Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 345 Golden Core Realm!
A deafening roar suddenly echoed through the dense forest.

The phantom of the water dragon instantly tore through the stagnant air, accompanied by a series of explosive sounds.

Thousands of water droplets, like a dazzling shower of stars, burst forth, creating a magnificent waterscape in mid-air.

In the distance, the demonic serpent, its entire body gleaming with an eerie blue light, seemed to sense the danger.

It suddenly raised its head, its tongue flicking in and out.

A faint, oily green halo flashed in his vertical pupils, and his cold gaze was fixed on the illusory water dragon.

In an instant, the enormous head of the azure serpent suddenly rose, its blood-red maw opening wide in an exaggerated arc, and a stench swept out like a hurricane.

Immediately afterwards, a stream of green venom, thicker and darker in color than before, gushed out.

A pungent, putrid stench instantly filled the air.
Wherever it passed, even space itself seemed to be corroded, leaving behind fine cracks.

"Boom!"

A loud bang, as if an earth dragon had turned over.

The phantom water dragon collided violently with the deadly venom, the two powerful forces clashing fiercely and bursting forth with an eerie blue-green light.

Countless streams of highly corrosive venom shot out like arrows in all directions, leaving devastation in their wake.

On the earth, the hard rocks have been eroded into jagged, deep pits.

The ancient tree, which takes three people to encircle, was hit by the aftershock, and its trunk was instantly eroded, creating honeycomb-like holes.

The bark peels off, and the wood rapidly carbonizes.

The decaying leaves on the ground turned into a viscous black slurry, bubbling and spewing poisonous bubbles.

And those unfortunate, nameless little monsters that didn't have time to escape, even if they only got a drop of venom on them, would immediately rot and expose their bones.

Finally, it rapidly dissolved amidst agonizing screams, leaving behind only a pool of foul-smelling pus.

All of this happened so suddenly that even the originally moist and fresh air was completely shrouded in highly toxic fumes.

In the thick mist, every wisp of water vapor seemed to carry a deadly toxin.

Upon seeing this, Lu Xuan raised his sword-like eyebrows slightly, and the spiritual energy around him surged like a tide.

He showed no sign of stopping.

Immediately, Lu Xuan activated the "Azure Waves and Vast Ocean Technique" to its peak.

The profound water-based magic techniques exploded around him like crashing waves.

The Clear Water Sword in his hand hummed and trembled, and suddenly burst forth with a dazzling blue light.

Liquid-like spiritual energy flowed from the tip of the sword, which then condensed into more than ten deep blue sword rainbows.

These sword rainbows tore through the air at an extremely fast speed; the naked eye could only catch afterimages, and the sound of them cutting through the air even lagged behind the attack itself.

"Puff puff--"

In the distance, muffled piercing sounds exploded like raindrops, echoing throughout the entire forest.

Suddenly, more than a dozen bowl-sized blood holes burst open on the enormous body of the blue serpent.

Crimson blood gushed out instantly, forming a winding river of blood on the ground.

The sudden, intense pain caused the blue serpent to let out a sharp wail, like the cry of an infant.

Each sound wave caused the leaves of the surrounding trees to fall.

What's even more chilling is that ice crystals are condensed at the edges of every wound on the snake's body, spreading wildly at a visible speed as if they were alive.

Wherever the ice crystals touched, scales shattered and flesh froze.

Just as the green snake let out a heart-wrenching scream, five azure sword rainbows once again pierced the sky, striking the snake's body with unparalleled precision.

Immediately afterwards, the five azure sword rainbows, still possessing considerable momentum, continued forward, crashing violently into the giant boulder behind them.

In an instant, rubble flew everywhere, and the three giant rocks were neatly sheared flat, the cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors, and a chilling aura lingered.

The scales on the serpent's body gradually began to crack and break apart.

With a muffled thud as flesh tore apart, a huge chunk of meat fell from the snake's body and crashed heavily into the forest.

As the last streak of azure blue light flashed by, it was the Clear Water Sword in Lu Xuan's hand.

As the Clear Water Sword hovered in the distant sky, the enormous head of the Azure Serpent crashed to the ground.

Those vertical pupils still held a human-like fear and resentment.

As if unable to believe that he would be so easily defeated by the sharp sword light.

Lu Xuan remained calm, his sword finger lightly hooking.

As if summoned, the Clear Water Sword sped back from a thousand meters away.

The sword's blade shimmered with blue light, like a bird returning to its nest, before transforming into a stream of light and disappearing into its sheath.

Only faint fluctuations of spiritual energy remained in the air.

Fang Yunshui's legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees.

The scene before him completely overturned his understanding of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Where those sword rainbows passed, the air was frozen, leaving trails of tiny ice crystals.

The spiritual energy within a radius of several hundred meters surged wildly under the oppressive force of Lu Xuan's sword aura.

He finally understood just how powerful this immortal master from the Canglan Tianfu Sect was.

At the same time, he was secretly relieved that he had successfully sent his son to the Canglan Tianfu Sect.

On the outskirts of the Cangwu Mountains, Lu Xuan casually tossed Fang Yunshui aside.

This was his own request; he didn't want to return to Huaqing City with Lu Xuan.

This was a very wise choice, and it was also the plan that Fang Yunshui had envisioned from the beginning.

Everything went exactly as he predicted!
No, it was the time it took for the plan to progress that far exceeded his expectations.

Who could have imagined that the immortal master from the Canglan Tianfu Sect this time would be so powerful?

Even a Foundation Establishment stage demon beast cannot last more than half an incense stick's time.

After leaving Fang Yunshui behind, Lu Xuan found another secluded place.

Deep in the mountains and forests, there is an abandoned giant cave.

Looking at the empty system points on the system panel, Lu Xuan's eyes gradually narrowed, flashing with a dangerous light.

"It seems I'll need to find a Golden Core stage demon beast in the future."

Having made up his mind, Lu Xuan looked at the Xuan-grade spiritual fruit in his hand, the Purple Diamond Fruit!

"A Profound-grade Spirit Fruit!"

"Hopefully it will work..."

In this world of cultivation brimming with spiritual energy, the spiritual objects of heaven and earth are classified by cultivators into five grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow, and Mortal, based on their power and spirituality.

The higher the grade of a celestial treasure, the more mysterious power it contains that can transform the world.

Furthermore, the Xuan-grade spiritual objects of heaven and earth serve as a crucial dividing line between the mortal and the extraordinary.

The appearance of any rare and precious plant of the highest grade will inevitably trigger a bloodbath in the cultivation world.

Because of the myriad mysterious powers contained within Xuan-grade spiritual objects and spiritual objects of heaven and earth above Xuan-grade.

Profound-grade spiritual items can help some cultivators rebuild their foundation, and can also give those with mediocre talent a chance to undergo marrow cleansing and bone tempering.

Earth-grade spiritual objects possess the powerful effect of prolonging lifespan.

When necessary, it can help those old monsters who are trapped at the end of their lives to fight for a glimmer of hope.

If a person is destined to consume it, they may glimpse the profound truths of heaven and earth through its spiritual essence.

It can be said that he had an epiphany in one day, and his cultivation level achieved a leapfrog breakthrough.

As for the highest grade of celestial and spiritual objects.

It is the legendary celestial-level spiritual object, which has long transcended the category of spiritual objects of heaven and earth.

Some cultivators even revered it as an "untouchable treasure of creation."

It is said that those who consume celestial-grade spiritual items can defy fate and reshape their immortal bones.

Even ordinary people without any spiritual roots can be transformed through this, gaining astonishing cultivation potential.

For high-level cultivators, it contains an opportunity to break through limitations and make rapid progress.

However, celestial-grade spiritual objects are rarely seen, perhaps only once every thousand years. Their appearance often triggers a life-or-death struggle between the righteous and evil factions, as well as between sects and aristocratic families.

Countless cultivators went mad for it, even going so far as to launch a world-destroying war of cultivation.

After consuming the Purple Water Chestnut Fruit, Lu Xuan felt an incomparably pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth constantly nourishing every corner of his body.

However, the perfect Foundation Establishment realm is still like a bottomless pit.

He was simply absorbing spiritual energy without any sign of breaking through the bottleneck.

Lu Xuan didn't care about this, but instead looked at the data on the system panel.

Host: Lu Xuan, the Immortal of the Mortal World (Second Incarnation)

Realm: Foundation Establishment (Perfect)

Cultivation Technique: Azure Ocean Waves Technique 3/9 (Can be deduced)

Score: 3500
Please confirm whether you wish to consume 3200 points to deduce the Azure Ocean Technique!

! ! ! !
Upon seeing what he needed most appear, Lu Xuan's spiritual energy erupted instantly, creating a spiritual energy storm around him.

System points!

3500 system points!
"Deduction!"

As the sound faded, a terrifying aura swept through the entire cave.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to converge wildly around Lu Xuan.

The blue spiritual energy surrounding him grew increasingly dense, eventually condensing into a tangible mist that shimmered in the dark cave.

As the spiritual energy surged through the meridians of the whole body.

The immense spiritual power of a fully-fledged Foundation Establishment cultivator is frantically converging towards a mysterious place deep within Lu Xuan's dantian.

In an instant, countless streams of spiritual energy, like rivers flowing into the sea, collided violently at Lu Xuan's dantian.

A dazzling blue light burst forth, like the blazing sun overhead, illuminating the entire cave in every detail.

The spiritual energy within Lu Xuan's body, which had been flowing like liquid, was rapidly compressed and solidified during the violent collision.

It eventually solidified into a dazzling blue bead.

The surface of this bead is swirling with an extremely terrifying blue spiritual energy.

Each wisp of blue spiritual energy contains unimaginable power.

It is the Golden Core that all Foundation Establishment cultivators in the cultivation world dream of most.

This also means that Lu Xuan has officially entered the Golden Core realm.

Golden Core cultivators can not only fly freely through the air, but also roam freely across the world.

The power of the golden core within his body was as heavy as a million pounds.

With a mere gesture, it can split mountains and shatter rocks, move mountains and fill seas; its power is terrifying beyond measure.

The most amazing thing is...

Lu Xuan successfully broke through the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment stage in just a few hours.

It accomplished a transformation that countless cultivators struggle to overcome even in their entire lives.

"Golden Core Realm!"

When Lu Xuan slowly uttered these three words, all the birds and beasts in the entire mountain forest held their breath.

It was as if everyone could feel the terrifying pressure emanating from this newly promoted Golden Core cultivator.

Host: Lu Xuan, the Immortal of the Mortal World (Second Incarnation)

Realm: Golden Core

Technique: Azure Ocean Waves Technique 4/9
Score: 300
"A Xuan-grade spiritual item?"

"There should be quite a few of these things within the sect!"

"However, this is a bit tricky!"

After Lu Xuan broke through to the Golden Core stage, he immediately set his sights on his own sect.

However, Xuan-grade spiritual treasures are extremely precious and not so easy to obtain.

Generally, only those who have made significant contributions to the sect are qualified to receive Xuan-grade spiritual treasures.

Alternatively, becoming a Golden Core Elder in a sect would grant one access to Xuan-grade spiritual treasures and rare high-grade spirit stones annually.

Thinking of this, Lu Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

With a gentle flick of his sleeve as his robes fluttered, a solidified blue spiritual energy suddenly surged around him.

A sharp blue streak of spiritual energy shot out and crashed into the boulder at the cave entrance.

A deafening roar was heard.

The massive boulder, weighing several thousand kilograms, was instantly reduced to dust by the impact of this stream of spiritual energy.

The flying stone chips drifted in the air, like a fine rain of stones.

According to the sect's rules, Golden Core cultivators can enjoy a good status and resources.

As it happened, the news that he had obtained the Xuan-grade Purple Diamond Fruit was already known to everyone in Huaqing City.

This legendary Xuan-grade spiritual object, which is said to help cultivators cleanse their spiritual roots, could be the perfect explanation for his rapid advancement to the Golden Core realm.

In this way, the trouble of having the truth uncovered by others can be avoided.

However, Lu Xuan did not intend to bring up the matter as soon as he returned to the sect.

He will have to wait at least a month before he can reveal that he has broken through to the Golden Core Realm.

After all, it only takes a few hours to break through to the Golden Core realm.

Lu Xuan was afraid that if he revealed it, he would be immediately captured by some expert and dissected for research.

At the Spirit Testing Square in Huaqing City, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the ground dark red, but it still could not dispel the tense atmosphere that permeated the air.

After Lu Xuan left with Fang Yunshui.

The dense crowd in the Spirit Testing Square did not disperse; instead, they all fixed their gazes on a certain corner.

Their focus was on the little boy left behind by Fang Yunshui.

If it weren't for Lu Xuan's casual remark before leaving, "This boy can join the Canglan Tianfu Sect," thus declaring the other's ownership, it would have been different.

A thrilling battle for control has already begun.

The leaders of the four major powers all knew that this child was Fang Yunshui's Achilles' heel.

That cunning fellow, since he dared to publicly admit that the child was his "son," meant that the child was the perfect bait to lure him out.

As long as we can hold this little brat in our hands, we can control Fang Yunshui's lifeline.

Whether it's demanding the return of the stolen treasure or demanding Fang Yunshui pay for his crimes in blood.

They will all have absolute initiative.

Occasionally, suppressed murmurs would rise from the crowd, but they were quickly swallowed up by deliberate silence.

At that moment, the clouds on the distant horizon were suddenly pierced, and a beam of eerie blue light crashed down from the highest heavens.

Everyone only saw a flash of blue light before their eyes, and before they could even catch the afterimage, Lu Xuan was already standing with his hands behind his back in the center of the Spirit Testing Square.

The lingering blue spiritual energy around Lu Xuan was faintly visible, and his clothes fluttered even without wind, making the surrounding atmosphere even more heavy.

The city lord of Huaqing City's originally gloomy and frosty expression instantly crumbled.

The sinister glint in his eyes transformed into a fawning smile, and as his robes fluttered, he jogged forward to meet her.

"Deacon Lu!"

"I specially selected three cartloads of fine spiritual fruits, which I have already given to the White Feather Spirit Bird to enjoy."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan nodded slightly, his cool gaze sweeping over the line of aspiring cultivators in the square.

"go!"

A single, concise word fell like a heavy hammer.

In the corner of the square, the white-feathered spirit bird that was pecking at spirit fruit suddenly raised its head.

The next moment, wings several meters long suddenly unfolded, the snow-white feathers gleaming silver in the sunlight, and the strong airflow made everyone's robes flutter.

(End of this chapter)