Chapter 285: Ten Years (Request Subscription)

"How long can this Fang student hold out?"

Beyond the dark door, Nan Gong Xue leaned against the black wall, her eyes instantly turning into vertical pupils as she eagerly extended her tongue to lick her lips.

Her tongue was a fresh pink, but split at the tip, both ends highly flexible.

Ten minutes later, the black door opened.

Fang Xing stepped out, a trace of lingering fear on his face: "That darkness... the Moon Goddess?!"

"Mm. Since the academy took in the Moon Goddess's remains, the obelisk's 'methods' have changed..."

Nan Gong Xue nodded seriously: "Actually, I preferred the old blood sea—it felt like a sauna. After each session, my bones felt several jin lighter..."

"Bones feeling several jin lighter? That'd mean death..."

Fang Xing silently scoffed inside, realizing the obelisk was the true source.

As for which dark deity's corruption was used to temper the Golden Body—it didn't matter at all!

"What are you planning to do next, Fang student?"

Nan Gong Xue had already reverted to her plain, timid appearance, asking hesitantly.

"I'll go up a few more levels... By the way, does the academy impose limits on cultivation time?"

Fang Xing asked.

"No... but for external Golden Body martial artists, the first session should not exceed a day. And avoid the upper levels..."

Nan Gong Xue warned: "For our academy's own Golden Body martial artists, the conditions are more relaxed... Which level do you want to go to?"

On her glasses-covered face, her anticipation was unmistakable.

"The... fifth level."

Fang Xing went to the elevator with Nan Gong Xue, ascending upward.

The elevator inside the obelisk seemed to teleport space—there was no sensation of weightlessness at all.

After swiping the card again, he entered a cultivation chamber nearly identical to the previous one.

Fang Xing sat cross-legged, feeling the darkness surge toward him.

This time, he shut down his Golden Core spiritual domain, letting boundless darkness envelop his martial Golden Body.

Crack!

Crack!

A grating, teeth-chilling chewing sound echoed.

The darkness, potent enough to devour low-tier Golden Body martial artists to death, left not a single mark on his body.

In fact, sparks began to flicker across his skin.

"Amazing!"

Fang Xing opened his eyes: "It feels like a sauna massage... Compared to the first level, it's like scratching an itch."

Through this all-encompassing "erosion," he could easily detect flaws and deficiencies in his martial Golden Body, gradually polishing it toward "perfection."

As cultivation time extended, Fang Xing even sensed an inexplicable pressure entering his body.

Thin, elusive threads of it, faintly visible, were absorbed by the "Gate of All Worlds" on his attribute panel.

"Is this... the obelisk's power?"

"I'm cultivating inside the obelisk... So naturally, I'm slowly absorbing a bit of its primordial energy..."

"This sensation is similar to absorbing those several Gate Sect ritual artifacts—though the quantity is small, it's persistent."

Fang Xing's eyes gleamed slightly.

If he could remain inside the obelisk long-term, absorbing this primordial energy, combined with the several Gate Sect holy relics and ritual artifacts he'd already absorbed...

Perhaps...

The third world of the Gate of All Worlds was not far off!

"Of course, if I fully opened up and just swallowed the obelisk outright, I could open it immediately... but clearly, I'd be turned into a pig's head by Sword Autumn, the Martial God..."

Sword Autumn, the Martial God, specialized in the "Star-Extinguishing Sword"—a technique that once obliterated an entire star!

Before reaching the Martial God realm or acquiring his own Martial God exoskeleton, Fang Xing had no intention of provoking him.

This way is perfect—like ants moving grain, drop by drop.

He could wait patiently until his Gate of All Worlds was fully charged.

"How long has he been inside?!"

Outside the cultivation chamber.

After waiting for half a day, Nan Gong Xue's face showed surprise, then broke into a radiant smile: "Indeed... I didn't misjudge him..."

The Immortal Realm.

Time flew. Since the Mu family sealed their mountain, ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Mu Wanzhang, the acting patriarch of the Mu family and a pseudo-Golden Core cultivator, stood silently in the ancestral hall, gazing at the lantern bearing the name "Mu Mu Wulong."

Seeing the flame, no longer a flickering candle but merely a thin thread, his heart was filled with complex emotions: "The Supreme Elder... truly exhausted himself for our Mu family, still clinging to his last breath."

Indeed, since the soul lamps of Mu Wulü, Mu Wanda, and others had all gone dark, the Mu family now had only Mu Mu Wulong left as a Golden Core cultivator.

His seniority automatically rose—he became the family's sole Supreme Elder.

Mu Wanzhang had deliberately granted him this title; though useless, it at least boosted morale slightly.

He knew the family's Supreme Elder was merely clinging to life.

As long as he lived, the Mu family's mountain-sealing still held a glimmer of hope.

If they could hold out until a new Golden Core cultivator emerged, perhaps there would still be a chance for revival?

Mu Wanzhang visited Mu Mu Wulong's soul lamp nearly every day.

He had even prepared himself mentally: if the Supreme Elder's soul lamp ever went out, he would be the first to rush into the elder's cave, conceal everything, and seal the news.

At that moment, the spiritual energy of Mount Mount Baihua stirred.

Celestial phenomena appeared—spiritual energy surged like clouds, forming a vast, multicolored vortex. The vortex expanded, shimmering brilliantly, swelling to a full li in diameter within moments.

"Hm? Is this the family's quasi-fourth-rank spiritual cave?"

Mu Wanzhang flew into the air, saw where the vortex was centered, and a hint of joy appeared on his face: "Is Qing Shi preparing to break through to Golden Core?"

As a Golden Core lineage, once even an Nascent Soul lineage, the Mu family had a relatively high probability of producing spiritual root descendants.

They also possessed abundant reserves and a tiered roster of cultivation talent.

Though this generation had lost many Golden Core and pseudo-Golden Core cultivators, the next tier still held Golden Core seeds!

This Mu Qing Shi belonged to the fifth branch of the Mu family—a gifted cultivator with a Grade-B Fire Spiritual Root!

Before the Mu family sealed their mountain, he was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

After the sealing, with many high-level cultivators gone but ample reserves and vacant high-rank caves remaining,

Mu Wanzhang immediately decided to grant the high-rank spiritual vein caves to the most outstanding Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Mu Qing Shi indeed lived up to expectations: in ten years, he advanced from late Foundation Establishment to Foundation Establishment peak, then pressed forward boldly, attempting Golden Core breakthrough!

"Qing Shi surely understands... since the family sealed the mountain, he can't leave to seek Golden Core opportunities... further cultivation alone won't help..."

"Since he's the first Foundation Establishment peak seed, the family's accumulated Golden Core resources will naturally be prioritized for him..."

Otherwise, when later young Foundation Establishment cultivators reached peak, the stockpile of Golden Core materials would be insufficient.

The later they waited, the more desperate it would become—this is the unavoidable burden of sealing the mountain!

No immortal sect would choose this path unless utterly desperate.

"Patriarch!"

Two streaks of light flew toward him—both were ancient late Foundation Establishment cultivators who had long abandoned any hope of Golden Core breakthrough.

"For Qing Shi's Golden Core breakthrough, the clan has produced a 'Celestial Fire Cloud Brocade'—it enhances the physique of Fire Spiritual Root cultivators..."

"Additionally, the last remaining 'Golden Core Pill' from our clan's reserves has been granted—he should succeed."

One of the late Foundation Establishment executives comforted him.

"Golden Core alone isn't enough... even downstream True Golden Core won't suffice."

Mu Wanzhang shook his head, bitter: "This time, the clan has spent nearly half its Golden Core opportunities. I hope Qing Shi can form an upstream True Golden Core..."

An upstream True Golden Core cultivator can easily break through the Golden Core mid-stage bottleneck and even has a chance to reach late Golden Core.

In the future, he might even have a faint hope of forming a Nascent Soul.

This is the Mu family's true hope!

As for Semi-Golden Core? Or even Immortal Golden Core?

Mu Wanzhang dared not even dream of such things.

The last Mu family Semi-Golden Core cultivator, Mu Mu Qinglan, had prepared not only a Golden Core Pill but also several top-tier Golden Core materials, and with his extraordinary talent, barely managed to form a Semi-Golden Core.

Even then, the clan poured in massive resources, taking decades to recover.

Just when Mu Mu Qinglan finally reached late Golden Core, before he could even dominate the Great Jing immortal realm... he died in the Linlang Blessed Land.

When news of his death arrived, several clan elders near death either choked on their breath or went berserk and perished together—so devastating was the blow to the Mu family.

Mu Mu Qinglan's death seemed to mark the beginning of the Mu family's decline.

Afterward came a darker period, with Golden Core and pseudo-Golden Core cultivators falling one after another.

Now, only one Golden Core cultivator on the verge of death and one ancient, decrepit pseudo-Golden Core remained to hold up the family.

Whenever Mu Wanzhang thought of this, his heart ached like a knife. Now, gazing at the Golden Core phenomenon, he unconsciously clenched his fists.

"The range exceeds three li..."

"Qing Shi has a Grade-B spiritual root, plus the Golden Core Pill and Golden Core materials—pseudogolden core is no problem... downstream True Golden Core shouldn't hold him back either..."

An elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator murmured softly.

Downstream True Gold Core, phenomenon spanned three li.

Upstream True Gold Core, phenomenon spanned six li.

Immortal Golden Core, phenomenon spanned ten li, accompanied by the mysterious sounds of the Dao.

Amidst the hopeful gazes of the Mu family, the spiritual energy vortex continued to expand, surpassing five li, six li...

"Upstream True Gold Core!"

Mu Wanzhang rejoiced wildly: "Upstream True Gold Core—our Mu family has hope!"

Even, before the incredulous eyes of all, the formation phenomenon kept expanding—slowly, yet gradually reaching over eight li...

In the heavens and earth, a faint celestial melody seemed to emerge.

"When Mu Mu Qinglan formed his Core, the celestial phenomenon spanned nine li... Nine is the ultimate number, marking the Half-Step Golden Core."

"The Immortal Golden Core requires breaking beyond the limit—extremely difficult... but could the Half-Step Golden Core still hold hope?"

Mu Wanzhang's eyes burned with fervor.

If it were a Half-Step Golden Core, perhaps one day he might yet have a chance to strike for the Nascent Soul!

If he succeeded, Mu Wanzhang would surely be the patriarch who revived the Mu clan—his deeds would warrant a new chapter in the ancestral genealogy!

Suddenly!

Just as the spiritual energy vortex was about to reach nine li, the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy became unstable and began collapsing en masse.

A cry filled with agony rang out.

Then, countless streams of spiritual energy shattered like an avalanche, dispersing at astonishing speed.

From eight li, it shrank to six li, then three li...

In the end, only a one-li spiritual energy vortex remained, slowly sinking into the quasi-fourth-rank cave dwelling.

"This..."

"Core formation failed... barely coalescing a False Core? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

An elderly Foundation Establishment overseer, seeing this sight, spat out a mouthful of essence blood, fell from midair, and lost all sign of life...

(End of Chapter)