Death... and me

After hearing that, Sister Orb analyzed the Twins' Dantians.

[Not bad... You two did well. This Last Stage of the Foundation Establishment took you a lot more than any of the previous stages. However, that was because you two didn't have enough time to wait for your Late Stage to mature appropriately.]

Sister Orb continued.

[Fortunately, there's no danger of a Universal Restraint approaching anytime soon, so you took your time to stabilize your foundations naturally. After you finished stabilizing your foundations, you had a lot of Rank Three Spirit Stones to use as well. So far, it seems like your foundations are in the best condition. As for the limit you talked about, I think it is already good enough.]

Rean and Roan nodded, satisfied. They had followed Sister Orb's instructions to the letter. After half a year, they had to admit, they also felt like their foundations were back to their prime conditions. They accumulated enough energy for their breakthrough as well. Their Pools of Spiritual Energy couldn't be fuller at the moment as they both brimmed with energy.

"Good! Once the Soul Connection is finished upgrading, we will make our Core Formation Realm breakthroughs as well."

As soon as they finished saying that, the Soul Gem System announced.

[Ugrade to Soul Connection Range Upgrade level 3 Completed.]

Rean and Roan didn't even need that announcement. They could feel it through their Soul Connection to the Soul Gem Orb. From now on, they would be able to use the Teleport Formation up to 3000 kilometers!

Sister Orb then warned the two.

[Don't forget, Rank Three Spirit Stones can only teleport you two up to a thousand kilometers. Anything above that will need Rank Four Spirit Stones instead.]

Rean and Roan nodded. They could only teleport 300 km before. Now they can at least guarantee 1000. That was already an excellent upgrade. Besides, it's not like they couldn't acquire Rank Four Spirit Stones in the future.

"Let's not waste our time. I want to go check that Jade Slip location and test our strength at the Core Formation Realm."

Rean and Roan then left the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm and went straight up to the Cultivation Tower in the Inner Sect. As one could imagine, the Energy Gathering Formations in this place were even better than the tower in the outer sect. The best thing was their free pass into it without the need of Sect Points.

As soon as they took a room each, they began to place the Rank Three Spirit Stones in the formations. Only then did they sit and contacted the Dimensional Realm.

'Sister Orb, we are done here. Now then, how do we go around with this Universe Essence you asked us to keep?'

[The Core Formation Realm is just like the name implies. You two will need to form a Core of Energy that later will lodge part of your souls. However, let's leave the soul thing aside. After all, that will only happen once you breakthrough into the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. Let's concentrate on creating the Cores here.]

[Normal Cores would be formed with the same element as the cultivator's Elemental Affinity. For example, Malaka and Calina will form a Water Core in the future. However, your Foundations have 10 pillars, with the tenth pillar being of the opposite Element of your Elemental Affinity. The Cores of your Core Formation Realm will follow a similar principle. Although they will be mostly formed with your Main Element, you will carry a trace of the other's element too. That is all for the sake of balance between your elemental exchange.]

[To form the Core, you need a foundation for it. As for the Foundation, it will be the 10 Pillars. Well, that's why it was called the Foundation Establishment Realm. The more pillars you created when you entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, the better it will be once you start building your Core.]

Roan couldn't help but say.

'Cut to the chase. All these steps are already described in the Yin Yang Cultivation Manuals. We also know about the constant exchange of elements while building the Cores as well. Tell us about how to use the Universe Essence.'

[There is no harm in reviewing the steps, you know? Anyway, once you start pouring your elements into the Core, mix them with the Universe Essence. It will naturally add to the Core's shell. Don't forget, it won't make you stronger. It will only make it harder to break and slightly increase the Spiritual Energy absorption. Of course, those two alone are already very good.]

Rean and Roan nodded before starting the breakthrough. They weren't afraid of something going wrong with the normal process of the breakthrough. After all, the Yin Yang Manuals of the Soul Gem System had always been flawless in that regard. They were only worried that the Universe Essence might have some effect or make things different.

Rean and Roan's Foundations had one extra pillar than the best foundations known by others, the Light and Dark Element Pillars. Rean had a Dark Element Pillar, while Roan had the Light one. These two pillars were located right in the middle of the Spiritual Pool, surrounded by the nine neutral ones.

When the breakthrough started, the nine surrounding neutral pillar bases began to move in the Elemental Pillar's position in the center. The place where the Elemental Pillars were located was also where the Core would start to form. Usually, it would be empty, but Rean and Roan's Elemental Pillars were there.

'There comes the painful part.'

Rean and Roan gritted their teeth and waited. Suddenly, the speed that the nine neutral pillars moved had increased.

*Bang!*

It was then that all nine in each of the twins' foundations smashed against their Elemental Pillars. It was already incredibly excruciating when Rean and Roan broke the shell of their dantians to expose the ten pillars outside. Let alone now that one of them was being destroyed.

Their Dark and Light Pillars then began to crack as the Twins let out tons of cold sweat due to the pain it caused.

*Crack, crack, crack...*

*Shatter!*

Finally, the Elemental Pillars couldn't hold it anymore and were shattered into pieces. There was no helping it. According to the Yin Yang Cultivation Manuals, Rean and Roan would need to use the Elemental Pillars as the energy necessary to create the Light and Dark Cores. Rean's Dark Pillar would be used in his Light Elemental Core, while Roan's Light Pillar would be used in his Dark Elemental one. That's what Sister Orb mentioned by creating something similar to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

With the pillars destroyed, the space at the center of the Spiritual Pool was finally free. With that, the Spiritual Energy in the pool began to gather at the center. Not only that, but the fragments of the Light and Dark Pillars also joined in the party.

Rean and Roan didn't stop either. They gathered and exchanged Dark and Light Elements with the Rank Three Spirit Stones' and the Energy Gathering Formation's support. Obviously, they mixed the little bit of Universe Essence they got some time ago into it.

Fortunately, the twins seemed to have underestimated the manuals created by the Soul Gem System. That's because once they started to form their cores, they felt like the Universe Essence fused with the Core as if it was meant to be. It was so smooth that it was scary to them.

Their Spiritual Pool's energy quickly disappeared. The Light and Dark Cores took form while using the nine neutral pillars as foundations. Rean's Core was mostly snow-white, but one could see faint dark lines spiraling around it. Roan was the opposite. His Core was primarily dark with soft threads of white. The Universe Essence also fused with the Cores' Shells, making it stronger and a bit more compatible with Spiritual Energy.

When the last drop of Spiritual Energy in the Spiritual Pool finally disappeared, Rean and Roan's Cores began to resonate with each other. That resonance then began to make the balance of Yin Yang in the surroundings tremble. However, the only ones that noticed it were Mia and Ancestor Zuan.

'Master, what is happening?'

Zuan spread his Spiritual Sense and soon found the epicenter of the event.

'Well, what else could it be? It's those two brats again. They had just entered the Core Formation Realm.'

Mia's Spiritual Sense quickly arrived at the cultivation tower and watched the twins. Sure enough, she felt the power of the Initial Stage of the Core Formation Realm coming from them. In the end, she couldn't help but sigh.

'It's awe-inspiring. Even though there is no such thing as Light and Dark cultivation manuals, those two can still cultivate this fast.'

Yep. Other than Rean and Roan, no one else knew about the Yin Yang cultivation manuals. The two observed their progress as the twins finished their breakthrough.

Not too long after, that resonance began to calm down, stabilizing the surrounding Yin Yang energy.

Rean and Roan then opened their eyes as they checked their bodies. They were completely drenched in sweat, but other than that, there wasn't anything wrong. However, it was at this moment that they felt similar energies coming from another direction.

'This... It's coming from the Beast Taming Faction.'

'Indeed. For us to be able to feel this, it can only mean one thing.'

'It's Kentucky!'

Sure enough, a particular bird was finishing its breakthrough at that moment. Kentucky was now transforming into a Stage Three Demon Beast!