Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 537 Golden Core Level 3
Song Xian speculated that before Wei Fan entered the Golden Core stage, he was probably still mainly controlling his body with his own consciousness.

Because when he faced Cheng Zongyuan, he still knew how to pretend and conceal, but after breaking through to the Golden Core Realm, something happened and his self-awareness was suppressed, replaced by an evil spirit.

Wei Fan may have obtained these Spirit Ascension Pills long ago, intending to consume and refine them after breaking through to the Golden Core stage. However, due to the evil spirit's soul taking over, he had not had time to refine them.

In either case, he got off easy.

The reason he wanted Huang Ye to spread the word was because the matter couldn't be kept secret. The battle between the two in the mountains of Far East Town had caused quite a stir and must have been seen by passing cultivators.

He sensed with his divine sense that at least three cultivators had stopped in the distance for a while.

Given Cheng Zongyuan's high regard for Wei Fan, if he hadn't gone to explore the entrance to the Boundless Sea's spatial secret realm, or returned from there, he would have learned of this matter through various channels.

Instead of trying to hide it, it's better to release the information proactively, since no one knows the specific outcome of the battle anyway.

He could use his injury as an excuse to refuse any attempts by those with ulterior motives and calmly refine these Spirit Ascension Pills.

Song Xian had reason to suspect that Cheng Zongyuan might know that Wei Fan was carrying either the Spirit Ascension Pill or the Azure Dragon Umbrella.

The two of them had shared the treasures in the secret realm's stone coffin, but Wei Fan was suddenly attacked. The incident happened in a hurry, and Cheng Zongyuan was barely able to protect himself, so he didn't have time to take Wei Fan's storage bag.

Therefore, if he knew that he had killed Wei Fan and taken the contents of the storage bag, he might go to any lengths to deal with him.

After tidying up the scattered items on the table, he took out the black banner, entered it with his divine sense, passed through the sea of ​​blood, and arrived in front of the altar.

The faint humanoid silhouette still stood there, and Song Xian tried to communicate with it, but received no reply.

His feeling was that the figure had fallen into a deep sleep, leaving only an empty shell.

He knew that Wei Fan was difficult to deal with; even the elders of the Longquan Sect at the sixth level of the Golden Core stage had failed to subdue him. Yet, he, who had only recently advanced to the Golden Core stage, dared to go alone to Far East Town to cause trouble for him.

Because he had this trump card, the black banner did not disappoint him. It crushed Wei Fan's supernatural power with a single move, and not only that, it also blocked his escape route.

In reality, the altar that finally rose from the bottom of the sea of ​​blood was not driven by him. He could only control the sea of ​​blood within this magical artifact space to fight the enemy, but the altar was beyond his control.

In other words, it was actually the owner of the black banner who dealt Wei Fan the fatal blow.

This is why he wanted to enter the Black Banner to communicate with it, but the other party never responded.

Left with no other option, Song Xian had to leave. After putting away the black banner, he sat down cross-legged and swallowed the Spirit Ascension Pill without hesitation.

The golden, round pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, flowing down the throat and into the abdomen, where it transformed into pure and surging spiritual energy that circulated throughout the body.

.........

Dark clouds obscured the sun, and a biting wind blew, its edge sharp as a knife. In the twelfth lunar month, the western border city was freezing cold, and the area inside and outside Luoyun Mountain was covered in frost.

Even cultivators found it hard to withstand the bitter cold, and the disciples guarding the mountain gate all wore thick winter clothes.

Hail began to fall from the sky, and in an instant, hailstones the size of eggs rained down.

The two disciples guarding the mountain gate quickly hid inside the pavilion.

"This awful weather, it's even hailing! I'll definitely buy a warm robe to keep out the cold in the future," a boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old complained, rubbing his arms.

"Forget about the robe. Even the cheapest robe with the warming sun protection effect costs several hundred spirit stones. And you need spirit stones to make the robe work. Are you willing to spend that? Anyway, it's only a month. Just hang in there and it'll be over. Have a drink to warm yourself up!" Another slightly older disciple took out a pot of wine and handed it to him.

The young man took the spirit wine, sipped it, and his eyes lit up slightly: "Oh! Top-grade spirit wine, Senior Brother Zhang, have you struck it rich lately!"

"Let me tell you! I did something for Senior Brother Xu Yuan last month, and he rewarded me with some spirit stones. This spirit wine was also given to me by him. This should be my last time on guard duty; I'll be transferred next year."

"Transferred? Where to?"

The older man smiled slightly: "Don't tell anyone else about this. I'm going to the first team of the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak of the Internal Affairs Hall."

"Transferred to the first team of Miscellaneous Affairs Peak?" The boy's eyes widened in surprise. They belonged to the Guard Battalion and were under the jurisdiction of the Martial Guard Hall. It was very unusual for them to be directly transferred to the Internal Affairs Hall.

Moreover, the first team of Miscellaneous Peak is responsible for the logistics and supplies of the sect disciples, which is a much more lucrative place than the Guard Camp.

Most importantly, in recent years, there have been continuous wars and frequent conscription of sect disciples, and those selected are all members of the Martial Guard Hall.

They chose the Martial Guard Hall because of its high salaries, but now that the situation is tense, almost everyone wants to be transferred.

The older man looked relaxed and smug: "Everything has been arranged. Once the New Year is over, I will be reporting to the Miscellaneous Goods Peak of the Internal Affairs Hall."

The young man asked suspiciously, "Just because I helped Senior Brother Xu Yuan with something, I was transferred to the first team of Miscellaneous Goods Peak? Does Senior Brother Xu have that much ability?"

The older man smiled mysteriously: "Senior Brother Xu doesn't have it, but the person behind him does!"

"Who's behind him?"

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

As the two were chatting, a streak of light came swiftly from afar, arriving almost instantly. Upon seeing this, their expressions immediately turned serious.

"This is the sect's main gate. May I ask what brings you here, senior?" The two hurriedly went out to greet him, standing outside the great formation, bowing respectfully to the newcomer. Their expressions were tense, and they barely dared to breathe.

"I have important business to discuss with your sect leader, Fellow Daoist Song. Go and report to him immediately."

"Yes. Please wait a moment, senior, I will go and report immediately." The older man replied and turned to head towards the mountain gate.

Before long, a large group of cultivators came from the mountain gate and stood inside the formation, confronting the newcomers.

After a while, several streaks of light landed one after another. Jiang Zichen, who was in the lead, turned around and gave a few instructions before walking outside the formation and bowing to the newcomers: "Senior Cheng, your presence is an honor. Our sect has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive us."

The visitor was none other than Cheng Zongyuan. He still wore a warm smile and waved his hand in a very approachable manner: "No need to be polite. It was I who disturbed Fellow Daoist Song's peace and quiet."

Jiang Zichen bowed to him again: "I am truly sorry, Senior Cheng. The Sect Leader is currently in seclusion and has instructed that no guests be received. Once the Sect Leader emerges from seclusion, I will immediately inform you of your arrival. If you have any urgent matters, you may speak with me first. Within my authority, I will do my utmost to help. If there is anything I cannot do, please forgive me, Senior."

Cheng Zongyuan's expression remained unchanged: "When did Fellow Daoist Song go into seclusion?"

"Three months ago, our sect leader ordered us to go into seclusion and not see anyone."

"I do have urgent business to attend to, please inform Fellow Daoist Song."

"It's not that I dare to offend you, senior. To be honest, our sect leader is in seclusion due to injury. During his recovery, he cannot be disturbed even by the most important matters, otherwise all his previous efforts may be in vain."

Cheng Zongyuan's face instantly darkened, and his words turned cold: "My matter is extremely urgent. This must be discussed in person with Fellow Daoist Song. Are you really unwilling to make an exception?"

Jiang Zichen took a step back without making a sound, retreating into the great formation. He stretched his left hand behind his back and made a gesture: "Please understand, senior. At this time, no matter who comes, they cannot disturb the sect leader's seclusion. Even if the sect leader of the Beast Taming Sect comes in person, it is still the same."

As soon as he finished speaking, auspicious clouds surged in the sky, accompanied by bursts of thunder.

The members of the Hunyuan Sect all had solemn expressions and dared not even breathe loudly; the atmosphere was extremely tense and oppressive.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate across the distance, and time seemed to drag on endlessly.

“Since Fellow Daoist Song is injured, then let it be. Once he recovers and comes out of seclusion, tell him that I was here.” After a brief silence, Cheng Zongyuan spoke, and without lingering, he vanished into the distance.

Seeing him leave, Jiang Zichen, Yu Lian, Xiao Ling and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

.........

For nearly a year, Song Xian almost never left this secret room.

After breaking through to the Golden Core stage, cultivators no longer need to eat every day; even if they go a month without food or water, they will have no problem.

In addition, there are special fasting pills for Golden Core cultivators. Just one pill can keep a Golden Core cultivator from hunger for three months.

Because he had previously ordered himself to go into seclusion and handed over all sect affairs to Jiang Zichen, and no one was allowed to disturb him during his seclusion unless it was a matter of life and death for the sect, no one had disturbed his peace and quiet during this time.

.........

The wind howled and the rain poured down.

The bamboo grove planted in the courtyard rustled in the wind and rain, but the secret room was very quiet, without a sound.

The materials used to build this secret room effectively insulate it from sound, making it difficult for any loud noises outside to reach inside.

Song Xian sat cross-legged on the futon, slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a deep breath, and his gaze became clear and bright.

After more than three hundred days of refining, he absorbed all fifteen Spirit Ascension Pills in the pill bottle. Correspondingly, his cultivation level also rose steadily, breaking through to the third level of the Golden Core realm.

It’s not a waste of time to break through the iron shoes.

After breaking through to the Golden Core Realm, the most troublesome issues for him—spiritual veins and cultivation rooms—were unexpectedly resolved in such a way.

Fifteen Spirit Ascension Pills saved him decades of effort. Now his spiritual power has reached 28530 points, with each pill increasing his spiritual power by an average of more than 700 points.

Although he knew the effects of the Spirit Ascension Pill, he had never used it before. He thought he would be lucky to break through to the second level of the Golden Core realm, but he didn't expect it to be so effective, allowing him to break through to the third level of the Golden Core realm in one go, and he wasn't far from the fourth level.
Each breakthrough in the early stages of the Dan realm requires 4,000 points of spiritual power.

Specifically, one needs 18000 points of spiritual power to reach the first level of the Golden Core, 22000 points to reach the second level, and 26000 points to reach the third level.

To reach the fourth level of the Golden Core stage, one needs 30000 points of spiritual power.

He is now less than two thousand points of spiritual power away from the fourth level of the Golden Core realm.

(End of this chapter)