Lucio started to explain.
"There is a lot of Foundation Establishment cultivators that come to our Sect so that they can have a safer Core Formation Realm breakthrough. And it is true, we have a few techniques that can make it easier to achieve that. But this should not be a problem for you to start with. As I can see it, you wouldn't have any problem with resisting the Heavenly Tribulation with your current ability. So I guess it is okay for us to try a perfect breakthrough."
Lucio continued.
"Usually, cultivators and demon beasts give a small part of their Soul to 'feed' the Core, and that Core will nurture this small Soul into a Divine Soul. I believe you already know that, right?"
Krune nodded.
"But there is a thing that few know about, the amount that your Core is 'fed' is divided by stages too.
If you give 10%, it's a fundamental Breakthrough;
20%, intermediate Breakthrough;
30%, advanced Breakthrough;
And finally, 50%, a perfect Breakthrough.
It will also determine the power of your Nascent Soul."
Krune immediately got puzzled.
"But Master, as far as I know, it is the Core itself that decides how much of your Soul it wants to absorb, or at least, that's what I heard from everyone. Also, if I let the Core take even more of my Soul, won't I die because of that?"
Krune was also worried about another thing, Shinja and Yusa had already entered the Core Formation Realm, doesn't that mean that they did it wrong?
Lucio nodded and then shook his head.
"This knowledge isn't wrong but isn't totally correct either. To be more specific, your Core is the one that determines for 'how long' it will absorb the Soul. But it doesn't change the fact that it is still the Core that decides, though. The trick for a perfect Breakthrough is in the size of your Soul!"
Krune didn't need his Master to continue, he immediately understood what he was supposed to do and why his Master spoke about the Elemental Source Energy.
"So I will need to use the Elemental Source Energy to compact my Soul as much as possible. That way, my future Core will absorb a lot more of it before the time runs out."
The reason for that is because when Krune used his Elemental Source Energy during the Hundred Floors Tower Exam to protect his Soul, the energy had also compacted his Soul so that it would be easier to defend.
Lucio nodded, satisfied.
"Smart! As for the risks of dying because of that, you can leave it to your Master!"
Lucio then took out a pill and passed it to Krune.
"Normally, the conscience wouldn't be able to resist a loss of over 30% of the Soul. In typical cases, the conscience would break apart, and the Soul dissipates. But this pill here will make it different. It is called Awareness Moving Pill."
Krune then received the pill and looked at it. Even as an Alchemist himself, he couldn't determine the grade of the pill. It is obviously something extremely rare.
Lucio continued to explain.
"As the name implies, it has the capability of moving the conscience to a specific part of your Soul. But don't misunderstand it, the loss of 50% or more of the Soul will still be a severe injury! You will just not die because of that, but the Pain will be who knows how many times higher!"
Krune nodded. This is something that he was already expecting. It is half of his Soul, after all! Krune then took out another pill from his spatial ring and showed to his Master, it was none other than the Soul Healing Pill that he made with the Dragon Essence Liquid!
"Master, can this pill heal my Soul instantaneously if the injury to the Soul is 50% or more?"
Lucio then grabbed that pill and took a look.
"Oh, this one isn't that bad. Even though it is a normal Five Stars pill, it has fused with the Dragon Essence Liquid pretty well. If you have 10 of this, it should be possible."
Krune almost fainted!
"10? I have 12 at the moment, but I was waiting to give it to the others when they entered the Core Formation Realm. Is there a way in which I can gather more Dragon Essence Liquid?"
Lucio looked at him and laughed.
"At your level, no mission will give you the necessary points to buy Dragon Essence Liquid Drops. In fact, I'm impressed that you put your hands on some drops at all! I read the reports, you got those drops because of the bet between two Outer Sect Elders. But you probably noticed that even they thought about it as a treasure, and they were both at the Void Breaking Realm."
Krune felt gloomy, those pills were acquired thanks to the effort of Arlan, Ao, and himself. He doesn't think that it is right to use so many alone. But if he doesn't, he isn't confident of being able to pass the Heavenly Tribulation in that condition.
Lucio then said.
"Well, before I read the reports, I thought that you wouldn't have anything good enough to recover your Soul from that injury."
Lucio then took another pill out and passed to his disciple. Krune looked at that new pill and was surprised.
"It's also the Soul Healing Pill, but its power..."
Lucio then said.
"It is indeed a Soul Healing Pill made with Dragon Essence Liquid, but this one is at the 8 Silver Stars level."
Krune nodded.
"As I thought, I noticed the moment I saw it that my own pills simply couldn't compare."
Lucio continued.
"Thankfully, even though you will lose 50% or more of your Soul at that moment, it doesn't change the fact that it is still a Soul of an Early Core Formation Realm. Thanks to that, this pill should be enough to heal it completely. If it was an injury at the Divine Soul Level, this pill would have little effect, and your own pills wouldn't change anything at all! So after the Core Formation Realm Breakthrough, be careful not to damage your Soul anymore."
Krune nodded and immediately put that pill inside his Spatial Ring too, he then looked at his Master, who was giving him so many good things at once.
"Old geezer, why are you being so nice with me?"
Pow!
Krune was immediately hit on the head again.
"You are my first and only disciple, the only one in over 50 thousand years! What is so weird about me helping you with your cultivation path? Next time you make such a stupid question, it won't be just a hit on the head that you will get!"
Krune felt a little embarrassed and just nodded. With his power, there is nothing much he can do for his Master now, but he will remember everything he has done for him. There will come a day where he will repay his Master.
"Oh, right! Master, is there a way to help improve the Soul in the Core of someone who is already in the Core Formation Realm?"
Lucio looked at him and asked.
"Are you talking about your friends who had already entered this Realm?"
Krune nodded, if possible, he wanted to help Shinja and Yusa to improve as well.
Lucio then said.
"There are a few treasures that would be capable of that, but they are too rare and expensive, even I would feel Pain in my pockets if I were to use one. Also, I said that there are a few treasures that can improve the Soul inside the Core, but they will never get at the level of a Perfect Breakthrough! Of course, they are still too hard for someone like you to acquire anyway, and I will definitely not give you those since they can be used for much better things."
Krune sighed and nodded, he was already expecting such a thing.
"Then, is it okay to pass this information about the Core Formation Realm breakthrough to the others?"
Lucio nodded his head.
"It shouldn't be a problem, but without the ability to gather Elemental Source Energy, I reckon that it will be useless. Without that, your friends can't compact the Soul. Also, there is the problem of the Awareness Moving Pill. Without something like this, they probably will die because the injury will also affect their consciousness."
It was then that Krune asked.
"Oh right, what grade is this pill? I want to go to the Alchemist Hall to see if I could get it done. It shouldn't be as rare as the Dragon Essence Liquid Soul Healing Pill, right? After all, it only moves the awareness, it doesn't have the Soul Healing Ability."
Lucio's mouth twitched and looked at Krune as if looking at an idiot.
"Not as rare your head! This pill can't even be concocted here in the Divine Path Sect to start with!"
Krune was taken aback, can't be concocted in the Divine Path Sect? That rare?
Lucio then took a deep breath and said.
"I can't even remember all the ingredients necessary to make this thing. Dragon Essence Liquid? You might as well call it dirty water compared to the materials used in this pill. I acquired it during a trip to the Central Region a few thousand years ago, and it cost me 103 million Rank 10 High-Quality Spirit Stones!"
Krune almost vomited blood! 103 MILLION RANK 10 HIGH-QUALITY?!!! Is the pill inside his spatial ring that valuable?! Krune knows that the Divine Path Sect has even Golden Stars Alchemists. If they can't create this pill, then just what level is this thing?!
"You are not joking, right?"
Lucio shook his head.
"I won it in an auction back then. Our best alchemist here in the Sect at the moment is Jamile Tyranea, an 8 Golden Stars alchemist, and she was with me at that time. She was the one who convinced me to buy it too. This pill is a 7 Diamond Stars Pill, something that our Western Protectorate can't even dream about concocting!"
Krune then took a deep breath, just what kind of heaven-defying treasure did his Master just give him?
There was another reason why Lucio wasn't minding investing so much into his disciple. That is because back then, his Master also did the same for him! That is his way to show that he isn't the least bit worse than his own Master now.
Lucio then commented.
"You took the Soul and conscience wrong. To heal the Soul is hard, but it is still within our means, but to move the conscience inside the Soul is another story altogether! As you know, we can still operate the Soul and if your cultivation is high enough, even bringing it out of the body is possible. But we have no way of touching the conscience itself! According to Jamile, only the alchemists in the Central Region have the power to achieve that through their pills."
Krune then sighed, it seems like he won't be able to help the others to achieve a Perfect Core Formation Realm Breakthrough or bring the ones who are in this Realm to the same level as himself.
Lucio then finished with a piece of advice.
"One must rely on oneself in the cultivation path, and I can tell that your friends understand that. It is up to them whether they achieve great things or not. It's not wrong to help, but if you overdo it, you will instead become a barrier to their progress."
Krune nodded and gave up the idea of helping them acquire a better breakthrough. Sill, he will give them the information, but it will be up to them whether they can make use of it or not.