Chapter 104: The Might of the Golden Core

At first, there were only faint, intermittent cries of phoenix and dragon, barely audible; but within a few breaths, the sound grew clear and loud, shaking the eight directions of cloud-sea and trembling mountains and rivers!

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave leapt up in horror from his ritual altar, stepping back two paces, his face ashen white, as if he had beheld something inconceivable.

In his line of sight, far up in the empty heavens, a ten-zhang-tall Yingluotiangong suddenly appeared, radiant with brilliant light and swirling auspicious mists, exquisitely dazzling.

“The Sima clan… the Purple-Su Eight-Direction Palace of the Tangting Sima clan?”

Behind the Lord of Huaiwu Cave, Echun Yinsheng Mo merely glanced upward once, and from his bloodline memory, recognized the origin of this flying palace—so startled he nearly lost his soul.

“Not the Ai clan… but the Tangting Sima clan?”

She could not help crying out in shock: “When did the Ai clan become entangled with the Sima clan? Where is Ai Yuan? Where is she?!”

“It has nothing to do with Ai Yuan, Liu Niang—we’ve likely been watched…”

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave forced himself to calm his spirit, gazed deeply at Chen Hang, then spoke hoarsely:

“We’ve fallen into the chessboard, stepped into the net—we’ve been set up and targeted.”

The Golden Light Talisman—

A talisman treasure capable of purifying essence and eliminating harm, repelling demons and banishing evil.

Even ordinary Primordial Spirit True Persons would treat it as a priceless treasure, hoarding it at the bottom of their chests as their final secret weapon.

How could such a grand talisman be used on a mere Qi Condensation cultivator? And why did he Pianpian come to listen to my lecture?

I had clearly been hiding and fleeing for two hundred years, safely concealed for two full centuries.

Yet why, the moment I met this boy—

Did my trail suddenly become exposed, and enemies come chasing after me?

Thinking Zhici ,

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave faintly sensed a thread of logic, yet still remained lost in fog, unable to see the path ahead clearly.

He felt a strange, absurd sorrow in his heart, let out a cold laugh, then stopped thinking further, simply took a deep breath, and stilled his spirit in waiting.

At this moment,

The “Purple-Su Eight-Direction Palace” had drawn near; the sealing spell the Lord of Huaiwu Cave had carefully laid shattered instantly under a single impact of the flying palace—with a deafening “crack!”—it exploded outward, spiritual energy scattering in all directions, stirring waves that crashed against the shore!

This grand commotion naturally echoed for miles, its power immense; yet strangely, not a single cultivation light dared rise from the vast Fuyu Lake to investigate, nor did anyone come to lend aid.

The atmosphere fell instantly silent.

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave’s lips curled into a bitter smile, and he sighed heavily within.

“A single Echun Yinsheng Mo—excellent demonic kin and cultivation material! Excellent! Excellent! This creature is perfectly suited to be mine, Sima Lingzhen!”

The dazzling radiance suddenly vanished all at once.

A handsome young Daoist stepped forward into the void, lifted his Hunyuan headcloth, and the massive “Purple-Su Eight-Direction Palace” instantly shrank into a glowing star, sinking into the headdress.

Around him, five-colored mist and clouds swirled, forming shapes of dragons, tigers, lions, elephants, and other beasts and birds—as if all spirits bowed in reverence, his aura terrifyingly mighty, fierce and overwhelming like towering mountains.

Sima Lingzhen first glanced casually at Chen Hang, his eyes flashing a hint of light, as if lost in thought.

After a few breaths, he turned his gaze toward the Lord of Huaiwu Cave and the Echun Yinsheng Mo behind him, smiled faintly, his expression full of mockery.

“A crude country bumpkin, yet you’ve bonded with a demonic beast? Truly, you don’t care what you take. If you’d chosen Hua Zhu Mo or Duoyu Mo, at least they had some allure.”

Sima Lingzhen sneered:

“But it’s an Echun Yinsheng Mo? Your whole life, you’ve never tasted good pork.”

“….”

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave’s face was as cold as water, refusing to respond.

Golden Core achieved, True Person of Immortal Dao!

From the Echun Yinsheng Mo’s earlier cry of shock, he already knew this man was of noble origin and came with ill intent.

This aura! He had condensed the Great Golden Core! A state of perfect Qi unity, a body gifted by the Dao!

Though he did not know the exact rank, even the lowest-grade Ninth-Rank Yellow-White Golden Core was far beyond what a Cave-Enlightenment Alchemist like him could oppose.

If he made even the slightest misstep in response, he would instantly perish, his soul destroyed.

After several flickers of his gaze, he leapt down from the altar without hesitation, prostrating himself fully on the ground:

“Esteemed True Person… may I ransom my life with wealth?”

“My lord?!”

The Echun Yinsheng Mo cried out in shock, but the Lord of Huaiwu Cave ignored her, continuing to kneel on the ground.

“Ransom your life?”

Sima Lingzhen was not surprised; he chuckled: “How much wealth could a mere hermit cultivator possibly have? Don’t embarrass yourself.”

“I have stored a vial of Gui Shui Zhenjing in a hidden chamber—I offer it to the True Person.”

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave spoke in a low voice:

“I am also willing to serve you, accept binding restrictions, and die without complaint!”

“Gui Shui Zhenjing? The kind that aids in cultivating Xuanming Zhen Shui? Too bad… too bad. I am currently studying Long Bian Zhen Huo—my Dao path values essence over quantity; this opportunity is not meant for this True Person.”

Sima Lingzhen paused slightly, shaking his head with evident regret.

Though he had no intention of expending his spirit to cultivate another Xuanming Zhen Shui, Gui Shui Zhenjing was an exceedingly rare cultivation material—even if he didn’t keep it for himself, gifting it as a favor would be worthwhile.

According to Sima Lingzhen’s knowledge, several disciples in his sect were currently in dire need of this material to cultivate their abilities.

If merely surrendering a vial of Gui Shui Zhenjing could earn their favor, securing their aid in future struggles for the True Heir position—

This would undoubtedly be a good bargain…

Seeing Sima Lingzhen had not spoken, yet his expression had softened slightly, the Lord of Huaiwu Cave was overjoyed and bowed deeply again.

“You’re willing to give up all this… just to save your life?” Sima Lingzhen smiled.

“It is not my life I seek to save—it is my wife’s.”

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave lowered his head: “I beg the True Person to show mercy, spare my wife’s life, and allow her to leave this place—I shall forever be grateful!”

The Echun Yinsheng Mo, upon hearing this, first froze, then burst into joy.

“A truly devoted soul. Is this truly what you want?”

“I beg the True Person’s grace!”

“Too bad…”

Sima Lingzhen clasped his hands behind his back, stared at the Lord of Huaiwu Cave for a long while, then slowly smiled and said:

“Too bad… a single vial of Gui Shui Zhenjing is still not enough.”

“True Person—”

“Shi Shixiong is just about to refine a batch of Xiao Wu Yin Dan. Your wife should enter the cauldron for a turn. As for the Gui Shui Zhenjing and your wealth—”

Sima Lingzhen narrowed his eyes:

“After I kill you, I’ll simply soul-search you—won’t it all still be mine, Sima Lingzhen’s?!”

“You!” The Lord of Huaiwu Cave leapt up in shock, then roared in fury: “Are you mocking me?!”

“You lowborn hermits and rogue Daoists—all of you fear power but know no virtue. Living in Xudu Tian, you merely pollute the world’s true spiritual essence. Back in Xisu Zhou, I used to love giving you a glimmer of hope, watching you weep and beg like dogs, then shatter your hopes—wasn’t that amusing?”

Sima Lingzhen sighed lightly, then clapped his hands:

“Too bad, after joining the sect, the rules—”

Before he finished speaking, the Lord of Huaiwu Cave roared, and a bloody, brilliant blade-light shot from his sleeve, carrying a reeking aura of blood and malevolence, straight toward Sima Lingzhen’s face!

Behind him, the Echun Yinsheng Mo, as if by unspoken agreement, twisted her face into a monstrous snarl, surged her demonic energy, and dozens of shadowy forms burst forth like swarms of locusts, filling the air, clawing and biting forward—suddenly, icy winds howled, and the chamber echoed with the shrieks of ghosts and wailing spirits.

Sima Lingzhen merely laughed, not dodging or evading.

The bloody blade-light struck his face—yet was instantly caught and held firm by a force of magic power; no matter how desperately it twisted and strained, it could not advance an inch.

Seeing this, the Lord of Huaiwu Cave’s soul nearly fled; he was about to unleash another technique when Sima Lingzhen suddenly stilled his expression, his tongue cracking like thunder as he roared into the void:

“Zhà!”

Beams snapped, walls collapsed, tiles shattered, halls sank!

At this cry, the hundreds of shadowy forms froze, then exploded into pools of blood.

Worse still, the mighty heavenly sound shattered the entire palace into ruins—dust and smoke surged skyward, thick and brown.

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave felt his mind violently shaken, as if struck by a giant hammer on the crown of his head—he nearly lost his soul, his body flung uncontrollably backward.

When he crawled painfully to his feet, bleeding from all seven orifices, amid the rubble,

Sima Lingzhen’s fingertip twitched slightly, and a thin white light shot forth, circling a few times before obliterating the Echun Yinsheng Mo, who could not resist at all, then died.

“Liu Niang!”

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets.

At that moment, Sima Lingzhen glanced at him coldly—the Lord of Huaiwu Cave felt a sharp pain in his mind, then was flung violently again, spitting blood.

In panic, he hastily summoned a spirit pill to shield his primordial spirit, barely avoiding his skull shattering.

He heard the pill spin wildly with a sharp crackling sound; when the noise finally ceased, he dared to look up in terror.

The precious artifact meant to protect his soul was now half-destroyed, its radiance dimmed.

“Golden Core True Person! Golden Core True Person! How could the gap between Cave-Enlightenment and Golden Core be so vast?! My master was a Golden Core True Person—I’ve seen him fight before, but never so terrifying!”

Before the Lord of Huaiwu Cave could recover,

Sima Lingzhen remained still, yet a dazzling, brilliant light rose above his head, instantly spanning nearly a hundred zhang, sweeping down toward the Lord of Huaiwu Cave.

As he frantically summoned a high-grade talisman in the shape of a cauldron, the light merely brushed it lightly—the Lord of Huaiwu Cave instantly felt his spiritual connection to the cauldron severed, and vomited blood.

“This is…”

His heart froze in shock—

While the Lord of Huaiwu Cave exhausted every trick in desperation to survive,

The Echun Yinsheng Mo’s fate was even more horrific…

The thin white light emitted by Sima Lingzhen was forged from his magic power—extremely pure and razor-sharp, no less formidable than a flying sword.

Each time the white light circled the Evil Anger Yin Sheng Demon, it stripped away a layer of its body; the faster it spun, the more swiftly the demon’s form eroded—within mere dozens of breaths, the demon within the spinning light was reduced to a faint, indistinct shadow, its screams fading into silence.

It had no time to deploy any of its abilities or divine arts.

Whenever it tried to fight for its life, the white light would dart past in a flash, instantly shattering the brewing aura, leaving it helpless, awaiting death.

…

“So indeed, it lacks the bloodline of a Demon King—just an ordinary Evil Anger Yin Sheng Demon. A decent material, perhaps, but far from exceptional.”

Seeing the demon’s vitality fading, Sima Lingzhen sighed with regret and finally abandoned his playful mood.

He raised a finger—the white light instantly transformed into a rope, binding the dying demon and retracting into his sleeve.

The Lord of Huaiwu Cave, witnessing this, felt his rage surge like a torrent to the crown of his head—he was about to disregard all caution and detonate Huaiwu Cave, this inferior magic treasure, to blast the entire Fuyu Lake into the sky!

But he was instantly pierced through by a cluster of Dragon Transformation True Fire that Sima Lingzhen had shaken loose.

The moment it touched his body, he emitted no cry—only a charred, withered skeleton remained.

“Fool, don’t you know the gap between cultivators is greater than that between man and dog or swine?”

A few breaths later, a faint, unstable primordial spirit leapt from the charred bones, attempting to flee into the void—but the moment it moved, Sima Lingzhen pinched it lightly between two fingers.

“I am a clansman of the Tangting Sima Clan, and now a disciple of the Yucheng Sect. And you? A mere barbarian from the Southern Reaches! How dare you challenge me, Sima Lingzhen?”

The primordial spirit faintly bore the terrified visage of the Lord of Huaiwu Cave.

Sima Lingzhen sneered and sealed the spirit inside an ancient soul-nourishing jade, then gazed coldly around.

The islet where the Lord of Huaiwu Cave had dwelled was now a ruin—broken beams and shattered wood littered the ground; maids and servants scrambled to flee, riding their aura-lighting techniques away.

Far off, the Green Pearl, transformed into a Red-Attire Demon, clung to the Neck-Devil’s throat, her entire body fused to it.

The two demons, terrified beyond reason, fled in blind panic.

“What a small demon den. Aside from you, reporting this minor feat at the Merit Hall should be easy enough.”

Sima Lingzhen slowly pulled a small bronze bell from his sleeve and rang it thrice—every demon’s head instantly exploded, killing them on the spot.

Whether disciples, maids, offspring, or other demonic kin of the Lord of Huaiwu Cave, all perished, their souls extinguished.

Thus ended it.

The vast Huaiwu Cave faction was utterly annihilated by Sima Lingzhen—all demons slain, the entire lineage wiped out…

He looked down, hands behind his back, and saw Chen Hang pushing aside a copper pillar, rising from the dust.

Seeing the thin layer of protective golden light on Chen Hang’s body, Sima Lingzhen frowned several times; unable to discern his true nature, he slowly relaxed his grip.

“What rank are you, using the same talisman as me?”

He sneered inwardly.

Then he shook his sleeve and uttered a low roar.

His voice boomed, thunderous as ten thousand horses galloping, echoing endlessly across the vast Fuyu Lake.

“Sima Lingzhen of the Yucheng Sect has purged demons here! All Lianshi, come to me at once!”

At the very moment Sima Lingzhen spoke, tens of thousands of miles away…

Chiming Sect, Lu Tai Mountain.

An old Daoist with long eyebrows paused his hand mid-move, lifted his head, and smiled faintly at the opponent across the board:

“The demons are purged. It seems the Dao Jun’s scheme has finally come to fruition, Sister. What now? Should we recall our True Disciple to the sect?

She’s long overdue to enter seclusion and form her Golden Core.”