"Ahhh!!!"
Liang Han felt his spine instantly drenched in cold sweat. He couldn't even comprehend what was happening. He could see the pouncing white tiger wasn't physical, yet the overwhelming divine soul pressure that chilled him to his very core was terrifyingly real. A sense of imminent death assaulted him. He screamed instinctively, a brilliant blaze erupting from his body as he desperately channeled his true essence, pushing the spirit artifact bracelet on his left wrist to its absolute limit.
Simultaneously, he stomped down, causing the ground to crater beneath him. His body shot backward like a cannonball.
His reaction was undeniably fast. Unfortunately, the White Tiger Soul was far too close. From the moment it appeared, it was practically upon him. One pounce brought it right in front of his face!
"Swoosh..."
The colossal white beast descended from the air. First, it touched the solidified golden light shield protecting Liang Han. Yet, this shield, potent enough to block Magma Fire, seemed utterly nonexistent before the Tiger Soul. It passed straight through!
"Soul attack..."
Realization drained the color from Liang Han's face. He finally understood this was likely a rare and terrifying soul attack. But even if he possessed a relevant defensive method, he had absolutely no time to deploy it. His startled cry died unfinished as the massive Tiger Soul 'swallowed' him whole!!
The formless yet substantial Tiger Soul engulfed the living man within its maw. It surged through the space Liang Han occupied. Liang Han himself wasn't carried away. The immense tiger phantom passed completely through his body. He remained frozen in his final defensive posture, arms raised, standing rigidly like a wooden statue...
— Faintly, one could see the Tiger Soul pulling a human-shaped shadow out of Liang Han's body as it passed through him.
"Boom!!"
The next instant, the protective light shield around Liang Han, deprived of its source, shattered violently. The large patch of Magma Fire that had been pressing against it, now unimpeded, surged forward by sheer momentum and engulfed Liang Han's body!
...
"Thud!! Crash!!"
Meanwhile, at the exact moment Lin Feng activated the White Tiger Fierce Soul Talisman, a shadowy figure struck him from behind. Amidst a heavy, dull impact, the protective light shield around him shattered completely. He barely managed to lurch forward half a step before a tremendous force slammed into his back, sending him hurtling headlong through the air!
"Pfft!!" Mid-flight, Lin Feng vomited a large mouthful of blood. He felt as if his spine might be broken; the excruciating pain threatened to plunge him into unconsciousness. Biting the tip of his tongue hard, he forced himself to stay alert. Twisting violently in the air, he managed to turn himself around to face his attacker.
As he turned, he saw a figure closing in with lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, a withered, claw-like hand, radiating a putrid aura, tore through the air, aimed directly at his face!
"Ahhh!!"
Utterly out of options, Lin Feng felt the sensation of death imminent. A desperate roar tore from his throat as he instinctively threw his arms up to shield his face.
"Thud!!"
A muffled thud echoed as Lin Feng hit the ground back-first. He slid uncontrollably backward, plowing a long, deep furrow in the earth.
"..."
He slid for over ten meters before finally coming to a stop. Yet, to his astonishment, the expected agony, or even death, did not arrive...
Dazed for a second, Lin Feng cautiously lowered the arms shielding his face. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of a withered, clawed hand frozen mere inches from his eyes!
"Ah!" Lin Feng jolted backward instinctively, scrambling half-sitting another meter away. Only then did he clearly see: the claw hadn't descended. It hung suspended in mid-air. Its owner, the corpse puppet, stood utterly motionless, rigidly frozen in place.
Lin Feng instinctively glanced towards the spot where Liang Han and the Tiger Soul had been. There, only a pool of molten, rock-like fire remained burning fiercely on the ground, a small pile of ashes visible beneath its glow.
Clearly, Liang Han had been utterly annihilated—body and soul extinguished—under the combined assault of the Tiger Soul and the Magma Fire.
Because Liang Han died, the corpse puppet lost its controller, halting its attack.
"Whew..."
Seeing this, Lin Feng let out a long, shaky breath. He raised a trembling hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. His entire body relaxed abruptly, slumping to the ground as he hissed through gritted teeth, sucking in sharp breaths of air.
Thank the heavens for that fatal flaw in the corpse puppet's control... One second later, and I'd be dead or crippled for sure.
His back felt like it was on fire. Groping behind him, he found his robe intact—thank the heavens for this spirit artifact robe! It had absorbed the brunt of the corpse puppet's blows twice now. The consequences otherwise didn't bear thinking about.
Pulling out a Recovery Pill, he tossed it into his mouth and began circulating his cultivation technique internally to recover. With a wave of his right hand, the Magma Fire floating nearby drifted over and was reabsorbed into his body.
Struggling to his feet, Lin Feng walked over to the motionless corpse puppet. He stared at its horrifying, zombie-like face, his thoughts momentarily drifting away.
— That night twelve years ago... I encountered something like this 'corpse puppet'? In that flash of memory earlier, behind the corpse puppet... one figure must have been Father. The other... the puppet's master? Someone from the Corpse Sect? Why was Father with him? Why, after returning, didn't he see me? Why leave only a storage ring and vanish? Was he kidnapped? But if kidnapped, why come back? Were they... allies? But how could Father ever associate with the Corpse Sect?!
A torrent of questions flooded Lin Feng's mind, answers elusive. He had finally found a sliver of a clue about his father, only for it to unravel into a dozen more mysteries. Yet, at least now he had a direction, a path to follow, instead of wandering blindly like a headless fly.
After a moment's contemplation, Lin Feng raised his right hand and placed it on the corpse puppet's shoulder. He attempted to store it in his storage ring... but failed.
"Can't be stored?" Lin Feng frowned slightly. Based on his limited knowledge of the Corpse Sect, its members specialized in refining cultivators' corpses into 'corpse puppets' for their use. Since a 'corpse puppet' was made from a dead body, it should be considered an inanimate object. Why couldn't it be stored?
"Pity..."
Lin Feng sighed inwardly. He'd hoped to study it if he could store it. Since he couldn't, there was no point in leaving it here.
"Boom!!"
With a flick of his right hand, the Magma Fire surged forth once more, striking the corpse puppet squarely. Flames engulfed the figure instantly, wrapping it in a molten, lava-like shroud. Within the blink of an eye, the humanoid shape simply... melted. Utterly consumed, leaving no trace behind.
"Huh? What's this..."
After recalling the Magma Fire, Lin Feng noticed a faint glimmer amidst the small pile of ashes on the ground. He paused, puzzled, then a spark of recognition lit his eyes. With a grasping motion of his right hand, he pulled the object towards him.
It was an egg-sized orb, radiating a soft golden light. Holding it, he could sense a powerful, concentrated energy pulsating within it, unique and potent.
This is... a Golden Core!!
After reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment, a breakthrough occurs: the vortex of true essence within the dantian condenses into a solid core—the Golden Core. Achieving this signifies entry into the Golden Core stage. The Golden Core is the focal point of a Golden Core cultivator's entire cultivation base, functioning similarly to the Foundation Establishment vortex but hundreds of times more powerful. It is, effectively, a cultivator's second heart.
Upon the death of some Golden Core cultivators, their core shatters. Under certain circumstances, however, like this one witnessed by Lin Feng, the Golden Core can remain intact.
A cultivator's Golden Core, much like a demon beast's core, contains immense power. This power can be absorbed, but it's far more perilous than absorbing a beast core. Special methods are required; otherwise, the risk of cultivation deviation or demonic possession is extremely high. Moreover, such an act is considered a grievous offense against the natural order, viewed by many as heretical and demonic, and thus rarely practiced.
This was Lin Feng's first time seeing a cultivator's Golden Core. He examined it with a mix of novelty and caution for a few moments before carefully storing it away. Then, he turned and walked towards the spot where Liang Han had met his end...