"Little Mirror, is there a problem with my cultivation technique?" Fang Chen immediately took out the Mirror of the Universe and asked seriously.

"It's not that the method is wrong... It's just that the root foundation has a problem," the Mirror of the Universe hesitated to continue.

"How many spirit stones will it cost?" Fang Chen quickly caught on.

He still had several low grade spirit stones and a hundred mid grade spirit stones left. The Mirror of the Universe knew this and since it had spoken, the cost was probably within his means. Fang Chen had assumed that his root foundation was steady and sturdier than others all along. A problem in the root foundation was definitely not a trivial matter.

"A hundred mid grade spirit stones will do," the Mirror of the Universe replied.

"A hundred mid grade spirit stones? Is the problem so serious?" Fang Chen was confused.

"Don't take this lightly, brother. If you don't resolve this problem, no matter what method you use, you won’t be successful in your golden core formation. Given your years of experience, once the problem is resolved, you'll be able to form the golden core in one go," the Mirror of the Universe advised.

Without further ado, Fang Chen handed over his last hundred mid grade spirit stones to the mirror. This time, Little Sword remained obedient without a word of protest against the Mirror of the Universe. Perhaps this was because it had already consumed a profound rank low grade and a profound rank top grade spiritual treasure or perhaps it understood how crucial the golden core formation was to Fang Chen.

After absorbing the hundred mid grade spirit stones, the Mirror of the Universe instructed Fang Chen to turn to page forty three.

"Condensing a Sword Core requires reversing the method of the golden core formation."

This short statement left Fang Chen puzzled. Sword Core? He was after the golden core formation, so what was this Sword Core about?

"Little Mirror, what is a Sword Core? How is it different from a Golden Core? And why should I be condensing and refining a Sword Core instead of a Golden Core?" Fang Chen asked with a furrowed brow.

In his understanding, sword cultivators were powerful due to their techniques, but their cultivation methods should be the same as ordinary people. Just like how Jing Yuehan from the Void Immortal Sword Sect had formed a Golden Core and he had never heard of Fairy Yu mentioning that she had a Sword Core.

"You may not be aware, but the path of sword cultivation is not limited to the lower realms. It's also prevalent in the Immortal Realm. The Sword Core is a method that sword cultivators in the Immortal Realm follow. Even after ascending to the Immortal Realm, lower realm sword cultivators will always be weaker than those from the Immortal Realm due to foundational differences. When you initially formed your immortal sword vein, it was aligned with the path of Immortal Realm sword cultivators. Once you reach the Foundation Building Realm, you shouldn't form a Golden Core but instead a Sword Core. Once the Sword Core is formed, your understanding of the Sword Dao will increase a hundredfold or more. You will grasp techniques that other sword cultivators struggle to comprehend with ease and cultivate sword techniques that others cannot master," the Mirror of the Universe explained.

Fang Chen was enlightened. He only needed to reverse the Golden Core formation method of the Three Thousand Dao Art to successfully form a Sword Core?

"Little Mirror, can anyone reverse the Golden Core formation method and form a Sword Core?"

"They would need a foundation in sword cultivation, at least as strong as yours. Lower realm sword cultivators wouldn't be able to do it as they're still lacking in some aspects," the Mirror of the Universe replied.

Fang Chen thought for a moment before asking, "If I use the Three Thousand Dao Art to condense a Sword Core, will it obstruct my Dao path in the future?"

He knew that the Heavenly Abhorrence Technique was incredibly powerful and mysterious and did not want to forsake this path.

"What obstacles could there be? Sword cultivation is just a path, not a specific cultivation method," the Mirror of the Universe explained."You’ve been practicing the Three Thousand Dao Art from the beginning, so it won’t interfere with your use of Dao Sect techniques. If anything, the Dao Sect path predates sword cultivation and has a deeper foundation. Using it as your primary path and sword cultivation as a supporting will only enhance your overall strength." �

With his concerns alleviated, Fang Chen began attempting the Reverse Cultivation Technique to form the Sword Core. The first step which he had previously mastered was now incredibly difficult when reversed. Not only was it easy to make mistakes, but the reversal of spiritual energy through his meridians caused him intense pain.

Fortunately, his fourth rank sword body was equivalent to the Nascent Soul Realm so he could barely endure the pain caused by the reversal technique.

Time passed slowly. After experiencing eight or nine failures, Fang Chen finally succeeded in completing the first step of the Reverse Cultivation Technique. The vast amount of spiritual energy within his Sea Core condensed into a translucent Sword Core. Now, he only needed to stabilize the Sword Core for three months to fully enter the Golden Core Realm.

Just as he entered the second step, the ten year limit in the Realm of Three Thousand Dao had reached and Fang Chen was abruptly sent back to his meditation chamber.

In the meditation chamber, the white paper figure stayed by his side silently while the black paper figure slipped through the walls and appeared at the entrance of the courtyard.

Li Daoye, who had been lurking around, was startled when the black paper figure appeared. He immediately cupped his hands and bowed respectfully. "Master Hei, is the Lord here?"

"The Lord is at a critical stage in his cultivation and is not seeing visitors at the moment," the black paper figure responded coldly.

Besides Fang Chen, it would not feel any emotions nor had patience towards any cultivators. To it, these cultivators were merely draped in a layer of human skin, a spiritual material to boost their cultivation levels.

"I see. Then I’ll come back later," Li Daoye said thoughtfully before he left.

After he had walked a distance, he glanced back at the immortal cave where Fang Chen resided and muttered to himself, "These black and white paper figures clearly have their own consciousness, yet they claimed it’s just Dao techniques. Did Lord Fang bind them as spirit servants with the Skin Peeling Technique?"

He had just selected the Dao Art cultivation yesterday, particularly the Spiritual Attachment Technique. The core essence behind this technique was the refinement of spirit servant.

"Never mind. If they’ve been turned into spirit servants by Lord Fang, they’re probably not good people to begin with," Li Daoye muttered as he walked off, unaware that the black paper figure was still watching him.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. In the council hall, Pei Qingfeng sat in the main seat as he looked at the elders of each peak with a grim expression.

"Ancestor, the Azure Dao Manor is in complete chaos now. Ordinary people are also involved in the war. In just two months, we’ve already heard that over ten middle three realm beings have fallen and many Nascent Soul Realm and Golden Core Realm cultivators have perished..." Guan E said worriedly. "I’m afraid that some Dao sects might take this opportunity to attack us. Should we activate the Mountain Locking Grand Formation to avoid this calamity?"

"Elder Guan, this activation is not something to be done lightly. Not only would it consume a massive number of spirit stones, we would be locked in and unable to leave for a hundred years once it is activated," Elder Xu said with a frown. "We need to consider this matter carefully."

"Yes, yes, we shouldn’t activate the Mountain Locking Grand Formation lightly. That would be equivalent to imprisoning ourselves," Li Daoye quickly added.

Pei Qingfeng glanced at him, then sighed softly. He took out a letter and handed it to everyone.

After everyone had read the letter, their expressions turned grim. It was a military order issued by the Qin family demanding the Grand Thousand Dao Sect to send one Golden Core Realm cultivator, five Foundation Building Realm cultivators and four hundred Qi Refining Realm cultivators to the battlefield.

"Four hundred Qi Refining Realm cultivators!? The Grand Thousand Dao Sect has just over four hundred Inner Sect disciples in total!" Elder Xu hollered as his eyes reddened with anger.

Pei Qingfeng sighed deeply and explained, "The letter stated that we have to reach the Parting Fiery Dao Sect within ten days. If not, we will be considered enemies and our entire sect will be exterminated."