Breaking through the shell was an extremely dangerous matter. In the Qincang School, when the disciples did this, most of them would be protected by their seniors and would give them pointers from time to time. This was to prevent them from damaging their foundation if they were careless.
This was especially so for the disciples who had formed the upper three grades of Dan. It was already not easy to cultivate to the Core Transformation Realm. With such an achievement, one had to be even more careful and cautious. It was like walking on thin ice.
Zhang Yan's Dan had formed the first grade, which was extremely rare. As for how to break through the shell, there was no one who had experienced it before. Even the Enlightened Master Dongtian was helpless and could only rely on himself.
Previously, when he was in Jing Luo Academy, he looked through many books and there were many that explained in detail how to break through the shell.
However, it was not of much help to him. For example, the people who wrote these books were mostly cultivators who had formed the middle three grades of Dan. Among them, there was no lack of cultivators who had formed the lower three grades of Dan. It wasn't that there wasn't anything that could be used as reference, but it was too little.
However, he wasn't worried. With the remnant of the jade in his hand, he could just boldly try it out. He would be able to sort out some clues. It would just take a little more time.
The matter of breaking through was especially important. It was related to his achievements in the future, so he couldn't be disturbed at all.
Therefore, he told the mirror spirit that no matter what happened in the mansion, she could deal with it first and not to disturb him. He also ordered her to open the restriction formation inside and outside of the Clear Serenity Heaven Lake Mansion. He then hid in the True Artifact Small Kettle Mirror and opened the door.
After making all the preparations, he took out the remnant of the jade from his sleeve and immersed his mind into it.
The Jade Clone suddenly sat up and opened its eyes, which flashed with a touch of intelligence.
Zhang Yan moved his limbs a little and looked at the golden core. He stared at the layer of the shell, as if he was looking for a flaw.
This shell membrane was now like colored glass, slightly jade in color. It was transparent from the inside out, with nine distinct orifices, and was as thick as a finger. Even when the Core Evil Qi entered or exited, it could not damage it in the slightest. Instead, it received the turbid Qi from the Jindan and became even more solid and solid. He pondered for a moment, then slowly gathered the Core Evil Qi into the Jindan and circulated it.
Then, after taking a few long breaths, he let out a low shout and used all his strength to push the Core Fiend Qi against the shell membrane. There was a sudden muffled sound, like a muffled thunder beside his ears. His mind exploded, and a powerful force rebounded back, wantonly colliding back and forth in his body. It kept stirring, causing the Golden Core to tremble and make cracking sounds, as if it was about to shatter. Blood spurted out from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. His entire body was in pain, and his limbs were numb and powerless. It was as if he had fought a great battle and exhausted all of his essence energy.
Zhang Yan looked inside again and saw that the shell membrane had also been broken by his tyrannical and powerful Pill Fiend, but the Golden Core had also produced spider web like fine lines. It was obvious that it had suffered quite a bit of damage, and even the Pill Fiend had been consumed by more than half.
If it wasn't for this broken jade clone, he would have been heavily injured and his vitality would have been greatly damaged.
Zhang Yan thought to himself, no wonder this Core Evil Qi was so hard to break and he had to be careful. If he used too much force, he wouldn't be able to break through the barrier. Instead, it would be the same as taking a full force attack from himself. How could he withstand it?
He carefully felt the feeling just now, and he wasn't in a hurry to try again. Instead, he used the Mind Comprehending Technique in the clone to repair his body.
In the broken jade, he used a total of 30 Ri, and Just Now, he was completely healed.
But the strange thing was that as his injuries healed, the layer of shell also closed up, returning to its original appearance.
Zhang Yan couldn't help but nod, thinking that it was indeed so. This layer of the shell was formed by the Golden Core's turbid air, and was almost born from the same body as the Core Evil Qi. In addition, there was also the impurities absorbed from the spiritual energy. The two gathered together, and when the Core Evil Qi slowly recovered, the shell also benefited, absorbing the impurities and filling the gap.
He pondered for a moment and felt that it would be impossible to use the overbearing method to break open the shell membrane in one breath.
He originally wanted to rely on his strong body to withstand the impact and use his strength to break open the shell membrane.
However, the force of the rebound could injure the golden core. If the golden core was damaged too much and couldn't recover, then the quality of the core would drop. This was a common method used by cultivators of the lower three grades, and it was also the simplest method.
Their Core Evil Qi was thin, and the shell membrane was also fragile. If they took protective pills and had a teacher from the same sect watching over them, they could resist the rebound force.
After trying a few times, they would eventually succeed. Even if the Golden Core was damaged and the quality of the Core dropped, it wasn't a big deal to them. In any case, they wouldn't be able to condense Fa Li and True Seals for the rest of their lives, so the difference between a seventh and ninth rank Core Transformation Realm wasn't big. Breaking through this barrier and reaching the second rank was better than being a first rank Core Transformation Realm cultivator.
Zhang Yan thought for a long time and decided to try another method.
This method was similar to the cultivators who formed the middle three ranks of the Core Formation. They would use water to grind away the aperture membrane bit by bit.
After making up his mind, he calmed his mind and rotated the Core Evil Qi, slowly grinding it on the shell membrane. Every time he removed a bit of it, a bit of Evil Qi would disperse.
In order to not let the Evil Qi remain in his body and hinder his cultivation, he had to get rid of it. Thus, he rotated the Core Evil Qi, and a bit of white gas came out of his mouth and nose and floated around him.
With this method, three months passed in a flash.
In these three months, he tried this method no less than ten times, but in the end, he found that this method still didn't work for him.
His Core had reached the first rank, and the shell membrane had reached a point where it couldn't be any stronger. It was tough on the inside and tough on the outside. Every time he rubbed away a bit, a large amount of Core Evil Qi would also be lost. The further he went, the more Core Evil Qi he needed. In the end, every time the shell membrane was just a little bit away from breaking, the Core Evil Qi would be used up.
But once he stopped and rotated the Golden Core again to produce Core Evil Qi, the hole that was rubbed away would close up.
Zhang Yan thought about it for a while, and was secretly shocked.
This shell membrane only needed Evil Qi to replenish itself, and it had never left the body. Every bit of it was gathered together and had never been used up.
But after the Core Evil Qi was lost, it needed to be refined again, and with every bit of Core Evil Qi, the shell membrane would become thicker.
This meant that the more times a cultivator used Core Evil Qi in the first rank of Core Transformation, the thicker the shell membrane would become. In the end, it would reach a point where no matter how much Core Evil Qi was used, it would be impossible to break through. If one didn't find an opportunity to break through to the second rank of Core Transformation, they would never have another opportunity.
And the reason why the cultivators who had formed the third rank of Core Transformation could pass this test was because they learned the techniques passed down by their masters. They knew how to use the Core Evil Qi and how to change between hard and soft.
This method was also recorded in the Luo Academy, and Zhang Yan had seen it before. It could be said that it was extremely complicated and included tens of thousands of methods.
What kind of Golden Core had what kind of method to break out of the shell.
This was a method that had been accumulated by countless cultivators for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
It was so detailed that the method used to break out of the Core was different according to the years of formation.
Thirty years of formation had thirty years of formation, and sixty years of formation had sixty years of formation. As a disciple, he didn't need to think too much. He only needed to pick a suitable method and practice it. In short, as long as one wasn't extremely unlucky, they would most likely be able to pass this test.
Zhang Yan thought for a while and felt that since those two methods weren't feasible, there was only one way for him to pass this test.
That was the method of "turning Qi into a blade"!
The so-called "turning Qi into a blade". It was to master the way of using the Core Evil Qi to change between hard and soft. The method of changing Yin and Yang, condensing the essence like steel, turning Qi into a sword, and finally cutting open the shell membrane!
This required one to slowly move the Core Evil Qi, gather it in one place, and condense it into a point. There was no shortcut to this method, it was just hard training and practice makes perfect.
The Core Evil Qi was originally a vast amount of Qi. Although it could change at will, to completely condense it in one place was extremely difficult. The more abundant the Core Evil Qi, the more difficult it was to accomplish. One needed to slowly condense it, and then try again and again. It was unknown how much effort and time it took.
It was said that great strength was difficult to be small. A person who could swing a thousand pound stick might not be able to pick up an embroidery needle. Zhang Yan's Core was of the first rank, and his Core Evil Qi was vast and powerful. To achieve this step was even more difficult, and it required much more effort than a cultivator of the second rank.
However, to achieve this step, one needed to repeatedly move the Core Evil Qi. During this process of condensing Qi, the Core Evil Qi would be used up, and turbid Qi would be produced. This would inevitably thicken the shell membrane.
In the Qincang School, the two cultivators who had reached the first rank of the Core Evil Qi before him all received the inheritance of the secret method. In addition to their own little bit of luck, they were able to pass this test. However, the process was extremely dangerous and could not be described with words.
Zhang Yan secretly rejoiced that he had the remnant of the jade and did not have to worry about this. All he had to do was repeatedly practice.
Even if he did not succeed the first time, after practicing a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times, he did not believe that he would not be able to grasp the key to this method.
After he made up his mind, Zhang Yan eliminated all distracting thoughts, concentrated, and immersed his entire mind into this Dao.
Winter passed and spring came. Before he knew it, another year had passed. However, Zhang Yan had been inside the jade for more than forty years!
At this time, he suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were clear and sharp. After sitting in silence for a while, he loudly said, "The shackles of the cage cannot stop me!"
He stopped talking and let out a low roar. He turned his Core Evil Qi, turned it into a blade, and slashed down!
There was only a soft sound, like a sharp knife cutting through flesh or rotten wood. On the membrane of the shell, there was a slight crack that could not be seen.
Zhang Yan's eyes flashed with a bright light, and he let out another loud shout. The boundless Pill Baleful Qi pushed outwards, and with a loud bang, it was as if something heavy had been removed from his chest. His body couldn't help but feel light, and a feeling of freedom and freedom surged into his heart.
He immediately understood that from this moment on, he had broken through the shackles, broken through the barrier, and stepped into the realm of the second level of the Core Transformation Realm!
Once the barrier was broken, his spiritual energy more than doubled. Zhang Yan felt that there was a tyrannical force in his body that seemed to be able to move mountains with a slight movement.
He turned his Core Evil Qi and spat out a long breath. The Core Evil Qi brought out of his body and from then on, it would no longer be trapped in his body.
He laughed out loud, waved his sleeve, opened the array door, and flew out of the Small Pot Mirror.
(To be continued!)
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