Refining Ruins Cauldron

With a flick of his fingertip, the Beast King's head was split open, revealing its core.

Unlike human cultivators, spirit beasts can gradually condense a beast core within their bodies after embarking on cultivation.

As one's cultivation level continues to increase, the beast core will also be nurtured.

The stronger the spirit beast, the stronger its core, and the more concentrated its spiritual power.

This beast core is the most precious part of the entire spirit beast.

Gu Qingyun flicked his finger and put the bead into his pocket.

It is only about the size of a lychee, dark green all over, and emits a slight green glow.

Even just holding it in his hand, Gu Qingyun could feel the rich spiritual energy contained within it.

Manic and difficult to control.

This single beast core alone could conservatively fetch at least 200,000 spirit stones at auction.

Gu Qingyun carefully put it away before starting to deal with the other parts.

Not long after, he suddenly sensed someone approaching him at an extremely fast speed.

Gu Qingyun frowned slightly, his gaze instantly locking onto the direction of the newcomer.

Suddenly, a beautiful figure emerged from the woods; judging by her attire, she was also a member of the Longevity Sect.

The woman was tall and slender with delicate features and bright, sparkling eyes that also captivated Gu Qingyun.

This person should be an inner disciple of the sect.

"So it was you."

The woman was clearly surprised when she saw Gu Qingyun.

At the same time, the late-stage Foundation Establishment corpse puppet standing behind Gu Qingyun also made her show a hint of apprehension.

"Have we met before?"

Gu Qingyun remained calm, but did not let his guard down.

Although we are from the same school, we must not be complacent about human nature.

"No, but Gu Qingyun is the number one disciple of the outer sect. It's hard not to know his name."

The woman smiled.

"The sect leader's personal instruction is truly well-deserved."

A late-stage Foundation Establishment spirit beast and a late-stage Foundation Establishment corpse puppet—this scene is anything but simple for anyone.

"Luoyun Peak, Xu Qingran."

Originally, Gu Qingyun was just on guard, but when he heard the words "Luoyun Peak," his expression changed instantly, and a hint of imperceptible coldness flashed in his eyes.

It's Wei Qianbo's men again!

As if sensing Gu Qingyun's change, Xu Qingran smiled slightly.

"Elder Wei is currently in dire straits himself, and not all disciples of Luoyun Peak will obey his every command."

As she spoke, she showed no sign of distress, her expression kind and gentle, as if every word came from the bottom of her heart.

Gu Qingyun is no longer the novice who just entered the martial arts world, nor will she completely lower her guard because of such a simple sentence.

He didn't say much, and his expression remained unchanged.

Wei Qianbo has been imprisoned by Qing Gu Zhenren, and it's uncertain whether he will be able to succeed as the head of the Enforcement Hall after his release.

Gu Qingyun, on the other hand, is now a direct disciple of the sect leader, and his status and position are no longer comparable to what they used to be.

Within the sect, any disciple with a modicum of insight can distinguish between what is important and what is not.

Xu Qingran was no exception.

Not to mention, in this Taiyi Secret Realm, life and death are irrelevant; only living is truly important.

What use is a sect if you lose your life?

"Junior brother, did you come for that Daoist Spirit Fruit?"

Now that things had come to this, Xu Qingran was too lazy to beat around the bush and spoke directly to Gu Qingyun.

The latter nodded slowly, and there was nothing to deny about that.

After all, once you enter the Taiyi Secret Realm, there are plenty of people who want the Daoist Spirit Fruit, so one more won't make a difference.

Seeing this, Xu Qingran immediately became interested and slowly walked forward, stopping when she was about ten meters away.

"I wonder if Junior Brother would be willing to join forces with me? Everyone covets the Daoist Spirit Fruit, and it's ultimately too difficult to achieve it alone."

"After it's all done, how about we split it in half?"

Gu Qingyun neither agreed nor disagreed with the suggestion.

Back then, Master Qinggu only mentioned the Daoist Spirit Fruit to him briefly; in terms of understanding it, he only grasped the most superficial level.

"Could you please elaborate on the matter of the spiritual fruit, Senior Sister?"

Gu Qingyun asked in return.

"The Daoist Spirit Fruit blooms once every hundred years and bears fruit once every hundred years. It is produced only by the Daoist Tree in the deepest part of the Taiyi Secret Realm and is extremely rare."

"Obtaining the spiritual fruit can help cultivators refine their Dao foundation, improve its quality, and lay the foundation for future Core Formation."

"It can be said that having the Daoist Spirit Fruit is like obtaining a ticket to Core Formation, and even the formation of Nascent Soul is greatly influenced by it."

At this point, Xu Qingran paused for a moment before continuing.

"But this is only on the surface."

"The Daoist Spirit Fruit isn't just useful for Foundation Establishment cultivators; even Golden Core cultivators who consume it can increase their chances of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage by 20%!"

Twenty percent?!

Gu Qingyun's pupils contracted. He never expected that this spiritual fruit would have such an effect.

Breakthroughs are inherently difficult to find.

This is true for the Qi Refining Realm, the Foundation Establishment Realm, and even more so for the Golden Core Realm!

No wonder the three major sects value the Taiyi Secret Realm so much; it turns out there's such a reason behind it.

Many late-stage Golden Core cultivators spend their entire lives without ever getting the chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

However, this Daoist Spirit Fruit can instantly increase the probability of a breakthrough by 20%.

It's enough to make even a Golden Core cultivator risk their life to seize it.

"Is there only one Daoist Spirit Fruit at a time?"

Gu Qingyun voiced the question that had been bothering him.

"It blooms once every hundred years and bears fruit once every hundred years. Normally, there should be eight fruits at a time."

Xu Qingran explained.

Nearly a hundred people were vying for these eight spiritual fruits.

This is tantamount to saying that at most only eight people can truly get what they want.

This is only the most ideal scenario.

If someone tries to take it all for themselves, it's hard to imagine how disastrous the scene would be.

At this point, Xu Qingran's expression suddenly became serious.

"Based on the information I have gathered so far, the Blood Blade Sect has a cultivator who is at the half-step Golden Core stage."

"Judging from their demeanor, they're not just here to seize the spiritual fruits; they also intend to break through to a higher level within the secret realm!"

"If he really succeeds, the terrifying level of a Golden Core cultivator in the Taiyi Secret Realm is unimaginable."

"At that time, let alone taking all the spiritual fruits, it will be uncertain whether the disciples of other sects will even be able to leave alive."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyun's heart sank for the first time.

Even without Xu Qingran's explanation, he knew the seriousness of the matter.

Even a Golden Core cultivator who has just broken through is an existence that can crush and sweep everything aside for these Foundation Establishment disciples!

If it happens, the consequences will be unimaginable!

"That being said, isn't it a bit too much of an overestimation of me that Senior Sister is asking me to join forces..."

Gu Qingyun smiled, a hint of embarrassment in his expression.

"I'm only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and I have no chance of winning against these monsters."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingran burst out laughing.

"Junior brother, do I need to explain your skills?"

She didn't rush to speak, but pointed to the mess around her.

"It's true that he's in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but it's also true that his combat power is comparable to that of the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators might not even have the combat power of my junior brother."

Xu Qingran then laughed and said, "If we join forces with my junior brother, we can fight back even if we encounter members of the Blood Blade Sect."

This time, Gu Qingyun remained silent for a long while before nodding in agreement.

"Alright! Joining forces is not out of the question, but Junior Brother has something to say."

"Can."

"The Dao-inspired fruit is indeed tempting, but one should not force what is not destined for them. Preservation should be the priority. Even without that Dao-inspired fruit, my path to the Great Dao may still be successful..."

"If you lose your life, you lose everything."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingran's lips twitched involuntarily.

Goodness, to be able to talk about being afraid of death with such backbone, that's probably one of a kind!