138. Golden Core (I)
In the blink of an eye, six streaks of light flew from the storage pouch and landed before Pang Yue.
Two of them were the magical artifacts he had sent away earlier: the Profound-D definitive Mirror and the Demon-Refining Gourd.
There was also an extraordinary flower that filled the air with a pure fragrance. It was none other than a Chu Kui Flower.
Ren Shuying had cultivated this flower and later sent seeds to Pang Yue. By now, the Chu Kui Flower tree on Cloudskys Peak of the Heavenly Sword Sect had grown tall and graceful, its crown spreading like a canopy.
Another item was a small jade bottle, its surface flickering with spiritual light and surging with vital energy. Inside were spirit pills known as Barrier-Breaking Pills.
These pills had come from the Wandering Heavens Market, obtained from Shop Number Sixteen. They were remarkably effective for Dao Foundation cultivators attempting to break through to the Golden Core realm.
Of the remaining two streaks of light, one became a palm-sized little figure of light, sword qi swirling around its entire body and dazzling sword radiance blazing from it.
The other transformed into a small magical altar.
The altar had eighteen tiers. Its body was hollow, and countless runes within it flashed brilliantly, their shifting radiance dazzling and dreamlike as they continually changed, weaving together ripples of flickering light.
The little figure of light was none other than the Sword Puppet, one of the Nine Divine Puppets.
Over the years, his avatar had purchased another third-grade flying sword from the Wandering Heavens Market and refined a new Sword Puppet.
The altar was called the Yin-Yang Demon Record Heaven-Reversing Earth-Transposing Altar. It was a third-grade demonic treasure of extraordinary power, also obtained from the Wandering Heavens Market.
After collecting these six treasures, Pang Yue felt somewhat better. He then took out the pile of spirit stones from his storage pouch.
As the light flashed, a heap of superior-grade spirit stones appeared in the quiet chamber, carrying incomparably pure spiritual energy.
The vital energy of heaven and earth within the chamber instantly grew so dense that it seemed almost tangible.
The spiritual power within Pang Yue’s body circulated at tremendous speed. The spiritual mechanisms throughout him became lively, and he felt an indescribable ease and exhilaration.
These more than three thousand superior-grade spirit stones were, without question, an unimaginable fortune to a Dao Foundation cultivator.
Even some Dao Foundation clans might not possess such wealth.
Only a Golden Core clan with deep foundations and centuries of accumulation, such as the Luo clan of Luo Qingyuan, might be able to produce it.
Pang Yue’s eyes flickered as he murmured, “With these, it should probably be enough…”
…
One month later.
Deep within the cavern abode on Vermilion Radiance Mountain.
Inside a vast hall, Pang Yue stood at the center of the Heavenly Demon Seizing the Dao Formation. His aura was as deep as an abyss, unmoving as a mountain.
Outside the formation, Ye Xue stood beside Luo Qingyuan, who was clad in the Radiant Jade Crystal Armor.
The two women were like beautiful flowers competing to display their splendor, each brilliant and captivating in her own way.
Ye Xue’s cultivation had already stabilized at the early Golden Core stage.
After donning the Radiant Jade Crystal Armor, Luo Qingyuan’s strength had likewise surged to the Golden Core realm.
Their graceful figures radiated vast and majestic auras that filled the entire hall.
As Pang Yue attempted his breakthrough, the two women, being his companions, naturally had to protect him.
Unfortunately, neither of them could enter the Heavenly Demon Seizing the Dao Formation. Otherwise, the formation might be affected by outside forces and summon a higher-level heavenly demon into the mortal realm, making the situation impossible to control.
Only treasures connected to the aura of the person who had established the formation were exempt from this restriction.
At that moment, both women gazed at Pang Yue, worry written across their delicate faces.
A cluster of spiritual light flickered before Pang Yue, revealing a basin of Bloodleaf Demon Grass.
He then formed seals with both hands and activated the Heavenly Demon Seizing the Dao Formation.
Within the radiance of the formation, the Bloodleaf Demon Grass transformed into a cloud of scarlet blood mist and drifted outward.
Black mist filled the formation, mingling with the blood mist before surging into the void beyond the heavens.
In some unfathomable way, Pang Yue sensed three auras faintly transmitting toward him.
He circulated his spiritual power. The light of the Heavenly Demon Seizing the Dao Formation flared brilliantly, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
A moment later, a strange radiance descended from the void.
Within that radiance was a massive black bell more than ten feet across. Ancient, battered, and entirely pitch-black, it exuded an ominous presence.
The body of the bell seemed to be made of metal, yet also of flesh and blood. Countless runes writhed incessantly across its surface.
Pang Yue swept it with his divine sense and discovered that this heavenly demon possessed only the aura of an early Dao Foundation cultivator. His heart lifted slightly.
A weaker one had arrived first. He could use it to test the waters properly, so that he would be prepared to deal with more powerful opponents later.
Golden light flashed within the formation, and the Immeasurable Light Buddha appeared silently.
The Golden Buddha struck out with one palm. The Buddha-light of the Great Sun Glazed Treasure Flame surged forth, surrounding the Time-Light Heavenly Demon on every side and preparing to suppress it in an instant.
Dong!
Suddenly, a long, resonant bell toll rang out.
Dark-golden patterns of light instantly spread outward from the Time-Light Heavenly Demon.
Wherever the patterns passed, the Buddha-light of the Great Sun Glazed Treasure Flame froze in midair, utterly motionless.
The Time-Light Heavenly Demon vanished without a sound.
In the next instant, it appeared above Pang Yue’s head and descended over him like a shroud.
Dong!
Dark-golden patterns of light spread once more.
Pang Yue immediately felt his body and divine sense grow sluggish.
Even the simple act of raising his hand seemed as though it would require three to five days to complete.
His body, the space around him, and even his very surroundings seemed to have fallen into an invisible mire. His thoughts turned with extreme difficulty, moving slower and slower.
All he could do was watch helplessly as the great bell covered him in an instant.
Then the bell gave a slight tremor.
From within came a sharp cracking sound, carrying the intent of destruction.
Pang Yue’s vital force abruptly vanished.
Countless tiny talismans then flowed out like falling sand.
After emerging from the great bell, they gathered into a three-foot-long talisman covered in dense golden demonic patterns.
It was a Demon Talisman.
Upon the shoulder of the Immeasurable Light Buddha, Pang Yue’s figure appeared silently.
He looked at the Time-Light Heavenly Demon in the distance with great interest and praised it. “What an impressive ability.”
His Impureless Heavenly Demon avatar already possessed strength at the peak of the Dao Foundation realm.
Yet before this early Dao Foundation-level Time-Light Heavenly Demon, it had been utterly powerless to resist and had been refined into ashes in an instant.
One had to understand that the body of the Impureless Heavenly Demon was extraordinarily tough. Even a first-grade magical treasure had been unable to cut it apart.
This demonstrated just how ruthless and terrifying the Time-Light Heavenly Demon’s attack was.
The Time-Light Heavenly Demon seemed to sense something. It suddenly spun rapidly and attempted to flee from the Heavenly Demon Seizing the Dao Formation.
A terrifying surge of Buddhist power erupted from the Immeasurable Light Buddha. It activated an octagonal square mirror, causing its radiance to turn and descend toward the Time-Light Heavenly Demon.
Dong!
The bell rang.
The mirror light slowed and came to a halt in midair.
The Time-Light Heavenly Demon continued flying toward the edge of the formation.
Outside, Ye Xue and Luo Qingyuan had already prepared themselves to intercept it.
Pang Yue raised his brows, his expression becoming even more astonished.
With a thought, the Buddhist wheel behind the Immeasurable Light Buddha began to turn. Vast Buddhist power surged forth, driving the Profound-D Definitive Mirror to its utmost limit.
The mirror light suspended in the air suddenly expanded, bursting through the dark-golden patterns and shining fiercely upon the fleeing Time-Light Heavenly Demon at the edge of the formation.
The Time-Light Heavenly Demon was instantly fixed in place, all its transformations and every trace of its aura completely immobilized.
Then an ear-piercing sound of cutting rang out.
An invisible bolt of sword lightning flashed across the Time-Light Heavenly Demon, cleaving it in two.
Rolling demonic qi surged from behind Pang Yue, transforming into countless talismans that sank into the Time-Light Heavenly Demon.
A moment later, the heavenly demon collapsed into a mass of dense demonic qi wrapped around a cluster of golden radiance. In the blink of an eye, the mass contracted into a three-foot-long talisman.
At the same time, an abstruse demonic intent silently appeared within Pang Yue’s sea of consciousness and surged toward his soul.
This demonic intent was unlike any he had encountered before. The instant it appeared within his sea of consciousness, it transformed into layers of dark-golden patterns that spread outward.
Pang Yue’s divine sense immediately became sluggish and rigid.
In the blink of an eye, the demonic intent had surged before his soul, preparing to stain and transform it.
The true danger of Seizing the Dao from a Heavenly Demon did not lie in battling the heavenly demon.
It lay in the final contest of demonic thoughts.
At that moment, beneath the dark-golden patterns, Pang Yue’s soul was in imminent peril.