Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

Initially, the wonder water that Lu Ping had selected for his Mid Core Forging Realm breakthrough was the Magnificent Wave Water that he had looted from Enlightened Master Kong Liang. There were two reasons behind this choice.

Firstly, the Magnificent Wave Water was an Earth-class low-grade wonder item, which was good enough for the breakthrough.

Secondly, it was three times the usual amount needed, making it just about sufficient for Lu Ping, a cultivator whose foundation was extremely consolidated and pure, causing him to need a larger amount of wonder water.

However, this was based on the premise that Lu Ping underwent an ordinary breakthrough. When Lu Ping suddenly found himself experiencing another bloodline evolution, enhancing his Golden Core by one-third, subsequently improving his cultivation foundation, he suddenly realized that the Magnificent Wave Water was no longer sufficient!

In all honesty, it wasn't that the Magnificent Wave Water couldn't help him breakthrough. If he chose to fuse the Magnificent Wave Water into his Golden Core, not only would he successfully advance to the Mid Core Forging Realm, he might even breakthrough to the Fifth Layer Core Forging Realm right away after absorbing the overflowing bloodline essence and true energy in his body. 24062

The downside of doing this was that the Magnificent Wave Water wouldn't be able to fully unlock the potential of his recently enhanced Golden Core.

But in this state, and at this critical juncture, how could he go out and find more Magnificent Wave Water? Not to mention he also didn’t even know where he could find it.

But if he didn't use the Magnificent Wave Water, he would have to expel the overflowing bloodline essence and true energy out of his body. This way, not only would he miss the opportunity to breakthrough, he would also damage his cultivation foundation in the process!

Left with no choice, Lu Ping took out another bowl of wonder water, the Luminant Water that he had received from Qu Xuan-Cheng.

Should he fuse two wonder waters at the same time?

Although this would help him solve his current issue, it would also inhibit his future cultivation. In the history of the cultivation world, no cultivator had ever fused two wonder waters in a breakthrough and then gone on to breakthrough again.

In other words, if Lu Ping fused the Magnificent Wave Water and Luminant Water together during his Mid Core Forging Realm breakthrough, he would never be able to breakthrough to the Late Core Forging Realm!

As time passed, the massive bloodline essence and true energy circulating in his body started to burn his body all over. If he didn’t reach a decision soon, the essence and energy would eventually explode his heartspace and cause his body to burst.

What else have I got… what else… That's right, the Mystical Heavy Water! But should I use it? It's a Heaven-class low-grade wonder water! They are only used by Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters for their Avatar realm breakthrough!

Lu Ping could never forget the effort Liang Xuan-Feng put in to obtain the Heavenly Wind Leaf and the uncontrollable joy on his face when he finally got it.

Heaven-class wonder items were only used by Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters, and most of the time, being able to actually fuse with a Heaven-class wonder item meant that the Enlightened Master would successfully breakthrough to the Avatar Realm!

On the other hand, Lu Ping was just an Early Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master. Would he actually be able to fuse with a Heaven-class wonder water at all?

Lu Ping shook his head, and shifted his gaze to the lapis jar of Million Poisons Pulp. More specifically, he was looking at the unknown spirit water inside the Million Poisons Pulp.

Lu Ping knew the unknown spirit water was a kind of wonder water, and its grade was definitely not low. However, he had no idea what it was at all. Due to his weak cultivation base back then, he didn't dare to take it out and ask anyone what it was, so he had quietly tried to find out by himself.

After he advanced to the Core Forging Realm, he had been busy all the time, distracting him from this matter, so he still didn’t know what it was. Naturally, this stopped him from deciding to fuse it into his Golden Core until he learned more about it.

Additionally, the amount of this unknown spirit water wasn't very much, so he didn't think it would be enough for his breakthrough.

A few moments later, Lu Ping turned his gaze back to the Mystical Heavy Water; there were no other options left, but it was a very risky decision.

If other Enlightened Masters knew that he would be using a Heaven-class wonder water in his Mid Core Forging Realm breakthrough, they would have coughed out blood for certain.

….

"Can we be sure he's in closed-door cultivation?"

"It's been more than a year since he was last active and no one on Huang Li Island has seen him as well. He must be in seclusion on Huang Li Island for his Mid Core Forging Realm breakthrough."

"Well, his cultivation is profound, and his strength is far beyond his peers. Not only has he inherited Senior Sister Tian-Ling's cultivation purity, his cultivation is also abundant. Taking this into consideration, he would need at least three to five years for the breakthrough. He’s truly a talent. If it wasn’t already certain that we will be enemies in the future, I would never want to be a part of this."

"We aren’t trying to kill him, not this time at least. Our goal is to spoil his reputation and make him give up on Huang Li Island. We can now confirm he has at least two small spirit veins on the island, making it almost a medium island. Additionally, there are already more than twenty spiritual fields, which will soon increase to more than thirty at this rate.

"Other than that, he has set up an extremely tough protective formation on the island; it has withstood Enlightened Master Mo Wei's attack without breaking at all. Most importantly, Huang Li Island's strategic location means that it will be a hub for cultivation resources. If we can get a hold of these resources, our future will be guaranteed!"

"What's the situation on the island?"

"Putting aside the Blood Refining Realm cultivators, there are more than 500 Blood Condensation Realm cultivators on the island. Most are rogue cultivators and disciples from our sect. The sect has stationed two teams of six Blood Condensation Realm disciples to maintain order and stability on the island. Each team is led by a Late Blood Condensation Realm disciple.

"The central market is managed by an Early Blood Condensation Realm cultivator named Fang Tao, who was also Lu Ping's store manager. Besides Lu Ping in seclusion, there are three Enlightened Masters, all of whom are in the Early Core Forging Realm. They are Senior Uncle Xuan-Huo's disciple, Chen Xuan-Lian; Junior Aunty Xuan-Chen's disciple and Lu Ping's soulmate, Hu Lili; and his monster pet called Lu Qin. Oh, there is also Hu Lili's friend, Zheng Jie, a Peak Blood Condensation Realm cultivator."

"With them present, along with the protective formation, they are enough to handle the monster forces nearby. It seems like he prepared well before entering closed-door cultivation. Let's not forget his other friends who aren’t on the island, but are constantly keeping an eye on the situation. They will be here the first minute anything happens."

"It's indeed a difficult situation, what does junior uncle have in mind?"

"Once the monsters besiege Huang Li Island, Hu Lili will be bound inside the cave-dwelling to look after the island protective formation chassis. While Chen Lian and the monster pet will be defending against the monster cultivators attacking the island. If we find a method to lure that monster pet away, we will greatly weaken the island's defense."

"This isn’t too difficult, Great Ancestor Jiang Tian-Lin's daughter, Jiang Xuan-Xuan, often looks for the monster pet to play with. We just have to find a way to lure her to Tian Ling Mountain."

"That's a good idea. In that case, you will be in charge of this. Besides that, we have to get the monster race involved in this. We only have a chance to take over Huang Li Island when the island is breached and compromised by the monsters."

"Junior uncle, will this be too risky? Why will the monsters listen to us? What if they truly occupy the island and don't return it to us? Furthermore, once they attack, his friends will definitely come to reinforce the island, our plan will…"

"Don't worry, it's all been worked out. We are all Zhen Ling Sect disciples; how can we collude with the monsters? All I will do is turn Huang Li Island into a trap that will severely damage the monster race's forces in the northern region. But in order to achieve this glorious feat, we also have to pay a price. As long as the cultivators on Huang Li Island die for something, no one will say anything. Even if Liu Tian-Ling decides to retaliate without reason, there’s still nothing to be afraid of. She isn't the only one with power in the sect!"

"Then, junior uncle, what are the specifics…"

"I will handle those. All you have to do is to release the clan's monster pets out to the monster sea and spread the information of Huang Li Island's defenses to the monster race. At the same time, use the clan's connections to contact the other sects and let them know about the upcoming monster invasion on Huang Li Island, they will know what to do. I believe they will be more than willing to see the sect take a hard hit and suffer some losses."

"Junior uncle, what a brilliant move! Once the monster race takes the island, you will step up and send them away, reclaiming the island and naturally taking control over it. This way, the sect's reputation will still be maintained, your fame will be boosted, and we will also eliminate a potential future enemy! No one, not the monster race nor the other sects, will gain anything but us. Best of all, no one will ever know that it was all orchestrated by junior uncle. Truly brilliant!"