A soft shout rang out, and a beam of sword light descended from the heavens like a falling star, severing the ghostfire chains in a single stroke.
Moments later, several more sword lights fell, beheading the Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators who had been chasing Su Xiaohei.
Blood splattered across the ground, dyeing it crimson.
Before Su Xiaohei could react, a man in a green robe stepped out from the forest.
With a casual wave of his hand, Su Xiaohei’s body was pulled toward him uncontrollably.
A small hand gently lifted him by the back of his neck, like a little puppy being picked up by its owner, utterly helpless to resist.
Sharp black eyes locked onto him.
In this strange position, Su Xiaohei could only look up at him.
The pressure was overwhelming, and his heart pounded in his chest.
“Sh-Sh-Shi… Mother! Why are you here?”
“That’s what I should be asking you.”
“…Shifu, where are we?”
“The Immortal Alliance’s resource site—Wanhun Yin City.”
After answering, Su Bai carried his little pet back inside.
“Now, tell me everything that’s happened to you along the way.”
***
Outside the house, the fighting grew more intense.
The remaining cultivators were battling fiercely against yakshas and wraiths.
Bloodbone Yakshas clashed violently with Bloodthirsty Wraiths in a chaotic, bloody frenzy.
Even with his master and mother standing right in front of him, Su Xiaohei forced himself to stay calm as he recounted his journey, though his heart remained tightly wound.
From the thrilling exploration of the ancient cave, to the relentless pursuit by demonic cultivators.
From the daring escape using a Heaven-Earth Blink Talisman, to being teleported directly into a demonic lair.
From carefully disguising himself as a demonic cultivator, to being exposed and launching into another desperate flight for survival…
As Su Bai listened to his little pet’s tale, he fell into deep thought.
Everything he had experienced along the way was nothing short of breathtaking—danger at every turn, a story worthy of its own novel.
Suddenly, Su Xiaohei leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly, crying uncontrollably.
“Uuuu… Mother, we’re going to die!”
“This Bloodlight Grand Array is a Core Formation-level formation! It can’t be broken unless you’re in the Core Formation realm. Uuu, we’re really going to die here!”
“Waahhh uuuu~~”
As he sobbed, he looked up at him, his face covered in tears.
Su Bai was stunned for a moment as he choked out, “But… if I die with you, I’m not afraid at all.”
Su Bai: …
‘My little pet still needs serious psychological training.’
He pushed him away and stood up, then gently patted his head.
“Xiaohei, let me teach you another lesson today.”
With red-rimmed eyes and tears still welling up, Su Xiaohei looked up.
He saw Su Bai sit cross-legged on the ground.
From his storage pouch, a stream of spiritual items flew out.
He placed down a formation disk designed to conceal aura, inlaid it with several spirit stones, and in an instant, a soft glow enveloped the entire room.
Su Bai smiled faintly.
“Have you not heard? Heaven never bars one’s way.”
“I’m forming my core. You’ll stand guard for me.”
“Today, let’s bet it all—just the two of us, master and disciple! If we succeed, then the Three Mountains Sect will be ours for the taking!!”
After a hearty laugh, Su Bai closed his eyes and began meditating.
The spiritual materials he had collected over the years were rapidly consumed, transforming into pure spiritual energy that surged through his meridians.
It was time to break through the Foundation Establishment and step into Core Formation.
“Mother.”
A single word of calling.
A multicolored spiritual item, as smooth as mutton-fat jade, fell into Su Bai’s arms.
It was like jade but not jade, like stone but not stone—soft and delicate to the touch, with the texture of freshly fallen snow.
Su Bai opened his eyes, just in time to meet the gaze of Su Xiaohei, who stood at the doorway with a black spear in hand and a firm, resolute expression on his face.
“I found this spiritual item at a demonic cultivator’s lair. Mother might find it useful. Focus on your breakthrough—I’ll protect you with everything I’ve got!”
Su Bai didn’t speak.
He simply swallowed the item in one gulp.
The next instant, a vast, almost boundless surge of pure spiritual energy burst forth, so intense it felt as if his entire body might be torn apart from within.
The energy rushed through every corner of his being like a raging flood or a pack of wild beasts.
***
Underground, ten miles beneath the center of the Ten Thousand Souls Yin City—at the heart of its core formation.
After slaying four Golden Core cultivators in succession, Li An, his blood-soaked black robe clinging to him, arrived at the control room.
The area had already been taken over by black-clad demonic cultivators.
Corpses of cultivators who had once served the Immortal Alliance were being thrown into a blood pool, each body dissolved and transformed into nutrients to accelerate the growth of the Celestial Soul Divine Marrow.
Yet at this very moment, a gaping void had appeared at the center of that divine marrow.
“Where is it? Why is there a piece missing?!”
Li An’s gaze was vicious and cold as he questioned sharply.
A late Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator stepped forward, trembling as he reported.
“Vice Leader Li! A thief infiltrated the area just now. I’ve already sent people to pursue them!”
“And?”
“We contacted them using the Nine Nether Visualization Method, but there’s been no response.”
“Useless trash! Send more men! If you can’t find it, I’ll rip out your soul and burn it as a lantern!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Cold sweat poured down the black-robed cultivator’s back.
He quickly turned to leave, only to be halted by a sharp command.
“Wait!”
“I’m going with you.” Li An’s eyes gleamed red beneath his black hood.
“But Vice Leader, what about the formation—”
“It will be taken care of.”
With those words, Li An walked away without looking back.
Deep in the shadows, a strange presence continued to stare at the missing piece of the Celestial Soul Divine Marrow.
On its face appeared a barely perceptible smile.
***
‘What is Golden Core?’
Su Bai asked himself this question.
‘In this world of cultivation, there were seven great realms. Golden Core was the third step—one had to glimpse the laws of heaven and earth and then condense a core.’
‘A completed core would not decay and would grant a lifespan of a thousand years.’
‘I originally wanted to form a Five Element Core… looks like I’ll have to wait until the next simulation.’
With a light sigh, Su Bai released the last lingering doubt in his heart and allowed the surging spiritual energy to break through his Dao Foundation.
A sharp pain erupted from within his dantian, spreading rapidly through his entire body, reaching every muscle and bone.
Even though Su Bai had prepared himself, the pain was overwhelming.
He couldn’t help but cry out as wave after wave of agony hit him.
His hands formed seals without pause, while in his mind he visualized the Wood Elemental Intent he had already grasped to the Small Success stage.
The green light surrounding his body suddenly flared brightly.
But instead of relieving the pain in his dantian, the green light only intensified it.
The more it glowed, the more it hurt.
Within Su Bai’s dantian, his Dao Foundation crumbled and dissolved into a flood of spiritual power.
As the energy gathered and compressed, droplet after droplet of liquid spiritual energy collided, squeezed, and merged under immense pressure.
***
Moments later, a core the size of a longan fruit floated within his dantian.
It radiated a verdant green light—the Wood Elemental Golden Core Su Bai had just formed.
From this moment on, Su Bai had officially stepped into the Golden Core realm.
He could live for a thousand years, and any who met him would have to respectfully address him as “Realman.”
Yet despite this achievement, Su Bai felt no joy.
His expression grew grave as he stared at the spiritual energy still surging within his dantian.
The energy wasn’t diminishing.
In fact, it was growing more and more intense.
If the dantian was like a wooden barrel and spiritual energy the water inside, then having more water during core formation was ideal.
But now that the core was already formed, the water should have stabilized—not increased.
Instead, the energy continued to rise.
If this went on much longer, his dantian might very well burst from the pressure.