I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Dongfuzhong.

After spending some time with the two women, Zhou Yuan's heart gradually calmed down.

He sat cross-legged in the quiet room, his thoughts flowing like water as he examined his current situation and future path.

Now, he is a guest elder of the Miaoyin Sect, and his portrait hangs in the sect, making his identity semi-public.

Liu Lian Dian already had a branch in Tianxing City's market area, so sooner or later someone would discover his whereabouts—in fact, it was almost inevitable, it was just a matter of time.

However, Zhou Yuan remained completely calm.

Tianxing City is the stronghold of the Star Palace, and all private duels are strictly prohibited within the city.

Let alone the mere merchant alliance of the Six-Linked Palace, even the truly colossal giants of the Chaotic Star Sea would never dare to openly attack a Core Formation cultivator in this city.

No matter who comes, as long as he doesn't leave Tianxing City, no one can touch him in the slightest.

As for the previous "ten-year agreement," he naturally had countless reasons to continue to renege on it.

Ten years passed, and as long as he didn't leave the city, what could the other side do to him?

Having figured this out, Zhou Yuan felt increasingly at ease.

What path should we take next?

He once planned to explore the outer seas to find higher-level monster materials and rare spiritual items.

But looking back now, that idea was too reckless.

The alien sea is fraught with danger and unpredictability, with level six and seven monsters lurking there, and many other unknown dangers.

With his current strength, he is certainly not afraid of ordinary Core Formation stage demonic beasts, but if he encounters a Nascent Soul level deep-sea monster or gets trapped in some ancient dangerous place, the consequences are unpredictable.

"Cultivation is the foundation for a peaceful and secure life."

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself, temporarily shelving his plan to explore the outer seas.

He turned his gaze toward the entrance to the quiet room, and could vaguely sense the presence of Yuan Yao and Yan Li through the barrier.

"You two must cultivate diligently and strive to form your core as soon as possible."

Zhou Yuan said gently to the two women, "A Core Formation cultivator has a lifespan of five hundred years, while a Foundation Establishment cultivator only has a lifespan of two hundred years. If one cannot form a Core, what will happen in the future..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but both women understood what he meant.

If one cannot form the elixir, one will grow old and lose one's beauty, exhaust one's lifespan, and return to the Yellow Springs. How then can one talk about staying together forever?

"Don't worry, Brother Zhou, we will definitely do our best!" Yanli nodded solemnly.

Although Yuan Yao did not speak, the light shining in her beautiful eyes spoke louder than a thousand words.

Zhou Yuan returned to his quiet room, and the stone door slowly closed.

He adjusted all six equipment slots to be in the best condition for cultivating the "Azure Origin Sword Art"—the Spirit Eye Spring, the Azure Origin Sword Art General Outline Golden Page, the Sword Dao Spell Jade Slip, the Azure Sky Technique Jade Slip, and that high-grade wood attribute spirit stone.

Six layers of enhancement are stacked upon each other.

This pushed his cultivation environment and comprehension of the techniques to their limits.

During this seclusion, Zhou Yuan abandoned all other affairs.

Alchemy? Pause.

The Way of Arrays, the Way of Weapons, the Way of Talismans? Set aside.

External social engagements? I decline them all.

He was like the most devout ascetic, immersing his entire mind in the operation of the cultivation technique.

Day after day, year after year, the only sounds in the quiet room were his long and rhythmic breathing and the soft hum of the Qingyuan magical power surging like a river within his dantian.

The only "refreshment" was to visit Yuan Yao and Yan Li every now and then for a short get-together, spending half a day together to ease the loneliness of his arduous cultivation.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten about Jinwudong either.

Every few months, Zhou Yuan would take a break and go to the forty-sixth floor to visit Fan Jingmei, who was cultivating alone.

This woman was indeed obedient and gentle, serving him with utmost care. She was also quite diligent in her cultivation, and over the past ten years, her cultivation level had steadily increased from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the late-Foundation Establishment stage.

Although Zhou Yuan did not have deep feelings for her, he was happy to occasionally enjoy her service and to be given some medicinal resources.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen years have passed like a fleeting moment.

In the quiet room, Zhou Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were even deeper than they had been fifteen years ago, their restrained light as calm as a still well, yet containing an indescribable, overwhelming pressure.

He had already mastered the eighth level of the Azure Origin Sword Technique to perfection.

His cultivation level had steadily reached the peak of the mid-stage Core Formation, and he was only one final bottleneck away from the ninth level and entering the late-stage Core Formation.

However, this bottleneck is far more robust than imagined.

After fifteen years of arduous training, he attempted to break through to the ninth level several times, but it was always like throwing an egg against a rock; the invisible barrier remained unmoved.

Zhou Yuan was not anxious. He knew that once one's cultivation reached the Core Formation stage, each breakthrough in a minor realm required immense opportunity and could not be achieved through mere hard work.

Many cultivators are trapped in the early or middle stages of Core Formation throughout their lives, unable to make any progress until their death.

It is already a stroke of luck that I was able to reach the peak of the mid-stage Core Formation in just over a hundred years with the talent of a pseudo-spiritual root.

The greatest gain over the years has not been the improvement in my cultivation.

It is the Great Evolution Formula.

After eighteen years of reflection and enlightenment during his seclusion, he finally broke through to the fourth level of this technique that aids in spiritual awareness three years ago!

On that day, Zhou Yuan felt his Niwan Palace between his eyebrows suddenly open, and countless threads of divine consciousness surged out like a tidal wave, extending, spreading, and exploring in all directions...

One hundred li... one hundred and ten li... one hundred and twenty li!

Ultimately, the range of his divine sense was fixed at a precise 120 miles!

This is the astonishing result of the combination of the fourth level of the Great Evolution Technique and the divine sense secret technique "Twelve Thorns of the Divine Court".

It should be noted that the range of divine sense of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is only ninety to one hundred miles.

Zhou Yuan, with his mid-stage Core Formation cultivation, already possesses a spiritual sense strength that steadily surpasses that of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

This is an achievement that would leave anyone in the know speechless.

"With this divine sense by my side, I am more capable of protecting myself in this chaotic star sea."

Zhou Yuan murmured to himself, his tone calm, yet containing an unprecedented confidence.

He decided to suspend his ascetic practices.

The bottleneck in the late stage of Core Formation cannot be overcome by simply sitting in meditation.

He needs an opportunity.

Looking back, Master Mulong was stuck in the mid-stage of Core Formation for many years. It was only with the help of high-level pills like the Azure Spirit Pill and Heavenly Origin Pill, which Zhou Yuan refined for him and used the inner cores of seventh-level demon beasts as the main ingredient, that he was able to accumulate medicinal power and finally break through the late-stage bottleneck by sheer luck.

This path also applies to Zhou Yuan.

The cost of raw materials alone for this level of pill would be tens of thousands of spirit stones. If someone were to refine it for you, you would have to pay a hefty fee, and the success rate could not be guaranteed.

But Zhou Yuan was different.

He himself was a master alchemist; as long as he had the materials, he could refine them with an astonishing success rate.

The problem lies only in obtaining the materials.

Zhou Yuan took stock of his personal wealth.

Spirit Stones: After fifteen years of consumption, of the original 700,000 spirit stones, only a little over 400,000 remain.

There are still dozens of bottles of the elixir in stock.

If all of them were sold, they could get back four or five hundred thousand spirit stones.

In total, his available assets amount to approximately 900,000 spirit stones.

This amount is enough to support him in purchasing two or three sets of materials of the level of Biling Pill or Tianyuan Pill.

"Let's go to the market first and see if we can gather enough ingredients for the Heavenly Origin Pill," Zhou Yuan decided.

He got up and walked out of the quiet room.

Just then—

Suddenly, a violent fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated from a side room on the right side of the cave!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of dozens of miles seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, and began to frantically converge towards the Boundless Cave!

Zhou Yuan scanned the area with his divine sense and instantly understood what had happened.

That was a precursor to the celestial phenomenon of Core Formation.

The person who caused this celestial phenomenon was Yuan Yao.

The door to the quiet room on the left opened almost simultaneously, and Yanli rushed out, her face filled with a complex expression of shock and joy: "Brother Zhou, Yao-mei...she's about to form her core?!"

"Um."

Zhou Yuan nodded, a relieved smile appearing on his lips.

The next moment, the sky above the Boundless Cave changed color abruptly!

The once clear sky darkened at a visible speed.

Thick, inky black clouds surged in from all directions, instantly obscuring the sunlight.

Within the clouds, silver snakes danced wildly, and blinding bolts of lightning silently streaked across the sky, carrying with them a chilling divine might.

At the same time, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of more than a hundred miles, as if drawn by a huge vortex, began to frantically converge towards the Boundless Cave!

The massive amount of spiritual energy formed a pale white vortex visible to the naked eye, slowly rotating above the cave, growing larger and more solid.

Ultimately, it transformed into a massive vortex nearly a hundred feet in diameter, with spiritual energy almost completely liquefied!

This astonishing celestial phenomenon instantly alarmed all the cultivators in the vicinity.

The forty-seventh, forty-sixth, forty-eighth... countless cave entrances opened, and cultivators emerged one after another, gazing in astonishment and uncertainty towards the Boundless Cave.

Some of the streaks of light that happened to be passing by also slowed down and hovered, stopping to observe.

"Core Formation! Someone has achieved Core Formation!"

"It's a celestial phenomenon! This is a sign that someone has successfully condensed their elixir!"

"That cave... Boundless Cave? Whose cave is that?"

"I heard he's a pill refiner surnamed Zhou, from the Six Linked Palaces..."

"Tsk tsk, what a blessed person!"

The cultivators whispered among themselves, their expressions varied. Some were filled with envy, others with complex emotions, and a few even revealed barely concealed jealousy. But regardless, everyone's gaze was focused on the cave dwelling, which was currently surging with spiritual energy and shrouded in celestial phenomena.

Meanwhile, the Core Formation stage cultivators who lived not far from the Boundless Cave, while not going so far as to gather at the cave entrance, all released their divine senses to sense the commotion.

The phenomenon of Core Formation is not uncommon in Tianxing City. In this largest city in the Chaotic Star Sea, a cultivator successfully forms their Core every one to two years.

After seeing it so many times, people get used to it, and just sigh, "Someone else has taken that step," and then stop paying much attention.

But for Yuan Yao herself, for Zhou Yuan, and for everyone in the cave at this moment, the significance of this moment is beyond words.