Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 479: Chapter 286 Half a Step

Li Yuanba did not immediately refine Yun Xingyi’s Lifebound Flying Sword. His Golden Core was only recently formed, and if he forced the refinement of his Lifebound magical treasure, the fragile Golden Core would not be able to withstand it.

Fortunately, he also brought a bottle of Third-grade Spirit Pills with him. This bottle of Third-grade Spirit Pills was given by his original self, Li Shiming, so that after forming his Golden Core, he could continue to cultivate using these pills without delaying precious cultivation time.

Third-grade Spirit Pills: Li Shiming couldn’t guarantee that all would be top-level Spirit Pills, but this bottle contained the Third Grade Advanced Spirit Pill “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill.”

The “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill” is a common Cultivation Assistance Spirit Pill used by the Shushan Sect to aid those at the Golden Core Early Stage.

Regarded by a major sect like Shushan as a Golden Core Stage Cultivation Assistance Spirit Pill, the “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill” naturally has its own characteristics.

On one hand, the ingredients for the “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,” controlled by the Shushan Sect, were sustainably mined.

On the other hand, the “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill” had a very strong universality, considered to be a rather mild aid for early Golden Core cultivation.

The bottle of Third Grade Advanced “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pills” in his hand contained fifty pills, enough for him to consume for some time.

In the following days, he took the advanced “Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pills” daily to practice the Golden Core chapter of the “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,” strengthening the Golden Core within his body.

Additionally, he continued to practice the “Sword Demon Secret Manual,” but at this point, the “Sword Demon Secret Manual” no longer functioned for Body Refinement.

The only use of the “Sword Demon Secret Manual” during the Golden Core Stage was to refine the Third Grade Sword Base using the secret techniques within, enhancing its quality to become a true magical treasure.

Of course, since the “Sword Demon Secret Manual” was originally a close-quarter sword cultivator’s Cultivation Method, even if the Third Grade Sword Base was transformed into a magical treasure, it would still be a close-combat Longsword magical treasure, completely different from a flying sword.

While Li Yuanba was diligently cultivating, there were other matters that could only be addressed after his Golden Core reached a certain reserve of spiritual power.

His advancement to the Golden Core Stage had a significant impact on his original self.

Within the Shushan Sect, Li Shiming suddenly ceased all his affairs and announced he would enter closed-door cultivation for a period of time.

His sudden retreat caused no small stir.

Although his orders were no longer as back-to-back as before, requiring him to make a batch of Third-grade Spirit Pills daily, the stream of Golden Core cultivators visiting him did not stop, as these visits were all prearranged.

He only had a very short time in the mornings to receive guests, at most one or two clients during this period. This was meager compared to the vast number of cultivators wanting to establish connections with him, pushing appointments months into the future.

However, even though Li Shiming’s decision was sudden, it did not cause any complaints. The cultivators with appointments actively contacted the sect on their own to defer their schedules.

His masters, Elder Su and Elder Ma, paid close attention to this matter. However, since he had sealed off Sword Holding Peak and was inside his cave dwelling, it was not appropriate to disturb him.

Li Shiming’s cultivation realm had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage, and he was troubled by the insights needed for Core Formation. His experience in cultivation was too short, meaning his accumulation of knowledge and power fell far short of other cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

In a normal situation, no matter how talented he was, it would take years of growth and experience to advance further.

As for the breakthrough of his clone, Li Yuanba, it was mostly due to a combination of coincidences: the compatibility of the Taiji Dao Body and Elder Yue’s assistance, plus his own good fortune, culminated in the remarkable feat of breaking through just as his power reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Such breakthroughs without experiencing any bottleneck are exceedingly rare in the whole Cultivation World, scarcely occurring among tens of thousands of cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, those cultivators who achieved this had decades of accumulation during their Foundation Establishment period.

Since Li Yuanba is Li Shiming’s clone, the insights into the Golden Core Stage that Li Yuanba gained after forming his Golden Core were completely transferred to Li Shiming.

This allowed Li Shiming to gain his own insights into forming a Golden Core, which was the main reason for his sudden retreat.

Of course, that’s not to say that the insights into Core Formation of another could be universally applied. Each cultivator’s enlightenment is different.

The opportunity for Core Formation stems from each individual’s unique perception of the world. Even if two cultivators practice the same Cultivation Method and live in an identical environment, their insights into Core Formation will be different.

The insights that the clone Li Yuanba gained did not directly provide Li Shiming with a complete and personalized understanding of Core Formation, but they were not completely without merit either.

Li Shiming sat in the Cultivation Room of his cave dwelling with his eyes tightly shut, merging his own situation with the insights gained by his clone, Li Yuanba.

His situation was extremely unusual; the complexity of his Spirit Lake was likely unique among those at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

“Five Elements Qi Absorption Array,” Thunder Attribute Five Elements Spiritual Power, primarily practicing the “Five Elements Qi Refining Technique,” and supplementing it with the “Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Technique,” made the Five Elements Thunder Attribute Spiritual Power in his Spirit Lake highly spiritual.

While this increased the power of the spiritual power in his Spirit Lake and gave it strong versatility—with a complete Five Elements foundation, most secret techniques could be freely cultivated—it also made his breakthrough incredibly difficult. His insights into Core Formation needed to be much more complex than for other cultivators.

He continuously operated IBMz15 to assist his brain in analyzing and organizing the insights into Core Formation. In just a few days, he achieved the equivalent of what would take other cultivators months or even years of seclusion and contemplation.