Chapter 158: Nurturing Bees and Leaving the Pass

Finally.

Foundation Establishment perfected!

Feeling the moist, full mana within his body about to overflow, Yunhe revealed a delighted smile.

The feeling of cultivating in one breath until his cultivation base and mana could not increase even a bit was wonderful; he set aside all distractions, discarded all extraneous thoughts, and focused solely on raising his cultivation base and enhancing his abilities.

Each day he could see his progress, each time yearning to advance further; this feeling of constantly improving his cultivation base intoxicated him.

He calmed his mind and inwardly inspected his dantian with his divine sense.

He saw all his liquid mana swirling around the 'Five Elements Spirit Body', forming a round shape.

'The mana already shows signs of condensation; whenever I wish, I can attempt to impact the Golden Core realm, fully solidifying the liquid mana, embracing the origin to form the pill—that is the Golden Core realm!'

This is the benefit brought by cultivating such a top-tier art as the 'Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture'.

Top-tier arts can grant him purer mana, although they also increase the difficulty of raising his cultivation base; but when cultivated to perfection, his mana shows a hint of solidification, something other arts cannot match.

One must know.

The effect of many Golden Core spirit materials is to solidify liquid mana, thereby meeting the requirements for Golden Core formation.

For him, such Golden Core spirit materials are naturally unnecessary.

'Moreover, the five-element circulation and mutual generation of the Five Elements Spirit Body can further promote pill condensation; although the spirit body differs from the spirit root, it is also greatly beneficial for breaking through major realms.'

Hum—

Yunhe's divine sense spread out, enveloping the entire peak of Corner Field Mountain.

'My current divine sense strength.'

In these twenty years, he has not been solely focused on raising his cultivation base; cultivating the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture' is also one of Yunhe's goals.

What disappoints him somewhat is that, having initially understood the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture' through the 'Three Tribulations Bodhi Seed', upon reaching the second layer, further advancement becomes extremely difficult.

Now he has merely managed to reach the peak of the second layer of the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture', only a step away from the third layer, yet he cannot cross it.

Yunhe suspects that perhaps he must wait until he successfully forms a Golden Core to cultivate the third layer of the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture'.

But merely thinking of the sensation when cultivating the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture'—as if a thousand gu and myriad spirit insects were tearing at his soul and divine sense—still leaves him with lingering fear.

This is how the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture' enhances divine sense.

Only through setbacks can one grow; the place where a tree forms scar tissue is the hardest; tormenting one's own divine sense to aid its growth is something only the creator of the 'Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Scripture' could conceive.

Of course, controlling the degree of this 'torment' is one of the key points of this art.

However, after reaching the peak of the second layer, no matter how Yunhe 'torments' his soul and divine sense, it is useless; evidently he has hit a bottleneck.

'But it should also be stronger than the divine sense of most early Golden Core cultivators, comparable to some weaker mid‑Golden Core divine sense.'

He clenched his fist.

Beneath his seemingly well‑proportioned, tall body lies formidable strength.

'His body can barely match an ordinary mid‑Second Stage demon beast.'

He has polished the three gates of essence, energy, and spirit for breaking through Golden Core to the utmost extent he can.

Next.

To increase his chances of breaking through to Golden Core, he must gather more Golden Core spirit materials.

'Twenty years have been waited; there's no rush for this moment.'

Yunhe muttered softly.

Haste makes waste.

Although he could attempt Golden Core now, his spiritual sense shows no reaction to it, meaning this is not the best time for him to try breaking through.

That makes sense.

Although the spiritual energy here is decent for cultivation, to say it supports his Golden Core formation would be lacking by far.

Pat—

Footsteps sounded in his ear.

Yunhe turned his head and saw a pallid figure that, aside from that, hardly differed from an ordinary cultivator.

Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse!

With the continual cultivation of the 'Corpse Soul Gu', its offspring gu also accumulated, forming larger and stronger Corpse Soul Gu worms, making the present Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse appear like a normal demonic path cultivator.

And the 'Corpse Soul Gu' itself was formed by merging part of his divided spirit by chance, so to Yunhe the present Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse is both a refined corpse and could be considered an avatar.

Every word and deed, every movement, lies entirely within his single thought.

'Now, impersonating a Golden Core cultivator, unless my divine sense is completely overwhelmed, it should be harder to be seen through.'

Buzz buzz buzz—

Suddenly.

The sound of vibrating bee wings rang in his ears.

Hearing the sound, Yunhe revealed a smile.

He raised his hand.

A bee with a well‑proportioned, elongated body, four powerful wings, and a bulging abdomen full of red‑ring gold‑spotted markings—the Red‑ring Gold‑spotted Bee Queen—landed in his hand.

These years, he stopped breeding new Red‑ring Gold‑spotted Bees, instead directing more resources toward breeding Red‑ring Gold‑spotted Bee Queens.

Now, among the several Bee Queens he has bred, one finally meets his standard.

'Almost there.'

'If even such a Bee Queen cannot withstand the Golden Shadow Six‑winged Bee, then there's nothing he can do.'

His palm twitched slightly.

The Red‑ring Gold‑spotted Bee Queen took flight, and soon a large swarm of Red‑ring Gold‑spotted Bees gathered, forming a red‑gold cloud that flew back and forth around the peak of Corner Field, a magnificent sight.

The queen bee released a pheromone awaiting mating, and the entire bee colony became agitated.

Yunhe patted his spirit insect bag.

A black-and-gold Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee with six pairs of wings appeared before him.

Likewise sensing the pheromones released by the bee queen, the Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee, which had been calm and stable for many years, also became restless.

As Yunhe undid its bonds.

The Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee let out a soft sound and leapt toward the swarm in the air.

It seemed to sense the Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee's aura; the originally cloud‑gathering Red Ring Gold Spot split a path, allowing the Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee to approach the Red Ring Gold Spot Bee Queen.

Mating began.

Yunhe released his divine sense, focusing his attention entirely on the swarm.

He stood with his hands behind his back, silently observing and waiting, without excessive interference.

The outcome was as he expected; as the Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee successfully injected its stinger into the Red Ring Gold Spot Bee Queen's body, this mating concluded very smoothly.

The bee queen led the swarm in continued aerial circles for a while, showing no signs of discomfort, and Yunhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After recalling the bee queen again and giving it a thorough check, he confirmed its condition was excellent, very good.

One could even say it was overly excited.

Subsequently, Yunhe flipped his palm and took out a dead egg of the "Thousand Extension Bee"; the Red Ring Gold Spot Bee Queen immediately conveyed a strong longing.

Yunhe did not stop it, watching as it quickly ate the dead egg.

Immediately afterward, Yunhe could feel that within the bee queen's body, some extremely special changes were occurring, and it soon fell into a deep sleep.

The successful mating was only the beginning.

"Next, we'll see how much benefit the bee queen can gain from the Gold Shadow Six-Winged Bee and what great changes it can bring."

Moreover, the dead egg of the specially capable "Thousand Extension Bee" should pose no problem.

He put away the bee queen.

He glanced at the place where he had lived for over twenty years.

Yunhe leapt into the air, forming hand seals with both hands.

Boom!!

The entire Horned Field Peak emitted a deep, muffled sound.

All traces of his life there were completely erased.

This place was now useless to him; he would not return, lest inquisitive people investigate—better to destroy it once and for all.

Having done that, Yunhe summoned his flying boat, carrying the Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse, and flew straight to Horned Dragon Island without looking back.

"Twenty years have passed, and I am already eighty‑five years old, a 'high age'."

Unbeknownst to him, he had nearly lived out an entire mortal's lifespan.

Yunhe felt a surge of emotion.

Yet twenty years had brought no change at all to the vast Silver Dragon Workshop City.

This time Yunhe did not enter Silver Dragon City with the crowd; instead, he piloted his flying boat straight to the skies above Silver Dragon Workshop City.

No one dared to say more; upon seeing him, they all changed expression and hastily made way.

The reason was simple.

They regarded the Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse as a Golden Core cultivator.

Whether in the East Realm or the Beyond Cloud Realm, Golden Core cultivators are fearsome beings.

In fact, many people wanted to get close and curry favor.

After all, if one could establish friendly relations with a Golden Core cultivator, or even catch their eye and be taken as a disciple, one's future path would undoubtedly be much smoother.

Several female cultivators openly displayed their alluring, voluptuous figures to attract attention.

But before those people could approach, the Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse's cold expression and emotionless gaze made them lose heart.

While it is important to stay on good terms with a Golden Core cultivator, rashly approaching and provoking their enmity would be a loss not worth the gain.

Yunhe took in all the varied behaviors of these cultivators.

He merely found it somewhat amusing.

If they knew that the Golden Core cultivator they were eager to befriend was actually just a refined corpse, who knows what they would think.

Especially those few female cultivators.

He went straight into the "Cloud Commerce Pavilion".

"Bee Dao Friend? Long time no see!" Upon entering, the one who greeted him turned out to be the fat steward who had previously received Yunhe, saying, "Your cultivation base has already reached late Foundation Establishment? Golden Core is within reach, Golden Core is within reach!"

He also noticed Yunhe's displayed late Foundation Establishment cultivation base at that moment.

But his smile lasted less than a second before he noticed the Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse following Yunhe inside; his expression instantly turned solemn, and he hastily performed a proper salute: "Junior Wei Zhengyang, I pay my respects, senior."

Yunhe also returned the salute with a smile, saying, "Dao Friend Wei, this is my junior uncle Qian Dajiang; my junior nephew and I happen to be passing through, so we wanted to see if you have anything we need."

"Ah, it's Senior Qian present; please forgive the Cloud Commerce Pavilion's inadequate hospitality—if there's anything I can help with, I will not refuse."

While speaking, he gestured for Yunhe and the other to follow him.

"Gentlemen, please follow me."

"Hmm."

The Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse merely gave a low reply, fully embodying the identity of a senior Golden Core cultivator.

Upon arriving at the more luxuriously decorated side hall, two lovely maids promptly served spiritual tea.

Yunhe unceremoniously picked up the tea, took a sip, and stated everything he needed.

The fat steward Wei Zhengyang's smile held a hint of obsequiousness, but after hearing Yunhe's account, it also showed a hint of hesitation.

Seeing this, Yunhe did not ask, but instead wanted to see what the fat steward had to say.

"Senior Qian, Bee Dao Friend, this 'Firewood Iron Wood' is easy to procure; give me a few hours and I will surely find it—a top‑grade Golden Core spirit item."

Wei Zhengyang gritted his teeth, as if he had made some decision.

"It was originally an item reserved for a fellow Daoist. Never mind, I, Wei, will decide—first give it to Fellow Daoist Feng!"

Seeing his hesitant, then seemingly resolute appearance of making a decision, Yunhe didn't know whether his words were true or false.

Just with him saying that, if he still wants to buy, it seems he would owe the other party a favor neither big nor small.

"What is a person-essence? This is a person-essence."

One sentence makes people feel indebted.

Yunhe didn't respond, merely asking:

"What about the corpse of the high-level cloud beast?"

Wei Zhengyang cautiously glanced at the Tian Du Gu corpse.

In his view, the 'Xinhuo Iron Wood' and top-tier Golden Core spirit materials were prepared by Yunhe for himself, while the corpse of the high-level cloud beast was what this Golden Core senior needed.

"Don't hide it from senior and fellow Daoist, this high-level cloud beast corpse—I, 'Yun Shang Ge', indeed cannot produce it in a short time."

He wore a difficult expression; seeing Yunhe and the Tian Du Gu corpse show no change in expression, he could only give a bitter laugh and continue:

"Alright, I'll speak plainly. Although my 'Yun Shang Ge' cannot produce a high-level demon beast corpse in the short term, I know how to obtain one, and I will be able to acquire it soon."

"Oh?" Yunhe raised his eyebrows.

"Do you, fellow Daoist, know the Woodcutter of Hanging Mirror Lake?"

Hmm?

Yunhe froze.

"Could it not be that senior who with one sword beheaded a Fourth Level silver flood dragon?"

(End of chapter)