Chapter 106: Mastering the Art of Refining the Golden Elixir

“Have you finished watching?” Zhou Yi asked softly as Song Hai’s body was enveloped in a blue glow and gradually vanished.

“Mm,” Song Hai replied, his face filled with awe, his mind still distant, immersed in the realm of the Ten Thousand Laws Mountain Technique.

“Let’s go,” Zhou Yi said, leading the way outside to find a place to break through the false core stage.

Deep in the mountains, within a vast cavern, Zhou Yi and Song Hai sat cross-legged, eyes closed, each cultivating in silence.

“The technique is divided into two grades: Light Mountain and Heavy Mountain,” Zhou Yi mused, his mind recalling the contents of the Ten Thousand Laws Mountain Technique. “They can be considered two distinct arts, but only one can be practiced at a time. Once the path is chosen, it cannot be changed until completion.”

“So, which path should I take at the start? Light Mountain or Heavy Mountain? It’s quite a dilemma,” he pondered, weighing the cultivation methods and power each path offered, feeling truly torn.

“Heavy Mountain it is,” he decided swiftly after some initial hesitation. He was drawn to the visceral impact—that unique sensation of weight and substance that fascinated him.

“Alright, the direction is set. Now comes the cultivation,” Zhou Yi said excitedly, his heart racing at the thought of the power he would wield upon mastering the Heavy Mountain Technique.

Unable to settle at first, he breathed deeply until his mind calmed before beginning.

“First, according to the Heavy Mountain method, unify the three blossoms of essence, energy, and spirit!”

“Essence! Found it!” His spirit circled his body, linking to the essence within as recorded in the Heavy Mountain method.

“Energy!” His internal force and primordial energy converged instantly, condensing as his mind guided them.

“Spirit!” A rhythmic flow spiraled in his mind, gathering his spirit together, transforming it gradually—from soft cotton to hard steel.

Zhou Yi sat cross-legged as a mysterious aura emanated from him. Though invisible, it carried immense pressure. Within a radius of three meters, time seemed to freeze, and silence reigned.

The three—essence, energy, spirit—formed distinct yet interconnected layers within his body: spirit at the top, energy in the middle, essence at the base.

Like three mountains rooted in his being, their breaths linked, rendering his entire body steadier, suffused with a weight as profound as a mountain range.

---

Within his mind’s domain, engulfed in darkness, Zhou Yi stood facing three towering mountains emerging from the void.

Their height and size were unknown; they were manifestations of the unified essence, energy, and spirit, shaped by Zhou Yi’s will.

Colorless, their presence was defined solely by the aura they emitted against the blackness, making them strikingly visible.

“Essence, energy, and spirit unified—complete,” Zhou Yi’s mind rippled. “Next is to merge the three into one, to break through the Heaven-Human barrier and form the false core!”

“This step was utterly baffling before.”

“But now… ha!” Zhou Yi’s spirit stirred, and an inexplicable rhythm appeared in the darkness, linking the three mountains in a top-to-bottom sequence. A tremendous force spontaneously arose, setting the mountains spinning.

“Nothing could be simpler!”

As the mountains turned, the darkness trembled. Everything within the space moved with the mountains’ rotation.

Soon, the three peaks connected, resembling a pagoda. Along the mysterious rhythm, the upper and lower airs communicated and exchanged breath.

Two channels seemed to open within the mountains—one flowing downward, the other upward—allowing information to merge and flow.

The breaths linked and fused; the darkness convulsed as if the heavens split open with thunderous might.

With the initial fusion of essence, energy, and spirit, Zhou Yi’s physical form outside flickered faintly. The heavy aura surrounding him retracted, and within the one-meter radius where time had paused, everything resumed its natural motion.

The space twisted and shimmered; Zhou Yi’s body felt as if it existed in another realm. The aura expanded rapidly, carrying the imposing force of a mountain splitting the seas.

Yet, no matter how formidable or vast this aura became, it did not perturb the outside world in the slightest.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar like crashing waves surged in Zhou Yi’s mind, drawing his gaze.

“What is this?” Shock overtook him as a vast river stretched across the horizon of his consciousness. Had it not been for the sound of surging waves, he might never have noticed it.

How could this be? This was within his own mind, where his control was absolute. Not even a speck of dust could escape his notice—let alone a river this immense.

---

The moment the river appeared, Zhou Yi’s thoughts barely passed when an invisible allure drew him involuntarily into it.

“What’s happening?” As his spirit entered the river, a cool sensation washed over him, awakening him instantly. He realized what he had done.

But before he could ponder further, immense energies carrying unparalleled information shattered his mental barriers, filling his spirit to the brim. Energy surged through his body like a tempest, everywhere at once.

It was like seawater flooding a river; when full, it overflows. Everywhere he looked, it was so.

Buzz~~~

Just as this torrent of energy churned, threatening to break through the darkness and spill into the outside world, a humming sound like bees flapping their wings arose where the three mountains connected.

The sound formed ripples of energy, radiating through the darkness.

The once tumultuous and overwhelming energy was swept by these ripples; it gathered and calmed instantly.

From chaotic frenzy to serene stillness, a single point of light suddenly appeared in the darkness, sparkling brilliantly.

Boom!

At the light’s emergence, the previously subdued energy burst forth with a low, thunderous roar, like a dam releasing a flood, rushing toward the light.

Rumble, rumble!

The light seemed like a portal, accepting the boundless energy surging in without refusal.

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The light’s appearance acted as a signal. Following the first, countless other points of light emerged one after another, scattered across the darkness like dazzling diamonds.

Rumble, rumble! Rumble, rumble!

After the lights appeared, the long river hanging in the void roared louder, its waves surging wildly. More energy poured from the river into the darkness, flowing ceaselessly and then channeling invisibly into the points of light.