Steeling her resolve, Mira directed her Nascent Soul to begin its familiar cycle of relentless excavation.
'Get back to work!' Mira commanded, circulating more Qi to her soul.
It begrudgingly ascended the icy mountain, wielding the scythe, unable to resist.
As the Nascent Soul began its diligent work once more, the weight of her task seemed to press down on Mira.
Her body tensed, anticipating the expected yet increased intensity of the pain that was to come. And just like she predicted, as the first slash of the scythe descended onto the darkness, a wave of torment coursed through her, causing her teeth to grind together.
The tempest within her soul realm mutated further. The Wind Cyclone started swirling in multiple directions, resulting in more collisions and clashes.
From the center of the cyclone, faint rays of light began to emanate, beaming on the Nascent Soul like a spotlight.
The rain transformed into a torrential downpour of Yin Qi, cascading in waterfall-like sheets rather than simple droplets.
The incoming light refracted off the curtain of Yin Qi, creating a mesmerizing aurora of colors. Despite the pain, Mira couldn't help but admire the beauty of the spectacle unfolding within her soul realm.
Driven by her unyielding will, her Nascent Soul pressed on, slashing through the thick curtain of tangible darkness while weathering the increasingly fierce tribulation. As the Nascent Soul chopped through the darkness, going through the process again, the icy mountain started to evolve, shimmering like a diamond under the refracted light, contrasting the surrounding elemental chaos.
The Yin Lightning crisscrossed the storm, and Yin Fire danced in tandem with the wind, creating a surreal blend of catastrophe and chaos. The Nascent Soul, perched atop the icy mountain, was the eye of this tempest, taking the brunt of it all.
Pain rippled through her every time the Nascent Soul cleaved the darkness, each wave more potent than the last. Mira's body twitched involuntarily, but she clamped her jaw shut, refusing to let out a single sound.
'T-This much is nothing… A small price to pay for strength.' She reminded herself of her goal, using that as fuel to keep her sane. Her eyes clamped shut in determination, acting like an unyielding fortress in the face of a relentless assault.
With the energy she'd amassed in the war, Mira's breakthrough was swift. A final, devastating slash rent through the darkness, and an explosive wave of Qi gushed forth, sweeping across her entire body and soul.
In the midst of this eruption, an ear-splitting crack rang out like a spear of thunder tearing through the heavens. Mira's Nascent Soul realm trembled violently as she finally broke through to the 6th Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm!
Her Qi rocketed upwards, its quality and quantity reaching new heights. The Nascent Soul morphed once more, now taking on the appearance of a 12-year-old child, her scythe radiating with an exceptional level of power.
Her soul realm underwent its own evolution, the icy mountain looming larger and the elemental storm gaining a terrifying intensity. Every second, the elements smashed onto the ground and ice mountain, cracking, melting, and destroying it.
Mira coughed up a mouthful of blood, with some trickling from her eyes and out of her pores with every hit to her foundation.
'Why is my own soul trying to kill me?!' Every bit of damage dealt to the ground and ice hill was a crack in her foundation. If either one were to disappear, she might never be able to cultivate again. Or, at the very least, she couldn't use her current affinities.
Battered and weary, Mira sank to her knees, feeling a rush of joy but also agitation.
There was no time to celebrate. With a copious amount of energy still rampaging within her and constant damage to her foundation, Mira had to reach some sort of equilibrium.
First, she had to stabilize her realm.
She guided the remaining Qi to mend the newly formed cracks in her soul realm. Like a skilled artisan, she patched up every crack, strengthening the foundation of her cultivation. She could only do this thanks to the World Core.
Once again, her Nascent Soul was used to brace her realm, stabilizing her newfound strength with painstaking meticulousness. Every ounce of energy was utilized until she could no longer fortify her realm.
With a sigh, she slumped down on the ground, her body weary from her tribulations. Despite the pain, there was a glimmer of triumph in her crimson eyes.
'I need a break before I work on merging the cultivation of my centers of power together.' Mira closed her eyes to take a little nap and recover from the agonizing pain she just went through.
A few hours later, she woke up, refreshed, ready to tackle her next goal during this cultivation session.
While she was with the Basilisk, watching it absorb so much Celestial Nectar, Mira had a sudden inspiration. That was, the current cultivation looked something like this: Qi was at the top of the hierarchy, while Physical and Soul strength were secondary, playing catch-up.
To equalize the three so that when one of them got stronger, the other two did as well, reaching a kind of harmony, she needed a catalyst.
Normally, the standard cultivation system was fine. Qi was the most important aspect of cultivation anyways; it was the bedrock the rest was built atop. One didn't necessarily need to work on their physical or soul aspects.
However, Mira just had too many things to keep track of. Her 3 centers of power, her bloodline, the FLDIL, Dao, affinities, Inner Body Cultivation, and techniques. With all that, she doesn't even have time to commit to learning the various side occupations.
'The World Core is the perfect catalyst for this. As the literal core of a world, it can create all types of different energies. It also serves as the bedrock for the growth of all things, living and nonliving, in said world.'
At least, that was Mira's speculation.
Her theory was that as long as she connected the World Core with her Dantian, she'd be able to merge her systems of power into one. That way, no matter what kind of progress she made, whether it be with her Body, Qi, or Soul, all three would increase equally rather than having a dominant one.
'Let's give it a shot.'
Bathed in the pulsating waves of the World Core's multitude of elemental energies, Mira locked onto her target.
She channeled her Qi towards the core, attempting to forge a bond between the two. The task was difficult, reminiscent of blending water and oil. Yet, Mira was persistent, her Qi weaving through the World Core's dynamic energy currents.
Hours of relentless concentration finally caused a shift. The formerly inflexible energy of the World Core began to interact with her Qi, the previously impregnable barrier wavering.
It was as if her Qi and the Core's energy were beginning to comprehend each other. With the birth of this hopeful indication, Mira intensified her intent, urging her Qi to cement the developing bond.
Though the initiation of the connection was an achievement, it was still in its infancy. Mira's task was to cultivate a symbiotic harmony between her Qi and the World Core's energy, her intricate understanding of her elemental affinities guiding the way.
She imagined the elemental energies from the World Core as different rivers flowing into a grand ocean - her Dantian. Each river was an element, with distinct rhythms and flows yet ultimately interconnected.
Instead of imposing her Qi onto the energy of the World Core, Mira sought to align them. She altered her Qi, tuning it to the frequency of each stream, thus creating a resonance that allowed for a harmonious relationship between the two energies.
As Mira progressed with the alignment process, a transformation took place within her Dantian. The Qi was no longer just a homogeneous pool of Qi but a vivid amalgamation of the various elemental energies she could control.
This marked the dawn of Elemental Fusion. Her Dantian had transformed from a simple Qi storage to a crucible of elemental fusion, producing a unique energy that surpassed the individual elements' qualities.
This newfound energy was powerful, and as it diffused throughout her body, it fortified her physical prowess, enriching her Martial Manifestation Realm.
However, this energy was not inherently hers, nor was it an affinity she could strengthen. It was merely a sign of her growing control over the World Core. Its strength was related, and its capabilities were limited to her own cultivation.
However, this unique energy, one that was mixed with the World Core and her own Core, would bridge the gap between her centers of power.
With the connection to the World Core fortified and the fusion process in motion, Mira shifted her focus to her Soul. Already connected to the Core, it had become a critical component of a triad that included her Dantian and the Core.
Mira concentrated on strengthening this triad, ensuring the smooth flow of the Core's energies through her Dantian and into her Soul and back. The intricate process demanded her complete focus, as even a slight imbalance could have disastrous repercussions.
But Mira showcased her talent yet again, balancing the energies seamlessly and guaranteeing a positive feedback loop between her Dantian and the World Core.
Incorporating her physical body was the last leg of this journey, a challenge that added another layer of complexity.
To achieve this, Mira needed to sync her Qi with every single component of her body, from her chiseled muscles to the delicate cells pulsing with life.
She started by focusing on her muscles, the solid foundation of her physical prowess.
The skeletal muscles, the cardiac muscle in her heart, and even the smooth muscles that unknowingly worked tirelessly inside her; all had to resonate with her Qi. It was a delicate dance of synchronization, her Qi flowing into each muscle fiber, fusing strength with spiritual energy.
Once the muscles had been tended to, Mira shifted her focus to her organs.
The heart, with its rhythmic beat, the lungs expanding and contracting in a dance of life, the complex labyrinth of her brain, and the myriad other organs, each needed to harmonize with her Qi.
It was like each organ was singing its own melody, and Mira had to make her Qi flow in tune with them, creating a harmonious symphony within her body.
Next came the more subtle parts: the circulatory system, with its vast network of blood vessels, the intricate nervous system, and the endocrine system.
She felt her Qi spreading, branching out like a tree in bloom, touching every corner of her body.
The final frontier was her cells. The millions of cells that made her who she was, each buzzing with their own miniature life. Mira sent her Qi into each of them, feeling the energy flow into every cell, a pulse of life and energy merging with each minuscule part of her.
The process was akin to navigating a vast, interconnected city, but her body's network of countless meridians served as an intricate road map that allowed her to reach even the most remote corners. It was her inner GPS, guiding her Qi through the winding lanes of her physical form, synchronizing every part with her spiritual energy.
With every fiber of her being now pulsing in harmony with her Qi, Mira had completed the final piece of this puzzle, or what'll otherwise be known as the [Harmonic Trinity Cultivation Technique], inspired by the Harmony Blossoms.
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