Pingyang Mountain, Council Hall.
"Congratulations to Realman Li, Mountain Lord, on achieving the Golden Core! May you enjoy five hundred years of life and the freedom of longevity!"
Led by Yu Kun, the cultivators from the three sects, along with Luo Feibai and the other four Foundation Establishment cultivators of Pingyang Mountain, loudly offered their congratulations and bowed deeply.
However, their expressions varied greatly.
Luo Feibai, Wen Chu, Rong Yue, and Hong Yao still wore somewhat dazed looks, but their excitement was barely contained. Their movements and demeanor radiated reverence as if the casually seated young man before them was a deity.
The cultivators from the three sects, however, were different.
Although Elder Yu and the others tried to hide their complex emotions, a trace of disbelief leaked through. From start to finish, they found today's events somewhat unreal, yet they managed to remain relatively composed, without showing fear.
As for Yu Kun, no matter how respectful and cautious he appeared, a deep fear lingered in his eyes. Especially when he noticed the astonishingly young-looking man youthful and elegant like a spring breeze seeming to glance at him, his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
At this moment, however, Li Ye's attention remained mostly on himself.
Within his dantian, a perfectly round golden core, gleaming in a blue-violet hue, gently absorbed spiritual energy and mana.
The Wood God True Flame curled around the core, occasionally burrowing into it, slowly and steadily purifying the true essence within, burning away impurities and further strengthening his foundation.
At a mere thought, the amount of true essence Li Ye could now command was like an overwhelming tidal wave compared to what he could muster at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
The qualitative leap from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core was truly astonishing far greater than the leap from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment.
"Of course, this is largely because the techniques I now cultivate are among the finest under heaven, completely incomparable to the incomplete Qingyuan Technique I practiced before," Li Ye mused, recalling the details of his recent breakthrough.
His mana had already solidified by half.
Using the Dragon-Tiger Body Refining Method, he refined Frost Condensate Water and Profound Fire Essence, eliminating their mutual conflict and boosting his chances of forming a core by nearly 40%.
With such profound accumulation and powerful assistance, transforming his liquid mana into a solid true essence had been almost effortless.
Yet even with these advantages, limited by his High-Grade Spiritual Roots, he still encountered a brief bottleneck during core formation.
Had it not been for the Wood God True Flame merging with his nascent core from the very beginning, continuously purifying and refining his true essence, this minor hurdle might have delayed his Golden Core formation even longer.
Even so, over a hundred days had passed before he finally succeeded.
Li Ye hadn't anticipated that while he was secluded for his breakthrough, such drastic changes would sweep across the four nations' cultivation world.
He had always remained wary of the demonic tribes even from the moment he uncovered suspicious demonic techniques on Cai Shiwei and Bihuazi sensing something was amiss...
But to have the demons, who had long remained hidden, suddenly rally all their forces and unleash a massive invasion that shook the entire cultivation world in such a short time, still exceeded his expectations.
Which meant... he was now possibly the only remaining righteous Golden Core cultivator among the four nations.
The thought flashed through his mind as Li Ye casually swept his gaze across the people below and said,
"No need for such formalities, rise."
As he spoke, he lightly waved his hand, and a surge of vast mana gently lifted everyone to their feet.
The force was soft, devoid of hostility, yet its irresistible might left the cultivators of the three sects inwardly awed.
Li Ye then asked calmly,
"I heard earlier... you were planning to seize my Pingyang Mountain?"
....
Whoosh
Instantly, the faces of the three sects' cultivators turned pale, cold sweat breaking out on their backs.
Yet they all tacitly turned their gazes toward Yu Kun, hesitating to speak.
Elder Yu, among them, watched with a complex expression, full of deeper meaning.
Yu Kun, sweating profusely, forced himself to explain,
"N-No! We were merely acting on orders to assist in strengthening the defenses of the Chidi Mountain Range against the demonic tide. We had no intention of disrespect!"
As he spoke, he glanced around pleadingly, hoping the others would support him.
But all of them avoided his gaze.
After all, Yu Kun was merely a member of the Thousand Islands Water City. Whether their sects were even willing to offend a Golden Core cultivator for his sake was highly questionable.
Let alone that these so-called allies were nothing more than a fragile coalition formed out of desperation against the demon horde.
Besides, compared to the power of a third-rank black flood dragon, the Golden Core master standing right in front of them was simply not someone they could afford to offend.
"Hmph! Do you take us for fools to be so easily deceived?"
Luo Feibai sneered, stepped forward, bowed to Li Ye, and then explained everything that had happened earlier in detail.
"So that's how it is…"
Li Ye nodded slightly, then flicked his finger, and a beam of divine light shot out, striking directly into Yu Kun's dantian.
There was no chance to dodge at all!
Yu Kun's expression froze for a moment, then twisted in terror as his cultivation plummeted at an alarming speed. Unable to stay upright, he clutched his abdomen and collapsed to the ground, crying out in agony.
Before everyone's eyes, his cultivation fell from the mid-foundation Establishment stage down to merely a few layers of Qi Refinement.
Witnessing this, the crowd instinctively stepped back a few paces, distancing themselves from Yu Kun, afraid they might suffer the same fate.
"You dared to covet my sacred land and threatened my disciples. Such disrespect cannot be tolerated. Today, I seal your cultivation as punishment," Li Ye said calmly, pointing at Yu Kun, then sweeping his gaze over the others.
"Take him back. If the Thousand Islands Water City sends someone to deliver a formal apology, I might consider lifting the seal on him..."
"Otherwise, don't blame me for personally visiting and demanding an explanation."
"We obey Realman's decree!"
The cultivators from the three sects froze for a brief moment before hurriedly bowing in response, inwardly cursing their misfortune.
They had been unwittingly dragged into a conflict between Golden Core cultivators. Was this Li Realman planning to use this opportunity to suppress Thousand Islands Water City and seize influence over both nations?
If they had known things would turn out like this, they would have refused this mission no matter what!
Li Ye nodded and said, "You may take Yu Kun and leave... Fellow Daoist Yu, stay behind for a word."
At these words, both the cultivators from the three sects and the four from Pingyang Mountain showed subtle changes in their expressions, casting curious and even slightly envious glances at Elder Yu.
After all, aside from the two demonic Golden Cores, Li Ye was now the only righteous Golden Core cultivator left in the Four Nations' cultivation world!
If one could form a connection with him, who knew what benefits might come in the future? Their chances of surviving the demon tide would likely improve dramatically.
Even Elder Yu herself was momentarily stunned before quickly suppressing her excitement and complex emotions. She respectfully accepted the command and stepped aside from the group.
They watched as the others used artifact-riding techniques to drag Yu Kun away.
Rong Yue and Hong Yao, in particular, glanced at the beautiful Elder Yu with a subtle sense of unease.
It was said that this woman was a high-ranking elder of the Purple Profound Sect and supposedly had little past connection with their young master.
But now, the young master had suddenly asked her to stay behind could there be some hidden story between them?
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