This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 201 Five years have passed, and the Golden Core is perfected.

"Uh, disciple, you..."

After taking a deep breath, Master Qian Yuan finally calmed himself down.

"Disciple, have you really sunk the entire Eastern Japan?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai did not deny it, but instead nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, the matter in Japan is related to my disciple. Back then, the Tenth Ancestor descended…”

After Zhong Bai briefly recounted what had happened, the elders were able to understand.

They thought Zhong Bai sacrificed himself to avoid the Tenth Ancestor being threatened by the Yamata no Orochi, but as for the actual situation... since they didn't ask, Zhong Bai didn't intend to explain.

“Disciple, the karma you carry is far too terrifying; it may very well attract divine punishment!”

After Master Qian Yuan finished speaking, Master Chang Sheng added, "That's right, Master, Heavenly Punishments have always been exceptionally terrifying. Basically, only one in ten survives. Before the Heavenly Punishment descends, we should still conceal the secrets of Heaven..."

"No need, Master, Uncle-Master Changsheng, the Heavenly Tribulation has already passed. The next Heavenly Tribulation will come in ten years, at that time..."

Zhong Bai didn't say it directly, but everyone understood that ten years later, Zhong Bai would no longer be in this world.

"I see, we've already made it through..."

The crowd looked at Zhong Bai with deep admiration; they did not possess the courage and ability to destroy Japan and survive divine punishment.

According to the Maoshan precepts, someone like Zhong Bai, burdened with karma, should not continue to serve as the sect leader. But no one mentioned it. It's a joke, Zhong Bai was the one who took the blame for the Ten Ancestors.

Even the patriarchs in the Maoshan underworld have no objections, so what objections could they possibly have?
......................................................

The news of the destruction of Dongying was common knowledge in Maoshan, but it caused a great uproar in Kyushu. Some said that Dongying had committed numerous evils and was so wicked that even Heaven could not stand it and sent down a natural disaster to destroy it. Others said that it was caused by the collapse of Dongying's fortune. In short, there were all sorts of theories. The high-ranking members of the Taoist and Buddhist sects knew something about Dongying, but none of them chose to make it public. They would not do anything that would offend Zhong Bai.

Besides, saying it out loud would only boost Maoshan's prestige and demoralize them...

Time passes little by little.

After returning to Maoshan, Zhong Bai devoted himself to cultivating the Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique, refining a few drops of the Eight-Headed Serpent's essence blood each day.

Zhong Bai can refine a few drops without using Demon Extermination Points to speed up the process. The reason he doesn't use Demon Extermination Points to speed up the process is to keep some trump cards up his sleeve when entering the new world.

The number of demons and evil spirits in the world is already terrifyingly small. It's not easy for Zhong Bai to obtain demon-slaying points, let alone consume them on a large scale.
It can speed things up in critical moments, but normally you can just refine your essence and blood normally.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On Maoshan Mountain, Maoshan was unusually lively today. The reason was simple: Zhong Bai, who had only served as the head of Maoshan for seven or eight years, chose to hand over his position to Shi Jian.

Elders from other Taoist sects, and even Buddhist sects, came to observe the ceremony.

In front of the main hall of the sect leader, the succession ceremony was underway. Zhong Bai was dressed in a plain-colored Taoist robe, which made him seem rather ordinary. However, only those who truly possessed cultivation above the Foundation Establishment stage could use their divine sense to see the overwhelming karmic force surrounding Zhong Bai.

In the viewing seats at Longhu Mountain, Zhang Zhiwei couldn't help but marvel at Zhong Bai's vigorous and powerful physique. He hadn't lived these years in vain; he had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and was only a step away from becoming a Golden Core True Monarch.

Even so, when facing Zhong Bai, she still felt the gap between them was widening.

Despite knowing this, Zhang Zhiwei still maintained a positive attitude with a smile on her face.

"I am very grateful that you have come to Maoshan to witness this. I have served as the sect leader for less than ten years. In principle, I should not step down so soon. However, there are some special circumstances that cannot be explained. Now I will hand over the position of sect leader of Maoshan to Master Shijian!"
From this day forward, Master Shi Jian is the 266th leader of the Maoshan Sect!

As Zhong Bai finished speaking, Shi Jian slowly walked over from a distance. His aura as a peak mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator was not concealed at all. Everyone nodded in agreement. They all knew that Shi Jian's talent was not weak, but seeing him in person gave them a different feeling.

"Shi Jian kowtows in gratitude to the Sect Leader!"

Shi Jian bowed deeply to Zhong Bai. Both of them were currently there for the sake of the ceremony, and there was no difference in their social status.

The succession ceremony ended quickly.

Nearly ten years later, Zhong Bai returned to his courtyard to live, and he still vividly remembered every blade of grass and every tree from his past.

At the stone table, Zhong Bai poured a cup of tea for Zhang Zhiwei across from him before raising his own teacup and taking a small sip.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, it's been several years since we last met..."

"Haha, True Lord is busy with cultivation, and so is Zhiwei. It's normal that we haven't met."

"Oh, and thank you for pouring tea, True Lord."

Zhong Bai listened, not paying attention to the change in how Zhang Zhiwei addressed him. After all, over the years, people had called him Daozi, then Master Zhong, and now Master Zhong Zhenjun. All sorts of titles were actually unimportant.

"Guests are guests, so it's only right that I pour you tea. Fellow Daoist Zhang, I suppose you know that we two will be heading to the Underworld soon..."

"clear!
My master has told me that we two will eventually need to venture into the new world to explore it; this is our mission. It's just that my strength is too weak, which has troubled you, True Lord.

"It's alright. The day to go to the underworld is in a month. Fellow Daoist, if you have anything to say goodbye to, hurry up. Whether you will return is unknown..."

"Understood!" Zhang Zhiwei nodded silently after drinking the tea in his cup in one gulp.

Zhang Zhiwei has left.

After he left, Zhong Bai's courtyard did not return to its former tranquility.

Shi Jian, Lin Fengjiao, and Si Mu arrived together. They knocked on the door, and Zhong Bai was still sitting at the stone table. He waved gently at the courtyard gate, and the gate opened. The three of them then entered.

"Junior Brother Zhong Bai!"

The three spoke in unison. At this moment, there was no longer any distinction of rank or social status among them; they were simply fellow disciples.

Si Mu and Lin Fengjiao were not aware that Zhong Bai was about to leave; it was Shi Jian who informed them at the last minute. Therefore, when they saw Zhong Bai, both of them looked reluctant to part with him.

Zhong Bai smiled faintly.

"Please have a seat, senior brothers..."

Zhong Bai personally poured tea for the three of them.

“Junior Brother Zhong Bai, we have come to bid you farewell…”

Si Mu looked at Zhong Bai and spoke first.

"Understood. Senior Brother Simu has already reached the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and Senior Brother Lin is even at the peak of the early stage of Foundation Establishment. You are all elders of Maoshan now, and in the future, Maoshan will still need you to protect it."

It was a bit unpleasant to hear, but for Zhong Bai, the separation didn't seem too painful.

The four quickly switched from drinking tea to drinking alcohol, one cup after another, until dawn.

......................................................

A few more days passed.

Inside Zhong Bai's courtyard, Zhong Bai, sitting cross-legged on a futon, had an unusually bright look in his eyes.

"In five years, consuming tens of thousands of drops of Yamata no Orochi's essence blood, my physical strength has reached eight hundred dragon power, almost reaching the one thousand dragon power required for the fourth level. With my current physical strength, even a cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage probably couldn't withstand a single punch from me..."

Muttering to himself, Zhong Bai took a deep breath. At this moment, he wasn't trying to improve his physical strength, but rather because his true essence had reached its peak and he was about to break through to the perfect Golden Core realm.

"Add fuel to the fire..."

[Consume 500,000 Demon Extermination Points to exchange for 500,000 days of Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique cultivation]

[Currently remaining Demon Extermination Points: 1000 million]

Over the years, Zhong Bai has intermittently spent about four million Demon Extermination Points on the Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique. Currently, he has spent 500,000 on the Shenxiao Five Thunder Technique, leaving him with only ten million Demon Extermination Points.

As the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique began to operate rapidly, the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged in quickly. Even with the karmic force surrounding Zhong Bai, it could not prevent too much spiritual energy from entering his body.

As streams of pure true essence flowed into his dantian, Zhong Bai's golden core noticeably grew larger, and a new core pattern began to appear. Originally, the golden core had nine core patterns, but now it had a full ten!

This wasn't the end of it. As Zhong Bai continued to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the patterns on the golden core in his dantian kept appearing...

Such a commotion could not be kept secret from the elders of Maoshan, and soon the courtyard where Zhong Bai was located was sealed off and entry was prohibited.

About a few hours later, the moment the twelve pill patterns on Zhong Bai's golden core appeared simultaneously, a mysterious aura flowed out from the golden core. It was the aura of life, and Zhong Bai could feel the rich vitality on the pill patterns!
boom!
The aura of a perfect Golden Core cultivator permeated the entire Maoshan Mountain. This was released unconsciously by Zhong Bai. Not to mention the Foundation Establishment elders, even Xuan Mingzi, who was guarding the Scripture Pavilion, was instantly sweating profusely. He truly felt the heavy pressure from Zhong Bai and couldn't help but say with pale lips, "Nephew Zhong Bai's aura is definitely a perfect Golden Core cultivator!"

Terrifying! Terrifying indeed!

Xuanmingzi exhaled a heavy breath. He broke through to the Golden Core stage a few years earlier than Zhong Bai, but to this day, Xuanmingzi is still at the peak of the early Golden Core stage and cannot make any progress. According to his estimate, it will take him more than ten years to break through to the middle Golden Core stage. And what about Zhong Bai?

He reached a height he could never have imagined with ease.

"Junior Nephew Zhong Bai, with such terrifying talent, you might really have a chance to carve out a path to the heavens in the new world!"

His gaze gradually deepened, and Xuanmingzi silently blessed Zhong Bai in his heart.

Law Enforcement Hall.

Master Qian Yuan was also filled with emotion, knowing that his disciple had made further progress.

“My disciple, every step you take before leaving increases your chances of success. Speaking of which, I haven’t said goodbye to you yet…”

Alas, this old Taoist is destined to be stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage for the rest of his life, unable to experience the splendor of the Golden Core realm.

"But having a disciple like you, I have no regrets in this life!"

Master Qian Yuan forced a smile. Sometimes it was cruel to watch your disciple leave you far behind. Unfortunately, Zhong Bai was powerless to help his master; they could only go their separate ways...

(End of this chapter)