CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 238: ATTAINING THE GOLDEN CORE (PART 2)

One must know, after perfecting the Longevity Skill, its cultivation speed is no less than that of a cultivator with a Celestial Spirit Root.

This time, Xu Ping is rebuilding his cultivation. With various factors combined, his cultivation speed surpasses even that of a Celestial Spirit Root cultivator.

More importantly, the perfection of the Longevity Skill not only significantly enhances his cultivation speed, but also greatly accelerates the efficiency of refining Pills.

The combination of these two aspects makes his cultivation speed terrifying, to say the least!

"At this speed, with the aid of Pills, I fear that I might reach Foundation Establishment Perfection in just over ten years!" Xu Ping’s heart was full of confidence.

To advance from Early-Stage Foundation Establishment to Foundation Establishment Perfection in just over ten years—such a terrifying cultivation speed would leave even a Nascent Soul Cultivator dumbstruck.

But Xu Ping is not a fool; he certainly wouldn’t reveal this to others.

...

...

In the days that followed, Xu Ping devoted himself single-mindedly to cultivation.

He allocated the vast majority of his time to enhancing his cultivation, at the expense of practice time for other Secret Techniques and Swordsmanship.

After all, at this moment, cultivation was the top priority!

Although the Myriad Manifestations Wood Spirit Array and Water Lake Rodent were enough to ensure his safety, the weakness of his body after dispersing his skills remained a constant shadow over his heart, leaving him unsettled.

This unease drove him to race against time, with a single-minded desire to quickly restore his former powerful strength.

As time quietly flowed in Xu Ping’s immersive cultivation, half a year unknowingly passed.

This day, at noon.

While quietly cultivating in the cultivation room, Xu Ping suddenly felt a faint sense of awareness.

"What is this?"

Xu Ping immediately ended his cultivation, furrowing his brow slightly.

After a moment of thought, he calculated with his fingers.

"Gong Yang... has passed away!"

Even though he was mentally prepared, Xu Ping couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

Yet another old friend gone, which still left him feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.

"Should I pay my respects?" Xu Ping showed a trace of hesitation on his face.

But he quickly made up his mind.

Go!

If it were far away, he certainly wouldn’t go for the sake of his safety.

But it was only a few miles, and presumably, there wouldn’t be any danger!

However, to be on the safe side, Xu Ping stored the Water Lake Rodent in the spiritual beast pouch.

Upon arriving at Xiao Hui Mountain, Xu Ping found that there wasn’t a soul in sight.

It seemed Gong Yang must have had little time left and sent them away.

With no choice, Xu Ping had to contact Duan Shuang.

The two discussed and decided to hold a simple funeral for Gong Yang.

The so-called funeral was quite simple; they just found a place in the mountain, dug a pit, and buried Gong Yang’s remains.

After a day of busywork, Xu Ping returned to Thousand Leaves Mountain, feeling slightly heavy-hearted, while also contemplating another matter.

That was how to deal with Xiao Hui Mountain?

As a cave with a Second-stage Upper Grade Spirit Vein, Xiao Hui Mountain was quite valuable.

Leaving it idle would undoubtedly be a huge waste of resources.

Xu Ping initially considered renting it out, which would earn him a substantial amount of Spirit Stones.

But for him now, those Spirit Stones wouldn’t account for much.

After all, just by crafting a Quasi-Tier Three talisman, the income would far exceed the rent of Xiao Hui Mountain.

After some thought, Xu Ping had an idea.

He planned to extract the Spirit Vein from Xiao Hui Mountain and use it as nourishment to foster the Quasi-Tier Three Spirit Vein under Thousand Leaves Mountain.

If this action were feasible, the upgrade speed of the Spirit Vein under Thousand Leaves Mountain could be greatly enhanced, hopefully becoming a real Tier Three Spirit Vein soon.

After all, once Xu Ping formed his Core, there would be two Golden Core Cultivators on Thousand Leaves Mountain.

Supporting them with a Quasi-Tier Three Spirit Vein would surely be strenuous.

But if it could be upgraded to a real Tier Three Spirit Vein, and with the boost of arrays placed on the mountain.

Not just two Golden Core Cultivators, but even if two more came, there would be no pressure at all.

However, despite having made up his mind, Xu Ping did not act rashly.

The main reason is that extracting a Spirit Vein is not a simple task.

It’s well known that Spirit Veins are incredibly robust; for a Second-stage Upper Grade Spirit Vein, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator probably cannot move it at all.

Only a Golden Core Cultivator, with their strong power, can barely extract it completely, and the entire process is very time-consuming and energy-consuming.

Such a labor-intensive and time-consuming task is clearly unsuitable for the currently scattered-skill Xu Ping.

"I’ll wait until after I form my Core to extract the Spirit Vein!"

Sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, Xu Ping turned his palms upward, formed seals with both hands, and fell into cultivation.

...

...

Spring passed, and autumn came.

Time flowed like a fleeting horse, and twenty-two years of slow stretches passed silently and unnoticed.

On this day, inside the cultivation room.

"Phew!"

Xu Ping slowly withdrew his energy, exhaling a long breath of turbid air.

"After spending a whole twenty-two years, I’ve finally completed the second turn of my cultivation technique!"

Xu Ping muttered to himself, a hint of satisfaction and sentiment in his voice, "After dispersing skills and rebuilding once again, I can start forming my Core!"

Throughout these years, he never set foot outside Thousand Leaves Mountain, spending all his time in arduous cultivation, and now he finally reached the second turn!

Yet, just as Xu Ping’s mind slightly relaxed, an unexpected change occurred!

The cultivation technique suddenly began to operate autonomously!

Frightened, Xu Ping hurriedly stopped it!

Fortunately, the feeling of breaking through to the Golden Core wasn’t intense, and he quickly suppressed it.

"It seems the plan must be moved ahead!"

Having suppressed the impulse to break through, Xu Ping furrowed his brows, his expression grave.