"What are we going to do now? we have to go back out there and fight, don't we?"

It seemed Bin Ji's sister was raring to get back out there and do some more damage to the Demonic Hair Sect. Most of the others, Still high on their success and the rewards, had quickly forgotten about the great danger we had faced in that fight.

"No, we return to the sect. We must consolidate our gains. Grow in power before we take on a mission like this again. We will stick to missions of a much lower risk level for the foreseeable future. I was very overconfident in our choice, and that could have cost us all our lives."

Bin Ji had matured quite a bit through it all.

"She's right. There is no need for us to take a mission for quite some time with the rewards we got from this one. So we have time to cultivate and progress. We don't have to live like the Demonic cultivators and constantly fight to the death to improve. We have better methods. We should use them."

Once again, Yurt and Bin Ji were putting up a united front. They had become quite the team over the past few days. Once Yurt became a Core Formation cultivator, I would imagine that they would work with each other once again.

I would not.

"It has been a good mission, everyone. I want to wish you guys well in any future missions. I will be going into seclusion to break into the core formation stage properly. It has been an honor."

I nodded at each of them. As I made for the portal array, Bin Ji grabbed me by the arm.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Byren Kringer. I am the Chief disciple of Grand Elder Leo."

Her hand fell limply to the side. I wished them all well as I strode through the portal.

I was ready to face the music. It was time to get back into contact with the Prime.

It was still very early, and I would say he is far from recovery, but I shouldn't stall my progress just because he wouldn't be able to take any significant actions for a year. Once I reached the golden core stage, my progress would slow anyway.

Till then, I would still be able to act out any missions the Prime might give me. Apart from some minor conflicts with some fringe sects, the general cultivation world was relatively peaceful at the moment—the existence of two Infant transformation cultivators striking an uneasy balance.

Both were waiting for a person to rise and tip the scales. That had always been the plan of my Prime. One I was going to help him reach. What was better than one more infant transformation cultivator. Two more. If I could achieve that level as well, then surely that would benefit everyone.

Usually, it would be impossible for a soul piece to reach even close to the heights of the prime soul. My constitution, as well as my aberrant cultivation technique, made me different. They afforded me the chance to aim for such heights.

I couldn't grow stronger than my Prime. So I would only be able to catch up. Then help him on his journey.

I quickly portalled into my cultivation abode once I returned to the sect. I would let Bin Ji and the others spread rumors about the strength of my arms.

Now I would have to back that up on the more macro scale. I needed to impress far more than just some Foundation Building Cultivators.

I moved towards the cultivation chambers. Going through the defenses of my abode in the meantime. Leo had been here a few times. Other than that, nothing had happened in my absence.

I would have to talk to him later. First, I had to breakthrough.

Naturally, this time around. The cultivation journey for this body had been smooth sailing due to my powers. Now though, I would have to come to terms with those abilities. Face them head-on and build a core that is more than able to take on any enormous bursts of energy that might come with fighting stronger and stronger foes.

That was going to be quite an undertaking. I wasn't sure if the classic core structures would be up for the rapid growth the yellow energy allowed me. I would need to make it far more elastic and liquid than the average core.

I entered my meditation chambers. Taking out some of the resources I acquired from the Flowing stream sect. I set to upgrading my cultivation chamber to be more suitable for my soul resonance.

Allowing me to double the results with half the work.

With that, my breakthrough began. I had to gaze once again into the abyss of my energy source. I had been content with ignoring it. Now that I was going into core formation. I couldn't do that for much longer. It simply wasn't an option to ignore.

The yellowy abyss was much the same as the first day it awakened. Only now it was far more potent and real, the fissure, in reality, had stabilized within me. It was anchored to my body, which wasn't a good sign if the fissure ever decided to break apart.

The increased volatility from my power wasn't the most welcome thing in the world. Still, with great risks very often came great reward. Leo had managed to reach his level without any issue. I could only assume I could do the same under his tutelage even if I were only an experiment to help him get to the Infant transformation level. I was still confident I could outsmart him.

Now the process of greater power could begin. Taking a pill from my storage ring. I began to circulate the qi within. The yellow energy inside me seemed to explode out in greed.

The breakthrough had begun.