The Hundred Thousand Mountains of Xizhou

The tearing sensation of the spatial turbulence finally disappeared.

Accompanied by a muffled boom, the Purple Firmament Palace was like a toy casually thrown by a giant, smashing heavily into a lush green valley. It startled countless birds into flight and sent beasts fleeing.

The massive impact caused the entire palace to sink deep into the soil, and the kicked-up dust took a full half-hour to dissipate.

Inside the hall.

Ye Xuan let out a long breath of stale air, his face somewhat pale.

Although the Purple Firmament Palace possessed unparalleled defense, this ultra-long-distance teleportation across two continents consumed a terrifying amount of the controller's divine sense.

If not for his powerful soul from living two lifetimes, he would likely have been shredded into an idiot by the spatial storm in an instant.

"Mas... Master?"

Ying'er climbed up from the ground. Ignoring her somewhat messy clothes, she immediately threw herself to Ye Xuan's side, checking on him nervously. "Are you alright? Are you bleeding?"

"It's nothing."

Ye Xuan waved his hand, stood up, and looked outside through the hall's doorway.

Before his eyes was no longer the unmelting ice and snow of the Northern Region, but a vibrant primeval forest.

The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and a spiritual energy that, although violent and chaotic, was exceptionally dense.

"This is..."

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, looking at the rolling, seemingly endless black mountain range in the distance, as well as the occasional flashes of blood-red or pink light streaking across the sky.

He smiled.

He smiled with great relief.

"The Western Continent."

"The Hundred Thousand Mountains."

Ye Xuan turned his head and looked at the bewildered Ying'er. In a great mood, he pinched her cheek.

"Ying'er, we are safe."

"This place is separated from the Azure Continent by the entire Endless Sea. Even if an old monster at the Tribulation Transcendence realm wanted to fly over, they would lose a layer of skin. As for Xia Lengyue..."

Ye Xuan sneered.

"Although that crazy woman is formidable, if she wants to cross the sea to hunt us down, it will be at least a few months from now."

Hearing the word "safe," Ying'er's tense body finally relaxed.

She slumped onto the ground, panting heavily, feeling the exhaustion of having survived a disaster.

But soon, as if remembering something, a blush crept up her cheeks, and her eyes carried a hint of reminiscence and shyness.

Ye Xuan's gaze inadvertently swept over her body. He suddenly let out a sound of surprise and said, "Why is there blood on you?"

He looked at the slumped Ying'er in disbelief, a flash of surprise in his eyes. "Could it be that you were a virgin?"

"How could that be?" Ying'er lowered her head and whispered, though her eyes were full of guilt.

"That makes sense."

Ye Xuan nodded, not taking it too seriously.

He waved his large sleeve.

The Purple Firmament Palace trembled again, and concealment formations were activated one after another.

The originally resplendent palace gradually became transparent under the effect of the formations, finally blending completely into the surrounding environment. Looking from the outside, this place was still an ordinary valley, with no abnormalities visible.

"Next."

Ye Xuan looked at the spirit stones and pills piled up in the hall, the light of ambition flashing in his eyes.

"Secluded cultivation."

"I swear I will not come out until I form my Golden Core!"

Cultivation knows no time; one forgets the passing of summers and winters.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

In the underground hall of the Purple Firmament Palace, the spiritual energy was so dense that it almost materialized into liquid drops.

They dripped onto the ground with a tick-tock sound.

Piled up here were the massive resources Ye Xuan had "borrowed" from Xia Lengyue.

In the center of the hall, Ye Xuan sat cross-legged. The muscles on his bare upper body were taut, and his veins bulged, as if he were enduring some extreme pain.

Around him, spiritual lights of five colors—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—circulated madly, clashing with each other and emitting muffled booming sounds.

"Fuse... for me!"

Ye Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, which were completely bloodshot.

He swallowed a tiger amulet containing innate Geng Metal energy in one gulp, attempting to use this extremely sharp power to forcefully break the balance in his body and condense his Golden Core.

Boom!

The Geng Metal energy entered his body like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, rampaging through his meridians.

However.

Just at the moment when the five-element spiritual power was about to converge into a core.

Crack!

A faint yet piercing cracking sound echoed deep within his dantian.

Rejection!

Extreme rejection!

Although the five elements mutually generated each other, they also mutually overcame each other.

To condense the legendary Five Elements Primal Chaos Golden Core, one needed not only resources but also a profoundly mysterious opportunity and an ultimate comprehension of the laws of the five elements.

Relying solely on the accumulation of external items was like building a tower with sand; the higher it got, the more dangerous it became.

Pfft!

Ye Xuan spat out a large mouthful of blood towards the sky, his entire body withering.

The spiritual light around him instantly collapsed.

He failed.

He failed once again.

This was already his ninth attempt in these three years.

Every time, he was stuck at the absolute peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, separated from the Golden Core by only a thin layer of paper.

But this layer of paper was harder to cross than a heavenly chasm.

"Damn it..."

Ye Xuan wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes terrifyingly gloomy.

He looked at his trembling hands.

Peak Foundation Establishment.

This was his current realm.

Although relying on the overbearing nature of the Five Elements Chaos Scripture, his current combat strength was enough to crush any cultivator at the False Core realm, and he could even escape with his life from the hands of an early Golden Core cultivator.

However, it was ultimately not the Golden Core.

Without forming a Golden Core, one's lifespan would not increase, and divine abilities would not manifest. In this man-eating cultivation world, he was ultimately just a slightly larger ant.

"Master..."

Just then, a timid voice sounded nearby.

Ye Xuan turned his head.

He saw Ying'er looking at him with worry from the spirit-gathering formation not far away.

Over these three years, Ying'er's changes could be described as earth-shattering.

Ye Xuan had directly passed the most core and overbearing Five Elements Chaos Scripture to her.

Although this cultivation method was difficult to practice, perhaps because Ying'er was pure-hearted and had very few distracting thoughts, she actually aligned with the word Chaos.

At this time, although Ying'er's cultivation base was only at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, her overall aura had changed drastically.

She sat cross-legged there, and five-colored spiritual light circulated obediently around her, making her look solemn and dignified, like a little goddess.

It was just that her eyes were still filled with unreserved attachment and servility toward Ye Xuan.

"Master, don't be anxious."

Ying'er disregarded her cultivation and ran over barefoot. She carefully supported Ye Xuan, channeling her own wood-attribute spiritual power into his body to help him soothe his churning blood and qi.

"Although Ying'er doesn't understand, I also know that haste makes waste. Master, you are already very amazing..."

Ye Xuan felt that warm and moist spiritual power, and his irritable mood calmed down a bit.

He looked at Ying'er with complex eyes.

This girl's speed in cultivating the Five Elements Chaos Scripture was even a bit faster than his in his previous life.

Was this the so-called pure heart of a child?

"You don't understand."

Ye Xuan sighed, leaned into Ying'er's embrace, and closed his eyes.

"My path is a road that defies the heavens."

"The fusion of the five elements is not tolerated by heaven and earth."

"If I cannot push through in one vigorous effort, it will only become harder and harder in the future."

The night grew late.

There was no night inside the Purple Firmament Palace, but Ye Xuan still habitually lit a few red candles.

This failed attempt meant that he could not try to forcefully form his Core again in the short term, otherwise it would damage his foundation.

Since he could not cultivate, he could only do something else to relieve the frustration in his heart.

On the spacious soft couch.

After a session of passionate lovemaking, a lingering air of intimacy filled the room.

Ying'er clung to Ye Xuan like an octopus, her fair skin covered in fine beads of sweat.

Looking at Ye Xuan's deeply furrowed brows, she knew her master was still troubled by his cultivation.

She bit her lip, feeling extremely distressed.

In her worldview, her master's unhappiness was her greatest dereliction of duty as a servant.

"Master..."

Ying'er's finger traced circles on Ye Xuan's chest. After hesitating for a long time, she finally gathered the courage to whisper,

"If Master is feeling frustrated because you cannot break through... why do we not go out for a walk to relax?"

"Or... or Master could capture a few women with some cultivation?"

Ye Xuan was taken aback. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Capture women for what?"

Ying'er's cheeks were flushed red, but her eyes were very serious.

"The books say that there are many dual cultivation methods in the cultivation world, where one can harvest Yin essence to break through bottlenecks..."

"Although Ying'er also cultivates, my cultivation is too low to help Master much..."

"If Master captures a few Foundation Establishment female cultivators, Ying'er can help you hold them down and make them obedient..."

"As long as Master can break through, Ying'er does not mind having a few more sisters... even if it means serving them tea and pouring water."

Hearing these words and looking at Ying'er's silly appearance, the gloom in Ye Xuan's heart suddenly dissipated quite a bit.

"Silly girl."

Ye Xuan reached out, pinched her cheeks, and pulled them outward.

"What goes on in that head of yours all day? What kind of person do you take your master for?"

"Am I the kind of evil cultivator who relies on harvesting women to advance?"

"But..." Ying'er mumbled indistinctly in defense, "As long as it helps Master, being an evil cultivator does not matter..."

"Shut up."

Ye Xuan let go, rolled over, and sat up, his expression turning serious.

He walked to the entrance of the grand hall and looked through the formation at the pitch-black night sky outside.

"Ying'er, do you think I do not go out because I do not want to?"

"Do you think I do not want to capture people?"

Ye Xuan sneered and pointed at the world outside.

"This is the Western Continent."

"And the land beneath our feet is the territory of the Joyous Union Sect."

"Joyous Union Sect?" Ying'er rubbed her cheeks, a look of bewilderment on her face.