Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

Besha's methods were resolutely iron-blooded, and as the heads of Heaven Sent Star residents rolled, praises echoed throughout the virtual network.

It was a baptism from the Federation, scrubbing away many of the chronic ills plaguing Heaven Sent Star, but it also brought obvious disadvantages.

The situation began to get chaotic, with a large influx of military resources into the armed forces, causing prices to surge sharply, and the lives of the lower class remained unchanged, even becoming more difficult.

Chu Zheng briefly scanned some of the information and then destroyed the smart brain processor.

He had no intention of getting entangled with the Tianyao Federation any longer. Once in space, such a device would be useless.

The Gene Evolution Potion given to him by Besha was quite rare, but in terms of value, it still did not compare to the gift given by Su Huafeng.

For these substances, Nie Longhu didn't care. By finding any Life Star and extracting some Star Origin Liquid, he had enough to cultivate with Chu Zheng for a long time.

Chu Zheng pulled up the nearby star map and turned his head to ask Nie Longhu for direction:

"Fellow Daoist Nie, where shall we head next?"

Nie Longhu looked at the swirling starlight around them and, after some calculations, immediately indicated the direction.

Chu Zheng looked at the radar, making a rough identification. This direction was gradually moving away from the Tianyao Federation.

In the universe, orientations are topsy-turvy, with no discernible north, south, east, or west, and even with a star map, Chu Zheng could only identify a general direction.

He had previously gathered some information about the Federation's battle, but its exact location was a top-secret matter. There was no way to know it, so now he could only take it one step at a time, which was somewhat safer than staying in the Tianyao Federation.

After setting the destination, the massive warship slowly entered the cold cosmos, heading towards an unknown Life Star.

......

......

The journey through the starry sky was monotonous and boring.

The warship required vast amounts of energy for space jumps, and after each leap, a long time was needed for replenishment.

In the blink of an eye, nearly two years had passed.

During these two years, both Chu Zheng and Nie Longhu had to rely on the Genetic Evolution Fluid within the warship to cultivate, and the efficiency of their cultivation was very low; most of the Evolution Fluid went into Chu Zheng's body.

Inside the main cabin, a simple metallic pool had been improvised, mixed with a large amount of Genetic Evolution Fluid, emitting micro-waves of ripples and a spiritual light.

Chu Zheng sat shirtless within the Evolution Fluid, operating the Circuit of Qi as he slowly drew in energy from it. Continue your story on empire

After two years, even in the harsh environment, his cultivation had stepped into the Perfection of the Dao Embryo Realm, and he was finally able to start trying to condense his Life-bound Golden Core.

This was his first attempt at condensing a Golden Core; he had never thought that the incarnation he used to endure calamities would reach this realm first.

Within his Dantian, the Dao Embryo that held Yuan Qi was nearing its critical point, with the Yuan Qi as thick as Jadescent Nectar. The Perfection of the Dao Embryo, in some Taoist Orthodoxies within fellow cultivators' inner alchemical traditions, was also known as 'Condensation'.

Without hesitating, Chu Zheng started to compress the Dao Embryo, squeezing and further pressing down on the Yuan Qi within. The walls of the Dao Embryo began to converge, sealing off.

Not far away, Nie Longhu sensed fluctuations in the aura and opened his eyes, barely concealing his surprise.

So soon?

He always found Chu Zheng's cultivation speed somewhat exaggerated. When they first met, Chu Zheng's cultivation was similar to his own. Now, after more than twenty years, he had just barely condensed a Dao Embryo, while Chu Zheng was already beginning to try to condense a Golden Core.

In such a place where Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was scarce, to have such evolutionary progress was incredible.

Chu Zheng's cultivation, which he had witnessed growing day by day, couldn't be faked; it was solid and without fault, raising no questions.

This only made it more puzzling; such speed indicated that Chu Zheng's talent could not possibly be as he claimed in the past, taking over two hours just to Channel Qi into his body.

Looking at Chu Zheng, who was deep in cultivation with his eyes closed, Nie Longhu subconsciously stroked his beard, only to find nothing there, and couldn't help but frown in contemplation.

At this moment, Chu Zheng was too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else. Inside his Dantian, the Dao Embryo that had been open was now completely converged, turning into a ruggedly angular irregular grey sphere.

Sturdy and indestructible, enduring uncorroded through endless years is gold; smooth and immaculate, pure and unsullied is cinnabar.

The Golden Core, combining the merits of both, was far from a true Golden Core in such a state.

Yuan Qi was completely isolated by the Dao Embryo's barriers, and Chu Zheng couldn't use any of his own energy. He could only rely on drawing energy from the outside to polish this 'Golden Core.'

Waves of powerful energy from the Evolution Liquid were absorbed into his body, condensed into extremely rough sandpaper, surrounding the Golden Core and continuously polishing it.

This was a time-consuming task of grinding away patiently.

Months flew by in an instant.

During this period, Nie Longhu stopped cultivating and instead kept a close watch on Chu Zheng, occasionally replenishing the depleted Evolution Liquid for him.

He had begun to glimpse something unusual; the process of Chu Zheng's Golden Core condensation seemed too unfamiliar, as if he was condensing a Golden Core for the first time in his life.

Chu Zheng's true cultivation level might be much lower than he had previously speculated.

Under continuous refinement, the Golden Core within Chu Zheng's Dantian gradually took shape, becoming round and flawless.

Crack——

The next instant, the hazy Golden Core suddenly burst forth with a wisp of golden divine light, dazzling to the eyes.

Soon, with piece by piece polishing, the Golden Core became completely dust-free and emitted a brilliant golden radiance.

Chu Zheng became increasingly cautious, knowing that this step was of utmost importance.

The Golden Core, though formed, was still a lifeless entity, unable to utilize any of the Yuan Qi within it.

The Golden Core needed to 'open its orifices'.

The breakthrough was far from over, only when the Spirit Apertures were opened and the Yuan Qi could flow freely, would the success be considered complete.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Plop——

A muffled sound came from within the Golden Core as a tiny Spirit Aperture was opened, and a stream of divine fluid tinged with golden light, like a gentle brook, trickled out from within the Spirit Apertures.

The moment the Spirit Apertures opened, Chu Zheng's mind was flooded with an unprecedented sensation of abundant pleasure.

The Golden Core's essence fluid, refined and of astonishingly high energy purity, allowed Chu Zheng to unleash combat power that had at least increased tenfold, despite not having completely broken through yet.

Over the following two months, one Spirit Aperture after another was unlocked until six were opened, and Chu Zheng felt he had reached the limit.

After steadying the Qi within his body, Chu Zheng slowly opened his eyes and immediately expressed his gratitude:

"Many thanks to Fellow Daoist Nie for your protection."

Without Nie Longhu standing by his side, this breakthrough would not have been so smooth.

"It's nothing, not worthy of thanks," Nie Longhu shook his head, and casually asked, "How many Orifices did Fellow Daoist's Golden Core condense?"

Chu Zheng opened his mouth, and the Golden Core flew out of his throat, landing in his palm. A wave of potent energy tide surged from the Evolution Liquid at his side and was devoured and refined by the Spirit Apertures in an instant.

"Middle Quality, leaning towards the upper, you are quite lucky, Fellow Daoist. It seems this incarnation has decent potential."

Nie Longhu glanced at the Golden Core, nodded slightly, and voiced his congratulations.

Witnessing the Golden Core for an instant, he had fully confirmed his previous speculation that Chu Zheng's true cultivation level of his main body was definitely not at the Golden Core Realm.

A mere Middle Quality, leaning towards the upper Golden Core, could be completed by him in at most a month, while it took Chu Zheng almost half a year, clearly very inexperienced.

The Golden Core itself is divided into different levels, and the difference in comprehension talent is hard to directly test at the Initial Qi Refining Phase, but it becomes much more apparent at the Golden Core, serving as a more direct manifestation of innate talent.

The more Spirit Apertures one has, the stronger the burst of Yuan Qi in an instant, and naturally, the stronger the combat abilities and the higher the talent.

One to three Orifices are considered Lower Quality, four to six Spirit Apertures are called Middle Quality, and six to nine Orifices are High Quality.

A Nine Orifices Golden Core is rare in this world, and even those with slightly lower comprehension abilities may have the opportunity to become Golden Immortals.

Chu Zheng's Middle Quality Golden Core will not encounter any impediments to his cultivation before the Return to Void and Merge with the Path; at the Returning to Void Realm, the Quality of the Life-bound Golden Core will gradually start to limit the speed of cultivation.

Because the speed of absorbing and exhaling Yuan Qi will gradually fall behind the pace of cultivation.

Nie Longhu's expression grew somber, for Chu Zheng had come into contact with the method of incarnation through tribulation without even reaching the Golden Core Realm.

The information implied by this was somewhat terrifying.

In his understanding, this was fundamentally impossible, yet Chu Zheng had indeed achieved it, which was beyond ordinary belief.

Chu Zheng took the Golden Core back into his Dantian; he did not care about its Quality, as the gains from this tribulation were already substantial.

His main body's cultivation had not yet reached this stage, but the incarnate had taken this step ahead.

With this experience, when his main body condensed the Golden Core, it would be much more natural, without any obstruction.

At this moment, he was already looking forward to seeing what Quality Golden Core his main body would be able to condense.

His own foundation was far superior to that of this incarnation, and he expected it would bring him a pleasant surprise.

"We're almost there."

Chu Zheng glanced at the star chart and suddenly stood up, his gaze shifting slightly.

A small star, not more than twenty thousand miles in diameter, appeared in his sight, and its surface features were vaguely discernible.

This nearly three-year-long voyage was finally coming to an end.