darknovel Chapter 58 Fake Elixir
Chapter 58 Fake Elixir
Several days later, inside a private cave dwelling on a mountain peak on Kui Xing Island.
Mu Chunfeng sat cross-legged on the futon, intently practicing her exercises.
Pure spiritual energy from heaven and earth gathered and swirled around him like rivers flowing into the sea, his body radiating a warm, luminous white light. His cultivation aura, at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, was steadily rising, infinitely approaching that final shackle.
As the last cycle of energy circulation was completed, the spiritual energy surrounding the body was slowly drawn into the dantian.
Just as the flow of spiritual energy began to slow down, a man dressed in white and wearing a silver mask silently emerged from the shadows in the corner of the cave.
He exuded a clear aura of early-stage Core Formation, and his movements were so precise that there was not a single unnecessary movement.
The man raised his hand and took out a lustrous and translucent Spirit-Boosting Pill from the jade bottle, then bent down and gently fed it to Mu Chunfeng.
The pill melted instantly upon entering the stomach, transforming into a powerful, warm torrent of spiritual energy that surged through the body's meridians.
Mu Chunfeng's aura suddenly surged, and his power rose rapidly, finally reaching the critical point.
A deep hum of spiritual energy rang out from within the cave, and the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly surged back, pouring into Mu Chunfeng's body like a whale sucking in its lungs.
He finally broke through the shackles and stepped into the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, which is commonly known among cultivators as the Pseudo-Core Realm.
Mu Chunfeng slowly finished her cultivation, dispelling the spiritual energy emanating from her body, and slowly opened her eyes. A sharp blue light flashed in her eyes, which was instantly replaced by the deep purple light unique to her double pupils.
He didn't get up immediately but remained seated, gently stroking his chin with his fingertips, pondering to himself: "The first stage of the Three Revolutions Rejuvenation Technique is already complete. Now, having returned to the Pseudo-Core Realm, my foundation is far more solid than before. With my current resources, if I have all the necessary pills and spiritual materials, I should have a 70% chance of condensing a Golden Core. The most urgent thing right now is to prepare Snow Spirit Water, Heavenly Fire Liquid, and the Dust-Reducing Pill, which can stabilize the core foundation and significantly increase the success rate of Core Formation."
Thinking of this, Mu Chunfeng immediately stood up, smoothed the wrinkles in her robes, turned to look at the white-robed man standing motionless beside her, and subconsciously said, "Snow Demon, you stay here and guard the cave. If any outsiders come to visit, tell them that I am in seclusion and will not see them."
The man in white showed no reaction, remaining standing straight in place, his silver mask revealing no emotion.
Mu Chunfeng chuckled and patted his forehead: "Haha, I'm used to it. I can communicate with my divine sense, but I can't help but speak."
The Snow Demon is not a living person, but an external avatar created by Mu Chunfeng from Xuan Le's corpse.
During the battle in the mine where the ancient teleportation array of Yue Kingdom was located, Mu Chunfeng preserved Xuan Le's remains intact.
Later, he obtained the method for creating an external avatar from the Yue Emperor.
However, when he was in Tiannan, he was too busy to refine it; after arriving at Kuixing Island, he finally had more time.
During the period when he was recovering from the loss of his cultivation, Mu Chunfeng took some time to refine Xuan Le into an external avatar, which he named "Snow Demon".
However, because the corpse had been preserved for too long, after the refining was completed, the Snow Demon's cultivation level almost dropped to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
For this reason, Mu Chunfeng specially purchased a set of pills needed for his cultivation to help him return to the Pseudo-Core Realm.
Later, after realizing that the Snow Demon possessed the conditions for forming a Golden Core, he prepared all the necessary spiritual materials for it and took the Snow Demon to a deserted island far away from Kui Xing Island. With the full assistance of his powerful divine sense, the Snow Demon successfully condensed a Golden Core thanks to its unique spiritual root aptitude.
However, after reaching the Core Formation stage, the Snow Demon's cultivation speed began to slow down considerably.
Mu Chunfeng himself was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, so it was impossible for him to spend a huge amount of money to buy cultivation resources for the Core Formation stage.
Even if Xue Mo didn't use the Demon Core Technique, theoretically there shouldn't be a bottleneck preventing him from breaking through to the mid-stage of Core Formation. However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will probably remain permanently stuck at the early-stage of Core Formation for the rest of his life.
Unless Mu Chunfeng has extremely abundant resources in the future and truly needs stronger combat power, it is possible to consider continuing to cultivate him.
Moreover, with Mu Chunfeng's current cultivation level, he is unable to refine a natal magic weapon for the Snow Demon.
A Core Formation cultivator without a magic weapon is ultimately inferior to a normal Core Formation cultivator.
Mu Chunfeng looked at the Snow Demon's lifeless eyes, shook his head gently, then put on his sunglasses and slowly stepped out of the cave.
He raised his hand and summoned a longsword made of green steel. He stepped onto the sword, and with a flash of spiritual light, it transformed into a streak of green light, rushing towards the White Water Tower, the Six-Hall Palace, in the inner city of Kui Xing Island.
In less than half an incense stick's time, Mu Chunfeng arrived at the entrance of Baishui Tower.
As soon as he stepped into the pavilion, a maid in a green dress quickly came to greet him. Seeing that the person was wearing sunglasses, she immediately recognized him as Mu Chunfeng. Her face immediately put on a respectful smile: "So it's Senior Mu. Please come in, please come in. This servant will go and call our manager right away."
The maid led Mu Chunfeng to a private room on the second floor, poured him a steaming cup of spiritual tea, and bowed, saying, "Senior Mu, please wait a moment. This servant will go and fetch the manager immediately."
Mu Chunfeng nodded and smiled at her, picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and waited silently.
Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes and with three long strands of beard pushed open the door and walked in. Before he even arrived, his hearty laughter rang out: "Oh dear, Fellow Daoist Mu, what brings you to my humble shop today? Hahaha, have you taken a fancy to something again?"
As he spoke, he quickly walked to Mu Chunfeng's side and sat down familiarly.
Mu Chunfeng didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Manager Cao, I've come today to ask if you still have Snow Spirit Water, Heavenly Fire Liquid, and Dust-Clearing Pills?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Lu paused slightly, holding his teacup. He looked up at Mu Chunfeng, his gaze filled with inquiry and surprise: "Fellow Daoist Mu, are you... preparing to break through to the Core Formation stage again?"
"where."
Mu Chunfeng smiled faintly and waved his hand, saying, "It's just that I recently felt that my cultivation had made some progress, and I plan to try it again later. I'm preparing this in advance so that I won't be unable to find a source when I need it."
Since he had previously purchased spiritual items for the Snow Demon to form his core, he had lied at the time, claiming that he was going to form his core. Now that he was buying spiritual items for forming his core again, he could only continue to lie when questioned.
Cao Lu's eyes darted around, and he immediately cupped his hands and smiled, "Then I must congratulate Fellow Daoist Mu in advance! Judging from your current cultivation level, with your divine light hidden, you will surely succeed in one fell swoop this time. It seems that the day when you form your core is not far away."
He paused, then continued, "I still have Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid in stock, but the last Dust-Clearing Pill was bought by a fellow Daoist a few days ago. If you want it now, I'll have to report to headquarters to request it, which will take at least a month."
"Then let's start with a serving of Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid."
Mu Chunfeng nodded and said, "I'll pay the spirit stones directly."
Cao Lu picked up the teapot, first refilling Mu Chunfeng's teacup with hot tea, then smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Mu, given our long-standing friendship, I naturally want to offer my congratulations in advance that you are about to achieve Core Formation. I'll give these two items directly to you as a token of my goodwill."
Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng couldn't help but secretly scoff. They'd only met three times, yet he could talk about "so many years of friendship"?
He immediately waved his hand in refusal: "There's no need for that. These two spiritual items are worth at least several thousand spirit stones. I, Mu, will not take such a big advantage from Manager Cao for nothing. Let's stick to the rules and trade with spirit stones."
Seeing that Mu Chunfeng was determined, Cao Lu's smile faded, and he sighed and said, "Alright, I won't hide it from you anymore. Actually, I happen to have something I'd like to ask you for a favor with recently."
Mu Chunfeng sneered inwardly: This old fox has finally shown his tail.
His face remained expressionless as he calmly asked, "Oh? What is it? Manager Cao, please speak freely."
Cao Lu immediately leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, saying, "I previously obtained a fragment of a map from a rogue cultivator. It marked an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling on an extremely remote, deserted island in the outer sea. I sent several of my men to investigate earlier, but the cave dwelling was surrounded by an ancient array formation that they couldn't break through. I've heard that Fellow Daoist Mu is a master of both weapon crafting and array formations, so I would like to invite you to join my team for another trip."
He paused, then quickly added, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, as long as you are willing to participate in this trip, not only will you receive a share of the treasures in the cave according to the rules, but after you return, I will also give you the Snow Spirit Water, Heavenly Fire Liquid, and that Dust-Clearing Pill, without taking a single penny."
Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng tapped the table lightly with her fingertips and said, "I have a few questions I'd like to ask Manager Cao."
"Fellow Daoist, please speak freely!"
"Since it's an ancient cultivator's cave in the open sea, why didn't Manager Cao invite a Core Formation stage array master to accompany us?"
Mu Chunfeng looked up at him, her tone calm: "Although I have some basic knowledge of formations, I am far inferior to a Core Formation stage formation master. Moreover, since this is a restriction left by an ancient cultivator, it is unlikely to be easy to break. Does Manager Cao really believe that I can do it?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Lu sighed with a wry smile and said, "Alas, this matter is ultimately my private affair, so I only want to use my trusted subordinates, all of whom are at the Foundation Establishment stage. If I were to invite a Core Formation stage expert to accompany me, and he were to become greedy and kill me to silence me, my men, with their limited cultivation, would have absolutely no chance of resistance. Moreover, most Core Formation stage array masters are under the Star Palace's command, with only two Core Formation array masters under Master Shi of Red Moon Island. I can neither invite nor dare to invite these people."