Chapter 222 The First Soul Core is Successfully Refined!
The stone gate slowly opened under the Poison Undying Palm.
The room was dimly lit, and the soul-guided lamps on the walls flickered due to the interference of soul power fluctuations.
Liu Yuan sat cross-legged on the futon, his eyes closed, his forehead covered with fine beads of sweat.
His aura was extremely unstable, his soul power sometimes overflowed, making the surrounding air buzz, and sometimes it contracted inward, causing his body to slightly sag.
Elder Chen frowned as soon as he entered the room.
He sensed that the circulation of soul power within Liu Yuan's body had lost its normal rhythm, the energy flow in his meridians was chaotic, and there were even signs of reverse flow in some places.
Based on his many years of cultivation experience, this was a sign of going astray in cultivation.
"Not good." Elder Chen stepped forward quickly. Although his left hand was still wrapped in bandages, his right hand was already raised, with a ball of gentle soul power gathering in his palm.
"His breathing is too erratic. If we don't interrupt it soon, something terrible might happen."
He was about to make a move to forcefully wake Liu Yuan from this state.
A hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"etc."
"Sect Master, we can't wait any longer," Elder Chen said urgently, his voice rising several decibels.
"Look at the flow of his soul power. Several meridians have already shown signs of reverse flow. If this continues, at best his meridians will be damaged, and at worst his soul power will go berserk."
"He's only at level 62 now. No matter how solid his foundation is, he can't withstand this kind of turmoil."
Poison didn't let go.
His gaze swept over Liu Yuan, from the top of his head to his chest, and then to his dantian.
His perception was deeper than Elder Chen's; he wasn't just looking at the surface of the soul power, but sensing the essence behind the chaos within Liu Yuan's body.
After a moment, Du Busi's brows relaxed slightly, but his expression became even more serious.
"It's not a case of going astray," he said.
Elder Chen was stunned.
"Not a qi deviation? Sect Master, look closely, his soul power is flowing in reverse, his aura is chaotic, this is clearly—"
"He's condensing a soul core," Poison Undying interrupted him.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Elder Chen's hand froze in mid-air, the soul power in his palm slowly dissipating. He looked at Du Busi, then at Liu Yuan, his expression shifting from anxiety to bewilderment, and then from bewilderment to disbelief.
"A soul core?" Elder Chen's voice changed slightly. "Sect Master, are you sure you're not mistaken? He's only level sixty-two, how could he possibly condense a soul core? That's something only Title Douluos possess."
"I know." Poison Undying's tone was calm, but Elder Chen could tell something was pressing beneath that calm. "I don't believe it either. But I looked three times, and there's a solid core forming in the center of his dantian, and soul power is gathering towards that core. What else could it be but a soul core?"
Elder Chen opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't find a reason for it.
He probed Liu Yuan's senses again, this time observing him more closely.
Sure enough, deep within Liu Yuan's dantian, at the center of that liquid soul power, an extremely tiny solid was slowly rotating. With each rotation, a portion of the surrounding soul power would be absorbed, and the solid was gradually growing larger.
Although tiny, it is indeed solid.
Elder Chen fell silent.
He had cultivated for most of his life, met countless geniuses, and read countless classic texts.
But he had never heard of anyone starting to condense a soul core at level sixty-two.
"How is this possible…" he muttered to himself.
Poison Never Dies did not answer this question.
He was also thinking about this question, but he couldn't come up with an answer.
Liu Yuan, this disciple, has been breaking conventions ever since the day he entered the sect.
Now, he's done yet another outrageous thing.
A sixty-two-level condensed soul core.
Poison Undying took a deep breath.
He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but he was clear about one thing—condensing a soul core was no child's play. If he was interrupted halfway through, not only would all his previous efforts be wasted, but it could also cause irreversible damage to Liu Yuan's foundation.
"We can't interrupt him," Poison Undying decided.
Elder Chen grew anxious. He turned to look at Du Busi, his eyes brimming with worry: "Sect Master, do you know what you're saying?"
"He's only level 62, and the total amount of soul power in his body is simply insufficient to support the formation of a soul core."
"If you force it to condense, once the soul power supply is insufficient, the soul core will backfire and drain all the energy in his body. At that time, not to mention his cultivation, he may not even be able to save his life."
"I know." Poison Undying's voice deepened. "But do you think it's okay to interrupt him now? During the process of condensing the soul core, his dantian has already entered that state. If it is forcibly interrupted, the soul power will reverse and his dantian will explode. That would be worse than a backlash."
Elder Chen opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
He was certainly aware of the consequences of interrupting. It was precisely because he knew this that he was caught in a dilemma.
If you don't interrupt, you might suffer a backlash; if you do interrupt, your dantian might shatter directly.
Both options were extremely risky, and he didn't know what to do.
"What should we do then?" Elder Chen's voice was a little hoarse. "I've lived for so many years, and this is the first time I've encountered something like this."
Poison didn't answer immediately.
He stood there, looking at Liu Yuan's face, which was slightly distorted by pain.
He could tell that Liu Yuan was under tremendous pressure.
The soul power circulated too fast, causing the meridians to swell and become uncontrollable. Liu Yuan could only passively follow along, having no control whatsoever.
This can't go on.
Poison Undying's mind raced.
Although the process of condensing his soul core was not easy, it was a natural outcome thanks to his profound soul power foundation.
However, Liu Yuan is only at level sixty-two, and his total soul power is far too low. He cannot withstand the strain by brute force alone.
He needs guidance.
Instead of forcibly interrupting, we used the right method to let Liu Yuan take control of the process himself.
Du Busi walked up to Liu Yuan, squatted down, and looked at Liu Yuan's brow. He didn't touch Liu Yuan, but spoke, his voice not loud, but very clear.
"Liu Yuan, can you hear me?"
Liu Yuan's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't open them. His body was still trembling slightly, and his soul power was still fluctuating violently.
"You are currently condensing your soul core," Poison Undying continued, speaking slowly and clearly enunciating each word.
"This isn't a bad thing, but what you're doing right now is wrong. You're using brute force, trying to squeeze all your soul power into that core. That won't work. Your total soul power isn't enough, and forcing it in will only cause your meridians to break down."
Elder Chen stood to the side, holding his breath and not daring to make a sound.
"The essence of the soul core is not compression," Poison Undying's voice was steady and powerful. "It's solidification. What you need to do is not to compress liquid soul power into solid, but to let the soul power naturally deposit at the core. Just like water freezing, it will naturally solidify when the temperature is right. If you force it to solidify, it will shatter."
Liu Yuan's breathing seemed to have calmed down a bit.
Poison Undying continued, "Shift your attention away from the core. Don't try to control it; let it turn on its own."
"What you need to do is to circulate all the soul power in your body according to the route of the 'Secret Technique of the Body,' so that when it passes through the dantian, it naturally passes through that core. If once is not enough, do it twice; if twice is not enough, do it three times."
"Every time the soul power passes through, a portion of it will remain in the core. When the time comes, it will naturally be formed."
Only the faint hum of the soul-guiding lamp and Liu Yuan's heavy breathing remained in the secret room.
Du Bu Si didn't speak again. He stood up, took two steps back, and kept his gaze fixed on Liu Yuan.
Elder Chen stood beside him, and neither of them uttered a sound.
Time passed by, second by second.
Initially, the fluctuations of soul power around Liu Yuan's body did not change much; they remained chaotic and intense.
Elder Chen's brows furrowed more and more, and he tried to speak several times, but was stopped by Du Busi's eyes.
Then, a change occurred.
First, the overflowing soul power began to contract inward. It wasn't a forced contraction, but rather, like the receding tide, it naturally flowed back into Liu Yuan's body. Then, the frequency of the soul power fluctuations began to decrease, from intense to gentle, and from gentle to stable.
Elder Chen's eyes widened little by little.
He could sense that the soul power within Liu Yuan's body was operating according to the method described by Du Bu Si.
It was no longer a chaotic, disorderly collision, but rather a complete cycle. The soul power started from the dantian, traveled throughout the body along the route of the "Secret Technique of the Body," returned to the dantian, passed through the forming core, left some energy behind, and then set off again.
One lap, two laps, three laps.
The core is slowly growing larger.
It wasn't forced in, but rather piled up layer by layer, like snow. Each swirling stream of soul power left a thin layer on top. Although each layer was thin, the sheer number of times it accumulated was enough.
Elder Chen clenched his fists instinctively.
He dared not speak, for fear of disturbing Liu Yuan.
But his eyes were filled with shock.
Because he could see that Liu Yuan was indeed condensing a soul core.
Moreover, at this rate, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be completed sooner or later.
Even though the poison didn't kill him, he could still feel it.
His expression didn't change much, but the knuckles of his right hand, which was gripping the armrest, turned slightly white.
Another quarter of an hour passed.
The fluctuations of soul power around Liu Yuan's body completely stabilized.
That calmness wasn't the previous tranquility, but rather carried a restrained sense of weight. Like an undercurrent beneath the surface of a lake, nothing is visible on the surface, but it contains immense energy.
Poison Undying nodded slightly.
Elder Chen finally couldn't hold back any longer. He asked in a very low voice, "Sect Master, is he... about to succeed?"
Du Bu Si did not answer, but his gaze never left Liu Yuan.
Just then, Liu Yuan's body suddenly trembled.
It wasn't the kind of uncontrollable trembling, but a vibration from the inside out, as if something inside him had completed its final closure.
Immediately afterwards, a dense surge of soul power erupted from his dantian, sweeping across the entire secret chamber in an instant before quickly receding back as if it had never existed.
The secret room returned to silence.
Liu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
(End of chapter)