Chapter 226: Swallowing a Single Golden Core, I Finally Realize My Fate Is Not Determined by Heaven

226. Chapter 226: Swallowing a single golden core, I finally realize my fate is not dictated by Heaven

Zila!

Purple lightning slashed through the nine heavens, piercing clouds and rosy light; the sky was split in two, not only the main peak of Character: Liyang Mountain but the entire massive Character: Liyang Immortal City, and countless electric serpents could be clearly seen roaming the sky, the terrifying pressure made everyone's hearts tremble.

Currently, the strongest cultivator in the Immortal City should be the Hundred‑Flower Valley Lord Su Wushuang.

But even she, at the mid‑stage of forming a golden core, feels a trembling in her Soul Transformation when facing the Thunder Tribulation.

It seems this lightning mainly targets the Soul Transformation! If she cannot endure it, it will not be merely a severe injury, but could cause her soul to shatter completely!

"I'm afraid I can't withstand this heavenly thunder's baptism…"

Su Wushuang thought this in her heart.

She has been forming a golden core for decades, her strength already near the late stage, yet she is not confident she can resist the cosmic phenomena that arise during the formation of a golden core?

Who exactly is forming the golden core? What golden core is being formed? …

"Come on!"

Xiao Zhangqing's face bore a hint of madness.

He chose neither to retreat nor to devise other ways to block the lightning.

Even though he possesses a spatial talent and can modestly wield spatial power, he now clearly feels time and space freeze, as if a profound 'cause‑and‑effect' force has locked onto him.

Any technique, shift, or dodge is rendered ineffective.

Boom—! At the very moment.

Xiao Zhangqing rose proudly, his flesh body, brimming with explosive power, thrust out a fierce punch capable of cleaving mountains and splitting rivers, slamming hard into the descending purple lightning.

Bang! Like a roaring drake‑lightning, the front segment instantly shattered into countless arcs that sprayed outward.

Xiao Zhangqing instantly felt his entire arm go numb, and his robe instantly turned to charred fragments.

"It's okay…"

"My flesh body has reached third‑tier superior quality, strong enough."

Looking at his exposed flesh after the robe shattered, although electric light continued to snake across his arm, he suffered little real damage; his flesh remained intact and the numbness would soon fade.

On the contrary, this lightning's baptism might even benefit his flesh body!

Xiao Zhangqing showed a hint of delight.

Though he doesn't know why a perfectly formed golden core would invite a Thunder Tribulation from Heaven.

Yet for any other newly formed golden‑core cultivator, this Thunder Tribulation would be a certain death, but landing on him is still not something to fear.

In the next instant, Xiao Zhangqing immediately frowned.

"This heavenly thunder mainly targets something other than my flesh body?"

After the lightning shattered, electric light burst everywhere, not only roaming his body but also causing numbness.

Even his Soul Transformation was stained with lightning arcs!

The lightning's surface was dispersed by his punch, but on the Soul Transformation level it was useless.

Endless tiny arcs, like countless poisonous snakes, crazily burrowed into Xiao Zhangqing's Soul Transformation. They bit, tore, and churned, full of destruction, vowing to erode his Soul Transformation to oblivion.

"But… my Soul Transformation is stronger than my flesh body, isn't it?"

Xiao Zhangqing felt the assault on his Soul Transformation, as if ten thousand electric snakes crackled upon it.

Had it been a decade ago, his Soul Transformation had not yet reached its peak nor begun the metamorphosis toward Primordial Spirit, such an attack might truly have overwhelmed him.

Even if he could resist, it would be extremely arduous, like facing a great enemy, requiring his strongest methods and likely causing severe injury.

But now his Soul Transformation has already peaked, becoming extraordinarily refined and has begun its 'metamorphosis'! Thus this level of lightning Soul Transformation baptism feels more like a… massage? In any case, under the stimulation of countless lightning snakes, his Soul Transformation tingled, initially uncomfortable, then quickly turned pleasant! Buzz—buzz—buzz…

Xiao Zhangqing closed his eyes; for the final 'tail thunder' he simply ceased punching, while bucket‑thick purple lightning continued to fall on him, and within a blink the area dozens of meters around him turned into a sea of thunderous arcs.

The endless electric snakes at the Soul Transformation level completely engulfed his Soul Transformation.

In Xiao Zhangqing's perception, time lost all meaning at that moment.

It felt like many years had passed, yet also like only an instant.

Under the heavenly thunder's baptism, his long‑refined Soul Transformation finally completed its ultimate metamorphosis—Primordial Spirit! The world seemed 'clear' at that instant.

Looking back, although his Soul Transformation had been immensely strong, possessing a Heavenly Spirit Root and rapidly absorbing ambient spiritual energy, it had always been merely a 'layer'.

The heavens and earth to him were veiled by a curtain!

Only now did he truly lift the veil and truly touch this realm.

Sizzle! Beyond the shattered dwelling.

The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, the spiritual vortex calmed, leaving only brighter rosy clouds that expanded again, covering a radius of eighteen li!

It was twice the size of the legendary highest‑grade perfect flawless golden core! Even more astonishing, within this rosy glow the cultivators of the entire Character: Liyang Immortal City heard a faint Daoist sound! Ordinary cultivators cannot perceive such deep layers; only golden‑core cultivators like Gu Zongyuan and Su Wushuang could understand the message transmitted by their golden cores.

"Swallow a single golden core, and I finally know my fate is not dictated by Heaven!"

Having completed the tribulation, Xiao Zhangqing opened his eyes, murmuring.

A revelation blossomed in his heart.

In today's Da Yu Cultivation World, the recorded golden‑core grades are incomplete.

Pure Crystal, Mixed Gold, and Perfect Flawless are indeed the three grades of golden core.

Yet beyond these three grades lies the supreme level—Heavenly Dao golden core! The golden core is a milestone on the cultivation path, of crucial importance; the difference between it and lower stages is like clouds and mud, because forming the highest 'Heavenly Dao golden core' grants the right to defy fate! The highest perfect flawless golden core recorded in Da Yu Cultivation World's history still lacks the power to alter destiny; it is merely for the masses.

All cultivators who complete the Heavenly Dao golden core also experience a Thunder Tribulation at the moment of formation.

"I am the first in the Da Yu Cultivation World in thousands of years!"

Xiao Zhangqing felt the golden core floating in his dantian like crystal, smiled, and possessed unprecedented confidence.

All past efforts at this moment turned into harvest, receiving reward.

From now on, Xiao Zhangqing's name will surely leave a bold mark in the Da Yu Cultivation World! Whether it's the Seven‑Star Sword Sect, Xingyue Palace, or even Demon Sect Evil Cultivator, he no longer needs excessive caution! Truly, he will establish his place in the cultivation world! (End of chapter)