The resources arrived with the silent efficiency of Wang Zhong's operation. A plain wooden crate was left in a disused storage shed on the sect's outskirts. Inside, nestled in padding of Spirit-Silk, was a fortune that could buy half of Flowing Wind City.
Two Sky-Iron Meteorite Shards, each the size of a fist, dark and cold, seeming to drink the light around them. Two crystal vials containing the shimmering, volatile heartblood of a Thunder-Scale Python. And twenty High-Grade Spirit Stones, their pure, condensed energy making the air in the shed hum.
It was everything he had asked for. Double. Wang Zhong was holding up his end of the devil's bargain.
Li Yao moved them immediately to his hidden cavern behind the tannery waterfall. The roar of the water was a perfect shield for the spiritual tempest he was about to unleash.
He gave Wang Jin the first third of the Stellar Core Method, along with precise instructions and a week's supply of a new, stronger elixir designed to prepare his meridians for the brutal process. The Young Master took it all with a sullen, resentful silence, but there was a new, feverish intensity in his eyes. The promise of power, of a unique and formidable Core, was a potent drug, one that was slowly overwriting his pride.
Now, it was Li Yao's turn.
The Core Formation Realm. The essence was the refinement of the Spiritual Core, transforming the energetic ember in his dantian into a solid, eternal furnace, a vessel capable of storing tremendous energy and withstanding the laws of the universe.
The Early Sub-Realm was about beginning this radiance, allowing the core's energy to start strengthening the body from the inside out. The risk was energy overflow, damaging the internal organs it was meant to fortify.
The Stellar Core Method was not gentle. It was a trial by fire and lightning.
"Initiating Core Formation Protocol: Stellar Core Method. Stage 1: Earth Anchor. Host must absorb the Sky-Iron Meteorite Shard, grounding the core's foundation in unyielding earthly essence. Warning: The shard's density will create immense gravitational pressure within the dantian. Failure to contain it will result in physical collapse."
Li Yao sat cross-legged on the stone floor of his cavern, one Sky-Iron shard held in his palms. He took a deep breath, cycling the [Breath of the Primordial Awakening] to its absolute limit. Then, he began.
He drew the essence of the meteorite into his body. It was not energy; it was weight. A profound, crushing density that flowed into his meridians like liquid lead. He guided it towards his dantian, his perfect body-soul integration the only thing preventing his meridians from shredding under the strain.
The pressure in his lower abdomen became astronomical. It felt as if a star were being born inside him, its own gravity threatening to implode his body. Sweat poured from his skin, instantly vaporizing in the intense spiritual field. He gritted his teeth, his consciousness a single, focused point: Contain. Condense.
For a day and a night, he held the line, the meteorite's essence slowly, agonizingly, being drawn into the swirling nebula around his core. The light of his core dimmed, compressed under the immense weight, becoming a dull, heavy ember.
"Stage 1 Complete. Core mass has increased by 500%. Stability is critical. Proceed to Stage 2: Stellar Ignition."
There was no time to rest. The foundation was laid, but it was inert, a dead star. Now, it needed life.
He took one of the vials of Thunder-Scale Python heartblood. It crackled with violent, untamed lightning energy. He consumed it.
If the meteorite was weight, this was chaos. A storm of raw, destructive power erupted inside him, scouring his meridians. He cried out, his body convulsing. This was the tribulation—not from the heavens, but from within. The wild spiritual energy sought to shatter the heavy, dormant core he had just created.
He fought back, not with force, but with guidance. Using the principles of the [Cyclonic Qi Filtration] on a monumental scale, he began to spin the lightning energy, taming it, whipping it into a frenzy around the heavy core. He was using the conflict, the primordial opposition of earth and sky, to create force, to create pressure.
The heavy core, subjected to the lightning's fury, began to heat up. From within its dark center, a spark ignited.
"Energy overflow detected. Damaging internal organs. Initiating regenerative counter-cycle."
He ignored the pain, the feeling of his liver and kidneys being flash-fried and then rapidly healed by his Perfection-stage regeneration. He was the crucible, and the smith, and the metal being forged all at once.
The spark grew, fed by the storm. It became a flicker, then a steady flame at the heart of the heavy core. The dull ember began to glow, not with its previous soft light, but with the fierce, white-hot radiance of a true stellar body.
"Stage 2 Complete. Core Ignition successful. Proceeding to final stage: Core Stabilization and External Radiance."
The final step. He began to absorb the High-Grade Spirit Stones, one after another. They were the fuel. Pure, unadulterated energy flooded his system, being drawn into the newly born stellar core. The core brightened, its radiance intensifying, and for the first time, that energy began to pulse outwards.
This was the moment of the Early Sub-Realm's tribulation. The core was radiating internal energy, and his body had to adapt to the influx. He felt his bones hum, his muscles fibers knitting themselves tighter and stronger. His organs, recently battered, were now being bathed in this radiant energy, becoming more resilient with each pulse.
It was a cycle of destruction and rebirth happening at a cellular level. It was excruciating. It was ecstatic.
He lost track of time. He was only a vessel for the cosmic process unfolding within him.
When he finally opened his eyes, the crate of resources was half-empty. Ten High-Grade Spirit Stones were gone. The second meteorite shard and python heartblood waited for the next sub-realm.
He was different.
He stood, and the world felt… lighter. His body was a perfectly tuned instrument, humming with power. He could feel the core in his dantian, no longer a sphere of light, but a solid, miniature sun, radiating a constant, warm energy that circulated through him, enhancing his strength, his endurance, his very life force.
"Breakthrough Successful. Host has reached the Early Sub-Realm of the Core Formation Realm. All physical parameters have been enhanced. Energy reserves have increased by a factor of 100. Lifespan multiplier: x5 previous realm."
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HOST STATUS: Li Yao
REALM: Core Formation Realm (Early Sub-Realm)
CONDITION: Optimal. Body fortified by internal core radiation.
LIFESPAN: 2000 Years
ABILITIES: Enhanced Strength/Endurance (Core-Fortified), Rapid Healing (Core-Augmented), Core Energy Perception.
---
Two thousand years. The number was staggering. The pressure was also staggering. The next realm, the Mid Sub-Realm, where energy would stabilize and the body would begin independent regeneration, seemed an eternity away.
He looked towards the sect. He could feel Wang Jin's aura from here, a turbulent, struggling flame, following the path Li Yao had laid out. He was making progress, but it was slow, painful, and fraught with risk.
Li Yao had won the first leg of their new, unspoken race. He had formed his Core. He was no longer a mere disciple. He was a true cultivator, his foundation solid, his path clear.
The journey on the Eternal Ascension Path had truly begun. The Energy Path had eight more realms, but he had conquered the first great milestone. The laws of the universe felt closer, more tangible. The next step was to not just withstand them, but to comprehend them.
But first, he had to deal with the world he had just irrevocably changed. Wang Zhong would have felt his breakthrough. The sect would soon notice the birth of a new Core Formation disciple. The quiet game was over. The storm was coming.