bookpower Chapter 273: Golden Dan Dao Fruit
Chapter 273: Golden Dan Dao Fruit
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In the third-rank spiritual vein district of Wangyue Immortal City.
Lan Chang'an’s chosen cave dwelling was roughly twenty li away from the location where Zhu Yuting was forming her Core.
The cave-dwelling came equipped with a third-rank formation, offering a degree of defense against spiritual sense detection.
Within the cave, Lan Chang'an had installed the quasi-fourth-rank illusion formation that Fairy Shi had modified and repaired.
Originally a true fourth-rank formation acquired from Master Lihuo, after being repaired by Fairy Shi it now rivaled fourth-rank arrays in its ability to defend against spiritual sense probes, even those at the early Nascent Soul Realm.
Lan Chang'an sat cross-legged, calming his breath and replenishing his energy.
Half a day later.
His vitality reached its peak. His eyes shone brilliantly as he began activating the "Returning Dust Core Transformation Method".
Within him, his mid-tier True Dan trembled with a low hum, emitting the overwhelming spiritual pressure of a high-rank cultivator.
Fortunately, the formation concealed this pressure, ensuring that the aura released during the Core Reformation process would not leak out.
With the experience of two prior Core Reformations, Lan Chang'an’s technique had become far more refined.
As the secret Core Dissolution Technique circulated, the immense spiritual pressure within his body gradually began to subside.
The True Dan trembled faintly from within, vibrating incessantly and swelling slightly. It formed an oppressive force field, causing the core energy to leak out.
The force of the backlash was like a horrifying wave, surging upwards in waves, washing over the five viscera and six bowels.
“Argh!”
Lan Chang'an let out a muffled groan as a sharp pain appeared between his brows. The early phase of the Core Reformation was proving to be unexpectedly challenging.
Transforming a mid-tier True Dan was an entirely different level of difficulty.
Crack! Crack!
The "Hundred-Refinement Vajra Art" activated, causing his bones to emit crisp, crackling sounds. His muscles swelled, and his physique became taller and more robust. A fine layer of golden, intricate patterns appeared across his skin.
At first glance, he resembled a heavy, gilded bronze statue.
The pressure from the Core Reformation eased considerably.
Lan Chang'an then consumed the specially-prepared elixir that corroded and loosened the True Dan, aiding in its dissolution.
The spiritual pressure within his body continued to decline.
The vibrations of his True Dan became more rapid, radiating an increasingly unstable aura. The backlash intensified, doubling in force compared to the initial stages.
The dark cyan surface of the True Dan began shedding tiny crystalline particles, each the size of sand grains.
Boom!
The shed particles dissolved into liquid mana under the reduced spiritual pressure, releasing an enormous surge of wood-element spiritual energy and life essence stored within his body.
The high-frequency vibrations of the True Dan caused it to resemble an over-inflated balloon, growing increasingly unstable as it expanded.
A faint sense of danger filled Lan Chang'an’s senses. Even with his powerful physical body, micro-level internal injuries had begun appearing deep within his body.
"Merge!"
His eyes gleamed with divine light, and with a movement of his mind, the soul imprint of the white-bearded elder from the second life of the Nine Seal Stele separated and fused with his present body.
In an instant, his spiritual soul grew to an unprecedented level, faintly surpassing the limits of the Core Formation stage and brushing against the threshold of the Nascent Soul realm.
After all, he had yet to completely dissolve his True Dan. At this moment, the combined power of his two lifetimes’ worth of Core Formation-stage soul strength had merged into one.
At this peak state, Lan Chang'an’s spiritual will reached an unparalleled level!
Every detail of the Core Reformation process fell under his absolute control.
He could perceive and manipulate even the most minute fluctuations in his mana, blood energy, and even the subtle vibrations of his hair with precision.
The turbulent and expanding True Dan, seemingly subdued by his overwhelming spiritual power, finally stabilized and began rotating in a relatively balanced state.
"No major issues. At least I won’t die from this," Lan Chang'an muttered with relief.
The accumulated experience from his two previous Core Reformations was proving invaluable.
Otherwise, even with his third-rank body refinement and the aid of his second life's soul shadow, he would have found the process unfamiliar and risky.
As long as the True Dan didn’t explode instantly, his survival was assured.
He immediately sacrificed some of his lifespan, activating the Evergreen secret spell to repair the deep internal injuries within his body.
The damage to his internal organs and the blood seepage began healing at a visible speed, as though a miracle had occurred.
This regenerative technique was indeed astonishing.
However, its reliance on lifespan consumption to fuel its effects was relatively balanced within the cultivation world and not considered overly heaven-defying.
After all, lifespan was the lifeline of every cultivator.
Many powerful secret techniques and divine abilities in the cultivation world relied on the consumption of lifespan as their foundation.
...
Seven days later.
The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from Lan Chang'an’s body had shifted, returning from the early Core Formation stage to the peak late stage Foundation Establishment.
“Three Turn Core Reformation... success!”
Soaked in sweat, Lan Chang'an let out a long breath of relief, a faint smile of satisfaction gracing his face.
He had overcome the most difficult hurdle.
This third Core Reformation was not yet his absolute limit, but he wasn’t interested in pushing himself to that extreme.
Besides, with each subsequent Core Reformation, the increase in power diminished.
The mana of the Foundation Establishment Stage, no matter how refined or concentrated, had its limits.
“The refined liquid mana boosted my power by another ten percent compared to before!”
Lan Chang'an circulated his mana, evaporating the sweat from his soaked clothes.
He then consumed a portion of his lifespan to fully repair the lingering effects of the Core Reformation backlash, leaving his body flawless and unscathed.
This third Core Reformation consumed an entire year of his lifespan, significantly more than the previous two attempts.
Afterward, Lan Chang'an took medicinal pills to restore his vitality and replenish his essence, carefully adjusting his physical state.
Ten days later.
Lan Chang'an was aware that, in terms of external resources for Core Formation, he was slightly inferior to the Earth Burrowing Rat.
He also acknowledged that his innate talent, based on spiritual root quality, was no match for the Earth Burrowing Rat.
The Earth Burrowing Rat was a superior-grade mutated bloodline, equivalent to a human with a high-grade spiritual root.
However, Lan Chang'an’s foundation in the Evergreen Technique, combined with three successful Core Reformations, had granted him a base power comparable to an earth spiritual root—if not even stronger.
Coupled with the techniques and experience inherited from his previous life, Lan Chang'an’s overall conditions for Core Formation were superior to the Earth Burrowing Rat’s back then.
Hum!
A perfectly rounded cyan-colored core began to take shape inside Lan Chang'an’s body, gathering an immense amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy.
Even in this emergent stage, the energy radiating from the embryonic core already exceeded the mid-tier True Dan he had formed in his previous life.
“Upper-tier True Dan phenomenon, I have already surpassed my previous life...”
Excitement surged in Lan Chang'an’s heart, but he wasn’t satisfied yet.
The spiritual pressure around him grew increasingly intense as he absorbed more and more spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, converting it into pure wood-element spiritual energy.
The torrent of energy continued to cleanse and temper his body and mind.
Without an unshakable will and a solid mana foundation, it would have been impossible to control the chaotic and violent heaven and earth spiritual energy during this transformation.
Whoosh!
The spiritual energy cloud surrounding his cave dwelling expanded, rotating with increasing speed and faintly trembling as it relentlessly grew larger.
At a certain point, the phenomenon reached a radius of five li, nearly ten li in diameter!
The sheer scale of the phenomenon left the nearby cultivators breathless and on edge, as if the sky itself were about to collapse.
“This this phenomenon could it be...”
“An Immortal Golden Dan?”
The minds of those watching, including Granny Yan and Zhu Yuting, were struck by waves of shock.
Zhu Yuting stared blankly for a moment, her pink lips trembling slightly as she fell into a daze, momentarily forgetting her efforts to stabilize her cultivation.
...
In the Fourth-Rank Spiritual Vein District of Wangyue Immortal City.
An elegant and ancient pavilion stood amidst a lotus pond adorned with tricolor petals. Spiritual fish swam freely, and the fragrance of lotus flowers filled the air.
On the pavilion’s terrace, a refined scholar in green robes and headwear was playing chess with a red-faced, barefooted old monster with a prominent nose.
Two Foundation Establishment maidservants, dressed in white skirts, knelt on either side of the chessboard, serving tea and water.
The game was nearing its end. The green-robed scholar, calm and composed, steadily pressed his advantage, cornering the black pieces of the barefooted old monster.
“Humph! That little brat forming their core disrupted my concentration. Otherwise, how could you turn the tide against me!”
The red-faced old monster snorted in frustration, steam puffing out of his nostrils and causing the two maidservants to tremble in fear, their faces pale.
“Hehe, chess mirrors the heart. To think that an unconfirmed Golden Dan could shake your focus—how laughable for a Nascent Soul old monster with centuries of cultivation,” the green-robed scholar teased mercilessly as he saw victory within his grasp.
“It’s just an Immortal Golden Dan! I was only curious about the identity of the one forming it, yet that brat’s formation blocked my spiritual sense. How infuriating!” the barefooted old monster grumbled, clearly annoyed.
“‘Just an Immortal Golden Dan,’ you say? If I recall correctly, Old Xu, didn’t you form only a Half-Step Golden Dan back then?” the green-robed scholar remarked with a faint smile.
“What of it?”
The barefooted old monster retorted proudly.
“Plenty of Golden Dan cultivators never make it to the Nascent Soul Realm. The final Heart Demon Tribulation during the Nascent Soul breakthrough disregards one’s aptitude, mana, or even the quality of their core...”
Forming a Golden Dan was no guarantee of advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm. It only offered a greater hope than ordinary Core Formation cultivators.
Success still depended on one’s perseverance, fortune, and state of mind.
Whoosh!
A transmission talisman flew into the pavilion and landed in the hand of the green-robed scholar.
“Nie Yuan, an elite cultivator fleeing from the Flame Departing Palace... interesting!”
The scholar’s eyes flickered with amusement as he read the message, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
“As long as they’re not from the Six Demonic Sects, it’s fine. Another addition to the Righteous Dao Alliance’s foundation is welcome.”
As the manager of Wangyue Immortal City, the scholar hoped to prevent the expansion of the demonic factions, which threatened to engulf the surrounding cultivation nations.
The Six Demonic Sects were tyrannical and unreasonable. If they conquered the Righteous Dao Alliance, Wangyue Immortal City’s neutral status would not be spared.
“Flame Departing Palace? Speaking of which, that old Master Lihuo still owes me a favor” the barefooted old monster mused, his expression distant as he reminisced.
...
Another day passed.
The spiritual energy cloud above Lan Chang'an’s cave dwelling stabilized at a radius of five li, lingering for an extended period.
Until a certain moment,
The center of the spiritual energy vortex twisted to the extreme, and a translucent five-colored divine light descended. It carried an ethereal resonance, as if imbued with the essence of the Great Dao itself.
“An Immortal Golden Dan, the rhythm of the Great Dao.”
An unknown cultivator murmured in awe, their mind resonating with the celestial phenomenon.
The five-colored divine light radiated brilliant golden hues, resembling the dawn breaking over the horizon. It seemed to bypass the boundaries of material space, descending directly into Lan Chang'an’s cave dwelling.
Moments later, the massive spiritual energy cloud in the sky collapsed like a receding tide.
Inside the cave.
Lan Chang'an held his breath, focusing his spiritual sense inward.
A perfectly round cyan-colored Golden Dan, adorned with golden crystalline patterns, appeared within his dantian.
Every golden vein on the surface of the core resembled natural carvings of the Great Dao itself, exuding a profound and mystical aura.
“So this is the Golden Dan Dao Fruit?”
Lan Chang'an inspected the core for a moment, sensing that something was slightly off.
The Evergreen Golden Dan in his dantian wasn’t a perfect sphere—it was subtly oval-shaped, radiating an intoxicating fragrance that was both dreamlike and surreal.
As he stared at it, Lan Chang'an found himself unconsciously salivating, overcome with a bizarre urge to take a bite out of it.