A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 89

Chapter 88 A Golden Elixir

After Han Li walked away with the spiritual tea given to him by the girl, the two were left looking at each other.

“Miss Xin, this senior is truly magnanimous to us.”

“Yes, truly magnanimous. If it were any other Foundation Establishment cultivator, they would probably have forced us to hand over everything we had. But how can I repay his magnanimity?”

He had given her so much—saving her life, extending her life, providing intelligence and a way out—it was putting a lot of pressure on her.

“Senior Han gave me a Foundation Establishment Pill right away. I don’t know how to repay him.” Qi Yunxiao muttered.

At this time, the six demonic sects had not yet attacked, and the Foundation Establishment Pills, which were monopolized by the major sects, had not yet leaked out. Therefore, for these two rogue cultivators, the value of a single Foundation Establishment Pill even exceeded that of the simple Reversed Five Elements Formation they had learned earlier.

“We must do what we promised him.” Xin Ruyin smiled gently.

Qi Yunxiao nodded and then handed over a pill bottle: “By the way, Miss Xin, why don’t you take this Foundation Establishment Pill that the senior gave you to improve your cultivation?”

“Eh?”

Xin Ruyin was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and then very decisively pushed her hand away to refuse:

“No, Brother Qi.”

Her expression immediately became extremely serious.

“Why?”

“Brother Qi, all these years, it’s all thanks to you that I, Ruyin, have been able to continue my cultivation on the path of immortality. It’s also because of you, Brother Qi, that I was able to escape death. Your kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain; how could I possibly take away your chance at immortality?”

“No, no, no, Miss Xin, your situation is different. You need this Foundation Establishment Pill more. You should use it. Next, we’ll go to the major markets and buy as many low-grade pills as possible to strengthen our foundation and increase our magical power, trying to raise our cultivation to the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Once you reach the twelfth level of Qi Refining, immediately try taking this Foundation Establishment Pill. Only when you establish your foundation and significantly extend your lifespan can I be at ease. It’s alright if I’m a little late.”

“Brother Qi…”

…

Han Li, on the other hand, didn’t rush back to Huangfeng Valley.

He chose to head towards Lanzhou in the southern part of Yue Kingdom.

That was Jiayuan City.

Judging by the timeline, that Core Formation cultivator from the Yuling Sect should have entered the Yue Kingdom within the last year or two, only to have his physical body corrupted by a Core Formation expert from the Yanyue Sect or some other sect, ultimately forcing him to flee to the vicinity of Jiayuan City with his primordial spirit.

“My butterfly effect likely won’t affect the Six Demonic Sects, so this person will definitely appear. It’s just uncertain whether this person will happen to encounter that Core Formation expert from the Yue Kingdom again, or whether he will be severely injured and then happen to escape to Jiayuan City.”

“If everything remains the same, will Lu Chengfeng, whom I left behind in Jiayuan City, be possessed?” Within Jiayuan City, it seems only Senior Brother Lu possesses spiritual roots and can be possessed.

Han Li thought to himself.

Actually, he should have taken action a year ago.

However, considering the timing was too coincidental, some things would be difficult to explain.

It couldn’t be that a Core Formation cultivator possessed Lu Chengfeng one moment, and he immediately caught him the next, could it?

This couldn’t be explained by mere coincidence.

“Let’s go check on Sun Ergou from the Siping Gang first.”

He’d left Lu Chengfeng there years ago, after his dantian was destroyed. With

his dantian destroyed and his body partially refined into a semi-finished corpse, it was impossible for ordinary people to heal him. Even cultivators, without certain special and precious spiritual herbs like the Blazing Sun Flower, would struggle to cure him.

Of course, if a Core Formation cultivator was willing to expend their own golden core energy to heal him, or a Nascent Soul cultivator was willing to expend their Nascent Soul energy to improve his physique, he could be reborn and start anew.

It was just unknown whether Lu Chengfeng had that kind of luck.

Jiayuan City, a major water transport city in Lanzhou, had a population of over three million.

The Siping Gang was one of many small gangs.

Han Li’s arrival went unnoticed.

That night, in the Siping Gang leader’s residence, leader Sun Long (also known as Sun Ergou) was playing hide-and-seek with his wives and concubines. The game involved the leader, Sun Ergou, being blindfolded and trying to catch several concubines; whoever he caught could have their “oil” (sexual intercourse).

These amusing little games were popular among the wealthy and powerful, and were also a favorite after-dinner activity for many gang leaders.

Unexpectedly, Sun Ergou had also started playing these tricks.

“Little beauty, I’m here…” Ergouzi, blindfolded, groped around, and suddenly hugged someone, overjoyed: “Hahaha, who is it? Is it Jiaojiao or Qianqian?”

“Good boy, let your brother see who it is, hehehe…”

However, when he pulled off the black ribbon covering his eyes, his smile froze.

He shuddered and quickly released Qu Hun, then knelt down with a thud, bowing repeatedly to another figure behind Qu Hun:

“Your subordinate Sun Long—no, your subordinate Sun Ergou—pays respects to Your Majesty…”

In that instant, Sun Ergou was drenched in cold sweat.

His body trembled uncontrollably, shaking like a leaf.

“Not bad, Er Gouzi, having a good time. You’ve become quite the ladies’ man? Looks like you’ve been living a good life these past few years.” Han Li, sitting there playing with a teacup, had a playful look on his face.

“My lord, I owe everything I have today to your grace. It’s all thanks to the elixirs you bestowed upon me back then that I was able to stand out among the thirty-odd small gangs in the West City.”

Sun Er Gou kowtowed repeatedly.

Back then, the Siping Gang had eight or nine hundred members, all of them porters and laborers making a living at the docks. The only decent ones in the gang were second-rate martial arts practitioners like the gang leader. However, after being given a bottle of low-grade elixirs that Han Li had left behind, which he didn’t need, Er Gouzi’s martial arts and internal strength improved by leaps and bounds, and he became the first to reach the level of a first-rate mortal master. After several months of consolidation and a significant increase in his overall combat strength, Sun Ergou smoothly usurped the leadership of the Siping Gang.

With his newfound skills, he immediately began expansion, and within a few years, the ever-growing Siping Gang had over three thousand members.

Fortunately, Sun Ergou didn’t become arrogant. Remembering Han Li’s instructions, he immediately kept a low profile after achieving a certain size and self-defense capabilities. He then settled into a relatively peaceful life, focusing on the Siping Gang’s territory.

Then, the scene from earlier unfolded.

There was the image of Ergou holding Qu Hun, calling her “Jiaojiao,” “Qianqian,” and then coquettishly calling her “Guaiguai.” He even almost kissed her.

The scene was undeniably offensive.

“Alright, get up. Tell me about that person’s situation? Did you manage to raise him to death?”

As Han Li spoke, he brewed himself a pot of spiritual tea.

It was a gift from Xin Ruyin before he left.

The taste was even better than the spiritual tea from the Ye family of Qin Ye Ridge.

Xin Ruyin had collected and roasted it herself; because there wasn’t much, he only asked for three jars. He planned to give one jar each to Master Hong Fu and Dong Xuan’er when he returned, and then share the rest with his two senior sisters, Xiu Ting and Xiu Lan.

“Don’t worry, Master, that person is still lying safely in the dungeon,”

Sun Er Gou said obsequiously.

“Alright, lead the way, let’s go see.”

Han Li said, walking past Qu Hun and arriving in front of Sun Er Gou.

At this moment, looking at this ordinary-looking young man who didn’t seem particularly robust, Sun Er Gou, for some reason, felt as if he were facing a prehistoric beast. He instantly got goosebumps all over his body.

“What’s wrong? Why are you standing there without doing anything?”

Han Li asked calmly.

“Yes, yes, Master, over here, over here.” Sun Er Gou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and led the way.

Han Li nodded secretly in satisfaction upon seeing this.

The aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was overwhelming to mortals, even without deliberate release. If it leaked even slightly, mortals would be unable to withstand it. He hadn’t actually used his Foundation Establishment aura to pressure Sun Ergou, yet Sun Ergou still almost got wet.

The Siping Gang’s headquarters had a considerable underground space.

The guards were quite tight, with guards at every corner. There were

also plenty of patrolmen, totaling over a hundred.

“Master, the dozen or so people imprisoned on the first level of this underground space are gang members who violated gang rules and committed crimes. The second level holds a dozen or so spies planted by other gangs. As for the rarely known third level, that’s where that person is imprisoned. He’s guarded by over twenty of my most trusted bodyguards.”

In other words, at least twenty people directly served Lu Chengfeng, and over a hundred indirectly served him.

The treatment was undeniably good.

Through the secret passage, the three quickly arrived at a location more than ten feet underground.

Along the way, they encountered several checkpoints, all manned by Sun Ergou’s trusted henchmen.

Finally, they arrived at an iron gate.

“Master, we’ve arrived. Behind this gate is where that person is imprisoned.”

Upon hearing this, Han Li extended his divine sense towards the iron gate.

The gate passed effortlessly through his Foundation Establishment stage divine sense, honed by the Great Evolution Technique. What came into view was a vast underground space, four zhang high and nearly ten zhang wide. Inside was a platform several zhang high, upon which sat an iron cage. Who else could be imprisoned in the cage but the corpse-refining Wind Slave created from Lu Chengfeng’s body?

Lu Chengfeng appeared to be sleeping in the iron cage.

Because his soul had been extracted by Han Li using the demonic techniques left by Doctor Mo and Yu Zitong, Lu Chengfeng was theoretically just a soulless shell. He had also been initially refined into a low-level corpse using the demonic techniques provided by Yu Zitong, theoretically requiring no food or water.

Therefore, it was quite normal that he had remained here without causing trouble.

The next moment, Lu Chengfeng, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, instinctively looking towards the iron gate, a look of surprise flashing across his face. He seemed astonished that a Foundation Establishment cultivator would appear in this mortal town.

In that instant, Han Li clearly sensed:

“Divine sense? Mana?!”

Moreover, it was a divine sense far superior to his own.

It was similar to the divine sense of Gan Rushuang and Li Huayuan, whom he had encountered many times.

Only the mana fluctuations were extremely weak, only at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

“Heh, heh heh heh…”

At this moment, Han Li suddenly laughed, laughing so hard he couldn’t help but cover half his face with his hand.

So, this half-finished corpse refined from Lu Chengfeng’s body followed the old path of Qu Hun Zhang Tieyuan, and was possessed? That person from the Yu Ling Sect really fell into a trap? Possessed this Wind Spirit Root?

“Master…Master…?!”

Er Gouzi, seeing this, felt a little panicked.

In this secluded underground place, hearing that ‘heh heh’ sound was strangely eerie.

“It’s alright, take your men and leave.” Han Li waved his hand.

“Master, is there something wrong with that person? But I’ve been having my subordinates keep an eye on him!” Sun Ergou instinctively tried to defend himself.

A group of mortals watching a cultivator, are they sure they can keep an eye on him?

Han Li shook his head:

“It’s alright, leave the Soul-Guiding Bell behind and leave.”

“Ah? Okay.”

Sun Ergou was sensible and didn’t ask any more questions. He took out a small magic bell from his pocket, handed it to Han Li, and obediently left.

After Ergou and his subordinates left, only Han Li, Qu Hun, and Lu Chengfeng in the empty space behind the iron gate remained. With a “creak,” the iron gate was pushed open, and Han Li, along with Qu Hun and seven or eight lizard puppets, rushed in.

Their eyes met, and everything was understood without words.

Without any nonsense, they attacked fiercely.

Several puppets unleashed a barrage of energy fireballs at Lu Chengfeng.

Inside the iron cage, seeing Han Li attack without a word, Lu Chengfeng immediately unleashed several transparent wind blades with a wave of his hand. The wind blades were extremely sharp, severing several pillars of the refined iron cage before he leaped out and hurriedly dodged.

“Senior, misunderstanding! This junior had no intention of possessing this body,”

Lu Chengfeng, now possessed, suddenly spoke, immediately begging for mercy.

Han Li, however, had no intention of wasting words, and his attack was swift and fierce.

Several fire lizard puppets launched ranged attacks, blocking Lu Chengfeng’s movements. Others rushed in for close combat, attempting hand-to-hand fighting.

As a result, in the seemingly large but actually very limited underground space, Lu Chengfeng, whose cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, was quickly overwhelmed. He was knocked away by one of the lizard puppets and slammed heavily against a stone wall, only to be pounced on and pinned down by two more.

This was not the end.

The other puppets showed no sign of stopping, opening their mouths to spew fireballs to burn this half-finished corpse-refining wind slave to ashes.

“Senior, spare my life!”

Lu Chengfeng tried to beg for mercy.

But several fire lizards’ fireballs were about to strike.

Seeing this, Lu Chengfeng was both shocked and furious, cursing under his breath, “Damn it.”

He had originally intended to feign compliance, waiting for the Foundation Establishment cultivator opposite him to get closer before suddenly unleashing his ultimate, his only explosive attack, but now…

he couldn’t hide it anymore.

“Get out of the way.”

A beam of green light shot out from his sleeve, instantly tearing apart the fire lizard puppets that had been forcibly suppressing him from the left and right.

The sword light didn’t stop there; it then headed straight for Han Li, who was seven or eight zhang away.

However, Han Li was prepared:

“The Green Radiance Sword?

I’ve been waiting for you to forcefully unleash this attack with your remaining Golden Core energy.

After this attack, let’s see what else you have left!”

A cold snort rang out, and two top-tier magic artifacts, prepared long ago, flew out of his storage bag. These mirrors, one on the left and one on the right, shone their light onto the incoming Green Radiance Sword.

Where the mirror light shone, the green sword light was immediately frozen, unable to move.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chengfeng immediately exclaimed in surprise:

“The Condensing Light Mirror?”

‘You’ve misjudged it.’

This isn’t the “ancient treasure” Condensing Light Mirror, but a replica of the “magic artifact” Azure Condensing Mirror.

Han Li seized the opportunity, ringing both the Soul-Guiding Bell he carried and the one on Sun Ergou’s body. Two crisp sounds suddenly rang out in the underground space, and Lu Chengfeng, who had already gotten up to do something, immediately clutched his head and collapsed to the ground again.

The green magic weapon flying sword also lost control and stopped struggling. Its previous attempt to tear apart the mirror light was gone, becoming completely silent.

Clearly, the other party was disturbed and had no energy left to control the magic weapon flying sword.

“It’s that damned magic weapon again…”

“Wait, so you’re the one who refined this corpse?”

Lu Chengfeng cursed.

If Sun Ergou hadn’t carried this Soul-Guiding Bell, he would have controlled it and enslaved the Siping Gang long ago.

As for why he didn’t escape, it was naturally because Sun Ergou didn’t control the half-finished corpse he possessed to do anything. Staying in this underground space was fine, with no one to disturb him and he could cultivate in peace. Why would he leave? There was no such good environment for quiet cultivation outside.

“Ah…”

The clanging of the Soul-Guiding Bell caused his head to throb with pain. After a scream, a ball of green light erupted from his forehead and chest. The green light on his forehead was a cultivator’s primordial spirit, and the green light on his chest was a cracked green bead.

Escape.

He had to escape. He had to

take advantage of the fact that the newcomers’ attention was focused on the magical artifact and his physical body to make a hasty escape.

Han Li, who had been preparing for a long time, saw the two objects and his eyes lit up immediately:

“Now!”

He continued to remotely control the Soul-Guiding Bell to make it clang, then used his Cloud-Stepping Boots to maximize the Wind-Riding Step, and in a few flashes, he arrived in front of Lu Chengfeng, whose eyes had once again become dazed. Then, two large hands of magical power reached out, one grabbing the ball of green light, and the other grabbing the cracked green bead.

“My Golden Core Qi!”

The primordial spirit trembled, extremely unwilling, yet daring not to continue the direct confrontation.

It tried to escape, but it was too late. Han Li’s magical power moved with incredible speed, preempting the spirit and catching it before it could escape the iron gate.

Everything happened extremely suddenly, from start to finish, in just a few breaths.

Once the dust settled, Han Li had sealed the primordial spirit of the Spirit Control Sect’s Core Formation cultivator with talismans, then placed it inside a small magical bottle. The green bead, the size of a fingernail, was also wrapped in talismans and placed in a box reinforced with mid-grade talismans.

Afterwards, as long as the two items were stored separately, the Spirit Control Sect cultivator would be unable to cause any trouble.

Looking at the Wind Slave’s body on the ground, Han Li examined it and marveled.

“His dantian has been completely repaired, and all the damaged meridians have been restored. Even the minor internal injuries I caused by forcibly separating Lu Chengfeng’s soul back then have been completely healed…”

“Moreover, all the meridians throughout his body have been widened considerably, and his dantian is even deeper than mine, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator’s dantian…”

“Tsk, this Core Formation cultivator from the Yuling Sect must have lost a lot of his precious Golden Core Qi, right?”

Feng Nu was able to return to the Immortal Path and even cultivate to the fifth level of Qi Refining entirely thanks to the Yuling Sect cultivator using his own Golden Core Qi to help restore his body and rebuild his foundation. The effects of the Yi Jing and Marrow Cleansing were even far superior to the effects of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

It was precisely because of this that he was able to use his weak Qi Refining level five cultivation to bear the power of a Core Formation cultivator and unleash a strike with the magic weapon, the Green Radiance Sword.

Otherwise, if Lu Chengfeng’s body had swallowed that green bead, he would have exploded and died long ago.

Speaking of which, when a high-level cultivator possesses a low-level cultivator, isn’t each possession essentially a physical transformation? Or more accurately, it’s physical enhancement!

Look, Lu Chengfeng’s Qi Refining Level 5 body is almost surpassing Han Li’s Foundation Establishment Level 5 body in every aspect. His potential has increased exponentially!

However,

the price is also high.

Just look at the dimly lit bead in the box; it speaks volumes.

“It seems his already limited Golden Core energy has been greatly depleted, leaving him with only one or two strikes left before he can fight me.” He had just forcibly activated his original magic weapon, attempting a fatal blow, but was interrupted. Now, this dim green bead probably doesn’t even have half a strike’s worth of energy left?

Han Li waved his hand, and the magic weapon, the Green Radiance Sword, appeared before him.

Looking at this flying sword, which was no less powerful than Qingyunzi’s Qingjun Sword from the Qingxu Sect, his smile widened:

“What a treasure.”

Although he couldn’t refine the magic weapon and couldn’t unleash its full power… But this Green Radiance Sword was definitely his most powerful weapon, second only to the Invisible Needle Talisman Treasure.

Furthermore, capturing a high-level cultivator from the Spirit Control Sect and achieving such a feat, wouldn’t Huangfeng Valley reward him handsomely?

…

In fact, at this point, Han Li became increasingly suspicious of Yu Zitong’s identity.

There were three points of suspicion.

First, the Seven Ghosts Devouring Soul Technique.

This technique could actually temporarily refine a mortal’s essence into mana!

It should be known that essence directly relates to lifespan and is only frequently mentioned in the understanding of Nascent Soul level beings.

Where did Yu Zitong obtain such a wicked and miraculous top-tier demonic secret technique?

None of the Huangfeng Valley cultivators he knew had ever heard of such a method that could temporarily convert essence into mana. If such a method existed, a cultivator’s explosive combat power would more than double! It wouldn’t be impossible for a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator to unleash one or two attacks from a late-stage Core Formation or even a Pseudo-Nascent Soul stage cultivator!

Second, the technique of separating the primordial spirit from the body.

This method is little known even among major cultivation sects; otherwise, during the Blood Trial, disciples who died unexpectedly would have already been possessing the souls of any cultivators who approached. Death doesn’t necessarily mean true death.

In recent years, only Young Master Lin, a sect leader in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, has used it. Even

his mentor, Master Hong Fu, didn’t teach it to him.

The question is, how did Yu Zitong, a mere Qi Refining Stage 7 weakling, know it? And even teach it to Mo Juren?!

Thirdly, the secret method of refining corpses and extracting souls.

What Yu Zitong taught Doctor Mo was undoubtedly an abridged version.

It looks very low-level.

But behind this low-level appearance lies an extraordinary level of sophistication. That is, the soul extraction method Yu Zitong taught Doctor Mo wouldn’t severely damage the body, especially the brain, of the person whose soul is being extracted. Zhang Tie preserved his physical body in this way; otherwise, he wouldn’t have possessed the original story’s Fiend Core Soul Extraction Technique.

If it were any other cultivator, even a Foundation Establishment stage expert carefully extracting souls, they would more or less damage the brain of the person whose soul is being extracted. Feng Nu Lu Chengfeng is a case in point. His brain was actually injured during the soul extraction, leaving a hidden ailment. If it weren’t for the Core Formation cultivator from the Yu Ling Sect using his own Golden Core energy to help repair it, this body would never have been able to embark on the path of cultivation again.

With a damaged brain, how could one talk about cultivation?

Therefore,

Yu Zitong’s identity became increasingly mysterious.

…

After putting the Feng Nu, who had lost his primordial spirit but whose physical body was intact, into a spirit beast pouch, Han Li explained some things to Sun Ergou and then went to the Mo family’s location.

At this time, the Mo family had not yet declined.

This was mainly because it hadn’t disrupted the power balance of Jiayuan City like the original owner had.

Jiayuan City had three major leaders:

the strongest, Tianba Sect, occupying the wealthiest eastern district;

the second strongest, the Brotherhood Alliance, occupying the northern district, a grassroots gang;

then the Jingjiao Society, a subordinate force of the Mo family, occupying the southern district; and

finally, the western district, where twenty or thirty smaller gangs, including the Siping Gang, were concentrated.

Jiayuan City, with a population of over three million, and its surrounding towns and villages, totaling at least three to five million people, were divided among three major powers, several mid-sized sects, and dozens of small gangs.

The original owner of this body, at the request of the ambitious women of the Mo family, assassinated the lord of Duba Manor, a powerful city with a history of conflict with the Jingjiao Society. This disrupted the balance of power among the three factions—the Jingjiao Society, Duba Manor, and the Five Colors Sect—leading to the Mo family’s downfall within a few years when the Five Colors Sect, having revealed its true strength, stormed Jiayuan City.

Currently, Duba Manor still exists, the balance of power among the three major powers remains, and cultivators have not interfered with the changes in the mortal world. Thus, although the Five Colors Sect is the strongest, it has not been able to quickly devour the other forces, nor has it been able to unify the martial arts world of Jiayuan City and the surrounding cities.

One variable has changed, and the three-way balance of power has been maintained.

“Doctor Mo, are you satisfied with this scene?”

Since there was no sign of the Mo family’s destruction, the three Mo sisters naturally did not need to go their separate ways.

Doctor Mo’s four wives also lived a life of luxury.

And this was probably what Mo Juren wanted to see, wasn’t it?

…

Half a day later, by inquiring about the primordial spirit of the Yu Ling Sect cultivator, Han Li found the hiding place of the Golden-Backed Demon Mantis.

To temporarily save its life, and also to trick Han Li, this creature didn’t hide the location of the cave where it had hidden the corpse and storage bag.

After arriving at the location, Han Li chose to lie underground and wait patiently.

Over half a month, he summarized the Golden-Backed Demon Mantis’s habits.

This ten-foot-tall, peak-level fourth-grade demon insect would go out every one or two days to hunt large wild beasts in the mountains for food. Each time, it would bring the large beasts back to its cave to eat, and its outings never lasted longer than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea—very efficient and very regular.

Based on the demon insect’s habits, he devised a tactical plan.

On this day, when the Golden-Backed Demon Mantis went out again, Han Li used techniques such as concealment and hiding to hide himself, and then used an earth-遁符 (earth-遁符, a type of talisman) to quickly approach the cave from underground. As the golden-backed mantis swooped down from the sky to hunt, it was also the moment the insect lost sight of the area. He quickly slipped into the cave and found a corpse clad in a gray robe in a corner. The corpse still contained fluctuations of spiritual energy, which had preserved its body from decay.

A storage bag and a spirit beast bag were attached to the corpse’s waist.

Han Li didn’t intend to examine the contents; instead, he used his magic to grab the items and prepared to leave.

He hadn’t yet set up the Reversal Five Elements Array and didn’t want to confront the unrestrained golden-backed mantis head-on.

But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly squatted down. He

abruptly turned his head, looking at the mangled but not decayed body of the Spirit Control Sect cultivator:

“Wait, there are still fluctuations of spiritual energy in this body…”

He realized something, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He scanned the area with his divine sense and immediately saw a bead emitting a faint green light within the mangled body.

“A Core Formation cultivator’s golden core?”

That’s right.

In the dungeon, the cracked green bead that the Spirit Control Sect cultivator tried to take with him when he escaped with his primordial spirit was not his golden core, but merely a bead of spiritual energy condensed from a trace of the golden core’s essence.

The true golden core was still inside the cultivator’s body.

Because he had arrived many years earlier, he not only obtained the cultivator’s storage bag and spirit beast bag, but also this golden core that was losing spiritual energy but had not yet completely exhausted it and disappeared!

An unexpected delight!

“No wonder his physical body has remained intact until now…”

It was all thanks to the spiritual energy emanating from this golden core that it was preventing decay.

With a wave of his hand, Han Li took the golden core.

Sensing the spiritual energy within the golden core, which had shrunk considerably, he found that although the spiritual energy within was not very abundant, it was still comparable to the total amount of mana he, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, possessed. In other words, there was still a considerable amount of essence remaining.

“It seems I should have come a little earlier.”

That way, more of the remaining essence within the golden core could have been preserved.

However, it was enough.   ”

What a windfall! ”   He hadn’t been gone long when the Golden-backed Mantis returned, carrying a large wild boar.   Perhaps sensing an unfamiliar presence that had entered the cave while it was away, the giant mantis flew out and let out a strange cry. The cry carried far, silencing all wild animals and insects within a radius of several miles, leaving them limp and motionless. Afterwards, they all kept their distance.   The Golden-backed Mantis, venting its anger, scanned the area but found no trace of outsiders. It could only fly back angrily to its cave to feed.   Underground.   Han Li’s eyes narrowed slightly:   ”Very strong.”   …   Inside the underground cave he had previously opened, Han Li ignored the commotion outside and began to tally his gains.   The greatest gain was undoubtedly the [Primordial Spirit] of the Spirit Control Sect cultivator. Confining it in a small magical bottle for at least three to five years would prevent it from dissipating or becoming mentally impaired. Besides, he wouldn’t keep it locked up for that long.   The second gain was the magic weapon [Green Radiance Sword] and the opponent’s [Golden Core], which had little energy left.   Although the Green Radiance Sword wasn’t a top-tier magic weapon, just an ordinary one, a magic weapon is a magic weapon, surpassing most talismanic treasures! A magic weapon that could be activated could easily defeat any individual below the Core Formation stage.   ”Originally, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to activate the Green Radiance Sword. But with this Golden Core, it’s different…”   Looking at the newly acquired green Golden Core, Han Li was overjoyed.   As long as the person from the Spirit Control Sect told him how to use the spiritual energy within the Golden Core to activate the Green Radiance Sword, which was almost identical in origin, just like the other person had done before. Furthermore, as long as the spiritual energy within this Golden Core wasn’t exhausted, even if he couldn’t fully unleash the Green Radiance Sword’s power, he could still deal Core Formation level damage.   This was definitely a powerful trump card.   As for how many strikes he could land?   That depended on how much spiritual energy remained in the Golden Core.   He estimated three to five strikes.   ”I believe this person from the Spirit Control Sect will be sensible enough to tell me how to use it, right?”   After all,   the other party can’t die even if they want to.   Whether or not to subject them to torture is entirely up to them.   Continuing to sort through their spoils   , they discovered the [Spirit Beast Bag] again.   The bag mainly contained bottles and jars, each containing several kinds of strange insects. Most of them were larvae with little combat power.   There were over five hundred of them,   almost all alive.   The mothers of these insects were all Core Formation cultivators from the Spirit Control Sect who spent two or three hundred years and painstakingly acquiring them through force and plunder, and then cultivated these larvae. They were rare species ranked two or three hundredths on the Spirit Control Sect’s Strange Insect Ranking. Besides the Golden-backed Demon Mantis, there were even two other rare species that could rank in the top one hundred of the Strange Insect Ranking. Each of these strange insects would be worth hundreds of gold coins on the Spirit Beast Mountain market.   These insects were practically walking spirit stones.   A simple estimate would be at least forty or fifty thousand.   After all, half of the combat power of a high-level cultivator in the Spirit Control Sect comes from their spirit beasts and insects; magic weapons and spells are secondary. Even though they suffered heavy losses when they were forced to fight against others in the Yue Kingdom more than a year ago, losing a large portion of their power, what remained was still of great value. For example, that level four Golden-backed Demon Mantis would definitely have a lot of people vying to buy it even if it was priced at seventy or eighty thousand spirit stones.

These hundreds of spirit insects, though their spiritual power level is somewhat low and most are still larvae, are rare and possess immense potential. Being listed means they are qualified to reach at least level 4 upon adulthood. Reaching a higher level by chance is not out of the

question. Raising them for a hundred years or so, an average spiritual power level of level two or three is achievable.

Hundreds of these level two or three spiritual power cannon fodder are still a considerable fighting force. Such a large number is a powerful asset for Core Formation cultivators. For opponents, it’s a threat.

Of course, to sell them for money, especially at a high price, it’s best to first gradually remove the blood pact marks left by the Spirit Control Sect cultivators from their bodies. Selling them clean is ideal. Selling them with the marks will definitely result in a lower price.

The final profit is the Spirit Control Sect Core Formation cultivator’s [storage bag].

Han Li didn’t have high hopes for this storage bag.

As expected, there would only be a hundred or so mid-grade spirit stones and a thousand or so low-grade spirit stones.

From the perspective of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, this amount of spirit stones is undoubtedly a large sum. But for a dignified Core Formation stage expert, is this amount of spirit stones really enough to appease a beggar? Does it live up to the status of a Core Formation expert?

Then there are several bottles of unrecognizable pills, each with different effects, and he dares not use them indiscriminately without knowing their properties.

In addition, there are some spiritual materials, which are also worth a considerable amount of spirit stones.

But the most eye-catching items in the storage bag are all sorts of bottles and jars of various sizes. Most of these bottles and jars are engraved with the food of some kind of demonic beast or insect. This person must have spent a significant portion of his spirit stones on the food of these demonic beasts.

Moreover, it is not difficult to deduce from these bottles and jars that many of the spirit beasts and insects he cultivated have already perished, because the corresponding spirit beasts and insects for several of the feeds here cannot be found.

In the corner of the storage bag, there is also a green jade slip, which contains a guide to cultivating rare insects.

It involves some secret methods for cultivating and controlling insects.

It also includes a list of rare insects.

The Golden-Backed Mantis ranks seventy-third on the list.

“A high-level cultivator who has been at least a hundred or two hundred years in the Core Formation stage would certainly have far more wealth than this. Unfortunately, his mid-to-high-level talismans, and even high-level talismans and magical artifacts, were used up in the battle over a year ago.”

“Originally, this fellow should have collected dozens, even hundreds, of various strange and unusual treasures, just like Li Huayuan. And compared to the younger Li Huayuan, this person’s collection should have even more exquisite pieces, after all, he’s lived a hundred years longer than Li Huayuan. Unfortunately, this person’s cave dwelling isn’t in Yue Kingdom, but in the Yuling Sect of Tianluo Kingdom, which is a boon to his wives, concubines, and disciples…”

After all, he couldn’t possibly make a trip to Tianluo Kingdom.

“So, that leaves only the Golden-Backed Mantis.”

“Next, should I return to my sect and ask Master Hongfu to capture it easily? Or should I kill it myself and refine it into a magical artifact?”

Let me explain the basis for using a Golden Core cultivator to activate a magical artifact.

There are two bases.

One example is the cultivator from the Spirit Control Sect, who, in the original story, activated his natal magic weapon, the Green Radiance Sword, using only a small amount of Golden Core spiritual energy.

The second example is in the Crimson Forbidden Land, where a Qi Refining stage disciple activated the magic weapon “Moon Sun Pearl” to dispel the fog within the forbidden land.

These examples demonstrate that low-level cultivators can utilize magic weapons through various means.

This book will focus on low-level cultivators using Golden Core spiritual energy to activate magic weapons.

(End of Chapter)