Chapter Ninety-Five: The Celestial Pill Cultivator, Peerless Through the Ages

A few days later.

The swarm of Gold-eating Ants outside the crystal coffin finally dispersed, returning to their old nest and gradually falling into slumber.

Gu Jia’er had also managed to restore some of her cultivation. Though she could not return to her peak in such a short time, she now possessed the strength of the Out-of-Body stage.

This rate of recovery left Xu Zhe utterly astonished.

You’re recovering far too slowly, aren’t you?

"Xu Zhe, the ants have gone. What should we do now to get out? Do you still have any protective suits?" Gu Jia’er asked as they climbed out of the crystal coffin.

"No, but I can teach you a body-protection technique. It won’t fully withstand the erosion of the Golden Yang Mist, but it should be enough for you to make it out of the Valley of Immortal Burial," Xu Zhe replied, already taking out a jade slip and preparing to copy the technique on the spot.

Gu Jia’er’s face was filled with shock. "How could there be a body-protection technique capable of resisting such toxic mist? How did you manage to get in here before?"

"I told you, the Golden Yang Mist isn’t poisonous. But now that I think about it, the technique is a bit difficult to practice. Your aptitude is somewhat dull; I fear you won’t be able to master it in a short time..." Xu Zhe frowned.

Gu Jia’er: ???

My aptitude is dull?

"How about this—you stay here and wait for me. I’ll go out and condense my Golden Core, then there’ll be enough spiritual energy for me to bring you out. It’s settled," Xu Zhe said, already impatiently striding toward the Golden Yang Mist.

By his original estimation, these past few days should have been enough for him to reach the Golden Core stage. Unfortunately, Gu Jia’er’s delay had cost him precious time.

"You... you’re going to condense a Golden Core?" Gu Jia’er was stupefied, unable to process what she’d just heard.

She’d assumed Xu Zhe was at least at the Nascent Soul stage, and that his cultivation appeared lower only due to injuries.

Wasn’t it simply a matter of healing the injuries to restore his cultivation?

Why did he need to go and condense a Golden Core?

More importantly, the outside was filled with Golden Yang Mist, and he was heading out to form his core without any protective gear.

And condensing a Golden Core would require at least years, even decades in seclusion.

"Hey, Xu Zhe, wait! I don’t quite understand what you mean, you..." Gu Jia’er called out.

But in the next moment, she saw Xu Zhe plunge headlong into the Golden Yang Mist, even taking a deep breath as if relishing the experience.

...

Gu Jia’er was dumbfounded, terror flooding her heart.

That fellow... could move freely within the Golden Yang Mist?

And breathe inside it?

Had the Foundation Establishment cultivators outside become so monstrous after three centuries?

Impossible!

Am I dreaming? Could all of this be an illusion?

Have I been trapped so long that, near death, I’ve fallen into a hallucination?

Unable to resist, Gu Jia’er pinched the plumpest part of herself.

No pain, only a bit of pleasure.

It’s over—this must be a dream.

...

Meanwhile, Xu Zhe traversed the Golden Yang Mist, darted out of the cave, and made straight for the heart of the Valley of Immortal Burial.

He was not far from the central region, and soon felt a dense surge of Golden Yang Mist rushing toward him.

Xu Zhe spread his arms and dove in.

A subtle tingling sensation instantly swept through his entire body.

It was as if countless fine needles were repeatedly piercing his flesh, sinking deep and striking his bones.

"Hiss!"

Xu Zhe inhaled sharply, realizing he’d underestimated the density of Golden Yang Mist at the center.

Still, this effect was precisely what he needed—while condensing his Golden Core, he could temper his body and strive to break through to the Tyrant Body stage.

He glanced around, his spiritual sense scanning the surroundings, and quickly found a concealed spot to sit cross-legged.

He began to circulate the Golden Core chapter of the "Righteous Energy Demon-Sealing Scripture."

A small vortex quickly formed above his head, drawing in all the Golden Yang Mist within range, channeling it through the vortex’s center and pouring it onto Xu Zhe, enveloping him completely.

Three days later, within a hundred meters of Xu Zhe, the Golden Yang Mist had been absorbed until not a trace remained.

The mist drifting in from all around could not keep pace with his absorption.

Xu Zhe decisively changed locations, continuing to harvest the mist with abandon from the Valley.

He discovered that his Five-Spirit Root constitution required ten times as much Golden Yang Mist as a normal cultivator.

Fortunately, there were no others like him on the Azure Gift Continent. If there had been, the Valley of Immortal Burial would have been stripped from the ranks of the Seven Forbidden Lands.

Over the next ten days or so,

Xu Zhe continuously shifted his cultivation grounds, from changing every three days, to every two.

By the final day, he would exhaust the mist in a hundred-meter radius and need to move again.

"The potential of this body surpasses even my earlier expectations. Now, by cultivating in the Heavenly Core manner and combining it with the ‘Righteous Energy Demon-Sealing Scripture,’ the spiritual energy absorbed far exceeds the previous Five Core Unity," Xu Zhe marveled. This also proved how perfectly matched the Golden Yang Mist was with the scripture.

He continued changing locations daily, relentlessly absorbing the mist.

In just thirty days, he traversed more than half of the Valley.

That meant he had absorbed more than half of the Golden Yang Mist within the Valley.

Long shrouded in mist, obscuring all views of its interior, the Valley now boasted the clearest visibility in its history.

Thankfully, Xu Zhe finally reached saturation, no longer needing to shift and harvest the mist.

He now sat cross-legged in a small cave he had hastily dug, eyes closed, spiritual sense gathered in his dantian palace, carefully controlling every strand of spiritual energy within.

His meridians had turned gold, his blood no longer pure crimson but flecked with golden light, as if a river of blood bore golden stars—splendid beyond measure.

His bones seemed dusted with gold, far tougher than the silvery iron bones of before.

This was the tempering effect from days of absorption, leaving him just a step away from the true Tyrant Body stage.

But Xu Zhe did not focus on tempering his body; his entire attention was fixed on condensing his Golden Core.

There had never been a precise method for condensing a Heavenly Core. Xu Zhe could only rely on his own understanding, compressing all his spiritual energy, even leveraging the principle of the Five Elements coalescing and Five Cores uniting, to further amplify and intensively compress the energy.

A few days later, steam gradually rose from Xu Zhe’s body.

His flesh grew scorching hot, his blood began to boil, and the terrifying heat transformed his body into a furnace, roasting the dense spiritual energy within his dantian palace.

"So that’s the reason—no wonder condensing a Heavenly Core demands such physical strength. If my body weren’t strong enough, I could never withstand such heat," Xu Zhe mused, forging ahead.

The dense spiritual energy within him was gradually refined, slowly transforming into a crystalline liquid, floating in his dantian palace.

The temperature of his body then plummeted, and the liquid spiritual energy began to rotate rapidly, cooling quickly.

The entire process lasted several hours.

At last, all became calm.

A massive Golden Core took shape, suspended within his dantian palace, surrounded by wisps of white mist, its surface laced with arcs of lightning.

Xu Zhe’s eyes snapped open, an overwhelming aura sweeping outward.

Golden Core stage, achieved again!

"So this... is the Heavenly Core?" Xu Zhe savored the terrifying power contained within his dantian palace, far surpassing his previous Golden Cores, a satisfied smile on his face.

Heaven rewards those who persevere!

Through relentless effort and persistence, I have finally become a Heavenly Core cultivator, peerless through the ages!

From now on, fighting late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators will be as effortless as butchering dogs.

Against Out-of-Body stage opponents, my paper strength alone could defeat a hundred!

"I’ve gained much. Time to leave."

Xu Zhe smiled to himself, his figure flickering out of sight, leaving only a blurred shadow as he sped off.

...

Meanwhile, inside the cave.

Gu Jia’er sat outside the palace, having just collected her inner energy, exhaling deeply.

Thirty days had passed, and she had finally restored her injuries, her strength returning to the peak of the Divided Spirit stage.

With a bit more time, recovering to the initial Combined Body stage would not be difficult.

This rate of recovery made her quite proud.

After all, she possessed top-grade Wood Spirit Root aptitude and the bloodline of an Eight-Star Chenghuang beast, making her recovery abilities superior to most.

"I wonder how that fellow is faring. He’ll probably need several years in seclusion; when I advanced from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, I spent ten years in retreat," Gu Jia’er murmured.

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from outside, mingled with the sound of stones falling, as if someone was wrecking the cave.

"Not good..."

Gu Jia’er’s expression changed, her spiritual sense scanning through the Golden Yang Mist. Two Crocodile-Headed Pythons were tangled up in the cave tunnel, smashing the stone walls and moving closer.

With her current strength, she wasn’t afraid to face these two beasts.

Back then, their party had been wounded by the pythons only because the Golden Yang Mist prevented them from using their full abilities.

Now, inside the cave where the mist was sealed off, if the Crocodile-Headed Pythons broke in, she could swiftly slay them.

But the commotion they caused risked awakening the Gold-eating Ants, leaving her with nowhere to escape.

Return to the crystal coffin?

Impossible!

Since Xu Zhe left, every time she approached the palace, the crystal coffin emanated a faint killing intent, as if warning her that one more step would mean death.

"Eh, where did these two Crocodile-Headed Pythons come from? Tsk, in broad daylight, engaging in such indecent behavior—how disgraceful. Kindly make way," came Xu Zhe’s voice from outside.

Gu Jia’er’s eyes instantly brightened, relief flooding her.

But in the next second, sensing Xu Zhe’s aura, she was shocked anew!

Golden Core stage?

He’d been gone just over thirty days, and he was already at the Golden Core stage?

...

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