In a large rocky plain the roar of a beast echoed out.
"RAAAAHHH!"
A large demon beast stood on its hind legs, letting out a roar. The demon beast stood at four meters tall and resembled a dark earthen yellow bear with grey stone-like scales partially covering its head and limbs. After the demon beast roared a beam of gray light shot out of its mouth towards a little girl with shoulder length black and white hair.
The girl's feet moved and she dodged the attack gracefully, as if floating on air. She continued to use a movement technique to gain some distance from with the bear demon beast. While retreating she waved her hand upwards causing earth to rise from around the bear, trapping it in a pyramid-like structure radiating light.
The bear waved its paw at part of the wall causing it to partially break open and cracks to fill it, almost shattering, but before the bear demon could attack again a light green spear made of spirit energy pierced through the wall and impaled the bear demon beast in the stomach. The beast was about to roar in pain but before it could, a ball of searing hot flames shot through the same hole as the spear hitting the bear near its wound and violently exploding. Shattering the rest of the pyramid, light filling the surrounding area along with a boom.
*BANG!*
The demon bear cried in pain and fell to the ground. It shook its wounded body and was about to get back on its feet.
Just as the demon bear managed to get on its feet and the smoke had yet to settle, another pyramid of earth and light appeared around the injured demon beast. As soon as the pyramid formed the little girl pointed with her finger causing a light green spear made of spirit energy to appear that was immediately sent flying into the pyramid wall, piercing it and hitting the bear demon but only managing to lightly penetrate it's skin.
Like before, the green spear was followed by a flaming ball that radiated intense and chaotic spirit energy, clearly much stronger than the previous flaming ball. The bear panicked and gathered its strength to defend.
However unlike before, this ball of flames stopped within the pyramid, as the little girl outside clenched her fist. The little girl then quickly put her hands together causing the hole in the pyramid to close and the entire pyramid to radiate a stronger light. Finished, the girl let out a thought and the flaming ball exploded with tremendous power.
The enhanced pyramid only lasted for a split second before it was soon filled with cracks and eventually shattered from the explosion.
As the smoke was clearing the little girl walked to the area of the explosion, while using her Divine Sense to check the condition of the bear.
The bear demon was in a miserable state, practically at death's door. The beast's forelimb was gone and it's other limbs were mangled. All its skin was charred, burned, or gone. Blood was profusely leaking out from around its body, even an organ seemed to have spilled out from its stomach, and multiple bones were visible.
Yet the demon bear still clung to life, unconscious.
The little girl came to a stop near the demon bear and seemed to admire her work before speaking.
"Not bad. Not bad. I knew this would be a great combo. It can kill an ordinary Early-stage Core Formation demon beast." Exclaimed the girl nodding.
"It's just a little too complicated to pull off, there's too much room for error. If only I could figure out how to combine
The little girl then waved her hand causing a large green crescent shaped blade to materialize. It gave off a sword like gleam as it flew towards the head of the demon bear, decapitating it easily.
Soon after the demon bear was decapitated, it and the surrounding area began to breakdown into motes of light and disappear. The girl marveled at this sight as she appeared within a large underground room within a villa in the Bai Clan.
This little girl was Bai Jing. A few years had passed since she broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
She is currently 10 years of age and has already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. Although her strength is much greater her appearance has not changed much if any.
'I'm still amazed at the possibilities of this Illusory Array Formation. It's like virtual reality. In the future I must definitely seduce or kidnap a bunch of Formation Masters to create some sort of virtual reality internet! I'm sure it's possible!' Bai Jing thought as she gazed at the runes and formation flags embedded around the room, unable to fully comprehend how it works.
Bai Jing had fallen in love with training various techniques. In order to better train them she asked her father for a suitable location and he had one of the Array Formation Masters in the clan set up this room for her.
The formation is called the Illusory Combat Field, and Bai Jing had used her Divine Sense to refine the formation core, allowing her to control the formation. She is able to manifest environments and/or various opponents programmed within the formation core.
Recalling Bai Jing's first experience with the formation, she was amazed. It made her recall the portals she had used to reincarnate and what she thought was a formation that enabled it.
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Thinking of the vast possibilities of formations, Bai Jing asked her father to teach her about formations.
Bai Kong knew a decent amount on formations and told Bai Jing some basics of formations, before telling her to look for her mother, as she is more knowledgeable on formations than him. Bai Jing received some more information on Formations from her mother and a few books to learn from.
Bai Jing thought that she would be a genius in formations, as back on earth she was an Engineer, and dealt in a bit of coding, thinking there would be some overlap.
While her coding knowledge did give her a few insights, Bai Jing was disappointed in how hard it was to learn formations.
Bai Jing noticed that she had been getting smarter and could more easily recall information as her cultivation grew. However, she was still far from having an eidetic memory.
Formations are typically set up with runes and/or spirit objects arranged in specific patterns and in coordination. In the beginner books she received there were already thousands of different runes to learn as well as the countless arrangements they could have.
Bai Jing had wanted to give up upon realizing the difficulty and maybe wait until she had a higher cultivation, making it easier to learn.
Bai Ting comforted her daughter, saying she does not need to learn formations, but she should not give up on learning runes. Explaining that most high level cultivation methods and techniques are written with runes and cultivators at a certain strength will all learn runes.
"The [Imperial Wind Sutra] is in fact also written in runes. Your Father had just given you a translation of it, but it is best to read the original version before you complete cultivating it. As, more meaning is conveyed and there are subtleties that are lost when translated."
Hearing this Bai Jing reluctantly decided to spend some time each day learning runes, as it was only memorizing.
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Returning to the present.
Bai Jing was sitting on the ground slowly recovering her Qi.
After a while Bai Jing stood up and took a moment to feel her Peak Foundation Establishment power. Viscous, pure, light-green liquid Qi smoothly flowing through her meridians, filling her dantian to the limit.
"Phew! Almost all my Qi has become of the wind element. Also I don't think I can suppress my cultivation much longer." Bai Jing let out a breath.
Bai Jing has been suppressing her cultivation and increasing the wind elemental Qi and purity within her dantian. She would soon break through to the Core Formation stage. The main focus of the Foundation Establishment stage is to nourish and refine the body, meridians, and dantian, creating a strong foundation suitable for cultivation.
Bai Jing would soon break through to the Core Formation stage.
To break through to the Core Formation stage a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment must condense the liquid Qi within their dantian into a solid sphere called a Golden Core. To do this the cultivator must have excellent control over their Qi and a sufficiently strong dantian and meridians to be able to withstand the pressure when consolidating the Golden Core.
It is very important to create a solid core with few impurities. If there are many impurities when forming the Golden Core or the pressure was not enough, cracks can form in the golden core that are extremely difficult to fix and will limit the cultivator's future achievements.
Some cultivation manuals have different ways of forming stronger and better cores.
The way Bai Jing must form her core is a bit different than most. Her [Imperial Wind Sutra] allows her to form a Wind Core. A Wind Core is similar to the Golden Core of most other cultivators, but the Wind Core will allow the cultivator store greater amounts of wind attribute Qi as well as passively absorb wind type spiritual energy to refill itself. It also further strengthens one's wind type techniques and attunement to wind spirit energy.
Bai Jing had very speedily made her way through the Foundation Establishment stage thanks to her newfound love of cultivation techniques. Ever since practicing
She would practice her techniques every day for even longer than she used to cultivate Qi. Her control over her Qi rapidly raised, and the continuous use of techniques would drain her Qi causing her to cultivate to refill her Qi and raise her cultivation base.
Bai Jing would often go to the clan's library to learn different techniques. However, after going a couple times Bai Kong forbade her from learning any more techniques. Saying that learning too many techniques was bad and it was better to master a few than take on so many. Especially when your cultivation is still low.
Unwilling to give up Bai Jing put her
Now 10 years old, Bai Jing has been at the peak of Foundation Establishment for well over a year.
Shutting off the formation and straightening her clothes, Bai Jing walked out the underground room and headed towards her room while contemplating.
'I should stop practicing until I breakthrough now, I can barely sense any other types of elements in my Qi after this practice session. I just need to focus on completely converting the last bit of Qi to the wind element and breakthrough.'
'My dantian and meridians are at their limit and haven't improved in a while. According to the [Imperial Wind Sutra] if I create the Wind Core with only pure wind element Qi my chances of awakening a Divine Power later will be at it's highest. I'll get dad to check my Qi and make sure in a couple days.'
Bai Jing slid open the door to her room and flopped face down on a special, cognac colored couch, resembling something from Earth. She had commissioned this couch from a luxury furniture store during one of her trips to Sky Clear City. It was made from Calming Spirit Wood and various other spirit items.
After resting for a while Bai Jing twisted herself face up and willed her Divine Sense to enter a black ring on her left hand with an amber gem, imbedded in it.
This was a Beast Ring, It was similar to a space ring in that there was space within the ring but, the space in the beast ring was much less than Bai Jing's space ring, only being about thirty meters cubed, and it was a mid grade ring. However the beast ring could safely contain life unlike the space ring.
Appearing on Bai Jing's chest from within the ring was a small white egg with a slight glow around it. Bai Jing gently poked the egg and muttered to herself.
"When are you gonna hatch? Dad said you're supposed to be a connate lifeform and will be super strong in the future and protect me. I hope you better turn out to be a Dragon or Phoenix."
This was the egg formed from purple Qi that appeared along with Bai Jing's birth.
After talking and playing with the egg for a bit she put it back in the beast ring. Soon after a knock came from the door of the room followed by Pai Ying's voice.
"Princess I have brought drinks and a snack for you!"
Bai Jing lazily got up from the couch and used her Divine Sense to slide the door open.
'Divine Sense sure is convenient when you're lazy.'
Pai Ying entered the room while carrying a tray of hot tea and a sliced fruit with reddish-purple flesh.
Bai Jing had a slight frown on her face seeing Pai Ying walk in.