Chapter 353: Master Wangyue

BOOM!

CRACK!

Golden tribulation lightning pierced the dark, heavy clouds, like a roaring golden dragon entwined with countless arcs of electricity, crashing down.

"Finally!"

Beneath the Yin-Yang Mystic Vine Tree, Qin Ming looked up at the sky, his gaze sharp.

ROAR! Qin Ming unleashed the full force of his blood and true qi, and a blood-red, eight-armed demon ape phantom emerged from his body, instantly growing to fifty zhang tall.

The demon ape roared toward the heavens, its eight arms clenching into fists, meeting the tribulation head-on.

BOOM! In an instant, the terrifying golden tribulation lightning slammed into the blood-red demon ape.

Qin Ming felt as if the sky had collapsed upon him, crushing him so hard he could barely breathe.

Suddenly, a lustrous glaze of Liuli light surfaced over his body, and countless blood-red spiritual runes appeared on his skin.

Qin Ming followed the incantations of the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Codex, beginning to channel the tribulation's power to refine his blood and qi.

As the eight arms of the blood giant ape formed a strange hand seal.

The golden tribulation from the heavens was forcibly absorbed by his flesh and bone, entirely channeled into his body.

Suddenly—

Drip! Through the tribulation's refining pressure, a first strand of golden tribulation-condensed blood crystal formed within Qin Ming, much like the one he had forged when forming his Golden Core.

Only now, magic power had been replaced by blood and qi.

The first tribulation had been absorbed, successfully channeled into his body, refining one-tenth of his blood and qi.

Outside Lingdao.

The crowd's vision was blocked by the pink mist illusion; they could not see what was happening inside.

They only heard a golden lightning strike, producing a sound like mountains collapsing and earth splitting, then silence returned.

"Master Nalan, has Qin Daoist passed the tribulation?" Gu Qingzhao asked, walking over.

Master Nalan Xi fell silent for a moment, then replied: "That first tribulation was likely weathered."

"But such a powerful tribulation—I've never seen its like. I cannot say how many more will come."

"I hope Qin Daoist succeeds."

…

Then—

The second and third lightning strikes descended, before the stunned eyes of the onlookers.

Each was stronger than the last.

Beneath his life-spirit plant, Qin Ming's expression grew grim as he continuously chanted incantations, using the tribulation to forge his blood and qi.

After forming the Golden Core, a cultivator's magic power undergoes a qualitative transformation—it cannot mature without true fire refining.

By the same logic, to forge a physical true core, divine thunder must be used; the greater the tribulation's power, the stronger the true core.

BOOM-CRACK! The entire Moonwatch Island was covered in thunderstorm, but fortunately, all of it was channeled into Qin Ming's body, leaving the island's spirit plants unharmed.

He endured eight tribulations in total.

Within Qin Ming's body, a crimson mystic pearl formed, radiating a blood-red glow.

More astonishingly, a layer of golden lightning curled around it.

But at that moment—

Suddenly! The sky churned with wind and clouds; the tribulation clouds twisted like a storm's eye, spinning violently.

At the vortex's center, an even more terrifying tribulation was brewing.

"The final tribulation!"

Qin Ming's eyes blazed. Even with his True Ultimate Body, he was now drenched in blood.

Yet his inner power surged endlessly, like a true primordial beast on the verge of awakening.

The final step of Blood-Bound Core Formation was about to complete.

BOOM! From the center of the black vortex, a black tribulation lightning descended as a straight black beam.

Even the residual shockwave turned the three Golden Core elders watching from afar pale with dread.

The blood-red, eight-armed demon ape roared skyward and unleashed its life-spirit technique.

He poured every ounce of his blood and qi into one of his right arms.

CRACK! The instant the demon ape's five fingers clenched together.

Countless black lightning bolts exploded around it.

Upon the giant fist appeared a radiant glow, like a star of doom.

"Technique—Shatter the Stars!"

The blood-red demon ape leapt upward, as if gripping the sun itself, making heaven and earth dim in comparison.

BOOM! The black lightning beam and the demon ape's technique collided, exploding into a blinding light Tuan in midair.

The massive shockwave shattered through the clouds.

As Qin Ming channeled the final tribulation's power into his body.

His crimson mystic pearl solidified completely, giving birth to a brand-new True Core force!

"Physical True Core! Achieved!"

The physical aura radiating from Qin Ming now far surpassed that of an ordinary third-rank beast king.

Every gesture, every movement, exuded a force of destruction.

"The Physical True Core—even the beast royal bloodlines don't possess it—Master has truly forged it!" Shi Tian Shu, naturally sensing what had transpired on the island, stared in stunned silence.

With the end of the Golden Core tribulation, the tribulation clouds dispersed.

Qin Ming felt the twin cores—crimson and golden—within him, his heart overflowing with joy; he let out a long, triumphant roar.

After nearly a century of arduous cultivation, Qin Ming had begun as a spirit farmer, toiling in the fields—today, he had not only perfected his Golden Core, but also forged the Physical True Core.

He now stood at the pinnacle of the Southern Wasteland's cultivation world! Qin Ming retracted his technique and landed back on the ground.

"After breaking through to the Golden Core realm, my lifespan has increased by five hundred years—now reaching one thousand nine hundred and sixty years."

"From now on, my lifespan is long, my magic power mighty—I may roam freely across the cultivation world."

"Cough! Still, no extravagance."

"My current strength rivals that of a mid-stage Golden Core."

"As long as I don't encounter beings like the Golden Toad Ancestor or the Green-Faced Poisonous Dragon."

"I can go anywhere under heaven. At least within the four nations of the Southern Wasteland, the only one who gives me pause is the late-stage Golden Core Ancestor Qingxuan of the Xuanxi Valley."

"A flawless Golden Core, plus a Physical True Core—I must be the first in a thousand generations."

After breaking through to the Golden Core realm, Qin Ming's heart and mind had changed.

Yet his original principle—steady, cautious cultivation and farming—had never wavered.

It never would.

Qin Ming sat cross-legged again, calming and consolidating his cultivation.

Several days later, he opened his pitch-black eyes.

Around Qin Ming now lingered the ancient, verdant aura of primeval trees, lush and green, his magic power fully stabilized, reaching the state of returning to simplicity.

Then—

He made a Xukong grasp, and instantly eighteen emerald lights appeared above his palm.

"After breaking through to the Golden Core, I can now activate all eighteen of my life-spirit magic treasure, Wood Emperor Nails, at once."

"With magic power comparable to a mid-stage Golden Core, wielding them no longer drains me as before."

"But only three of the Wood Emperor Nails have been enhanced—I must gather more Solar Essence Gold to refine and strengthen my life-spirit magic treasure."

ZHOO! Three streaks of light returned from beyond the island, landing before Qin Ming—his three spirit companions.

Shi Tian Shu grinned: "Congratulations, Master! You've perfected your Golden Core and forged the Physical True Core—your strength has surged!"

Xuan Shui E and Yin Yi Shuang Feng shrank their bodies and rubbed against Qin Ming eagerly, expressing their joy.

Outside Lingdao.

The cultivators watched as the terrifying Golden Core tribulation ended; each felt fear, yet also delight at having witnessed it.

This would be a tale to boast about to friends and family for a long time.

After all, not everyone gets to witness a Golden Core Ancestor forming their core.

"Did he make it?"

"The tribulation clouds have cleared."

"Who knows? But what just happened was terrifying."

"I even doubted whether Moonwatch Island still exists."

They had waited here for days, unwilling to leave, waiting for a definite outcome.

Otherwise, it was too agonizing.

As the cultivators near Moonwatch Lake watched, the pink mist surrounding Lingdao suddenly parted.

Wei Wuya, Canghai True Person, and Wan Laoshi received Qin Ming's message and immediately flew toward the island.

Gu Qingzhao, Xu Jing, Lu Wanjun, and others also received Qin Ming's message.

But when they arrived on the island—

"A third-rank middle-grade spiritual vein… this…"

Wei Wuya was fine—he had visited before and was accustomed to Moonwatch Island's transformation.

But the others were different, each stunned into silence.

They were nearly blinded by the sight of the island's abundant high-grade spiritual plants.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please come inside."

A bright voice rang out.

A plain-looking young man appeared before them, his entire being like an evergreen ancient tree, his demeanor as calm as still water.

Qin Ming smiled and greeted everyone.

"Congratulations, Brother Qin, on achieving your Golden Core!"

"Congratulations, True Person Qin."

"Greetings, True Person Qin."

Nanlan Xi, seeing the utterly stable Golden Core spiritual power radiating from Qin Ming, confirmed without doubt that he had broken through to the Golden Core realm.

"True Person Qin, congratulations."

"I've heard your story long ago, Master Wan, but was tied up with mundane affairs and never had the chance to meet you."

"Our valley's Master Gongsun has spoken nothing but praise of you."

"Master Wan has long looked up to True Person Qin."

Master Wan of Xuanxi Valley smiled as he offered his congratulations to Qin Ming.

Upon probing him just now, he found he could not perceive Qin Ming's cultivation base at all, and was even more astonished.

Wei Wuyan's stern face broke into a rare smile as he congratulated Qin Ming: "Congratulations, True Person Qin. From now on, our Wei Kingdom has a new exemplar—a hermit who successfully formed a Golden Core. This is truly a great era! Haha!"

Gu Qingzhao, clad in green robes, gazed at Qin Ming with complex eyes and said, "Congratulations, True Person Qin, on attaining the Golden Core Dao and advancing further on the Immortal Path."

She had been deceived by Qin Ming for too long—who could have imagined he would quietly achieve Golden Core without a word?

And worse, she had worried over him uselessly. From now on, their statuses would truly be worlds apart.

"Congratulations, Island Master, on your Golden Core's completion!"

Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin, accompanied by a group of Qi Refining cultivators, bowed respectfully.

The other cultivators around them looked at the Wu family with eyes brimming with envy.

"By the way, Brother Qin, now that you've become a Golden Core cultivator, have you chosen a Dao name?" asked True Person Canghai, Nanlan Xi.

Qin Ming, having formed his Golden Core as a hermit, was the first in Wei Kingdom to do so—he would surely be remembered through the ages.

A Dao name is the title used in the cultivation world, tied to a cultivator's aspirations and conduct.

Over time, people may forget a cultivator's original name, but they will remember their Dao name.

Qin Ming thought carefully for a moment, then said:

"I was once a drifting weed, but now I have found my place on Wangyue Island, and it was here that I achieved Golden Core—it is truly my auspicious land."

"I've already decided: if I ever attained Golden Core, I would take the name 'Wangyue True Person.'"

……

(End of Chapter)