Warhammer begins in 2026

Huang Feng stepped forward slowly, his gaze calmly falling on the Golden Core cultivator as he carefully examined him.

Upon closer inspection, the distortion could no longer be hidden.

This person can no longer be considered a normal human being. Half of his body has been completely mutated, his skin is covered with twisted and bizarre patterns, his blood vessels are a chaotic dark purple, and half of his pupil is cloudy and distorted, with obvious characteristics of subspace distortion.

His body and soul were half human and half corrupted and transformed by the power of the subspace, making him a complete half-demon.

This is the price of reaching the Golden Core realm. After completing the second transformation, the degree of human alienation exceeds half, and there is only one step left before one is completely reduced to a demon.

"Cut open his stomach and take out what's inside his dantian." Huang Feng's tone was calm and unwavering.

Two imperial guards stepped forward without hesitation, their movements swift and decisive.

Without any unnecessary bloody or violent movements, a precise force pierced through the cultivator's abdomen, accurately probed the dantian, and forcefully extracted a living thing.

The truth was revealed the moment the palm was opened.

There was no solid golden core at all; instead, there was a small, living, constantly wriggling alien life form.

This alien creature was covered in tiny, strange mucus, its limbs curled and twisted, exuding a vibrant life force and constantly releasing turbid subspace power. It was firmly rooted deep within the cultivator's dantian, completely intertwined with his soul and body.

At this moment, all the mysteries became completely clear.

The so-called Golden Core realm is not a breakthrough in strength at all; it is simply the implantation of a living alien into the body, using the alien's chaotic power to forcibly modify the human body.

Huang Feng's eyes grew even colder, and he instantly saw through this complete set of evil rules.

Foundation Building is a shallow form of pollution, slowly altering a person's physique and temperament; Golden Elixir is a form of living parasitism, allowing alien races to completely coexist with the human body, deeply eroding the flesh and soul.

The next stage, the Nascent Soul realm, is the final step.

Once the host reaches the Nascent Soul stage, the alien race within the body will fully awaken, break free of its restraints, and directly devour the host's remaining humanity, consciousness, and soul.

At that time, the original cultivator will be completely wiped out, and in its place will be this alien race that completely takes control of the body and completely transforms into a pure subspace demon.

The so-called cultivation advancement is, from beginning to end, a deception in which alien races gradually possess and humanity gradually perishes.

The imprisoned Golden Core cultivator sensed the alien being removed from his dantian, and his consciousness completely collapsed. His eyes were filled with despair and madness. He wanted to scream and struggle, but he was locked in place by spiritual energy and could not move.

He had cultivated for half his life, and the strength and realm he was so proud of turned out to be nothing more than a process of being parasitized and possessed from beginning to end. He was nothing more than nourishment and a vessel for the growth of a foreign race.

"Get rid of it," Huang Feng said calmly.

Ahriman nodded slightly, a wisp of dark blue psionic energy flashing from his fingertips.

The extremely high concentration of Order Spiritual Energy instantly engulfed the Golden Core cultivator, annihilating the living alien race within him as well.

There was no explosion, no debris, not even a speck of ash was left.

The Golden Core expert who was just moments ago arrogant and domineering, attempting to plunder Huang Feng, vanished into thin air in an instant, completely disappearing into the world.

The forest returned to silence, with only the soft rustling of the breeze through the leaves.

Huang Feng looked at the empty mountain path and understood.

The fate of this world has already been completely sealed by the Four Gods.

A gentle breeze rustled through the trees halfway up the mountain, the vegetation serene and peaceful. The swift killing had left no trace, the silence as if no one had ever perished. Yet, within the main hall of the second-rate sect nestled against the mountaintop, a sudden and overwhelming panic had gripped the area.

This sect has a shallow foundation and can only be considered a mid-to-lower-tier power in the surrounding area, with extremely limited overall combat strength. The entire sect has only five Golden Core cultivators in charge of various affairs, and its only ballast and supreme combat power, guarding the mountain gate, is a single Nascent Soul cultivator. Relying on this top-tier mutant to deter all sides, the sect has maintained a stable foothold for hundreds of years without any major disasters.

The situation at the mountain gate had always been stable, with the Golden Core elders each fulfilling their duties, and casualties and unexpected events were extremely rare. But just a moment ago, one of the six life-bound soul lamps neatly arranged on the altar in the main hall suddenly exploded with a crisp sound, its flame instantly extinguished without warmth, smoke, or any other sign, completely extinguished.

This lamp is the very life-bound soul lamp of the Golden Core elder who was halfway up the mountain.

The disciple on duty in the main hall witnessed the soul lamp go out. Instantly, his whole body stiffened and turned pale. A chill ran straight to the top of his head. He didn't even dare to tremble too obviously. He ran into the inner hall like a madman to report the bad news.

The news spread throughout the entire mountain gate in an instant. The remaining four Golden Core elders rushed to the main hall together, their expressions solemn and dignified, their eyes filled with disbelief and fear, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"What happened?! Elder Li's soul lamp went out?"

"He was a Golden Core cultivator, practically unmatched in these mountains. How could he have suddenly perished without even a warning!"

"There was no fighting, no news of sect battles, how could someone suddenly disappear?"

Four Golden Core cultivators stood around the empty lampstand, their brows furrowed, their hearts filled with unease, exchanging bewildered glances. They were of similar cultivation levels, from the same mountain, and knew each other intimately. There was no one in this region capable of silently killing a fellow disciple; this demise was chillingly bizarre.

Just as everyone in the main hall was filled with unease, the sealed meditation room of the ancestor at the back slowly opened, and a cold, sweet, and almost decadent warm breeze slowly spread out, instantly filling the entire hall, making people's minds restless and their thoughts aroused with every breath.

The sect's only Nascent Soul ancestor slowly stepped out of the shadows.

Previously, those Golden Core cultivators were only half-mutated, half-human, half-abnormal, and could barely disguise themselves as normal people. But this Nascent Soul ancestor had already been completely permeated by Slaanesh's subspace filth, his body and soul completely corrupted and reshaped from head to toe, making him a thoroughly high-level evil god aberration, having long since lost most of his humanity.

His body was utterly disproportionate, slender and alluring without a trace of the gravitas of an old man. His skin was as thin as a cicada's wing, translucent and deathly pale, with countless abnormal pinkish-purple blood vessels coiling beneath it. His flesh was constantly writhing and bulging in subtle ways, as if living things were struggling beneath his skin. The aura surrounding him was no longer ordinary mist, but wisps of warm, sweet, and fishy turbidity, which would incite endless, frenzied desires in any mortal who came into contact with it.

What was most terrifying was his half-meter-long, crimson tongue, covered with fine, pink barbs, soft and thick, drooping, wriggling, and swaying uncontrollably. Sometimes it would wrap around his neck, sometimes it would lightly lick his chin, and the transparent, sticky saliva dripping from the tip of his tongue would create a fine, corrosive white smoke when it landed on the bluestone floor, making it extremely eerie, obscene, and bizarre.

A ring of fine, transparent, soft tentacles grew around the edge of his earlobes, trembling slightly. His eyes were double pupils, the whites of his eyes flushed with a sickly red, his gaze languid, manic, and effeminately mocking. Every inch of his flesh and blood, every wisp of his soul, had been completely altered by the power of Slaanesh. He appeared humanoid, but in reality, he was merely a warp monster barely holding up an outer shell, only one step away from complete possession and transformation.