Chapter 129: Three Cold Cores

Using the Earth Evasion Technique, Wang Lin slowly spent a full ten days traveling from the Corpse Valley back to his Immortal Cave. After poking his head out near the cave entrance, he immediately and cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Only after confirming that it was safe and nothing was amiss did he leap out, dragging the Flood Dragon Corpse out and tossing it onto the ground.

The ground immediately trembled. This loud noise clearly startled Li Muwan. After Wang Lin summoned her with his Divine Sense, she opened the grand Formation and poked her head out. But immediately after, her eyes were drawn to the thousand-zhang long Flood Dragon, and she stared blankly for a while.

"Are its bones enough to set up the Formation?" Wang Lin asked Li Muwan after dragging the Flood Dragon inside the Formation.

Li Muwan nodded blankly, her mind in chaos. She had read descriptions of this Flood Dragon in ancient texts; it was a powerful Spirit Beast comparable to a Late Stage Nascent Soul, truly a treasure trove.

Inside its head was a Dragon Core, a natural Medicinal Pill that, with minimal Alchemy, could become an item that increased cultivation. Flood Dragon hide was the top choice for making defensive inner armor. The Dragon Bones, Dragon Sinews, and so on, were all rare treasures. The most precious item among them, however, was the Flood Dragon's bone marrow!

The Flood Dragon's marrow quality was determined by its lifespan; the longer it lived, the rarer the marrow became and the better its efficacy, until it fully transformed into a True Dragon, at which point its marrow would condense into a Dragon Pill.

The Dragon Pill was an object sought after by Cultivators in ancient times. Rumor had it that consuming it granted one a Dragon Body, which could also transform between forms, and thereafter one's cultivation would no longer be restricted by any Bottleneck or Realm limitations.

However, forming a single Dragon Pill required the Flood Dragon to exist for nine million nine hundred and ninety thousand years. This fact ensured that, up until now, there were no clear ancient records documenting anyone who had consumed a Dragon Pill, and even its efficacy was merely a rumor.

After handing the Flood Dragon over to Li Muwan, Wang Lin ignored it and turned to walk into the Immortal Cave. This trip was considered Perfection, except for the Cauldron. Regarding the Cauldron, Wang Lin learned from Sang Muya that all Artifacts in the Cultivation Devil Sea could be purchased at a place called the Artifact Refining Sect.

The Artifact Refining Sect has many branches and shops in various locations. The closest one is in Nandou City, over 400,000 li away. However, items like Cauldrons are usually quite expensive. Wang Lin pondered for a long time. Especially after hearing Sang Muya mention that the Sect Leader of the Dou Xie School had just spent almost half of his School's Spirit Stones to purchase an excellent Cauldron, he abandoned the idea of going to Nandou City to buy one.

Wang Lin temporarily dismissed the matter of the Cauldron. Now that the Nine Separations Corpse Bone Formation had the Dragon Bones, its sturdiness would definitely be greatly enhanced, finally granting him the power to protect himself. Wang Lin decided to enter secluded cultivation to attempt breaking through to the Core Formation stage.

In one of the Stone Chambers, Wang Lin sat down cross-legged. After sealing the door with a huge rock, he patted his Storage Pouch, and over thirty Flying Swords flew out. Wang Lin's eyes flashed. He pointed at the ground, and the Flying Swords immediately sliced down in unison. Before long, a burrow extending deep beneath the mountain was formed.

Wang Lin's gaze sharpened. He shot out a beam of spiritual light, which transformed into a white orb. The orb changed color and finally turned light blue. Wang Lin frowned slightly but immediately relaxed. Although this place was only Grade One Earth Yin, incomparable to the Corpse Valley, it was sufficient for Cultivating the Cold Cores of the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art.

He leaped up and jumped down into the burrow. Deep within the burrow, the quality of the extreme yin reached Grade Three Earth Yin, which was already the limit. Wang Lin dispersed the orb and closed his eyes to meditate.

Wang Lin had, after all, Cultivated the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art once before. Picking it up again this time, he felt a sense of familiarity, and threads of yin-cold Qi were absorbed into his body.

Time slowly passed. Three days later, Wang Lin opened his eyes, a thoughtful look in them. Then, he patted his forehead, and the Heaven Defying Bead appeared. Drops of yin-cold dew seeped out from the surface of the bead, which Wang Lin collected one by one.

Time flew by. Every day, besides meditating and Cultivating the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art, Wang Lin did not forget to collect the yin-cold spiritual liquid. Once enough spiritual liquid was gathered, he simply spent half of every day entering the Heaven Defying Space to consume the spiritual liquid and Cultivate.

As a result, his progress was rapid. In just one month, he condensed two Cold Cores again. He only needed one more before the three Cores could undergo Fusion, allowing him to charge toward Core Formation.

This final Cold Core would take slightly longer. After all, Wang Lin had only managed to condense two back then. However, his cultivation was now at Foundation Establishment Stage Great Perfection, so it was impossible for the third Cold Core of the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art to take several years of breathing exercises to succeed.

Wang Lin was confident he could complete this third Cold Core within three months. With this assurance, he remained calm and showed no signs of anxiety. Every day, besides Cultivating and collecting yin-cold spiritual liquid, he set aside some time to slowly Refine and Nurture the Devil Head.

Wang Lin had tried many times before but couldn't directly condense Divine Sense onto the Devil Head to control it. Therefore, he had to take an Unconventional Approach, using a feeding method to slowly condense it.

Speaking of this Devil Head, it was of great use to Wang Lin. He continuously extracted souls from the Soul Banner, imprinted a trace of Divine Sense onto them, and then fed them to the Devil Head. The souls inside the Soul Banner were all Cultivators from the Cultivation Devil Sea, and surprisingly, the majority of them were Disciples of the Dou Xie School. According to Sang Muya's confession, these were almost all victims who had competed with him for the School's favor over the years, whom he had harmed, extracted their souls, and then Sealed.

Time flowed by bit by bit. After most of the souls in the Soul Banner were devoured by the Devil Head, a trace of Wang Lin's Divine Sense finally condensed silently within the Devil Head's body.

Even the Devil Head itself did not know that Wang Lin's Divine Sense had appeared inside its body. It still harbored malicious intentions and secretly searched for an opportunity to escape.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Lin had been in secluded cultivation for three months. The third Cold Core in his body already had a rudimentary form. During these three months, he had gone out several times. The Stone Chamber where Li Muwan resided was piled high with Medicinal Herbs and Materials. She had even managed to find some soil from somewhere to plant some Spiritual Plants. Around the Spiritual Plants, Medium Grade and Low-Grade Spirit Stones were arranged by her according to a certain Formation to ensure that the Spiritual Qi for the Spiritual Plants' growth was abundant.

A small Pill Furnace was placed in the center of the Stone Chamber, surrounded by densely piled residues from failed Alchemy attempts. Li Muwan had begun refining since Wang Lin entered secluded cultivation.

Besides the residues on the ground, there were also scattered Jade Slips. Whenever Li Muwan was performing Alchemy and suddenly had an inspiration or noticed a deviation, she would immediately take out a Jade Slip to record or check something.

Of the four Stone Chambers inside the Immortal Cave, Wang Lin used one for secluded cultivation. Of the remaining three, besides the Pill Refining Room and the Planting Room, the last Stone Chamber was surprisingly converted by Li Muwan into a Bathing Room.

The Cultivation Devil Sea is foggy and humid, and the Immortal Cave was no exception. Clothes often became damp and clung to the body quickly. Li Muwan, being a girl, truly couldn't stand this, especially the sticky feeling on her body caused by the humidity. Thus, she exerted great effort and finally created this bathing room.

Wang Lin completely ignored this bathing room. He only needed to circulate his Spiritual Power, and the Cold Qi on his clothes would immediately be absorbed into his body and merge into the Cold Cores.

The Nine Separations Corpse Bone Formation outside the Immortal Cave, due to the addition of the Dragon Bones as the Formation Core, instantly increased greatly in power. According to Li Muwan, this Formation could no longer be called the Nine Separations Corpse Bone Formation; it should be called the Nine Separations Dragon Flood Formation.

Once this Formation was activated, it could trap a Core Formation Cultivator for several months, and even a Nascent Soul Cultivator could be obstructed for a few days. One thing Li Muwan regretted was that the Flood Dragon was already dead. If they had captured it alive and extracted its Dragon Soul to incorporate into the Formation, the Formation would not only be able to trap people but also possess offensive capabilities. Anyone below Nascent Soul entering the Formation would surely die, and even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would be left in a sorry state.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Soul was too difficult to obtain, so Li Muwan could only dream about it.

As for the Flood Dragon, Li Muwan kept the Dragon Core from its head as an Alchemy Material, waiting to refine it once she had a better Cauldron. She meticulously used a Flying Sword to slice off the Flood Dragon hide, which took nearly a month, and then folded it up for future use.

In addition, there was a Dragon Sinew. This sinew was the third miraculous item on the Flood Dragon, besides the bone marrow and the brain core (Dragon Core). If an Artifact Refiner refined it, it could change size at will and even split into countless branches.

Finally, there was a small bottle of bone marrow. This bone marrow was too precious; Li Muwan was afraid that the loss would be too great if the Alchemy failed. So, after handing all these items over to Wang Lin one by one, she reluctantly withdrew her gaze.

Wang Lin kept the bone marrow and the Dragon Sinew, leaving the rest of the items to Li Muwan for her to handle. Under Li Muwan's Skillful Hands, the Flood Dragon hide was made into two pieces of inner armor.

After Wang Lin put one on, he pondered for a moment, then tossed the other piece of inner armor, which was clearly only suitable for a woman, to Li Muwan. Li Muwan smiled without speaking, took it, and without thanking him, placed it directly into her Storage Pouch.

After making the two pieces of inner armor, a significant amount of Flood Dragon hide remained, which Wang Lin put into his Storage Pouch to be used later to exchange for Materials.

An entire Flood Dragon had thus been transformed into various treasures.

Another month passed. On this day, the third Cold Core in Wang Lin's body finally condensed. The three Cold Cores were located in his head, chest, and abdomen, and threads of yin-cold Spiritual Qi circulated between the three Cold Cores.

Wang Lin opened his eyes, a look of excitement in them. He took a deep breath, and without another word, closed his eyes again, preparing to merge the Cold Cores into One in a single surge of effort.

Situ Nan had previously explained in detail the process of the Three Cores Fusion when Cultivating the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art. This Three Cores Fusion is divided into Preliminary Fusion and Deep Fusion. If he could achieve Preliminary Fusion, he would truly have one foot in the Core Formation Stage. Once he quietly Cultivated until Deep Fusion reached the moment of unification, he would take the Heavenly Separation Pill to charge through, giving him an 80% certainty of successfully achieving Core Formation.

He had not asked Li Muwan to refine the Heavenly Separation Pill into a finished product, as this required a relatively good Cauldron. He only had one semi-finished Heavenly Separation Pill, and he had to maximize the probability of success for the finished product.

At the same time, he prepared a backup plan: using the Devil Blood Vine to create a Substandard Heavenly Separation Pill.

Previously, he thought the Cauldron at the Artifact Refining Sect in Nandou City was too expensive. Now that he had the Flood Dragon hide, he figured he should be able to trade for one. If he still couldn't trade for one, Wang Lin decided he would acquire one at all costs. Thinking this, he took a deep breath and began attempting the Three Cores Fusion.