Breaking Through to the Core Formation Realm

The sun gradually slanted westward, and in the bamboo forest of Purple Bamboo Peak, only the humming of flowing spiritual energy remained.

A day had quietly slipped away in focused cultivation. When twilight dyed the sky above Purple Bamboo Peak red, everyone felt their auras surge wildly, thoroughly transformed.

Shi Wanshan clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body. The pressure of a peak King Realm expert was restrained like a deep abyss.

He looked at the pale golden spiritual light lingering in his palm, his eyes full of disbelief. This level of progress was even more bountiful than what he had gained from ten years of secluded cultivation.

Xuanyangzi, his eyes half-closed, had wisps of Saint Realm aura lingering around his fingertips, and the spiritual energy around him surged like a rushing river.

He could clearly perceive that the invisible barrier lying between the King Realm and the Saint Realm was actually showing signs of loosening.

The threshold of the Saint Realm, which no one in the entire Xuan Domain had been able to touch for tens of thousands of years, had been reached by him in just one day at Purple Bamboo Peak. This miracle made his fingertips tremble slightly.

Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen stood side by side, the spiritual energy in their bodies having condensed to the absolute limit of the peak Core Formation Realm.

Everyone looked at each other in silence, but their eyes flashed with shock and ecstasy.

What they had gained on Purple Bamboo Peak today far exceeded the sum of their decades of hard cultivation, as if an invisible hand in the dark had completely paved their path of cultivation.

"It's getting late. We should head back."

Xuanyangzi was the first to break the silence, standing up and bowing to Gu Changge.

"Thank you for your hospitality today, Junior Brother Changge. We will remember this favor."

Shi Wanshan also hurriedly stood up with his two disciples to bow.

"Virtuous Brother Changge, no words can express my gratitude. If you ever need anything in the future, the entirety of Heaven-Supporting Peak will not hesitate to die ten thousand times over!"

Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen also bowed: "Thank you for your help, Martial Uncle Gu!"

Gu Changge waved his hand: "Be careful on your way."

The group turned and left. Not long after they walked out of Purple Bamboo Peak and separated, Xuanyangzi seemed to sense something and turned back.

"Junior Brother Changge, is there anything else..."

Gu Changge took out a jade bottle and a brocade box from his sleeve and stuffed them into Xuanyangzi's hands.

"Inside is a Nine-Turn Golden Pill and a bottle of Innate Spiritual Marrow. As for how to use them, that's up to you as the Sect Master."

Xuanyangzi was stunned. He looked down at the items in his hands, and an astonishing light burst from his eyes.

He tightly grasped the jade bottle and the brocade box, bowing deeply to Gu Changge: "Junior Brother Changge, I..."

"Go." Gu Changge interrupted him.

Xuanyangzi didn't say anything more. He nodded solemnly, turned, and left.

Looking at their retreating backs, Gu Changge's mouth curled into a faint smile, and he turned back to the bamboo house.

When Gu Changge passed through the light door, the night had already flooded the valley.

As soon as he stepped into the area of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he heard the crisp sound of clashing metal ahead, mixed with the sharp hissing of demonic beasts.

Following the sound, he saw Xiao Ruobai entangled with a giant python covered in green scales.

The Green-Scaled Python was a full ten zhang long. Its scales gleamed with a cold, dark light, and it flicked its forked tongue. Every swing of its tail carried the force to send boulders flying. It was a vicious beast at the peak of the Core Formation Realm.

The youth was bare-chested, his bronze skin covered with wounds of varying depths. The deepest one ran from his shoulder blade to his waist, the flesh rolled outward, but it didn't affect his movements in the slightest.

The mortal iron saber in his hand had a curled edge, but he gripped it tightly. Relying on the Shadow-Treading Steps, he roamed around the python's body, his figure as agile as the wind.

"Now!"

Xiao Ruobai spotted the opening when the Green-Scaled Python raised its head to flick its tongue. He suddenly ducked, the blade of his saber tracing a cold arc close to the ground, accurately slashing at the giant python's weak point.

The crisp sound of shattering scales was accompanied by a spray of foul-smelling blood. The Green-Scaled Python suffered from the pain, its massive body twisting wildly, stirring up a sky full of fallen leaves.

Gu Changge stood quietly on the rock watching. Under his Illusion-Shattering Divine Eyes, the golden battle qi in the youth's body was undergoing an astonishing transformation.

The battle qi, which was originally like a stream, had converged into a river. In the repeated slaughter, all impurities had been removed, making it as condensed as liquid gold. Every circulation made his meridians emit a faint hum.

This was the four hundred and forty-second Core Formation Realm demonic beast he had slain.

In just two days, Xiao Ruobai's combat intuition and control over his battle qi had completely transformed.

The Green-Scaled Python launched a dying counterattack, using its body to tightly entangle Xiao Ruobai. The immense force almost crushed the youth's bones.

Xiao Ruobai's face flushed red, but he suddenly grinned, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

He actually took the initiative to let go of the saber hilt, dug his hands into the scales of the python's body, poured all the battle qi in his body into his fingertips, and forcefully tore open a gap!

"Break!"

Battle qi surged in along the gap. The Green-Scaled Python let out a mournful wail, and the binding force suddenly slackened.

Xiao Ruobai took the opportunity to break free, picked up the iron saber on the ground, and backhanded it into the giant python's vital spot.

The demonic beast died completely, its body drooping limply.

Xiao Ruobai slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. Sweat mixed with blood soaked the dirt beneath him, but it couldn't hide the bright light in his eyes.

Just then, he suddenly felt the battle qi in his body begin to grow restless, like ignited gunpowder, frantically impacting an invisible barrier along his meridians.

"About to break through?"

Gu Changge raised an eyebrow.

The War God Physique had been thoroughly activated in the life-and-death tempering, coupled with the medicinal power of the Nine-Turn Golden Pill and the spiritual energy nourishment of Purple Bamboo Peak earlier, the breakthrough at this moment was a matter of course.

Xiao Ruobai also noticed the change and hurriedly sat cross-legged, circulating the "War God Strategy" to guide his battle qi.

The golden battle qi crashed against the barrier of the Core Formation Realm like a tide. Every impact caused severe pain in his meridians as if they were tearing, but it also made the battle qi purer.

An hour later, Xiao Ruobai suddenly opened his eyes, golden light bursting forth, his body exuding the pressure of the early Core Formation Realm.

"Master."

Xiao Ruobai stood up and bowed, his voice hoarse but carrying undisguised excitement.

At this moment, the wounds on his body had scabbed over under the nourishment of the battle qi. His originally thin and weak body had gained a few lean and tough lines, and the cowardice between his brows had been replaced by a murderous aura.

Standing in the morning light, he was like a battle saber showing its edge for the first time.

Gu Changge walked down the slope and flicked a drop of Innate Spiritual Marrow.

"Core Formation is just the beginning. The remaining fifty-eight, continue. But the next ones will be Purple Mansion Realm demonic beasts."

With a light wave of his hand, the invisible barrier on the edge of the mountain range expanded outward, and the formidable pressure of Purple Mansion Realm demonic beasts surged over like a tide.

Xiao Ruobai caught the spiritual marrow, the golden core in his dantian suddenly rotating, and his battle qi instantly condensed several times over.

He gripped the iron saber tightly, looking up just in time to see a colorful giant tiger rush out of the dense forest. It was more than three zhang long, its fur like burning dark fire. It was an early Purple Mansion Nether Tiger.

This tiger had a black king mark on its forehead, its fangs exposed. Every step it took made the ground tremble slightly. It had clearly developed intelligence and was sizing up Xiao Ruobai with scrutinizing eyes.

"Perfect timing."

Xiao Ruobai shouted in a low voice, unleashing his Shadow-Treading Steps. His figure circled to the side of the tiger like a ghost, the iron saber carrying golden battle qi chopping straight at the tiger's waist.

The Nether Tiger reacted extremely fast, twisting its body and swinging its tiger claw to meet the long saber.

The crisp sound of the saber light colliding with the tiger claw exploded in the forest. Xiao Ruobai only felt a sharp pain in his arm, and the long saber almost flew out of his hand.

Using the momentum, he leaped backward and landed steadily beside a tree trunk ten feet away. Looking at the deep claw mark on his blade, his Adam's apple bobbed. The physical strength of a Purple Mansion Realm demonic beast was actually several times more tyrannical than that of the Core Formation Realm.

The Nether Tiger landed heavily, sending dead leaves flying into the air. The black, king-like stripe on its forehead gleamed with a cold light. Its amber vertical pupils locked onto Xiao Ruobai, and the corrosive saliva dripping from its maw hissed as it burned small pits into the ground.

It paced slowly. The spiritual energy of the Purple Mansion Realm pressed down like a physical weight, making the surrounding air feel thick and viscous. Clearly, it did not take this Core Formation Realm human seriously.

Xiao Ruobai took a deep breath. Inside his body, his War God Physique suddenly gave off a scorching throb.

Golden battle aura surged through his meridians. With every circulation, his bones and muscles let out a faint hum. His right arm, which had just been numbed by the impact, rapidly regained feeling under the nourishment of the battle aura.

He gripped his iron saber tightly, and a faint golden light shimmered along its edge. This was the external manifestation of the War God Physique's battle aura; without relying on external artifacts, it could grant mortal iron the power to break through defenses.

No longer in a rush to attack, he pushed his Shadow-Treading Steps to the absolute limit.

His figure darted around the Nether Tiger. Sometimes he used the tree trunks as cover to evade the sweeping strikes of the tiger's tail; other times, he stepped lightly on branches and leaves, launching himself into the air to dodge the pouncing strikes of its massive claws.

Every dodge was executed perfectly. He was neither intimidated by the demonic beast's oppressive aura, nor did he ever step out of striking distance.

The Nether Tiger grew agitated by these hit-and-run tactics. It suddenly threw its head back and roared. Its Purple Mansion Realm spiritual energy whipped up a fierce gale, causing the surrounding trees to rustle violently.

Its four paws slammed into the ground, and its massive body lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow. A foul-smelling wind, wrapped in pure killing intent, rushed directly at his face.

At this critical, hair-breadth moment, the War God Physique within Xiao Ruobai's body completely awakened.

The golden battle aura condensed into dense, intricate patterns across the surface of his skin. His originally somewhat slender frame unexpectedly erupted with a terrifying power completely disproportionate to its size.

Instead of retreating, he advanced. Ducking low to avoid the Nether Tiger's gaping, bloodthirsty maw, he swung the iron saber in his hand upward at a sharp angle, slicing right along the curve of the tiger's underbelly.

This strike gathered every last drop of his battle aura. The wind from the blade tore through the air, carrying an indomitable and absolute resolve.