- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 241
Among all emotions, the most dangerous one for cultivators is love. Once caught in its grasp, ascending to the Heavenly Immortal stage becomes nearly impossible. Few cultivators manage to see through the illusion of love, making it the deadliest poison on the path to immortality.
Cultivators refer to this as the “Tribulation of Emotions.”
Take, for instance, the Third and Fourth members of the Seven Sons of the Cloud—Cheng Xuanfeng and Qin Ruofei. They knew that love was the greatest obstacle to their cultivation, yet they still chose to become Dao companions.
This is the terrifying power of love: even when it is clearly a hindrance to one’s greater path, many embrace it wholeheartedly, willingly diving into the fire.
The key issue is that you can’t simply break a couple apart and be done with it. As long as there’s a deep emotional bond—even unrequited love—it constitutes an emotional tribulation.
And if the relationship later turns sour, feelings of hatred or resentment can become just as powerful a trap. Unless both parties completely let go, they remain ensnared in the tribulation, unable to ascend to the Heavenly Immortal stage and achieve true immortality.
Thus, the emotional tribulation is something only the cultivator themselves can overcome; no one else can help. Elders in sects often sigh when they see a disciple caught in such a situation, but they never interfere—because they know it will only make things worse.
Furthermore, the emotional tribulation is only something to worry about at the Earth Immortal stage, and few ever reach that point. Those who cannot free themselves from it may choose to dismantle their physical form and reincarnate, though the lingering memories from past lives often lead them into the same emotional traps.
The path of cultivation is difficult, and achieving true immortality is even harder. In this world, only once in several thousand years does a cultivator ascend to the Heavenly Immortal stage. There are countless geniuses, but after reaching the Earth Immortal stage, talent no longer matters.
“One golden pill, swallowed whole—at last, I know that my fate is no longer controlled by Heaven!”
Seated in deep meditation, Leo circulated the *Shangqing Grand Unity Scripture*, the technique used for forming a core. His dantian, filled to the brim with true essence, began spinning rapidly as he concentrated it into a solid golden core.
In this world, under the laws of Heaven, there were no barriers to forming a core or reaching the Nascent Soul stage—except for the Four-Nine Tribulation and the emotional trials. There was no concept of getting “stuck” at the Foundation Establishment stage.
As long as a cultivator’s true essence was sufficiently accumulated, they would naturally progress to the Core Formation and Nascent Soul stages.
In contrast, there wouldn’t be a scenario where a Foundation Establishment cultivator, having reached the peak of their stage by age 100, would be unable to form a core and die at 150 due to a lack of talent or sudden enlightenment.
In this world, cultivation talent refers solely to one’s ability to efficiently absorb spiritual energy. Under the same conditions, those who absorb energy faster are considered more talented, while those who do so more slowly are seen as less talented.
Talented disciples might reach Core Formation within a hundred years, while less talented ones might take 150 years, working tirelessly every day without distractions, just to accumulate enough true essence to form a core.
Most mortals fall into this latter category, where no matter how good their technique or how dense the spiritual energy around them, they simply can’t advance unless they encounter some miraculous opportunity or rare treasure that improves their constitution.
“Condense!”
With a loud exclamation, Leo body became like a vortex, madly absorbing the dense spiritual energy of Emei. The energy transformed into true essence, filling his dantian as the liquid essence began to solidify into a spinning golden core.
At the moment the golden core was formed, a unique force from the Heavenly Dao silently flooded into his body, triggering an unknown transformation in his life essence and significantly increasing his lifespan.
“So, this is the Core Formation stage—it truly feels different.”
After taking a moment to feel the vast energy contained within his newly formed golden core, Leo slowly opened his eyes.
No wonder crossing small realms is common in the cultivation world, but defeating an opponent in a higher major realm is so rare. The difference in the quality and quantity of true essence between the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages is staggering.
If the true essence of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator is five times that of an early-stage one, and the essence of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator is ten times that of a mid-stage one, then the amount of essence a Core Formation cultivator can use is a hundred times greater than that of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
But it’s not just about the quantity—the quality of true essence in the Core Formation stage is also far superior. The same technique or the same use of a magic artifact, when powered by a Core Formation cultivator’s true essence, would easily overpower a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attempt.
This explains why his feat of defeating a Nascent Soul cultivator while still at the Foundation Establishment stage was so shocking to others.
“It’s time to return to my sect.”
After successfully forming his golden core, Leo packed his things, preparing to temporarily leave Emei and return to Xiaozhu Mountain.
Although it was a small sect, Xiaozhu Mountain had a long history, and there were still many techniques and formations worth learning.
Emei’s spiritual energy might be dense, but since he wasn’t an official disciple, no matter how good his relations were, he wouldn’t be able to learn their advanced techniques or swordsmanship—at least not yet.
Moreover, Li Qingfeng, his predecessor, had left the mountain to sever mortal ties and agreed to return to report to his master, Qingzhu Daoist, after two years. That deadline had already passed by two months.
“Congratulations, Junior Brother Qingfeng, on forming your golden core!”
As Leo opened the door and stepped out of his courtyard, he was met with a chorus of congratulations. He looked up and saw it was the Seven Sons of the Cloud, his closest companions in Emei.
Having themselves reached the Core Formation stage, they had sensed the fluctuations in spiritual energy from Leo courtyard and knew he had succeeded in forming his golden core. They had come early to offer their congratulations.
They had already been impressed by Leo ability to fight at a Nascent Soul level while still at Foundation Establishment, but they were even more astonished now at how quickly he had advanced.
Despite receiving *Zengyuan Pills* from Lotus Fairy, to go from early-stage Foundation Establishment to Core Formation in just two years was a testament to his extraordinary talent.
“Thanks to Lotus Fairy’s pills and Master Baimei allowing me to cultivate here,” Leo humbly replied, then continued, “Now that I’ve successfully formed my golden core, I must return to my sect to report to my master. Senior Brother Chu, would you kindly inform Master Baimei for me?”
“What, Junior Brother, you’re leaving Emei?”
Before Chu Yuxiang could respond, Shangguan Qian, one of the Seven Sons, suddenly grew anxious.
Leo smiled. “Senior Sister, I’ll only be gone for a few months. The spiritual energy here is indeed beneficial for cultivation. After I report to my master, I’ll surely return.”
“Feel free, Junior Brother,” Chu Yuxiang said, glancing knowingly at Shangguan Qian. “Master Baimei has already instructed that you may come and go from Emei as you please, no need to report to him.”
“In that case, I’ll be off.”
Wasting no time, Leo summoned his *Scarlet Flame Orb* from his dantian, transforming it into a streak of red light as he disappeared from the courtyard.
…