Chapter 231: Breaking Through to Golden Core, Divine Ability Avatar (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Xiao Mu Zhenren's attack collapsed at the first touch.

His heart also turned half cold.

Seeing that sea monster about to approach his own body.

Just as he was in despair, Xiao Mu Zhenren suddenly discovered that the Tall Ship erupted with a dazzling blue light.

At the same time, pillars of dark blue light also erupted from the invisible island area in the distance.

Then, a dark blue phantom appeared before the Tall Ship in the blink of an eye, revealing the phantom of a Golden Core flood dragon.

This was an Avatar left behind in the Array by the black flood dragon Ao Li; although it could not compare to one-tenth of the strength of the original body under the reinforcement of the Array's power.

It still possessed Golden Core combat strength, and once it clashed with that sea monster—which, although controlled by a Golden Core Elder behind it, was ultimately only at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage—

it was the sea monster that collapsed at the first touch.

"This is... at least a Tier 3 Array?"

"That Old Ancestor actually set up such an Array on the island, and used the Tall Ship Immortal Boat as a mobile node, thereby managing to radiate this sea area with the Array?"

Xiao Mu Zhenren, who also had some understanding of Arrays, let out a slight sigh of relief after seeing the sea monster killed, and analyzed the reason for everything that had just happened.

He could not help but feel a bit confused.

He really did not understand what that Old Ancestor was doing.

It was rumored that the vast majority of people on that island were mortals, with very few Qi Refining cultivators.

It was inherently sparse in Spirit Qi, and had almost no value to cultivators.

To set up such an Array to protect them, was this Old Ancestor being a bit too good to those mortals?

With the small interlude of the sea monster gone, Xiao Mu Zhenren was able to successfully arrive at the port of a large island with the Tall Ship.

The wooden crane at the port caught Xiao Mu Zhenren's attention.

However, Xiao Mu Zhenren only took one look at these strange skills of the mortals and lost interest.

He had initially thought that encountering the sea monster would attract the attention of those above, and he would be interrogated upon landing.

As it turned out, it was not until a day later that he was summoned by Deacon Luo, who had come out of the Blood God Secret Realm, for a detailed inquiry.

As a veteran Deacon of a large trading firm, Deacon Luo was at least a Grandmaster at observing expressions and reading situations.

Plus, the more Xiao Mu Zhenren thought about it, the more wrong it felt; after hesitating repeatedly, he simply gritted his teeth and poured everything out to Deacon Luo.

He even presented the family heirloom as his token of allegiance.

Having experienced all sorts of strange events in Nanhuang, Deacon Luo was also shocked in his heart, and subconsciously listed this matter as a top priority.

Seeing the rare seeds Xiao Mu Zhenren had brought, Deacon Luo took a look and discovered that many were items the Old Ancestor had specifically highlighted, so he could not help but look at Xiao Mu Zhenren a few more times.

He did not make him go back to wait any longer; taking advantage of the fact that the Old Ancestor had returned to the island today, he brought Xiao Mu Zhenren to pay a visit.

Su Ping did not expect that Xiao Mu Zhenren, who had been chatting and laughing with him just a few months ago and acting as if he were the master,

had now become a stray dog coming to seek his shelter.

While lamenting the irony of fate, Su Ping summoned the other party after wrapping his whole body in blood light to conceal his form and aura.

After listening to the clear and logical account from Deacon Luo.

Su Ping's eyes flickered, and he looked at Xiao Mu Zhenren, who was sitting timidly on a chair in the lower seat of the reception hall.

Xiao Mu Zhenren looked much more haggard, and there was even a faint deficiency in his blood and Qi.

"Wait, would a Foundation Establishment cultivator be so easily deficient in blood and Qi?"

"I remember, there hasn't been any major war breaking out in the Artifact Heart Sect's territory recently, right!"

"Even over at the Ten Thousand Mountains, ever since Nanhuang was swallowed, those Demon Beasts seem to have had internal strife and paused their offensive against the Zhenshou Xiancheng."

With doubts in his heart, Su Ping borrowed the power of the Blood God original body, yet found that he still could not see the problem with Xiao Mu Zhenren.

After thinking for a moment, Su Ping took out the Fox God Amulet from the Fox God Palace, worth 100 Fishing Coins.

This amulet was only an inch long, made of purple wood; one side was drawn with a pattern of a nine-tailed fox, and the other side was drawn with a pattern of a humanoid nine-tailed fox lady.

Su Ping threw this amulet in front of Xiao Mu Zhenren and ordered him to stick it on his body.

Xiao Mu Zhenren trembled slightly, seemingly thinking of something, and hurriedly and cautiously grasped this strange amulet.

Even with Xiao Mu Zhenren's extensive knowledge, he could not guess the origin of the mysterious pattern on this amulet.

However, after Xiao Mu Zhenren stuck the amulet onto his neck.

Accompanied by a purple light suddenly emerging from the amulet, it radiated over Xiao Mu Zhenren's entire body.

A strange sizzling sound emerged from Xiao Mu Zhenren's body.

This startled Deacon Luo, who was on the side; he hurriedly stood up, his eyes staring fixedly at Xiao Mu Zhenren.

Having had enough of bizarre events in Nanhuang, Deacon Luo also instinctively felt the urge to run away immediately.

It was only because the Blood God Old Ancestor was still sitting quietly in the main seat that it acted as a reassurance for Deacon Luo, causing him to suppress the instinct in his heart.

Xiao Mu Zhenren also endured the fear in his heart and leaned down to look at the source of the strange sound on his abdomen.

A few seconds later, Xiao Mu Zhenren saw an egg-sized, off-white Worm Egg being slowly forced out of his abdomen.

He could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth, and somewhat understood why he had been so restless when he was at the Artifact Heart Sect.

He never thought that even with his caution, he had still been successfully parasitized without a sound!

Pop!

After the Worm Egg was completely exposed, it fell to the ground, cracked, and turned into a mass of grayish-white mist.

Seeing a flash of essence light in this mist, it seemed about to escape.

Blood light flashed in the hall; the Blood God Power had already sealed this space, intercepted that essence light, and swallowed it directly into the Blood Sea to digest it.

"Many thanks to the Old Ancestor for saving my life!"

The moment the blood light appeared, Xiao Mu Zhenren performed the Fierce Tiger Landing Style, his head hit the ground with a heavy 'bang', and he shouted the words out with all his might.

"This junior has nothing to repay you with, and is willing to serve the Old Ancestor as a dog or horse!"

Su Ping lowered his eyelids, not looking at this Xiao Mu Zhenren with whom he was already quite familiar.

He merely nodded slightly and said:

"The thing on your body should be the work of some kind of Evil Art."

"It seems the Artifact Heart Sect truly has major problems, just as you said!"

"After you go down and prepare, follow Deacon Luo to the Secret Realm to do some work in the next batch."

After giving these instructions, Su Ping took the box filled with rare seeds that Deacon Luo had presented and then vanished from the room.

Deacon Luo waited for a while to confirm that Xueshen Laozu had truly left, then went up to comfort this future colleague, Xiao Mu Zhenren.

"Rest assured, although the Old Ancestor looks a bit majestic and a bit mysterious, he is a master who rewards and punishes clearly."

"Work hard in the future, and there will surely be worthwhile rewards!"

"Furthermore, the Old Ancestor's divine arts are unfathomable; although the matter on your body is a bit strange, since the Old Ancestor didn't express anything else,"

"That means everything is under the Old Ancestor's control!"

Deacon Luo's words were filled with blind trust and even worship for Xueshen Laozu.

Hearing this, Xiao Mu Zhenren felt more at ease in his heart.

Then he touched his neck and suddenly discovered that the talisman the Old Ancestor had bestowed upon him earlier had already disappeared.

He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed: So, was that talisman just lent to him?

Pot Heaven.

Su Ping, who knew the Artifact Heart Sect had problems, did not intend to set off immediately to investigate.

He merely sent out a message, informing major powers such as the Heavenly Sword Sect and Zhenshou Xiancheng of the situation in the name of Xueshen Laozu.

Then he continued, together with the Spirit Body-possessing Telesha Shengnyu, to turn rare seeds one by one into Spirit Herbs that were already priceless in the Cultivation World.

The Foundation Establishment alchemist in the Blood God Secret Realm was also refining such abundant pills for the first time.

He refined once again various Spirit Pills from ancient recipes that had long since ceased to exist due to a lack of materials.

Because many were being refined for the first time, not a single high-grade pill appeared among these Spirit Pills, which made that Foundation Establishment alchemist quite anxious.

Even though he was not blamed and instead received quite a few rewards.

To Su Ping, Medium Pills were also perfectly edible.

Even Waste Pills were not unacceptable; what he feared most was not even Waste Pills, but a pile of medicinal dregs with absolutely no medicinal power.

Fortunately, the pill recipes in the hands of the major powers had already been tested by long-term experience, and no unexpected situations occurred.

Inside Zhaoyue Tingfeng Pavilion.

Su Ping ate a five-hundred-year-old Moon Spirit Lotus.

He let the Dharma Power within his body instantly fill to his body's limit.

Then, while taking out the array map he intended to use as his life-bound Array Tool and letting it hover before his eyes, he released his own Dharma Image: the Great Freedom Thousand Hands Ten Thousand Arms Primordial Spirit Dharma Image.

Above Zhaoyue Tingfeng Pavilion, this golden, hundred-meter-tall Dharma Image phantom suddenly appeared.

Then, accompanied by Su Ping swallowing the best Spirit Pill for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to break through to the Golden Core: the Hunyuan One Qi Pill.

Swish!

The golden Dharma Image phantom began to grow larger and larger.

At the same time, the patterns on its body became increasingly clear and possessed a certain sense of substance.

"The Golden Core Dharma Image is the first step from illusion toward reality!"

"It is also the first step toward condensing the True Self Dharma Image!"

"And my True Self Dharma Image shall naturally be... the Savior Heavenly Venerable image!"

Back when he was gazed upon by the Fox God phantom, Su Ping had already realized his path forward.

Having mastered the Blood God Secret Method and the Blood God body,

he was already fully capable of letting his own Dharma Image break through along with him toward a Great Dao with a bright future when he broke through to the Golden Core.

Moreover, when this Dharma Image was condensing, besides the assistance during the breakthrough itself,

as Su Ping released the Blood God Seal, the Blood God body descended from the Void.

Accompanied by the appearance of Blood Chains in the sky,

the hundreds of arms of the Great Freedom Dharma Image currently condensing also grasped the Blood Chains.

Thereby obtaining a continuous stream of assistance from the Blood God Secret Realm!

Inside Fox God Palace.

Fox-Faced Shrine Maiden Sakura teleported to the sky above the mountain peak, smiled lightly as she looked in Su Ping's direction, and then cast a blessing that landed on Su Ping.

This caused Su Ping's aura to abruptly soar by another large margin!

At the same time.

Su Ping swallowed another Spirit Pill, ate another five-hundred-year-old Moon Spirit Lotus, and then gulped down a bottle of Purification Potion.

He also replenished a bottle of Life Potion and Mana Potion at any time.

He kept his Essence Spirit and Qi constantly rising while maintaining them at their peak without dropping even a fraction.

A hundred hands... a thousand hands; at the same time the thousand-hand phantom appeared on the Dharma Image,

its height also reached a thousand meters, and its image gradually began to change.

A crown appeared on its head, and Four Symbols relief patterns emerged on its robe.

Although the face was blurry and many details were lacking,

it already possessed a preliminary sense of profound majesty.

And if certain Elders on the main peak saw this Dharma Image,

they would inevitably be shocked to feel that this Dharma Image faintly resonated with a trace of the spiritual charm of that great existence in the dark!

At the same time, as the Dharma Image took shape, his body gained a trace of liveliness.

This was a secret technique of the Ten Directions Sect, a method for the Dharma Image to inherit Incense Divine Power.

Su Ping was not afraid of the Incense Divine Power backlashing against him, so naturally, he would not let go of this means to enhance his strength.

In a sense, this Dharma Image of his had also become a newborn deity linked to the Blood God entity.

In the path Su Ping had realized, once this Dharma Image of his grew up, and he himself reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

He would be able to use a secret method to usurp the host, refine the Blood God entity into a clone, and turn the Blood God Secret Realm into his own salvation secret realm!

One day later.

After swallowing the third Spirit Pill and drinking the third bottle of Purification Potion.

Su Ping suddenly shuddered all over.

The Dharma Power that had been erupting outward suddenly retracted completely.

Even the thousand-meter-tall, thousand-armed Great Freedom Primordial Spirit Heavenly Venerable Dharma Image, which had fully taken shape, retracted into Su Ping's body in the blink of an eye.

Then, at Su Ping's dantian, a brilliant Jindan emerged.

The Jindan was flawless; from any perspective in the Cultivation World, it could be called top-grade!

It was precisely for such a top-grade Jindan that Su Ping had forcibly suppressed the urge to form the core and chosen to continue waiting whenever he felt the Jindan could be formed but still had a trace of regret.

In any case, he was well-prepared this time and had plenty of Fishing Coins to maintain this peak state!

"From today on, I can also call myself a Jindan Great Ability!"

Su Ping opened his eyes, feeling the changes within his body; while happy in his heart, he did not rush to leave.

Instead, he took out the array chart that had also received many benefits along with his breakthrough.

This array chart contained a large amount of heavenly materials and earthly treasures he had obtained on Water Blue Star, and its grade was already that of a Spirit Treasure.

It was just right for use during the Jindan period.

As the array chart advanced to a Life-Bound Spirit Treasure, the Blood God Seal was easily submerged into the array chart.

In the blink of an eye, in addition to the snow-capped mountains and Dahai, the sun, moon, and stars also appeared on the array chart.

And as if the perspective of the array chart had been elevated, the sun, moon, and stars occupied a sufficiently large area, while the snow-capped mountains and Dahai only occupied a corner.

"The previous name is no longer worthy of this Spirit Treasure of mine."

"Although it is still just the beginning, I believe that one day, more stars will appear and shine within this array chart of mine."

"Therefore..."

"Before it becomes a chart of shining stars."

"Let's temporarily call it the Sun Moon Star Chart!"

Su Ping put away his Life-Bound Spirit Treasure, then stood up feeling satisfied, deciding to have a big meal to soothe his mood.

…………

In the Cultivation World, inside the Immortal Palace of the Artifact Heart Sect.

Even the ordinary Inner Sect Disciples who only operated in the outer areas and had never entered the palace.

Felt belatedly that the atmosphere was not quite right.

In the last few days, it seemed that things only went into the Immortal Palace and never came out?

And for some reason, these disciples all felt their bodies were a bit weak.

Even after taking tonic pills and choosing breathing exercises as their main form of rest, it was to no avail.

These past few days, they had been plagued by nightmares.

They were all cultivators; those who could stand guard at the Immortal Palace had to be at least at the Qi Refining Late Stage.

Having nightmares like this was truly abnormal!

And as a few leaders quietly contacted everyone, these disciples soon realized that they actually had the same symptoms!

Consequently, in the looks they cast toward the Immortal Palace, they all had more or less some panic and unease.

"Senior Brother! Let's run!"

In a side hall of the outer buildings of the Immortal Palace, several young junior brothers and sisters surrounded their team leader, who was also a Senior Brother with Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation.

The Senior Brother was a rare sword cultivator in the Artifact Heart Sect; according to custom, after serving as a Senior Brother for a few more years, he would be sent out to serve as a Deacon in some place.

But now, not only was there no such opportunity, but it was also very likely that he would die here by accident.

"Neither the Warding Evil Talisman nor the Dharma Artifacts have any reaction."

"But the abnormalities in our bodies are real!"

"Everyone, think about it, how long has it been since we last saw the Sect Master?"

"Yeah, let's run... Senior Brother, I always feel that if we don't leave now, we won't be able to leave at all."

"……"

The Senior Brother was silent for a while, then took out the Wooden Tablet from his body and placed it on the table.

"I will go find Master alone to ask about the situation clearly."

"You all... if you want to leave, go quickly. If it turns out to be a false alarm, I will plead for you."

The Senior Brother sighed as he said this.

He truly could not bring himself to hate these junior brothers and sisters who were clearly committing the act of betraying their sect.

It was just that he really could not let go of the sect and Master that had cultivated him and allowed him, who was once just a beggar, to reach the heavens in one step.

He decided to take a risk and go back to see.

Perhaps he could help Master?

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Seeing the Wooden Tablet, the junior brothers and sisters looked happy and bowed one after another to express their gratitude.

After watching his junior brothers and sisters leave, the Grandmaster's senior disciple also turned and entered the interior of the Immortal Palace through a side door.

Not long after entering the Immortal Palace, this senior disciple felt that something was wrong.

The arrays originally laid out in layers within the Immortal Palace were unexpectedly not a single one functioning to stop his advance.

The senior disciple hesitated, but suddenly received a message from his master via his Communication Jade Slip.

He could not help but feel a surge of joy and hurried over.

His master was the youngest Elder of the Artifact Heart Sect; although not a Golden Core, he possessed Foundation Establishment Yuanyuan cultivation, had successfully mastered a Spirit Treasure, and was proficient in the arts of alchemy and Talismans.

"Master?"

The senior disciple arrived at the doorway of a room.

Even while in the corridor, he already felt the surrounding temperature drop to an uncomfortable degree.

The senior disciple looked at the Warding Evil Talisman gripped tightly in his hand.

It had no reaction.

At the same time, his master's voice came from inside the room again, telling him to enter.

He could not help but take a deep breath, and after pushing open the door.

The senior disciple saw his master sitting cross-legged in the room's Spirit-Gathering Array, face pale and eyes tightly shut, seemingly performing Healing Pill.

He scanned his surroundings, found everything as usual, and could not help but secretly heave a sigh of relief; he hurriedly closed the door, entered the room, and quickly reached out to press his hand against his master's back, hoping to be able to help his master.

"Master, what exactly happened to the Immortal Palace?"

"Why has not a single piece of news been sent out of the palace these past few days?"

"Where did something go wrong?"

The senior disciple's mind was filled with questions, all of which he hoped to get answers to from the mouth of the master he revered before him.

However, after a few breaths of silence.

The senior disciple suddenly saw his master's head twist 180 degrees to look at him, and his eyes, which no longer had any pupils, opened!

In an instant, the senior disciple, who had intended to retreat violently, suddenly felt his body stiffen.

His entire person began to become more and more like his master...