Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 418 Good fortune will surely come to those who are fortunate! Shattered Core!

Chen Fan smiled and sat down in the rattan chair in the courtyard.

The rattan chair was woven by Old Li from old rattan from the mountains; it was sturdy and comfortable. Chen Fan lay down, squinted his eyes, and let the autumn sun shine on him, warm and cozy.

"Just busy with some trivial matters," he said lazily. "Eunuch Wei, the porridge is quite good."

"Hehe, I learned it all from Xiao Die." Eunuch Wei rubbed his hands together. "Eunuch Chen, would you like to try some? I added some goji berries and red dates; it's good for replenishing qi and blood."

"Wait a bit." Chen Fan waved his hand and looked towards the fields in the distance.

Faintly visible were figures moving about in the fields. Shi San, Young Master Wang, and others were bending over to work, with Wu Yuezi giving instructions from the side, while Xiao Die was jumping and skipping on the ridge, playing something unknown.

Everything was peaceful and serene, as if the conflicts in the outside world and the murderous intent of the Qingyun Sect had nothing to do with this world in the bowl.

But Chen Fan knew that this peace needed him to protect it.

Enemies like Qinglian Daoist and Zhou Shan are all incredibly powerful. If he cannot break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he won't be able to protect the people in the bowl, let alone himself.

"Eunuch Wei," Chen Fan suddenly spoke.

"Yes, Eunuch Chen, please give your orders," Eunuch Wei replied quickly.

Chen Fan opened his eyes and looked at this friend who was not bad at all.

"I'm going into seclusion," Chen Fan said slowly. "This seclusion is no small matter."

Eunuch Wei was taken aback: "Eunuch Chen, you're going to break through?"

"Yes." Chen Fan nodded. "Breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage."

As soon as the four words were uttered, the courtyard suddenly fell silent.

Eunuch Wei stared, mouth agape, for a long while before finally regaining his composure. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Yuan... Nascent Soul, Eunuch Chen, your talent is truly unmatched!"

"Just lucky," Chen Fan chuckled. "You'll have your day too."

Eunuch Wei shook his head slightly, his face showing a mixture of surprise and worry: "Eunuch Chen, I heard from Qingyizi, Daoist Tianyu, and Qingfengzi that... breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is extremely dangerous, with only one in ten surviving. Are you... are you confident?"

"Confidence?" Chen Fan lay back in the rattan chair, squinting at the sky. "On the path of cultivation, there's no such thing as absolute certainty. It's just a gamble."

"But..." Eunuch Wei wanted to say something, but Chen Fan raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Eunuch Wei, I know what you're trying to say," Chen Fan said calmly, yet with an undeniable firmness. "But this step is necessary. If that old dog Qinglian from the Qingyun Sect isn't killed, I'll be stuck hiding here for the rest of my life!"

After hearing this, Eunuch Wei remained silent!

Having lived with the old eunuch for so many years, he knew all too well the dangers the old man faced on his path to immortality!

On the contrary, after living in this bowl for so many years, he has become more and more like an old farmer!

Thinking of all this, Eunuch Wei smiled and said:

"In that case, let me give Eunuch Chen a piece of advice: good people are always blessed by heaven, you will definitely succeed!"

Chen Fan smiled without saying a word, and then vanished into thin air in a flash!

……

next second!

Deep within the world inside the bowl, Chen Fan stood on a flat piece of land.

Far from medicinal herb gardens and fields, far from houses and courtyards, all that could be seen was gray-brown earth and sparse withered grass—an open space he rarely visited.

"This place is acceptable."

Chen Fan surveyed his surroundings, spreading his divine sense over thousands of miles to confirm that there was nothing unusual in the area before raising his hand to set up an array.

He took out 108 array flags, using black iron tempered by innate true fire as the poles and runes drawn with his own blood essence as the flag surfaces. Each array flag fell, creating a ripple in the air before merging into the void.

The array flags appear randomly distributed, but in reality, they subtly correspond to the numbers of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Fiends. One hundred and eight flags, corresponding to the stars in the heavens, are arranged into the "Great Celestial Star Guardian Array." Although this array is not a killing array, it excels at defense and isolating the inside from the outside. Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator attacks with all their might, it can hold out for a short while.

Setting up the formation took half a day.

As the last battle flag fell, Chen Fan formed hand seals and uttered a low shout: "Activate the formation!"

hum!

One hundred and eight array flags simultaneously shone brightly, and pale golden pillars of light shot into the sky, weaving into a net in mid-air that covered an area of ​​a hundred feet in radius. The net of light slowly rotated, and the phantom images of stars appeared and disappeared within it, sprinkling down specks of starlight.

The grand formation is complete.

Chen Fan entered the formation and took out thirty-six paper figures.

These paper figures were all made by him personally using the secret techniques of the Talisman Sect. They were three feet tall, with blurred faces and grayish-white bodies. Each paper figure contained a wisp of his divine consciousness and thirty percent of his spiritual power. Although they had no intelligence, they could execute simple commands.

"Dharma protector."

Chen Fan raised his hand and pointed, and the thirty-six paper figures bowed in unison, then scattered and stood at key nodes in the great formation.

They wielded various illusory magical artifacts, including swords, spears, halberds, bells, tripods, pagodas, and seals. Although not physical objects, they could still exert some of their power.

If any foreign enemies intrude, these paper figures will automatically fight back, buying time for Chen Fan.

With everything arranged, Chen Fan sat cross-legged at the center of the formation.

He took out a jade bottle from his storage bag, poured out three Nascent Soul Pills and five Spirit Stabilizing Pills, and placed them in front of him. He then took out more than a dozen high-grade spirit stones and arranged them into a small spirit-gathering array to ensure an uninterrupted supply of spiritual energy.

Everything is ready.

Chen Fan slowly closed his eyes, his mind sinking into his dantian.

Within the dantian, a golden core the size of a pigeon's egg floated silently. The core was entirely golden, with nine pale golden lines encircling its surface—marks of the nine cycles of core formation. The spiritual energy within was like a surging sea, yet it was firmly bound by the core's outer shell, preventing any leakage.

The first step in shattering the golden core to form an infant is to break the golden core itself.

Chen Fan took a deep breath, mobilized all his spiritual power, and transformed it into countless fine threads, which slowly wrapped around the golden core.

The moment the fine thread touched the golden core, a sharp pain exploded from the dantian!

The pain wasn't like being cut or burned; it was a tearing sensation emanating from the very source of life, as if it were trying to dismantle his very existence. Chen Fan groaned, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

"As expected... it wasn't easy."

He gritted his teeth and persevered, the fine threads continuing to coil.

The outer shell of the Golden Core is incredibly hard, formed from a cultivator's life's worth of cultivation. How could it be easily broken? Chen Fan repeatedly attacked and cut with threads of spiritual energy, each step forward accompanied by excruciating pain.

Time passed slowly.

The world within the bowl had no sun or moon, only the howling wind and sand of the wasteland. Chen Fan sat cross-legged in the formation, motionless like a stone statue, only the beads of sweat constantly sliding down his forehead proved that he was still struggling.

One day, two days, three days...

March has arrived in the blink of an eye.

For the past three months, Chen Fan has worked tirelessly, focusing all his attention on his dantian. Threads of spiritual energy have already wrapped around the nine layers of his golden core, completely enveloping the entire core. Yet, the outermost shell remains indestructible.

"The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir has an outer shell as sturdy as a magic weapon..." Chen Fan realized in his heart, "It requires a painstaking and gradual approach."

He stopped rushing things and instead adjusted his strategy. The spiritual energy threads no longer attacked forcefully, but instead seeped into the gaps in the golden core's patterns like spring rain. Each thread of spiritual energy that seeped in caused a tiny tremor inside the core shell, disintegrating its structure from the inside out.

This method, though slow, is reliable.

But... it hurts even more.

The spiritual energy seeped into the golden core, as if carving into his soul. Every tiny tremor made Chen Fan's consciousness waver and his mind sway. If it weren't for the Spirit-Stabilizing Pill to stabilize his soul, he would have already collapsed.

Three more months have passed.

The first crack finally appeared on the outer shell of the Golden Core.

The crack was as thin as a hair, yet it invigorated Chen Fan. He endured the excruciating pain and channeled more spiritual energy into the crack, slowly widening it.

One strand, two strands, three strands...

Cracks spread like a spider web, gradually covering the entire surface of the golden core.

At this point, a full year had passed since the start of the retreat.

Chen Fan opened his eyes, his pupils bloodshot and his face as pale as paper. He took out a Spirit-Stabilizing Pill and swallowed it; the cooling medicinal power surged into his sea of ​​consciousness, soothing the wounds to his soul.

"It's already this difficult after just the first step..."

He gave a bitter smile and closed his eyes again.