I'm determined to become an immortal!

"A ritual implement?"

No, it's a magic weapon!

The old tortoise was immediately alarmed by the spiritual pressure emanating from the jade ruler, but then realized something was amiss.

"If he is truly a Core Formation cultivator, I fear he could break the protective array with a single strike."

After all, although my formation was set up by Li Daoyun, it is ultimately only a mid-grade second-tier Starlight Water Wall Formation, which is far from enough to withstand a Core Formation cultivator's bombardment with magic weapons.

The old tortoise's mind raced, and its divine sense cautiously probed through the gaps in the great formation. After a careful sensing, its tense nerves relaxed.

"So he wasn't a Core Formation cultivator at all, just a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator wielding a nascent magic weapon."

Having ascertained the situation, the old tortoise quickly calmed down.

It knew that it must not lose its composure at this moment, and it must not allow the other side to easily test its strength and weaknesses.

"Since it's a battle between equals, and we also have the advantage of formations, there's no need to panic too much."

As the old tortoise murmured, it shook its body again, and the star pattern on its carapace slowly lit up, echoing the array bases around the water palace.

This Starlight Water Wall Formation was specially crafted for him by Li Daoyun at a considerable cost, and it is extremely compatible with his personality.

"The stars draw out their brilliance, and the water preserves their form."

The old tortoise focused its mind on the core of the formation, and the formation immediately underwent mysterious changes.

Layer upon layer of water waves converged in front of the Water Palace gate, forming layers of water walls, and within these water walls, beams of mysterious starlight were reflected.

follow closely,

Using the ability to manipulate starlight granted by his bloodline, the old turtle channeled all the starlight into the layers of water walls.

In an instant,

The seemingly fragile water wall became mysterious and profound, with each layer of water refracting starlight and creating overlapping illusions, protecting the gate of the water palace tightly.

This is the mystery of this formation.

Use softness to overcome hardness, use illusion to confuse reality.

"However, relying solely on defense is ultimately passive; we must plan ahead."

The old tortoise was shrewd and knew that the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator outside the Water Palace was up to no good, and the nascent jade ruler magic weapon in his hand was even more powerful.

The saying goes, "A prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat," and it was unwilling to confront this suddenly appearing unknown enemy head-on, so it immediately summoned the white snake.

Seeing the white snake trembling and looking terrified, the old tortoise said gently:

"Bai'er, don't panic."

The person outside was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was acting recklessly because of the rudimentary form of a magic weapon; he couldn't break the Water Mansion Formation in a short time.

You should leave the mansion through the secret waterway to the south, and then go to Wanchong Ridge, Tiandang Peak, and Poisonous Swamp to seek help from some powerful demons.

Just tell them the truth, and state frankly that if they can kill this cultivator, I, the old tortoise, will not take a single penny of his belongings.

The white snake was afraid, but when it heard the old turtle tell it to go out of the water from the other side to seek help, it nodded repeatedly and swam toward the secret waterway behind it.

Seeing him leave, the old tortoise glanced again in the direction of the Meditation Cave and thought to himself:

"If we can hold out for even a short while, and once Brother Sheng breaks through, I will join forces with him to fight the enemy. With a couple of powerful demons who can't resist their greed coming to our aid, that reckless cultivator outside will be badly injured, if not killed!"

The old tortoise, having devised its own plan, slowly blended the starlight on its shell with the ripples of the array. Its massive body lay still like a mountain as it began to concentrate on manipulating the array.

......

Inside the Meditation Cave,

He Sheng shuddered, his hair moved without wind, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He could clearly feel that his magical power had undergone a dual improvement in both quantity and quality!

Firstly, the original 3,600 drops of magic power in the spiritual sea surged to 4,800 drops;

Furthermore, he could feel his magical power becoming more refined and concentrated.

"I really didn't expect to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment so easily. Although the total amount of mana only increased by one-third, the mana refined by the Mindful Ripples is much purer than before."

If we're simply comparing energy expenditure, my current mana is probably about twice as strong as when I was at the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!

If one drop of magical power is converted into 1 point of basic magical power, He Sheng's magical power purity coefficient before his breakthrough was 1.0, so his total magical power value is 3600 points.

However, after his breakthrough, his base mana value reached 4800 points, and the mana purity coefficient after being refined by the Mindful Ripples of Intent reached 1.5.

The total mana value reached 7200 points, naturally twice as strong as before.

He Sheng was overjoyed, feeling that Wei Lan's artistic conception was truly powerful.

Not only did it allow him to master the Water Release technique,

The divine sense can be extended to more than ten miles.

After integrating it into the practice of the cultivation method, not only is the effect of breathing exercises and energy refining greatly enhanced,

Furthermore, it broke through the bottleneck that had trapped Piao Ge for three years.

It can also refine magic power, greatly increasing the purity of magic power.

"But upon closer reflection, it makes sense, considering it's the result of nearly ten years of genuine cultivation and comprehension of high-level spells."

If one were to practice magic for three hours each day, it would take forty years.

Practicing magic for two hours every day would require sixty years!

Not to mention, there was a long period of time during which the cultivator was stuck at a bottleneck, leaving them with nothing to gain.

You should know that after Piao Ge was stuck at a cultivation bottleneck for three years, his personality changed drastically, and he started acting recklessly.

How many people are willing to spend decades honing and comprehending magical arts for unknown gains?

What if we don't get anything?

Moreover, while Foundation Establishment cultivators may seem to have a lifespan of over two hundred years, if they truly aspire to Core Formation, they don't have that much time, as accumulating resources takes a considerable amount of time.

He Sheng organized Piao Ge's cultivation memories, combined them with the cultivation notes of predecessors he had read, and the insights gained from his exchanges with a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The cultivation of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators can be summarized into three main parts:

First, improve one's self-cultivation.

Most Foundation Establishment cultivators whose path to enlightenment is not yet cut off will spend nearly a third or even more of their cultivation time practicing breathing exercises to improve their magical power.

Secondly, they dealt with resources.

The rest of the time is spent honing one's immortal skills in order to gather resources;

Third, enhance combat capabilities.

Most cultivators would use the remaining time to improve their combat power.

The common choice is to refine magical artifacts, especially in the late Foundation Establishment stage, where refining the prototype of a magical artifact is the best way to significantly improve combat power.

Few Foundation Establishment cultivators dedicate a significant amount of time to practicing spells, especially high-level spells.

"The time efficiency of cultivating spells is indeed too poor, and its effect on combat power is far less immediate than refining a few top-grade magic weapons or creating a rudimentary magic treasure."

Not to mention those who lack comprehension; for them, practicing magic is simply cultivation, and it's difficult to achieve any enlightenment.

"What may seem like a thankless and arduous choice can yield tremendous benefits far beyond the ordinary, provided one invests enough time in cultivation and possesses a certain level of talent."

Perhaps this is a secret hidden within spiritual practice?

Thinking of this, He Sheng raised his hand and glanced at the information on the water clock.

【Clear Water Control Technique (Masterful): 110/1000】

(Total cultivation time: nine years, nine months, and twenty-eight days)

"I still need to continue cultivating this high-level spell. Perhaps I'll break through to the realm of divine mastery and reap new great rewards?"

Despite his thoughts, He Sheng looked again at the information displayed by the water clock itself.

[Current available total training time: Two months and nineteen days]

Obviously, there's no way to make any progress in such a short time.

"Right now, thanks to the protection of the Water Mansion, not only has my magical power been fully restored, but I've even broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage. Even if those pursuing me come knocking on my door, I'll have a better chance of dealing with them..."

He Sheng was making plans, but before he could finish speaking, a loud boom was heard, and the water palace began to shake violently.

"They've really come knocking on our door?!"

I have such a bad temper...

He Sheng was speechless. He immediately locked his senses onto the waterway leading to the underground river and considered whether he should make a quick escape.

But he soon discovered that the spiritual energy in the water palace suddenly fluctuated, and mysterious starlight appeared in the water.

Piao Ge was, after all, an expert in formations. He Sheng, who inherited his memories, quickly realized that the old tortoise was personally manipulating the Water Mansion's protective formation—the Starlight Water Wall Formation.

Under the old tortoise's control, the underwater palace quickly calmed down.

Despite the occasional strong fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from outside the Water Palace gates, the Water Palace remained as stable as a mountain.

"Did Brother Piao really misjudge things before?"

Could the person who has been relentlessly pursuing them truly not be a Core Formation cultivator?

He Sheng also noticed something strange, but instead of rushing to leave, he used the Minor Ripples of Intent to enhance his divine sense and extended it outside the Water Mansion to investigate.

Less than a mile away, the young man holding a jade ruler outside the door was vividly manifested in He Sheng's sea of ​​consciousness by divine sense.

"This is the person who killed Brother Piao instantly from a distance outside Wanchen Mountain!"

He was actually only a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his magical power fluctuations weren't much stronger than mine!

He Sheng was greatly shocked. If he had sensed something was wrong through various clues and guessed that the other party was not a Core Formation cultivator, he would have been shocked.

But now that it's confirmed that the other party is indeed only a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he feels even more uneasy.

Even if Piao Ge is useless, he is still the number one cultivator in the Silver Sand River. He has no shortage of combat experience. The difference between their cultivation levels is only one small realm. How could he be instantly killed by the opponent from dozens of feet away?

How could they mistake the other party for a Core Formation cultivator?

There's definitely something seriously wrong here!

He Sheng did not relax just because the other party was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. On the contrary, he became even more vigilant, because the unknown is the most dangerous.

Just then, through his divine sense, he discovered that the green snake, carrying a stone box on its head, was quietly swimming over.

At the same time, a hidden divine sense was probing outside the Jingsi Cave, and He Sheng immediately recognized that it was the old tortoise probing his situation.

Let's play it safe for now.

With a thought, He Sheng immediately closed his eyes, pretending to be still in meditation.

In reality, he was repeatedly recalling the scene in his mind where Piao Ge's heart meridian was shattered by the sword-wielding youth.

Once.

Ten times.

A hundred times.

...

It wasn't until He Sheng had a sudden flash of inspiration and, while immersed in the subtle mood of the scene, recalled this memory again, that he finally realized something was amiss!