Fire Virtue Immortal Clan

Chapter 230 Shi Mingxin Reaches Core Formation

“The souls of second-tier demonic beasts are too weak. If we encounter even the slightest problem during the process of condensing the Taiyuan Demon Control Soul Mantra, their souls will collapse because they cannot withstand it!” Shi Ningyu said with a frown.

Although she and Lu Cheng'an were of one mind, some problems still arose when they were trying to condense the Taiyuan Demon-Controlling Soul Secret Incantation Seal.

The souls of second-tier demonic beasts are extremely weak; even the slightest problem can cause their souls to collapse.

Lu Chengan and Shi Ningyu had tried five times, but all five attempts ended in failure.

"It's nothing, there are plenty of second-tier demonic beasts in the Burning Flame Mountains. With a few more tries, we'll definitely succeed!"

"If we can jointly condense the Taiyuan Demon Control Soul Secret Spell seal within the soul of a second-tier demon beast, then leaving the seal within the soul of a third-tier demon beast will be much easier!"

Lu Cheng'an took it all in stride. The previous five failures were due to minor problems, and he was sure they would succeed if they tried a few more times.

Lu Cheng'an captured a total of eight second-tier demonic beasts from the Burning Flame Mountains. He and Shi Ningyu were quite lucky, and on their eighth attempt, they successfully left a curse mark on the soul of the last second-tier demonic beast.

This success is enough; they have grasped the key to it and are confident that they can achieve success again next time.

After that, Lu Cheng'an and Shi Ningyu did nothing else. Lu Cheng'an stayed in Shi Ningyu's cave, accompanying her to wait for the result of her grandfather's breakthrough to the Golden Core realm.

Time passed slowly, and before you knew it, more than half a month had gone by.

At this moment, the spiritual energy of the Dan Ding Sect began to converge frantically towards the spiritual peak where Shi Mingxin was in seclusion.

Lu Cheng'an and Shi Ningyu had been keeping a close eye on Shi Mingxin's seclusion at Lingfeng. As soon as the spiritual energy around Lingfeng showed unusual activity, Lu Cheng'an and Shi Ningyu immediately noticed it.

They then immediately left Shi Ningyu's cave and continued to observe the situation at Lingfeng, where Shi Mingxin was in seclusion.

This situation lasted for nearly a day, and a suppressive aura belonging to a Golden Core cultivator emanated from the spiritual peak where Shi Mingxin was in seclusion.

Thick clouds of tribulation then began to gather above the Spirit Peak.

"Ningyu, you can rest assured now. It's confirmed that Grandfather has broken through to the Golden Core realm!" Lu Cheng'an said with a smile.

Shi Mingxin has now successfully condensed his Golden Core. He only needs to pass the Golden Core Tribulation to become a Golden Core cultivator.

The Golden Core Tribulation can be resisted by using magical artifacts or other treasures.

Shi Ningyu must have already prepared the equipment for her grandfather to undergo the tribulation of lightning. Shi Mingxin's tribulation of the Golden Core stage is basically worry-free.

"Grandfather's cultivation has indeed broken through to the Golden Core realm, I can finally rest assured!"

"Brother An, thank you so much for staying with me all this time!" Shi Ningyu said with a smile.

As Lu Chengan and Shi Ningyu were talking, Shi Mingxin flew out of the cave and met the tribulation lightning that was striking him.

Shi Mingxin's strength wasn't particularly formidable. After he managed to withstand half of the tribulation lightning with his own power, he used the tribulation-crossing treasure that Shi Ningyu had prepared for him.

With the help of the tribulation-crossing treasure, Shi Mingxin successfully passed the Golden Core tribulation.

However, this also means that his foundation is not solid enough, making it extremely difficult for him to break through to become a Nascent Soul cultivator in the future!
After successfully surviving the tribulation, Shi Mingxin immediately returned to his cave to recuperate. After recovering for a while, he sent a message to Shi Ningyu, asking her to bring Lu Cheng'an to see him.

“Grandfather, this is Lu Cheng’an from the Lu family. You’ve met him before!” Shi Ningyu couldn’t help but become nervous after leading Lu Cheng’an into her grandfather’s cave.

Her relationship with Lu Cheng'an had recently taken a significant step forward, but she hadn't told her grandfather about it. However, she still felt inexplicably nervous when facing him.

"Junior Lu Cheng'an greets Senior and congratulates you on condensing your Golden Core. You have the potential for immortality in the future!"

Lu Chengan bowed respectfully to Shi Mingxin, and then immediately took out the prepared congratulatory gift.

"This jade slip records the cultivation method of the Earth Origin Secret Manual, and this is a third-grade low-rank earth-attribute magic weapon, the Earth-Shaking Hammer, which is a congratulatory gift prepared by the junior!"

"Your gift is too valuable; I'm afraid I can't accept it!" Shi Mingxin glared at Lu Chengan and said in a rather unfriendly tone.

Lu Cheng'an's heart tightened, and his gaze involuntarily turned to Shi Ningyu. He instantly understood why Shi Mingxin was angry.

“Senior, you can accept this. I wish to marry your granddaughter as my Daoist partner. Please grant my request!” Lu Cheng’an said quickly.

He and Shi Ningyu had verbally agreed to become cultivation partners in the Poison Swamp Immortal City, but because of the Desolate Ancient Sect, they agreed to postpone the cultivation celebration.

Furthermore, since they planned to wait until they broke through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm before engaging in dual cultivation, they hadn't told anyone else after returning from the Poison Swamp Immortal City.

Until recently, Lu Cheng'an and Shi Ningyu's cultivation had reached the edge of breaking through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. After practicing dual cultivation, the two simultaneously advanced to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

However, it was because of this incident that Shi Mingxin learned about the extraordinary relationship between her granddaughter and Lu Chengan.

Shi Mingxin was somewhat angry at Lu Chengan's attitude, but at that time he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, a whole realm lower than Lu Chengan, so he naturally dared not show it.

Now that his cultivation has broken through to the Golden Core realm, even though his strength is still inferior to Lu Cheng'an's, he has finally reached the same level.

He then immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.

Shi Mingxin was quite satisfied with Lu Chengan's current attitude, and he wasn't trying to stop Lu Chengan from being with his granddaughter.

"I don't care what you and Ningyu are thinking, but if you ever dare to betray Ningyu in the future, I will risk my life to avenge her!"

Shi Mingxin looked at Lu Chengan with a serious expression and said, "Take these things back, I don't need them!"

These things were specially prepared by Lu Cheng'an for Shi Mingxin, and they are the most suitable for Shi Mingxin. How could Shi Mingxin not need them?

The main reason Shi Mingxin refused the gifts from Lu Chengan was that the two gifts were too valuable, especially the Nascent Soul cultivation technique, the Earth Origin Secret Manual.

Even within Nascent Soul sects, this level of cultivation technique is extremely valuable.

He couldn't accept these two gifts, lest Lu Cheng'an look down on his granddaughter!

Lu Cheng'an looked at Shi Ningyu for help, not expecting Shi Mingxin to have this attitude.

"Grandfather, these things were prepared for you by An-ge, please accept them!"

Shi Ningyu took the cultivation technique jade slip and the Earth-Shaking Hammer directly from Lu Cheng'an's hand, and said with a smile, "You don't need to think so much. Brother An is very good to me, and I'm not so easy to bully!"

Shi Ningyu directly shoved the cultivation manual jade slip and the Earth-Shaking Hammer into her grandfather's hands, then said, "Your cultivation has just broken through to the Golden Core realm. Now you should seize the time to consolidate your cultivation. We won't disturb you any longer!"

"Senior, please continue your cultivation. This junior will take his leave!" After Lu Cheng'an finished speaking, he followed Shi Ningyu and left Shi Mingxin's cave.

"Don't be angry, Brother An. My grandfather was just worried that I would be bullied!" Shi Ningyu said apologetically.

“I understand my grandfather’s feelings and he won’t be angry.”

Lu Cheng'an looked at Shi Ningyu with gentle eyes and asked, "Grandfather's cultivation has now successfully broken through to the Golden Core realm. Would you like to come with me to the Lu family to upgrade the Divine Jade Exquisite Pagoda to the middle grade of the third rank and refine the Fire Cloud Gourd into a magic weapon?"

This was also one of the reasons why Lu Cheng'an came to Dan Ding Sect.

Raising the Divine Jade Exquisite Pagoda to the middle grade of the third tier is not difficult; the difficulty lies in fusing the two Fire Cloud Gourds and refining them into a high-grade third-tier magic weapon.

However, there's no need to rush this matter. As long as he finishes crafting this magical artifact before Shi Ningyu leaves, that's fine.

Shi Ningyu agreed without hesitation.

She had been preoccupied with her grandfather's breakthrough to the Golden Core realm. According to her original plan, once her cultivation was consolidated, she intended to have Lu Cheng'an help her refine the Divine Jade Exquisite Pagoda.

Now that Lu Cheng'an has brought it up himself, she naturally has no reason to refuse.

After giving instructions to the cultivators of Jade Capital Peak, Shi Ningyu left the Pill Cauldron Sect with Lu Cheng'an and soon arrived at the Lu family.

After bringing Shi Ningyu into his cave, Lu Cheng'an went directly into the weapon-refining room and began refining the Divine Jade Exquisite Pagoda, a magical artifact.

This was not a difficult task. After spending more than a month, Lu Cheng'an successfully upgraded the Divine Jade Exquisite Pagoda to the middle grade of the third rank.

Afterwards, Lu Cheng'an refined the Fire Cloud Gourd in Shi Ningyu's hands into a mid-grade third-tier magic weapon.

His current weapon-refining skills are not yet sufficient, and he is not confident that he can fuse the two Fire Cloud Gourds together and refine them into a third-grade high-quality magic weapon, so he has not attempted to refine them.

During this time, Shi Ningyu stayed in Lu Cheng'an's cave. Because he was busy refining the Divine Jade Exquisite Pagoda and crafting the Fire Cloud Gourd, Lu Cheng'an naturally had no energy to think about anything else.

But after doing these two things, his mind became active, and he couldn't help but pull Shi Ningyu aside for another round of dual cultivation.

Shi Ningyu did not refuse; she actually enjoyed the whole thing.

Of course, Lu Cheng'an and his companion did not merely enjoy the pleasure of dual cultivation; they also took the opportunity to seriously study the Taiyuan Demon-Controlling Soul-Controlling Secret Incantation.

They had already been able to work together to condense the Taiyuan Demon-Controlling Soul Seal in the soul of a second-tier demon beast. This time, their dual cultivation deepened their understanding of the seal, giving them even greater confidence that they could leave the Taiyuan Demon-Controlling Soul Seal in the soul of the Azure Horned Antelope King.

After Lu Cheng'an and Liu Miaozhen finished their dual cultivation, they received a message from Liu Miaozhen.

After refining the power of the Jade Silkworm Gu, Liu Miaozhen's natal spirit Gu, the Golden Stone Gu, successfully advanced to a top-grade third-tier spirit Gu.

As the owner of the Golden Silkworm Gu, Liu Miaozhen also received its benefits, and her cultivation successfully broke through to the Golden Core Perfection realm.

Liu Miaozhen also relayed Lu Chengping's situation in a message, saying that the Linggu Sect had already handed over the Core Formation Spiritual Object to Lu Chengping.

Lu Chengping is currently in seclusion, and it is uncertain when he will be able to break through to the Golden Core realm.

This time, Liu Miaozhen sent a message to Lu Cheng'an to ask if he had time now. If he did, they would head to the Wanling Sect ruins immediately.

"The Linggu Sect Master, Liu Miaozhen, sent me a message. She has now broken through to the Golden Core Perfection Realm and invited me to enter the Wanling Sect Ruins now. Let's head to the Linggu Sect now!" Lu Cheng'an said.

He and Shi Ningyu didn't have anything important to do right now, so they could take advantage of this time to go to the Wanling Sect.

Otherwise, if they wait any longer and the third-tier demonic beasts like the Azure Flame Lion of the Burning Flame Mountains launch a beast tide, they might be held back by this matter.

Lu Cheng'an had already discussed this matter with Shi Ningyu, and Shi Ningyu had already agreed.

When Lu Cheng'an suggested heading to the Linggu Sect, Shi Ningyu did not refuse.

After giving instructions to the cultivators in his clan, Lu Cheng'an and Shi Ningyu sped off towards the Linggu Sect.

Soon after, Lu Cheng'an and his companion appeared at the Welcoming Peak of the Spirit Gu Sect.

This time, Liu Miaozhen once again personally greeted Lu Cheng'an at Yingke Peak, but she did not bring any other Golden Core cultivators from the Linggu Sect.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, who is this fellow Daoist?" Liu Miaozhen looked surprised when she saw Shi Ningyu.

She invited Lu Cheng'an over at this time to discuss joining the Wanling Sect.

This matter needs to be kept absolutely secret. Why did Lu Cheng'an bring along a new Golden Core cultivator?

Liu Miaozhen was somewhat angry, but she didn't show it because of Lu Cheng'an's strength.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, let me introduce you. This is my Daoist partner, Shi Ningyu. She will be accompanying me into the ruins of the Myriad Spirits Sect!" Lu Cheng'an introduced with a smile.

The reason he and Shi Ningyu haven't held a dual cultivation celebration yet is mainly because they're afraid of arousing the suspicion of the Desolate Ancient Sect.

However, there was nothing to hide from the Spirit Gu Sect.

After all, they were going to enter the ruins of the Myriad Spirits Sect together to plunder the Blood Essence Rice, a spiritual plant that would even tempt the Ancient Desolate Sect. They would share a secret with the Spirit Gu Sect, so there was no need to worry about the Spirit Gu Sect leaking this information.

"Fellow Daoist Shi is actually Fellow Daoist Lu's Daoist partner? How come we haven't heard a single thing about it?" Liu Miaozhen asked with surprise.

"That's because we haven't held a dual cultivation ceremony yet!" Lu Cheng'an explained.

"Then when the two fellow Daoists hold their ceremony, please be sure to inform our Linggu Sect in time, so that we can share in the joy!" Liu Miaozhen said with a smile.

She didn't dwell on the matter anymore, firstly because they had already told Lu Cheng'an about the Wanling Sect ruins, and it was impossible to choose someone else.

Moreover, Lu Cheng'an's strength is ridiculously high. Even though Liu Miaozhen's cultivation has now broken through to the Golden Core Perfection realm, she is still not confident that she can defeat Lu Cheng'an.

Liu Miaozhen also sensed that Shi Ningyu's strength was extremely formidable, probably comparable to Lu Cheng'an's.

She quickly adjusted her mindset; she had initially been worried that something unexpected might happen.

Now that Shi Ningyu has joined them, perhaps their chances of obtaining the Blood Essence Rice will be more secure.

After Liu Miaozhen adjusted her mindset, she began to discuss with Lu Cheng'an the time to go to the Wanling Sect ruins.

(End of this chapter)