CHAPTER 123: CHAPTER 121: FALL OF THE GOLDEN CORE (EXTRA CHAPTER FOR TOTAL REWARDS 1)

Liu Zhita’s death was seeking benevolence and obtaining benevolence; he did not die unjustly.

The moment he decided to challenge the Golden Core cultivators, this result was already determined.

However, his death did bring a lot of stability to those Foundation Establishment cultivators from cultivation clans who were uneasy due to the extermination of the Liu Family at Chixia Mountain.

Regardless of whether Cao Wenjin was forced to make the decision out of helplessness, or if he had such intentions from the start, at least when he declared solemnly that the Yellow Sand Sect was willing to guarantee the fallen Foundation Establishment cultivators’ families, the senior cultivators of various cultivation clans felt as if they had swallowed a stabilizing pill, and they were greatly relieved.

For these Foundation Establishment cultivators from family backgrounds, sure, they fear death, but even more frightening is that after their death, their descendants and clan might decline and vanish due to the lack of protection from Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Now, the Yellow Sand Sect is willing to offer a guarantee, willing to distribute Foundation Establishment Pills for free to the families of the fallen Foundation Establishment cultivators. This is undoubtedly something that brings great joy to these cultivation clans’ Foundation Establishment cultivators, especially those whose lifespan is running short, and they are indeed grateful to Liu Zhita for facilitating this matter.

The cultivation realm of the Boundless Desert Sea is so impoverished and backward!

The impoverished and backward cultivation environment here renders those cultivation clans rooted here almost zero in risk resistance.

In a resource-rich place like the Liuyun Continent cultivation realm, even if a cultivation clan suddenly loses their Foundation Establishment cultivator, as long as the clan has some heritage accumulation, they can immediately go purchase Foundation Establishment Pills for their clan’s younger cultivators to consume, cultivating a new Foundation Establishment cultivator to guard the clan.

But in the Boundless Desert Sea cultivation realm, even if a veteran Foundation Establishment clan like the Liu Family at Chixia Mountain, which had been established for six to seven hundred years, suddenly loses its Foundation Establishment cultivators, it’s decreasing one by one, and even if they have money, they cannot buy Foundation Establishment Pills to fill the gap.

This special environment makes Foundation Establishment cultivators from cultivation clans here seem very conservative. In other places, Foundation Establishment cultivators might frequently go out to temper themselves and seek opportunities to establish a Purple Mansion, but most cultivators here, after Foundation Establishment, only reside in their clan to cultivate diligently in silence, guarding their family, rarely daring to venture out.

The distance between oases is too vast; no one can guarantee that once they go out for training, their clan might be wiped out when they return, hence for the Foundation Establishment cultivators from cultivation clans here, clan stability is paramount.

In order for clan’s stability and continuity, they simply do not dare to risk venturing out for some elusive opportunity.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Foundation Establishment cultivators here can usually live to the end of their lifespans without disappearing due to venturing out for training.

Moreover, most of the time, before dying naturally, they will exhaust the clan’s resources to cultivate a new Foundation Establishment cultivator to succeed them in guarding the clan.

But the invasion of demon cultivators broke this normal situation, one after another, cultivation clans were exterminated due to demon cultivators, even a strong clan like the Liu Family at Chixia Mountain which had a six to seven hundred-year legacy was wiped out, causing a huge shock to other cultivation clans.

Exterminating demon cultivators is the unshirkable responsibility of every cultivator, yet no one wants their clan to decline and perish after falling in battles against demon cultivators, making the sacrifice of their life meaningless in the battle against demon cultivators.

Therefore, now at this critical moment, Yellow Sand Sect’s willingness to guarantee is unparalleled in its morale-boosting effect.

At least after this message spread, various cultivation clans began sending promising juniors to nearby large oases, sheltering under the places guarded by Purple Mansion stage cultivators, or even directly under the guise of traveling, sending them to Yellow Sand Sect’s mountain gate location.

Patron of the Zhou Family, Zhou Minghan, also personally sent Zhou Guangxiang, Zhou Xiang, and other promising younger members to Baisha River Oasis for sanctuary on the Chen Family’s White Camel Peak.

Simultaneously, Cao Wenjin was determined to no longer passively defend and support, but rather dispatched four of the seven surviving Purple Mansion stage cultivators of Yellow Sand Sect to various Foundation Establishment clans and Tier Three Spirit Mountains to lie in wait.

While in the midst of healing at Red Tiger Mountain Oasis, Zhou Yang was naturally completely unaware of the happenings outside.

After setting up the "Small Five Elements Maze Array" he confiscated from the demon cultivators, he took the Spirit Pill right then and began healing.

Thus, he recuperated for half a year before managing to barely control the injuries inside his body, reaching half the magical power strength of his prime, and not completely losing his ability to protect himself.

However, this half-year recovery consumed all his Spirit Pills used for healing, with no healing elixir support, relying solely on meditation cultivation for healing may require eight to ten years for complete recovery.

He naturally did not wish to wait like this.

Thus, after thinking carefully and cautiously for several days, Zhou Yang eventually sent a Communication Flying Sword to Xiao Bufan at Red Tiger Mountain for help.

Currently, unaware of the situation outside, he dared not leave his hiding place recklessly. If those two "Golden-winged Thunder Eagles" were still rampaging over the oasis, going out at this time would be akin to rushing into trouble?

"Oh, that kid actually survived; it seems he indeed has some means, to manage surviving an attack from Tier Four High-Grade Demon Beasts. This cannot be explained simply by calling it luck!"

Atop Red Tiger Mountain, after receiving Zhou Yang’s communication, Xiao Bufan couldn’t help but show a moved expression, with deep surprise flashing across his eyes.

At that time, when Zhou Yang and his companions were attacked, two golden thunder nets respectively covered Zhou Yang and Yan Yunfei who were slightly slower, while Yue Mountain, having moved ahead, luckily escaped disaster.

Now Yue Mountain had already returned to Red Tiger Mountain to report to Xiao Bufan about the day’s experiences, so before receiving Zhouyang’s communication flying sword, both Yue Mountain and Xiao Bufan almost believed Zhouyang was doomed.

If it weren’t for the current threat from the two "Golden-winged Thunder Eagles" at Red Tiger Mountain Oasis, the news of Zhouyang’s death probably would have reached Zhou Minghan by now.

"Well, since that kid is still alive, it indeed necessitates saving him. But we still need to consult Junior Martial Uncle Jiang; only his senior presence can deter those feathery beasts!"

Thinking of this, Xiao Bufan immediately went to consult with the Golden Core Stage cultivator Jiang Ming stationed at Red Tiger Mountain.

"Oh, can a mere Second-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation survive an attack from Golden-winged Thunder Eagles? If it’s really the case, he is indeed worth helping!"

Jiang Ming, the Golden Core Stage cultivator from the Yellow Sand Sect, showed a slight surprise on his composed face after hearing Xiao Bufan’s report and promptly agreed to the rescue request.

Seeing this, Xiao Bufan didn’t bother to send Zhouyang a communication via flying sword, instead directly following Jiang Ming out of Red Tiger Mountain, ready to meet Zhouyang personally.

Besides doing this for efficiency, he was also thinking of compensating Zhouyang, considering Zhouyang’s severe injury is inseparable from forcibly recruiting him to serve at Red Tiger Mountain.

However, neither Jiang Ming nor Xiao Bufan expected that saving a small Second-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator would cost them their lives!

At that moment, after they left Red Tiger Mountain, Jiang Ming and Xiao Bufan flew towards where Zhouyang was located.

With their flying speed, this round trip wouldn’t take even an hour, so both were quite relaxed.

But as Jiang Ming continuously released his Golden Core Stage cultivator’s aura without reservation, intimidating the two "Golden-winged Thunder Eagles" from thousands of miles away, an extremely evil, ferocious, and icy divine sense emanated from the ground below, suddenly locking them both tightly.

Bad!

After all, Jiang Ming was a Golden Core Stage cultivator; his divine soul had already fused with his Golden Core, offering resistance to such divine sense attacks far superior to cultivators below the Golden Core.

He only slightly dazed, his face changed dramatically as he hurriedly spat out his lifebound spiritual artifact "Kunyuan Ruler" to shield himself.

Jiang Ming had been forming his Golden Core for nearly two hundred years, and his lifebound spiritual artifact "Kunyuan Ruler," constantly nurtured by his Golden Core True Essence, had become an actual Tier Five Lower Grade spiritual artifact.

And being a lifebound spiritual artifact, "Kunyuan Ruler" in Jiang Ming’s hand nearly exhibited power not much weaker than some inferior Tier Five Middle Grade spiritual artifacts.

Normally, even Cao Wenjin, a Sixth-Layer Golden Core cultivator, couldn’t severely injure Jiang Ming who used "Kunyuan Ruler" in a single blow.

Unfortunately, the one who ambushed Jiang Ming wasn’t a Sixth-Layer Golden Core cultivator but a Ninth-Layer Golden Core!

In mid-air, blood light flashed, and a blood-colored jade axe shining with misty blood light suddenly emerged from the void, striking hard on the "Kunyuan Ruler" protecting Jiang Ming.

With a single strike from the blood-colored jade axe, the bright yellow treasure ruler protecting Jiang Ming let out a mournful cry, transforming into a beam of bright yellow spiritual light, disappearing into his body.

Without the obstruction of this treasure ruler, the blood-colored jade axe broke through multiple layers of protective magic and spiritual artifacts on Jiang Ming, finally cutting into his shoulder, slicing the protective treasure armor he wore along with half of his body into two.

Even a Golden Core Stage cultivator with a thousand years of lifespan wouldn’t live long with their body severed in half.

But a Golden Core Stage cultivator is a Golden Core Stage cultivator; even with their body split into two, Jiang Ming didn’t die instantly like an ordinary mortal or low-tier cultivator.

His remaining upper body, supported by vigorous magical power, still suspended in mid-air, looked down at the ground beneath with eyes full of disbelief.

On the ground, a middle-aged man clad in blood-colored battle armor held the blood-colored jade axe, staring coldly at him, with no emotion in his icy eyes.

It seemed like this time he wasn’t killing a high and mighty Golden Core Stage cultivator, but just an ordinary mortal, unworthy of any emotion.

Looking coldly at Jiang Ming, whose eyes were wide in disbelief, he spoke in a deep voice, murmuring to himself:

"Is this the power of Golden Core Stage cultivators in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm? It seems I’ve somewhat overestimated your strength. Apparently, that inept Blood Nether died at your hands, and it should have been a mere accident!"

"In that case, you can go ahead first; later, I’ll send your comrades to accompany you!"

With those words, the blood-colored jade axe in his hand suddenly disappeared, reappearing above Jiang Ming’s head.