Chapter 73: Golden Core (Seeking First Subscription)

The amount of solar essence that Yang absorbed far surpassed what ordinary beings could draw in, and the reason for this was naturally connected to the Grand Ancestor Luo. Ordinarily, Luo would siphon off ninety percent of the sun and moon essence that all living beings absorbed, mainly out of concern that mortals could not handle even a single wisp of such potent energy.

After all, Luo had personal experience in this matter; in his early days, he could only absorb one ten-thousandth of a single thread of solar essence. It was only as his cultivation gradually deepened that he was able to absorb more and more, until now, when he could finally take in a single wisp. He was nothing like those great demons, who boasted of absorbing thousands, even tens of thousands, of strands of sun and moon essence with ease. That was a level of extravagance Luo could never hope to rival—nor could any creature in the mortal world.

As for where the ninety percent of sun and moon essence extracted by Luo went… one only had to look up. The present sun in the sky, and the moon at night, were formed from this very essence. By harnessing the powers of creation and transformation, Luo had compressed and refined the sun and moon essence into these twin celestial orbs, so that they might shine down upon the world—a truly wondrous deed.

Beyond this, Luo also invested sun and moon essence into expanding the world within his cosmic gourd; it was only in an emergency, the last time, that he borrowed a single wisp of sun and moon essence someone else had managed to draw in.

At this moment, the wisp of solar essence struck Yang full in the face, leaving him utterly aghast. His mind raced: had the sudden surge in solar essence been caused by his recent activation of the five organ spirits, his mastery of the five divine powers, and the rapid growth of his cultivation? Yet the amount did not match his expectations; he was not nearly prepared for such abundance. But time waited for no one—the opportunity was here and now, and he could not let it slip away.

He had to seize it. If he failed, this solar essence would not aid him in forging his spiritual soul and dharma body, but would instead burn him to ashes.

With a thunderous roar, it was as if a flood had engulfed him, swallowing him whole. Then, it was as though he had plunged into molten lava, his body scalded and seared, the pain like having his heart cut out—yet still within the bounds of what Yang could bear. He remained seated, upright atop the dais; the meditation mat beneath him reduced to ash, the stone platform scorched and split, yet he sat as steady as a mountain.

The True Lord of the Five Viscera watched him closely, not daring to let Yang out of his sight, lest something go awry and he be too late to help. Of course, he could not guarantee he could save Yang at all, but to stand by and do nothing was unthinkable. So he held his breath, tense with worry, his gaze fixed on Yang.

After about a quarter of an hour, Yang’s robes had fallen to ash, and his ghostly immortal body—which had once been nearly indistinguishable from a human’s—grew fainter, becoming translucent. Yet he remained perfectly still, hands forming a strange mudra over his heart, lips moving in silent recitation.

Another forty-five minutes passed before Yang finally opened his eyes.

“Did you succeed?” the True Lord of the Five Viscera asked cautiously.

Yang was silent for a moment before spitting out a single golden pellet.

At the sight, the True Lord immediately understood that Yang had succeeded.

“What is this thing?” he asked.

“Yin and yang in harmony, the arcane within the arcane—this is the forging of the Golden Core,” Yang replied.

The True Lord gazed at the Golden Core, puzzled. “This core seems to shift between real and illusory, true and false. What is the meaning of this?”

Yang answered, “True gold is forged in fire; yin and yang give birth to each other, the five elements cycle endlessly—only by such means can it be attained.”

Hearing this, the True Lord clapped his hands and exclaimed in admiration, “Remarkable, truly remarkable! If you use this Golden Core as the fruit of your Dao and ascend to immortality, I would believe it without a doubt.”

Yang then swallowed the Golden Core back down, exhaled the vital energy of the five elements, then again exhaled the primal energies of yin and yang, which wrapped around his body.

Thunder rumbled!

Suddenly, fire and lightning crashed down, as if a mighty river had burst its banks. The True Lord was startled, but did not retreat. Instead, he cast his spells to help Yang weather the ordeal.

Yet his magic, when it struck the torrent of thunder and fire, was instantly dissolved, utterly useless. He then summoned his Heaven-Crushing, Earth-Splitting Vajra Hammer in an attempt to smash the lightning and fire outright.

But in a flash, the thunder and fire vanished, revealing Yang’s form. The hammer nearly struck Yang, but the True Lord hurriedly withdrew it, and it crashed into the stone dais instead, shattering half the mountain peak—over thirty feet of rock tumbled down the cliff.

At this moment, Yang’s face was pale, his body unclothed, sitting there slick and bare, visibly shaken.

“What happened?” the True Lord asked, confused.

Yang replied, “Just now I tried to draw down the heavenly might with the Golden Core, and so brought this calamity upon myself.”

“It seems my day of ascension must yet be postponed,” he added.

He needed to study how to survive the tribulation that came with summoning heavenly might after forming the Golden Core. Without drawing down heavenly might, how could one unite with the Dao and attain immortality?

Yang fell into deep thought.

The True Lord, hearing this, let out a long sigh of relief. “Good, good—this is for the best.”

Meanwhile, far away, Grand Ancestor Luo also set aside his crucible and sat down in contemplation.

How had a Golden Core been formed? Even Luo could not fathom it. However, he had carefully recorded Yang’s breakthrough just now, and the data and impressions flashed rapidly through his mind.

He himself then condensed a “Golden Core” on the spot.

This Golden Core was perfectly round, without a single edge visible either to the naked eye or at the microscopic level, seamlessly whole, containing within it the mysteries of yin and yang and the five elements.

Luo then attempted, as Yang had, to draw down heavenly might.

Sure enough, thunder and fire descended.

But Luo was unlike Yang, bewildered and helpless in the face of tribulation. For him, the thunder and fire posed little threat—in fact, he could easily restrain them.

The world inside this cosmic gourd was his; how could Luo be harmed by his own creation? If that were so, what a laughingstock he would be.

He exhaled a breath, and his qi swept the thunder and fire away, exposing the hidden principles within to his eyes.

He gathered these before him, examining them closely.

In Luo’s conception, the most crucial step in merging illusion and reality was precisely this union with the Dao—but that was a challenge that would only arise upon reaching this realm.

Before that, one had to first draw upon the forces of nature, making them one’s own. Only then, by further refinement, could one reach the unity with the Dao.

As for how that union was to be achieved, Luo had yet to fully unravel it.

Yet Yang’s attempt had pointed Luo toward the path ahead.

To draw down heavenly might—what was heavenly might? It was nothing other than the totality of nature: the mountains, rivers, plants, and all living beings.

But heavenly might could not simply be drawn down in a single, undifferentiated rush, or one risked being overwhelmed.

Thus, after analyzing the hidden principles and countless laws embedded in the thunder and fire, Luo reached a conclusion: one must begin by drawing down a single kind of heavenly might.

From there, one could gradually infer more, until one was thoroughly saturated with that aspect of heavenly might, and thus attain union with the Dao.

This was the result deduced by all nine of Luo’s incarnate minds working together, and it was the optimal path at present.

“Clever people always give me surprises,” Luo said with satisfaction.

No matter whether it was in this life or the last, Yang had given Luo plenty of inspiration.

Yet he, too, wished to ascend…

Luo glanced up at the “Immortal Realm,” still shrouded in primal chaos, without title or form.

“It’s truly a difficult puzzle.”

Chapter Three: Please subscribe to the first release. Two more chapters at six this afternoon, another two tonight—a total of seven chapters today.