C18 Core Combining

With the support of High Level Essence Spirit Stones, Laojiu settled into his cultivation with ease, no longer unleashing those Fierce Creatures. The Twin Water Shadow Beast also refrained from attacking him, and they coexisted peacefully.

Time spent in tranquil cultivation always seemed to fly by, and before he knew it, a month had passed. Laojiu had perfected his Three-qi Gathering half a month earlier, and he spent the subsequent weeks solidifying his state and mastering related secret techniques.

The consumption of Essence Spirit Stones during this period was substantial, and even he felt a twinge of regret at their rapid depletion. Yet, to reach the pinnacle as dictated by the Celestial Dragon Guidance, he had a long journey ahead. At present, he was merely equivalent to someone who had perfected the Celestial Dragon Guidance. The number of Essence Spirit Stones required to elevate his condition to the extreme was still unknown.

"This truly is a costly endeavor!" Laojiu lamented. He considered quitting but couldn't bring himself to do it. Given his current rate of consumption, he wondered how far the High Level Essence Spirit Stones left by his master would take him. He had no clue, especially considering that with each advancement, his need for Origin Energy multiplied exponentially!

The resources his master had bequeathed were finite; once exhausted, they wouldn't simply fall from the sky or spring from the earth!

"Kid, the greatest pitfall for a Cultivator is indecision! You must persevere on the path you've chosen, no matter the hardship. If you run out of resources, find another way. You won't be staying on this planet forever; a vast universe awaits you," Patriarch Lieshan advised with a serene demeanor. As a cultivator who had achieved the Saint Becoming Level, he possessed not only exceptional talent but also unwavering willpower, relentless dedication, and a touch of unique fortune and luck.

"Alright! If I reserve a third of these Essence Spirit Stones, could I reach the Mortal Exuviating Stage?" Laojiu inquired, his confidence wavering. He had no intention of depleting all the High Level Essence Spirit Stones.

Laojiu's heart sank at the thought of only earning a few dozen Low Level Essence Spirit Stones each month in the future. His cultivation was proving to be a real drain on his resources!

"Reaching the Mortal Exuviating Stage will likely be a challenge. You've already spent close to a hundred pieces at the Three-qi Gathering Stage. To push it to its peak, you'd conservatively need another 150 to 200 pieces. Each subsequent realm requires exponentially more resources," Patriarch Lieshan had said, and his estimates were spot on. As a former Holy Level Expert, he possessed a profound understanding of each minor realm. Cultivating the Celestial Dragon Guidance promised power well beyond his peers, but the cost was also significantly higher than any other technique.

"Forget it, I'll take it one step at a time," Laojiu decided, shaking off his concerns and diving back into his practice. After a month and a half, he managed to elevate the Three-qi Gathering Stage to its utmost limit, using up another 163 High Level Essence Spirit Stones, just as Patriarch Lieshan had predicted.

His bouts with the Water Shadow Beast revealed a marked improvement. The beast's Primordial Spirit Attack still troubled him, but he could now withstand it. His own Primordial Spirit Tree had grown over three feet tall and sprouted a second branch.

Laojiu could now occasionally strike back after withstanding the Water Shadow Beast's onslaught. His Stacking Wave Staff Technique, though still at the third wave, had tripled in attack power.

The Water Shadow Beast, tough as it was, began to falter after a few more hits and started to retreat. Eventually, it kept its distance from Laojiu, wary of this formidable foe it couldn't kill or intimidate.

Patriarch Lieshan watched Laojiu's progress with great satisfaction. The once tender sapling was now showing its resilience against the storm.

"Senior Brother, I'm ready to tackle Middle Rank Three," Laojiu announced, setting his sights on the next level of his journey.

After all the preparations were in place, Laojiu was finally poised to make his ascent to a higher realm.

The Three-qi Gathering Stage primarily involves cultivating the three dantians to ensure they are brimming with Origin Energy, which in turn nourishes every part of the body. Laojiu had already achieved this during the Qi Fostering Rank. The subsequent Marrow Entering stage fortified the bones with Origin Energy. Laojiu had pushed this to the extreme, making his physical form incredibly powerful, with astonishing explosive strength.

The pinnacle of the Three-qi Gathering Stage, however, hinges on the mastery of Origin Energy. It demands not only maximizing the Origin Energy within the three dantians but also storing it within the meridians and bone marrow. For the average Cultivator, this is an insurmountable task.

But Laojiu succeeded!

The Middle Rank Three God Cultivating Stage is essentially groundwork for nurturing one's Primordial Spirit. The first step is to unify the Origin Energy from the three dantians into a single, cohesive Origin Energy Pill.

Those with lesser talent might never achieve this, doomed to remain at the Three-qi Gathering Stage for life.

Others, through perseverance or external assistance, might manage to merge the three into one. But if the fusion isn't optimal, it poses significant challenges for the emergence of the Primordial Spirit. Many Cultivators reach the Transcendence Stage with their Origin Energy, yet fail to cultivate their Primordial Spirit.

Such individuals are fated to remain at their current level indefinitely.

To have a chance at reaching the Saint Becoming Stage, the Three-dantian Becoming One must be flawless!

The Celestial Dragon Guidance demands nothing less than perfection; it requires the fusion of all Origin Energy within the body into a singular, impeccable super Origin Energy Pill!

For Laojiu, the significance of achieving this realm goes without saying. Despite the continuous guidance from Patriarch Lieshan, he proceeded with utmost caution.

His body's Origin Energy was immensely potent, making the Three-dantian Becoming One exponentially more challenging.

"Go for it! Trust in yourself!"

Patriarch Lieshan cheered Laojiu on, bolstering his confidence. At this juncture, there was little he could do to assist; Laojiu had to depend solely on his own abilities.

Laojiu inhaled deeply, meticulously positioning himself in the proper cultivation stance. His Primordial Spirit delved into his body, directing the Origin Energy from the Upper and Middle Dantian towards the Lower Dantian.

Guided by his Primordial Spirit, the Origin Energy from the Upper and Middle Dantian began its gradual descent. Yet, each time the three cycles of Origin Energy nearly converged, they were met with a formidable force of repulsion.

It was akin to three immensely powerful and fiercely independent strangers meeting, with one proposing to the others, "Join me!"

But the harsh truth was that the Origin Energy cycles of the three Dantians refused to yield to one another. Despite Laojiu's persistent guidance, they remained separate. To complicate matters, the vast Origin Energy within the meridians and marrow outside the three Dantians posed additional obstacles to Core Combining, significantly increasing the difficulty.

"Three-dantian Becoming One, why is it so challenging? I've tried innumerable times without success!"

Time and again, Laojiu had channeled the Origin Energy from the Upper and Middle Dantian downwards, but each Dantian persisted in its own cycle. They not only refrained from interacting but also caused the Lower Dantian to swell painfully, as if pierced by needles. His skin reddened, and his veins bulged, threatening a Dantian rupture if this continued.

"It appears I haven't fully grasped the principles of this Rank Three cultivation technique. I need to study it more closely." Laojiu revisited the inherited teachings, scrutinizing every word and phrase with utmost care.

"Three Dantians—Heaven, Earth, and Man—each with Origin Energy following its own course, refusing to merge unless it undergoes Shape Transforming. Only when in harmony and resonance, sharing the same state, can there be coexistence and Core Combining."

Laojiu pondered deeply. He had gone over this countless times with Patriarch Lieshan. By his senior brother's instruction, uniting the Three Dantians should not be so arduous. Yet Laojiu's unique circumstances proved challenging, and even Patriarch Lieshan struggled to provide a viable solution.

Laojiu had been seated for a solid three days. Throughout this time, he had made numerous attempts at Core Combining, yet each had ended in failure due to the overwhelming repulsion between the vast amounts of Origin Energy within his body.

"Is this really the correct approach?" he pondered.

Undeterred, Laojiu embarked on yet another trial. He began by channeling the Origin Energy from his bone marrow and meridians into his Low Dantian. Although this energy was substantial, it was relatively scattered and thus easier to integrate compared to that of the Middle Dantian. After several tries, he achieved success!

Now, the Low Dantian had grown significantly stronger than the Middle Dantian, and as he continued the process, the resistance from the Middle Dantian surprisingly diminished.

Success at last!

It took considerable time, but Laojiu had finally completed the initial step of bringing the three cores into alignment. The challenge of merging them, however, would require further effort.

Was Shape Transforming necessary for a true merge? Did it imply altering the initial state of the Origin Energy in each of the three Dantians? How could he possibly merge them if they operated independently? Perhaps this was the solution.

Laojiu ignored the independent rotations of the three Dantians. Instead, he directed them to rotate in unison, gradually increasing their velocity.

Before long, the Origin Energy from the three Dantians began to intertwine.

At that moment, Laojiu's lower abdomen felt as if it were endlessly expanding, akin to a balloon being stretched to its limits by the Origin Energy. The agony was almost unbearable.

Yet, the prospect of successfully completing Core Combining spurred him on. Laojiu refused to surrender to the pain, resolving to endure it with clenched teeth.

He accelerated the rotation, the cycle gaining momentum with each passing moment.

The three Dantians released more and more Origin Energy, which eventually collapsed and coalesced into a colossal Origin Energy Pill, several times larger than its predecessors.

This new Origin Energy Pill, however, appeared to be a loose amalgamation of different flowing colors. It seemed that while he had managed to blend the energies, they were not yet fully fused, and the risk of them falling apart lingered ominously.

If Laojiu were to collapse at this juncture, not only would all his efforts be in vain, but his very life would be at stake.

How exactly should he synchronize the frequencies? Simply speeding up seemed futile; it made no difference.

Laojiu gritted his teeth against the pain, striving to maintain the rotation of the Essence Core while relentlessly racking his brain for solutions.

After much deliberation, a sudden insight struck him: When the three Origin Energy Pills had initially merged, he hadn't considered the individual circulation within his own dantian. Now, despite the fusion of the three pills, he was still focused on the larger cycle and had neglected the smaller, intrinsic circulation. It was akin to the Yanhuang Star orbiting the sun while also rotating on its axis. Without its own rotation, one side of the Yanhuang Star would perpetually bask in daylight, while the other would remain shrouded in eternal night.

The Origin Energy Pill must operate similarly; otherwise, how could it achieve resonance?

With this realization, Laojiu promptly initiated the self-rotation of the supercharged Origin Energy Pill. As it began to spin, he knew he had found the correct method. The vast and unwieldy Origin Energy Pill rapidly shrank, becoming dense and compact.

Eventually, the sensation of expansion in the Low Dantian vanished entirely.

The Origin Energy Pill had solidified, marking the successful completion of the Three-dantian Becoming One!

"No, this Origin Energy Pill is still too large. It hasn't reached its ultimate potential!"

Laojiu was not content with this achievement. To truly maximize its potential, the Origin Energy Pill had to crystallize.