Chapter 337 - 230: Core Formations Gather, Meeting an Old Acquaintance Again

Chapter 337: Chapter 230: Core Formations Gather, Meeting an Old Acquaintance Again

West Shore Cyan Mountain.

Lin Changheng floated down gracefully from the Dharma Ship. He landed on a giant boulder on a deserted stretch of riverbank and sat cross-legged.

A river breeze, thick with mist and moisture, immediately brushed past him, feeling quite pleasant.

’The entrance to the Secret Realm is said to be beneath the river’s surface.’

Ignoring everyone else, he had already spread his Divine Sense across the river’s surface, searching everywhere. But he couldn’t find the entrance to the Secret Realm—not even the slightest trace!

’It’s hidden so incredibly well.’

If everyone wasn’t waiting here, Lin Changheng would have started to doubt whether this was really the entrance at all.

After waiting like this for about three days, the area suddenly grew noisy. Lin Changheng, who had been meditating, sensed the commotion and saw everyone craning their necks to look toward the horizon. His gaze followed theirs.

In the distant, azure sky, a cluster of tiny, purplish-red dots appeared. Like sparks from a wildfire, they were rapidly flying in their direction.

They moved with incredible speed. At first, they were just blurry shadows, but in the short span of a dozen breaths, their general outlines became clear.

"They’re here!"

"It’s the people from the Purple Extreme Sect!"

"They’re finally here! I was starting to think they’d miss the appointed hour!"

A commotion immediately swept through the crowd, and all eyes were involuntarily drawn toward the approaching figures.

As the purplish-red dots drew closer, they were revealed to be more than a dozen Cultivators clad in uniform purplish-red Sect robes. There were men and women among them, and every one of them exuded a potent aura and boasted impressive Cultivation; the weakest was at Middle Stage Foundation Establishment. The woman in the lead, who stood with her hands clasped behind her back, had an even more profound aura—she was a master at the Core Formation Stage!

They stood upon a dozen or so offshoots extending from a length of Red Silk that carried them through the air.

The main body of the silk was beneath the Female Core Formation Cultivator’s feet, and it was presumably her Magical Treasure.

The arrival of this group from the Purple Extreme Sect instantly shattered the dull, oppressive atmosphere that had persisted for days. It was like a drop of water in a pot of boiling oil, signaling that the Secret Realm was about to open completely.

However, the members of the Purple Extreme Sect ignored the countless gazes from below, flying directly over the crowd before scattering to find their own places to rest.

The leading Female Core Formation Cultivator, her face impassive, swept an electric gaze over the crowd below. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it reached every person’s ear with perfect clarity. "The entrance to the Secret Realm will officially manifest in three days. The rules are the same as always: rely on your own abilities. Life and death are your own responsibility."

Her frigid words, devoid of any warmth, sent a chill through the hearts of everyone present, yet no one dared to meet her gaze directly.

Such was the might of a Core Formation Cultivator.

Then, with a beckoning gesture, a flash of red light flared. The expansive Red Silk from moments before vanished, having transformed into a red cord that now coiled around her wrist. She then descended on her own, paying no mind to the others.

Lin Changheng also didn’t dare to stare directly at this Core Formation Cultivator. He watched her for only a moment out of the corner of his eye before quickly looking away, afraid that she would sense his gaze and take notice.

He recalled the story of a peculiar Core Formation Cultivator who, after being looked at a few too many times by a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, had gouged out the man’s eyes.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. An incomplete physical body has a detrimental effect on one’s breakthrough to the Core Formation Stage, increasing the difficulty exponentially and making success nearly impossible.

Therefore, before attempting Core Formation, a Cultivator with a maimed body must first find Spirit Medicines and Spirit Pills to restore their physical integrity before they can hope to break through.

But such remedies were exceedingly hard to find.

In other words, because of a few extra glances, that Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s path to advancement had been all but severed.

...

Averting his eyes from the Female Core Formation Cultivator, Lin Changheng quickly scanned the group of disciples again.

He did not see Mo Zhaoli’s figure among them.

Due to the lag in correspondence, Lin Changheng hadn’t been certain if she would be present. Now, he had his confirmation.

Perhaps she had broken through to Middle Stage Foundation Establishment too late to secure one of the spots.

’If Li’Er were here, I would have lent her my Tier Two Puppet for protection. I could have also asked her to look out for the roots of some Spirit Plants and Treasures.’

’Now, I’ll have to find someone else.’

...

「That afternoon.」

Another powerful aura approached from the distance.

It was an old man in simple cloth robes and a unibrow, riding a giant avian beast with two young people in tow.

Lin Changheng didn’t recognize the trio, but he could tell the leading old man’s aura was profound. While not on par with the Female Core Formation Cultivator from the Purple Extreme Sect, it was far beyond anything a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator could possess. He was a Fake Core Cultivator.

Soon, by listening to the conversations of others, Lin Changheng learned that this person was the Fake Core Ancestor of the Beast Taming Sun Family.

The other two were presumably clan disciples who had come to brave the Secret Realm.

In truth, the Talisman-Making Song Family and the Beast Taming Sun Family, two great Noble Families, were both under the jurisdiction of the Purple Extreme Sect, typically obeying their commands for matters such as territorial expansion.

Therefore, it was inevitable that these two great families would be involved in a Secret Realm that belonged to the Purple Extreme Sect.

Spots had to be granted to them.

Otherwise, dissent and disloyalty would fester, undermining the Purple Extreme Sect’s authority.

...

「The next day.」

Another Tier Three Treasure came streaking through the sky, also carrying three people.

It was the ancestor of the Talisman-Making Song Family, accompanied by a male and a female Foundation Establishment Cultivator from his clan. However, unlike the Sun Family’s youths, these two from the Song Family were clearly middle-aged Cultivators in their prime.

The Song Family’s ancestor wore a navy-blue robe. His face was gaunt, and his gentle eyes held a worldly weariness. Though he deliberately restrained his aura, the unique Spiritual Pressure of the Fake Core Realm—far surpassing that of the Foundation Establishment—was still faintly perceptible, making it impossible for anyone to underestimate him.

The moment he and the Sun Family ancestor landed, they both immediately turned their attention to the Female Core Formation Cultivator from the Purple Extreme Sect, smiling as they actively stepped forward to pay their respects.