Chapter 473 - 260: Golden Core Puppet, Tier 3 Mechanism

Crashing into a wall while flying at top speed was a deeply unpleasant experience.

He Qianshan was sent reeling, his insides violently shaken and the Qi and blood in his body churning.

"Who’s there?"

He roared, realizing he’d been ambushed, and immediately deployed a Protective Treasure to shield himself.

As a Cultivator who had been in the Golden Core Stage for many years, he had amassed a significant number of Protective Treasures—far more than Nie Ting.

He Qianshan’s gaze turned cold and sharp. He scanned his surroundings and quickly spotted Li Chang’an.

"Li Chang’an, it’s you!"

"That’s right, Daoist He. We meet again."

"Hmph! What right does a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like you have to call me a fellow Daoist? You should know..."

Before he could finish speaking, He Qianshan suddenly froze.

A flicker of disbelief crossed his eyes as he sized Li Chang’an up.

From Li Chang’an...

He could actually sense the Magical Power fluctuations of the Fake Pill Realm!

"Impossible! How could you have formed a core?"

He Qianshan stared intently at Li Chang’an, his voice dripping with incredulity.

Though it was only a Fake Pill, it was still enough to shake him to his core.

After all,

Li Chang’an only had a Low Grade Spirit Root.

With such talent, even reaching Foundation Establishment was incredibly difficult, let alone Core Formation.

Xu Fugui, who also possessed the talent of a Low Grade Spirit Root, was still stuck in the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, with his Magical Power having barely progressed.

Li Chang’an replied nonchalantly, "Daoist He, the Cultivation Immortality Realm is full of infinite wonders and opportunities. What’s so strange about me forming a core?"

"An opportunity... Yes! You must have found some great opportunity!"

Ever since that great tremor, opportunities had been popping up everywhere.

The Golden Core Seed from the Zhang Family, for instance, had found an opportunity for Core Formation and successfully broke through.

At this thought,

a profound glint of greed flashed in He Qianshan’s eyes.

’Just what kind of astonishing opportunity could allow a Cultivator with a Low Grade Spirit Root to form a core?’

After all, in the entire Southern Domain Cultivation Immortality Realm, a Cultivator with a Low Grade Spirit Root hadn’t successfully formed a core in a thousand years!

There had been one, a millennium ago.

That person’s Spiritual Root was technically classified as Low Grade, but it was nearly Middle Grade in quality. Furthermore, their luck was simply heaven-defying—they had stumbled upon the complete legacy of a Nascent Soul True Monarch!

’The opportunity Li Chang’an found must be no less valuable than the legacy of a Nascent Soul True Monarch!’

He Qianshan came to a conclusion, and limitless greed flooded his mind.

He had been trapped in the Early Stage of Golden Core for a long time; this entire journey was for the very purpose of seeking an opportunity.

And now, an opportunity had delivered itself right to his doorstep!

He stared intently at Li Chang’an and sneered, "Li Chang’an, I had planned on dealing with you after my next breakthrough, but since you’ve come here to court death..."

Before he could finish his sentence,

A terrifying Sword Array, composed of forty-five wisps of Sword Qi, ripped through the air. It transformed into a dazzling beam of light that slammed heavily into He Qianshan.

BOOM!

He Qianshan convulsed, sent flying backward until he slammed into the barrier of the Netherworld Evil Domain.

"This is the power of the Late Stage of Golden Core?"

His expression changed drastically, his voice laced with panic.

He had assumed that his own strength at the Early Stage of Golden Core would be more than enough to crush this Fake Pill cultivator, Li Chang’an.

But the reality was the complete opposite.

A single attack had shattered a great number of his Protective Treasures!

"Impossible! You’re not Li Chang’an! Who are you? Why have you taken his form to come after me?"

Fear surged in He Qianshan’s heart, his earlier greed completely consumed by terror.

Faced with such power, he didn’t dare to confront it head-on.

A short distance away,

Li Chang’an remained silent as another Sword Array materialized in his hand.

"Go!"

The Sword Array shot forward and detonated in front of He Qianshan, shattering innumerable Protective Treasures.

He Qianshan could now smell the stench of death.

He frantically used every trick he knew, desperately trying to break out of this cage for even the slimmest chance of escape.

However,

before he could break free, several more Sword Arrays descended upon him one after another.

In the space of just a few breaths, the Protective Treasures he had spent years accumulating were completely depleted.

’How could this be happening so fast?’

He Qianshan’s face was deathly pale.

One more Sword Array and he would be dead without a doubt!

Fortunately,

just then, Li Chang’an suddenly stopped his assault.

A flicker of hope ignited in the heart of the already despairing He Qianshan.

"Fellow Daoist, I don’t know how I’ve offended you. I beg you, please be merciful!"

He didn’t believe his opponent was Li Chang’an. He suspected it was some Golden Core expert from the Western Domain or one of the Demon Sects.

Li Chang’an gave a faint smile. "Daoist He, if you’re willing to retrieve the Five Elements Golden Condensation Pill from the Yellow Crane Immortal City’s Treasure Vault for me, I’ll let you go. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, a troubled look appeared on He Qianshan’s face.

"Fellow Daoist, that Five Elements Golden Condensation Pill bears an imprint left by my Master. Anyone who touches it will immediately be detected by him."

’Just as I thought.’

Li Chang’an was not surprised.

He hadn’t held out much hope for it in the first place and had only asked on a whim.

It would be great if he could get it, but if not, so be it.

Next,

he then asked a few more things about Yellow Crane Immortal City.

Desperate to save his own skin, He Qianshan was extremely cooperative, answering every question without reservation.

Finally, Li Chang’an asked, "Has Huang He Master ever found an opportunity related to the Nascent Soul realm?"

"Th-that... I wouldn’t know. Master has never mentioned anything like that to me."

He Qianshan replied cautiously, all the while watching Li Chang’an’s expression.

He hadn’t given up; he was still looking for a chance to escape.

But just then,

he suddenly felt his head grow heavy, and his vision instantly went dark.

’Not good, I’ve been poisoned!’

He Qianshan was horrified. He had been poisoned without even realizing it, and the Magical Power throughout his body had nearly ground to a halt.

He was a Golden Core Master, after all.

For a poison to affect him this severely, it had to be, at minimum, a Tier Three Mixed Poison concocted from several different toxins!

’Don’t tell me this person isn’t just a Sword Cultivator, but a Poison Cultivator as well?’

He Qianshan couldn’t help but fall into despair once more. Just what kind of monster was he up against?

With less than one percent of his strength remaining, he was completely powerless to resist—a lamb waiting for the slaughter.