Lin Feng sat cross-legged, eyes lightly closed. Both hands rested on his knees, each forming an unusual seal. His brows were slightly furrowed, beads of sweat dotted his nose, and an expression of pain flickered across his face.
Around him, dense, multi-colored light swirled so thickly that even his form seemed tinged with its hues. The fluctuations of true essence within his body were unprecedentedly chaotic, surging wildly before rapidly diminishing at an alarming speed…
There were many methods to transform one's cultivation technique. For instance, back when Lin Feng was at the Qi Refining stage, he had obtained the Human-rank high-grade Mysterious Fire Art. He had immediately abandoned his original cultivation method and started practicing the Mysterious Fire Art without encountering any issues. This was partly because his cultivation level was low at the time, and partly because the Mysterious Fire Art wasn't an exceptionally powerful or unique technique. This time, however, Lin Feng was undertaking the transformation to practice the high-grade technique Starry Chroma Art, and his current cultivation had already reached the Golden Core level. The process he was about to undergo was entirely different. He needed to completely eradicate all traces of the Mysterious Fire Art cultivation and start anew from the very beginning. This could also be called 'cultivation dissolution and re-establishment'.
Of course, it didn't mean he had to revert utterly to nothingness and cultivate from scratch. Even though his attained cultivation level would be dissolved, the intrinsic energy within his body remained. When he reconstructed his foundation using the Starry Chroma Art, he could gather and reshape this residual energy. As long as no mistakes occurred, his final cultivation level shouldn't diminish.
The concept was simple, but the execution proved unimaginably difficult, evident from the unconscious pain etched on Lin Feng's face.
Lin Feng's cultivation level began its descent: from the fourth layer of Golden Core down to the third, second, first layer... sinking further through the Foundation Establishment stage, and finally plummeting all the way back to the Qi Refining stage, stabilizing precariously at the first layer.
By this point, Lin Feng was drenched in sweat. His body trembled uncontrollably. Within his dantian, the Golden Core that had once resided there was gone. In its place surged a chaotic mass of true essence, swirling in a disordered, turbulent flow.
Suddenly, deep within this swirling chaos of true essence, a faint crimson light flickered into existence. It grew steadily brighter. Immediately after, an orange light blossomed beside it. Almost simultaneously, golden yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet lights burst forth in rapid succession. In an instant, they dyed the entire dantian in dazzling rainbow hues. The previously chaotic, directionless flows of true essence finally seemed guided, coalescing into a magnificent, swirling vortex of seven colors that began to rotate slowly.
Boom!
An indescribably peculiar aura erupted from Lin Feng's body. His skin started to gradually take on a subtle, multi-colored sheen. This wasn't merely a reflection of the ambient light; it was genuine radiance emanating from within his very cells. Precisely at this moment, the cultivation aura within him, which had plummeted to its nadir, began to rebound violently. It surged upwards with a terrifying, heart-stopping speed!!
Qi Refining Layer One… Qi Refining Perfection… Foundation Establishment Layer One… Foundation Establishment Perfection…
Within Lin Feng's dantian, the seven-colored vortex spun furiously, rapidly condensing. Within the depths of Lin Feng's soul, a series of almost imperceptible cracking sounds resonated. Finally, the vortex solidified – coalescing into an egg-sized core that pulsed with flowing streams of all seven colors. Like the vortex before it, this core rotated slowly and began to expand, bit by bit.
Golden Cores were named for their appearance; they were traditionally golden. Yet, the 'core' Lin Feng had just reformed was distinctly, brilliantly multi-colored!!
His cultivation level, in that same instant, skyrocketed back to the first layer of Golden Core… and continued climbing relentlessly. In the blink of an eye, it reached the second layer, then the third, the fourth…
"BOOOM!!!"
Precisely as Lin Feng's core solidified, the colored light radiating from his body intensified a hundredfold. A titanic pillar of seven-colored light erupted upwards! It pierced through the barrier above him, tore through hundreds of meters of earth and rock overhead, and streaked unimpeded into the heavens, vanishing into the clouds!
...
Elsewhere in the Starry Sea…
"Look! What is that?!"
Two figures speeding through the air on flying swords jerked to a sudden halt. The one on the left stared in shock towards a distant point on the horizon, where a towering pillar of multi-colored light pierced the sky. He nudged his companion beside him.
Equally startled, his companion snapped out of his daze quickly, his expression morphing into unrestrained excitement. "Treasure! An extraordinary treasure must be manifesting! Hurry!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, they veered their swords and shot like arrows towards the source of the light.
Simultaneously, across various regions of the Starry Sea, similar scenes unfolded. Numerous cultivators spotted the extraordinary seven-colored pillar piercing the heavens. Drawn by the promise of fortune or profound opportunity, they altered their courses and sped towards its origin point.
...
The dazzling spectacle was as brief as it was intense. After mere moments, the radiant pillar vanished completely. Only a perfectly circular hole punched through the cloud layer high in the sky remained as evidence, as if the heavens themselves had been breached.
Beneath the spot where the light pillar had erupted, deep within the earth under a seemingly 'ordinary' small island, the scene was now drastically transformed from what it had been…
The tunnel Yue Shuo had converted into a rudimentary cave dwelling was now devoid of its previously rich spiritual energy. The barrier that had blocked the tunnel's end was gone. Within the fifty-meter spherical chamber, the overwhelming concentration of spiritual energy had vanished. The entire protective formation had dissipated. Gone too were the brilliant streams of colored light that once filled the space. The cavern lay empty and silent, save for one striking feature: the lone figure sitting cross-legged at its very center.
After a prolonged stillness, Lin Feng's eyelids twitched. Slowly, they lifted. A fleeting hint of colored light flashed deep within his pupils before fading. He lowered his gaze, examining his own body. Reflexively, his hands clenched into fists. An irrepressible surge of excitement and profound joy lit up his eyes, and a smile tugged instinctively at the corners of his mouth.
"So this… this is the feeling of a Heavenly Spirit Root? This is the power of the Starry Chroma Art? Truly… extraordinary…"
Marveling inwardly, Lin Feng directed his spiritual sense inward, meticulously examining every subtle change within his body. His cultivation level remained at the fourth layer of Golden Core, unchanged from before the transformation. Yet, his internal perception was utterly, fundamentally different. The speed at which true essence circulated through his meridians was incomparable to the past. Moreover, its purity had ascended to a staggering new level – the difference was akin to comparing crystal-clear spring water to murky sludge. The same quantity of true essence could now unleash power on an entirely different plane.
This sensation was profoundly profound. If one word could capture it… it was transcendence. Lin Feng felt reborn, experiencing the boundless exhilaration of shedding an old body and forging a new one – a true metamorphosis!
A surge of fierce anticipation welled up within him. He yearned to find an opponent – whether human or powerful demon beast – immediately, to test the sheer magnitude of his transformation.
Only after thoroughly inspecting his internal state did Lin Feng finally raise his head to survey his surroundings. His gaze swept the chamber. The absence of the protective barrier and the complete dissipation of the once-immense spiritual energy caused him a moment of confusion. Then understanding dawned. The sheer volume of spiritual energy required for cultivating the Starry Chroma Art must have been astronomical. It had consumed everything – all the accumulated energy meticulously gathered over time to nurture the Seven-Color Immortal Lotus. Recalling his earlier speculation that the Spirit Gathering Array here was likely Grade Five, possibly even Grade Six, Lin Feng felt a ripple of awe. He had just depleted the entire reservoir of such a formidable formation solely for his own transformation!
The thought of the formation inevitably led his mind back to his father. If that formation was Father's work… what level of cultivation had he truly attained?
I've followed Father's path, he reflected. I found this place and cultivated the Starry Chroma Art. From the sensations, it seems successful without mishap. The next step is clear: cultivate diligently until I reach the Nascent Soul stage. Then… to the Profound Ice Palace. To discover what Father entrusted there. And afterward, step by step, follow the clues… to find my parents….
The weight of the tasks ahead settled upon him. Lin Feng's fists unconsciously clenched tighter, his expression hardening with renewed determination.
...
Lin Feng remained blissfully unaware of the immense spectacle his cultivation of the Starry Chroma Art had caused. His mind was still settling, the elation not yet fully subsided. There was no rush to depart. Instead, he turned his attention to the spoils taken from Yue Shuo, beginning a meticulous inspection.
Yue Shuo's massive golden broadsword was a top-grade spirit artifact. While Lin Feng wasn't particularly adept with such heavy melee weapons, it was valuable enough to keep as a contingency. The blue flying sword was also significant, being a high-grade spirit artifact. Delving into Yue Shuo's storage ring yielded even more treasures: over a hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones, a substantial collection of mid-to-high-grade forging materials and spirit herbs, and several jade slips. Among these slips was an Earth-rank Mid-Grade water-element cultivation technique and three technique manuals. The most potent among them was an Earth-rank Mid-Grade technique called Water Dragon Strangulation Technique – the very same formidable water-based attack Yue Shuo had unleashed earlier.
In the past, this water-element technique would have been utterly unsuitable for Lin Feng. Now, however, things had changed. Having cultivated the Starry Chroma Art, he commanded an affinity for all seven elements. Practically speaking, there were almost no techniques that were 'unsuitable' for him anymore. In fact, as he casually skimmed the contents of the Water Dragon Strangulation Technique jade slip, an inexplicable certainty washed over him: executing this technique… didn't seem difficult at all…
"Crunch, crunch…"
Just as Lin Feng was about to delve deeper into studying the technique manual, a peculiar, rhythmic sound reached his ears. He paused, instinctively turning his head towards the source.
His gaze landed on Xiaoqiu. The small creature was huddled nearby, clutching something tightly in its paws… and steadily gnawing on it.
At first, Lin Feng assumed Xiaoqiu was simply munching on spirit stones again. But when his eyes focused and he clearly identified the object Xiaoqiu was diligently chewing…
Lin Feng froze.