Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Taking the booklet that contained the cultivation manual that she had used to breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm with, he gently flipped it open before starting to read through it while the older woman nervously observed him from the side.

Starting from the Qi Condensation Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm, everything was normal and it was clear from a glance that the quality of the cultivation manual itself was high and allowed the user to lay down a proper foundation that wouldn’t leave behind any hidden flaws like some lower quality cultivation manuals might do. Forcing the cultivator to waste time fixing said flaws if they had any plans of advancing further in the future.

But the second he got to the portion on the Core Formation Realm, the information within the cultivation manual became far less reliable, as it detailed the break down of the foundational pillars inside the dantian to form something called a living core. A kind of golden core that was both terrifying and amazing at the same time.

Terrifying because the requirements for establishing this living core inside the dantian was far above what any normal Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could endure, while being amazing because the sheer might of the living core far exceeded the Core Formation Realm in terms of strength according to what was written. Potentially even allowing someone at the Core Formation Realm to wield power comparable to someone in the Nascent Soul Realm.

Of course, with the terrifying requirements for creating the living core and the abysmal state of the ancient secret realm for cultivators following the traditional immortal path of cultivation, it was essentially impossible for someone to create a living core.

The only potential path to constructing one being through demonic cultivation methods that didn’t seem to be present within the ancient secret realm.

Outside of just this, it also became clear from the Core Formation Realm what the goal of the living core itself was to him, who had already sensed the presence of the Dao of Corruption within this cultivation manual.

In simple terms, the second one constructed a living core within the dantian, one would be lost, as the living core would drive the host to consume vast quantities of qi and blood to grow itself. Increasing the strength of the host in process, but at the same time draining their lifespan. Essentially cumulating in the living core bursting out through the dantian upon the death of the host or when it became strong enough and no longer needed the host. Giving birth to a being formed through the Dao of Corruption.

This information was of course not written within the cultivation manual itself but was instead something he grasped from the steps that came after one created a living core inside the dantian.

Although nothing about consumption of qi and blood nor the inevitable death of the host was mentioned, the effect that the living core would have was clear to him, as his understanding of the Dao of Corruption and what it did to someone who didn’t have a strong enough willpower nor had even begun to understand the Dao, was something that came along with his comprehension of the Dao of Corruption.

In a sense, even though his comprehension of the Dao of Corruption had reached the Large Success Realm, he still avoided using it, if possible, as he still didn’t fully understand the effects this Dao might have on him and the environment when used…

Fwoosh~

And having read through and understood the purpose of the cultivation manual, he decided to directly destroy it, something that the older woman didn’t even react to, as she had already understood that there was something wrong with the cultivation manual following her failed breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm and the later assistance and guidance on the Core Formation Realm that Xuan Hao had provided her with.

”Do you happen to know where this cultivation manual was found?” Seeing the ash left behind by the booklet scatter with the wind before vanishing from the world, Xuan Hao causally turned back to face the older woman before continuing his questions after having gone through the strange cultivation manual.

”Eeep!? Ah! Y-Yes!” Earning a somewhat surprised yelp followed by a small stutter from the person in question before she dutifully answered the question. ”I think my master mentioned finding it at the bottom of the holy lake.”

”Holy lake…?”

”Yes, the holy lake is the lake you see outside, the one that allows us to cultivate in this spiritually desolate world. Giving birth to holy crystals that we use for our cultivation.” Hearing Xuan Hao’s interest towards the crater lake- or rather holy lake, the older woman proudly dived into a nearby chest situated in the corner of the room before pulling out several holy crystals to show off.

”Spirit stones? And not just low-grade ones…” Stones which Xuan Hao instantly recognized as spirit stones, one of which was even a high grade one that would normally be impossible for someone at the Foundation Establishment Realm to get their hands on without significant backing.

Using spirit stones like that to cultivate, made it understandable how so many people were able to cultivate smoothly and even have several people reach the Foundation Establishment Realm and the one before him even reaching the Core Formation Realm.

But at the same time, it also caused his curiosity towards the crater lake or holy lake as the locals referred to it as, to increase. Part of him already speculated that the origin of these spirit stones was some treasury that had once been part of the Noble Li Clan leaking out these spirit stones every now and then for these people to pick up and use for cultivation.

In turn, he made his curiosity known and allowed the older woman to continue her explanation of the holy lake. Learning that her master wasn’t just a powerful Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator like she had originally believed him to be, but instead someone who had managed to reach the Core Formation Realm. Making the existence of a flawed core formation cultivation manual even more confusing, as someone in the Core Formation Realm should clearly understand that there was something wrong with the cultivation manual.

Unless… The flawed cultivation manual had been left behind intentionally…

But this thought didn’t last long, as he soon enough learnt that her master had only just broken through to the Core Formation Realm and hadn’t had the time to explain much about the cultivation realm before he had gone into the holy lake to explore deeper than anyone ever had before. Returning a few days later already on the brink of death clutching onto the flawed cultivation manual as he passed away with a simple warning of not entering the core of the holy lake even if they broke through to the Core Formation Realm in the future.

The adaption of the flawed cultivation manual could be considered to have been entirely unintentional, as the older woman and her senior brothers and sisters who had later failed to breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm and died in the process, had believed that the cultivation manual was a treasure that their master had brought back from the core of the holy lake at the cost of his life.

As for what their master had encountered and what had ended up killing him? None of the disciples had any clue and didn’t dare to recklessly investigate. Understanding that they wouldn’t fare much better than their master if they tried to enter the core of the holy lake.

After all, before their master ventured into the core of the holy lake, the place had been forbidden, as anyone who entered, never appeared again. Only their master had ever entered and returned alive with something, even if he died shortly after returning.

What was at the core was a complete mystery, let alone what had ended up killing their master. All the locals knew was the fact that holy stone- spirit stones, were ejected from the core and washed up on shore once every few weeks. Ensuring a stable supply that could be used for cultivation by the locals.

Of course, while the core of the holy lake was shrouded in mystery to the locals, Xuan Hao knew that it was the location of the ancient residence belonging to the Noble Li Clan.

The reason behind the death of the master at the Core Formation Realm who had entered what should have once been the residence of such a powerful cultivation clan was countless, though he leaned towards it being either a defensive formation that still retained some power or a being created through the Dao of Corruption sealed within the core of the holy lake by whatever formations might still remain active that prevented it from leaving while allowing others not corrupted by the Dao of Corruption to enter. Leaning more towards the latter, given the existence of the cultivation manual so clearly forcibly changed by the Dao of Corruption.