The success of the Blighted Grove mission, attributed to Hong Li's "decisive leadership" and Li Yao's "assistive observation," bought a temporary reprieve. The Orthodoxy Faction had no immediate grounds to move against him. He had played their game and won by their rules, a fact that seemed to infuriate Elder Hong more than outright defiance would have.
Li Yao used the breathing room not for rest, but for the final push. The constant pressure, the life-or-death missions, the relentless spiritual strain—it had all been a grinding crucible. His Stellar Core, fed by the wild energy of the Serpent's Spine and tempered by the dissonant corruption of the Blighted Grove, was now a super-dense furnace, burning at the absolute limit of the Early Stage.
He stood on the precipice of the Mid Sub-Realm of Core Formation. The essence of this stage was stabilization; the core's energy would settle into a perpetual, self-sustaining cycle, and the body would begin a profound, independent regeneration, no longer reliant solely on the core's radiance.
The breakthrough, however, was its own tribulation. The System's warning was stark.
"Breakthrough to Mid Core Formation Imminent. Tribulation: Core Resonance attracting wild spiritual energy. Risk of Core fracturing under uncontrolled external influx. Requirement: A perfectly controlled environment or a massive, readily available energy source to saturate and stabilize the core simultaneously."
The sect's public cultivation grounds were out. The energy there was too thin, and a breakthrough would draw attention he couldn't afford. His own warded courtyard was insufficient; the energy density was too low. He needed a catalyst, a tidal wave of pure power to ride over the dangerous resonance hump.
He knew where to find it, but accessing it was the problem. The "Spirit-Siphon Pagoda," the crown jewel of the Inner Sect's cultivation resources. It was a towering structure built over the sect's primary spirit vein, its chambers capable of concentrating ambient Qi to liquid density. Access was fiercely contested, awarded only through contribution points or special dispensation from an elder.
He had neither. His mission contributions were mediocre on paper. Going to Elder Guo would mean admitting he was on the verge of a breakthrough, revealing his progress and inviting more scrutiny.
He needed a patron. And he had only one.
He found Wang Jin in a secluded training cave, practicing the stability exercises Li Yao had prescribed. The Young Master's movements were measured, his aura a steady, low hum. He was the picture of a recovering cultivator, building his strength brick by patient brick.
"I need access to the Spirit-Siphon Pagoda," Li Yao said without preamble. "The highest concentration chamber. For one day."
Wang Jin didn't stop his exercises. "The Pagoda is booked for months. The cost in contribution points is astronomical. Even my father would need a compelling reason to secure a day in the peak chamber."
"Tell him it's for you," Li Yao said. "Tell him your new core has reached a bottleneck, and only the concentrated energy of the peak chamber can help you solidify a breakthrough. It's not even a lie. The exercises I gave you will allow you to absorb a fraction of the energy. It will be a genuine benefit. But the primary surge… that will be for me."
Wang Jin finally stopped, turning to look at him. The calculation in his eyes was cold and clear. "You're going to break through. To the Mid Stage." It wasn't a question. "And you need my family's influence to do it without the sect knowing the full extent of your progress."
"Yes."
"And what do I get," Wang Jin asked, "for facilitating the advancement of my… physician?"
"You get a more powerful physician," Li Yao replied flatly. "A physician who can better ensure your continued survival and progress. And you get a demonstration of my good faith. I am sharing a resource with you. I am trusting you with a part of my plan. The leash works both ways, Wang Jin. You are dependent on my knowledge. I am becoming dependent on your resources. That is the foundation of a… partnership."
The word hung in the air, ugly and pragmatic. Wang Jin's face was a conflict of emotions—resentment, ambition, and the grim acceptance of his reality. He was chained to Li Yao, but the chains could also be used to pull himself up.
"One day," Wang Jin said finally. "I will have my father make the arrangements. Be ready in forty-eight hours."
Two days later, Li Yao stood at the entrance to the Spirit-Siphon Pagoda. It was a needle of white jade piercing the clouds, humming with a deep, foundational power. A stern-faced attendant checked his token—issued under Wang Jin's name—and led him up a spiraling staircase to the very top.
The peak chamber was a sphere of pure, condensed light. The air was not air, but a thick syrup of spiritual energy. Simply breathing felt like cultivating. The pressure was immense, a physical weight on his skin and soul.
This was it. The perfect fuel for his breakthrough.
He sat in the center of the sphere, the light so bright it blinded his physical eyes. He closed them and opened his spiritual senses. The energy here wasn't just dense; it was alive, a raging river of power.
He began. He cycled the [Breath of the Primordial Awakening], but he opened the floodgates wide. He didn't gently guide the energy; he let it crash into him, a tsunami of pure Qi.
His core, already at its limit, screamed under the influx. The tribulation began immediately. The core's resonance reached a fever pitch, acting like a spiritual magnet, pulling even more wild energy from the chamber into his already overstuffed dantian.
This was the danger. The core could fracture, shatter under the pressure of the uncontrolled influx.
But Li Yao was not a normal cultivator. He had the System.
"Initiating Core Saturation Protocol. Diverting 70% of incoming energy to spatial prosthesis for temporary storage and shock absorption."
His spatial arm, sheathed in the Spirit-Iron gauntlet, began to glow with an intense, contained light. It became a capacitor, a secondary battery, siphoning off the dangerous excess energy that threatened to burst his core. The strain was unbelievable; he felt the delicate weave of solidified space groan and stretch, threatening to come apart.
But it held.
With the immediate pressure mitigated, he focused on the core itself. He compressed the remaining energy, forcing it into the stellar furnace, not to expand it, but to crystallize its stability. He was turning a raging fire into a contained star.
The process was agony. His meridians felt like they were running with molten lead. His body, caught in the transition between core-reliant regeneration and true independence, flickered between waves of excruciating pain and ecstatic rebirth. Bones cracked and re-knitted stronger. Muscles tore and reformed with greater density.
He lost all sense of time. There was only the river of energy, the screaming core, and the absolute, unyielding focus of his will.
Then, a threshold was crossed.
The wild resonance didn't stop, but his core began to match it, to harmonize with it. The frantic pulling became a smooth, rhythmic drawing. The energy flowing into him was no longer a chaotic flood but a powerful, steady current.
The radiance from his core, which had been lashing out violently, turned inward, saturating every cell of his body. A wave of cool, profound vitality washed through him, independent of the core's active cycling. His body was now regenerating on its own, a self-sustaining system.
The influx of energy from the pagoda began to slow as his core reached its new, stable equilibrium. It was no longer a hungry ember, but a steady sun.
He had done it.
"Breakthrough Successful. Host has reached the Mid Sub-Realm of the Core Formation Realm. Core energy has stabilized. Bodily regeneration is now independent and enhanced. All physical and spiritual parameters have increased. Lifespan multiplier: x2 previous realm."
---
HOST STATUS: Li Yao
REALM: Core Formation Realm (Mid Sub-Realm)
CONDITION: Optimal. Independent Regeneration Active.
LIFESPAN: 4000 Years
ABILITIES: Core-Stabilized Energy Reserves, Enhanced Independent Regeneration, Advanced Energy Perception.
---
Four thousand years. The number was staggering. He had bought himself time.
As he stepped out of the Pagoda, his body humming with new power, he saw Wang Jin waiting for him. The Young Master could feel the change, the solid, deep-well pressure of a Mid Stage Core.
"Well?" Wang Jin asked, his voice tight.
"The chamber was… effective," Li Yao said. "For both of us, I trust?"
Wang Jin gave a short, sharp nod. "I absorbed what I could. It was… significant." He looked at Li Yao with a new, complex expression. The gap between them had widened once more, but the nature of their bond had deepened. They were accomplices now.
Li Yao looked out at the sect sprawling below. He was stronger, his foundation more solid than ever. But the victory was temporary. He had consumed a king's ransom of resources in secret. He had advanced under a false name. The Orthodoxy Faction was still watching. Elder Guo was still calculating.
He had reached the Mid Stage, but the path ahead was steeper and more treacherous than ever. The Energy Path's next great challenge—the Soul Tempering Realm—loomed on the horizon, a trial not of the body, but of the very essence of his being. The slow, meticulous burn continued, but the fire was growing hotter, and the shadows it cast were growing longer.