Chapter Thirty-Six: Yan Mengdie Appears Again

A false alarm. Since he couldn’t find a way to break through to the Golden Core stage for now, Xu Cheng decided to keep the remaining pills. There was no rush; he could wait until he discovered the method to reach the Golden Core and then continue cultivating.

He gathered with Yan Mengdie and Chrysanthemum. Cen Ningyue and Niu Dazhuang were still digesting the Underworld True Pills. Chrysanthemum, being the most advanced in cultivation, absorbed the pills the fastest. Seeing Xu Cheng arrive with a young girl she didn’t recognize, she immediately asked, “Right Envoy, who is this?”

“She’s Yan Mengdie of the Immortal Demon Clan—one of our own,” Xu Cheng quickly introduced.

“So she’s from the Immortal Demon Clan. Is Elder Xie Anyi still in good health?” Chrysanthemum asked casually.

At the mention of Xie Anyi, Yan Mengdie’s eyes grew slightly moist. She replied, “Elder Xie gave his life to hold off the Grand Xia Martial Emperor’s experts. He’s already ascended.”

“What? I’m so sorry! Please accept my condolences, Fairy. The Martial Emperor of Grand Xia truly is despicable.”

Only now did Chrysanthemum realize her misstep, not expecting that Xie Anyi had already passed.

“Yes, the Martial Emperor of Grand Xia is far too ambitious. He has unified all the kingdoms of this world, yet he still seeks to bring Daoists, Buddhists, Demons, and Immortals under one rule, intending to establish a divine court in the mortal realm! But the imperial dynasty’s fortune is at its peak—even if Daoists, Buddhists, and Demons unite, they can only suppress it, not destroy it. Who knows what will come of it?” Yan Mengdie wiped away her tears, her face clouded with worry.

“It’s best not to worry about these things for now. As long as your cultivation is strong, all problems can be solved,” Xu Cheng couldn’t help but say.

“You’re right!” Yan Mengdie had barely finished speaking when the black markings on the left side of her face began to crawl toward the right side.

“It hurts—” she groaned, clutching her face. The black patterns, like creeping vines, spread until they covered her entire face.

Xu Cheng and Lord Chrysanthemum could only stare in helpless shock, utterly unable to help.

Only after a long time did Yan Mengdie straighten, her once breathtakingly beautiful face now covered in strange, terrifying markings.

“What… what do I look like now?” With a wave of her hand, she condensed a mirror from the air and saw her dreadful visage reflected within.

“It’s fine. You look about the same as I do,” Xu Cheng said, dispelling the Minor Xu Earth Art from his body. His skeletal form was hardly any better than Yan Mengdie’s appearance.

“Haha! You’d better use your magic to cover it up!” Yan Mengdie, who had been distressed by her changed face, instantly felt better.

“By the way, what exactly are these markings on your face?” Xu Cheng asked curiously.

“This… this is a kind of spell,” Yan Mengdie replied, her face flushing, though it was impossible to tell beneath the black patterns.

“A spell?” Xu Cheng studied the black lines closely. Each streak seemed to contain tiny characters, but when he tried to focus, he couldn’t quite make them out.

Could it be… Xu Cheng remembered a scene from a show in his past life: an island filled with countless martial arts manuals, yet after decades, the greatest experts couldn’t decipher the writing. In the end, an illiterate person understood it—because those weren’t words at all, but each character stood for a martial arts move.

It was very possible that the tiny script within Yan Mengdie’s markings each stood for a magical sigil.

The patterns had originated on her left cheek. Xu Cheng focused intently there, and after trying, he succeeded! Each “character” really was a sigil, and each line held nearly a hundred thousand sigils. Moreover, Yan Mengdie’s face bore three thousand such lines—a truly terrifying number.

Xu Cheng pondered quietly: What kind of spell would require so many sigils to be woven together? Could it be… an immortal art?

The two stood face-to-face for seven days and seven nights before Xu Cheng finally managed to condense the sigils from a single line.

Seven days of intense focus, and Xu Cheng collapsed to the ground, exhausted—he had only managed to condense the sigils from one line.

“You… you actually understood it?” Yan Mengdie asked. By now, an indistinct aura was rising from Xu Cheng.

“Of course I did. Wasn’t hard at all,” Xu Cheng pretended to be at ease.

“Then why are you slumped on the ground?” Yan Mengdie chuckled softly. “Better wait until your cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul stage before you try learning this. Forcing it now is still too difficult.”

Xu Cheng nodded, barely recovering his strength. Over these past few days, Chrysanthemum and the others, having little to do, had captured a good number of ghosts.

The Underworld Flame Chains shot forth, binding all the ghosts and dragging them into the Gates of the Yellow Springs.

No fewer than three hundred sixty Underworld True Pills fell from this, meaning the three of them must have captured at least three thousand ghosts these past days.

He granted them two hundred seventy Underworld True Pills among the three of them. This time, if Chrysanthemum digested the pills completely, he would likely break through to the Golden Core stage.

After the three had divided their spoils, Xu Cheng finally asked, “Chrysanthemum, do you know how to break through to the Golden Core stage?”

“Haha! So that’s why you haven’t broken through—you’re stuck on this point!” Chrysanthemum laughed heartily. “Actually, it’s simple. This Unity Realm—countless arts unified into one seal, then unite the seals to forge the Golden Core! The rest you must comprehend yourself, Right Envoy.”

So that was the way of unification.

“I see. Let me try merging the seals to forge the Golden Core! Yan Mengdie, would you stand guard for us?”

Since Chrysanthemum and the others also wanted to break through, Xu Cheng requested Yan Mengdie’s protection.

“No problem,” Yan Mengdie agreed.

The four sat cross-legged, harnessing the power of the Underworld True Pills to begin their cultivation.

To unite the nine great seals, one had to activate all nine. Xu Cheng manipulated the black jade liquid within him, channeling it into the nine square seals to awaken them.

In an instant, the oceanic jade liquid of his dantian was completely devoured by nine divine beasts. The nine beasts atop the seals roared, their black forms transforming to brilliant gold. With a sudden leap, they broke away from their seals and soared skyward, circling above the dantian.

For a time, the air was filled with the roaring of dragons and tigers, the cries of birds and the bellowing of turtles.

After a long while, the divine beasts entwined, merging into a single, spinning golden orb.

Thus, the Golden Core was forged.

On the Golden Core, the shadows of the nine divine beasts roared and chased one another. Boundless golden light pierced the darkness of Xu Cheng’s consciousness, illuminating it completely. In the aftermath of this radiance, a golden bead appeared, shining like the sun.

With the formation of the Golden Core, all the arts Xu Cheng cultivated would increase in power once more.

“Congratulations, Right Envoy, on forging your Golden Core!” Chrysanthemum greeted him as soon as Xu Cheng opened his eyes.

“How did you know I’d succeeded?” Xu Cheng had thought all the visions of the Golden Core’s forging occurred only within his body, not realizing that forging a Golden Core would trigger celestial phenomena.

“When your Golden Core was formed, the five divine beasts manifested around you. For a moment, they even pierced a hole in the perpetually dark sky—though it lasted but an instant, it was still remarkable,” Yan Mengdie explained.

“To swallow a single Golden Core is to know that my fate is mine, not Heaven’s,” Chrysanthemum quoted with perfect timing. “With this, you gain eight hundred more years of life. It may not mean much to us, but it is still a symbol of immortality.”

“Chrysanthemum, how goes your cultivation?” Xu Cheng asked. Having forged his Golden Core, he was naturally pleased, but the progress of his companions was also a cause for joy.

“Not to disappoint you, Right Envoy—I too have forged my Golden Core!” Chrysanthemum was elated. He had spent a hundred years refining his seals, but now had reached the Golden Core stage in just a few short years. Many cultivators in the world spend their entire lives trying to condense five seals and fail, which shows how arduous the path is.

Cen Ningyue and Niu Dazhuang had also gained much—one had condensed three seals, the other six.

Their overall strength had risen a whole tier, giving Xu Cheng the confidence to set his sights on the heart of Qingzhou.