Back within the Shadow Haven Sect, Li Yan returned to his residence after completing the preparations necessary for forming his Martial Core. His expression remained calm, but beneath that calmness rested quiet anticipation.
As the door closed behind him, Li Yan raised his hand slightly.
A faint purple glow flickered.
The teleportation crystal Yao Fuhuo had given him appeared on his palm, its smooth surface pulsing softly beneath the room's dim light.
Without hesitation, he walked toward the center of the living room and placed the crystal carefully upon the floor.
He stayed crouched beside it.
His palm pressed gently against the surface as he guided a controlled stream of Qi into the crystal.
The reaction was immediate.
Space distorted silently around him.
The next moment, Li Yan vanished completely, leaving the purple crystal resting motionless within the quiet room.
An instant later, his figure appeared once more inside Yao Fuhuo's treehouse.
Unlike the tranquil atmosphere of nighttime, the treehouse beneath the noon sun looked entirely different. Golden natural light poured through the vast branches overhead, illuminating the interior with warmth and vibrant life.
The massive tree itself seemed alive beneath the sunlight.
Soft breezes stirred the hanging vines outside while drifting leaves carried faint fragrances through the open structure. Everything radiated calm, natural energy far denser than anywhere within the sect.
Li Yan wasted no time admiring the scenery.
With a flick of his wrist, several items appeared before him.
Five Fire Qi Stones.
And a round black metallic disc engraved with countless intricate patterns.
The object was none other than a Tier-5 Qi Gathering Array purchased earlier from the Array Hall for three thousand five hundred Shadow Points.
As for the Fire Qi Stones, Li Yan had personally extracted them from the Fire Mine using his Earth affinity.
Not for cultivation.
But for activation.
Kneeling slightly, Li Yan carefully placed the array disc on the wooden floor at the center of the treehouse. Sunlight reflected faintly across the complex carvings etched into its surface, revealing layer upon layer of interconnected lines of formation.
Then he placed a Fire Qi Stone into the center of the array disc.
The moment both objects connected, the Fire Qi Stone released a dense pulse of energy into the formation.
The array activated instantly.
A low hum spread through the treehouse as glowing patterns ignited across the disc. Seconds later, a transparent orange barrier expanded outward from the center like a rippling sphere of light.
It swallowed the entire treehouse almost immediately.
Then continued expanding.
Ten meters.
Thirty.
Fifty.
Until finally, the formation stabilized into a massive sphere nearly one hundred meters wide, surrounding the giant tree itself.
Soon after, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Energy—an energy formed from the balance of countless energies interwoven together throughout the environment—began flowing inward.
Streams of energy gathered visibly from the valley below, converging toward the array in steady currents like invisible rivers drawn into a whirlpool.
Li Yan observed the phenomenon quietly. "Worth every Shadow Point," he murmured calmly.
The density of Qi within the barrier increased steadily with each passing breath. The already rich atmosphere of the treehouse grew heavier, purer, and more concentrated beneath the formation's influence.
For several moments, Li Yan stood there in silence, his gaze thoughtful as he observed the energy gathering surrounding him.
Then he moved.
Walking several steps away from the array disc, he lowered himself onto the wooden floor and sat cross-legged with controlled composure.
His thoughts shifted inward.
Toward the knowledge he learned from the Body Cultivation scripture.
Unlike traditional cultivation manuals, the book contained no combat arts or techniques. Instead, it focused entirely upon the foundation of the cultivation path itself.
The Middle Dantian.
Martial Energy.
Martial Core Formation.
And the dangers hidden within each step.
Li Yan remained motionless as the information resurfaced clearly within his mind while the Qi Gathering Array continued pulling energy from the valley outside.
Body cultivation differed fundamentally from Qi cultivation.
Qi cultivators absorbed elemental energy through the lower dantian, refining elemental energies into Qi.
But body cultivators relied upon something entirely different.
Martial Energy.
A hidden energy concealed within Heaven and Earth Energy. Unlike elemental Qi, Martial Energy possessed no affinity.
No attribute.
No elemental nature whatsoever.
That alone made it far more difficult to perceive.
Qi cultivators could rely upon affinity to sense and absorb compatible Elemental Qi. Body cultivators possessed no such advantage.
They had to locate Martial Energy through perception or techniques.
And only after sensing it could they absorb it to form the Martial Core within the middle dantian.
When Li Yan felt the density of Heaven and Earth Energy within the array reach a sufficient level, he slowly closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. Calmness gradually settled over his expression as he prepared to begin.
Then his eyes opened once more.
At the same time, both hands moved through the air in slow, deliberate motions, forming several strange gestures exactly as described within the Body Cultivation scripture.
A faint ripple suddenly spread outward from his body.
It expanded in all directions before fading roughly ten meters away from him. Several seconds later, another ripple emerged and repeated the same process.
Then a third.
The waves continued extending outward every ten seconds like silent pulses spreading through the surrounding atmosphere before vanishing completely at the edge of their range.
Li Yan immediately sensed the difference.
Something in the environment had changed under the influence of the technique. Without hesitation, he expanded his Spiritual Sense outward to examine the phenomenon directly.
The world transformed instantly beneath his perception.
Countless particles drifted silently throughout the air around him. Fire Qi. Wind Qi. Light Qi. Darkness Qi. Metal Qi. Earth Qi.
And beneath everything else…
Nature Qi flowed abundantly from the enormous ancient tree supporting the treehouse itself.
Yet all of those elemental energies shared the same reaction.
The ripples extending from Li Yan's body pushed them away completely, filtering them outward like invisible tides repelled by an unseen force.
Only faint gray strands remained.
Tiny streams of dull, colorless energy drifted quietly within the ten-meter radius surrounding him after every ripple passed through the environment.
Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. "So this is Martial Energy…"
His voice remained soft, almost thoughtful.
Without the Qi Gathering Array increasing the density of Heaven and Earth Energy and without Spiritual Sense allowing him to perceive individual energy particles directly, he likely would never have witnessed the filtration process itself.
To ordinary cultivators, Martial Energy could only be sensed vaguely.
But Li Yan could see it.
Every detail.
Every separation.
Every hidden strand is concealed within Heaven and Earth Energy.
After understanding the principle behind the filtering technique, Li Yan moved on to the next step.
His focus turned inward.
Toward the middle dantian, located at the center of his torso.
Unlike the lower dantian used for Qi cultivation, the middle dantian remained naturally dormant. It had no active circulatory route within the body.
To awaken it, Martial Energy had to be guided manually through an entirely separate pathway created through precise control and concentration.
Any mistake would immediately destabilize the gathered energy. And once destabilized, Martial Energy would collapse and disperse instantly.
Li Yan's expression gradually turned serious. This cultivation path truly deserved its fearsome reputation.
Not because it demanded pain alone. But it required absolute precision beyond ordinary cultivation methods.
His breathing slowed further.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three.
Soon, his mind entered complete stillness.
Li Yan extended his Spiritual Sense outward once more, but this time, he ignored every elemental particle surrounding him.
His focus narrowed entirely upon the faint strands of Martial Energy drifting within the filtered space around his body.
The process was far more difficult than he expected. Martial Energy carried no natural affinity toward him whatsoever.
No attraction.
No resonance.
No response.
Without a Martial Core, the energy viewed him no differently than stone or air. He could only draw it inward through pure concentration using the absorption method described within the scripture.
Minutes quietly passed.
Then finally—
One faint gray strand drifted toward him slowly.
Li Yan immediately understood the principle behind the absorption technique the moment the energy responded to his concentration.
Compared to elemental Qi, this process was incomparably harder.
Carefully, he guided the strand into his body.
The instant Martial Energy entered his meridians, Li Yan understood why body cultivation was considered brutal even among cultivators.
The energy felt unbearably heavy.
Unlike elemental Qi, which flowed naturally through the body, Martial Energy resisted movement completely, rough and dense like molten metal forced through narrow channels.
Li Yan's brows tightened slightly beneath the strain.
Yet his concentration never wavered.
Slowly, he guided the energy downward.
Not toward the lower dantian.
But toward the center of his torso.
Toward the dormant middle dantian.
The further Martial Energy traveled through his body, the more unstable it became. Several times, the strand dispersed entirely before reaching its destination. But he continued again and again.
Each time instability appeared, Li Yan forcefully stabilized it again through precise control while continuing to absorb additional strands from the surrounding environment.
Time passed quietly.
The filtering ripples continued spreading outward every several seconds while Martial Energy slowly accumulated inside his body, strand by strand.
Nearly an hour passed before sweat gradually formed across Li Yan's forehead.
The process consumed an astonishing amount of mental concentration.
Finally—
The gathered Martial Energy stabilized successfully within the middle dantian.
A dull vibration echoed faintly through his body.
Li Yan's eyes trembled slightly beneath the pressure.
He had succeeded.
But this was only the beginning.
More strands of Martial Energy gradually entered Li Yan's body, each one guided carefully toward the middle dantian through precise control. The accumulation remained slow, but steady.
One strand became ten.
Ten became hundreds.
As the amount increased, the dormant middle dantian finally began reacting visibly. A faint pressure emerged within his chest, followed shortly by warmth and subtle vibrations spreading through his torso.
Li Yan remained completely motionless throughout the process. Not a single fluctuation appeared in his breathing. Not a single trace of impatience surfaced within his expression.
His control remained terrifyingly stable.
Once enough Martial Energy had accumulated in the middle dantian, Li Yan moved toward the next step described in the Body Cultivation scripture.
Martial Core Formation.
Before he began, his gaze turned toward the Array disc on the wooden floor. The Fire Qi Stone was still channeling Qi to keep the array disc active, though its glow had dimmed.
With a wave of his hand, Li Yan placed another Fire Qi Stone above the first as a backup in case the first went empty during his next step, forming the Martial Core.
Li Yan then closed his eyes once more.
Following the method described in the book, he carefully guided the gathered Martial Energy into rotation at the center of the middle dantian.
Slowly—
The energy began rotating. But the rotation stopped almost immediately.
He tried again.
Then again.
Only on the fourth attempt did the gathered Martial Energy finally maintain a slow yet stable rotational cycle within the middle dantian.
A tiny vortex gradually formed.
Then—
The surrounding Martial Energy trembled violently.
Li Yan's expression changed instantly.
The vortex had become unstable.
The rotating Martial Energy suddenly began collapsing inward uncontrollably. Sharp pain erupted throughout his chest like invisible pressure crushing against his organs.
Blood surged upward into his throat.
Yet Li Yan forcefully suppressed it. "Stabilize."
His voice remained low and firm.
At the same moment, Li Yan's Spiritual Sense descended directly into the middle dantian itself. The terrifying precision granted by Spiritual Sense immediately revealed its overwhelming advantage.
Every fluctuation became visible beneath his perception.
Every instability.
Every imbalance.
Under his control, the collapsing vortex gradually slowed before stabilizing once more. Li Yan immediately resumed carefully and repeatedly compressing the rotating Martial Energy inward.
The process continued endlessly.
Compression.
Collapse.
Stabilization.
Compression again.
Again and again, Li Yan repeated the cycle with terrifying patience, gradually refining the unstable vortex deeper and deeper within the middle dantian.
Then finally—
The rotating vortex suddenly condensed inward violently.
BOOM.