CRACK! CRACK!
The sounds started faintly, then grew more intense. After the body, charred black by Heavenly Thunder, sank into the deep pit, a series of crackling noises began to emanate from its surface. From petal-like flakes to large chunks, the burnt layer slowly sloughed off like a cicada erging from its shell.
Tender, rosy-hued skin, like that of a newborn baby, slowly grew in place of the charred exterior. Had this scene, which completely defied all theories of human anatomy, occurred before the eyes of the world, it would have surely scared people to death—or driven them mad.
An unknown amount of ti passed. When his entire body had completed its tamorphosis, Qin Fan slowly opened his eyes. His first instinct was not to examine the changes to his body’s surface, but to concentrate his energy and sense the aura within. Upon feeling that his ridians had grown more than twice as robust as before, he was so thrilled that his breathing beca short and rapid.
Golden Core Stage! Did I truly leap two levels and enter the threshold of the Golden Core Stage?
After this startling thought, he lay still in the pit, holding his breath. He focused his Divine Sense on his Dantian. There, suspended within, was a Golden Core the size and shape of a newborn’s fist. It was completely enveloped by True Qi.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
Unable to contain himself any longer, he burst into loud laughter. The next mont, he sprang to his feet, leaping out of the deep pit as light as a swallow. He glanced down at his tender skin, white with a rosy glow, and his lips trembled as he murmured, "Reborn from the ashes... So this is what it ans to reach the Golden Core Stage. This is a true transformation!"
After murmuring to himself, he closed his eyes once more to sense the aura within his body. He felt the vast ocean of True Qi flowing through his robust ridians and the Golden Core rotating in his Dantian along with it. An imperceptible air of absolute dominance began to radiate from him. This was the venerable majesty accumulated from the Mahayana Cultivation of the Saint Emperor in his past life. It was only now, upon entering the Golden Core Stage, that this power was truly awakened.
He exhaled softly.
With an exuberant expression that he made no attempt to hide, Qin Fan looked up and scanned the Spiritual dicine Garden. The garden, once filled with abundant Spiritual Energy, now appeared exceptionally desolate. Spiritual dicines with drooping leaves were everywhere, and an even greater number had withered and died from the Thunder Tribulation. Amidst the devastation, the very foundations of dicine Valley had been all but wiped out.
Fortunately, Qin Fan had the foundation he had laid in the Cangqiong Continent during his previous life. Otherwise, exhausting the entire Spiritual dicine Garden would not have been enough to propel him from the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishnt directly into the Golden Core Stage.
"Oh well. I’ll refine so Longevity Pills for you as a token of gratitude," he muttered with a sly smile. Then, Qin Fan walked towards the surviving Spiritual dicines that were still nourished by Spiritual Energy.
「Outside the Spiritual dicine Garden」
The five Valley Guardian Elders stared in shock at the Golden Light Wind Shield. Behind them, Yao Junxian and his retinue stood in solemn silence. The Great Elders’ expressions alone were enough to prove how terrifying the golden light truly was.
After an indeterminate amount of ti, one of the Great Elders broke the suffocating silence. "How long has this golden light been active?"
"Twenty days. Exactly twenty days, day and night," Yao Junxian replied without reservation, feeling no sha in admitting it before them. "We wanted to break through, but we didn’t have the courage. He warned us before."
"You did the right thing," a Great Elder said, his voice grave. He frowned, then suddenly stomped his right foot on the ground.
WHOOSH!
Dust and sand instantly kicked up into the sky, rapidly condensing into a swirling vortex.
"Go!" the Great Elder shouted, thrusting his hand forward with all his might. The vortex of sand hurtled furiously toward the golden barrier.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion erupted the instant the sand vortex touched the golden light.
The five Great Elders grunted, their brows furrowing in unison. Yao Junxian and the others widened their eyes in disbelief.
A Divine Skill from a half-step Gang Jin expert can’t even break this flimsy-looking circle of light?
But they never could have imagined that not only would their attempt fail, but their presumption would also co at a cost.
Inside the garden, Qin Fan had just gathered his materials. Seeing the attempt to break his shield, a sly smile touched his lips. He chuckled softly, then backhanded the air with a flick of his wrist.
「Outside」
The Great Elders suddenly cried out in alarm, "Retreat, retreat, retreat!"
WHOOSH!
Amidst their urgent cries, the entire vortex of sand ricocheted back with terrifying power. If a speedoter were present, it would have registered an unbelievable fact: the rebounding sand was traveling at thousands of kiloters per hour. Even with their Transformation Realm strength, Yao Junxian and his n would not have escaped unscathed if they were hit. Even the five Great Elders chose to evade the brunt of the rebound.
After three breaths, everything fell silent. The five Great Elders looked at each other, their faces filled with terror.
"I fear he truly is soone from that other plane," one of them said, his throat bobbing nervously.
There was no response. The other four simply nodded, their expressions tense.
What they couldn’t understand was, if he was truly from that higher plane, why co to their dicine Valley? Why occupy the Spiritual dicine Garden?
Could it have been to endure a Heavenly Tribulation?
"Great Elders, what do we do now?" Yao Junxian asked solemnly as he approached them, having narrowly dodged the rebounding sand.
"Wait!" the five said in unison, as if sharing a single mind.
"Wait?" Yao Junxian echoed, his brow furrowed.
"That’s right," one of the Great Elders affird. "We can only wait for the person inside to erge. Trying to force our way in would undoubtedly spell disaster for our dicine Valley!"
What?
Hearing the Great Elders boost their opponent’s prestige at the expense of their own, Yao Junxian and the others stared in disbelief. Fear surged in their hearts.
Even the Valley Guardian Great Elders are this intimidated? This... Does this an the entire dicine Valley is now just fish on a chopping block, at that bastard’s rcy?
Gripped by panic, Yao Junxian and the others dared not ask any more questions in the face of the Great Elders’ silence. They could only stand behind them, waiting for the golden light to dissipate.
Two hours passed in an arduous wait for dicine Valley’s most formidable lineup. Inside the Spiritual dicine Garden, Qin Fan finished refining his elixirs. He left nine Longevity Pills behind, then returned the Pill Furnace and the other elixirs to his storage space.
He glanced down at the Longevity Pills nestled inside a transparent glass bottle and gave a lighthearted chuckle. Stomping his foot, he flung his right hand toward the sky and commanded in a deep voice, "Disperse!"
Silently, the Golden Light Wind Shield vanished.
"It’s gone!" Yao Junxian called out from the periter.
"Let’s go. Inside!" the lead Great Elder shouted after a mont’s hesitation, then quickly strode into the Spiritual dicine Garden.
However, upon seeing the garden’s utter devastation and sensing the faint Qi chanism, everyone, including the five Valley Guardian Great Elders, froze in place.
The Spiritual dicine Garden was truly destroyed.
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