Chinese Superman

On Tianzhu Peak.

Before the Golden Palace, the sea of ​​clouds rolled and the pines rustled in the breeze.

Xia Xinghan and Gu Zhiqi each held a stick of incense. After offering the incense, he turned around and said, "Master Zhang, please speak freely."

"Young fellow Daoist, please take a look."

Master Zhang smiled and swung the whisk resting on his elbow. The three thousand silver strands did not stir up a speck of dust, but a bright, clear bronze mirror, like a radiant moon, appeared out of thin air and hung in mid-air.

It was not a physical bronze mirror, but a manifestation of a mysterious artistic conception. The mirror surface shimmered and flowed, as if it could reflect people's hearts and see through illusions.

Gu Zhi Qiu, standing to the side, exclaimed softly, "This is... the Grade A martial art, 'Dongxuan Zhaoying'!"

"The Mysterious Reflection of the Cave?"

Xia Xinghan looked at the bronze mirror, raised his small eyebrows, and asked in confusion, "Isn't this the martial art of intent I created by observing the translucent mirror of the Western Han Dynasty?"

Gu Zhi Qiu glanced at the bright and intelligent child in front of him and suddenly remembered that his master was the legendary Martial Ancestor.

Ninety-nine percent of all martial arts in the world originated from him!

"Master, isn't this martial art called 'Dongxuan Zhaoying'?"

Xia Xinghan stroked his chin with his small hand and replied thoughtfully, "I remember when I submitted it, I named it 'Transparent Mirror Image'."

"..."

Gu Zhi Qiu said expressionlessly, "It sounds better to call it 'Dong Xuan Zhao Ying'."

Master Zhang nodded slightly and glanced at Xia Xinghan with a smile: "It is indeed the wonderful method created by the Martial Ancestor."

"This mirror can reflect the eight extraordinary meridians of a person and observe the trajectory of Qi circulation, which is of great benefit to spiritual practice and analysis."

Having said that, he flicked his whisk again.

The moon-like reflection in the mirror shifted, its clear light cascading down like flowing water, enveloping Zhang Zhenren within it.

A miraculous scene unfolded—

Under the mirror's light, Zhang Zhenren's body seemed to become translucent, and beneath his skin and flesh, clear, azure energy pathways were revealed, intricate and subtle, forming an incredibly profound three-dimensional meridian energy flow diagram.

These trajectories outline his human form, far more complex and profound than the basic Qi circulation routes in the "Basic Spirit Forging Method," like the roots and branches of a tree, spreading throughout his body and ultimately returning to the Dantian Qi Sea.

"This is the circulation path of the 'Zhou Tian Hun Yuan Wu Ji Gong' that I have cultivated."

Master Zhang explained, "Compared to the widely circulated 'Basic Spirit Forging Method,' it is more complex and covers a wider range, aiming to more efficiently temper spiritual energy, broaden meridians, and solidify the foundation."

Xia Xinghan watched intently, his little face full of focus. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "The Basic Spirit Forging Method is merely a stepping stone for foundation building. In the future, the path of cultivation will surely be diverse and vibrant, with all kinds of methods vying for dominance."

Obviously, it is impossible to directly reach the Golden Core Path using the Basic Spirit Forging Method.

At the end of this method lies the innate state.

If one wishes to further refine one's skills, one must switch to another method. Currently, the only one available is Master Zhang's "Zhou Tian Hun Yuan Wu Ji Gong".

"Martial Ancestor, please look here."

With a slight thought, Master Zhang circulated his internal energy, and the image in the mirror changed accordingly.

The azure spiritual energy that surrounded him flowed back into his dantian under the guidance of the circulatory system.

Inside the Qi Sea, the scene is even more astonishing.

There was no scattered and disordered spiritual energy there, but rather a high-speed rotating and highly condensed deep blue vortex!

"Such pure and rich spiritual energy, and the form of this spiritual energy... is completely different from my Innate Realm!"

Gu Zhi Qiu exclaimed in surprise, as she was also observing Dong Xuan Zhao Ying.

"Master Gu, my dantian and qi sea are naturally different from those in the Innate Realm, because this is... the next realm!"

Master Zhang's gaze was calm as he slowly explained, "I set my sights on forming the Golden Core and explored and created the False Core Realm."

Gu Zhi Qiu, who was listening nearby, was shocked!

Beyond the Innate Realm... the Pseudo-Core Realm!?

This information is absolutely top secret!

Even with her inherited authority, she has not heard of it.

Indeed, those at the truly elite level know far more secrets than ordinary people can imagine.

This is the information gap.

By exploiting information asymmetry, others can always gain the upper hand over you.

If it weren't for the fact that he benefited from his master, the Martial Ancestor, Gu Zhi Qiu would never have known that after breaking through to the Innate Realm, he would probably be aimless and trapped for some time until the information about the False Core Realm was made public.

"Pseudo-Core Formation... That's interesting."

Xia Xinghan stroked his smooth chin, observing the vortex in the mirror with great interest, his eyes gleaming.

Before Master Zhang could explain his predicament, he spoke first: "If I'm not mistaken, Master's predicament lies in the fact that although the false elixir has been formed, it cannot take another step forward and condense into a true Great Dao Golden Elixir, right?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Zhang Zhenren's eyes, which quickly turned into an approving smile. He nodded and said, "Young fellow Daoist, you truly live up to your title of Martial Ancestor. Your insight is unparalleled, and your words hit the nail on the head."

Xia Xinghan nodded, circling around Master Zhang with his hands behind his back like a wise scholar, and analyzed: "Master's method is to use the power of rotation and compression to gather all the spiritual energy in the dantian, attempting to transform the gaseous vortex into a solid golden elixir through extreme compression."

"A brilliant idea, and the direction is correct."

"However... the reason for the failure is also quite clear."

Xia Xinghan stopped in his tracks, his gaze intense.

"Firstly, the quantitative change has not yet reached the threshold of qualitative change. Although the spiritual energy reserves of the False Core Realm are dozens of times that of the Innate Realm, they are still far from the total amount required for spiritual energy to liquefy and then solidify into a Golden Core."

"According to my calculations, the total amount of spiritual energy required to liquefy spiritual energy would need to be at least a thousand times the basic reserves of a Primordial Realm cultivator!"

"A thousand times?!"

Even though Master Zhang's mental cultivation had reached a state of perfection, he couldn't help but be slightly moved upon hearing this.

A thousand times the spiritual energy reserves of the Innate Realm?

It's as vast as the sea!

How can an ordinary dantian contain such a large amount of energy?

"Exactly."

Xia Xinghan nodded and continued, "This is the first difficulty, as the dantian has limited capacity."

"The second difficulty lies in the method of condensation."

"Simply relying on rotational compression can only make the gas denser, but it is difficult to break through the phase transition barrier between gas and liquid and between liquid and solid, especially since it involves the transformation of the essence of energy, which cannot be achieved by brute force."

After listening, Master Zhang remained silent for a moment before sighing softly, "What the Martial Ancestor said is exactly the same as what I felt."

"A thousand times the spiritual energy... is indeed beyond what my current dantian can withstand, like the difference between filling a balloon with air and filling it with water."

"I have also pondered whether the Golden Elixir Path is simply not feasible in the current environment?"

"Should we explore alternative paths and find another way?"

"No!"

Xia Xinghan shook his head decisively.

"The Golden Elixir Path is supremely simple; it is one of the paths to immortality that directly points to the origin, and there is absolutely no error in it!"

"Since the direction is correct, how can we easily change course because of temporary difficulties? We should start from the root, deepen the theory, and seek a way to break the deadlock."

His eyes gleamed, and he continued, "Since the direction is the Golden Core, and within the Daoist school, the most systematic and profound description of internally refining the Golden Core is none other than the Inner Landscape Diagram!"

"Why not seek the ultimate method for condensing the golden elixir from the Daoist inner vision diagrams?"