However, achieving this fusion of Yin and Yang is no simple matter. The one from the Underworld had already explained it to Lu Xuan. This Nine Netherworld Chill originates from the deepest part of the Underworld, a place only the Great Emperor of Fengdu can barely touch. The power it contains is almost unimaginable. Ordinary cultivators would be annihilated simply by touching it.
Lu Xuan knew he probably wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. He was able to control the Solar True Fire because the Ape Strike Technique had a built-in auxiliary effect. But the Nine Nether Cold Qi was different. Lu Xuan didn't have the corresponding cultivation method for it.
Lu Xuan first analyzed the seal surrounding the ball of Netherworld Cold Qi. After fully understanding the essence of the seal, Lu Xuan began to attempt to release a wisp of Netherworld Cold Qi.
He needed to determine the true effects of this chilling aura before he could create the True Fire of the Sun to achieve an absolute balance between the two. This was no easy task; it required immense patience and complex calculations.
This single step took Lu Xuan over nine months. Once he had finally achieved a balance of Yin and Yang, he opened the Imaginary Space and released all its reserves. He even retrieved the spiritual fire that served as the coordinates. Then, within the Imaginary Space, he began his own Yin-Yang fusion.
In the imaginary space, everything is deathly silent. Even the dissipation of power is extremely slow. It is the perfect location to conduct such an experiment.
In absolute darkness, a crimson hue and a ghostly blue hue floated. Lu Xuan floated cross-legged in mid-air, concentrating all his mental power to manipulate the two extremely dangerous beams of energy.
The two forces cannot collide directly, otherwise an annihilation-like reaction would occur, resulting in both disappearing completely. However, they cannot completely separate. Lu Xuan tried many methods and finally discovered that the so-called fusion of Yin and Yang had appeared countless times in Taoist classics. That was the classic Taoist totem, the Yin-Yang double fish diagram.
Two fish, one black and one white, entwine and intertwine, yet never truly touch. A perfect balance is achieved between the real and the illusory.
He didn't know how much time had passed; even with coordinates, time seemed to have become somewhat blurred for Lu Xuan. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had gone by, but he felt his spiritual energy was somewhat depleted. This led him to conclude that at least three years had passed.
Because Lu Xuan had made ample preparations beforehand. He carried plenty of various restorative pills to ensure a long-term supply of spiritual energy for the experiment. After all, no one but himself could provide spiritual energy here.
According to his calculations, his own strength, along with various elixirs, should be enough to sustain him for about three years. Now, his spiritual energy is depleted, which proves that the timeframe should be about right.
Although his spiritual energy was nearly exhausted, Lu Xuan was not discouraged at all. At this moment, a three-dimensional yin-yang symbol was floating before his eyes.
Meanwhile, the three-dimensional Yin-Yang symbol was gradually fading, even disappearing. However, Lu Xuan was certain that this was a normal phenomenon. It meant that this simplest and most fundamental law was gradually integrating into this world.
Lu Xuan spent three years ensuring the Pisces diagram continued to function in this desolate world. About a year ago, Lu Xuan sensed a slight change in this world.
However, that change was extremely subtle, and only today has it truly manifested itself. The most fundamental principles of Yin and Yang have been integrated into this lifeless demiplane.
Although the entire space appeared unchanged, Lu Xuan knew that the fundamental laws had been born. It would evolve upon these laws, eventually developing into more advanced and complex laws. Then, it would continue to evolve until it became a completely new world. At that time, as the owner of this demiplane, Lu Xuan would even be able to personally set some of the world's laws, just like the fundamental laws he had set today. He would be the creator of that world.
Lu Xuan finally escaped the imaginary space. There wasn't much he could do now. The rest was up to time and chance. In the path of cultivation, chance was extremely important. The self-evolution of this world might take billions of years. But if Lu Xuan went to a world with a higher energy level, there would naturally be ways to accelerate that process.
After spending nearly half a year readjusting his condition, Lu Xuan resumed his lightning technique deductions. At the same time, he consciously began collecting various rare and precious materials. He increasingly felt that some immense opportunity, or perhaps a crisis, awaited him ahead. He needed to start preparing in advance.
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Chapter 398 Ouch...
Lu Xuan's sect was already quite famous. Many mortals even came seeking immortality and enlightenment. Unfortunately, most couldn't find the true sect. Even if they did, Lu Xuan wouldn't accept any more disciples. Although he himself didn't concern himself with karma, having too many disciples inevitably led to unforeseen events.
The fox, green snake, and female ghost in the house are all rapidly improving their cultivation levels. However, apart from Hongyu, none of them have been able to reach the threshold of the Golden Core stage.
"I feel that improving my cultivation level has become extremely difficult. It seems there is some kind of obstacle ahead. This should be the bottleneck you mentioned on the Golden Core Path."
After hearing this, Lu Xuan placed his hand on Hongyu's forehead and carefully probed her cultivation level.
"Indeed, you've reached that bottleneck. But if you want to break through, you might need some preparation."
As a sword cultivator, Hongyu's path differs from Lu Xuan's. Hers is one of brute force that overcomes all techniques. A sword cultivator's golden core is also different from that of an ordinary cultivator; it's an upgraded version of a sword pill. Hongyu needs to do more than just upgrade her internal spiritual energy; she also needs to purify her sword energy and spiritual energy. She has a natural sword physique, so purifying her sword energy is unnecessary. However, purifying her spiritual energy is a major challenge. It's a long and dangerous process.
Lu Xuan was able to refine his spiritual power, causing it to undergo a qualitative change, because he used the power of heavenly lightning. However, Lu Xuan dared not let Hongyu do the same.
He was able to withstand the heavenly lightning because his foundation was stronger than most cultivators. At the same time, the strength of his physical body far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators, even exceeding that of those who cultivated their bodies. Therefore, he was able to withstand the heavenly lightning without suffering permanent damage. Ordinary cultivators simply couldn't withstand that kind of punitive heavenly lightning.
"How can I break through to that point without the power of heavenly lightning?"
"Over the years, I've also had some new ideas. In today's mortal realm, it's almost impossible to see orthodox Golden Core cultivators like us. But in earlier times, there must have been many such cultivators. This indicates that there must be some method that allows one to successfully refine one's own spiritual power."
I've done some research on this. I've tried using my rune system to filter my own spiritual energy. However, this method is still experimental.
"It doesn't matter, since we're going to do the experiment anyway, I'll take the lead. I'm going to take this step no matter what."
"Alright, this method isn't dangerous. Let's give it a try."
Lu Xuan's understanding of spiritual energy differed from that of most cultivators. In his view, it was a special kind of energy with an extremely high affinity for the human body. However, spiritual energy before the formation of the core all originated from the天地间 (heaven and earth). Therefore, spiritual energy introduced into the physical body from the outside world was inevitably impure. This was because the天地间 (heaven and earth) contained more than just spiritual energy.
In the cultivation world, the Golden Core stage is a watershed moment. This is because, after reaching the Golden Core stage, the spiritual energy within a cultivator undergoes a qualitative change. This pure spiritual energy may seem similar to the previous one, but it is a prerequisite for more advanced techniques and supernatural abilities.
The higher the level of supernatural power, the greater the requirement for spiritual energy. Those top-tier ancient supernatural powers even required so-called innate spiritual energy to be used. This is also the reason why those magical arts were ultimately lost, because innate spiritual energy is almost nonexistent in the modern cultivation world.
In the cultivation world, it's not fair to say that modern times are inferior to ancient times. After all, modern cultivators possess far superior techniques, spells, supernatural abilities, and experience compared to those of ancient times. Humans do progress, and the cultivation world is naturally progressing as well.
However, there is an unavoidable problem: modern cultivators, in terms of combat power and destructive force, cannot compare to ancient cultivators. This is because the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is constantly declining. Although the Heavenly Court and the Underworld of this world stabilized this decline in spiritual energy.
However, the innate spiritual energy of the past has long since vanished from the mortal realm. Modern cultivators can only develop new spells and supernatural abilities based on the existing spiritual energy. No matter how ingenious and wondrous these abilities are, their power is limited by the quality of the spiritual energy, with their upper limit locked. Aside from Lu Xuan's True Solar Fire or special abilities like the Nine Netherworld Cold Qi, spells born under these constraints naturally cannot be more powerful than those from the era of unlimited freedom.
If we consider spells as bombs, modern spells are like using gunpowder as a raw material. Ancient spells, on the other hand, are at least on the level of TNT or even HDX. There's a fundamental difference in the raw materials used.
It is not easy to return spiritual energy from the acquired to the innate. Lu Xuan divided it into several steps.
The first step is to try to filter out impurities in the spiritual energy and perform a preliminary purification.
After that tribulation, Lu Xuan thoroughly studied the changes in the spiritual energy within his body. He was basically certain that the essence of those changes was that the impurities in his spiritual energy had been completely burned away by the heavenly lightning. However, the heavenly lightning was too domineering; while burning away the impurities in the spiritual energy, it also struck him down.
After a cultivator survives the heavenly tribulation, their cultivation level experiences a qualitative leap, largely due to the purification of their internal spiritual energy. This purification makes the circulation of spiritual energy within the cultivator's body more refined. This refined circulation instinctively absorbs spiritual energy of the same type as themselves. In this way, the cultivator can continuously obtain pure spiritual energy, thus advancing their cultivation to a higher level.
Since there is no heavenly lightning now, what Lu Xuan needs to do is simulate this process artificially.
Lu Xuan first created a filter, thanks to his already possessed pure spiritual energy. So it wasn't too difficult. The real challenge lay in the fact that it wasn't simply a matter of filtering a portion of the spiritual energy. After filtering, this portion of spiritual energy had to seamlessly return to Hong Yu's body, gradually replacing the original spiritual energy circulation. This seamless transition proved difficult for Lu Xuan.
"So, you've already managed to purify the spiritual energy within me. But you can't guarantee that the purified spiritual energy won't be contaminated again when it comes into contact with external spiritual energy?"