"All those years of consciously honing my control from the very beginning of cultivation… finally paid off."
Soul masters on the Douluo Continent each had their own methods for refining their control over soul power. But limited by their knowledge and worldview, none had ever thought to approach soul power or the human body from a microscopic level. They only trusted what they could see and hear.
Naturally, achieving such fine control wasn't possible without formidable spiritual power. Not everyone could reach this level at the Soul Emperor rank.
At this point, Xu Yang's spiritual power had likely already reached the level of Bo Saixi or Qian Daoliu—though still far below them in total quantity, given their centuries of cultivation. Still, his quality and precision had caught up.
It was only now that Xu Yang truly understood why Ultimate Douluo could live for hundreds of years, and why even the Sea God—before becoming divine—could live over a millennium. It was likely due to their immense spiritual strength, allowing them to regulate their bodies at the microscopic level, keeping themselves in peak condition and prolonging their lifespans.
Now that Xu Yang had not only developed the necessary spiritual strength, but also reached the realm of Unity Between Man and Heaven, his path to Titled Douluo would be smooth. He could even begin to glimpse the realms of Ultimate Douluo, and perhaps—eventually—the divine.
But to break through to Titled Douluo, one had to condense a soul core, transforming soul power from a liquid into a solid state.
That was why Xu Yang had chosen the over-80,000-year-old Sun Worm King as his sixth soul ring. Its soul skill, Sun Gaze, compressed energy into a singular point—perfect for forging a soul core.
His spiritual power and fine control already far surpassed the requirements. What he lacked now was only raw soul power.
Still, he was confident that once he reached Rank 69, he could accumulate enough energy to form a soul core and ride that momentum straight into Rank 70. This wasn't a guess—Xu Yang had carefully studied the Soul Land Tetralogy in his previous life and had pinpointed this stage as the optimal window for soul core formation.
Forming the soul core at this juncture—before absorbing the seventh soul ring—would not only greatly enhance his Martial Soul True Body, but also increase its duration. Once the soul core stabilized, he wouldn't even need to meditate; the natural energy of Heaven and Earth would flow into his body automatically, vastly accelerating cultivation from Soul Sage onward.
But even more important than the soul core… was another path Xu Yang held even dearer:
Inner Alchemy—the Golden Core Dao, the fusion of essence (精), energy (气), and spirit (神) into one.
After so many years of cultivation, and with his growing knowledge and insight, Xu Yang had come to suspect that the soul core theory had inherent flaws.
While it was true that forming a soul core was necessary to break through to Titled Douluo, advancing further in strength often required forming a second or even third soul core. And unlike the first, subsequent cores carried significant risks.
There were two known advanced methods: Resonant Soul Cores (same attribute) and Yin-Yang Complementary Soul Cores (opposing attributes).
The resonant type was relatively manageable—provided one had enough spiritual strength and precise control, forming a second soul core was risky but doable.
But Yin-Yang Complementary Soul Cores were incredibly dangerous. Even someone like Huo Yuhao, with all his advantages and Elder Mu's Dragon Pill, nearly died forming his.
Yet the rewards matched the danger. If successfully formed, the two opposing cores would collide and merge into a vortex of fusion soul power, drawing from both attributes—an entirely new form of power that combined spiritual force and elemental might.
After Huo Yuhao condensed his Spiritual Soul Core and Ultimate Ice Soul Core, the resulting vortex-like energy combined both traits, creating a devastating, easily controlled power that was far superior to traditional soul power.
That fusion was what made Yin-Yang Soul Cores stronger than Resonant Soul Cores.
But Xu Yang had a different idea:
"Why wait until the second or third core? Why not integrate essence, energy, and spirit from the very beginning?"
If successful, he could gain the benefits of fusion soul power right from the start—and avoid the dangers associated with dual-core formation.
This was why he had resolved to pursue the path of Inner Alchemy.
As someone who once lived in Huaxia, who didn't have dreams of immortal cultivation? Xu Yang had read basic theories of Inner Alchemy before. Though only at a surface level, he knew the cultivation stages:
Refining Essence into Energy,
Refining Energy into Spirit,
Refining Spirit into Void,
Merging with the Dao.
Though he wasn't deeply versed in Daoist alchemy, he understood the general principles: these four stages described how a cultivator reversed the natural order, fusing essence, energy, and spirit into a unified cycle.
To achieve this, one had to first complete the Small Heavenly Cycle, allowing essence and energy to merge, followed by the Great Heavenly Cycle, where energy and spirit fused—until energy returned to spirit, and spirit to essence.
In simple terms, the goal was to enable internal energy to transform back and forth:
Essence would rise from the lower dantian, condense in the middle dantian, transforming into true energy (zhenqi); then rise again to the upper dantian—the Niwan Palace or spiritual sea—where it would become spiritual power.
That spiritual power would then descend through the Ren and Du meridians, returning to the lower dantian as essence again.
A continuous cycle—essence, energy, spirit—all reinforcing and transforming into each other.
But to sustain this cycle, one needed to attain Unity Between Man and Heaven, and master both the Small and Great Heavenly Cycles. Xu Yang had already opened the Ren and Du meridians, and he knew the locations of the three dantian, but beyond that, his understanding of Inner Alchemy was shallow.
Outside the main channels, he didn't know which meridians aligned with the Bagua or the Five Elements, making it difficult to complete the more complex alchemical cycles.
"Sigh… I'll have to experiment on my own for now. Still, I can't neglect the soul core. If Inner Alchemy doesn't work out, I can always fall back on the soul core."
As that thought crossed his mind, Xu Yang let out a quiet sigh. The hand resting on Ning Rongrong's cheek began to gently knead. Her soft, porcelain-like skin was almost addictive to the touch.
Unbeknownst to him, Ning Rongrong had already woken up. Her face flushed bright red. She hadn't expected that in her sleep she would end up lying across her Yang-ge's body—and now he was even pinching her face! She was utterly mortified.
She didn't dare open her eyes. All she could do was pretend to still be asleep, praying he would stop soon and spare her the embarrassment.
Unfortunately, she didn't realize that Xu Yang had already sensed her subtle movements the moment his thoughts returned to the present. He had known she was awake the whole time—and he was doing it on purpose to tease her.
Seeing her continue to feign sleep, how could he let her off the hook?
With a low chuckle, he whispered,
"Rongrong, you can stop pretending now."
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong could only open her eyes. She glared at him with mock annoyance, slapped his hand away, and quickly rolled off his chest. Standing up, she turned her back to him and began smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes—her face still burning bright red.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin