I had to find a safe spot to evolve. The ideal one should be on top of a bare mountain away from everything and anyone. A cave wouldn’t do since I know that my breakthrough to the Core Formation realm would cause a Heavenly Tribulation.

This tribulation would test my foundation and if passed would help me condense my core and refine my body. I planned to first break through to the Core Formation realm and then use the refining to reach the Internal Organs Refining realm from the Bone Refining one.

I was running through the forest for a week when I found a good spot to break through. It was a lone, rocky hill with sparse vegetation and housing a single rank 3 demonic beast without wisdom. I beat him up and made sure he wouldn’t get up for at least a month.

Then I started cultivating while continuing to drink the Yang fruit wine that I stole from the white monkeys in the secret realm.

Two weeks later I was ready: I attempted the breakthrough.

Clouds, 2 km wide, started appearing and spinning above me. Flashes of lightning swam among the clouds, then the lightning converged above my head and a singular lightning bolt struck me in the head.

I resisted the pain as the heavenly lightning coursed through my body and entered my dantian. Once there they started striking the nine columns that went from the bottom of my dantian to just under the now solid taijitu symbol. They struck all the columns nine times and then entered the taijitu symbol.

The taijitu seemed to have taken life. It wriggled and attracted to his center the two Yin and Yang balls of qi above it. Once the two balls were there the taijitu enveloped them and closed itself in a sphere-shape. It started rotating faster and faster until it assumed a gray color.

Once the core stabilized itself, it started spinning quickly again and this time it absorbed all the gaseous neutral qi below. Once the qi was completely absorbed the core started pouring below liquid qi until it reached a third of its previous volume. Once it had done so, the core started slowly spinning releasing a minor quantity of liquid qi.

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For the final part of the breakthrough, some lightning sparks exited the core and started further refining my body. Since they were small I was able to redirect them to concentrate them on my bones, which became more and more refined until they glowed a golden black light and I broke through my body limits again.

[User has broken through the body limitation. Initiating assisted evolution. Displaying options]

Epic YinYang Bear

Other than the obvious benefits, it grants the bear with incredibly durable bones.

YinYang Boned Bear

It ulteriorly refines the bones rendering them nigh indestructible and further increasing the sharpness and toughness of claws and fangs

This time there were only two options and both had to do with the Yin and Yang elements.

If it was before my talk with Roden I would have chosen the second, but with the knowledge of the existence of epic bloodlines, the first was a must.

After having chosen the Epic YinYang Bear evolution I didn’t directly evolve and blackout. Instead, it appeared in front of me an ulterior selection.

[Met energy requirements for Dao Bone awakening, please choose a Dao Bone]

Shoulder blades

Increases physical attacks with front paws and aids offensive techniques.

Cranium

Increases the defense of the head and aids mind cultivation.

Spine

Increases the protection of the spine and aids movement techniques.

Sternum

Increases defense around internal organs and aids defensive techniques.

I was elated, from what I knew Dao Bones were particularly enchanted bones inborn in an individual, like a constitution, and give the owner a boost.

In my case, I could choose what Dao Bone to have between the four of them. The choice was obvious: “I choose the cranium’s Dao Bone.”

After all, my mental cultivation is the one lacking.

And it all went black.