Chapter 552

In the Tianyuan Great World, within the Gongshu Clan.

Upon a towering peak shrouded in dense spiritual energy, spirit cranes and butterflies danced through the air.

It was a scene straight from a cultivator's paradise.

Yet, amidst this peaceful and auspicious land, a woman stood with a face like thunder, eyes filled with icy murder.

"Still haven’t found out the origins of the fiend who harmed Yu’er? Has he escaped?"

The speaker was a dignified and stunningly beautiful middle-aged woman, her voice cold as frost.

"Reporting, Madam," a guard answered cautiously. "That fiend’s background is incredibly mysterious. No matter how we investigate, all we know is that he's an outsider—he entered the Xiao Cang Realm through the Interdomain Teleportation Formation from Starry Sky City.

"As for his origins or sect affiliation, we've been unable to trace anything at all.

"As for his whereabouts, after he entered the Canglan City Lord’s residence, no one has seen him since.

"I believe he likely used the formation inside the City Lord’s residence to leave our Upper Realm via Hundred Flowers Valley.

"But we’ve been conducting covert investigations for two years now, combing through all the cities within hundreds of thousands of miles of Hundred Flowers Valley, and we haven’t found a trace of him.

"That’s why I suspect it’s highly likely—he’s either hiding in the Nangong Clan, or he used another teleportation formation to flee to another province, or even left the Upper Realm entirely."

Buzz!

Upon hearing this, the elegant middle-aged woman's body trembled slightly, a wave of frigid aura bursting forth.

A layer of frost instantly formed on the ground. Even the guard kneeling before her became covered in a rime of white ice, icicles forming on his eyebrows.

Yet the guard dared not move, nor did he circulate his cultivation to resist.

He could only endure the freezing cold with sheer physical strength.

"Useless trash!" the woman snapped, her voice colder than winter winds. "I gave you two years, and this is what you bring me? What good are you!"

The guard kept silent. He knew ever since Young Master Yu had fallen, Madam’s emotions had become increasingly volatile.

If he tried to defend himself now, she might fly into a greater rage and take his life on the spot.

Her chilling aura continued to spread until the frost on the guard thickened visibly, and even his flesh was on the verge of cracking.

Only then did she rein herself in slightly.

Her expression returned to a cold calm.

"What about your master? Has he said anything all this time? Has he uncovered nothing either?"

"Master has been in seclusion this whole time, and hasn’t issued any instructions to us," the guard replied, his voice trembling.

Her aura shivered again.

"Hmph, another useless one. His own son died and he doesn’t even dare seek revenge. All he knows is to hide in seclusion and cultivate.

"Even if he becomes invincible, does he think the position of clan head will just fall into his lap?

"And those old cowards in the clan—every one of them is gutless trash!

"Our clan’s direct descendant Dao Child was killed by someone from the Nangong Clan, and they don’t even have the guts to go to war!

"Fine then. If none of you will avenge my Yu’er...

"Then I, a mere woman, will act on his behalf!

"Nangong Yuanwu, you dared to kill my son—mark my words, I will utterly annihilate your body and soul! May you never find peace for all eternity!

"And that fiend, no matter where you run, I

will

find you.

"I’ll turn your soul into a lantern and place it before Yu’er’s spirit tablet.

"I’ll burn it day and night, until you’ve repented a thousand lifetimes!"

As the woman's venomous words, as chilling as the deepest hell, echoed forth, and her body exuded a terrifying aura, the guard was struck with sheer terror. 𝔯αƝȏ₿ĘS̈

Yet before he could react, the bone-piercing cold completely froze him solid.

…

Lu Qing was completely unaware that, within the Gongshu Clan, there was a woman burning with boundless hatred toward him.

He was currently secluded in an unknown mountain cave, immersed in cultivation.

His breath was steady, his presence as still as stone.

No one knew how much time had passed before his aura suddenly trembled faintly—and his eyes slowly opened.

"At last. Fourth Transformation, complete."

A glint of satisfaction flickered in Lu Qing’s eyes.

He had been in seclusion in this cave for over two years, finally advancing from early-stage Golden Core Fourth Transformation to its perfection stage.

Next, he only needed to consolidate his foundation, and he could begin preparing for a breakthrough into the Golden Core Fifth Transformation.

"Still, once I reach the Fifth Transformation, I likely won’t be able to continue cultivating here."

Lu Qing frowned.

This mountain cave was originally the den of a pack of spirit leopards, whose strongest member had only been at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

But the spiritual energy in the Tianyuan Great World was immensely rich to begin with.

Even though the cave was ordinary, its density of spiritual energy had been sufficient to sustain the cultivation of Lu Qing and his companions for quite some time.

But as his cultivation rose, one matter had begun pressing on his mind.

His [Perfect Golden Core Technique] had only been developed up to the Sixth Transformation.

He couldn’t push it any further for now.

The reason was simple: the [Perfect Golden Core Technique] was a method he’d created himself, gradually developed by combining the Heavenly Dao chapter granted to him after successfully transcending tribulation with the many techniques he had studied.

But back in his homeworld, high-level cultivation methods were already exceedingly rare.

Those that reached the Nascent Soul Realm were even fewer.

Using those as raw materials, he’d barely managed to extrapolate the [Perfect Golden Core Technique] up to the Sixth Transformation.

Beyond that, he hit a wall.

"To develop the [Perfect Golden Core Technique] beyond the Sixth Transformation, I’ll need to study more advanced techniques and draw insights through analogy."

Lu Qing’s Perfect Golden Core was far too unique.

Only under the most exceptional of circumstances could a complete world give birth to even a single cultivator with such a core.

And that was a rare possibility at best.

Without extraordinary talent, coupled with numerous fateful encounters, some worlds might never see the emergence of a Perfect Golden Core even from their birth to destruction.

Such an extraordinary core naturally had no orthodox cultivation method to follow.

That was why Lu Qing had to rely on his own innate abilities to gradually create his own path.

But even those extraordinary abilities weren’t omnipotent; they couldn’t conjure something from nothing.

To extrapolate new techniques, he needed a sufficient variety of reference methods for comparison.

Back in his homeworld, the techniques he’d collected could only take him as far as the Sixth Transformation.

Trying to go beyond the Seventh had proven impossible.

He had known even then—his foundation wasn’t deep enough.

That had been one of the major reasons he chose to leave his homeworld in the first place.

Staying there would have meant stagnation in both his cultivation and his technique development.

Only by venturing out into the broader world, and gaining exposure to more advanced cultivation methods, would he have a chance to forge the next stage of his [Perfect Golden Core Technique].

"After this breakthrough, it’s time I begin truly exploring the Tianyuan Great World."

Having reached this conclusion, Lu Qing turned his gaze to Xiaoli and Wuxing nearby.

Xiaoli had already reached the peak of the Golden Core First Transformation a year ago.

Now, she was only a step away from advancing to the Second Transformation.

As for Wuxing, he had been slumbering for the past two years, steadily digesting the corpse of the strange bird.

His aura had been growing steadily ever since.

Once it awoke, its cultivation would surely advance significantly.

By the time he broke through, the two little ones would likely be ready to wake as well.

Lu Qing closed his eyes once more, diving into deep cultivation.

As for the spirit leopards whose den he had taken over, he had long since imprisoned them in the Li Huo Cauldron.

After all, he

had

taken over their lair, so he hadn’t gone so far as to kill them.

Foundation Establishment spirit beasts were already fairly intelligent and capable of communicating with other beings.

To avoid the risk of exposing his whereabouts, he couldn't simply release them, and thus chose to keep them confined in the Li Huo Cauldron.

Fortunately, for a mere pack of spirit leopards, the cauldron—now fully restored to its peak state—had more than enough power to sustain their survival.

Time once again slipped by as Lu Qing immersed himself in cultivation.

However, something unexpected occurred.

After half a month, even before Lu Qing reached the Fifth Transformation, Xiaoli broke through first.

She took that crucial step and officially entered the Golden Core Second Transformation.

Another half month later, Wuxing also awoke.

However, after digesting the corpse of the strange bird, he fell slightly behind Xiaoli and only reached the peak of the First Transformation.

He would still need some time to temper his foundation before attempting a breakthrough.

Seeing both of his companions advancing successfully, Lu Qing felt at ease and began focusing all his efforts on cultivation.

One day, in the calm of the mountain cave, Lu Qing suddenly stirred.

Without hesitation, he pulled out a handful of mid-grade spirit stones from the Heaven and Earth One Qi Bag.

He casually scattered thirty-six of them around him, forming a simple spirit-gathering formation.

Then, with a thought, he activated it.

Surging spiritual essence burst forth from the thirty-six mid-grade spirit stones, flowing into him like a tide.

His technique activated, drawing in the essence like a true dragon swallowing a river.

That immense power was then purified and refined by the Five Elements Gourd, transforming into his own extraordinarily pure magical power.

As more and more spiritual energy surged into his body, his aura grew stronger and stronger.

Finally, once the thirty-six spirit stones had exhausted their essence and shattered into powder…

Lu Qing absorbed the final surge of power, his entire body trembling.

A mighty, ancient aura—like a primordial beast awakening—erupted from him.

Thankfully, he had already laid down a concealment formation at the cave entrance.

Had that overwhelming breakthrough aura been released outside, it would surely have disturbed the entire mountain range.

But the concealment array kept the aura sealed within.

Still, the surge of energy was enough to startle Xiaoli and Wuxing, snapping them out of their own cultivation.

“Ah Qing’s breaking through?”

Sensing the terrifying aura pouring off of him, Xiaoli's eyes lit up with excitement.

Wuxing thumped his tail repeatedly, clearly just as thrilled.

The two little ones waited eagerly for Lu Qing to complete his breakthrough.

Soon, Lu Qing’s aura rapidly withdrew, his presence returning to its usual state.

Then he opened his eyes—deep and vast, as if containing an endless starry sky that could draw in the soul.

But this strange phenomenon vanished in a flash as he restrained it.

“Ah Qing, you broke through successfully?” Xiaoli ran up eagerly.

“Yes. I just broke through to the Golden Core Fifth Transformation,” Lu Qing said with a smile.

“Fifth Transformation…” Xiaoli’s eyes sparkled with envy. “You humans really do cultivate so fast. Compared to you, our spirit beasts are like snails.”

“Your speed isn’t slow at all,” Lu Qing said, rubbing Xiaoli’s head with a smile. “Many spirit beasts struggle for decades or centuries just to break through a single minor realm.

“You’re already at the Second Transformation so quickly—that’s fast even among spirit beasts.”

“Of course! I’m a genius!”

The little one raised her head proudly, basking in the praise.

Lu Qing couldn’t help but laugh again.

But he didn’t contradict her, because he knew she wasn’t wrong.

Both Xiaoli and Wuxing were, without doubt, extraordinary among spirit beasts.

After all, both had formed top-grade demon cores.

Especially Xiaoli, who had survived a full nine-layer lightning tribulation and refined a flawless, top-grade core.

That kind of talent would rank at the very top even in the Tianyuan Great World.

The Golden Core Tribulation was the result of various Heavenly Daos under the principles of the Great Dao.

Its power was determined by the cultivator’s foundation and karmic burden—not by the size of the world.

In other words, if a cultivator who had grown up in the Tianyuan Great World reached the peak of Foundation Establishment…

Then traveled to another world—like Lu Qing’s homeworld—to undergo tribulation,

Their tribulation would remain unchanged in power.

Under Heaven’s Tribulation, all beings were equal.

No matter how strong a Foundation Establishment cultivator was, they were still subject to the laws of their world’s Heavenly Dao.

The Golden Core Tribulation you were meant to face would not weaken simply because you changed worlds.

If it were that easy to cheat the tribulation, cultivators from great worlds would’ve long since traveled to minor realms to cross theirs.

This was why a top-grade Golden Core formed in a small world wasn’t necessarily inferior to one formed in a great world.

This was something clearly explained in the Golden Core-level Heavenly Dao chapter Lu Qing had acquired.

So he hadn’t contradicted Xiaoli.

Her flawless top-grade demon core, forged through a ninefold lightning tribulation, truly did mark her as one of the elite even in this vast realm.

Of course, that was true for the Golden Core Tribulation—but whether the same applied to the Nascent Soul Tribulation, Lu Qing didn’t know.

After all, by that stage, one would begin to comprehend the laws of the Dao itself.

Whatever mysteries and changes that might bring were beyond Lu Qing’s current understanding.

“Ah Qing, now that you’ve broken through, does that mean we’re going out?”

Xiaoli asked again, her eyes full of anticipation.

“That’s right. We didn’t come all the way to the Tianyuan Great World just to stay in seclusion. It’s time to go out and take a proper look around.”

Lu Qing stroked her head and smiled.