After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Su Qingling did not turn around.

The moonlight behind her stretched her shadow extremely long, pressing it into the pool water and creating several fragmented reflections.

"Those three seconds were not an impulse."

Her voice was flat and had a cool quality to it.

"I've calculated it."

The primordial energy in your meridians lacks this force; the moment your spiritual core shatters, it's just what helps stabilize you.

She turned her head, her pupils reflecting the clear moonlight.

Two tiny flames flickered in Zhou Ran's eyes, suddenly appearing in his vision.

"Don't get me wrong, you don't need to thank me."

Su Qingling stared at him, paused, and added:

"Remember, don't risk your life so easily in the future."

"If you're truly dead, then my spirit core will truly be fed to the dogs."

Before Zhou Ran could speak, she stepped barefoot across the damp stone slabs, bathed in moonlight, her steps unwavering.

Zhou Ran remained submerged in the pool for a long time without moving.

The mountain wind swirled through the pine forest, creating ripples on the surface of the pool and dispelling the fishy smell that clung to the tip of the nose.

From the stone chamber behind them, they could faintly hear the sounds of Fatty Wang and Miao Yingying whispering to each other.

Zhou Ran looked down and saw that the lingering heat was still on his palm.

The texture was so real, so real it was annoying.

Some debts, once incurred, can never be repaid.

The spirit core that Su Qingling shattered must be returned.

……

late at night.

Zhou Ran climbed over the wall into the plant garden.

He took out several jars of dragon corpse powder and carefully sprinkled them into a specially made cultivation jar.

The dragon corpse powder contained lingering heavenly tribulation lightning energy and dragon essence. As soon as it was buried, the powder began to seep into the white mystic seed.

The hard shell of the seed cracked open.

This matter is not over yet.

In the adjacent stone chamber, Xiao Rou was still unconscious.

The essence of the dragon was holding her back, but the few remaining fragments of Gu worm shells in her heart were the real cause of her misfortune.

Zhou Ran calmed himself down, and his demonic eyes reflected the inner scene.

The mother Gu that Black Witch Village planted in Xiao Rou's heart was indeed completely destroyed.

But within the fragments, there lingered an extremely fine and faint rhythm.

That was neither a demonic technique nor the kind of energy found in Taoist texts.

That rhythm carried an ancient, wild air, with an inexhaustible, untamed spirit.

"It seems the Gu magic of this Black Witch Village is quite interesting."

Zhou Ran stared intently at that rhythm.

The foundation of the Black Witch Village's Gu techniques is by no means merely unorthodox or heretical.

Although the rhythm was faint, its quality was frighteningly high, even echoing the newly formed dantian in Zhou Ran's dantian.

However, he couldn't figure it out either.

He flipped his fingers, peeled away the wisp of rhythm, sealed it into a blank bone talisman, and tucked it into his inner pocket.

Black Witch Village, we'll keep it for a long time, it'll be very useful later.

A soft cracking sound came from the cultivation tank.

Zhou Ran walked over.

The white seed broke through the soil, sprouting a slender, tender shoot, a vibrant green with a hint of shimmering fluorescence.

The moment the tender shoots break through the soil, a delicate fragrance spreads.

The fragrance wasn't cloying; it entered the nasal cavity and actually warmed one's bones.

He squatted by the altar, staring at the bud that was as thick as a finger.

Nourished by the heavenly tribulation lightning and dragon energy within the dragon's corpse powder, the sprout grew extremely fast.

It seems to have mutated.

It is no longer just a simple mushroom.

One inch, two inches, three inches.

The bud tip is topped with two leaves, the leaf surface shimmering with golden veins.

Zhou Ran stretched out his finger and gently touched the tip of the leaf.

A warm signal traveled from my fingertips into my consciousness.

No words, no images, just three simple thoughts.

hungry.

Sleepy.

stupid.

Zhou Ran's fingertips froze.

stupid?

Another signal came to his mind, weak and feeble, like an old ghost that had just crawled out of the ground, every breath was hard to take.

"Boss, you're so stupid..."

The pill won't even form...

How embarrassing...

A glint of light flashed in Zhou Ran's eyes.

Bai Xuan.

This mushroom spirit, which burned away its thousand years of intelligence to save him, actually managed to regain a sliver of consciousness thanks to the dragon's corpse powder.

The voice was intermittent, and every word sounded like someone was risking their life.

"All spirits... return to the origin..."

The voice trembled in his mind.

"The three-colored embryo within you cannot be created by mortal means..."

"Explain it more clearly."

Zhou Ran pressed his fingertips on the leaf, channeling his vital energy into it, trying to retain this bit of clarity.

Seven kinds.

Seven kinds of primordial elements of heaven and earth must be used as catalysts and inserted into the elixir embryo for it to take shape.

Which seven types?

"Too desolate... You're pregnant."

The true dragon is also known as the dragon's essence and the earth's vein dragon essence.

Heavenly Tribulation...

There are still traces of thunder in the meridians.

Four more are needed…

Where are the remaining four?

Bai Xuan did not answer.

Its sound quickened, a sign of the lamp burning out in anxiety.

"I am the root of all spirits."

It has grown to the point where it can communicate with the laws of heaven and earth, allowing you to "see" your own path.

"But I lack nutrients; this dragon powder isn't enough."

Go find the Great Desolate Tomb; it contains what I need…

The voice grew weaker and weaker until it was almost inaudible.

"Be careful on Longhu Mountain... Something... is awake..."

As those words fell, the golden veins on the leaves faded, and the entire bud drooped dejectedly in the soil, its luster gone.

Without spirituality, without thought.

It was just an ordinary green seedling.

Zhou Ran's finger lingered on the leaf for a long time before finally withdrawing it.

This fool, a thousand years of intelligence were exchanged for his life, and now he can barely even speak a few coherent words.

He stood up, moved the cultivation altar to the center of the garden, and scattered the remaining dragon corpse powder at the base.

"Grow slowly."

Zhou Ran said calmly,

"I'll go get the things from the desolate tomb for you."

He looked up at the night sky, and the image of that lean old man came to mind.

Feng Bancheng.

……

Inside the stone chamber, the charcoal fire was still burning.

Zhou Ran sat down cross-legged and focused his consciousness into his dantian.

The elixir floated in mid-air, like a star, spinning endlessly.

The peak of Foundation Establishment—this is the end, yet it is also a deep chasm blocking his path to Golden Core.

The third level of the Primordial Overlord Body allows one to withstand the pressure of late-stage Golden Core cultivators with their physical body – this is their advantage.

But while the odds of winning this battle are high, the long-term consequences are also significant.

With the Pai Gymnastics Movement gone, the area beneath the Yangtze River is a complete mess, and sooner or later, hungry wolves will pounce on it.

The Susanoo sank, and the Great Master died without a trace, but those fragments of the Eight-Foot Magatama at the bottom of the river are thorns from Japan, and they will explode sooner or later.

In contrast, Black Witch Village suffered a great loss this time.

The Grand Elder died and the Holy Maiden was lost, but the foundation remained unshaken.

Xiao Rou, that chess piece, whether it's a sharp blade or poison, needs to be handled carefully.

The Miao family's tradition was handed over to Miao Yingying as a way of repaying a favor and also as a strategic move to ensure its future repercussions.

Zhou Ran let out a long breath, finally able to sort out the jumbled thoughts in his mind.

Right now, there are only two things that are most important.

First, gather the seven fundamental elements mentioned by Bai Xuan and use them to nurture this embryonic core.

Second, Bai Xuan's nonsensical remark just now.

At the foot of Longhu Mountain...

Is something waking up?

He opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The night sky over Longhu Mountain was oppressively gloomy, with a hint of impending storm brewing.