This damn spiritual energy, won't it be a little less?
He gave a wry smile, truly unsure how to handle so much spiritual energy, or whether his dantian could contain it all. Other cultivators all desired as much spiritual energy as possible; perhaps only he harbored such a thought.
Although the flow of spiritual energy was slow, it was continuous and persistent, flowing into the dantian. This was refined and transformed spiritual energy, the purest form of spiritual energy.
Once inside the dantian, the vast majority of them immediately rush towards their natal golden talisman.
This precious child, whom he both loved and feared, was like a dried-up sponge, absorbing every last drop of the surging spiritual energy.
Of course, a small portion of it transformed into those viscous semi-solids, and to his surprise, these semi-solids seemed to begin solidifying at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Gradually, the feeling of swelling and about to burst weakened, and the spiritual energy within the meridians was gradually absorbed by the dantian.
Xiao Wenbing was overjoyed. He vowed in his heart that he would never do anything so suicidal again. Having superpowers is a good thing, but using them recklessly is not. Too much of a good thing is bad, and today's lesson was far too profound.
After the last drop of spiritual power was absorbed by his natal golden talisman, Xiao Wenbing jumped up, exclaiming how lucky he was.
However, his expression changed drastically in an instant.
Within his body, the dantian that contained his natal golden talisman and spiritual power was undergoing a tremendous transformation.
He let out a wail, "Why is it always like this? It comes without any warning."
Cultivating immortality—it's truly a highly difficult and dangerous profession.
Within his body, the natal golden talisman absorbed almost half of its own energy, and at this moment it became even more dazzling.
However, this was not the most important thing. What truly alarmed Xiao Wenbing was that the viscous spiritual energy within his dantian was undergoing a strange change.
They are constantly solidifying and devouring each other, and the spiritual energy that originally filled most of the dantian is now shrinking smaller and smaller.
His dantian was like a large furnace, forging and refining this spiritual energy.
Xiao Wenbing immediately realized that he was about to form his core.
He composed himself, daring not to be careless in the slightest. This was the most crucial moment for him to condense his inner core. If he succeeded in one fell swoop, he would naturally achieve the great success of his inner core; if he failed, he would be in serious trouble.
In mild cases, all previous efforts will be wasted and spiritual power will be lost; in severe cases, the body will explode and the person will die, with no chance of survival.
In truth, although his cultivation level was already extremely high, he was still some distance from condensing his core. If no unforeseen circumstances occurred, and he continued his daily cultivation and training consistently, he could achieve the goal of condensing his core smoothly within ten years at most.
However, today he went completely mad—no, he was overcome with heroic spirit, and absorbed a natal golden talisman containing countless spiritual energies into his dantian.
The spiritual energy there was stronger than all the spirit-gathering talismans he had drawn in the past year combined. The strength of the spiritual energy contained within it was absolutely beyond his expectations.
With his special abilities, Xiao Wenbing continuously provided Lesser Rejuvenation Pills. Every day, without Mingmei's knowledge, he would draw at least a hundred or so Spirit Gathering Talismans, totaling more than 30,000 in a year.
Although the spiritual power of each individual is extremely limited, when combined, it becomes a quantity that no one can take lightly.
Perhaps the old Taoist priest Xianyun didn't care about this little bit of energy, but his senior brothers, who had cultivated their inner cores and had decades of experience, didn't care either.
However, for Xiao Wenbing, a novice cultivator who had only studied the Spirit Gathering Talisman for a year, it was an unbearable burden.
By sheer luck, he survived, but his good fortune clearly came to an end, because his spiritual energy had been replenished beyond its limit and was nearing the critical point of Core Formation.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White Robes, Chapter Thirty-Eight: Condensing the Inner Core
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It's like a big bowl, into which clear water is being poured.
If you pour water in slowly and carefully, it will fill completely without overflowing. However, if you pour water in rapidly all at once, there is a risk of splashing.
If he improves steadily and step by step, then although his spiritual power is close to the critical point of forming the core, he will not form the core because he has not touched the critical point.
However, the fact that he absorbed such a large amount of spiritual energy at once was like rapidly pouring water; the splashing water caused the level of spiritual energy to fluctuate wildly, thus triggering a critical point.
Once the critical point is triggered, which marks the beginning of Core Formation, even the old Daoist Xianyun cannot change this.
Because of his recklessness, Xiao Wenbing was forced to hastily complete the elixir at this moment.
His mind was focused on his dantian, and he could no longer sense any changes outside his body.
The spiritual energy within the dantian gradually condensed, shrinking into a perfectly round dantian.
However, what terrified Xiao Wenbing was that the elixir seemed unstable, sometimes solidifying and sometimes dissipating, as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Just one breath left, just one last push away.
Although Xiao Wenbing understood the reasoning behind it, he was at a loss for what to do.
Gradually, the spiritual energy dissipated, and the shape of the pill began to disappear. Xiao Wenbing's heart turned ice-cold.
However, just when he was in despair, his natal golden talisman moved, like a ripple of water, and suddenly burst forth with dazzling and magnificent flowing light and fire.
Countless streams of pure and refined spiritual energy flowed endlessly toward the dissipating elixir as if it were free.
Having received this extremely powerful spiritual energy replenishment, the elixir condensed into a solid form as if it had been reborn from its cocoon.
As soon as Xiao Wenbing regained his senses, he immediately heard a soft footstep outside the quiet room.
A chill ran through him as he suddenly realized that he hadn't heard it. The person's footsteps were silent; there was no way he could have heard anything.
He sensed it; he felt it through his own intuition.
This sensation is only possible when his attention is extremely focused. If he hadn't just awakened from meditation and was at the peak of his concentration, he wouldn't have been able to sense it at all.
He felt clearly that he was no longer the same person he used to be.
Xiao Wenbing suddenly felt an urge to burst into laughter. The path of cultivation begins with the formation of the inner core; only by forming the inner core can one truly step into the gate of cultivation.
Only by condensing it into a pill can one utilize various magical transformations.
Those who practice alchemy are like children who have already been born; they can grow up healthily and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will eventually grow into adults.
Similarly, once the inner elixir is formed, his senses and bodily functions undergo a qualitative leap.
He stretched out his hand without using any spiritual power, but he had a strange feeling that the toughness of his hand was no less than the terrifying level he had experienced when facing boxing champion Sun Zhanhong in the warehouse.
Standing up, Xiao Wenbing took a deep breath. When he pushed open the door, it was the moment he announced to the world that he had officially embarked on the path of cultivation.
The gate slowly opened, and Xiao Wenbing, with a broad smile, called out loudly, "Third Senior Brother."
Mingmei, who was pacing anxiously back and forth, was overjoyed: "Junior Brother, you're finally out!" He was extremely anxious at the moment, wanting to go in but afraid of disturbing Xiao Wenbing. What if Xiao Wenbing was at a crucial moment in his training? Wouldn't it be too late to regret it then?
Both the old Taoist priest Xianyun and he himself had high expectations for this junior brother, so they absolutely dared not let him fail.
"Yes, thank you for your concern, Third Senior Brother." Xiao Wenbing nodded, and he admired him quite a bit. Even when he was anxious, Mingmei did not make any sound when he walked. If it weren't for his own successful inner alchemy, he would not have known that someone was waiting outside the door if he hadn't pushed it open.
Mingmei smiled with relief and said, "Junior brother, you've been in seclusion for three days and three nights now. Even Master asked about it once. It really worried me to death. Next time you need to go into seclusion, please remember to tell me."
He caught a glimpse of impatience on Xiao Wenbing's face out of the corner of his eye, shook his head helplessly, and sighed, "Fortunately, everything is safe and sound. How was the harvest, ah..."
Mingmei suddenly stopped talking, opened her eyes wide, and stared intently at Xiao Wenbing.
Then, he blinked, examined it carefully for a while, rubbed his eyes, and observed it in detail.
Then, he stretched out his right hand and lightly touched his face.
"Ah..." Mingmei looked up at the sky and sighed, "Fifty years have passed, and I never thought that my old problem would relapse. It's unbelievable. Could it be that one can sleepwalk after reaching the Core Formation stage?"
He turned around and walked away slowly, saying as he went, "It must be because I've been too worried lately, which has made me restless. Hmm, I'll go back to cultivate, I'll go back to cultivate."
Xiao Wenbing stared in disbelief at his private performance. What was wrong with this senior brother? Was he sleepwalking? Was it an old problem from fifty years ago?
Perhaps Mingmei's performance was too realistic, for Xiao Wenbing even began to doubt his own judgment for a moment.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pinched a piece of flesh on his arm, giving it a hard squeeze.
Xiao Wenbing's eyebrows twitched violently, even though the resilience of his skin and muscles had reached an unbelievable level.
But that's only relative. Even if his skin can withstand ordinary gunshots, his hand strength has also increased significantly, reaching an extremely high level.
If he hadn't been prepared, he would have almost made a fool of himself on the spot with that forceful pinch.
He glared angrily at Mingmei's receding figure; it was all that guy's doing.
Quickly catching up with Mingmei, Xiao Wenbing channeled all his spiritual energy, even causing the natal golden talisman in his dantian to soar high, emitting a dazzling golden light. He mustered all his strength and shouted loudly in Mingmei's ear:
"Third...Senior...Brother..."
The sound waves spread far and wide, like rolling waves, endlessly.
Inside the mountain gate, all things suddenly fell silent, without the slightest sound.
Then, a thunderous roar came from afar, the echo of Xiao Wenbing's angry shout.
Volume Two: The Fairy in White, Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Path to Immortality
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A sudden whooshing sound came from the air, and the four disciples under the old Taoist Xianyun arrived without missing a single one.
It makes sense, considering how important the mountain gate is, that someone would dare to shout and yell here, and the voice sounded quite familiar.
Under such circumstances, not only would the old Taoist priest Xianyun be unable to sit still, but even his disciples would at least have to show some respect.
Therefore, whatever the reason, the remaining five masters of the Secret Talisman Sect arrived in an instant.
However, Xiao Wenbing had no time to deal with them at this moment, because Mingmei suddenly saw stars in his eyes, his mouth opened and closed slightly, his body trembled, as if he were having an epileptic seizure, and he suddenly fell down.
Xiao Wenbing was shocked. After a year of hard work and cultivation, he could be considered quick-witted and agile. Before Mingmei could fall, he rushed forward and caught him.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that Senior Brother Mingmei's eyes had rolled back, and without needing to ask, he had been knocked unconscious by Mingmei's roar.
Xiao Wenbing never expected that his angry shout would have such power. He forced a smile, looked up at the old Taoist priest Xianyun, and felt a little guilty.
Although he treats me differently, it would be quite difficult to expect him to turn a blind eye to this situation.