Chapter 254 - 251: Mana!

Chapter 254 - 251: Mana!

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Mana.

A single word, yet it was infinitely profound. To cultivators who’ve stepped into the Qi Condensation Realms, their steps on the path of cultivation relied on it heavily. It had many other names, but amongst cultivators, the word ’Mana’ had a unique Dao charm of truth.

What did it mean? What was mana?

It starts at the Sixth Stage of Qi Condensation, the False Reality Phase. To ascend to that level, one needed to sense mana, absorb mana, and use it to facilitate the fusion of yin and yang energies. This bestowed cultivators the ability of ’Creation’. The Metaphysical Qi they produce can interact with the world with it, sustain itself for long periods of time, and much more.

Some call it World Qi, as Wei Wuyin originally did. Long Chen had called it Essence. Not the Essence of Heaven and Earth that’s used to cultivate, but the Essence of the World. It acted as the agent to bind energies, allowing all things to interact, bind, transform, change, and exist.

Others referred to it as a unique vibration that exists perpetually in the world, impacting all things, allowing a subtle resonance between yin, yang, and all energies in existence.

Without mana within an object, that object will inevitably vanish into nothing, having no true effect on the world itself. This was the case for those below the Sixth Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

By absorbing a minute amount of mana, a cultivator starts their truest path of cultivation. They turn the world’s mana into their own personalized mana via refinement. The Spirit within the Heart of Qi absorbs the world’s mana, refines it, and the Spirit transforms. With this mana, it can now merge with the energies of the world.

This opened the path to the Eighth Stage of the Qi Condensation, the Infused Spirituality Phase, where Spirit merges with the Heart of Qi, becoming a Natal Soul. It can be considered a legitimate existence to the world.

The very next step of cultivation from this point is to reinforce the Natal Soul, Qi Essence. Qi Essence required the intermixing of the Natal Soul’s core energies and the world’s mana refined continuously, and then the Natal Soul would birth a mote of it. By reabsorbing this Qi Essence changes the compositional state of the Natal Soul.

While he knew there were Alchemical Products that can enhance a Natal/Astral Soul’s Mortal State, he’d never once seen a recipe that refined mana with Astral Core Realm level of energies. In fact, it was possible to do so, but the result would be pointless. Practically speaking, how could cultivators not try?

After all, no one wished to remain with a weak foundation if there was an alternative, but it simply wasn’t useful. It wasn’t that an Astral Soul’s state can’t change, but the Principle of Mana Phasing existed. This principle states that when Qi or Astral Force lacks sufficient quality of mana, below the world’s mana, the world’s mana slowly ebbs away the personalized mana. This causes the Qi and Astral Force’s compositional energies, physical, spiritual, mental, and essence to slowly deteriorate at their seams and disperse.

This was a principle even Wu Jiao understood. It’s the very reason cultivators find it difficult to obtain permanence in their ability to create. When Qi or Astral Force, supported by personalized refined mana at the Zenith level, equates to the same level of strength as the world’s mana, it negates the Principle of Mana Erosion.

The world’s mana could no longer eat away at and reclaim the personally refined mana of others.

But the problem lies in the energy of the Astral Core Realm level, even the weakest. It exceeds the limits that the world’s mana can withstand. Trying to refine it was going to cause it to disperse. Furthermore, Qi Essence was like trying to change the body constitution of a seven-meter giant with a drop of water. There simply wasn’t any point. An Astral Soul has been transformed by the unique energies of the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation, and this makes it difficult to change.

Only the Dao of Alchemy can interact and create unique existences like the Everlore Ascension Pills can alter an Astral Soul’s constitution post-transformation. The energies within are compatible and influence the Astral Soul in ways cultivators can barely conceive. To replicate this effect with their own power?

Impossible.

At least, impossible for those at the Astral Core Realm. Above? He didn’t know.

"The golden lightning mana is a stronger version of the world’s mana! You four want to change your Astral Soul’s Mortal State?!" He deduced their intentions immediately, trying to create personalized mana that exceeded the normal world’s mana limits!

No wonder they needed so much golden lightning and even tricked it using their auras. If it wasn’t for their forced dormant state after initiating their Astral Tribulation, he had no doubt these four would be more brazen!

They might stack thousands or hundreds of thousands if they could! The thought caused him to shiver slightly. While ten of these things hurt little, he couldn’t imagine so many entering his body.

"It’s here!" His Celestial Eyes brightened as he observed their final efforts. This...what was going to happen?