Translator: CinderTL
"Golden Core."
Li Chunjun sensed the state of his Essence, Energy, and Spirit, which was now perfectly unified and even exuded an aura of "longevity." He gained a completely new understanding of the concept of the "Golden Core."
The Golden Core in the first stage of the Core Formation phase within the Spirit Refinement Great Realm embodies the concept of "perfect and indestructible."
Gold, as one of the oldest mineral products, is regarded as a symbol of "indestructibility."
Thus, the term "Golden Core" is also a metaphorical representation of "perfect gold." However, such a term holds no real significance.
At this moment, Li Chunjun's Essence and Energy had merged within his body.
The strength of his Sword Qi had not increased significantly compared to before, but its stability had reached a new level.
The same was true for his Spirit.
The degree of enhancement was not substantial, but its "perfection" greatly reduced waste, allowing his mental power to be utilized more effectively.
The nature of these two aspects...
Was like comparing two jobs with the same salary.
The former had an uncertain future and dim prospects, while the latter was a secure position, leading to a vast difference in their eventual spending power.
"This reduction in internal consumption and increase in stability has brought immediate growth to my Sword Qi, Sword Intent, and Divine Sense."
Li Chunjun circulated the Sword Qi within his body.
Even though he had yet to fully master the Flame Phoenix Sun Refining technique, the sharpness of his Profound Phoenix Sword Qi still granted him the combat power to contend with an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
This was only in terms of Sword Qi, excluding Sword Intent, Divine Sense, and Flying Swords.
In other words, it was akin to an ordinary cultivator relying solely on Qi without using any Arcane Arts.
In terms of Sword Intent, the stability of his mind allowed the power he could unleash to rise as well.
The most easily discernible improvement was in his Divine Sense.
Li Chunjun's Divine Sense spread out, instantly covering a distance of two hundred miles.
This directly broke through the barrier between the early and mid-stage Nascent Soul realms! Moreover, two hundred miles was still not his current limit.
His Divine Sense continued to expand, reaching two hundred and ten miles, two hundred and twenty miles, two hundred and thirty miles...
Finally, it reached its limit at two hundred and forty-six miles.
This range...
Was considered quite good even among mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Although the growth of his "Spirit" was not significant, the mental stability brought by "perfection" increased the range of his Divine Sense by fifty-two miles.
"If killing the Four Symbols True Lord before relied on the power of Talismans, now... I fear nothing in a direct confrontation."
A strong sense of confidence welled up in Li Chunjun's heart.
After a moment, he focused his mind on the Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul, compared to the Core Formation, was most distinct in that it nurtured its own Mystical Powers.
And Mystical Powers...
Were akin to how one could develop Divine Sense at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
In the Golden Core realm, one could actually begin attempting to cultivate them.
The seeds of Mystical Arts within a cultivator's body would take root and sprout upon advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, as if giving birth to a new life, transforming into Mystical Powers.
These Mystical Powers were like a second organ for the cultivator, akin to bloodline instincts or personal talents.
Since they were almost equivalent to a new life growing within the body, they could even cause the body to undergo a second development, making it more compatible with these Mystical Powers. Hence, this realm was also known as the Nascent Soul realm.
"The Nascent Soul is a reshaping of one's talents and bloodline, a second growth in life, allowing one to become the most suitable vessel for 'Mystical Powers.'"
Li Chunjun pondered, immersing his mind in the Flaming Phoenix Chaos Scripture and the Taixu Sword Scripture.
These two great legacies did not introduce any novel methods for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm, instead focusing heavily on "Arcane Arts."
Namely, killing techniques and Secret Arts.
Flaming Phoenix Profound Light and Void Sword Flash.
Once these two Mystical Arts were cultivated to "perfection," they could transform into seeds of Mystical Powers, evolving and growing into their corresponding Mystical Powers.
During this process, it was also necessary to nurture the Lifebound Flying Sword within the body as much as possible.
This would create a symbiotic relationship between oneself, the Mystical Power, and the Flying Sword.
The difficulty was not insignificant, but unlike Refining Sword into Core, failure did not mean death.
In contrast, for Qi Refining path cultivators, the moment the seed of an Arcane Art transformed into a Mystical Power, it could lead to the collapse of the seed, resulting in failure.
From this perspective, Sword Cultivators might take longer to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, but the safety of the process was far higher compared to Qi Refining cultivators.
"Killing techniques, Secret Arts."
Li Chunjun briefly contemplated Flaming Phoenix Profound Light and Void Sword Flash...
It was too time-consuming.
"Let's directly cultivate Great Dark Heaven."
Li Chunjun's expression was resolute.
He would use Great Dark Heaven as his first Lifebound Mystical Power to ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm.
In his mind, the Mystical Power of Great Dark Heaven continuously circulated.
In the next moment, the vast Flaming Phoenix Power within his body surged forth, forming a massive vortex that rapidly spun, enveloping the entire training ground within a radius of several hundred meters.
Thanks to the foundation provided by his life level, the Essence Qi within his body burned fiercely, and the Blazing Phoenix Fire it derived was incredibly abundant. Even though he had not yet grasped the essence of Great Dark Heaven, the sheer quantity of Blazing Phoenix Fire he produced was enough to blot out the sky, creating a majestic spectacle.
However, after maintaining this state for a while, Li Chunjun had no choice but to stop.
"Although I meet the Life Essence requirements for this Mystical Power, it also relies somewhat on Blazing Phoenix Fire. And my current Flaming Phoenix Power is not particularly strong—likely even inferior to Jiang Wanyu's."
After testing this, Li Chunjun shifted his focus to Grand Ruins Sword Intent.
Grand Ruins Sword Intent emphasized Sword Intent.
It was somewhat similar to the Divine Sense Mystical Power of the Four Symbols True Lord—Mountain Suppression.
However, while Mountain Suppression was entirely focused on the mind, this Mystical Power also possessed a certain degree of tangible lethality.
Moreover...
This Mystical Power could further evolve into a Great Mystic Power—Heaven Ruin Sword Intent.
Such a Great Mystic Power would be of immense help in cultivating a higher-level force beyond Sword Intent—Sword Force.
It was almost equivalent to the foundation of "Sword Force."
Li Chunjun attempted to cultivate it and soon made some progress.
The Golden Core Realm inherently provided the foundation for nurturing Mystical Powers.
Just as the ninth level of Spirit Refining allowed one to attempt to nurture Mystical Powers, Li Chunjun's efficiency in cultivating Mystical Powers in the Golden Core Realm was noticeably higher than in the True Core Realm.
However, even with this increased efficiency, mastering a Mystical Power was still no easy task.
After several days, Li Chunjun had gained some understanding of Grand Ruins Sword Intent, but it was far from meeting his expectations.
He quickly estimated and arrived at a number. "Five to six years!"
Five to six years to achieve basic proficiency in Grand Ruins Sword Intent.
This amount of time, compared to Golden Core cultivators who often took decades, sixty years, or even a century to achieve basic proficiency in a Mystical Power—or never managed to do so—was already astonishingly fast.
Especially considering he intended to skip Arcane Arts cultivation and directly train in Mystical Powers.
However, Li Chunjun clearly couldn't endure five or six years of monotonous cultivation just to master this one Mystical Power.
"There should be resources to assist," Li Chunjun muttered.
The Nascent Soul Pill could increase the probability of an Arcane Art seed transforming into a Nascent Soul Mystical Power.
But since he planned to directly cultivate Mystical Powers, he naturally wouldn't need something like the Nascent Soul Pill. He could exchange it for other resources.
If that really didn't work...
He would have to quickly raise his life level to the peak of level 30, using the epiphany brought by reaching level 30 to achieve a sudden leap in cultivation.
But...
"It will be difficult," Li Chunjun lowered his head.
At life level 28, ordinary True Core cultivators could only provide him with 100 to 200 experience points, while Golden Core cultivators offered between 600 and 900.
Unless he truly slaughtered all the Core Formation cultivators from the other sects, he wouldn't be able to gather enough experience needed for life level 29.
But...
That wasn't even the main issue.
The key was that after reaching life level 29, True Core cultivators would no longer provide "experience," and by level 30, even Golden Core cultivators would be the same.
Just as he could no longer gain "experience" from Virtual Core cultivators now.
When the numerical value dropped below "1%," killing these cultivators became meaningless to him.
This was also why he ignored Qi Refining cultivators after conquering Star Province.
It was foreseeable that the path from level 30 to its peak would be extremely difficult.
"Perhaps by then, I'll already have the strength to confront, or even kill, a Great True Lord, but... the upper limit of the Blue Star Minor Realm is the Primordial Spirit!"
Li Chunjun's thoughts paused here.
The path he had chosen was truly not an easy one.
But since he had already embarked on this road, no matter what, he had to keep going.
"If I were to become a complete villain... it would be much easier," Li Chunjun thought to himself.
He wouldn't care about the situations of Jiang Yuqiu, Jiang Yuxue, or Qin Zhou.
He wouldn't care about the stances of Huan Ming or Bai Lian.
He wouldn't even care about Jiang Wanyu's thoughts.
He could take all the benefits from the Taixu Sword Sect, then kill whoever he wanted.
He could massacre the Chiyang Sword Sect and even the Nascent Soul cultivators of other sects, then head straight to the Profound Yellow Great World, completely ignoring the consequences for the Taixu Sword Sect. There, he could showcase his talents and join a major sect willing to shield him from these "minor troubles."
Then, he could continue to leech off this major sect, disregarding all human connections, responsibilities, and obligations. He could kill, gather resources, and grow rapidly. Once he reached a certain level, he could leave and move on to the next target...
This way, his growth would undoubtedly be swift.
But at the same time...
If he truly did this, what would be the point of his so-called "original intention to uphold his identity as an ordinary being and see if all things and spirits are truly different"?
Li Chunjun sat silently in the training ground.
He reflected on every step he had taken along the way...
In the eyes of many, he was already a "villain" or "evil person."
Yet, he still held onto his own moral bottom line.
He committed evil acts but convinced himself that they weren't truly evil.
This was called...
Hypocrisy.
A glimmer of light flickered in Li Chunjun's eyes.
Five or six years! He knew he couldn't wait that long.
Since the fastest path to immortality lay before him, why was he hesitating and taking the long way around!?
If he didn't kill, did he still want to be a good person? A good person...
It wasn't that easy to be one.
Everyone would scrutinize him with a magnifying glass, searching for flaws to shatter the "good person" image he projected, and then trample on his sense of righteousness and morality to satisfy their own desires, proving that human nature is inherently evil.
On the other hand, if he chose to be a villain...
The world would quickly shift into an easy mode.
Especially for someone with talent and ability.
"So... unless there is an absolutely powerful order that ensures true fairness and justice in the world, it will inevitably reveal its true nature—the law of the jungle, where the ruthless rise to power and the law-abiding sink into obscurity, forcing everyone to become a villain!"
Li Chunjun felt a glimmer of realization.
An absolutely powerful order required absolutely powerful strength.
All his suffering stemmed from this.
And resolving the root of this suffering did not conflict with his own goals.
Since the world lacked rules and order, forcing everyone to become a villain...
Then...
Why couldn't he be the worst of them all!?
The most reckless, lawless one!?
To enter the Dao through killing!
To pave the earth with bones, to drown the world in blood!
Until...
Everyone remembered the beauty of order once more!?
...
Li Chunjun had settled on his reason for "becoming immortal" and calmly stood up: "Next... the Xian Tian Sect."
(End of the Chapter)
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