Su Zimo put away the storage bags of Liang Heng and the others.

Although Cang Lang and the others were Golden Cores before their death, they were now dead and their bodies were weak.

Conjuring a demon fire from his fingertip, Su Zimo burned all five corpses into ashes in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind.

After settling that, Su Zimo returned to his residence.

He wanted to make his breakthrough in this courtyard.

Opportunities were required for breakthroughs of major cultivation realms.

It was a mysterious feeling in one’s mental state, similar to adrenaline rush.

At that moment, if Su Zimo were to take a long journey back to Ethereal Peak, he could very likely lose out on the timing of that precious opportunity.

Furthermore, he truly could not think of a more meaningful place than here to conduct his breakthrough.

Eight years ago, in this unseemly courtyard, beneath that peach blossom tree that was blossoming right now, Su Zimo cultivated the Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness and comprehended the Dao overnight, entering the path of cultivation.

In his heart, this place was more meaningful than any paradise out there!

Forming a core was no small feat and one must not be disturbed at all.

Not daring to be careless, Su Zimo started setting up a formation.

Without resting at all, he set up multiple formations around his residence; not only were there support formations, there were even illusion, trap and killing formations!

One after another, the formations were interlinked.

Three days later, the formations were fully set up.

“Activate!”

Su Zimo shouted softly and a bedazzling luminescence lit up around the vicinity of the residence as countless mysterious formation patterns surfaced.

An illusion formation was set up at the outermost perimeter.

It created an illusory residence that seemed no different from before on the outside and would not attract any attention.

However, in reality, there were runes concentrated within the illusion formation that shone bright as day within!

Arriving beneath the peach blossom tree, Su Zimo assumed a lotus position and closed his eyes to rest.

He had worked tirelessly for the past three days to set up such a huge formation and had expended a lot of energy as well.

Su Zimo had to adjust himself to his best condition.

A long time later, he gradually stabilized and slapped his storage bag, causing millions of superior-grade spirit stones to spill out and form small mountains!

Thanks to the Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop, Su Zimo had managed to earn a large amount of spirit stones in the capital of Great Zhou and they sufficed for him to attempt core formation.

Boom!

Massive waves surged within his dantian’s spirit sea. Divine light shone everywhere as his spirit qi surged into the air.

Through the mounds of spirit stones, endless spirit qi entered Su Zimo’s body continuously.

Nine spirit meridians appeared and flickered, akin to nine long rivers that surged relentlessly before converging into his dantian’s spirit sea.

The spirit sea was akin to a bottomless pit, sucking the incoming spirit energy relentlessly and forming a gigantic vortex with a terrifying might that spun and shrank non-stop!

Core formation was the most important divergent point in one’s cultivation path.

Be it immortality or demonic cultivation, they had to cross this gap!

From Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment and finally to Golden Core, cultivators undergo the process of training their qi, liquefying it and eventually condensing it into a core.

From gas to liquid and finally solid, every single transformation was a leap in quality.

From that, it could be seen that the foundation of the Golden Core was still spirit qi. However, it was merely built from a continuous and gradual transformation.

Almost all the cultivators understood what the process was like.

It was a never-ending process of extraction, condensation and compression. Along with time, one could turn the initial spirit qi into a solid Golden Core and complete the transformation.

However, throughout history, there were many cultivators and yet, less than one in ten thousand are able to form a core.

What was the reason for that?

Why were there still people failing despite the ease and clarity of the entire process?

It was a simple logic to understand – the rise in quality of spirit qi along with one’s cultivation would naturally lead to an increase in strength.

However, why was one’s lifespan extended for hundreds of years after a core was formed?

In reality, the reason for that was the true secret behind core formation – to understand life!

If one wanted to form a core, they had to understand the true meaning behind the Dao of a core. That was the only way for them to break free from the constraints of heaven and earth and extend their lifespans!

The reason for the extension in lifespan was because of a new level of deep understanding.

The wisdom that Buddhists often speak of refers to the comprehension of the Dao and enlightenment, allowing one to transcend life and death, turning into a saintly being. It was a sort of comprehension at a new level and referred to supreme wisdom.

What was the truth behind the Golden Core?

There were two sides to everything.

It was the same for life.

A still rock wasn’t alive and neither was a running river.

The most primal and natural state of life was only manifested through a combination of stillness and movement.

The existence of life was activity.

Motions are a way of representing life while stillness was a method for nourishing life.

In truth, the formation of a Golden Core was a process born out of nothing by instilling stillness into motion.

To begin with, spirit qi did not exist within one’s body. However, after years of cultivation for a strain of spirit qi to appear, it could then gradually grow stronger and turn into a liquid form which could course through the eight meridians with firm strength.

Eventually, it would flow into the sea and return to the dantian, forming a silent and still Golden Core.

Things would happen naturally and logically.

At that moment, life would undergo an unprecedented change in quality. By interweaving motion and stillness to condense a Golden Core and nourish life, one’s lifespan could be extended.

To begin with, life was something that was produced out of nothing.

Eventually, it would enter an eternal slumber after its vibrancy.

Producing something out of nothing, entering stillness after motion – that was an interpretation of life.

In truth, the formation of a core was the understanding of one of life’s obscurities and as such, gaining an extension in lifespan.

That was the true meaning of core formation!

Once one creates a Golden Core, one’s lifespan will not be decided by nature!

That was the most famous mantra of core formation and also hinted at its true essence.

For Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the chances of them condensing a Golden Core was more than 80% as long as they unlocked five spirit meridians.

Even so, there were still people who failed.

They did not fail in core formation, but in the comprehension of the true meaning behind core formation.

Throughout history, generations and generations of seniors and predecessors passed down their personal experiences of breaking through to the Golden Core realm.

However, Dao was something that was incorporeal. It couldn’t be explained clearly, touched or seen – even if one knew what was going on, it was useless.

The only way for them to transcend mortality and break out of their mold was through personal comprehension!

As time passed by, Su Zimo’s aura turned increasingly terrifying as his black hair swayed gently without any wind.

His lifespan was extending endlessly!

Two hundred years…

Three hundred years…

Five hundred years!

Su Zimo’s understanding of core formation had not only affected himself; subconsciously, another life in the courtyard was affected!

Behind him, the peach blossom tree was shrouded by an invisible ‘Dao’ and it grew. Its trunk grew thicker and its branches extended.

One after another, pink buds blossomed in the blink of an eye.

The petals scattered around Su Zimo’s vicinity.

Instantly, the petals that scattered grew into new flowers and the entire process was mysterious, akin to a dream.

The peach blossom tree swayed gently.

If Su Zimo were to open his eyes right now, he would be able to sense that the peach blossom tree was exuding an emotion of joy!

It had gained sentience!