Transform into ancestral tablets and create a supreme immortal clan.

Shen Muge endured the pain, held his breath, and completely concealed his aura. Like a stubborn rock, he sank into a hidden crevice at the bottom of the pool, while crushing a "Concealment Talisman" in his arms.

The talisman dissolved, and a barely perceptible layer of gray light enveloped his body, isolating him from the outside world and the last trace of his life force.

Another golden sword light, which had been following closely behind, circled several times in the water. Having lost its clear target and further affected by the yin energy of the cold pool and the "concealment talisman" on Shen Muge's body, it finally dissipated slowly.

Above the icy pool, Gu Zhenting snorted coldly. He clearly sensed that his sword light had injured the target, but then the target's aura completely disappeared, as if it had perished, or as if it had concealed itself through special means.

"You're nothing but ants, consider yourself lucky!" Gu Zhenting stopped paying attention; his main focus had to be on winning over the fox cubs.

In the distance, the Flipped Fox formed a highly defensive cocoon of light.

Under the siege of several Golden Core cultivators, the cocoon of light was cracking more and more, and the fox cub was about to be born!

There were many cultivators around, but apart from a few Golden Core cultivators, none of them dared to step forward.

They were all just Foundation Establishment cultivators, and couldn't withstand a single blow from a Golden Core cultivator.

The young man in red from before, I wonder which noble family he came from, that he was so mysterious and enigmatic.

With a mere Foundation Establishment stage cultivation level, he was able to escape with his life from a Golden Core cultivator by employing numerous unpredictable and bizarre methods.

Although another Golden Core cultivator deliberately tried to obstruct them, it couldn't erase the other party's troublesome nature.

At this moment, none of these Foundation Establishment cultivators dared to approach.

After all, the boy in red serves as a cautionary tale.

Even with such a sophisticated method of infiltrating secretly, they were still discovered by the Golden Core Ancestor of the Gu family, so they certainly didn't have that ability.

However, they were unwilling to leave.

What if we get incredibly lucky?

……

Behind Shenjia Mountain, in Chuyun Valley.

As the first bolt of silver lightning struck, Shen Xiao neither dodged nor avoided it. His Tongxuan Dharma Body naturally activated a nine-colored halo, absorbing all the power of the lightning to temper his body and his nascent core.

Immediately afterwards, a second, a third... bolt of lightning followed one after another, its color changing from silver to pale gold, its power multiplying.

Shen Xiao remained atop the solitary peak, enduring the hardship with his bare body.

The lightning raged across his body, but it was difficult to cause any real damage. Instead, it was absorbed and refined by him like water from a sponge.

The nine-colored illusory core within his dantian became increasingly solid and dazzling under the tempering of thunder, with mysterious Dao patterns beginning to emerge.

When the sixth bolt of crimson-gold lightning, carrying an aura of destruction, crashed down, Shen Xiao finally moved.

He pointed his finger, and a wisp of pure nine-colored elixir shot out, colliding head-on with the heavenly lightning. It actually split the lightning pillar in the middle, diverting the flow to all parts of his body for a deeper level of tempering.

The seventh and eighth lightning tribulations followed one after another, their power enough to make ordinary mid-stage Golden Core cultivators change color.

Shen Xiao swayed slightly, his body radiating nine-colored light, and a blurry, mysterious illusory image of a Dharma image appeared, steadily catching the lightning.

Finally, the ninth heavenly thunderbolt was fully prepared.

The dark clouds in the sky condensed into a huge vortex, and at its center, a pillar of lightning, only as thick as an arm, but with a deep dark purple color and edges flowing with destructive black light, slowly emerged.

This final lightning tribulation was nearly as powerful as a full-force attack from a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, and it also contained a trace of the destructive Daoist essence unique to heavenly tribulations.

Shen Xiao's expression also became slightly more serious.

He formed hand seals, and the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Golden Core within his body spun rapidly, releasing a massive amount of pure elixir essence that condensed in front of him into a nine-colored shield with a restrained radiance and covered in mysterious patterns.

"go!"

The dark purple lightning bolt struck the nine-colored shield with a deafening roar!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a dull, annihilating sound so profound it made one's heart stop beating.

The nine-colored shield trembled violently, its surface shimmering and flickering rapidly, clashing with the dark purple lightning.

After a full ten breaths of stalemate, the shield finally gave way and shattered with a crash!

However, the dark purple lightning pillar was also weakened by more than 70%, and the remaining lightning struck Shen Xiao hard!

Shen Xiao trembled violently, and for the first time, the nine-colored halo around his body was forcibly broken. His clothes instantly turned to ashes, revealing a perfect body that shimmered with a jade-like luster and had faint lightning patterns.

The violent lightning force surged through his body, attempting to destroy his meridians and dantian.

"snort!"

Shen Xiao let out a low shout, and his Tongxuan Dharma Body was operating at full power. The nine golden cores in his dantian shone brightly, like nine vortexes, frantically devouring and refining the destructive lightning power that had invaded his body.

He forcibly stripped away and tamed the wisps of dark purple lightning, which eventually merged into his golden core and physical body.

A moment later, the last trace of tribulation lightning power was completely absorbed.

The dark clouds in the sky instantly dispersed, and a radiant glow descended. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged in, forming a huge vortex of spiritual energy above Shen Xiao's head, which poured into his body.

His damaged body recovered at a visible speed, his aura steadily increased, and finally stabilized at an unfathomable level.

Golden Core stage achieved!

Moreover, it is not an ordinary Golden Core, but a Nine-Aperture Exquisite Golden Core. When the core is completed, its magical power is so strong and pure, and its foundation is so deep and stable that it far surpasses others of the same level.

Although he is currently at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, his pure and profound power alone is enough to crush ordinary mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, and even rival late-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Shen Xiao opened his eyes, his gaze seemingly reflecting a galaxy of stars, a fleeting nine-colored radiance.

He felt the immense power surging within him and a clearer connection with heaven and earth, and nodded slightly.

Just then, the hidden kinship line he left on Shen Muge sensed a clearer and more urgent crisis, accompanied by a feeling of weakness from injury.

"In the direction of Yazhou? Injured by metal-type sword energy..."

With a slight thought, Shen Xiao understood Shen Muge's situation through that causal connection.

With a casual gesture, he donned a spare blue robe and a mask he had redeemed from the system shop to conceal his aura. His aura was completely contained, with no trace of it leaking out.

"Since the Gu family has injured a member of my Shen family, then let's go and have a go at them."

His voice was calm, yet it subtly contained an indescribable bloodlust and excitement.

It seemed that at some point, his true nature as a top assassin from his previous life began to stir again.

He took a step forward, and nine-colored clouds spontaneously arose beneath his feet, lifting his figure and transforming him into a streak of light with astonishing speed, tearing through the clouds and shooting toward the direction of Yazhou Motianling!

The once peaceful Chuyun Valley now only retains the lingering spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

And that solitary peak that withstood nine tribulations of lightning yet still stood firm, witnessed the birth and departure of a Nine-Aperture Golden Core cultivator with terrifying foundation.

Inside the Shen family's territory, there was already an atmosphere of astonishment and ecstasy.

Five hundred years later, a Golden Core Ancestor has appeared in the clan again. What an exciting thing this is!

Even now, they still believe that it was their ancestor, Shen Jiuyang, who had achieved the Golden Core stage.

Only the patriarch Shen Shichu and a few elders who knew the inside story turned their attention to the direction of Chuyun Valley.

They were somewhat bewildered!

"Wasn't our ancestor already at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm five hundred years ago? Why is he still undergoing the Golden Core Tribulation?"

"It must be that our ancestor used his supreme supernatural powers to be reborn, which is why he had to undergo the tribulation again."

"The affairs of our ancestors are all kept secret, and no one is allowed to divulge even a single word about them."

……