Chapter 132: Things of Evil

At this moment, profound and earth-shattering changes were unfolding within Gu Xiaopang.

Having already experienced the formation of a Golden Core once before, Gu Xiaopang was now directly refining and absorbing seven spirit essences of different attributes, aiming to condense all seven into cores simultaneously. Although the energies of the various elements did not conflict with one another, the sheer magnitude of such a massive convergence of power was incredibly violent.

The meridians throughout his body, which had only just been expanded and reinforced by the power of the lightning essence, began to rupture once more. They became crisscrossed with cracks like a spiderweb, continuously and forcibly stretched by the rampaging energy. Simultaneously, a force akin to new life followed closely behind, frantically repairing and tempering the ruptured areas.

Was it painful? It was agonizing, as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at his bones.
Was it exhilarating? It was intoxicating, as if his body were floating in a state of celestial bliss.

Before him, the seven spirit essences of different attributes pulsed with brilliant light, vibrating violently in mid-air as they grew smaller and smaller. Within his consciousness, the sea of souls, ravaged by violent waves, had expanded to more than double its size, its diameter now no less than four hundred meters. The psychic vortex, with its increasingly powerful suction, had also more than doubled in scope, and its momentum showed no sign of stopping.

With him at the center, the vortex affected the entire Lightning Liquid Pool. The lightning liquid surged upward in the shape of an inverted top, driving the countless purple-gold lightning bolts—previously relatively calm—into a state of extreme frenzy. The purple-gold lightning, which had been summoned and unleashed by the thunderclouds, was provoked into an even greater rage, slamming down fiercely toward the Boundary Sea to vent its fury.

In the distance, the three observers waited anxiously. Even Nangong Hongbo, who stood at the peak of the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, could not sense Gu Xiaopang’s aura, which was completely masked by the lightning liquid. However, the sudden anomaly between the thunderclouds and the Boundary Sea, coupled with the surge in the power of the purple-gold lightning, inevitably drew their attention and curiosity.

At this moment, Bai Ling'er, who had only just recovered after suffering a backlash from her forced calculations, felt a sudden intuition. She could not help but focus her gaze once more into the impenetrable depths of the thunderclouds.

"Senior, he... he is still alive. He must be alive."
"Oh?"

Just as Nangong Hongbo and Puyang De looked toward Bai Ling'er in excitement, waiting for her to continue, she closed her eyes. She held a hand seal before her Dantian, and her aura began to change abruptly. Her cultivation, which had only recently reached the early Golden Core stage, now surged forward with unstoppable momentum, shattering the barrier to the middle Golden Core stage and continuing to charge toward the late Golden Core stage.

Noticing this, Nangong Hongbo glanced at the ink-black thunderclouds and then at the breakthrough occurring within Bai Ling'er. He relaxed, stroking his beard with a smile. Puyang De was so shocked he was at a loss for words. Having reached the Deity Transformation stage, though their temperaments varied, they were all brilliant individuals; he immediately understood what was happening.

Truly, she was the direct disciple of the Divine Calculator of the Tianji Pavilion. Her cultivation could not only progress through her own efforts but could also be triggered and propelled by the surging aura of the fated individual she had chosen. It was clear to both of them that Bai Ling'er’s current state was the latter.

In a short while, Bai Ling'er’s cultivation had forcibly broken through to the late Golden Core stage, and her aura continued to climb with ample residual force. This left both elders filled with envy and astonishment.

They envied her because, while this was only a low-level breakthrough compared to their own, it was enough to make countless geniuses of her generation green with envy—if not quite a single step to the heavens, it was close. They were astonished because if she could achieve such consecutive advancements simply by being influenced by the aura of her fated individual, then the growth of Gu Xiaopang himself, the fated one, must be unimaginably vast and extravagant.

Bai Ling'er’s aura continued to climb until it hit the invisible barrier between the Great Perfection of the Golden Core and the Nascent Soul stage, where it stopped reluctantly. After a brief pause, having stabilized her Great Perfection Golden Core cultivation, Bai Ling'er’s eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes. At that moment, her exquisite form seemed to be veiled in a hazy, celestial aura that seeped into her body from her white robes.

It was not just the two powerful elders who were shocked; Bai Ling'er herself was completely startled by the changes in her own aura. She had broken through three stages in a row, yet her foundation felt remarkably solid, without a trace of instability. She could feel that although she had not yet reached the Nascent Soul stage, her combat prowess could now defeat seven or eight out of ten early Nascent Soul experts, and she could even hold her own against many in the middle Nascent Soul stage. If she employed secret techniques that carried a backlash, her cultivation could be temporarily raised to the early Nascent Soul stage, and with her ability to fight two stages above her level, she would no longer be so passive even when facing late or Great Perfection Nascent Soul experts.

Such a passive boost had already achieved this much, leaving all three of them excitedly anticipating what Gu Xiaopang’s own improvement would be. They were now certain that the purple-gold lightning, which had suddenly increased in power and was lashing out at the Boundary Sea, was doing so because of Gu Xiaopang’s influence.

...

At this moment, Gu Xiaopang could not afford to be distracted. Controlling seven spirit beads to form Golden Cores simultaneously left him no mental energy to spare. The seven spirit essences that had been floating and vibrating around his body were now reduced to the size of marbles, yet strands of light continued to erupt from them, pouring into his Dantian. The seven spirit beads, which had already undergone a qualitative change, now glowed with even more brilliant and potent light.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

Before long, the seven spirit essences vanished completely. Gu Xiaopang’s aura underwent a sudden transformation; alongside his purple-gold lightning Golden Core, seven other Golden Cores of various colors appeared, floating in his body. The seven-attribute Golden Core was complete.

But before Gu Xiaopang could revel in his success, a concealed, evil energy body suddenly lunged out from the Boundary Sea beneath the thunderclouds, riding the massive, sky-high waves, and struck directly at Gu Xiaopang’s sea of consciousness.

"Ah..."
"Hehehe, absolute deliciousness."
"Hmph! You’re courting death!"
"Who?!"

The three people outside did not detect the slightest trace of the evil energy body emerging from the Boundary Sea. The entity that had forced its way into Gu Xiaopang’s consciousness resembled a large lizard with sharp, icy fangs. Its body was made of rotting, pitch-black flesh, covered in thick, tattered armor that oozed dark green venom. Its long tail, armed with rows of barbs, lashed back and forth.

It stared in astonishment at the nearly kilometer-wide sea of souls within the consciousness, and at the psychic vortex that had been swirling but had frozen due to its intrusion. It extended a long, curled, mucus-covered tongue to lick its cracked, giant lips, calling out that it was delicious.

But before the evil energy body could savor its meal, a roar of fury exploded like thunder throughout the consciousness. Startled by the sudden, heaven-shaking aura, the evil entity was forced to retreat countless steps in a defensive posture.

"Hmph, you disgusting creature, how dare you act so brazenly? Stay here forever, you wretch!"
"S-Senior?"

Old Man Qin’s naked threat echoed out; he was truly enraged. Although he did not know what this evil energy body was, it gave him an instinctive sense of danger—though the true source of that danger was not the entity itself. Old Man Qin had only one thought: he must utterly destroy this creature, leaving it neither form nor spirit.

The emergence of this thought startled Old Man Qin himself, for it did not originate from his own mind; it was as if an external thought had appeared out of thin air, guiding his consciousness and actions. As the Huangji Sovereign, who had been invincible across the continent for over ten thousand years, he almost lost his stability as a soul form upon realizing this. Fortunately, he could clearly feel that this thought held no malice toward him, and it carried a trace of celestial might.

Steadying his mind and not resisting the thought, Old Man Qin stared with chilling, icy eyes at the entity, which was overflowing with evil aura. Having recovered three and a half percent of his strength, Old Man Qin unleashed his full power. He seized the evil entity—whose aura was clearly no weaker than a Great Perfection Return to Truth stage expert—within a massive, illusory hand, squeezing and crushing it with merciless intensity.

"Ah... how, how is this possible!?"
"Dammit, this broken, ruined continent, how could there still be a presence at the Ascension stage?!"

Though incredibly powerful, the evil entity was powerless before Old Man Qin. It was crushed and deformed by the illusory hand. As countless drops of dark green venom were squeezed out, they were instantly refined and vanished by the sheer force of the spiritual power before they could even splatter.

The entity, suffering intense pain and wailing incessantly, instinctively opened its foul-smelling, blood-stained mouth, biting frantically at the illusory hand that gripped it, producing a gruesome, grating sound like gears grinding without oil.

The evil energy body was filled with extreme regret.
Why?
Why was there an Ascension-stage expert on such a ruined continent, and why, by some twist of fate, had it—an invincible Great Perfection Return to Truth expert—run into one?
Why?
Why had it chosen to rush out, tempted by the scent of delicious prey, when it could have remained hidden in the sea of souls, slowly wearing down the celestial lightning and waiting for an opportunity?

...

As it happened, the moment the evil energy body forced its way into his consciousness, Gu Xiaopang’s soul—though powerful in its own right, it was still weak in comparison—had been knocked unconscious by the impact of the overwhelming power. Had it been anyone else—a Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or even a Deity Transformation cultivator—they would surely have been killed instantly, with no chance of merely falling unconscious.

It was only when Old Man Qin began to forcibly refine the evil entity that he spared a sliver of his consciousness to nourish and save Gu Xiaopang, thereby waking him up.

Gu Xiaopang awoke with a splitting headache, though he could barely manage to endure it. When he looked over and discovered his master was desperately refining a hideous, evil, and powerful monster, he understood what had happened.

"Ah..."

Without disturbing Old Man Qin, Gu Xiaopang glared fiercely at the wailing monster for a long while. He then began to repair his damaged sea of consciousness, forcibly driving the psychic vortex that had ceased its rotation to turn once more, faster and faster...

The process was slow. By the time Gu Xiaopang had restored his consciousness to normal, more than ten hours had passed. And it was just then that Old Man Qin finished refining the evil energy body entirely.