Chapter 462 - 428: Mid-stage Golden Core
The Yu Lan Island front.
In the quiet chamber.
Incense was burned, an elixir was consumed, and he had bathed and changed his clothes.
Ethereal white vapor drifted like a swimming dragon.
In the center of the quiet chamber.
Su Ye’s mind was focused and serene. He sat cross-legged on the White Jade Dao Platform, visualizing the Bright Moon Reflecting Sea Map.
His eyes were shut tight as the landscape of his mind reflected his divine intent. A bright moon hung high in the sky, scattering thousands of brilliant silver rays. The vast sea roiled with surging waves, transforming the Moonlight into his own power.
At the same time.
Within his Dantian Qi Sea, the Golden Core shimmered with iridescent light. Magical Power, like liquid mercury, flowed through his limbs and bones!
It resonated with the Bright Moon Reflecting Sea Map, uniting spirit and intent!
Finally.
After an unknown amount of time.
A thread of understanding surfaced in Su Ye’s mind.
"Annihilation Flow..."
’So that’s how it is.’
Without even summoning his status panel, Su Ye was certain.
His comprehension of the Annihilation Flow rule had reached 20%!
[Rule-Law: Netherworld (100%), Annihilation Flow (20%), Creation and Destruction (20%)]
Moreover.
Su Ye raised an eyebrow, a sense of astonishment rising in his heart.
In his Dantian Qi Sea, his Magical Power began to circulate on its own. His Golden Core flickered, enveloped in a layer of dazzling golden light!
’An advancement?’
After his comprehension of the rule-laws reached 20%, the three he had mastered began to interweave and operate, generating Magical Power!
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Su Ye’s Cultivation Realm advanced to the Mid-stage Golden Core!
’A bottleneck?’
’I didn’t feel one at all.’
’After forging the Nine-Method Golden Core, can I break through realms so easily even without the Personhood sharing from the Ghostly Flood Dragon?’
The thought flashed through Su Ye’s mind.
’That’s right. This is the Nine-Method Golden Core, the apex of this world, a peerless talent unseen for millennia!’
’This kind of performance is the only thing worthy of the peerless foundation I established. I went through untold hardships and risked my life to achieve it during my Core Formation!’
Then.
The transformation from advancing to the Mid-stage Golden Core began to feed back into his body.
A pure life essence emerged from the Golden Core. Countless strands of Golden Core qi, like golden threads, spread throughout his entire body along his meridians and blood vessels.
"Ngh..."
Su Ye grunted softly, his eyes narrowing slightly.
A tingling, numbing sensation spread from everywhere!
It was like sinking into a hot spring in the dead of winter—utterly blissful!
A breakthrough transformation!
VMM!
Nourished by the Golden Core qi, Su Ye’s soul and physical body improved at a speed normally unattainable!
Spiritual Power condensed into a liquid state, filling the chamber. Like a long dragon, it surged into Su Ye’s body, causing a shortage in the Spiritual Qi supply for the entire Luotian Array node.
This caused a brief panic.
"There is no need to panic. I am merely circulating my energy to practice a skill."
"It will return to normal shortly. None of you need to worry."
Su Ye split off a sliver of his consciousness to send a telepathic message and reassure them.
A few dozen breaths later.
The advancement and transformation concluded, and the dense, liquid-like Spiritual Qi dissipated.
Su Ye opened his eyes. An icy silver light flashed within them, making them not only magnificent but also bewitchingly strange!
’My soul and physical body have improved quite significantly.’
’However, I’m still a ways off from Tier Four Perfection. If I let them grow naturally through slow accumulation... would it take fifteen years?’
Su Ye twirled a lock of his hair as he mused.
Of course.
With his current power and influence, he didn’t need to accumulate slowly. He had plenty of ways to speed things up!
’Spiritual Objects, precious medicines, Orbits, divine talismans...’
’For my soul, I can use the Nine Spirits Soul-Strengthening Incense. For Body Refining, it’s even easier. The Wanlong Commerce Association has a Blood Essence Elixir I can trade for to aid my Body Refining!’
Both the Nine Spirits Soul-Strengthening Incense and the Blood Essence Elixir were top-tier Tier Four treasures used for Soul Forging and Body Refining.
’Perfect. I’ve accumulated a huge amount of battle merit points from the fight on Yu Lan Island. I can definitely exchange them for these treasures.’
Treasures of this caliber were naturally not on the list of battle merit rewards. But with Su Ye’s influence, he could forcibly exchange for items that weren’t on the list.
For Su Ye, the Flame Alliance’s rules were not absolute!
Su Ye made a quick calculation. With the spiritual incense, the great elixir, and various other methods, it would only take a few years for his soul and body to reach the stage of perfection.
’Not bad.’
Su Ye was very satisfied.
He would push his physical body and soul to Tier Four Perfection while still in the Mid-stage Golden Core.
Then, during the Late-stage and Perfection stages of Golden Core, he would have two chances to break through to Tier Five.
’If either my spirit or my body enters Tier Five, my combat power will skyrocket!’
Needless to say, with a Tier Five soul, he could control the Ghostly Flood Dragon and was confident he could retreat safely even if pursued by an Early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
A Tier Five body would also be excellent. Su Ye had mastered the Netherworld Skill, and his complete mastery of that rule-law was something many Tier Five Demon Emperors couldn’t even compare to.
Therefore, if his physical body could reach Tier Five, Su Ye could be considered nearly equivalent to a Tier Five Demon Emperor!
’Tier Five.’
’The Nascent Soul level!’ Su Ye smiled.
Even in ancient times, this level was the threshold for beings with Great Techniques!
Unwittingly, after decades of planning and effort, he was already so close to this level!
’Satisfying.’
This feeling of everything going according to plan, of steady development, put Su Ye in a very pleasant mood.
Then.
Su Ye put away the Divine Intent map and walked out of the quiet chamber.
He glanced at the Time Rune Bell. This period of seclusion had taken ten days.
"Huh?"
Two Communication Talismans were flashing continuously outside the quiet chamber—one of crimson flame, one of silver lightning!
’Zhao Jiuhuang and Lin Yinxiu... for two Golden Core cultivators to send messages at the same time, what happened?’ Su Ye frowned slightly, a strange feeling rising in his heart.
He received the talismans and swept them with his Divine Sense.
Even with Su Ye’s disposition, he couldn’t help but be startled. ’The Storm Sea array node has fallen? Over ten thousand Flame Alliance defenders annihilated? Yunchong River killed in battle, and Zuo Hongtu is missing?’
’According to the intelligence department’s speculation, Zuo Hongtu self-detonated the Red Flood Dragon Golden Sun Sword. At that time, a rising sun was visible for thousands of miles within the Storm Sea region...’
’Self-detonating a Quasi-Dao Artifact?’
Su Ye didn’t know much about the Flame Alliance, but he knew that this Red Flood Dragon Golden Sun Sword was an heirloom of the Golden Sun Sect, nourished by the Golden Core qi of generations of masters and passed down for thousands of years.
During the darkest, most desperate era of the Dragon Calamity in the Day Flame Sea Region, the cultivators of the Golden Sun Sect had used this very sword to fight the dragon-people and command the seas.
But...
A Quasi-Dao Artifact that was not only incredibly powerful but also held immense historical value and special significance.
Zuo Hongtu, the Alliance Leader of the Flame Alliance, had self-detonated it just like that, so decisively and without hesitation?
’It means the situation was so dire he believed it was absolutely impossible to win...’
Su Ye mused.
If there had been even a sliver of a chance, Zuo Hongtu wouldn’t have resorted to such a desperate measure.
Furthermore.
Even after self-detonating a Quasi-Dao Artifact, Mr. Zuo was still missing, causing the Flame Alliance to declare him as such...
Zuo Hongtu’s status in the Flame Alliance was almost identical to his own in the Nanyaoguang Corporation. If there were any possibility at all, he would have definitely tried to send a message to stabilize morale.
What on earth did Zuo Hongtu and Yunchong River encounter that could render two great Late-stage Golden Core cultivators so powerless to resist?
HISS... A shadow fell over Su Ye’s heart.
"Mr. Yehai!"
The Crystallization Realm cultivator stationed at this array node was extremely anxious. "Mr. Yehai, you’ve finally come out of seclusion! Something terrible has happened..."
"Is it about Mr. Zuo and Mr. Yun? I am already aware of the matter..." Su Ye waved the Communication Talisman in his hand, his expression as placid as an ancient well.
"No, there’s more... During your seclusion, several Luotian Array nodes on the Yu Lan Island front have lost contact, one after another, in order of proximity..."
As he spoke, he used his Magical Power to project an image.
On the map, a straight line formed by numerous connected array nodes showed the nodes dimming one by one.
"If this trend continues,"
"by tomorrow at the latest, it will be..."
"Here."
He gritted his teeth, a drop of cold sweat beading on his forehead.