DiploNovel Chapter 370 : Golden Core Completion
Chapter 370 : Golden Core Completion
“Many thanks to the two True Monarchs for your assistance.”As soon as the words fell, Chen Beiwu turned his gaze toward Xiang Yuanbai, whose face was ashen, and pondered inwardly.
Even if a False Nascent Soul Cultivator had colluded with demonic cultivators from the outer realms, it would still be difficult for him to use a Fourth-Tier Profound Talisman to directly summon a Nascent Soul True Monarch demonic cultivator.
The reason was simple. A Fourth-Tier Profound Talisman capable of instantly relocating and summoning a Nascent Soul True Monarch was extraordinarily valuable—far beyond what a False Nascent Soul Cultivator could obtain.
Moreover, from his earlier observations, Chen Beiwu had clearly seen that Xiang Yuanbai stood in an absolute subordinate position before the True Body of True Monarch Bloodskeletal.
Thus, the answer was straightforward. Either Xiang Yuanbai was a spy planted within the sect by demonic cultivators, or he was merely a pawn placed at the front—while the true mastermind lurked elsewhere.
Compared to the former, Chen Beiwu’s intuition leaned more toward the latter. He suspected that someone among the sect’s upper echelons had been directing matters from behind the scenes.
Yet Xiang Yuanbai’s earlier near-admission planted a trace of doubt in his heart, making it difficult to reach a firm conclusion.
With that thought, Chen Beiwu’s eyes shifted slightly as he looked toward True Monarch Hanging Mirror and True Monarch Chengyuan, a faint trace of confusion appearing on his face at the right moment.
“This disciple ventures to ask—were the two True Monarchs already aware of something before arriving here today?”
Zhu Jinglong and Xin Yu exchanged glances.
After hesitating briefly, Xin Yu decided to extend a gesture of goodwill toward the Dao Child and disclosed, “Indeed. The sect is not a monolithic block. Occasionally, there are traitors blinded by greed. This True Monarch came under the Ancestor’s decree to ensure the Dao Child’s safety.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Beiwu’s gaze turned slightly cold.
Without cause, why would the sect’s upper ranks move against him?
Could it be because he had established the Beast Taming Lineage? Or perhaps his rapid rise within the sect had obstructed someone’s path?
But none of that mattered.
Those who killed would in turn be killed.
Chen Beiwu drew a deep breath and probed, “Do the two True Monarchs have any clues regarding the mastermind? Even a suspected target would suffice.”
Both Zhu Jinglong and Xin Yu looked toward Xiang Yuanbai.
There were indeed clues—but this evidence alone was insufficient to threaten a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
However, considering the Ancestor’s instructions, Xin Yu spoke coolly, “At present, the trail points to the sect’s Vice Sect Master, True Monarch Fogsea—Lin Zimo.”
“True Monarch Fogsea Lin Zimo?”
Chen Beiwu frowned slightly, unable to recall any connection between them.
“That is correct. Yet the evidence remains insufficient. With only a False Nascent Soul Cultivator as witness, it would be difficult to impose heavy punishment upon Vice Sect Master Lin—unless the Ancestor personally intervenes,” Zhu Jinglong said meaningfully.
Nascent Soul True Monarchs were the foundation of a sect, while Golden Core True Persons were its backbone. The disparity in status between the two was vast.
Yet Chen Zi’ang was a Sect Dao Child valued by the Ancestor. His status far surpassed that of an ordinary Golden Core True Person. Revealing some information to form a good relationship was not inappropriate.
Chen Beiwu weighed his words. “This disciple bears neither grievance nor enmity toward Vice Sect Master Lin. Why then…”
“Not necessarily so,” Xin Yu interrupted with a slight shake of her head. “The position of Sect Master has remained vacant for many years. If the Dao Child were to attain the Nascent Soul True Monarch realm, you would become Vice Sect Master Lin’s most formidable competitor.”
“For the sake of a Sect Master’s seat?” Chen Beiwu asked in surprise.
Within the Earth Proliferation Territory, prodigies who could cultivate to the Nascent Soul True Monarch realm were exceedingly rare—cultivators possessing temperament, talent, and fortune alike.
In principle, such individuals should not be so shortsighted as to assassinate a Sect Dao Child merely for the sake of the Sect Master’s seat.
“For the sake of a Sect Master’s seat? The Dao Child may not understand the weight carried by the title of Mirror Moon Sect Master.”
“Going back tens of thousands of years, the sect was once a renowned Divine Transformation sect. In those days, rules were strict. Only Nascent Soul True Monarchs at Completion, or half-step Divine Transformation True Monarchs of extraordinary brilliance, were qualified to assume the Sect Master’s position and command the sect with overwhelming authority.”
“But now, the Five Great Sects have long since declined from their former glory. A Nascent Soul peak True Monarch may serve as Sect Master in most cases. Only our Mirror Moon Sect adheres to the ancient precedent—none below Nascent Soul Completion may become Sect Master. Thus, the seat has remained vacant.”
At this point, Xin Yu glanced at Chen Beiwu and concluded concisely, “For Vice Sect Master Lin, the position of Mirror Moon Sect Master represents a supreme opportunity connected to a Divine Transformation True Venerable.”
“What opportunity?”
Chen Beiwu immediately understood, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
“How could this True Monarch possibly know the specifics?” Xin Yu smiled faintly, her earlier chill dissipating.
Zhu Jinglong nodded slightly as well.
Opportunities related to Divine Transformation were exceedingly rare. Within the sect, perhaps only the Ancestor knew the truth.
“What realm is Vice Sect Master Lin currently at?” Chen Beiwu asked solemnly.
“Nascent Soul peak—only a single step from Nascent Soul Completion,” Xin Yu replied with reverence in her tone.
A single realm apart was a world of difference—let alone two minor stages.
Without exaggeration, even if she and Zhu Jinglong joined forces, they would not be a match for Vice Sect Master Lin.
Hearing this, a trace of urgency rose within Chen Beiwu’s heart.
He could not defeat him.
If the opponent were merely a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he could still employ the Myriad Spirits Tribulation Transformation State and test the waters. At worst, he could retreat safely with the Five Elements Radiant King Wings.
But against a Nascent Soul peak cultivator, he would likely need to attain the Nascent Soul True Monarch realm himself before standing a chance.
“Very well. Will the Dao Child return to the sect with this old man?” Zhu Jinglong asked, shifting the topic.
Chen Beiwu slowly shook his head.
Knowing that a Nascent Soul peak True Monarch within the sect was eyeing him like a tiger, how could he rashly return?
Watching Chen Zi’ang’s figure vanish into the distance, Xin Yu sighed. “Sigh. What a thankless task—earning resentment on all sides.”
“With the Ancestor present, what is there for you and me to fear?” Zhu Jinglong cast her a calm glance.
Xin Yu might fear offending others, but he did not.
“Forget it. I’m too lazy to argue with you.” Xin Yu’s expression returned to its cold composure.
If she had not heard it with her own ears, she would scarcely have believed that the Ancestor would abandon a Nascent Soul peak True Monarch for the sake of a Golden Core prodigy—treating Vice Sect Master Lin as a whetstone to temper the Dao Child.
Zhu Jinglong glanced at the devastated earth below. “For some reason, I always feel that Yun Wuyou has not fallen.”
Xin Yu arched a brow. “Can your Hanging Mirror Dharma Aspect sense his aura?”
“Not at present,” Zhu Jinglong answered gravely.
“Then you are likely overthinking it. Yun Wuyou is probably already dead.” With a flick of her sleeve, Xin Yu seized Xiang Yuanbai and departed in a streak of light.
…
Taiyi Peak, Taiyi Hall.
“Well?” Zhu Wuya asked without opening his eyes as Xin Yu appeared.
“I have revealed all the information to the Dao Child.”
After speaking, hesitation flickered in her eyes.
“If you have questions, speak plainly. If I can answer them, I will,” Zhu Wuya said.
“Ancestor, is this not somewhat excessive?” Xin Yu pressed her lips together.
“Not excessive. I have never misjudged a person. With the Dao Child’s temperament, this tempering will yield a satisfactory answer.”
Zhu Wuya opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
“And Vice Sect Master Lin?” Xin Yu asked cautiously.
“Place him under confinement. Without my permission, he may not leave the Mirror Moon Sect,” Zhu Wuya declared decisively.
To him, personal preference was irrelevant. What mattered was the sect’s interests.
For that, he could allow Lin Zimo to act wantonly—or abandon him for Chen Zi’ang.
So long as Chen Zi’ang demonstrated sufficient talent—sufficiently radiant promise for the sect’s future.
…
Meanwhile.
Western Expansion Territory, Blood Sea Demonic Cavern.
This was a bizarre space independent of the outside world. Above, there were no sun, moon, or stars. Below, no endless earth or dragon veins.
Only thick, dark-red liquid churned endlessly, forming a vast and boundless sea of blood. Even the air was saturated with nauseating stench.
“Splash!”
The blood sea surged, raising towering crimson waves.
From beneath the waves, a corpse slowly surfaced—revealing none other than the True Body of True Monarch Bloodskeletal.
“Cough, cough…”
He coughed lightly, his expression unsightly.
Damn it. A simple assassination mission had cost him one Blood Infant.
“How did the mission proceed?”
Upon a throne piled high with countless bones at the center of the blood sea, a blurred figure appeared.
“It was merely dealing with a Golden Core prodigy. Naturally, it was effortless,” True Monarch Bloodskeletal said with a pale smile.
“Oh? So the Mirror Moon Dao Child has fallen?” the Blood Demon True Venerable asked with interest.
“Of course. The Mirror Moon Dao Child has likely been reduced to ashes by now,” True Monarch Bloodskeletal replied confidently, though pain flickered in his eyes.
The Great Blood Demon Incarnation Curse was no trivial technique. It was a legendary curse involving a trace of fate and calamity.
Even cultivating the Blood Infant Secret Art, allowing him to possess three Blood Infants simultaneously, he still had to pay the grievous price of “dying” once to activate it.
“Well done.” The Blood Demon True Venerable nodded. “Your next task is simple—lie low and incite defection among the cultivation families subordinate to the Five Great Sects of the Earth Proliferation Territory.”
True Monarch Bloodskeletal’s expression stiffened.
Damn it—another mission courting near-certain death.
Had he known, he would never have coveted the legendary Blood Sea Returning Origin Fate-Seizing Demonic Art, said to lead directly toward the Void-Refining Dao Venerable realm—thus binding his life and wealth to the Blood Demon True Venerable.
“Is there a problem?” The Blood Demon True Venerable’s gaze sharpened.
“No, none at all. I guarantee the mission’s success,” True Monarch Bloodskeletal replied quickly.
“Excellent. Upon completion, I shall grant you an opportunity to advance to mid-stage Nascent Soul,” the Blood Demon True Venerable chuckled.
…
Mountain Submergence Realm, a desolate wilderness.
Chen Beiwu activated the Nine-Breath Divine Ability to scan his surroundings. Only after confirming no one followed did he breathe in relief.
“Buzz!”
With the activation of the Gate of Ten Directions, golden light flashed, and his figure vanished instantly, returning safely to the Immortal Alliance.
“Na!”
Seeing Chen Beiwu appear, the Five Qi Vine eagerly raised the Myriad-Phase Mysterious Grass in its hands.
“Well done. Continue nurturing it with the Five Qi Origin Forest,” Chen Beiwu’s eyes brightened.
The Five Qi Vine truly possessed innate talent as a spiritual plant cultivator. It had coaxed three new leaves from the Myriad-Phase Mysterious Grass, restoring it with unprecedented vitality.
“Na.”
The Five Qi Vine nodded happily and carefully stored the grass away.
Chen Beiwu then steadied his breath and sat cross-legged upon a cushion. To his sides, the Golden Egg and Iron Egg stood guard as he prepared to enter seclusion and break through to Golden Core Completion.
Seeing this, the Five Qi Vine immediately understood and positioned itself behind him, forming a Three Talents formation together with the two eggs.
“Hoo…”
Chen Beiwu exhaled turbid air and withdrew a jade bottle containing Blazing Yang Liquid from his storage ring.
Removing the Restriction Array and opening the cap, he inhaled, drawing strands of Blazing Yang Liquid into his mouth.
Instantly, a gentle warmth spread from his throat throughout his limbs and bones, causing his Spirit Platform to grow heavy with drowsiness.
Yet after three breaths, the warmth nurturing his body within his dantian Qi Sea transformed into a torrential heat current that surged directly toward his Sea of Consciousness.
Chen Beiwu dared not be careless. Guarding his mind, he coordinated with the Golden Egg, Iron Egg, and Five Qi Vine to circulate the Yuanshi Dongzhen Qinghua Commanding Myriad Tribulations and Myriad Spirits Immortal Art, guiding the heat into the Yuanshi Golden Core before naturally directing it upward into the Niwan Palace.
The Purple Mansion Primordial Spirit—within the void exists wondrous spirit; a point of true yang resides in the Niwan!
With the nurturing effect of the Blazing Yang Liquid, his three souls and seven spirits slowly condensed, forming an exceedingly vague soul silhouette within his Spirit Platform Sea of Consciousness.
Though far from the prototype of a Purple Mansion Yang Spirit—let alone the Nascent Soul True Monarch state of “Yang Spirit leaving the body, roaming the Great Void”—this step signified that Chen Beiwu had already placed half a foot into the Golden Core Completion realm.
Next, he needed only to comprehend the profound state of “the spirit resides within the core, and the core is the spirit,” thus completing the transformation of the Yin Spirit into a Yang Spirit.
Unhurried, he entered deep meditation, guiding the indestructible Golden Attribute of the Yuanshi Golden Core to temper his Sea of Consciousness under the protection of the Blazing Yang Liquid—enduring the searing pain from the depths of his soul.
There was no alternative.
To transform the Yin Spirit into a Yang Spirit, a Golden Core True Person required patient refinement—slowly purging the turbid yin impurities of the soul. A single misstep would result in soul damage and severe injury to the Golden Core.
Time flowed on.
Outside the Water Evolution Residence cave dwelling, moss upon the waterfall withered and regrew. Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Beiwu frowned slightly. Within his dantian Qi Sea, the Yuanshi Golden Core seemed like an egg on the verge of cracking. The faint purple Dao’s Rhythm upon its surface gradually deepened into a violet-gold hue.
“Buzz!”
At that moment, a mysterious tone resonated, lightening his soul and drawing him from his refining state.
Yet the Yuanshi Golden Core did not cease revolving. Instead, it spun faster, rapidly refining the Blazing Yang Liquid. The efficiency of his Yin Spirit’s transformation into Yang likewise accelerated.
Moreover, the searing agony tormenting his soul vanished silently, and his mind began to ascend.
‘So this is Pure Yang Soul Tempering!’
Chen Beiwu sealed off external perception and immersed fully in refining his Yin Spirit.
Ten years.
Twenty years.
Forty years.
As time flowed, moss blanketed the stone steps outside the cave. Spiritual plants in the rear medicinal field blossomed and bore vibrant fruit.
‘Opening the Purple Mansion—initial condensation of the Yang Spirit!’
Within his dantian, the Yuanshi Golden Core trembled. A point of indestructible Golden Attribute brilliance, containing the Three Treasures, fiercely condensed within the Purple Mansion into an exceedingly vague Yang Spirit prototype—merely three inches tall, its features indistinguishable.
Seated cross-legged at the center of the Purple Mansion, eyes closed, it radiated transcendent and utterly pure Pure Yang aura.
This was both the manifestation of Chen Beiwu’s own Yang Spirit prototype and the essence of spirit, energy, and vitality formed through Companion Beast unity.
At that instant, his aura surged. Together with the Golden Egg, Iron Egg, and Five Qi Vine, he slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling the vast and harmonious mana within his dantian—and the life-bound Yang Spirit prototype within his Purple Mansion—Chen Beiwu smiled calmly.
The path of the Golden Core had reached Completion.
Next lay the realm countless cultivators of the Immortal Alliance could only dream of—
Nascent Soul True Monarch.