Chapter 273: Golden Core Passage

Thousands upon thousands of people surrounded He Pingsheng's alchemy shop.

The crowd was utterly packed.

Countless voices buzzed with speculation.

Yet Ling Zhiwang, right at the doorstep, wore a look of utter disdain.

He Pingsheng asked curiously, "Ling Dao friend, do you know what's going on?"

"Hehe… these people are utterly ignorant," Ling Zhiwang chuckled. "Mi Cangyuan is no ordinary man, but his legends are a century old—few even remember him now!"

"Never mind!"

"Mi Senior is right here in your courtyard—I won't gossip about him!"

"We'll talk later—I'm off!"

Ling Zhiwang waved his hand and left He Pingsheng's courtyard.

The crowd outside began to disperse gradually.

About an hour passed before the area outside He Pingsheng's alchemy shop returned to normal.

Several customers who came to buy pills were all turned away.

No business today.

After another half-hour or so, the black smoke-like yin energy rising from the rooftop like a chimney slowly vanished, leaving not a trace.

The small gate creaked open.

Two people stepped out.

One was Mi Cangyuan; the other was a beautiful woman dressed in white.

He Pingsheng was slightly startled.

Aside from all else, in terms of beauty alone, this woman's face rivaled Qiao Huizhu's.

What a stunning woman.

"Hehehe…" Mi Cangyuan looked at the woman, grinning like a child. He pointed at He Pingsheng. "This young brother helped me brew the pills!"

"I am Qi Suyin. Thank you, young brother, for saving my life!"

The woman bowed gracefully to He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng hurriedly replied, "No, no—I can't accept such thanks!"

He quietly sent out a wisp of spiritual sense to scan her.

He saw through her.

She was merely at Foundation Establishment, but even then, she was at the twelfth layer—far below Mi Cangyuan's twelfth-layer Golden Core.

"Senior, are you still unwell?"

"What are your plans?"

"Do you still need pills brewed?"

He Pingsheng looked at Mi Cangyuan with sincere concern.

Mi Cangyuan shook his head and smiled. "No need. My wife has recovered well. With some rest, she can resume cultivation."

"Don't go saying that!"

Qi Suyin shot Mi Cangyuan a look, then turned to He Pingsheng. "Young brother, I heard from my husband that your wife once disbursed her Qi and restarted cultivation?"

He Pingsheng said, "Yes… she disbursed her Qi and restarted."

"Thank goodness she succeeded!"

"Then!" Qi Suyin asked, "Young brother, do you still have the pills for reshaping meridians after disbanding Qi?"

She meant the Opening Meridian Pill, the Nourishing Spirit Pill, and the Expanding Spirit Pill.

He Pingsheng replied, "I do… but Senior, are you planning to…?"

"Yes!" Qi Suyin interrupted him, nodding. "My cultivation technique is flawed—it nearly killed me!"

"So I want to disperse my Qi and restart!"

"I want to know: when your wife reshaped her meridians, was it because of Jipin pills, or because her fortune was overwhelming?"

He Pingsheng said, "It was the Jipin pills."

"If Senior needs them, I still have some!"

He wasn't stingy—he pulled out three pills.

The Opening Meridian Pill, the Nourishing Spirit Pill, and the Expanding Spirit Pill.

All Jipin.

These were useless to keep, and likely unsellable anyway.

Giving them to this woman would make a good favor.

After all, Mi Cangyuan was a master who could fight across realms—clinging to this leg would grant him protection in the future.

"This is wonderful!"

The woman's face lit up with a radiant smile.

Mi Cangyuan said, "Dispersing Qi and restarting isn't a problem—I just fear you don't have enough lifespan. After all, you've slept for a hundred years!"

Foundation Establishment cultivators only live two hundred years at most.

"No worry!" Qi Suyin said. "I'm only a hundred and sixty!"

"Restarting will be quick—I estimate no more than ten years to recover!"

"Then I can strive for the Golden Core realm!"

"You don't need to wait for me—go ahead and break through!"

"I don't know when I'll catch up!"

Mi Cangyuan panicked: "How can that be? We agreed!"

Qi Suyin's expression darkened. "How dare you disobey me?"

Mi Cangyuan instantly caved. "Fine, fine, fine—I'll do as you wish!"

The two bowed repeatedly to He Pingsheng, then departed.

When Mi Cangyuan reached the outside of the alchemy shop, a voice came through spiritual sense: "Young brother, that Grinding Dao Stone is crucial—never mention it to anyone, or death will come instantly!"

He Pingsheng's heart trembled.

A stone? Really?

After a long while, He Pingsheng stepped out of the alchemy shop and gazed toward the end of the road.

Mi Cangyuan's figure was gone.

He locked the shop and hurried to the Crimson Moon Trading Society.

The Elder on the first floor of Crimson Moon Trading Society was Ling Zhiwang.

At this moment, Ling Zhiwang was sipping tea in a private room on the first floor.

He Pingsheng barged in without ceremony.

"Pfft..." Ling Zhiwang spat out his tea. "Xu Dao friend... couldn't you have knocked first?"

"Out, out—everyone leave!"

Several beautiful women, their clothes disheveled, filed out of the private room.

He Pingsheng sat down.

Ling Zhiwang stood up and closed the door himself. "Brother, what's up?"

He Pingsheng said, "I want to ask if you have any news about heavenly treasures?"

"None yet," Ling Zhiwang shook his head.

He Pingsheng added, "I have another question: according to the 【Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation】, instantaneous movement is a unique ability of Nascent Soul cultivators—only those who reach Nascent Soul can command the laws of heaven and earth!"

"Then why can Mi Cangyuan do it?"

Ling Zhiwang smiled and slowly poured two cups of spirit tea. "Here… drink."

Both men sipped twice.

Ling Zhiwang spoke with lofty pride: "Correct—in normal cases, when a cultivator reaches the peak of Golden Core, after swallowing the 【Breakthrough Pill】, they break the Core and form the Nascent Soul, and their spiritual root transforms into a Dao root!"

"As the Dao root grows, they perceive the Dao laws of heaven and earth!"

"Only after comprehending these Dao laws can they command the rules of heaven and earth—such as spatial Dao, which enables instantaneous movement!"

"But… it's not absolute."

"Some can grow a Dao root even during Golden Core."

"This phenomenon is called 【Golden Core Passage】."

He Pingsheng was utterly stunned: "Golden Core Passage?"

"What's that?"

"How is it achieved?"

"Is it innate?"

He desperately wanted to know.

Because Golden Core and Nascent Soul were worlds apart.

Seeing Mi Cangyuan's ability to fight across realms had made He Pingsheng's blood boil.

He wanted it too.

It was too astonishing.

"It varies," Ling Zhiwang shook his head and drank another cup of spirit tea. "Some are indeed born with it—those with extraordinary talent can grow a Dao root after reaching Golden Core."

But some people rely on external forces!