Now, they had swollen to the size of large grapes, each one gleaming with radiant elemental light. His Earth Core pulsed with a deep amber brown hue, solid and unwavering, like the core of a mountain.
His Fire Core burned bright crimson and gold, blazing like a furnace fed by divine fuel.
And the Metal Core, which had long remained the most subtle of the trio, now shimmered with silver light laced with fine black veins—evidence of the dense mineral essence he'd drawn from the ash.
More importantly, the three cores were now equal in development to his Wood Core, which had previously been the most advanced due to his prolonged use of the herbs and his time in the Cradle of the Urim Lotuses.
But Lin Mu knew his advancement came with a cost.
He could feel it clearly now. He had hit a bottleneck—not in comprehension, nor in cultivation base—but in the environment itself.
