Condensing the Mystic Elixir, the Scorching Sun Burns the Heart

In the room.

After consuming another Fivefold Purple Spirit Pill, Li Mo quietly assessed his current physical condition.

The tangled meridians had been completely smoothed out, and the nine-petaled lotus in his dantian glowed faintly, enveloping the still-incomplete Mystic Core.

"My current state is even better than before."

Li Mo felt it was time to condense his Mystic Core.

He lined up various pills in preparation for any unexpected situations.

After checking his remaining reserves of martial insights, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.

Eight hundred and sixty years.

More than a dozen lifetimes for an ordinary person.

The wealthy young Li Mo took out the golden page.

He possessed a miniature world.

Thus, he planned to attempt forming his core using the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Mystic Core Scripture while still in the Inner Breath Realm.

[Twenty years of martial insights successfully infused.]

[Year One: You sat in meditation before the golden page and discovered it could align with the celestial constellations. By condensing 365 Mystic Cores within your inner world, you could construct 365 primary stars.]

[Year Ten: You tirelessly deduced the profound trajectories of the 365 primary stars, but the ever-changing celestial patterns made it nearly impossible to grasp even a fraction of their secrets.]

[Year Twenty: You finally realized that the foundation must be built upon the Sun and the Moon...]

[Deduction complete. Your Zhou Tian Xing Dou Mystic Core Scripture has reached the beginner level.]

"Not bad."

Li Mo nodded to himself.

After all, this was on par with the Karmic Flame Red Lotus Art. Twenty years to reach the beginner stage was actually quite fast.

"It seems the difficulty increases exponentially as the number of Mystic Cores grows."

A sudden realization dawned upon him.

After a moment of contemplation, he swallowed a seven-lined pill dropped by Princess Little Jiang.

He activated the state of Harmony with Heaven and Earth!

A vortex seemed to form atop the nine-petaled lotus in his dantian, greedily devouring the spiritual energy from the pill and even drawing from the surrounding world.

The energy was then frantically refined upon entering his dantian.

Within the small room, the void trembled, and the commotion grew increasingly intense.

Li Mo’s consciousness sank into the seed of his miniature world.

In the sky of the miniature world,

a great sun slowly rose.

Encased within it was the phantom of a lotus, voraciously absorbing spiritual energy, growing more solid and tangible by the moment.

It inched ever closer to reality.

......

Meanwhile.

In the modestly decorated main hall of the Li residence, figures whose mere presence could shake Purple Sun Prefecture—even the entire Eastern Wasteland Domain—were gathered.

High-ranking members of the Qingyuan Sect, the Crimson Whale Gang, and other major factions were seated here.

The seat of honor remained empty.

It was reserved for Shangguan Wencang.

In the recent battle, the Qingyuan Sect’s leader, who had rarely shown his hand in recent years, displayed strength nearing that of a Law Body cultivator—far surpassing the typical limits of a prefecture-level power. Thus, it was only fitting that he occupy the highest seat.

"Sect Leader Shangguan, please."

A voice sounded from outside, prompting the assembled guests to turn their heads.

Shangguan Wencang entered, accompanied by several Qingyuan Sect elders and a young girl of about sixteen.

She strode into the hall and, without hesitation, took her seat.

Right at the head of the table.

The ice-cold girl simply acted out of habit...

In her previous life, when presiding over the Nine Heavens Assembly in the Moon Palace, even the Great Yu Emperor had to sit below her.

The crowd: "......Who is she?"

The utterly mortified Shangguan Wencang: "......"

Why did her aura make it seem like she belonged there?

Noticing the stares,

Ying Bing frowned slightly, her cool gaze sweeping over the room, compelling an involuntary urge to lower one’s head...

Thud—

An Inner Landscape expert abruptly stood up, ramrod straight.

"Why are you standing?"

"Uh... my legs were stiff. Been sitting too long. Ahem..."

The expert awkwardly sat back down.

Strange. That girl was only at the Inner Breath Realm, yet sitting at the same table with her made him feel unworthy.

"Esteemed guests, have you questioned your disciples about the details of the secret realm’s events?"

Shangguan Wencang, now seated on a chair brought by an attendant, spoke calmly.

"We did."

"I asked as well, but I suspect my disciple was spinning me a tall tale."

"Oh? You too?"

"Odd. The moment I questioned my apprentice, he started spouting nonsense like he was possessed."

"Exactly! An Inner Breath cultivator defeating an Inner Landscape expert? Hah! If that were true, I’d eat this table right now."

"My nephew came back raving about swearing allegiance to some Li... Li Mo. Since when do our Gangdou Sect disciples bow to others as 'big brother'?"

The elders grumbled, but as they spoke, they realized something was off.

Why were their disciples all saying similar things?

Could they have conspired beforehand to deceive them?

But even more absurd were the contents of their claims.

"Ying Bing, as someone who experienced it firsthand, please enlighten everyone about the events involving the Demon Summoning Sect."

Shangguan Wencang turned to her.

Ying Bing set down her teacup and spoke in a measured tone, her words carrying an undeniable weight of credibility.

Naturally, she omitted sensitive details, such as the matter of the Blood Phoenix Essence.

The truth of what transpired in the secret realm gradually became clear.

"Han Zhen? The Great Shang’s Imperial Preceptor, who survived through sinister means?"

"The Great Shang’s restoration?"

"That Blood Phoenix Secret Realm was actually the inner world of a Palm Mystic cultivator?"

......

The more they listened, the more horrified they became, sweat trickling down their backs.

This was far bigger than they had imagined.

They had unwittingly stepped into a storm of monumental proportions.

However, the burly, blacksmith-like elder from the Gangdou Sect noticed something amiss.

"If the Great Shang’s Imperial Preceptor had schemed for so long, why were there so few casualties in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm?"

It was baffling.

"You and Li Mo held off Yin Huaxuan and Han Zhen?"

"Mm."

Ying Bing’s confirmation left the crowd exchanging uncertain glances.

"My disciple possesses dual Mystic Cores and, by chance, formed a connection with Han Zhen’s treasure, tipping the scales."

"Though Han Zhen’s origins are extraordinary, his current strength is merely at the Observation Deity level."

Shangguan Wencang’s voice cut through the silence.

Dual Mystic Cores?

The crowd was stunned into silence.

Just then,

a breathtaking sword intent flashed across the sky, freezing souls in place with its sheer brilliance.

By the time they regained their senses, it felt like an illusion—as if it had never existed.

"What kind of sword art was that?"

Shock rippled through the crowd, and when they looked back at Ying Bing, they couldn’t help but gulp.

That sword intent could indeed wound an Inner Landscape expert.

At such a young age, with such mastery, and dual Mystic Cores...

"With her in the Qingyuan Sect’s ranks, they’ll dominate the Yunzhou Martial Arts Summit."

The thought arose simultaneously in their minds.

And in a few years, once she matured?

The Qingyuan Sect might rise to heights they could only dream of.

"By the way, how exactly was the secret realm shattered?"

Another elder asked gently.

Ying Bing took another sip of tea.

"Li Mo broke it."

"Li Mo is...?"

"I’ve heard of him. A kind and helpful young man. Several of my disciples owe him favors."

"But wasn’t he only at the Jade Liquid Stage?"

The Jade Liquid Stage—the mid-tier of the Inner Breath Realm.

A realm even lower than Ying Bing’s.

To shatter the cave heaven of the Palm Mystic Realm—even one long depleted—was simply beyond belief.

Boom—

At that very moment, an overwhelming aura radiated through the void.

This aura brimmed with the destructive essence of extreme yang, growing stronger by the second.

Who doesn’t harbor a few unspeakable secrets?

Yet now, under the influence of this aura, they felt as though a scorching sun burned within their souls, an inescapable blaze.

Under the light, nothing could hide!

In shock, the crowd unleashed their own protective domains to resist, then turned their gazes toward the source of the aura.

What the hell was happening?

Ying Bing rose to her feet, peering through the window as if catching a distant glimpse of a familiar figure.

She wasn’t surprised.

During their dual cultivation, she had already sensed it.

"He’s condensing his Mystic Core."