Chapter 456 - 335: Carrier Experiment
In Star Moon Valley.
The sect’s upper echelons were gathered once again.
"I have good news for everyone," the Valley Master of Star Moon Valley said.
"What good news? Valley Master, please tell us quickly."
"Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect has successfully formed his core."
As he announced this good news, the Valley Master glanced at Vice Valley Master Shi Yaoyang.
Everyone already knew about the matter of refining Golden Core Pills that Shi Yaoyang had discussed after returning from the Celestial Cloud Sect last time. The crucial point was that if Fang Yun could successfully form his core, it would be possible for him to refine Middle-grade Golden Core Pills for them in the future.
The prerequisite was that Fang Yun had to succeed in his Core Formation.
And now, Fang Yun had successfully formed his core.
"It hasn’t been long at all, and Fang Yun has already succeeded in his Core Formation. This is indeed good news." At this point, Shi Yaoyang paused before continuing, "However, for Fang Yun to refine Middle-grade Golden Core Pills for us, that’s something that will take a hundred years at least. Breaking through to the Core Formation Stage has granted him a longer Life Span, which is what makes it possible for him to refine Middle-grade Golden Core Pills in the future."
"I don’t think it will take a hundred years. Based on what we know of Fang Yun’s Alchemy Talent, now that he’s in the Core Formation Stage, his alchemy skills will improve even faster with the aid of his Divine Sense. He should be capable of refining Middle-grade Golden Core Pills within a century."
The upper echelons of Star Moon Valley discussed Fang Yun’s alchemy, each chiming in with their own thoughts.
With Fang Yun’s successful Core Formation, the refining terms Shi Yaoyang had negotiated with the Celestial Cloud Sect Leader were definitely not a loss.
"Yaoyang, you will still be the one to attend Fang Yun and Song Qiaoqiao’s Core Formation ceremony."
"Yes, Valley Master."
"I knew it. Song Qiaoqiao hasn’t held her Core Formation ceremony yet because she was waiting for her husband."
"It’s called ’waiting’ now that Fang Yun succeeded in his Core Formation. If he had failed, it wouldn’t have been called ’waiting,’ would it?"
"Back when Sect Leader Duan of the Celestial Cloud Sect spoke of Fang Yun’s Core Formation, I felt he was very confident. It seems the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object they found for Fang Yun to cleanse his Spirit Root was one of the finest of its kind."
Speaking of the Core Formation ceremony, their conversation soon returned to the matter of Fang Yun’s Core Formation.
...
Celestial Cloud Sect, Cloud Summit.
Inside the Artifact Refining Room of his cave residence, Fang Yun was performing the final steps of refining the vessel.
To be fair, the Core Formation Technique, the Skillful Heaven-Stealing Technique, hadn’t been exaggerating. Refining the vessel was indeed extremely difficult.
There were some highly difficult parts where he nearly made a mistake that would have wasted all his previous efforts. Thankfully, his eight-star Artifact Refining Talent was quite potent.
Following his gut instinct was what saved him.
Now that he had reached the final stages of refining the vessel, there were no more exceptionally difficult steps. As long as he proceeded normally, he would succeed.
"It’s finally done."
A bead floated in front of Fang Yun.
This was the vessel he had refined.
The vessel looked like a simple bead on the outside, but its internal structure was incredibly complex, far more so than a Magical Treasure with a single Prohibition. This was one of the reasons refining the vessel was so difficult.
The refined vessel didn’t need to be assimilated. From the moment it was created, Fang Yun felt a mental connection to the bead.
This was because the essence blood he had infused during the refining process was one of the core components of the vessel.
The moment he understood the Clone Technique, Fang Yun knew that the creator of the Skillful Heaven-Stealing Technique, the Blood Demon, must have studied Artifact Refining Techniques extensively.
The process of refining the vessel had most likely borrowed some of the most essential aspects of the Blood Demon’s artifact refining methods.
With a thought, Fang Yun opened his palm, and the vessel bead landed in it.
Spiritual Power surged from his body and continuously poured into the vessel bead until it could absorb no more.
He was charging the vessel bead. A Puppet Mechanism only needed Spirit Stones embedded in it to operate, but for the vessel to manifest his clone, it definitely required his own Spiritual Power to function. The Spiritual Power of any other Cultivator would not work.
Unless one could replace the essence blood at the vessel’s core.
This was practically impossible. Even the Skillful Heaven-Stealing Technique made no mention of this method’s feasibility.
Based on the process of just having refined the vessel, Fang Yun was certain that any attempt to replace its core would cause the vessel to be directly and irreparably damaged.
"This should be enough."
The vessel, now full of Spiritual Power, flew from Fang Yun’s palm.
It hovered a short distance away, then transformed into a figure. A closer look revealed that the figure was a perfect image of Fang Yun.
’Now comes the most crucial part.’
Fang Yun took a deep breath.
He had guessed there was an eighty percent chance his clone could use his talent bonuses, but there was still a twenty percent uncertainty. The answer would soon be revealed.
The method for the experiment was simple.
An Earth Yellow Sword flew out from Fang Yun’s Storage Pouch.
This was an Earth Yellow Sword of the Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact level.
Now, he would have his clone use this Earth Yellow Sword.
Although it was said that the clone was using it, in reality, it felt as if he himself were using it. The clone had no consciousness of its own; it was somewhat like a program he had written, and running it consumed a portion of his mental energy.
The vessel clone began to control the Earth Yellow Sword.
Under the clone’s control, the Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Earth Yellow Sword began to circle continuously around its body.
Fang Yun sensed the rate at which the clone’s Spiritual Power was being consumed.
"It’s just as I thought!" Putting away the Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Earth Yellow Sword, a smile appeared on Fang Yun’s face.
With the bonus from his seven-star Combat Talent, the Spiritual Power he consumed as an early-stage Core Formation Cultivator to use the Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Earth Yellow Sword was negligible.
In the Core Formation Stage, one condenses a Golden Core, which then revolves automatically within the Qi Sea.