return to normal.

Next, Wang Yu used slot number six to cycle through his various cultivation techniques and secret arts, checking their updated information.

[Ancient Soul Art (20/100): Three practices per day, perfected in three hundred and fifty years.]

This was a Nascent Soul-level divine sense cultivation method, so it was normal that it was still far from perfection.

[Minor Asura Killing Fist (65/100): Nine practices per day, perfected in twenty years.]

This divine ability had already been cultivated by him to the Grand Completion stage, so the reduced completion time was quite reasonable.

[Soul Extinguishing Finger (32/100): Twenty-four practices per day, perfected in forty years.]

[Yin Fiend Corpse Refinement Art (52/100): One thousand four hundred and forty practices per day, perfected in ten years.]

[Ten Thousand Li Tracing...]

[Heavenly Soul One Qi...]

After reviewing all of them, Wang Yu swapped in the Minor Asura Killing Fist and Corpse Refinement Art, replacing the Yellow Springs Grand Hand Seal and Demonic Dragon Fist, aiming to perfect these skills first.

After forming his core, he would need to return to the sect to acquire new Tier 3 cultivation methods, along with matching divine abilities, magical treasures, and other inheritances. However, he wouldn't rush back immediately.

Calculating the time, it had taken him three years before his breakthrough to Core Formation.

In the interim, he had spent two years consuming the high-grade Core Formation spiritual item, Ice Plains Frozen Blood, absorbing vast amounts of spiritual energy to cleanse his body, then compressing his true essence to condense the Golden Core.

In total, this seclusion had lasted five years, which was half the time he had anticipated.

It was now August of Wang Yu's 55th year as a deacon.

"Ninety-three years old, Core Formation First Layer!"

"I barely achieved the goal of forming a Core by the age of one hundred. While not comparable to a top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root, this is roughly on par with an ordinary one."

"And I still have one Earth Spirit Fruit!"

At this thought, a second fruit appeared in Wang Yu's hand.

According to Xiong Huan's memories, the Yellow Springs Dharma Pill from the Yellow Springs Temple could be made with this item as its primary ingredient. Once refined into a spiritual pill, it could increase one's magical power by a thousand wisps.

It also offered some unknown benefit. The Spirit Reversal Blood Sect likely possessed similar elixirs, so refining it into a pill upon his return and then consuming it would maximize its effect.

"I'll continue my seclusion and wait until the placement slots reflect new cultivation levels."

Stabilizing his realm would also take some time.

On the second day after his breakthrough, as the feedback from the dual placement slots arrived as expected, Wang Yu couldn't help but wear a bitter expression; it was far too slow!

The efficiency of a single placement slot was "1 wisp per day" of magical power, so dual slots meant "2 wisps per day." At this rate, it would take 145 days to break through to the second layer of Core Formation.

"Hmm—"

"145... days?!"

(End of Chapter)