Yuan Ming calmed his mind and closed his eyes, continuing to probe the changes within his body.

Now, his main soul had followed the movement of the Soul Pill from the Sea of Consciousness to the Dantian, but his body didn't feel any significant discomfort.

Meanwhile, the first soul split remained in the Sea of Consciousness. With the Sea now empty, Yuan Ming commanded this split soul to continue operating the Heart Cleansing Technique to refine the Desire Power into Soul Power.

Having lost a considerable amount of Soul Power to condense the Soul Pill earlier, Yuan Ming allocated half of the refined Desire Power to the split soul, allowing it to recover swiftly, while the rest was infused into the Sea of Consciousness.

The previously vacant Sea of Consciousness gradually began to feel full.

Yuan Ming was still somewhat uneasy and continued to operate the Moonlight Technique.

After a day and night, he felt his Soul Power had fully stabilized and he could finally ease up.

Now that the Soul Pill had been cultivated, the next steps were to push his Mana to the Peak of Foundation Establishment, find the Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid, and practice the Hidden Vein Condensing Pill Technique, making the final preparations for forming the Golden Core.

Yuan Ming pondered for a moment, then stood up and walked out.

He first visited a shop within the inner city that sold elixirs and spent a great deal of money to buy enough Insect Pills to last him two years.

Afterward, he went to the outer city to meet with Xu Che, bestowed upon him several Magic Artifacts, and asked him to temporarily cease managing Xiansha City's secular believers to make a trip to Purple Thunder City in search of Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid.

Having taken care of these two matters, Yuan Ming returned to his residence and directly entered his secret chamber.

Days passed, and life in Xiansha City continued its tranquil course. The common people were still engaged in menial tasks, trading their labor for the necessities of life, and dramas of worldly love, hate, and emotional entanglements played out daily.

The Cultivators also led busy lives, venturing into the Black Wind Desert to hunt demon beasts, seeking spiritual materials, outwitting robbers in the desert, or practicing meditation, all striving for the improvement of their own strength; no one noticed an ordinary house in the inner city that almost went unnoticed.

Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, a year and a half had passed.

The tightly closed door of the Cave Mansion opened, and Yuan Ming stepped out with Zuo Qinghui in tow.

Yuan Ming now had a gentle look in his eyes, which shimmered with a faint glow; he looked quite different from before.

After more than a year of arduous Cultivation, with the help of a large number of Insect Pills and the aid of items like Spirit Incense, he had broken through to the Peak of Late Foundation Establishment.

Zuo Qinghui, too, had consistently taken Insect Pills to Cultivate over the year, making significant progress, having reached the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

Yuan Ming didn't linger at the entrance, leading Zuo Qinghui straight outside, soon leaving Xiansha City behind.

He summoned the White Jade Shuttle, carrying them both as they soared through the sky.

Yuan Ming had successfully mastered the Hidden Vein Condensing Pill Technique, sealing a vast amount of Mana within his meridians, ready to be called upon to aid in Core Formation at any moment.

This time, however, he ventured forth in search of something else to assist with Core Formation.

A day earlier, news from Xu Che had arrived, finally finding a lead on the Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid in Purple Thunder City.

Core Formation was his top priority, and Yuan Ming did not dare to be negligent, promptly setting off for the destination.

But before heading to Purple Thunder City, he first needed to make another stop.

Moments later, the White Jade Shuttle landed near a secluded valley to the northwest of Xiansha City.

A figure with arms longer than its knees stood motionless in the valley, bathing in the harsh sunlight.

The day Yuan Ming had settled the laypeople and returned to Xiansha City, Hua Zhi had left to hunt and cultivate in the Black Wind Desert.

To Yuan Ming's surprise, Vajra had also expressed the wish to leave shortly thereafter, intending to Cultivate alone in the Black Wind Desert.

Vajra, with its formidable physical body and strength, didn't concern Yuan Ming for its safety. He had given it two Earth Tunneling Talismans and two Evil Avoiding Talismans before allowing it to enter the Black Wind Desert.

As Yuan Ming controlled the Flying Shuttle to land, he was about to greet Vajra when a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Vajra had undergone a drastic change in appearance, much smaller in size, now only as tall as a normal human, with muscles and bones more robust, its skin and fur more vivid, shimmering with strands of golden luster, looking as though it was cast from a mix of brass and gold.

Vajra was with eyes closed, its breathing coming in bursts through its nostrils, hissing sharply now and then, reminiscent of a venomous snake's sibilant exhale.

Yuan Ming employed his Divine Sense to inspect the inside of Vajra and was even more astonished.

Vajra's transformation wasn't only external, its whole body had undergone earth-shattering changes; all Yin Qi had vanished from within, with muscles, bones, and internal organs energized, becoming almost indistinguishable from that of a true demon beast.

Beyond that, its demonic power had completely disappeared, replaced by a never-before-seen type of energy stream that filled every part of its body.

This energy stream, somewhat similar to Mana, was much sharper and denser.

Accompanied by the Vajra's breathing, air flowed ceaselessly within its body, drawing its organs to surge rhythmically, rising and falling, expanding and shrinking without end, at times emitting muffled sounds, appearing as if it were refining its organs over and over like Artifact Refining.

Streams of scorching nature's spiritual energy converged, pouring into the Vajra's organs.

The Vajra's organs were exceptionally robust, no less than its muscles, its body from the inside out seemed like a slab of iron, giving off an unshakeable feeling.

Yuan Ming was astounded, only a little over a year had passed, and the Vajra's body had undergone such significant changes; could it have been triggered by consuming those brass beetles?

"Master, why have you come?" Sensing Yuan Ming's arrival, the Vajra opened its eyes.

"Xu Che has already found a lead on the Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid, I've come to fetch you and Hua Zhi. What have you been doing during this time that your body has transformed in this way?" Yuan Ming asked.

"I don't know myself, ever since I started consuming those brass beetles, my body has grown progressively stronger, and about half a year ago, I suddenly recalled a set of breathing exercises that train the organs, and I started practicing it. Before I knew it, I became like this," the Vajra explained, scratching its head, seemingly quite puzzled.

"Using breathing to train the organs…" Yuan Ming's eyes flickered.

This method of training the body was unheard of by him; it might be a Secret Technique of Body Cultivation.

"How do you feel now? How does your combat strength compare to before?" Yuan Ming thought for a moment then asked.

"I feel great, I'm filled with strength now, and my combat power has naturally improved a lot. If I were to fight with Elder Hai again, I definitely wouldn't lose!" the Vajra declared proudly, clenching its fist tightly.

The air around its hand suddenly exploded, creating a wave of scorching air currents.

Yuan Ming clearly saw that the explosion of air was caused by the flow of energy from the Vajra's body when it clenched its fist, violently grasping the air; the power of this energy flow was indeed formidable.

"Good, let's go and pick up Hua Zhi." He summoned the White Jade Shuttle, carrying the three of them as they flew towards the other side of the Black Wind Desert.

Having met up with Hua Zhi, Yuan Ming didn't delay and headed straight in the direction of Purple Thunder City.

Purple Thunder City was located deep within the Black Wind Desert, not close to Xiansha City. With the speed of the White Jade Shuttle, they flew for a day and a night before barely arriving.

Like Xiansha City, Purple Thunder City was also built underground, with the entrance being a several miles long gigantic fissure that was pitch-dark and bottomless. From time to time, streams of tunneling light flew from all directions into the fissure, and many Cultivators flew out from within, making the place quite lively.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming secretly sighed; Purple Thunder City indeed deserved to be the largest city of Zhao Country in the Black Wind Desert.

He slowed down and flew into the fissure.

The deeper they went, the wider the fissure became, rapidly leaving the surface entrance above their heads behind, and the light also quickly dimmed.

There were still gleams of light here, as many purple and yellow mushrooms grew on the mud and rocks on both sides of the fissure. As large as umbrellas, they emitted a soft glow, bringing a trace of light.

Having been in the Black Wind Desert for a number of years, Yuan Ming had gradually collected some information about the area and knew these mushrooms were called "Spirit Light Mushrooms," which lived deep beneath the Black Wind Desert, surviving by absorbing the Spiritual Power from the underground mineral veins.

Loose Cultivators seeking spiritual materials in mineral veins often relied on the Spirit Light Mushrooms to treasure hunt; where the Spirit Light Mushrooms flourished, there might be a vein hidden.

From the current situation, it looked like this fissure also contained a mineral vein, though it was uncertain if it had been mined.

While Yuan Ming pondered aimlessly, they finally reached the bottom of the fissure.

The bottom of the fissure was flat, spanning twenty to thirty miles in size, almost like a plain, with a towering underground colossus standing there.

From a distance, the entire city was enclosed by huge walls made of purple stone, with seven or eight city gates, some for entering, others for exiting. High-rise buildings towered within the city, their imposing aura far surpassing Xiansha City.

It was unclear whether the underground had been deliberately arranged with lighting restrictions or if the Protective Array inherently provided light, but the entire underground was as bright as daylight, almost no different from the surface.

Yuan Ming landed on an open ground nearby the city walls designated for the landing and take-off of Cultivators, retracted the White Jade Shuttle, and then, along with Zuo Qinghui and the Vajra with Hua Zhi, walked towards the nearest city gate.

There stood several Purple-robed Cultivators at this gate, their collars and cuffs embroidered with the insignia of the Five Thunder Sect, collecting city entrance fees.

Although the Vajra and Hua Zhi each wore a cloak to hide their shapes and auras, their figures were still somewhat different from ordinary people, appearing rather strange. However, the gate-keeping Cultivators from the Five Thunder Sect didn't seem to care enough to ask, adopting an attitude of allowing anyone into Purple Thunder City as long as they paid the Spirit Stones.

Therefore, Yuan Ming paid the required Spirit Stones, and without any obstruction, they smoothly entered the city.

The architecture of Purple Thunder City followed the style of Zhao Country, grand, antique, majestic, with wide streets lined with shops selling spiritual materials, elixirs, talismans, and other Cultivation Items.

Xiansha City had few shops that dealt with elixirs and talismans, but Purple Thunder City had many, not at all beneath Little Lake City and Wangyue City, obviously reflecting the considerable efforts of the Five Thunder Sect to manage it. The streets were bustling with people, exceedingly lively.

"My Lord, you've arrived." Near the city gate, from a nondescript shadow, a figure rushed over—it was Xu Che.

He was also wearing a robe capable of Concealment, with a cloth covering his face to hide his features.

"What's the situation now?" Yuan Ming retracted his gaze from surveying the surroundings and asked.

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