The Dragon Heart Awakens
At the very peak of an unusually steep and towering rocky mountain, in a nest shaped like a shallow basin and adorned with the fur and feathers of countless beasts.
A massive hand of water, radiating terrifying weight and pressure, formed in an instant and slammed down like a thunderbolt.
It struck with perfect accuracy against the head of the winged dragon, which had been ensnared by the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art enhanced with Monghwan Yusim and was deeply lost within the heavenly tribulation of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
The impact rang out like two massive metals colliding with violent force.
The nest was completely obliterated. At the same time, a vast section of the peak beneath it fractured with deep cracks, threatening to collapse at any moment.
This was no simple brute-force strike like the one used against the bear. As the creator of Wonryeok Mudo, it was a masterful technique that incorporated the profound principles of internal power striking.
Because it fused martial arts with the vastly different divine abilities and mystical techniques, fully manifesting the internal striking method had been difficult. Even so, it was far from ineffective.
Most of the power had transmitted directly into the enemy’s body, shaking its internals with full force. Only a fraction had been released outward. Even that small leakage had been enough to threaten the mountain’s collapse. Considering the attack carried Core Formation-level power, the aftershock was negligible.
Kiyaaaaaaaak—!!
The winged dragon, struck by the lethal blow, roared in agony as blood poured from every orifice on its head.
The tremendous gale that erupted in that instant acted like a wall of steel, shoving everything around it away. It finally shattered the peak into countless fragments. Those fragments then transformed into innumerable blades, savagely tearing apart everything in every direction—up, down, left, and right.
The horrifying noise of that storm reverberated across the entire area, as if a calamity had descended upon the land.
But at that very moment—
Han Yujin, who had turned the incoming attacks into mere dreams using Monghwan Yusim, extended the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle. During the time it had taken to locate the beast, he had completely finished refining it to the final Body Tempering stage.
Shhhhhh—!!
More than twice as fast and fierce as before, over a hundred black threads shot out. Some flew straight, others spiraled like whirlwinds, mercilessly piercing the winged dragon’s entire body as it made its final desperate struggle.
They drained its blood essence at terrifying speed, causing the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle to glow with a mesmerizing crimson light.
Having completed all refinement, it could now deliver far faster and more lethal attacks than before. The quality of the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine it produced had also improved dramatically, though that wasn’t the most important factor right now.
Kiaaaaaak…!
The winged dragon’s entire body rapidly shriveled and wrinkled. It plummeted, crumbling into a cloud of dust that scattered on the wind.
It took some time for the aftermath of the storm it had created to finally subside.
‘To think a creature that looks like a winged dragon has better endurance than that bear cub…’
Its final struggle had certainly been fiercer. If the ambush had failed, he didn’t even want to imagine what kind of fight would have followed.
In any case, it was fortunate he had achieved a perfect victory without taking any damage.
‘Once again, no byproducts.’
It was a bit disappointing, but nothing to be disheartened about.
About a month ago.
When he had ultimately used the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle to kill the bear, he realized that the quality of the various harvestable materials from the beast had been heavily damaged. The rapid draining of its blood essence had caused irreversible destruction.
Fortunately, when he refined the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle to the Body Tempering stage, he discovered that this wasn’t necessarily a pure loss.
Unlike ordinary spiritual treasures, the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle could grow by consuming its contents.
Just like a demonic sword that grew stronger the more blood it drank.
He had no idea what materials had been used during its creation to grant it such an incredible trait, nor how far it could continue to grow. Still, it was hardly a bad thing.
As for the Five Elements materials he wanted, he could simply revisit their habitats after reaching Core Formation. Since he had already located their lairs, it wouldn’t be too troublesome.
With that thought, he reached out and gently stroked the head of Mu-yong, who was once again showing greedy interest in the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine from within his robes.
“Be satisfied with the Okro Wine.”
“Jjijik—! Jjik!”
“I’ll give you some Spirit Liquid Wine too.”
While carrying out this negotiation that wasn’t quite a negotiation with her, he scanned the surroundings once more before leaving the area.
The search operation wasn’t over yet. He planned to thoroughly comb through the entire range he had initially set and assess every potential threat.
Four months and three weeks.
That was the time it took to sweep through every search zone he had mentally designated and check for dangers. Considering how vast an area he had covered, it couldn’t really be called a long time.
The last place he inspected was a lake very close to his hiding spot. It was because of the aquatic creature he had discovered and been wary of before reaching the Dharma Soul stage—a bizarre amalgamation of an octopus and a turtle.
Since he had already hunted two mid-to-late Core Formation beasts, he thought he could handle this one the same way…
But when he actually went to see it, the creature was only at mid-Dharma Soul stage.
Moreover, its personality was gentle and relaxed. Even after spotting Han Yujin, the only emotion he sensed from it was curiosity. This despite the fact that he was clearly a foreign being intruding on its territory.
The monkey monsters and wolf beasts had shown merciless aggression toward intruders, so he had felt no hesitation in dealing with them. But this octopus-turtle was completely different.
When he quietly observed its domain, he saw various aquatic creatures coexisting peacefully, confirming that such a temperament was its nature.
‘A mere mid-Dharma Soul creature living in water wouldn’t suddenly attack just because it sensed me reaching Core Formation…’
In the end, he left the creature in the lake unharmed and returned to his hiding place.
To prevent any possible interference from the smaller creatures, He layered multiple formations within the Illusion Array.
What followed were minor tasks meant to calm his mind and sharpen his focus. Using the fruits harvested from the monkey monsters’ nests and the spiritual plants gathered from the lake that prevented the side effects of Dharma Soul sublimation, he began concocting pills.
As a side note, the pill that prevented the side effects of Dharma Soul sublimation had already been named the Clear Heart Pill in the past. The pill made from the fruits was named Fruit Core Pill this time, based on its color.
The work continued at a leisurely and peaceful pace over several days. Since he had gathered a large variety of spiritual plants while searching the vast region, he also experimented with creating new types of pills.
Mu-yong spent her happy moments alone hunting spirit fish in a small pond within the hiding spot. Aside from the occasional times she coveted the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle, she rarely disturbed him, knowing he had important work ahead.
A month passed by in tranquil flow. For someone who now possessed a lifespan exceeding five hundred years even at his current realm, it was a period that could be called an instant.
And then, one day—
Sitting on a flat rock he had carved out beneath a clear sky, Han Yujin smiled comfortably for no apparent reason.
‘Today, I will reach Core Formation.’
With that resolve, he slightly opened his mouth. From within, the Dragon Heart emerged like a streak of illusion.
The reason it appeared from inside his body rather than from his dantian was simple: ever since he had completed its Body Tempering refinement, he had been able to store it in this far more secure manner.
The fully manifested Dragon Heart was slightly larger than a fist. It was a beautiful object radiating a dreamy purple hue, with flowing clusters of light resembling a galactic nebula.
Clouds that seemed to embody materialized dreams drifted within it. Countless law patterns containing every color in the world appeared and vanished like endless meteor showers.
It was truly an object that inspired awe.
And now, it would become the material for an external pill, merging with his own Dharma Soul.
‘At last, this moment has come.’
With renewed emotion, he swallowed the Dragon Heart once more.
It melted into a dreamlike violet light and seeped into his body. Once it settled near his solar plexus, it began to create slow but definite changes.
The cultivation art he would use to reach Core Formation was from the Taiji Hoe-won Gong. However, it wasn’t a technique unique to Taiji Hoe-won Gong alone. It was a common method that every cultivation art above Core Formation should naturally include.
It sublimated the Dharma Soul into a Dharma Core.
Since Han Yujin already possessed the vessel for a Dharma Core, he had to operate a portion of the technique slightly differently. While this significantly lowered the difficulty, the risk of something going wrong always existed.
This was the first reason he had been determined to achieve Core Formation through his awakening ability.
Dharma power surged through his body with enough force to seemingly explode it. Following the technique he operated, it formed a series of flows centered around the Dragon Heart.
Naturally, and also according to Han Yujin’s own will, the formless Dharma Soul that had resided in his head began to move downward. It maintained its state of being fully rooted throughout his body like a nervous system.
Sitting with a serene expression, he was soon enveloped in light of indescribable colors, radiating a terrifying aura.
The rock he had been sitting on had long since been unable to withstand the pressure and had crumbled into powder. The ground beneath it was gradually forming a crater as mounds of earth were pushed outward.
Mu-yong, who had retreated to a safe distance, watched over him dutifully and even stood guard against the surroundings. Fortunately, there were no disturbances or threats.
A full day passed like that.
The certain flow created by the Dragon Heart near his solar plexus had now become as distinct and powerful as it could possibly be. It finally met the Dharma Soul that had slowly descended from his head, and the true merging began in earnest.
Ooooooooooong……!
From that point onward, the vast spiritual energy of the surroundings began pouring toward Han Yujin in heavy, swirling torrents.
This was the second reason he had been determined to achieve Core Formation through his awakening ability.
The richer the surrounding spiritual energy, the easier the process of reaching Core Formation became. Not only did it make ascension simpler, it also drastically reduced the time needed for stabilization.
Additionally, though it had never been truly verified, a superstition-like belief had spread throughout the cultivation world that ascending to Core Formation in a place as rich in spiritual energy as possible would deepen one’s future growth potential.
It was a scene as if he were receiving baptism from both the great nature and the chaotic realm behind it. In truth, Han Yujin’s own impression was not much different.
The Dragon Heart and Dharma Soul merged, sublimating into a complete cultivator’s Dharma Core. The countless techniques of Taiji Hoe-won Gong swirled in and out repeatedly, as if tempering it.
The incomparably beautiful Dragon Heart slowly began to change. It wasn’t a large shift, but it was clearly visible. Faint Dao patterns began to form, circling around its surface like a single revolution.
Amid that fierce yet quiet transformation, Han Yujin suddenly thought:
‘If I had attempted the standard method, this would have been ten times—no, perhaps a hundred times—more difficult.’
The difference in difficulty between merging a Dharma Soul into an already existing vessel and sublimating a Dharma Soul into a complete Dharma Core from nothing needed no further description.
Fortunately, his Core Formation process proceeded smoothly without any problems. The Dragon Heart, which had been perfectly refined through the Samgyeong Johwa-gyeol, was already no different from being one with him. There had been very little room for complications.
As the aura he emitted grew increasingly intense, the dense flow of spiritual energy around him became even more violent and expansive. It had already far surpassed the normal phenomenon of a cultivator reaching Core Formation.
For a fleeting moment.
Behind him as he floated cross-legged in the air while continuing his ascension, it seemed as if the figure of a dragon intertwined with golden and violet light had appeared.