Scourge Messenger

Chapter 481 Golden Core Completed
Western Xia, on the edge of the dusty sky.

The Eastern Sea Ruins, the Northern Snowfields, the Southern Yue Abyss, and the Western Xia Dust Realm are known as the Limits of Heaven and Earth, the ends of the world, borders that no one can cross. For millennia, countless people have explored these places, including immortal lords and even golden core cultivators, but none have ever returned alive.

Seeing three golden rays of light appear in the sky, Yan Qing took a deep breath: "Now is the time."

“Even if they come from Loulan City, it will take at least three hours,” Deng Guanjian said. “If anyone can make it here, we will stop them for you.”

“Even a Golden Core cultivator,” Gai Qingyun added casually.

The fact that Long Shi and the Demon-Slaying Duo did not attend the Dao Proving Ceremony was clearly to protect them!

"You won't be disappointed."

Yan Qing looked at Yao Shiyuan, Shang Xinlei, and Ying Rushi, and nodded slightly. Now that things had come to this, the die was cast, and everything was understood without words. His plan was too risky and too urgent, but such an opportunity as the Dao Proving Gathering might only occur once every hundred years. In the end, everyone accepted this almost insane plan.

There's no need for gradual accumulation or planning; it's all about instant success and unrestrained arrogance!

"I, Yan Qing, hereby testify to the end of Qingping!"

The wind, rising from the tip of a blade of grass, became the calamity wind. In an instant, a fierce gale arose, lifting Yan Qingchu into the sky!

"I, the Medicine Master, vow today to witness the glory of Mount Buzhou!"

Mount Buzhou, the pillar supporting the heavens, the axis of the earth, locks in the sun, moon, and stars, balancing east, west, north, and south, thus holding a position of stability. The Medicine Buddha wishes to stand on the earth, as firm and unwavering as a mountain.

"I, Shang Xinlei, bear witness to the [Red Lotus Karma] today!"

The Red Lotus Karmic Fire is the karmic consequence of the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance. It burns away all impurities in order to achieve great freedom and liberation; it is the fire of destruction. Shang Xinlei ignited a raging fire, and half of his body turned into withered bones in the tomb, his expression devoid of sorrow or joy.

"I should be like this, and today I bear witness to the [Eastward Flowing Water]!"

The eastward flowing waters wash away the heroes of the past. Right and wrong, success and failure, all vanish in the blink of an eye. The green mountains remain, witnessing countless sunsets, yet the waters rise and fall in vain. One should thus tread upon the rolling river, for heaven and earth fall into silence at this moment.

The four realms of calamity simultaneously responded to their quest for gold!

This is only natural. After they refined the final four legendary artifacts, their Dao foundations had each gathered the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends required for the Tribulation Position. A Dao foundation with all the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends is actually very close to the rudimentary form of the Tribulation Position. Just like a big fish wanting to eat a small fish, the Tribulation Position will naturally be affected by the Dao foundation!

After refining the four tokens, the Dao Foundation expanded to its limit. Yan Qing did not suppress the Dao Foundation. There was only a thunderous sound that shook the soul, and the Dao Foundation was completely shattered, turning into a chaotic mist.

Yan Qing took a deep breath.

This was the most difficult step in the plan, because without any external help, they had to rely on themselves to find the first spark of metal in the chaos.

If this step cannot be completed, let alone obtaining the Golden Elixir, one cannot even become a high-ranking immortal in the mortal world.

As his consciousness sank into the chaos, Yan Qing was surprised to find that the chaos was not empty; remnants of the Four Phases Dao Foundation of the Heavenly Calamity still existed. A red spider lily, a withered leaf, a petal of a deep blue flower, and a cluster of violets carved out a safe zone in the indistinguishable chaos, accommodating Yan Qing's consciousness.

Countless beams of light swept across Yan Qing's consciousness, from his first level up: first level as a Martial Arts Messenger, second level as a Sword and Saber Messenger, third level as a Martial Extreme Messenger, fourth level as a Foundation Establishment Big Dipper Messenger, and in the last eight days, he achieved the fifth and sixth levels in succession. Every step he had learned, from basic to master, including footwork, swordsmanship, saber techniques, and wind techniques, was vividly remembered.

From the first-level secret realm 'Suppressing Three Mountains' to the ten extreme realms and the nearly forty-times-long-time-running 'Billion Slaughterhouse' in the past eight days, every battle has its repercussions.

Yan Qing suddenly realized that he could now extract the metal element from the chaos simply by reaching out.

The so-called "Golden Nature" is actually a summary of a player's experiences on their seventh reincarnation. If a player drastically changes their build midway through the journey without sufficient depth of gameplay, they may not reach the minimum standard for cultivating Golden Nature. Conversely, as long as a player consistently adheres to a particular playstyle, they can easily cultivate their own Golden Nature.

Yan Qing was completely relieved. He couldn't say for sure about other aspects, but none of the four of them had changed their builds. Or rather, their leveling up was so fast that they simply didn't have the time to adjust their builds. Gaining over thirty levels in eight days was already outrageous, even going from level 1 to 39 would be considered incredible, but they went from level 40 to 69.

Aside from the most basic rest, they spent all their waking hours grinding, purifying all the Foundation Establishment Realm experts within the Western Xia territory with terrifying efficiency. Eventually, they slaughtered all the Realm experts controlled by the Twelve Dragon Poetry Clans, leaving them with no choice but to explore newly formed Realm experts.

Once they reached level 60, they focused on grinding in the Desperate Situation, grinding from morning till night without a break. In the end, grinding became almost instinctive for each of them. When the Demon King 'Chu Kuangren' in the "Billion Slaughterhouse" lifted his buttocks, everyone knew he was about to defecate or urinate.

Although Yan Qing is a speedrunner, his extensive gaming experience is more than enough to cultivate the Metal element. Don't be surprised; in fact, he's closer to a normal player. Players like the sixth-tier cultivators in this world are abnormal. They almost all stay in the Foundation Establishment stage for decades, but even the game "The Messenger" might not last for decades. Therefore, they are all, in a sense, the Sword Gods of Shili Slope.

No wonder that local sixth-level messengers can ascend to immortality as long as they have the metal element; for them, condensing the metal element is as easy as eating and drinking.

Yan Qing pointed her finger, and the flowing light and shadow froze instantly, gathering at her fingertip and turning into a strand of pure gold!
[Endless and impermanent]!
"Impermanent" refers to his frequent use of the "Life and Death are One" technique; "Endless" is because from the fourth level onwards, he shifted from the smooth path of the sword to the path of the wind, integrating swordsmanship with wind control. As long as the wind blows, the killing will never stop!

There's one last step.

Four supernatural powers arose from the chaos: one of imagery, two of mystery, and one of creation.

The Daoist foundation imagery of "life and death are one" is infused with the "fragrant garlands and celestial demonic nature" and gold.
The second mystery is the [Epitaph]. After Yan Qing reached the fifth level, the [Epitaph] gradually fell behind because it remained at the fourth level of divine power, and its rank would not improve along with Yan Qing's advancement.

If he uses [Epitaph] on a target above level 5 (including himself), the cost will be extremely high. This is clearly intentional on the part of the developers. This extra ability can only be used effectively by players below level 4, and it is not allowed to significantly affect the balance.

Therefore, Yan Qing simply transformed the [Epitaph] into a second supernatural power, infusing it with the [Life and Death Reincarnation Essence] and gold;
The third mystery, [Chivalrous Fragrance], is one of the ten great mysteries. Its effect is very unique, as it can make the duration of any temporary effect infinite. The cost is that it must constantly consume spiritual energy. However, for Yan Qing, this mystery perfectly utilizes the advantage of the natural disaster milestone [Excessive], and is infused with the essence of [Life and Death Reincarnation].
Finally, Yan Qing refined four legendary tokens and just obtained his fourth divine power.

It's worth mentioning that the fourth divine power, like the foundational divine power, is purely random. The divine powers that players can accurately lock onto through refining tokens only include the second and third divine powers.

When Yan Qing finally grasped this random supernatural ability, he was both amused and exasperated. It wasn't that the ability wasn't good enough, but rather that it had come far too late.

"Destined Calamity" "Affinity: Skill 10, Defense 3, Fate 3"

Suitable items: Healing, Offense, Scouting, Defense, Growth

"Basic effect: You can automatically convert the damage you deal to the target into 'weakness damage' to the target's lowest resistance. The higher the damage you deal, the more Spirit Essence you consume."

"Evaluation: I am the calamity of all races and beings!"

This creation-level divine ability is practically a match made in heaven for a player like Yan Qing. If this were his foundation-building divine ability, Yan Qing would definitely be much more comfortable. But he's almost at the Golden Core stage, and this is only now...

Yan Qing clearly remembered that among the creation powers he had seen, there was no [Destined Calamity]; it was mostly a new creation power in the update of the natural disaster version.

It's better than nothing, I can only say.

Yan Qing infused the [Endless and Unpredictable Nature] into the [Destined Calamity], and now all four supernatural powers are blessed with the metal element, and everything is ready!
boom!
The four supernatural powers separated the chaos, the clear rising and the turbid descending, just as the world was first created, transforming into the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers. But soon countless tombstones rose on the earth, trees withered and flourished in one way, the other shore flowers bloomed on the riverbank, violets covered the mountains and fields, and dark blue flowers grew in the shadows. The sky was gloomy and dark, with thunder rumbling but no light, and the world was like a ghost realm!
[A blessed land amidst natural disasters]!
Although it has absolutely nothing to do with the 'blessed land', Yan Qing thought to himself.

Next comes the final and most important step.

Yan Qing suddenly opened his eyes, surrounded by a swirling wind. Looking up, he saw that his golden light was already showing signs of lush greenery, a symbol of being favored by the powerful!

He raised his hand, and the image of "Heavenly Calamity Blessed Land" appeared in his palm, rising towards the sky along the golden light of prayer.

Supporting the blessed land to seal the position of calamity, transforming the grotto heaven into the golden elixir!

However, the closer the [Blessed Land of Natural Disasters] gets to the Calamity Position, the more terrifying the repulsive force becomes, almost tearing the [Blessed Land of Natural Disasters] apart!
If the messenger fails to hold his ground at this step, the calamity will tear apart the blessed land, devour its fragments to strengthen itself, seemingly making it increasingly difficult to attain the calamity. Yan Qing had no doubt about this; the development team of "The Messenger" always liked to incite infighting among players to increase game time.

Just when he was about to give up, Yan Qing ignited the first point of [Life and Death Reincarnation Essence], and [Natural Calamity Blessed Land] immediately gained a huge boost, getting closer to the calamity position.

When the driving force was about to run out, Yan Qing decisively ignited the second point of metal element. He had no interest in igniting the metal element at the critical point. If he couldn't hold on at the critical point and caused the blessed land to collapse, Yan Qing would suffer a huge blow even if he didn't die.

He prepared a full five points of gold, and the pharmacist wished that they also had four points of gold. Compared with the local poor, their gold-seeking ritual was extravagant!

When Yan Qing ignited the third point of his golden nature, it seemed as if quantitative change had reached qualitative change. The [Heavenly Calamity Blessed Land] gained unprecedented momentum, rushing into the calamity position in one go, blasting it into boundless iridescent light. Within the iridescent light, heavenly thunder and earthly fire, earth dragons rolling, tsunamis and storms, stars shaking, and earth veins cracking, reflected a scene of apocalypse.

【The Cave Heaven of Cataclysm in the End of Dharma】!
However, in the center of this chaotic cave, there is a towering, impervious divine mountain. On the mountain, there is a golden, illusory figure, and in the figure's dantian, there is a perfect golden elixir.

This figure is a manifestation of his supernatural powers, and the golden core is the embodiment of his [endless and impermanent nature]!
The aura of "Qingping Mo" appeared behind Yan Qing, and in an instant, he understood the mysteries of the calamity position.

The wind arises from the earth, starting from the tip of a blade of grass, invading streams and valleys, raging at the mouth of a mound of earth, climbing the slopes of Mount Tai, dancing beneath the pines and cypresses, drifting erratically and surging fiercely.

No wonder his grotto-heaven, despite being a site of tribulation, presented a scene of apocalypse. Even the foundation of a [Heavenly Calamity Blessed Land] shouldn't be this bad. It turns out that the wind position of the tribulation, [Green Duckweed End], is merely the tranquility before the calamity, offering no growth whatsoever. Therefore, of the four tribulations, only the wind position remains unproven.

However, coincidentally, with the blessing of the [Qingping End] calamity position, the [End of Dharma Cataclysm Grotto] perfectly matches Yan Qing's natural disaster system:

"The Cave Heaven of the End of Dharma Catastrophe"

"Cave Heaven Tribulation Position: Qingping End"

"Cave Heaven Status: 100% Perfect, Usable Upon Resurrection"

"Cave Heaven Level: 70 (Immortal Essence = Divine Soul × 2.0)"

"The inner landscape of the cave - the four phases of the end of Dharma: You can freely switch between the four Dharma phases: [Red of the Other Shore], [Green of Withered Glory], [Blue of Secluded Scenery], and [Purple of Boundless Path]. At most, two Dharma phases can exist at the same time."

When switching to the [Other Shore Red]/[Withered Flourishing Green]/[Desolate Blue]/[Boundless Purple] Dharma Form, your Cataclysm Milestones [Calamity]/[Sigh]/[Enlightenment]/[Boundless] are shared with allies affected by your healing effects, and their duration is the same as the healing time.

Enemies affected by your negative effects will have a chance to trigger different special damage depending on their form.

【Red Shore】: Enemies take increased damage, losing 1% of their current health per second;
【Withered Green】: Enemy's body rots, attack speed is reduced;
【Azure Blue】: There is a chance that any attack launched by the enemy will be interrupted;

【Boundless Purple】: Enemies damage the user;

Due to the causal entanglement of the four phases of the end times, all the harm caused by your allies originates from you.

You can consume Immortal Essence to enhance the duration of all effects, with no upper limit.

Why is Yan Qing so determined to attain the Golden Core stage? Why not follow the path of immortality in the mortal world?
The core reason is that as long as the Golden Core Tribulation Master's grotto-heaven doesn't collapse, he can be resurrected from it an unlimited number of times! Regardless of whether it's the real mode or the normal mode, after obtaining the Golden Core, the life and death mechanism will only follow the Golden Core Law. This is a weakening for players in the normal mode, but a tremendous strengthening for players in the real mode!
Only at this moment did Yan Qing finally grasp his own destiny. All the anticipation, anxiety, and worry of the past few days surged into his mind, and only a long roar could dispel the pent-up emotions in his heart.

With a single golden elixir, I enter the Tribulation Realm; my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!

"Yan Qing!"

Yan Qing turned his head, and Shang Xinlei flew into his arms. He let go of Shang Xinlei and opened his arms to Yaoshiyuan. Yaoshiyuan pouted and stayed where she was. Yan Qing had no choice but to go over and hug her, and then grab Ying Rushi, who looked disgusted, and hug her tightly.

Everyone looked at each other, and suddenly Shang Xinlei chuckled for some reason. Then Yan Qing started laughing too, and the laughter spread until only their laughter echoed throughout the world.

The Golden Elixir is complete!
(End of this chapter)