There are many ways to improve one's strength.
What Zhang Fan wants to do most at present is to cultivate the Myriad Prison Suppressing God Physique to true minor completion. Once the divine physique reaches minor completion, Zhang Fan's strength will increase significantly, making him comparable to Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
However, he did not find any treasures related to body refinement among the spoils of war, so he had to temporarily abandon this path and consider other directions.
First, Zhang Fan swallowed eleven Golden Scale Yuan Breaking Pills, finally elevating his realm to the peak of the Core Condensation stage.
Thus, the thickness of his spiritual power already surpassed that of many third-grade Golden Core cultivators. Even compared to Lin Yun, who had already reached the peak of the third-grade Golden Core stage, he was not weaker in the slightest.
"With such a powerful nascent core, I can finally engrave the Golden Core Dao patterns to my heart's content!"
Feeling the powerful nascent core within him, Zhang Fan was extremely satisfied. Having cultivated to this point, he had finally reached the peak of the Core Condensation stage and could begin engraving Golden Core Dao patterns.
Engraving Golden Core Dao patterns is a major threshold for Core Condensation stage cultivators to enter the Golden Core stage.
However, for Zhang Fan, there was no threshold at all.
This was because Zhang Fan was different from other peak Core Condensation stage cultivators. Other cultivators in this stage began to come into contact with the Great Dao and comprehend the true meaning of the Dao only after reaching the peak.
But Zhang Fan, in his previous life, was a Great Ascension Immortal Emperor. Let alone comprehending a portion of the Great Dao, he had mastered more than one complete Great Dao.
After all, every Immortal Emperor who cultivated to great success needed to comprehend at least one complete Heavenly Dao.
Regarding which path he should walk in this life, Zhang Fan had made plans early on when he began cultivating. Therefore, when he reached the peak of the Core Condensation stage, he had no doubts in his mind.
He did not need to comprehend the true meaning of the Dao like other cultivators. What he needed to do was to continuously engrave the true meanings he had comprehended onto the Golden Core Dao patterns.
At the same time, Zhang Fan was very curious: could each nascent core really only engrave nine Golden Core Dao patterns?
Was this the limit that the nascent core could bear, or was it the limit of the true meanings that a cultivator could comprehend in the Core Condensation stage?
In this life, the nascent core Zhang Fan had cultivated was already powerful enough, with spiritual power at the peak of the Core Condensation stage comparable to that of a peak third-grade, high-grade Golden Core cultivator.
He felt that the nascent core's bearing capacity should not be an issue.
Nine is the extreme of numbers and also the limit for Core Condensation stage cultivators to engrave Golden Core Dao patterns. If this limit were broken, what grade would the Golden Core reach?
Filled with curiosity, Zhang Fan began to hold his breath and concentrate, condensing a small figure in his spiritual consciousness. The figure resembled Zhang Fan. With a long sword in hand, he began to practice sword techniques.
There were three thousand Great Daos, and the Way of the Sword was one of them. The true meaning of the Way of the Sword was all-encompassing, including the skillful sword, the clumsy sword, the sharp sword, the heavy sword, the illusory sword, the shadow sword, the swift sword, and so on.
Zhang Fan had mastered the complete Way of the Sword in his previous life. For the true meanings related to the Way of the Sword, he could comprehend them with just a moment of contemplation. However, the nascent core had a limited capacity for bearing true meanings, and Zhang Fan needed to engrave the true meanings that would provide the greatest increase in his combat power.
"Sharp sword true meaning..."
"Heavy sword true meaning..."
"Illusory sword true meaning..."
"Swift sword true meaning..."
"Shadow sword true meaning..."
...
The small figure in Zhang Fan's spiritual consciousness continuously practiced sword techniques, and the true meanings of the Way of the Sword were perfectly demonstrated.
Subsequently, Zhang Fan also began to engrave Golden Core Dao patterns. The power of the true meanings was continuously added to the nascent core, making the nascent core stronger and stronger.
At the same time, as the true meanings on the nascent core increased, he found that engraving the true meaning of the sword became increasingly difficult.
When engraving the first three true meanings, he only needed half a day for each true meaning.
However, after the Golden Core Dao patterns reached three, the difficulty of engraving true meanings more than doubled. It took nearly ten days to complete the engraving of the sixth Golden Core Dao pattern.
"If I engrave one more Golden Core Dao pattern and break through, I will reach the level of a first-grade Golden Core," Zhang Fan thought to himself.
Even a low-grade first-grade Golden Core was a distant dream that countless Core Condensation stage cultivators could only yearn for, but for Zhang Fan, it was far from enough.
The seventh Golden Core Dao pattern took fifteen days. The eighth Golden Core Dao pattern took a month. For the ninth Golden Core Dao pattern, Zhang Fan spent a full three months to painstakingly engrave it onto the nascent core.
By then, Zhang Fan had been in seclusion for more than five months, and had engraved nine Golden Core Dao patterns.
After the ninth Golden Core Dao pattern was completed, Zhang Fan could clearly feel that the nascent core had become countless times stronger than before.
Similarly, he could also feel that his nascent core seemed to have reached its bearing limit. If he forcefully tried to engrave more Golden Core Dao patterns onto it, Zhang Fan felt that his nascent core might shatter under the immense pressure.
Zhang Fan circulated his cultivation technique, and the majestic spiritual power gushing from the nascent core flowed through his meridians like a rushing river, filling Zhang Fan with strength.
"Is it true that Core Condensation stage cultivators can only engrave a maximum of nine Golden Core Dao patterns?"
Although he had engraved nine Golden Core Dao patterns, Zhang Fan was still unwilling to accept it. Although he had never heard of any cultivator in the Core Condensation stage being able to engrave a tenth Golden Core Dao pattern and condense a Golden Core exceeding first-grade, high-grade, in his previous life,
Deep down, he always felt that he could achieve it.
Reality had slapped him hard. He had failed, and he was certain that if he continued to try, his nascent core would shatter, rendering his years of hard work in vain.
"If I could enhance the nascent core again, would it be possible to engrave one more Golden Core Dao pattern and condense a Golden Core exceeding first-grade, high-grade?"
A golden light suddenly flashed in Zhang Fan's eyes. He thought of the Zhiwu Yuan Fruit left on Earth by Immortal Zhiwu.
The Zhiwu Yuan Fruit could directly help a cultivator's Golden Core advance by one grade. Such a miraculous effect, a divine medicine that defied heaven and earth, could Zhang Fan, after consuming it, engrave an additional three Golden Core Dao patterns?
With this thought, hope reignited in Zhang Fan's heart. A first-grade, high-grade Golden Core was the best outcome for all other Core Condensation stage cultivators, but Zhang Fan was not satisfied.
If he couldn't achieve something that broke the rules of cultivation, wouldn't it be a waste of this chance to be reborn?
After engraving nine Golden Core Dao patterns, nourished by the nine true meanings of the sword, the Way of the Sword began to be born within Zhang Fan's nascent core.
"I can start cultivating the Wordless Sword Manual." A simple manual appeared in Zhang Fan's mind.
The Wordless Sword Manual had no specific stances but was a method for utilizing the power of the sword. When swordsmanship was performed using the power of the sword, the might of the sword techniques would be greatly enhanced.
ps: Third update!