193: Dou Su Sword

The refining began.

He held his breath and concentrated, first activating the Golden Core True Fire, a gentle yet powerful Origin fire that enveloped the autumn water sword.

The sword body gradually softened in the True Fire, like solid ice melting under the warm sun. Pure Water Spiritual Power was slowly refined, transforming into a flowing mass of clear spiritual light.

Next, he immersed his Divine Sense into the xuanming heavy water bead. Inside the bead was the vast and heavy essence of Xuanming Heavy Water, extremely yin and cold.

Then, using his own Gui Water Sword Essence as a guide, like steering a small boat through raging waves, he drew out a wisp of the most primordial Xuanming Water Essence.

This process was extremely taxing on his mind. A slight mistake would not only damage the Origin of the bead body but could also trigger a backlash from the heavy water.

When he successfully drew out that wisp of Xuanming Water Essence and it met the clear spiritual light formed from the autumn water sword, a strange transformation occurred.

The clear spiritual light seemed to find its anchor, actively intertwining with it, and the Xuanming Water Essence did not reject it. The two began to slowly fuse, their color deepening. It retained the agility of the autumn water while gaining the profoundness of Xuanming.

Next, Lin Feng circulated his Mind-Cultivation Technique, slowly channeling his hard-Cultivated Gui Water Sword Essence into the fused water-elemental essence.

Clearly, this was not a simple superposition of energy, but rather using his own Sword Intent and understanding of water as the soul to shape and enlighten this unconscious energy essence.

His Heart-Nature was completely immersed in it. Every bit of Sword Essence that fused carried his understanding of water's resilience, changeability, and vastness.

Three months passed in silence.

The energy mass, which had fused the spiritual nature of autumn water, the Origin of Xuanming, and the Gui Water Sword Essence, gradually elongated, condensed, and took on theprototype of a sword under the continuous tempering of the Golden Core True Fire and Lin Feng's mental sculpting power.

The sword body was no longer the bright color of the autumn water sword, but a deep, dark blue, as if containing an boundless deep sea. The blade was not yet sharpened, but it naturally exuded an aura of both heaviness and sharpness.

As the last trace of Impurities was refined away by the True Fire and the final Sword Intent imprint was completed, the sword embryo suddenly emitted a clear, resonant hum.

The dark blue light on the sword body retracted, finally solidifying into an ancient and majestic longsword, three feet and two inches long.

As the sword body's light flowed, there seemed to be an undercurrent of tides, and the heavy Sword Intent subtly distorted the surrounding light.

The dou su sword, the first of the Northern Black Tortoise's Seven Mansions, was complete!

Once this sword was forged, it became connected to Lin Feng's Heart-Nature. With a slight thought, the dou su sword transformed into a dark blue stream of light and silently merged into his body.

After Lin Feng stabilized his Core Formation Early Stage Realm and nurtured the dou su sword in his Dantian, he finally opened his Immortal Cave, which had been sealed for several months.

He pondered for a moment and decided to first go pay respects to his Revered Master, Lu Yuchan.

At the peak of Yunmiao Peak, the Cloud Vast Pavilion was still shrouded in a faint cold mist. When Lin Feng stepped onto the mountaintop, his Revered Master was facing away from him, gazing at the surging sea of clouds outside the pavilion, her posture tall and solitary. Hearing footsteps, she slowly turned around.

When her gaze fell upon Lin Feng, her always cool and clear eyes seemed to freeze for a moment.

She quietly observed him from head to toe, as if trying to see through his increasingly profound Qi after Core Formation, discerning every change during his seclusion.

"Disciple Lin Feng pays respects to Revered Master," Lin Feng bowed respectfully.

"Rise."

After Lin Feng stood upright, her gaze remained on his face as she continued, "The Golden Core is complete, with a purple-gold manifestation. Very good."

She paused, her gaze seemingly drifting far away, past Lin Feng, to a more distant past. "Back then, during the Sect Secret Realm assessment, I saw that your Heart-Nature was resilient, not one to remain in a shallow pool."

Her tone carried a hint of faint reminiscence. "Forcibly taking you in as a Disciple might have disrupted your path, but it seems..."

Her gaze refocused on Lin Feng. "You have, after all, forged your own path."

Lin Feng felt the weight of his Revered Master's words, and his heart was solemn. He bowed again: "Without Revered Master taking me in back then and repeatedly granting me Opportunities, this Disciple would not be where he is today. This Disciple will always remember it."

Lu Yuchan nodded slightly, saying no more, her expression having returned to its usual coolness, as if the earlier gentleness had been an illusion.

She shifted her gaze, looking out at the sea of clouds beyond the window again. "Since you have achieved Core Formation, you are now a high-ranking member of my Tianxuan Sect. Go to the Elder Hall."

Bidding farewell to his Revered Master, Lin Feng ascended into the air, transforming into a faint golden stream of light, and flew directly towards the Elder Hall located on the main peak.

This was where the Sect handled important affairs and where high-ranking officials held discussions. It was also where newly advanced Core Formation Cultivators needed to report and establish their identities.

As he flew past, whether it was Outer Sect Disciples hurrying along the mountain paths and plazas below, or inner Sect elites chatting in groups of two or three, as soon as they sensed the undisguised Core Formation Stage Spiritual Pressure in the air, they all stopped in unison, looking up with awe.

When they clearly saw it was Lin Feng, many people's faces showed even more complex expressions: admiration, envy, and a hint of sudden realization—it really was him!

Everyone bowed, uniformly calling out, "Greetings, Junior Martial Uncle Lin!"

Their voices converged into a faint sound wave, echoing through the valley.

Foundation Establishment and Core Formation—this single character difference represented a chasm-like gap in status within the Sect.

From now on, he had completely distanced himself in terms of seniority and hierarchy from the many Foundation Establishment Disciples.

Stepping into the magnificent and solemn Elder Hall, the gazes of several on-duty Core Formation Elders simultaneously turned towards him.

The first among them was Elder Xuan Yue, tall and with an ancient, simple face.

Elder Xuan Yue looked at Lin Feng, who was walking steadily towards him, and a trace of almost imperceptible trance flashed deep within his eyes.

He remembered it clearly: many years ago, when he saw this young man in the Black Abyss Forest, he was merely a small Qi Refining Cultivator doing Menial Servant work, not even having obtained the status of an Outer Sect Disciple.

Although he later had some outstanding performances in the Sect Grand Competition, he had only just successfully achieved Foundation Establishment at that time.

At the time, he felt that this child had a steady Heart-Nature, different from ordinary people, but he never would have imagined that in just a few decades, the other party would already be standing before him, his Spiritual Pressure profound, clearly a Core Formation Cultivator on equal footing with himself.

This speed of Cultivation was simply astonishing. Elder Xuan Yue's heart couldn't help but ripple. He subconsciously thought of his Personal Disciple, Qin Yang, whose Aptitude was also quite good, but who had been stuck at Foundation Establishment Mid-stage for many years, unable to Breakthrough.

The comparison filled his heart with an indescribable feeling. Could it be that this Lin Feng had obtained some Heaven-Defying Opportunity and fortune? Otherwise, how could he... With a myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind, Elder Xuan Yue's face already showed a very genial smile. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Junior Brother Lin, congratulations! With the Major Achievement of the Golden Core, purple Qi comes from the east; this is truly a great fortune for our Tianxuan Sect!"

A serious-faced Elder next to him also nodded in agreement: "The celestial phenomena, radiant light, and immortal music that Junior Brother Lin triggered during his Core Formation are rare in the past hundred years. With such a Foundation, a great Dao can be expected in the future. The Sect has already prepared the Core Formation Elder's stipend for you, along with full authority over resource allocation."

The attitude of these Elders was completely different from Lin Feng's memory. In the past, these Core Formation Elders were all high and mighty, with profound auras that commanded respect.

But now, their gazes towards him, while still containing scrutiny, held more of an equal recognition, and their words carried obvious intentions of drawing him in and befriending him.

This was the world after Core Formation.

Resources, status, and discourse power—everything was overturned accordingly.

From then on, the sky was vast, and within the Sect, there were few rules that could restrain him.