Chapter 121: "So, Chen Qiu, is it a Tenth Rank Golden Core?"

Chapter 121: "So, Chen Qiu, is it a Tenth Rank Golden Core?"

"The scholar mentioned that you can't consume the Celestial Path Cultivation Pill, which confirms that you possess a unique cultivation method."

"If I recall correctly..."

"That Exploding Entry is just a bunch of lies and deception to enhance one's cultivation!"

"No, that's not right either."

Fatty Dragon patted his head, feeling like his mind was about to explode. He furrowed his brows and said, "But you didn't even say a word, how could you deceive others? And it's obvious that your cultivation hasn't reached the Golden Core stage, so the Grand Master's cultivation must be at least at the Golden Core stage."

The scholar brother remained silent.

Fatty Dragon had already refuted his own logic multiple times.

Then, ignoring the scholar brother, Fatty Dragon sat by the campfire, deep in thought. He felt that his reasoning was sound, even if the Grand Master wasn't the scholar brother.

But...

Perhaps the Grand Master's true target had always been the scholar, and Ji Taiping was just a stepping stone.

If the Grand Master's goal was Ji Taiping, why would Ji Taiping's cultivation be so unstable? The Grand Master would never choose an unstable cultivator as the number one sword cultivator in the world.

Proving this was simple.

If one day in the future, Ji Jianian suddenly learned the truth and transferred his affections to the scholar, and with the help of the Celestial Beauty effect, the scholar could break through a cultivation realm in his understanding of sword intent.

Then it would be confirmed that the scholar was the Grand Master's chosen one, the top sword cultivator of Great Xia.

Over the years, the Grand Master must have used various methods to plant psychological suggestions in Ji Jianian's mind, telling him that his true love was not Ji Taiping, but the person who saved him. However, Ji Jianian believed it was Ji Taiping who saved him, so he loved him.

"Damn it."

Sitting by the campfire, Fatty Dragon's eyes flashed with a hint of shock as he muttered, "I think I've figured out what the Grand Master is up to."

"How the hell did I guess that? Could it be that I'm the Grand Master?"

"Did I seal my own memories and cultivation?"

In the capital, atop the Green Peak, Ji Jianian sat alone on a rock at the summit, listening to Ji Taiping's scolding through the communication talisman.

"I know you went out to have fun last time because I escorted you, and you were touched."

"But could you please not bring it up all the time?"

"I really hate it when you keep mentioning this!"

The anger in Ji Taiping's voice through the communication talisman was palpable, leaving Ji Jianian at a loss for words. His brother was still in the Hundred Nations dealing with the war, and it would be some time before he could return, so they could only communicate through the talisman.

After a long while, Ji Jianian spoke softly.

"The Grand Master prophesied that when I grow up, I would face a crisis, and there would be someone secretly protecting me during that crisis. That person is my true heir."

"I just want to tell you that the Grand Master said you are my true heir, and I will always love you."

After a long silence, Ji Taiping's hoarse voice came through the talisman, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper at you. It's just that things here are very difficult to handle. I will always love you, too. After this is over, I'll bring you some local specialties when I return. Don't overthink it."

"Wait for me at Green Peak, I'll be back soon."

After the communication talisman connection ended, Ji Jianian sat alone atop Green Peak, playing with the hem of his skirt, feeling a bit downcast and staring blankly at the ants moving their nest at the base of the rock.

Lost in thought.

In the capital, the Zhang family.

The head of the Zhang family sat in his chair with a gloomy expression. He had communicated with the palace recently, asking his patron to find a way to transfer Ji Taiping away from the capital.

So that Ji Taiping wouldn't bother the White Robe.

Leaving them to deal with the matter.

The Zhang family wanted to capture the White Robe alive and force him to reveal the secrets of Nascent Soul cultivation.

To be honest, he was just testing the waters when he mentioned it to his patron in the palace, but to his surprise, his patron was extremely reliable this time. They immediately arranged for Ji Taiping to go to the Hundred Nations, a distant place he couldn't return from for a while.

It was the perfect opportunity for the Zhang family to take action against the scholar.

But...

A few days ago, the palace suddenly issued an order to the Zhang family, stating that the Talented Youth Competition was about to begin, and the top cultivators from the ten states of Great Xia, including the Hundred Nations, would gather in the capital. The Zhang family was tasked with ensuring the safety of the capital.

No one from the clan was allowed to leave the capital, or they would be considered rebels.

The palace rarely used such a stern tone, and when they did, it meant that the order was non-negotiable and must be obeyed without question, or it would be considered an act of defiance.

So, the Zhang family was forced to stay in the capital during this time, unable to go anywhere, while the scholar brazenly appeared everywhere, but they couldn't do anything about it.

"Oh well."

After a long silence, the Zhang family head's expression gradually returned to its usual calm, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

The palace was Great Xia's most powerful intelligence agency, and during this time, he had learned a lot about the White Robe and Chen Qiu through his palace connections. Chen Qiu was a sudden rising star among solitary cultivators, who was just a woodcutter in Windward City a few dozen days ago.

Recently, he had acquired the Law Cult Heritage, annihilated over a hundred thousand evil tribes, and was the talk of the town.

As for the White Robe, he claimed to be the Second Elder of the Mock Heaven Sect, while the First Elder, Fatty Dragon, was a Core Formation cultivator who had escaped from the Flower Offering Sect.

Chen Qiu had reached the Foundation Establishment Peak, and with the Law Cult Heritage, he would likely come to the capital to participate in the Talented Youth Competition. If Chen Qiu came, the White Robe would surely follow, and then... Hmm.

The Zhang family couldn't leave the capital, but if the White Robe came to them, they would show him the might of the Zhang family of the capital.

If Chen Qiu doesn't participate in the Heaven's Pride Ranking Competition, they'll have to wait until the competition is over and the Zhang family is no longer responsible for guarding the capital's safety before they can freely capture the White-Robed man.

Inside the Flower Offering Sect.

High above the cave abode of the Walking Heavenly Maiden, the sect master and the Grand Elder of the Flower Offering Sect stood hidden in mid-air, their figures concealed. The Grand Elder furrowed his brows slightly as he looked down at the cave abode below, where the Walking Heavenly Maiden lay injured, and asked with a puzzled expression.

"Sect Master, have you been tormenting the Heavenly Maiden too much during this time?"

"If you really don't like her, you can just kill her directly. Why go through all this trouble?"

The sect master, with his back to them and his hands behind him, showed no trace of lust on his face. He looked down at the cave abode below, where the Walking Heavenly Maiden lay injured, and remained silent for a long time before speaking softly.

"I can't kill her."

"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you this much—someone important in the palace asked me to do this."

"As long as we side with that important person, the future of the Flower Offering Sect will be limitless."

"The palace?"

The Grand Elder furrowed his brows for a long time before shaking his head with some unease, "Sect Master, you know better than I do who's in the palace, and not many have had a good outcome from dealing with them."

"I know."

The sect master nodded and continued, "But at least we don't have to pay any price. We just need to torment the Heavenly Maiden and ensure she doesn't die."

The Grand Elder didn't speak further, but he still felt some unease in his heart.

No price?

In this world, nothing comes without a price.

At that moment, inside the cave abode below, the Walking Heavenly Maiden lay there, her body covered in injuries, gazing absentmindedly at the hairpin given to her by the little fat man. After a long time, she carefully took out a pink reed from her storage ring and laid it on the stone bed.

She lay down on it.

The piercing pain caused her lips to twitch uncontrollably.

She didn't pay it any mind.

Instead, she turned her head and looked at the starry sky outside the cave abode, murmuring.

"Little Fat Man."

"You've been quite impressive lately."

Inside the Walking Heavenly Maiden's Dao Foundation, which she herself couldn't see, a rather bizarre Nether Lotus was slowly blooming, taking root in the foundation and constantly absorbing Life Energy from the Core Palace.

If Chen Qiu were here, he would discover that this Nether Lotus was exactly the same as the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus he had obtained from the subterranean inferno in the Endless Desert.

The only difference was that one was composed entirely of flames, while the other was made up of extremely dense black death Qi.

In the subterranean inferno of the Endless Desert, a young man in a cloak, his face hidden, stood in the center of the inferno, unaffected by the flames. He looked expressionlessly into the distance, where there should have been a mature Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus, but now there was nothing.

There was no sign of the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus.

There was only a trembling tiger, its body covered in death Qi, cowering next to a massive tiger.

After a long silence, the young man spoke softly, "Useless."

Profound Spirit Qi surged from his sleeves and struck the tiger below the inferno.

In an instant, the massive tiger, despite its intimidating size, was torn into countless bloody fragments and devoured by the endless inferno, leaving nothing behind.

An hour later.

A scholar, injured, stumbled out of the heritage mystic realm, the noise waking Chen Qiu. The scholar sat cross-legged on the ground and spoke urgently to Chen Qiu, "I made a mistake, but this time I'm sure I'll make it!"

He then closed his eyes and swallowed a healing pill.

He began to heal himself on the spot.

After a stick of incense.

He rushed back into the mystic realm without looking back.

Two hours later, the scholar stumbled out of the mystic realm again, his injuries more severe, but this time, his face was filled with excitement, "Brother Qiu, I've reached the threshold of the fourth gate!"

"I have a feeling that the Sword Cultivation Heritage is very close now!"

Another two hours passed.

The sky had already brightened.

Chen Qiu looked up at the dark clouds above his head, which refused to disperse. The sky had brightened, but it was still pitch black where he was, as the Endless Ice Plain was perpetually shrouded in darkness, blocking out almost all light.

If one ventured deep into the Endless Ice Plain, it would be pitch black, with no trace of light.

Utter darkness.

It was as if the entire world had only one person in it.

Two more hours passed.

This time, the scholar emerged, still injured, but with a self-satisfied smile on his lips. He took out a storage ring from his embrace and handed it to Chen Qiu.

"Brother Qiu."

"I didn't disappoint you. I've passed the Sword Cultivation Heritage. I never imagined that in this life, I would be able to pass this heritage, which no one has passed for over a thousand years."

"Thank you, Brother Qiu. Without the techniques you taught me, I might never have been able to pass."

Chen Qiu took the storage ring and scanned it with his Spirit Sense, seeing the Nascent Soul Body lying quietly in the corner, and he couldn't help but smile.

It was done.

Three Nascent Soul Bodies, check.

Nine Second Rank Golden Cores, check.

Everything was ready.

"You don't need to thank me."

Chen Qiu looked at the scholar without a hint of pride, and shook his head, a glimmer of anticipation flashing in his eyes. In truth, if Old Man Cao hadn't told him the techniques for passing the other heritages, he wouldn't have known any of this.

Although he didn't know why Old Man Cao had told him the techniques for passing the other heritages, the help was indeed significant.

The next moment—

Several figures disappeared from the spot and entered the Little World, leaving behind only a pile of extinguished campfires.

In the back mountain of the Mock Heaven Sect.

Chen Qiu sat cross-legged at the peak of the mountain, regulating his state with his Heart Method to achieve the best condition, calming himself as much as possible. Then, he took out item after item from his embrace and laid them out in front of him.

Three Nascent Soul bodies, three of them.

Nine Second Rank Golden Cores.

One Malevolent Wood, one Eight Directions Fruit.

All gathered.

The nine Attribute Scrolls he obtained from the Mystic Realm had all been crushed, and these nine white entries, along with the "Alchemy Stance" entry he had selected to discard, were now ready for the pill refinement.

A thread of Celestial Dao Fortune, Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment, and the Seven-Colored Entry.

All prepared.

Everything was ready.

Now, it was time for pill refinement. Chen Qiu, sitting cross-legged on the ground, glanced at the scholar who was setting up the Spirit Gathering Formation nearby and couldn't help but ask, "Scholar, is the Spirit Gathering Formation with seventy-seven medium-grade Spirit Stones enough?"

"It's more than enough."

The scholar nodded earnestly and assuredly, "Trust me, there's no need to wait for 108 medium-grade Spirit Stones to set up a higher-level Spirit Gathering Formation. The Forty-Nine Spirit Gathering Formation is more than sufficient."

"There won't be any mistakes."

"Brother Qiu, all you need to do now is calm yourself as much as possible. Imagine being in your mother's amniotic fluid, enveloped by heaven and earth, and relax."

"Then, you can make a breakthrough in one go."

"Brother Qiu, you can do it."

"Okay."

Chen Qiu lightly nodded, sitting cross-legged and circulating his Heart Method. The tension in his heart gradually dissipated, and he closed his eyes, trying to relax. The furrowed brows, previously tense due to anxiety, slowly smoothed out.

The scholar and the others standing guard nearby had tense expressions, not daring to utter a word, afraid of disturbing Chen Qiu.

To ensure Chen Qiu's absolute peace of mind during his breakthrough, Fat Dragon even tied up all the 200-plus disciples in the dormitory and gagged them, fearing that any noise they made would disturb Brother Qiu.

The next moment—

Chen Qiu's eyes, sitting cross-legged on the rock, suddenly opened, and his pupils contracted, emitting a sharp light. The Dao Foundation above his Core Palace began to rotate at an unprecedented speed, and the attributes engraved on it were flung off due to the high-speed rotation, floating within the Core Palace.

"Haa!"

As Chen Qiu let out a low shout, the three Nascent Soul bodies on the ground, nine Second Rank Golden Cores, one Malevolent Wood, and one Eight Directions Fruit suddenly shot into the air and instantly turned into powder.

All this powder was sucked into the rapidly rotating Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment within his Core Palace.

As it spun rapidly, the Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment gradually disintegrated, eventually breaking down completely, revealing a dazzling Golden Core. The moment this Golden Core appeared, it began to rotate at high speed, and the disintegrated remnants of the Foundation Establishment were instantly turned into powder and absorbed into the Golden Core, merging with it.

As the Golden Core spun rapidly, the floating attributes in the Core Palace were also drawn towards it, transforming into minuscule characters and engraving themselves on the Golden Core once more.

The Golden Core continued to spin at high speed, its velocity several times faster than that of the Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment. By now, all the attributes had been re-engraved on the Golden Core, and as it spun, the Life Energy within the Core Palace began to swirl wildly around it, as if caught in a tsunami.

The gaseous Life Energy, under the high-speed rotation, gradually transformed into a liquid state and fell into the Core Palace.

It was evident that this liquid Life Energy possessed even greater power and destructive force than its gaseous counterpart.

At this moment—

The Golden Core, which had only one swirling cloud pattern, began to gradually reveal a second cloud pattern.

When the second cloud pattern was fully etched onto the Golden Core, it signified the transformation into a Second Rank Golden Core.

Immediately after, the third cloud pattern, the fourth cloud pattern...

The sixth cloud pattern, the seventh cloud pattern...

Chen Qiu, sitting cross-legged on the rock, frantically absorbed the Life Energy from the surrounding Spirit Gathering Formation composed of medium-grade Spirit Stones, observing the changes in his Golden Core with a hint of tension. As long as the tenth cloud pattern appeared, it would mean that his Tenth Rank Golden Core was complete! Even though he knew that there shouldn't be any issues, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

Finally—

After the ninth cloud pattern was etched onto the Golden Core, the tenth cloud pattern also arrived as expected without any surprises, slowly appearing on the Golden Core. However, just as the tenth cloud pattern was about to be fully engraved on the surface of the Golden Core, the Golden Core suddenly stopped rotating.

And the tenth cloud pattern, which was about to be fully revealed, also halted in its tracks.

What's going on? Chen Qiu anxiously scanned his surroundings. The Spirit Gathering Formation still had plenty of Life Energy, more than enough. It wasn't a shortage of Life Energy supply, so what was the problem? Why was his Tenth Rank Golden Core stalling at this critical moment? Was it because he hadn't prepared enough materials?

No, everything was prepared.

Or had Old Man Cao deceived him? In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and he even considered trying the Eight Directions Fruit to see if it could solve the problem, though he knew it was a desperate attempt.

But just then—

The Golden Core, which had stopped rotating, suddenly began to spin again, and its speed was faster than before, several times faster.

The tenth cloud pattern finally appeared completely on the Golden Core.

The Tenth Rank Golden Core was complete! However, the Golden Core showed no signs of stopping, and instead, its rotation speed increased. The liquid Life Energy within his body was instantly sucked into the Golden Core.

"The Life Energy is insufficient!"

The scholar and the others guarding outside had anxious expressions on their faces. They didn't know what had happened, but they realized that the medium-grade Spirit Stones, which had been abundant with Life Energy, had dimmed significantly in an instant. Brother Qiu had done something, absorbing a large amount of Life Energy in a flash! This was far beyond the normal situation when a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator broke through to the Golden Core stage.

Chen Qiu opened his eyes and observed the surrounding Life Energy that was rapidly being absorbed by his Golden Core. The Medium-grade Spirit Stones could not sustain this for long, and he sensed the reason for his Golden Core's frenzied high-speed rotation.

He gritted his teeth and looked at the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus floating not far away in mid-air, emitting intense light and heat.

His Golden Core had also treated this thing as a material for his breakthrough to the Golden Core stage.

At this moment, it was running at full speed, trying to suck that thing over, but the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus was not under his control. He didn't even know what that thing was, let alone what effect it would have when added to his Golden Core.

Old Man Cao had mentioned it in the Jade Scroll he gave him.

From the First Rank Golden Core to the Tenth Rank Golden Core, there was no rank where the promotion required something like the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus.

But at this moment, he had to absorb this Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus into his body.

He could sense that his Golden Core was rotating faster and faster, determined to get it no matter what, without regard for his body's limits. If it rotated any faster, his Core Palace would surely be completely destroyed by the high-speed rotation of the Golden Core!

He had to quickly suck that damn Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus into his body!

Without hesitation, he threw out all his Storage Rings, not even having the time to look at Scholar and the others. He just shouted urgently, "Add Spirit Stones! Fill it up for me!"

If there weren't enough Spirit Stones.

He might be the first to die during the breakthrough to the Golden Core stage due to the Golden Core rotating too fast.

If he wasn't breaking through within the Little World, it wouldn't be a problem. This Golden Core was like an insane person, insisting on having the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus even though it wasn't meant for him.

Scholar and the others on the side, in order to keep up with the supply of Life Energy.

They directly smashed all the Low-grade Spirit Stones and threw them into the Spirit Gathering Formation. This would waste about three to four-tenths of the Life Energy, but the speed could barely keep up; otherwise, the Low-grade Spirit Stones couldn't match the absorption speed of the Spirit Gathering Formation.

In just a few breaths.

Chen Qiu smashed all his remaining Medium-grade Spirit Stones and Low-grade Spirit Stones, including those of Fat Dragon, Scholar, and the others, into the formation.

With a large supply of Life Energy.

The Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus in the air finally approached Chen Qiu slowly under the powerful suction of the rapidly rotating Golden Core. It was now less than five zhang away from Chen Qiu, and he could even feel the intense heat waves emanating from the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus.

"Not enough!!!"

Feeling the Golden Core in his Core Palace rotating even faster, Chen Qiu couldn't help but shout, "Keep adding!"

At this moment, he was breaking through to the Golden Core stage, and his whole body was immobile. He couldn't use the method of Life Energy entering his arm armor to injure himself to restore Life Energy; otherwise, he wouldn't need to worry about Spirit Stones, and his breakthrough would fail on the spot.

"Add what? There's nothing left!"

Fat Dragon's voice was extremely anxious, even with a hint of crying. He had searched through all the Storage Rings thrown by Chen Qiu, and there was truly not a single Spirit Stone left.

"Wait—"

He suddenly saw six Eight Directions Fruits in one of the Storage Rings, and a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes. But the next moment, he gritted his teeth and threw all the Eight Directions Fruits into the Spirit Gathering Formation, hoping for the best!

There really were no more Spirit Stones! He had already thrown in all the Qi Supplement Pills and Spirit Wine, but he didn't know if these Eight Directions Fruits would work. Since the Mystic Realm considered them as extremely valuable Heavenly Materials, they must have some use, right? They couldn't be completely useless, could they?

However, after the Eight Directions Fruits were thrown into the Spirit Gathering Formation, they were of no use at all, just lying there quietly. Fat Dragon, a little anxious, squeezed all six Eight Directions Fruits, but still, no Life Energy seeped out.

Just as he was about to give up all hope.

The Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus, which had been floating in the air and resisting fiercely, suddenly gave up all its struggles and rushed straight towards Chen Qiu, aiming directly at those six Eight Directions Fruits!

The crushed Six Eight Directions Fruits were instantly sucked into the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus, causing the originally scorching temperature of the lotus to decrease significantly.

At this moment, the Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus, which had been far away from Chen Qiu, was now right in front of his face.

The next moment—

The Eight-Petaled Flame Lotus instantly turned into powder and was absorbed by Chen Qiu's Golden Core.

Almost instantly.

Chen Qiu's Golden Core inside his body immediately stopped its high-speed rotation and slowly rotated automatically within his body, no longer demanding a large amount of Life Energy.

After a long time.

Chen Qiu slowly opened his eyes, his face slightly pale, and scanned the messy surroundings. Fat Dragon and the others, who had been anxiously waiting by his side, immediately surrounded him, asking with concern.

"How is it, Chen Qiu? Is it the Tenth Rank Golden Core?"

". "

Chen Qiu didn't speak; he just looked at the Golden Core inside his body, which had twelve strands of cloud patterns slowly rotating, with a complex expression. After a long silence, he rasped.

"No."

Fat Dragon and the others froze slightly, and then they forced a smile to comfort Chen Qiu, "It's okay, Chen Qiu. The Ninth Rank Golden Core is already very powerful. The Tenth Rank Golden Core is just a legend that no one has ever heard of."

"Didn't Old Man Cao also say that the Tenth Rank Golden Core doesn't exist, and it might just be a made-up story?"

"Yeah, the Ninth Rank Golden Core is already invincible. Even His Majesty is only at the Fourth Rank Golden Core."

"The Ninth Rank Golden Core completely surpasses His Majesty."

". "

As Chen Qiu listened to Fat Dragon and the others' comforting words, after a long time, he rasped again.

"It's indeed not the Tenth Rank Golden Core."

"But—"

"It's a freaking Twelfth Rank Golden Core!"

"Don't speak for a moment, let me think. I'm a bit dazed right now."

PS: Please point out any typos, and I'll fix them later.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end