Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans.

Chapter 378 Breakthrough to the Late Stage of Core Formation [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Bibo Island.

After Lin Chang'an returned, he felt how great the turmoil in the Demon Beast Sea Abyss was. Even in a place like Sea Abyss City, there were such blatant cultivators who were not afraid of the Azure Sea Palace.

It's easy to imagine that other places are also in turmoil, no wonder there's unrest in various seas. Many cultivators are already thinking of leaving their hometowns or seeking fortune in danger.

The Nascent Soul forces that were usually feared can now simply make a quick buck and leave, leading to an increasingly chaotic situation.

Unfortunately, Lin Chang'an knew that while the idea of ​​making a quick buck and leaving was appealing, how many people could actually control their desires after actually reaping the benefits?

If they catch a small fish once, they feel they've lost out and want to go to another place to catch a bigger one.

Once they've made a fortune, greed takes hold, and naturally they want even more.

This is human nature, and it's why many cultivators go further and further down the path of tribulation cultivation.

However, all of this is no longer relevant to him. Having benefited from the Sixth Elder of Haiyuan City, he now only wants to go into seclusion and break through to the late stage of Core Formation as soon as possible.

……

Time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The Demon Beast Abyss continued to be in turmoil, and even the waters surrounding Five Dragon Island were affected by several disturbances caused by the Crimson Fire Sect's pursuit of cultivators.

Inside the cave.

"The breakthrough is now!"

Dressed in white, Lin Chang'an sat cross-legged and circulated his cultivation technique. After five years of arduous training, his cultivation level finally reached the peak of the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

After clearly sensing this bottleneck, Lin Chang'an did not hesitate to take out the near-fourth-tier pill he had obtained from the Sixth Elder.

【Lifespan: 253/798】

[Realm Level: Mid-Golden Core (99/100)]

The higher one's cultivation level, the slower the progress becomes, especially after encountering a bottleneck. It took him a full five years to raise his cultivation level from 96 points to the current 99.

This is only because he has good talent now. After his core was transformed, he reached the high-grade Golden Core level, and his spiritual root is now at the Earth grade.

Cultivators who can break through to the late stage of Core Formation around the age of 250 can almost all be called Nascent Soul seeds.

It's easy to imagine that his cultivation speed was not slow. It's quite normal for many talented cultivators to stagnate at a bottleneck for decades.

Even failing to break through bottlenecks is perfectly normal.

Finally, he estimated that if he continued to cultivate and refine himself, it would take at least another ten years of arduous training. Therefore, at this crucial moment, this near-fourth-tier pill played a decisive role.

"Gudong!"

As soon as the pill entered his stomach, a powerful medicinal force began to transform. Lin Chang'an calmly circulated his cultivation technique, slowly and patiently digesting the immense power of the medicinal force.

The push to break through the bottleneck has begun.

A few months later.

Lin Chang'an's golden core trembled and resonated with his sea of ​​consciousness, and a huge and powerful aura of magic power suddenly emanated from his body.

The Green Horned Ox, lying in the cool pool outside the cave, seemed to sense something and raised its head to look in the direction of the cave.

"Moo!"

The sword attendant, who was cultivating nearby, naturally sensed the fluctuation of magical power and opened his eyes, revealing a hint of joy.

"Master has broken through to the late stage of Core Formation."

Furthermore, the entire cave dwelling was protected by an array personally set up by Lin Chang'an, so only those inside the cave could sense this magical energy, while it remained completely unaffected by external disturbances.

Inside the secret chamber, Lin Chang'an exuded a blue life force, and the exotic flowers and fruits in the cave seemed to tremble under this aura, as if they had gained more spiritual energy.

Meanwhile, the spiritual flowers and herbs used for lower-level decorations were greedily absorbing the overflowing aura and began to grow vigorously.

Visibly, the buds began to bloom, and the spiritual herb had grown a bit.

【Lifespan: 253/869】

[Realm Level: Late Golden Core (0/100)]

"Two hundred and fifty-three years old, late stage of Core Formation, finally succeeded!"

At this moment, a long, joyful roar came from inside the cave. He had come all the way from being a lowly rogue cultivator.

Only he could understand the excitement of breaking through to the late stage of Core Formation at over 250 years old and directly catching up with those geniuses.

At the same time, Lin Chang'an could clearly feel the golden core within his body, which possessed terrifying power.

It has grown significantly larger and more solid than before.

Moreover, his magical power has doubled in both quality and quantity compared to before, and even his divine sense has greatly improved, reaching the peak of the late Core Formation stage.

"Now I am also a cultivator in the late stage of Core Formation."

Feeling the terrifying power within his body, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but show a look of joy.

This technique is still working its magic, and its breakthrough effect far surpasses that of other techniques at the same level.

"I didn't expect that the Xuan Tian Spiritual Body would be so powerful even before it was fully cultivated."

Overjoyed, Lin Chang'an also felt the further fusion between his body and his natal spiritual plant, and his life force grew stronger once again.

This breakthrough increased his lifespan by over seventy years, reaching a terrifying nearly nine hundred years. With the completion of this Xuan Tian Spiritual Body, his lifespan could probably exceed a thousand years once he reaches the Core Formation stage.

"There's also a qualitative change in my magical power, as well as an overall improvement. I can clearly feel that some of my supernatural abilities are now operating much more smoothly."

Lin Chang'an took a deep breath and suddenly activated his Sword Shadow at Will technique.

In an instant, a faint golden light emanated from his body, which then slowly condensed into nine small swords, which began to swirl around him to form a sword shield.

【Divine Power: Sword Shadow at Will (Perfect 8932/10000)】

"I have become more adept at manipulating it, and have even reached the level of 'moving at will' as described by the creator of this supernatural power."

At this moment, Lin Chang'an was secretly delighted, and his control over his supernatural powers was further enhanced. Now he could condense these nine sword beams within his body by consuming a great deal of magical power.

In this way, when encountering enemies, there is no need to consume a lot of magic power to condense these nine sword beams; only a little magic power is needed to maintain them normally.

A hidden trump card within the body, activated faster and more effectively.

"The nine sword beams that have now been condensed each have a power that is no less than that of a third-grade high-quality magic weapon. If they were to self-destruct, although they would not be as powerful, the sheer number of them would not make a significant difference."

After all, magical artifacts are based on physical materials, which is something that sword light condensed from pure magical power cannot compare to.

However, he possessed nine sword beams, three of which exploded simultaneously, roughly equivalent to the power of a high-grade third-tier magic weapon exploding.

If all nine sword beams were to self-destruct simultaneously, this single move would be enough to crush ordinary cultivators at the late Core Formation stage of the same level.

"There is also a divine ability in the Refining Techniques chapter that allows one to break through to the late Core Formation stage."

"Mystic Light Transforms into Shadows" can conjure three illusory clones, achieving a level of realism so convincing that it is extremely difficult for cultivators of the same level to distinguish between the real and the fake, unless one possesses a special eye technique.

Whether used to confuse opponents or to escape, it is an extremely powerful supernatural ability. Lin Chang'an even thought of his other supernatural ability.

When this supernatural power is used together with the external avatar, the true and the false become intertwined, making it likely to be another deadly move.

【Mystic Light Transforms into Shadow (Beginner 0/100)】

"Let's not even mention the external avatar, since this divine ability is mainly based on the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine, and the Xuan Guang Transformation Shadow is a divine ability with such power."

Normally, only Nascent Soul cultivators could accomplish this, but now I possess it. I absolutely cannot easily reveal these two abilities unless absolutely necessary.” At this moment, Lin Chang’an frowned secretly. If he needed to reveal these two abilities to an enemy, then he would have to be prepared to kill them to silence them and not give them a chance to escape.

It's not uncommon in the cultivation world for a Core Formation cultivator to possess supernatural abilities comparable to those of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, without exception, all of these cultivation techniques are top-tier techniques renowned throughout the cultivation world.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't mind having another top-tier cultivation technique in their collection.

Even if they don't switch cultivation methods, many Nascent Soul cultivators are still happy to learn from the lessons of others.

"However, with this Sword Shadow at Will technique, I can deal with most of my enemies."

The path of sword cultivation inherently emphasizes talent. In the eyes of outsiders, he could easily be a rather talented sword cultivator, thus concealing many things.

……

Half a month later, Lin Chang'an calmed down the fluctuations in his magical power after the breakthrough before preparing to emerge from seclusion.

However, before leaving the pass, he turned and walked towards the underground tunnel dug below the cave.

They arrived at a cave hundreds of feet below, connected to the subterranean fire of Azure Wave Island.

The golden Fusang Divine Tree emitted a dazzling light, greedily absorbing the fire-attribute spiritual energy from the earth fire to restore its own spiritual essence.

The phoenix in the tree nestled in a nest woven from gold thread, its wings cradling countless spirit stones and other treasures that shimmered with spiritual light.

"Congratulations, Master, on breaking through to the late stage of Core Formation. Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, where in the cultivation world will you be able to go?"

As ripples spread across the barrier of the Earth Fire Cave, Lin Chang'an's figure appeared, and the Phoenix Bird's eyes lit up immediately. It flew over excitedly, chirping excitedly.

However, as it flew over, it didn't forget to put away its nest and the treasures inside.

The way it seemed afraid of having its treasures coveted left Lin Chang'an speechless.

"I've only just broken through to the late stage of Core Formation; I don't know when I'll reach the Nascent Soul stage."

Lin Chang'an shook his head; he wasn't going to get carried away just because the bird said a few nice words.

There are many cultivators in the late stage of Core Formation, but how many of them can find a Nascent Soul Spiritual Object?

Even among those who possess spirits capable of forming infants, how many actually succeed in condensing their nascent souls?
Moreover, finding a spirit object for infant formation is not easy.

"And also, the magical artifacts I crafted for you, you use them as bird nests every day."

Lin Chang'an shook his head in annoyance. This golden net was originally a magic weapon of the Divine Sword Sect, which he later replicated using his weapon-refining skills.

Using even more precious materials, along with the eggshell material of the Phoenix Bird, this third-tier superior-grade magic weapon, the Golden Silk Net, was crafted.

As a result, after obtaining the phoenix, it actually used it to build a bird's nest.

“Master, I am doing this in order to better nurture this magic weapon.”

The phoenix bird stubbornly argued that it nestled on it every day, wasn't it also nourishing itself with its own magical power?

However, Lin Chang'an ignored the phoenix and looked directly at the armor on the altar inside the cave, which was outlined by an array.

Ancient Treasure: Four Symbols Dragon Scale Armor

Five years after returning, he first refined the last late-stage third-tier wind-attribute demon core, finally completing the four elemental powers of this ancient treasure.

Meanwhile, a spirit-nurturing array set up with high-grade spirit stones has been continuously nurturing this ancient treasure.

"A defensive ancient treasure that can ward off wind, fire, water, and dust, combining the power of the four elements. I wonder how powerful its defense is now."

Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an took a deep breath, his expression solemn, and with a wave of his hand, the ancient defensive treasure floated above the cave.

Immediately afterward, under his magical power, this defensive ancient treasure flashed with a golden light, and a golden phantom of ancient armor appeared.

"go with!"

Lin Chang'an flicked his sword finger, and instantly, dense sword light gathered around him.
The next moment, sword light poured out like raindrops, flashing with dazzling golden light within the cave, making the phoenix's eyes light up.

The dense, ear-piercing sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout, and within three breaths, a large amount of Lin Chang'an's magical power was lost.

Each sword beam was an ordinary sword beam from a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, but with such density, even Lin Chang'an, known for his profound magical power, could not sustain it for long.

This ancient treasure, the Four Symbols Dragon Scale Armor, with its golden phantom armor, remained unscathed under this dense attack; its spiritual light merely dimmed slightly.

However, with Lin Chang'an's continued output of magic power, it recovered in an instant.

It is obvious that as long as the magic power is sufficient, this ancient treasure can easily withstand all attacks such a dense and terrifying barrage of swords.

"call!"

Suddenly, the torrential sword light stopped. Lin Chang'an felt that he had lost more than 30% of his magical power and couldn't help but marvel.

With the blessing of the sword shadow at will, his talent in swordsmanship is genuine and he is a truly gifted swordsman.

In particular, his control over the sword shadows, which allows him to move at will, enables him to unleash such a terrifying rain of swords with a mere wave of his hand.

This move demands extremely high levels of control over the sword and mana consumption from the cultivator.

Its power is also immense. In less than ten breaths, an ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivator would find it extremely difficult to protect himself from its rain of swords without the protection of a supreme treasure.

"Master, this rain of swords is terrifying. I'm afraid even a late-stage third-tier demon beast wouldn't be able to withstand this wave of sword rain."

Amidst the startled exclamation of the phoenix bird beside him, Lin Chang'an chuckled in exasperation:
"Stop flattering me. I don't know how powerful it is. At most, it can break through the defensive shield and inflict heavy damage on the opponent, but it won't be enough to take them down in one go."

However, upon hearing this, the phoenix secretly scoffed, thinking, "Is this really bad?"
How many late-stage Tier 3 monsters can have their defenses broken and suffer severe damage in a single encounter?

Lin Chang'an knew perfectly well that this move consumed too much mana. If a cultivator had a good defensive magic weapon, at most he could destroy the opponent's magic weapon.

However, if this move is combined with the nine sword beams condensed by the Sword Shadow at Will technique, cultivators of the same level who are not familiar with his methods may actually be caught off guard and suffer a setback.

These two moves combined make this his strongest offensive tactic to date.

"Now, with the talent of being able to move his sword intent at will, he can truly live up to his title as a sword genius."

Lin Chang'an nodded secretly, thinking that this way he could also conceal his main cultivation technique.

After all, the Mysterious Heavenly Vine was too deeply involved, and he didn't want to be careless and suffer a calamity later.

"Owner."

Seemingly sensing that its master was in a good mood, the phoenix bird approached with a fawning expression, while Lin Chang'an glanced at the cunning bird.

"With your cultivation at the mid-stage of the third rank, if you continue to slack off, be careful that the Green Horned Bull doesn't catch up with you."

Upon hearing the teasing, the phoenix's eyes widened immediately.

"Master, how can I compare to you? Although my bloodline is not inferior, look at how many resources you have used for cultivation over the years. If I had all those resources, I would have already..."

Under its master's unfriendly gaze, the phoenix's clear voice abruptly stopped, but it immediately patted its chest and assured him:
"Master, you are handsome and talented. Who can compare with you? In the future, you will surely be a rare genius in the cultivation world, one in a thousand years and one in ten thousand years."

"Alright, stop flattering me. I'll find you some cultivation resources so you can break through to the late stage of the third rank as soon as possible."

Lin Chang'an raised his hand, and the ancient treasure, the Four Symbols Dragon Scale Armor, transformed into a stream of light and was directly donned inside his robe.

As the jade slip described, this magical artifact, though only initially repaired, has already reached the power of a top-tier third-order magical artifact.

In terms of defense, it can withstand a single blow from a Nascent Soul cultivator.

It's unimaginable what level of defensive power this ancient treasure could achieve if it were fully restored.

　Chapter 2 will be updated this afternoon. I'm also asking for more monthly votes!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)