Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 509: Chapter 301: Garrisoned

Ten Thousand Sword Peak, a mountain peak that appeared suddenly, every cultivator on Northern Island knew that this was the treasure of a Golden Core cultivator stationed by the Senluo Sect, who had not shown himself in public since his arrival three months ago.

Every affair of Northern Island was managed by two other Golden Core cultivators, and thus, numerous rumors existed about the Golden Core cultivator on Ten Thousand Sword Peak who had never made an appearance.

Despite the variety of rumors, all believed that the Golden Core cultivator on Ten Thousand Sword Peak possessed unparalleled strength, as the Sword Intent from the Ten Thousand Sword Peak Treasure that ascended regularly each day was proof enough to leave many cultivators in fear.

In three months’ time, Li Yuanba had used up all of his Third Grade Advanced Spirit Pills, the ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill.’ These pills were already scarce, and when he had last met with his original self, Li Shiming, he had not anticipated that he would be able to form his Golden Core so quickly on this side.

Having consumed all the Third Grade Advanced Spirit Pills, his realm had stabilized in the middle ranks of the early-stage Golden Core. In terms of realm alone, he was already comparable to Golden Core Early Stage cultivators who had been cultivating for ten years.

The majority of Golden Core cultivators could not possibly consume as many Third-grade Advanced Spirit Pills as he did.

Even if the sect offered Third-grade Spirit Pills for exchange, the number available from the sect was limited, and the required contribution points were incredibly high. Golden Core cultivators of the sect had to complete many duties to exchange for just a few Third-grade Spirit Pills for their cultivation.

In fact, for the Golden Core cultivators of the sect, the most common way to obtain Third-grade Spirit Pills for cultivation was to explore areas rich in Spiritual Energy and find the main ingredients for making Third-grade Spirit Pills, the Third-grade Spiritual Medicine.

Sending the Third-grade Spiritual Medicine to an Alchemy Master allowed them to obtain Third-grade Spirit Pills at the smallest cost, which was far better than slowly accumulating contribution points and exchanging a considerable amount of those for the limited Third-grade Spirit Pills offered by the sect.

Of course, lands rich in Spiritual Energy were extremely perilous; the safe places were either controlled by major sects as resource cultivation areas, or had been cleared out repeatedly by Golden Core cultivators, making the chance of finding Third-grade Spiritual Medicine extremely low.

Li Yuanba himself knew that the Ten Thousand Great Mountains contained regions where Third-grade Spiritual Medicine grew, predominantly in areas occupied by spirit beasts where many high-grade resources were found.

But even as a Sword Cultivator who deemed his combat prowess to be quite acceptable among Golden Core cultivators, he still dared not enter the territory of spirit beasts in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

To venture there, a group of several Golden Core cultivators would need to go together. Li Yuanba did not have any trustworthy friends within the sect, so he had no plans to seek adventure there.

After running out of the Third Grade Advanced Spirit Pills ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,’ Li Yuanba discovered that his cultivation had become extremely slow in adding to the growth of his internal Golden Core.

This slow pace of growth, compared to his previous use of the Third Grade Advanced Spirit Pills, was nearly enough to drive one to despair.

No wonder most Golden Core cultivators in the Cultivation World remained in the early stages of the Golden Core; only one out of ten cultivators reached the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, while those who made it to the Late-stage Golden Core were even rarer, with only one in a hundred achieving this level.

It must be known that every cultivator who succeeded in forming a Golden Core possessed exceptional talent and had favorable circumstances, enabling them to break through the masses of Foundation Establishment cultivators to become Golden Core cultivators.

Li Yuanba sensed that without the aid of Third Grade Advanced Spirit Pills, it would be impossible for him to break through to the Middle Stage of the Golden Core without over a hundred years of arduous cultivation.

That was just to reach the Middle Stage; reaching the Late-stage Golden Core would demand an even longer time.

The lifespan of Golden Core cultivators could reach up to five hundred years, seemingly providing ample time for cultivation.

However, for Golden Core cultivators, hoping to rely solely on cultivation for strength enhancement beyond around four hundred years of age was wishful thinking, as their bodies would start to decline after that age, with strenuous cultivation efforts serving merely to maintain the slowing of this inevitable decline.

This meant that, in reality, Golden Core cultivators truly have only about four hundred years for cultivation progress, reduced further by the time already spent in the Qi Refinement Realm and Foundation Establishment Stage.

Most Golden Core cultivators achieve their Golden Core around the age of one hundred, having spent several decades in the Foundation Establishment Stage, leaving them with only three hundred years left for cultivation as Golden Core cultivators.

Li Yuanba, possessing the Taiji Dao Body, could achieve twice the effectiveness in his cultivation compared to ordinary Golden Core cultivators, even without relying on external items.

By day, he practiced as a human body, cultivating the ‘Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,’ and then at night, he transformed into a Corpse Refining form to rapidly compensate for the imbalance between human and undead forms by cultivating the ‘Evil Corpse Spirit Record,’ doubling his cultivation effectiveness daily.

Even with such talent and the most superior cultivation technique, he would need over a hundred years to break through to the Middle Stage of the Golden Core; for other Golden Core cultivators who do not use external items, this period could require two to three hundred years.

Furthermore, Golden Core cultivators could not always cultivate; they needed to handle sect duties, delaying their cultivation time. Additionally, long-term stagnation of realm advancement could induce inner demons, causing the vast majority of Golden Core cultivators to be forever stuck in the early stages of the Golden Core without making any progress.

Li Yuanba, however, was not troubled by this concern. After realizing his slowed cultivation pace, he continued his routine cultivation without deviation.

He dedicated a substantial amount of time over three months to the Body Refining Technique ‘Fiery Sun Jade Body Technique.’ He had chosen the ‘Fiery Sun Jade Body Technique’ because it was a Pure Yang Body Refining Technique.