Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 480: Chapter 286 Half-Step_2

This area was exactly where he excelled. After ten days of seclusion, although he still could not find the opportunity for his breakthrough, the aura emanating from his body had improved significantly.

“This counts as an unexpected joy!” Li Shiming, sensing the changes within the Spirit Lake inside him, couldn’t help but shake his head resignedly as he talked to himself.

The ten days spent researching the enlightenment needed for forming the Golden Core were not in vain. The enlightenment garnered by his clone Li Yuanba, as well as the study of his Golden Core after its formation, was knowledge that could not be conveyed to other cultivators.

Such enlightenment and experiences, even if the master is willing to teach it to a disciple, are impossible to convey. Mainly, enlightenment can’t be transferred through language or any other means.

Even if a master doesn’t withhold anything and summarizes their own insights through language for the disciple, the hollow words could even lead the disciple astray.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the enlightenment for Golden Core formation is something that cultivators must comprehend on their own. At most, a master can provide some guidance on the experiences of predecessors who have attained such enlightenment.

No cultivator could share the enlightenment of their clone with a full spirit connection like Li Shiming could; this was nearly equivalent to having formed a Golden Core once himself.

The benefit Li Shiming gained was that the Spiritual Power within his Spirit Lake was nearly semi-solid. Before, the Spiritual Power in the lake was at full capacity, and it was already purified through the “Five Elements Qi Absorption Array”.

However, with his new understanding of Spiritual Power, it was compressed once again on top of the original basis, forming the current semi-solid Spiritual Power.

The changes in the Spirit Lake, reflected on his person, were that his aura had improved. According to the standards of the Cultivation World, he was now Half-step Golden Core.

Half-step Golden Core signifies a partial comprehension of Golden Core formation, yet the understanding is not complete.

Half-step Golden Core ensures that the cultivator is on the right path; with continuous accumulation, the chances of forming a Golden Core are greatly increased.

Although Li Shiming felt disappointed in his heart, he immediately recovered his spirits, thinking that he had progressed another half-step, leaving him only half a step away from becoming a Golden Core cultivator.

He too wished for the luck that his clone Li Yuanba had, but such fortune was not so easily gained. It was only achieved under a series of coincidences.

Since he had assimilated the Golden Core enlightenment from his clone Li Yuanba, it was time for his seclusion to conclude.

He sent messages to his teacher, Elder Su, and Elder Ma, and also sent one to Lai Da, the Chief Manager of the Beishu Trading Company.

“Shiming, come to Heavenly Eye Peak!” He soon received Elder Su’s reply.

Li Shiming thought for a moment and realized that today was indeed Elder Su’s monthly meeting day when disciples would all go to Heavenly Eye Peak.

He emerged from his cave dwelling and flew up toward Heavenly Eye Peak.

When he landed at the pavilion where they usually met, he found that his senior sister Ye Jingxian was also present.

Ye Jingxian was always in seclusion and very rarely left her cave dwelling.

“You’ve broken through to Half-step Golden Core?” Elder Su didn’t need to use Divine Thought; since Li Shiming had just broken through to Half-step Golden Core and his aura was unstable, combined with the fact that Li Shiming had no intention of hiding it, Elder Su noticed it at a glance.

His words were not questioning but conveyed a sense of disbelief.

To say that Li Shiming’s cultivation had rapidly advanced from the early stages of Foundation Establishment to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, and even the Peak of Foundation Establishment, within a few years was extremely rare, but considering that Li Shiming was an Alchemy Master, it could be understood, given that his cultivation resources were effectively limitless and he might have obtained some fortuitous encounters.

In any case, Elder Su had long experienced the depth of Li Shiming’s fortune, and this was acknowledged by almost all cultivators who were familiar with Li Shiming, including Elder Ma.

But progressing from Foundation Establishment Peak to Half-step Golden Core was not simply about accumulating Spiritual Power; it was about an enhancement in the understanding of Spiritual Power.

The reason it was called Half-step Golden Core was not only because it suggested a strength surpassing that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator but also because it implied that the comprehension of Golden Core formation was nearly half complete.

It was precisely due to nearly half of the Golden Core enlightenment that the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment stage could loosen, allowing one’s strength to approach the level of the Golden Core Stage.

Senior Sister Ye Jingxian, although she had already become a Golden Core cultivator, her surprise was no less than that of several fellow brothers.

She thought about her own experience of going from the peak of the Foundation Establishment to being a Half-step Golden Core and couldn’t help but shake her head and chuckle bitterly. She had thought herself to be a genius, but compared to her junior brother Li Shiming, if she was a genius, then what was he?

“A monster!” was the word that came to her mind to describe Li Shiming.

Elder Brother Wan Zheng’s face showed a wistful expression. He had always been worried about Li Shiming surpassing him, but he never expected it to happen so swiftly. He was still at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment and he would need to know how many years it would take to reach the Foundation Establishment Peak.

Yet in just a few years, Li Shiming not only caught up to him but also surpassed his realm, reaching that longed-for state of Half-step Golden Core.

Even with Elder Su as his master, Wan Zheng couldn’t guarantee that he would have the chance to become a Half-step Golden Core, let alone a Golden Core cultivator.

He still needed to compete with many cultivators of the same stage for the resources to form his core, and he would have to defeat many peers to secure his own core formation resources.

That was the material foundation; without having reached Half-step Golden Core, he didn’t even want to think about joining such competition.

Elder Brothers Lu Shi and Xu Chuan had long abandoned any thoughts of comparing themselves to Li Shiming, but still, they were shocked by the overwhelming momentum of his progress.

“Recently, I’ve had some insights, and after a period of seclusion, I managed to break through to Half-step Golden Core. Unfortunately, this has also exhausted all my accumulated resources, and I’m afraid it will be difficult to make further progress in a short time!” Li Shiming frankly responded.

Elder Su’s mouth twitched. If it weren’t for Li Shiming’s actual breakthrough to Half-step Golden Core, he would have wanted to ask him how long he had been cultivating and how he could have any cultivation accumulation.

“I don’t have much left to teach you now. You should also reduce your alchemy work and take on more of the safer missions!” Elder Su suggested after some consideration.

If Li Shiming were still at the peak of Foundation Establishment, he would never offer such advice, as alchemy was also a form of practice in controlling Spiritual Power.

But Li Shiming had now become Half-step Golden Core, which indicated a clear direction on his Golden Core path. All he needed was an opportunity.

Since Li Shiming had spent so long refining Spirit Pills without realizing the opportunity, it was time to put down the alchemy tasks and do something else, to see if other matters could trigger his insights.

A normal Half-step Golden Core would take on dangerous combat missions, continuously honing themselves amidst life and death.

Clearly, Li Shiming couldn’t be allowed to do that; not to mention Elder Ma would not agree, the sect wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen. If anything unexpected happened to Li Shiming, it would be a tremendous loss for their lineage, and even for the sect.

“Yes, Master!” Li Shiming would certainly not disagree, for he still needed to listen to his master’s advice regarding the experience of breaking through to Golden Core.

“Regarding your missions, don’t take them on yourself, I will discuss them with Elder Ma!” Elder Su added after some thought, his worries still apparent.

Li Shiming bowed in response, clearly seeing that his master cared about his safety even more than he did himself.

In fact, with his current strength, he could almost be called number one in the Foundation Establishment stage.

If it weren’t for his esteemed identity as an Alchemy Master, constant life-death trials would be his best choice.

“Junior brother, it looks like you will catch up to me soon!” Ye Jingxian said to Li Shiming with a smile.

She was happy for Li Shiming and harbored no jealousy. Her core formation was entirely due to the Spirit Pills refined by Li Shiming.

Additionally, if Li Shiming became a Golden Core cultivator, they would have hundreds more years to spend together. For her, this meant having a reliable companion on the path of cultivation, which was extremely important.

With a companion like Li Shiming, an Alchemy Master on her path, she even felt confident about tackling the previously unimaginable realm of Nascent Soul.

Of course, she wasn’t relying solely on him. Being a Golden Core cultivator herself, she believed she could be a support to Li Shiming.