Chapter 20 Becoming a Core Formation Cultivator
In the northern part of Xi'An City, two great families resided: the Liu Family and the Xiao Family. Historically, the Xiao Family had a longer lineage than the Liu Family. However, after the end of the previous chaos time, the Liu Family rose quickly and achieved equal status with the Xiao Family.
The chaos time was both a calamity and an opportunity for all Cultivators. The Liu Family, for instance, seized opportunities during the previous chaos time to rise in status. In contrast, the Xiao Family showed signs of decline as the coming chaos time approached.
In the meeting hall of the Xiao Family, many elders were seated, intensely discussing the current situations.
"The ingredients for the essence pills in Yun Cheng City were bought up by the Mu Family long ago. What a move by the Mu Family!" one of the elders, Xiao Lang, exclaimed.
"Hm! The Mu Family, although they appear gentle and neutral on the surface, have hidden deep foundations. They were the first to obtain this information," another elder added.
"The Mu Family passed through the previous chaos time just like us, so their foundation naturally can’t be underestimated. But what I can’t accept is that we received the information later than them. My Xiao Family has survived three chaos times. Our ancestors were great figures who commanded fear and respect upon hearing their names, but look at us now," another elder sighed.
"Sigh, if only our ancestors were still here. Our Xiao Family wouldn't have declined to this point. Especially our founding ancestor. During his time as patriarch, he led all the big and small families to face the chaos time. His prestige brought glory to our Xiao Family," another elder lamented, though his eyes were full of admiration for their ancestors.
"That's right, at that time, our Xiao Family was the number one family in Xi’An. Even the City Manor had to curry favor with us," another elder added.
"Yeah, at that time, the Liu Family was just a dog to us," another elder added, not forgetting to highlight the prestige of their founding ancestor.
Upon mentioning the founder of the Xiao Family, all kinds of praises and admiration were spoken by all the elders in the meeting hall. This made the atmosphere in the hall become lively immediately.
"The founding ancestor worked hard to elevate our Xiao Family to the top, and our predecessors also put in great effort to maintain our family's position. We must learn from them and not disappoint their legacy. We must try our best to pass through this incoming chaos time," the patriarch of the Xiao Family, Xiao Zhan, spoke up.
"That's right. Your words echo my thoughts exactly. I fully support you, Patriarch. With your leadership, I believe our Xiao Family will successfully navigate through this chaos time," Xiao Lang spoke earnestly.
"That's right! I fully support the Patriarch!"
"Count this old man in," another elder chimed in.
Quickly, many elders spoke up one after another, affirming their support.
Xiao Zhan watched them with undisguised pride and happiness. The situation unfolded just as he had anticipated.
"Alright, everyone, I appreciate your sincerity," Xiao Zhan finally spoke up after a moment.
"Right now, you all should know that my son, Xiao Yan, returned from the Xuan World. Not only has his cultivation progressed well, but he also seized an opportunity in pill refining. In just one year, he has advanced to a level 2 mid-grade pill refiner, and it won't be long before he reaches high-grade. Our priority now is to support him in every possible way, especially with the essence pills. Yan’er is truly talented in this area, and we must ensure he becomes a high-grade pill refiner before the chaos time arrives. What are your thoughts?" Xiao Zhan's words were addressed to everyone in the room as his gaze swept across them.
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Many of them had voiced their loud support moments ago. However, when it came to discussing benefits, hesitation lingered among them. The Xiao Family didn't rely solely on Xiao Yan; they also had two other high-grade pill refiners and one level 3 low-grade pill refiner within family. Balancing resources among them all was crucial, and they couldn't afford to place all their hopes solely on Xiao Yan.
Just as everyone hesitated without making a sound, they suddenly felt fluctuations of essence emanating from the eastern courtyard of the Xiao Family.
"Hm? What powerful fluctuations!"
"This is... the phenomenon of Core Formation."
"That direction..." Many elders speculated.
"Yan'er!" Xiao Zhan immediately stood up and left the meeting hall.
Many elders looked at each other before following Xiao Zhan.
The closer they got, the stronger they felt the fluctuations of the essence.
"This must be Core Formation level essence!" Many of them exclaimed excitedly, anticipating the emergence of another Core Formation Cultivator.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same time, Xiao Yan was seated in cultivation, his attention fully focused on the words appearing in his mind.
"Little Yan, breaking through to the Core Formation Realm involves two challenges: comprehension and forming the core. After a year of my teaching, your comprehension is deep enough, so you don't have to worry about that. Your focus now should be on forming the core," rang the voice of the old man with white hair in his mind.
Xiao Yan's adventure to the Xuan World was truly a life-changing opportunity. Not only did he uncover his own cultivation issues, but he also gained acknowledgment from the soul of the old man with white hair inside his ring. This led to several fortuitous encounters and significant leaps in his cultivation progress.
"The process of forming the core is the greatest challenge for all Cultivators to break through to the Core Formation Realm. Many Cultivators fail at this step and become false Core Formation Cultivators for their entire lives," said the old man with the white hair solemnly.
"Teacher Yao, I understand. I will follow your guidance," Xiao Yan replied.
"Good. Before forming the core, the first thing you must understand is what the core represents. Remember what I have taught you. The core is the condensation of essence, the foundation of Core Formation Cultivators. Just as Foundation Establishment Cultivators focus on pillars in their Sixth Sense Realm, Core Formation Cultivators concentrate on their cores," Teacher Yao explained.
"To form the core, you must melt the pillars into core essence and then shape the core from that essence. During this process, you can choose to melt and condense each pillar one by one or all at once, depending on your comprehension. Based on my assessment, you can handle melting and condensing five at a time without any issues," Teacher Yao, who had once cultivated for thousands of years before his physical form was destroyed, observed Xiao Yan's talent with clarity.
"After melting all ten pillars and condensing ten wisps of core essence, you can begin forming the core. The most challenging part is controlling the ten wisps of core essence to converge simultaneously and evenly, without any deviation, until the process is complete. A slight error could result in an incomplete core, condemning you to become a false Core Formation Cultivator," Teacher Yao cautioned Xiao Yan. Yet, he harbored deep confidence in Xiao Yan's exceptional talent, a rarity even in his own era.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath and meticulously followed Teacher Yao's instructions step by step. First, he recited the principles of core formation in his mind. Then, he directed his consciousness into the Sixth Sense Realm where the ten robust flame pillars stood. Carefully, Xiao Yan began melting five of the pillars, maintaining a steady pace to ensure the transformation into five wisps of core essence was precise. After successfully completing this phase, he proceeded with melting the remaining five pillars, approaching this critical step with utmost caution. This task demanded intense mental focus, splitting his attention five ways simultaneously. Despite the considerable mental strain, Xiao Yan persevered and ultimately succeeded.
However, Xiao Yan couldn't afford to rest yet; he faced the daunting task of completing the most challenging step: forming the real core. At this critical moment, any distraction could disrupt his concentration, potentially leading to failure in the core formation process and condemning him to become a false Core Formation Cultivator. Therefore, Xiao Yan remained steadfast and singularly focused, ensuring no interruption could derail his progress.
Fortunately, the Xiao Family understood the importance of this matter. Many of them dispersed in all directions to prevent unexpected intrusions, while simultaneously preparing protective arrays. Furthermore, numerous elders closely guarded Xiao Yan's residence to ensure his cultivation was undisturbed.
Xiao Xing'er clenched her fists in excitement as she was among those waiting outside for Xiao Yan.
It could be said that Xiao Yan was completely safe from external distractions. He could devote all his attention to break through.
Three days later, the essence fluctuations calmed down and disappeared. Xiao Yan didn’t disappoint them; he left the room with calm and composed feelings, his aura clear to everyone present. Upon seeing his father, Xiao Xing'er, and many elders, his eyes brightened as he greeted them.
"Father, Xing'er, everyone, you're here. Thank you all for guarding me during my breakthrough," Xiao Yan expressed his gratitude.
The conversation continued joyously as many praised Xiao Yan.
At that moment, the Xiao Family didn't hide this matter; they even felt proud to release the news. Xiao Yan's name became the talk of the city once again. The Xiao Family even held a celebration and invited many Cultivators to join the banquet.
A month later, when Shangguan Yi emerged from his seclusion having reached the cultivation of the level 10 Foundation Establishment Realm, he also heard this big news.
"Xiao Yan became a Core Formation Cultivator? Oh, I still have the letter that girl left for him. It seems that I will have the chance to meet this genius soon." Shangguan Yi kept this to himself and Chu Lanlan. Moreover, he had been in seclusion, so the letter had not yet been delivered to Xiao Yan.
"Tell someone to inform Xiao Yan that Young Lady Chu left a letter for him with me. He can come to collect it anytime," Shangguan Yi instructed Shuang’er.
"No matter, I'll go and invite him myself," Shuang'er said.