Chapter 378 - 24: Successful Cultivation of Evil! Zhong Ming: Who Can Kill Me

Chapter 378: Chapter 24: Successful Cultivation of Evil! Zhong Ming: Who Can Kill Me

The Celestial Sea King had watched from the very beginning as Zhong Ming absorbed the Sha Qi.

When Zhong Ming fused with the first bottle of Sha Qi, the Celestial Sea King’s expression was already one of astonishment. Celestial Level, Divine Fall Evil, a first-time Refining Evil—this combination of three factors had led the Celestial Sea King to predict that Zhong Ming would only manage to refine a single wisp of Sha Qi.

As it turned out, Zhong Ming didn’t just refine one wisp, or even double that amount. He refined an entire bottle.

The moment this happened, Zhong Ming’s status and importance in his heart had already surpassed that of Lu Yuan, the Child of Heaven’s Will he had originally sought to recruit.

At that point, however, he only felt that while Zhong Ming had exceeded expectations, it wasn’t yet truly shocking.

But as Zhong Ming refined the second and third bottles, his mindset began to slowly change.

And after the tenth bottle, when he saw that Zhong Ming was Refining Evil as easily as drinking water, without a hint of pressure, the Celestial Sea King was simply numb with shock.

’He can’t possibly succeed in refining it all in one go, can he... Besides, from the looks of it, the amount of Sha Qi he needs is at least ten times more than an ordinary cultivator.’

The Celestial Sea King was now starting to regret his earlier words, and his heart ached at the cost.

However, despite the extreme pain in his heart, he saw that Zhong Ming was still going and didn’t stop him. Instead, he steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and continued to provide the Sha Qi.

He did this not only to save face and build a good relationship with Zhong Ming, but also for another reason: the sunk cost was already too high.

’I’ve already given Zhong Ming ten bottles of Divine Fall Evil. If I give up now, all that effort will be for nothing. On the other hand, if I continue to supply him, Zhong Ming will be deeply indebted to me... Besides, to succeed at his first attempt at Refining Evil, Zhong Ming’s Talent is on a completely different level from Lu Yuan’s. He’s a once-in-a-millennium genius in the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty. If I can win his friendship, then once he’s powerful, this amount of Sha Qi will be trivial.’

’And from the looks of it, his growth rate won’t be slow at all.’

Considering that Zhong Ming could complete the first threshold of the Dao Foundation Realm—Refining Evil—in a single session, Shen Jiuyuan doubted that Gang Qi would be much of an obstacle for him either.

’As long as he has enough resources, he might even be able to replicate this exact situation. That is to say, he could potentially complete the tempering for Gang Condensation as early as tomorrow.’

’In that case, his only bottlenecks to reaching the Golden Core realm would be Wind Fiend Unity and the Thunder Tribulation.’

For a cultivator to form a Golden Core, it is necessary for Yin and Yang to Complement Each Other, for the Dragon and Tiger to Converge.

In the Dao Foundation Realm, Refining Evil is yin and Gang Condensation is yang. The so-called Wind Fiend Unity is precisely this convergence of yin and yang.

Thus, upon reaching this stage, a cultivator can attempt the ultimate leap and ascend to the Golden Core realm.

Of course, getting the Wind and Fiend to fuse is no easy task.

Both Gang Qi and Sha Qi contain the Laws of Heaven and Earth. Furthermore, the Earth Demon is turbid energy, while the Celestial Spirits are pure energy. It is incredibly difficult for the pure and the turbid to merge.

To balance and fuse the two, a cultivator’s understanding of the world must reach a certain level.

This is what is commonly known as Dao Practice, and it is the very reason why many Great Cultivators say that Magical Power is easy to accumulate, but Dao Practice is hard to cultivate.

Shen Jiuyuan muttered to himself, ’I wonder what level his Cultivation Technique is?’

’Dao Practice is inextricably linked to the Cultivation Method Realm and the Cultivation Method Level... If he’s cultivating a Celestial-level Technique, he would only need to advance his technique to the Master level before he could begin Wind Fiend Unity.’

’If it were an Earth-level Technique, he would need to reach the Grandmaster Realm.’

Shen Jiuyuan didn’t even consider techniques below the Earth Level.

Not all Cultivation Techniques can even achieve Wind Fiend Unity.

This was why many minor sects, despite having legacies stretching back hundreds of years, failed to produce a single Golden Core cultivator. Their techniques simply couldn’t support the fusion of Wind and Fiend. Even if one of them had a fortuitous encounter and managed to force a fusion, the Cultivation Method Level was too low. The resulting Magical Power would be so weak that their chances of surviving the Thunder Tribulation would be less than ten percent.

This was the great limitation of minor sects—they truly had a hard ceiling on their potential.

However, Shen Jiuyuan didn’t believe such a ceiling applied to Zhong Ming, nor did he think Zhong Ming’s Cultivation Method Realm would be low.

’Prince Qinghe should be able to provide a Celestial-level or at least an Earth-level Technique... and for him to absorb Wind Fiend Qi this easily, his Cultivation Method Realm must not be far from the Master or Grandmaster level...’

At this thought, the Celestial Sea King felt a pang of regret. He felt that his earlier words had been spoken too soon, too rashly.

After a moment’s hesitation, he secretly sent a message to his daughter. "Wanshang, perhaps you should reconsider."

"Outstanding prodigies are always sought after. It’s quite common for a man to have several wives and concubines."

"..." This remark left Shen Wanshang speechless, but she understood why her father had suddenly changed his attitude.

Before, in her eyes and the eyes of the Celestial Sea King, Zhong Ming was merely an outstanding prodigy.

By all rational estimations, for someone like that to become a Daoist expert at the Golden Core level would take ten years at the very least, or more likely, thirty to fifty years.

Don’t think that’s a long time. The path of Foundation Establishment, the second stage of cultivation, is not an easy one to walk.

High-quality Sha Qi must be sought out. And once found, a cultivator’s body limits them to refining only a small amount at a time. After a single normal refinement session, a cultivator needs to rest for several days to recover.

The Refining Evil process alone takes three to five years, at minimum.

And that’s for ordinary Sha Qi. For something as exceedingly difficult to refine as Divine Fall Evil, it could easily drag on for ten years.

Gang Condensation, which comes after Refining Evil, follows a similar process. However, high-quality Gang Qi hangs high in the firmament, making it even harder to find. Furthermore, it is the Divine Soul that fuses with the Gang Qi, requiring extreme caution at every step. Thus, it wouldn’t be strange for even a talented cultivator to spend thirty years just to complete Gang Condensation.