Golden Core (Part III)

Time reversed.

The demonic intent and the sword intent deadlocked once more.

The demonic intent continuously shattered and mended, yet it could never taint the sword intent.

Meanwhile, every single thought of Pang Yue's soul, hidden deep within that sword intent, required days to form.

It was akin to a game of chess between two opponents, where one of them required several days merely to decide where to place his next piece.

Yet the other could do nothing against him.

The Sky-Rending Sword Intent of the Nine Human Sovereign Swords acted like a suit of armor, firmly protecting the core of Pang Yue's soul and shielding it from the corrosion of the demonic intent.

After a long time...

The sword intent within the demonic intent finally twitched slightly.

Or perhaps it hadn't moved at all.

The demonic intent fractured bizarrely, but could no longer mend itself.

When something exceeds the speed of light, time itself... flows backward.

The second form of the Nine Human Sovereign Swords: the Sheti Sword.

This sword was defined by a single word: speed!

Perhaps in reality, if Pang Yue wished to unleash the ultimate power of this sword, he would have to wait until he reached the Primordial Spirit realm.

Yet within his sea of consciousness, under his current circumstances, nothing hindered him from manifesting the sword intent of this technique.

The ultimate speed and the ultimate sharpness of the Sky-Rending Sword Intent permanently anchored themselves in the "moment just before"!

Regardless of how the demonic intent retraced the past, an eternal gap remained between the two.

The demonic intent exhausted its strength and ultimately dissipated.

Inside the grand hall.

Ye Xue and Luo Qingyuan stood at the edge of the Heavenly Demon Seizing-Path Grand Array, watching Pang Yue standing motionlessly upon the shoulder of the Boundless Light Buddha for more than ten days straight!

Had his vital aura not remained active and his breathing continuous, the two maidens would have long since rushed into the array, fearing he had been tainted by the heavenly demon and failed at the very threshold of success...

This day.

Before Pang Yue, black-gold patterned demonic runes suddenly materialized out of the void.

In a mere fleeting moment, tens of thousands of demonic runes appeared.

These countless incantations superimposed upon one another, converged, and in an instant transformed into a perfectly spherical, brilliantly gleaming transparent pill!

A complete and flawless aura of perfection drifted outward.

Pang Yue slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the pill before him with a look of vicissitudes in his eyes.

I have finally... formed the elixir...

From the moment it appeared, this pill continuously devoured Pang Yue's magic power.

Having cultivated the Primordial Chaos Profound Mystery Demonic Rune Secret Canon, his magic power was exceptionally profound, far surpassing cultivators of the same realm.

Yet at this moment, the transparent pill acted like a bottomless pit, frantically devouring power without any sign of stopping!

Pang Yue's expression shifted slightly.

Because within the span of a few breaths, his entire reserve of magic power had been sucked dry, leaving not a single drop!

Yet after draining his magic power, the pill seemed unsatisfied; it merely hovered quietly before him, motionless.

Pang Yue gritted his teeth, and thirty-three pitch-black miniature mountains suddenly materialized before him.

Boom!

Thirty-three Immaculate Heavenly Demons shattered violently, transforming into surging, massive torrents of pure demonic qi that poured entirely into the pill.

Layers of demonic runes continued to manifest from the void around the pill, countless incantations merging into it to vanish from sight, yet rendering the pill all the more exquisite and translucent.

"What... is happening?"

Outside the array, Luo Qingyuan knitted her delicate brows and asked perplexedly.

Ye Xue shook her head as well, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the bizarre pill before Pang Yue as she replied, "I do not know either."

"Then what should we do now?"

Luo Qingyuan asked anxiously.

"I have already summoned Master..."

Ye Xue said softly.

Elsewhere.

After devouring the thirty-three Immaculate Heavenly Demons, the pill was still not satiated, and instead set its sights on Pang Yue's surging and vibrant vital blood!

Pang Yue's eyelids twitched, and he hurriedly opened his storage bag, sending dozens of top-grade spiritual stones flying out.

The dense spiritual qi was instantly devoured by an invisible maw.

The brilliance upon these top-grade spiritual stones slowly dimmed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Gritting his teeth, Pang Yue produced another hundred top-grade spiritual stones and allowed them to be consumed.

Following that, he took out a dragon-eye-sized pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

He had no idea whether the so-called Barrier-Breaking Pill would be of any use in this situation.

However, this was already one of the few trump cards he had left!

After consuming over five hundred top-grade spiritual stones, the pill finally trembled gently and came to a halt.

Right at the center of the pill, a rune the size of a grain of rice emerged!

Though minuscule, this rune imparted a heavy sense akin to a towering mountain.

A mass of chaotic qi circulated endlessly around this rune, exuding an aura of primordial chaos reminiscent both of the genesis of heaven and earth and the destruction of all things.

Beyond the chaotic qi, an icy-blue flash of cold light, thin as a hair, hovered uncertainly and moved in a sinuous path.

From this moment onward, the tiny pill began devouring massive quantities of heaven and earth elemental energy.

Fortunately, the heaven and earth elemental energy on Zhuoguang Mountain was abundant, remaining entirely unaffected.

A slender, graceful figure quietly materialized within the cave dwelling.

"Primordial Chaos Demonic Rune Pill..."

The newcomer was a mature beauty of peerless bearing, appearing to be in her forties, adorned with dangling hair ornaments and jade earrings. Her figure was voluptuous, draped in colorful feather robes, with an icy-blue snowflake mark between her eyebrows that added a touch of nobility to her breathtaking beauty.

Ye Xue and Luo Qingyuan turned simultaneously and spoke respectfully, "Master!"

"Senior Uncle."

This graceful woman was none other than the Master of the Ice Demon Palace, Ye Bing.

Her lovely eyes fell upon the golden core before Pang Yue, an expression of sheer disbelief crossing her exquisite face.

"This is... a supreme-grade golden core..."

Mortals divided cultivators' golden cores into three tiers and nine grades based on quality and purity.

The first grade was the highest, and the ninth grade was the lowest.

Achieving a first-grade golden core was the ultimate dream of countless cultivators.

Yet few knew that beyond the first grade, the legend of a supreme-grade still existed.

Also known as the transcendental grade!

The ultimate realm of the Primordial Chaos Profound Mystery Demonic Rune Secret Canon was precisely the forging of such a supreme-grade golden core, known as the Primordial Chaos Demonic Rune Pill!

Once this pill was formed, it would not yield to any class of golden core beneath the heavens!

Furthermore, nestled within Pang Yue's golden core was a streak of icy-blue flowing light—the Ice Soul Divine Light, an ancient divine ability he had forged through twenty years of dual cultivation with Ye Xue.

This divine ability had settled into his golden core, becoming his innate divine ability. Triggered by a single thought and possessing immense power, it functioned much like a beast's innate ability, allowing him to unleash ultimate might with minimal consumption of magic power.

Joy welled up in Pang Yue's heart; his cultivation journey thus far had finally borne fruit.

Suddenly, his mind stirred slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

An arcane power descended from the void, instantly causing the Primordial Chaos Demonic Rune Pill to undergo an unimaginable transformation, growing even purer and reaching a state of consummate flawlessness without a single blemish!

This power was profoundly mysterious and ethereal.

Among the three female cultivators present, only Ye Bing, standing at the peak of the golden core realm, vaguely perceived it, though even she could not be certain.

With a single breath from Pang Yue, the golden core drifted gently down into his abdomen.

Thus, the golden core was successfully forged!

Upon entering his abdomen, the golden core immediately unified the myriad flows of energy within his body, fusing seamlessly with his magic power.

His magic power surged boundlessly, rapidly breaking through a barrier and elevating him to another lofty realm.

With a slight movement of his thoughts, every single thought in his sea of consciousness became as clear and flawless as a crystalline diamond.

His divine sense, physical body, and magic power had all undergone earth-shattering changes compared to before!

More importantly, from this moment onward, he would no longer be restricted by spiritual roots!

As the saying goes, once the core is formed, there are no regrets.

Before and after the golden core, cultivators existed in two entirely different realms.

Prior to the golden core, the foundation of one's cultivation depended on the innate quality of one's spiritual roots.

After the golden core, it depended entirely on the quality of the golden core itself.

Only by transforming the foundation of the Great Dao into a golden core and nurturing the primordial spirit could one aspire to touch the Great Dao!

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Pang Yue turned to look at the three women, a gentle smile on his face.

His magic power was vast and mighty, and the demonic intent around his body was restrained, giving him an aura of returning to simplicity and naturalness.

The Ice Demon Palace Master smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Pang, congratulations!"

Having forged a golden core, they were now peers.

The tone with which she addressed Pang Yue had also shifted.

Moreover, this traditionally proud and noble beauty displayed an unmistakable look of admiration and appreciation in both tone and demeanor.

The Demonic Path valued strength above all else.

The strong were honored!

A newly advanced cultivator who had forged a supreme-grade golden core and possessed peerless combat power within the same realm—what heights would he achieve in the future?

Unwittingly, the Ice Demon Palace Master had elevated Pang Yue to an equal standing with herself.

"Many thanks, Palace Master."

Pang Yue cupped his fists in gratitude, then turned to Ye Xue and Luo Qingyuan, saying, "Many thanks, my wives."

A soft, captivating smile surfaced on Ye Xue's cold and exquisite face as she nodded slightly toward him.

Luo Qingyuan, with her alluring and affectionate charm, remarked, "Qingyuan truly did not choose the wrong person. My husband is destined to be an overlord of the Demonic Path."

Ye Bing suddenly spoke, "The matter of Fellow Daoist Pang cultivating a supreme-grade golden core must not be publicized. Regardless of who it is, not a single trace of this must be leaked."

Both Ye Xue and Luo Qingyuan possessed sharp minds and immediately voiced their agreement.

Pang Yue smiled and said, "Today calls for a celebration. I have long since prepared fine wine, waiting precisely for this day. Would the Palace Master care to join us?"

Ye Bing's lovely eyes shifted as she glanced at Pang Yue and smiled, "Very well, I shall accompany you all."

Luo Qingyuan immediately summoned fairy maidens to set up a banquet within the cave dwelling...

* * *

Not long ago.

The Eastern Sea.

Upon a nameless desolate island.

A resplendent sword light, brilliant as the sun, rose from the island, soaring straight into the firmament!

As the sword light unfurled, it covered a thousand miles in an instant, resembling molten gold under the scorching sun, peerlessly magnificent and dyeing the entire sky a wash of crimson.

Within the sword light, a tall and sturdy figure appeared.

It was none other than the Heavenly Sword Avatar.

Stepping into the void and standing at the edge of the firmament, he swallowed a perfectly round and flawless golden core into his abdomen.

"Achieving a first-grade golden core is still a notch inferior to the main body..."

"A supreme-grade golden core can only be met by chance, not sought. Even with the Nine Human Sovereign Swords, without a special opportunity, one can only forge a first-grade golden core..."

A subtle ripple stirred in his heart as he felt an arcane power fly out from his body and vanish without a trace.

"Could this be... a missed opportunity!"

A sudden flash of enlightenment struck him, making him realize why this avatar, despite cultivating a far more formidable inheritance, had failed to forge a supreme-grade golden core!

The Myriad Transformations Mysterious Demonic Scripture!

Using the cultivators of the world as nourishment...

The avatar's fortune had already been usurped by the main body!

...

Somewhere in the Eastern Sea.

Within a grand and majestic demonic city.

Inside a towering palace at the heart of the city, a young man suddenly opened his eyes and looked up toward the firmament.

In the azure blue sky, endless tribulation clouds seemed to be gathering!

And the tribulation power clinging to his body grew increasingly dense.

"Interesting..."

"Truly interesting..."

"The tribulation of mortals has manifested!"

The young man first chuckled softly, and then burst into hearty laughter.

* * *

End of this volume.