Chapter 205: Bitter Cultivation

Gently stroking the Black Book with his palm, Zhang Nuo frowned, lost in thought. Chunyangzi stood to one side, not knowing what to say; he had wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but when faced with such a situation, even he could not remain calm.

"Senior! I have decided to cultivate the 'Immovable Underworld King'! No matter what, I have already sacrificed so much for it!"

The extremely calm words came from Zhang Nuo's mouth, without a ripple of emotion.

"You..."

Chunyangzi was speechless for a moment. He did not know what language to use to describe his current mood. Calculating on his fingers, each of the cultivation arts Zhang Nuo practiced was a rare treasure, yet every single one was incomplete! This time, a complete one had finally come along, but it had resulted in this.

According to what he knew in the Immortal World, the 'Immovable Underworld King' technique was created by a powerful being in the Underworld. Over countless years, apart from the founder, no second person had ever cultivated this technique to completion. However, the first few layers alone were quite powerful and could raise the physical body to an unprecedented realm.

"Sigh! Very well! If you must cultivate it, then do so! But you must not be too hasty!"

Sighing helplessly, Chunyangzi shook his head, and his figure flashed into the Nine Dragon Sword Case. He had been exhausted from working on the fusion of Zhang Nuo and the Hell Butterfly. As he was merely a Remnant Soul, he could no longer hold on.

As for cultivation, Chunyangzi was not at all worried that Zhang Nuo would make any mistakes; this child had always been cautious and prudent, a point he felt relatively reassured about.

Zhang Nuo did not pay attention to Chunyangzi. He sat on the Putan, closed his eyes slightly, and began to recall the contents of the 'Immovable Underworld King' technique that the Hell Butterfly had deciphered.

This 'Immovable Underworld King' was divided into nine layers, and the Hell Butterfly could only read the contents of the first three. These first three layers alone gave Zhang Nuo a headache. Firstly, this technique was created by a powerful being of the Underworld, so naturally, a large amount of Yin Qi was required for cultivation.

Secondly, the constitutions of Underworld cultivators and Human Realm cultivators were slightly different, and certain parts of the technique needed improvement. As such, by the time it was cultivated to the end, it would inevitably diverge from the original technique.

As for the second point, Zhang Nuo did not need to consider it yet. After all, whether he could cultivate the entire technique was still an unknown. The immediate priority was the problem of Yin Qi.

The Human Realm was a plane where Yin Qi was naturally sparse. Cultivating the 'Immovable Underworld King' in such an environment would often yield half the result with twice the effort.

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Nuo took a deep breath, put away the Black Book, and formed the hand seal of the 'Immovable Underworld King'! From this moment on, he officially began to cultivate this ancient Body Refining technique from the Underworld.

Time drifted by, and a year passed quickly. During this year, Zhang Nuo never moved from his spot, focusing his entire mind on cultivating the 'Immovable Underworld King', but the results left him very disappointed.

Although the Spiritual Qi in the Cave Abode was very dense, the Yin Qi was pitifully scarce. The 'Immovable Underworld King' did not make even the slightest progress, and eventually, even Zhang Nuo himself became somewhat discouraged.

In the end, it was only under Chunyangzi's persuasion that he temporarily gave up cultivating the Immovable Underworld King and turned to continue cultivating the 'Shangqing Sword Art'!

While cultivating the Immovable Underworld King, Zhang Nuo had gained a deeper understanding of Body Refining. Overall, although the technique had not progressed, his horizons had broadened, which was beneficial and harmless for his future cultivation.

Since discovering this Cave Abode, Zhang Nuo had stayed in it for a full four years. His cultivation remained at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and during these four years, it had been sufficiently consolidated.

A thought emerged in his mind: Zhang Nuo wanted to attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage. Chunyangzi also highly approved of this. After more than four years of cultivation, with the help of the many Pills in the Cave Abode, Zhang Nuo was no longer the person he once was.

Whether in his understanding of cultivation or his grasp of techniques, he had reached a new level. Now, the chances of successfully breaking through to the Golden Core stage would be higher.

However, what worried Chunyangzi was that although the preparations were relatively sufficient, attempting to break through to the Golden Core stage like this was always somewhat hasty. After all, Zhang Nuo had been cultivating for a short time; if the first Golden Core attempt failed, it might leave a shadow in his heart, making a second attempt even more difficult.

After discussing it with Zhang Nuo repeatedly, Chunyangzi still could not persuade him and had no choice but to prepare the Pills needed for forming the Golden Core. Zhang Nuo's personality was very stubborn; once he decided on something, even nine oxen could not pull him back.

After more than a month of preparation, Chunyangzi held several bottles of Pills and came before Zhang Nuo.

"Kid Zhang, I am not very proficient in the way of alchemy, so this is all I can do for you. Whether you can successfully form the Golden Core depends on yourself!"

Placing the small bottles in front of Zhang Nuo, Chunyangzi said with a faint smile.

"Senior, I am already very grateful for this! Man proposes, God disposes; it remains to be seen whether I, Zhang Nuo, can become the youngest Golden Core Cultivator."

With a chuckle on his face, Zhang Nuo looked even more relaxed than Chunyangzi. Looking at the smiling Zhang Nuo, Chunyangzi admired his composure; this state of mind of remaining calm in the face of chaos was very rare.

"I will tell you the precautions for forming the Golden Core one more time."

Sitting opposite Zhang Nuo, Chunyangzi's phantom began to speak incessantly about the entire process of forming the Golden Core. In the Immortal World, forming a Golden Core was not a major event, and Golden Core Cultivators were as numerous as ox hair, but it was different in the Human Realm. For a cultivator to form a Golden Core was an important process on the path of cultivation.

If one could not even manage to form a Golden Core, there was no point in mentioning the subsequent condensation of a Nascent Soul! Therefore, Chunyangzi summarized the experiences of many cultivators in forming Golden Cores and told Zhang Nuo from beginning to end.

The more Zhang Nuo listened, the more astonished he became. Previously, he felt that forming a Golden Core was just a process of transforming the Spirit Power within his body, but after hearing Chunyangzi finish, he realized that the process of forming a Golden Core could not only increase the Spirit Power in his body but also had a great strengthening effect on the cultivator's physical body.

Once a Golden Core was formed, there would be Pill Fire to temper and refine Magic Treasures into the body. Pill Fire was an extremely precious thing; constantly tempering Magic Treasures could increase their power and improve the ability to communicate between the Magic Treasure and its master.

Although there were many benefits to forming a Golden Core, the consequences of failure were also terrifying. Some cultivators would even lose all their cultivation and have to start everything from scratch. This point was exactly what Chunyangzi feared.

Zhang Nuo's cultivation had increased greatly in these few years, so there was naturally no need to worry about his lifespan, but the difficulty of re-cultivating would be much greater. It would not be as smooth as the beginning, and despite having many treasures to assist him, he would still take many detours.

"Alright, that is all I can teach you. You should deliberate on it carefully again!"

After Chunyangzi finished speaking, his body turned into a red ray of light and drilled into the Nine Dragon Sword Case. Zhang Nuo's mouth curled up slightly, and an inscrutable smile appeared on his face; even he himself could not say what this smile meant.

For a long time, his cultivation had been smooth sailing, and even if he occasionally encountered some problems, they were resolved by Chunyangzi. But for this Golden Core formation, this was all Chunyangzi could do: give him some Pills and tell him some experiences.

For Zhang Nuo, this was far from enough. The problems encountered by every cultivator during Golden Core formation were different. Relying solely on these experiences was far from enough; one had to make timely adjustments during the process of forming the Golden Core.

Zhang Nuo did not have absolute certainty about this. His cultivation experience was only a short few years, and compared to those who reached the Golden Core stage, he was still much younger. He would always be flustered by problems that arose temporarily and urgently.

"Senior! I am starting! Some things have to be faced sooner or later; it is just a matter of time!"

Zhang Nuo pondered for a long time, then a look of determination suddenly flashed in his eyes as he spoke to the Nine Dragon Sword Case in front of him.

"En!"

Only a soft 'en' from Chunyangzi came from inside the Sword Box, and after that, no more sound came out.

Reaching out to take the Pill bottles beside him, Zhang Nuo carefully memorized the function of each Pill, and then combed through the cultivation art again. After ensuring everything was foolproof, he closed his eyes and waited for the arrival of night.

Only at night would the Nine Dragon Sword Case begin to gather Spiritual Qi. This cave itself was lush with Spiritual Qi, and coupled with the gathering function of the Sword Box, at a certain specific time, the Spiritual Qi around Zhang Nuo would reach a peak value. This was of great help for the Golden Core breakthrough.

Waiting was the most difficult thing to endure. Although Zhang Nuo kept trying to calm his mind, he was still somewhat nervous when facing the first most important hurdle on the path of cultivation.

Time passed like years, and the sun set as night fell. Zhang Nuo only felt that the concentration of Spiritual Qi around him was slowly increasing. In the blink of an eye, it was midnight, and the Spiritual Qi became even denser, drifting around Zhang Nuo like a thin mist.

Taking a deep breath and feeling that the surrounding Spiritual Qi had reached its peak, Zhang Nuo did not hesitate. He formed hand seals with both hands, and at the same time, his Three Spirit Seas were activated simultaneously. Soon, the Spiritual Qi around him was rapidly gathered by him.

The thick Spiritual Qi became misty, and there was even a slightly damp feeling. This was something that could never happen in the outside world. If it were not for such a blessed Cave Abode and the power of the Nine Dragon Sword Case, it would simply be unimaginable under normal circumstances.

Changing the hand seal, the surrounding Spiritual Qi quickly rotated around Zhang Nuo. Before long, a vortex of Spiritual Qi like a tornado wrapped Zhang Nuo entirely within it.

Every pore on his body was almost open, greedily absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the outside. Zhang Nuo had never absorbed the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth so happily. At the same time, the Spirit Power in his body also reached a peak value. White light shone within the Three Spirit Seas, and bursts of sounds like surging waves came from inside his body.

"What terrifying Spirit Power!"

Chunyangzi inside the Sword Box also heard the sound from Zhang Nuo's Divine Sea. He gave a low, soft exclamation in the Sword Box. This phenomenon was the first time even he had seen it. It seemed that the momentum of a Three Spirit Seas cultivator breaking through to the Golden Core stage was truly more shocking than that of an ordinary cultivator!