"Yeah, traveling in a group is definitely safer."
Lin Changâsheng heard this and nodded in agreement.
On the way, Lin Changâsheng learned that teaming up was Tu Yunfeiâs ideaâas the strongest loose cultivator of the Southern Realmâs younger generation, he was already acquainted with Mu Yunfeng.
Lin Changâsheng had a feeling that those two teamed up mostly out of caution, heading into the Golden Core Area intending to find more cultivators to stick together.
Tu Yunfei had a cheerful look and was a real chatterbox. He went off to find Zhuo Yijian, Jianghai, Yu Lingfei, Gao Ziyue, Xin YunâEr, and the othersâbefore long, heâd talked them all into joining the team.
A party of more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators set out together through the Golden Core Area, hunting for their own opportunities.
On the road, whenever they encountered Demon Beasts as powerful as those in Early Golden Core Stage but unable to fly, theyâd work together to slay them, but aside from a few Demon Cores, there wasnât much else to show for it.
One day later, at dusk.
Lin Changâsheng, Tu Yunfei, Mu Yunfeng, Zhuo Yijian, Yu Lingfei, Gao Ziyue, and the rest were resting on a stone platform atop a thousand-zhang high peak in the Golden Core Area.
At night, most cultivators wouldnât dare wander around, opting to set out again once morning came.
"Daoist Wei, I havenât askedâyouâre a disciple of which Sect?"
To Lin Changâshengâs surprise, Jianghai from the Celestial Sword Immortal Sect edged over and asked.
This Jianghai, Lin Changâsheng already knew.
Theyâd run into each other before in the Spirit-Seizing Land, heading off to an island together, so they were acquainted. But now, Jianghai didnât recognize Lin Changâshengâhe was already masquerading as Wei Wuji!
"Iâm just a loose cultivator, though truth be told, I really envy you major sect cultivators!"
Lin Changâsheng smiled back.
"Youâre too modest, Daoist Wei. The fact that you could reach Foundation Establishment as a loose cultivator shows you must be strong. I might be a Sect disciple, but Iâm jealous of you loose cultivatorsâyou get to do whatever you want!"
Jianghai shook his head and said.
"Freedom, sureâbut every resource has to be fought for. Itâs life-and-death every time."
Lin Changâsheng thought about his journey so far, sighing inwardly.
Even with the simplified panel, itâs really been tough. He couldnât even manage to just be a well-behaved Sect disciple.
"We have to do missions in our Sects too. If our cultivation doesnât keep up, we donât get any resources anywayâeveryoneâs got it hard!"
Jianghai said, then changed the subject: "Didnât expect the Void Hall to actually contain a world inside, and Demon Beasts running around. The territoryâs huge! Who knows what kind of powerful cultivator set up this Void Hall?"
"Void Hallâs a Heavenly-descended Divine Hall. As for whether some powerful cultivator set it upânobody really knows."
Lin Changâsheng glanced up at the vast starlit sky, gave Jianghai an apologetic smile, and said, "Daoist Jiang, hunting Demon Beasts today burned up too much magical power. I need to go recover for a bitâexcuse me!"
"Go ahead, take care of your business."
Jianghai nodded and sat off to the side, pulling out an Elixir to restore his magical power.
Lin Changâsheng dashed through the mountains, leaving the group behind by more than ten li, before finding a cliff. He quickly dug out a cave about five-zhang wide and settled inside.
"Better take an Elixir and boost my experience points!"
Lin Changâsheng thought to himself.
He quietly took out a True Essence Pill, tipped it back, and boosted his Seventh Layer Foundation Establishment experience. By the time he hit the seventh layer, every True Essence Pill only bumped up experience by 75 pointsâhalf as much as before!
Lin Changâsheng shook his headâheâd have to make up for it with quantity.
Luckily, heâd killed quite a few Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, scoring lots of True Essence Pills.
"Right, time to check Beimu Saint Heirâs storage bag."
After absorbing another Elixir, Lin Changâsheng saw his panel increase by 75 experience points, then suddenly recalled heâd never looked inside Beimu Saint Heirâs storage bag.
"No wonder heâs the Beimu Immortal Raceâs Saint Heirâthe guyâs loaded."
"This haul was definitely worth it!"
Lin Changâsheng poured his divine sense into the storage bag, gaping in wonder.
Beimu Saint Heirâs storage bag was three times the size of Lin Changâshengâs old one, and crammed with stuff.
There were loads of snow-white spirit stonesâat least over 300,000!
Heaps of refining materials, and more than ten spirit medicines over five hundred years old; fifty-plus Tier Two Talismans, a whole variety of other materials, and two boxes.
"Whatâs in here?"
Lin Changâshengâs eyes flashed. He scanned the two boxes with his divine sense and found inside each a jade scroll, roughly the length of a finger and two-fingers wide, yellowed with age.
With a flick of his divine sense, the box appeared in his hand. He opened it, pulled out the jade scroll, and enveloped it with his mind.
The contents of the jade scroll appeared clear as day.
"Huh? Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Arrow Skill? A divine power?"
Lin Changâshengâs attention snapped to the contents of this jade scrollâhe hadnât expected to find an archery divine power among Beimu Saint Heirâs loot.
Truth be told, archery was where heâd first started his Martial Dao!
His Meteors Fire Rain skill had already fallen behind his strengthâthis new archery divine power came right on time!
"Letâs see whatâs in the second jade scroll."
Lin Changâshengâs eyes flashed again, took out the second box, retrieved the jade scroll, and injected it with his divine sense.
The first box had a divine power; for the second, Lin Changâsheng was even more eager.
"Hmm? Divine Soul Contract Technique?"
Lin Changâsheng stared in surpriseâthe jade scroll that Beimu Saint Heir had taken such care to preserve contained a Divine Soul Contract Technique.
He poured his divine sense into it.
Divine Soul Contract Technique: Requires powerful divine sense to cultivate. Once mastered, you can plant contracts into the sea of divine soul consciousness of pets, Demon Beasts, or other living creatures, allowing you to control Demon Beasts for battle.
"So this Divine Soul Contract Technique is a divine power to make Demon Beasts fight for me!"
Lin Changâsheng gripped the jade scroll, his eyes slowly lighting up.
He remembered Xiaobai could understand a lot.
And it had instant teleportation over a thousand miles, with extraordinary strength. If he could master the Divine Soul Contract Technique to perfection, wouldnât he be able to communicate with Xiaobai?
"Oh right, thereâs those three boxes I got in the Enlightenment Hall."
Lin Changâshengâs eyes flashed; he pulled out one of the boxes from the Enlightenment Hall haul.
This box was very light, not heavy at all, with a layer of restriction covering it.
The restriction wasnât all that strongâprobably just to protect whatâs inside. Lin Changâsheng bombarded it with his divine sense and instantly unlocked it.
Opening the box, Lin Changâsheng found a jade scroll inside.
He immediately sent his divine sense into the scroll.
"Waitâis this the Myriad Treasures Pill Formation Technique? A top-level cultivation technique from Foundation Establishment all the way to Golden Core?"
"Awesomeâno need to fuss with fussing over technique fusion for now!"
Lin Changâsheng saw the info inside and his eyes lit up. This was a top Golden Core Stage cultivation technique.
Moreover, training it greatly enhances Golden Core condensation.
This technique is especially effective at transmuting the powers within the three exceptions of the Five Elements.
"Time for box number two."
Lin Changâshengâs gaze sharpened. He opened the second box to find nothing but a fist-sized white porcelain bottle. Inside was a single Elixir, pale milky white and shining, rich in fragrance.
"Golden Molding Pill!?"
Lin Changâsheng read the three bold characters on the porcelain and looked thoughtful.
Beside that, in small letters: Can improve chances of Core Formation and enhance Golden Core level!
"So this pill increases your odds of condensing a Golden Core, and upgrades your Golden Coreâs quality?"
"Wow... now thatâs a treasure!"
Reading those words, Lin Changâshengâs eyes gleamed.
As he understood itâ
After Core Formation, Golden Cores are ranked into four levels.
Ordinary Golden Core, Outstanding Golden Core, Unparalleled Purple Pill, Flawless Golden Core.
Most cultivators only condense an Ordinary Golden Core!
Itâs said countless cultivators never achieve Foundation Establishment in a lifetime, let alone Core Formation. Those who do, mostly have Ordinary Golden Cores.
Anyone able to condense an Outstanding Golden Core is at least a dual spirit root genius from a major Sect!
The ones who achieve an Unparalleled Purple Pill are unmatched talents, with celestial spirit roots at minimumâand even then, the odds of forming a Purple Pill are slim.
As for Flawless Golden Core, thereâs nothing about it in the Southern Domain Cultivation Realmâs records.