Chapter 359: Golden Core Appreciation Assembly

Within the luxurious courtyard, dazzling golden light flashed from time to time.

As the golden light dissipated, a golden core emitting a dense, lingering mist rotated slowly, drawing thin strands of spiritual energy from all directions.

"I have long heard that Fellow Daoist Yuan Zhi formed a Moon-Grasping Golden Core. As expected of a core that ranks among the top three grades, seeing it today proves it truly lives up to its reputation!" An old man stroked his white beard, his face creasing with smiles.

"You flatter me. It took thirty years of bitter cultivation for me to form this third-grade Moon-Grasping Golden Core. It is truly nothing to boast about. Besides, with Old Mr. Kang's vast knowledge, this Moon-Grasping Golden Core is hardly anything special."

Old Mr. Kang was profoundly learned and devoted to scholarship. He was a great scholar recognized by the Imperial City Academy, holding immense prestige and receiving respect from everyone in Qingzhou.

Another person hurriedly chimed in, "Fellow Daoist Yuan Zhi, you are too modest. People like us struggle even to form a fourth or fifth-grade core; a third-grade core is already extraordinary. Our greatest hope is merely to smoothly shatter the core and achieve the Nascent Soul stage. Yet, Fellow Daoist Yuan, you are bound to break through Nascent Soul to become a Soul Formation cultivator, and perhaps even progress further to the Void Refinement stage, which even those at the Body Integration stage must wary of."

Those with middle three-grade cores had a chance to cultivate to the Soul Formation stage, but that chance was far too slim. They dared not hope for too much; achieving Nascent Soul would already be grand.

In contrast, Yuan Zhi possessed a top three-grade core, meaning he would inevitably shatter his core to form a Nascent Soul. The Soul Formation stage was within his grasp, and even Void Refinement or Body Integration were possible. His future was boundless, and his potential far exceeded theirs.

While Yuan Zhi claimed it was nothing to boast about, he was secretly overjoyed. A top three-grade core already surpassed ninety percent of those in the Core Formation stage. Even though he was only at the early Core Formation stage, even mid and late-stage Core Formation cultivators would not dare to look down on him; on the contrary, they would treat him with utmost courtesy.

The Yiqing Courtyard was currently hosting a Golden Core Appreciation Grand Gathering. Various golden cores vied to display their brilliance, drawing frequent gasps of admiration from the crowd.

Yuan Zhi's Moon-Grasping Golden Core was exceptionally prominent among the gathering, for the Moon-Grasping Golden Core was extraordinary even among third-grade cores.

Just as Yuan Zhi was feeling complacent, a figure stumbled into the courtyard.

"Quick, go look at the martial arena! It's incredibly lively over there!"

Yuan Zhi was displeased. He recognized the intruder as a Core Formation cultivator with a lower three-grade core, someone who lacked the qualifications even to attend the Golden Core Appreciation Gathering. "What is there to see at the arena? It's nothing more than a few early Foundation Establishment disciples competing for first place."

"No, it's disciples from the Five Great Immortal Sects fighting! They are all at the Core Formation stage, and except for the Hanging Temple, people from the other four Immortal Sects are all participating!"

"What?"

"Immortal Sect disciples fighting?!" Everyone was shocked, delight rising in their hearts. It was a rare occurrence indeed to witness disciples of the Immortal Sects take action.

Old Mr. Kang was the most excited. He hurriedly asked, "Are there people from the Daoist Sect as well?"

"More than just people—there are two of them!"

Without another word, Old Mr. Kang moved with greater agility than a youth, rising instantly and rushing toward the arena.

Seeing this, the others followed in succession, leaving Yuan Zhi standing dazed on the spot.

"I must see for myself just how much stronger these Immortal Sect disciples are than me!"

What of the Immortal Sect disciples? Were they not also possessors of top three-grade cores just like him?

By the time Yuan Zhi arrived at the scene, the arena was already packed to the brim, making it difficult to find even a small gap to squeeze through.

A battle between the most outstanding Immortal Sect disciples was a rare sight that might not be witnessed once in many years. Based on this fight alone, everyone felt that attending the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony was entirely worth it.

Even if they could not see the combat on the arena clearly.

Helpless, Yuan Zhi could only employ a spell to quietly slip to the front row, locating his fellow daoists from the Golden Core Appreciation Gathering.

The companions from the gathering did not even notice Yuan Zhi's arrival. Their attention was entirely fixed on the five people on the arena, their eyes unblinking, terrified of missing a single detail.

Apart from Old Mr. Kang, the rest were all cultivators who had recently formed their cores, all at the early Core Formation stage.

Looking at the five people fighting on the arena, they felt a sense of absurdity, as though they themselves had never formed cores and were still merely at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Is this the power and speed an early Core Formation cultivator should possess?!"

Setting aside combat techniques, the sheer power and speed displayed by Lu Yang and the other four completely crushed them.

The competitive spirit that had just risen in Yuan Zhi's heart was instantly extinguished.

He doubted whether he could last more than ten moves against any single one of the five.

Though they all possessed top three-grade cores, could the gap truly be this vast?

"Old Mr. Kang, what kind of golden cores do these five Immortal Sect disciples possess? Can you tell?" It was not as if a Golden Core Appreciation Gathering was being held on the arena where cores were openly displayed for all to see; they could only make guesses from the minor details of the battle.

Regrettably, their experience was limited, and they could not discern anything substantial.

Old Mr. Kang's brow was tightly furrowed; he could not see much either. "What can be confirmed at present is that they have all formed first-grade golden cores, and moreover, first-grade cores that rank extremely high."

Everyone nodded. Were it not so, there would be no way to explain why the combat power of these five Immortal Sect disciples was so terrifyingly high.

"That one named Meng Jingzhou possesses a surging, boiling yang energy that resembles a grand sun, warding off a hundred ghosts. It looks like a Solar Golden Core, yet it resembles a Pure Yang Golden Core even more. However, it seems neither type of core should reach such an extent. How strange. Could there be a core with yang energy even more potent than the Solar and Pure Yang Golden Cores?"

"That female disciple is as ethereal as an immortal, exhaling white mist. Her breath is deep and long-lasting, her endurance astonishing, and her eyes are bright like the dawn. She bears a striking resemblance to the legendary Primordial Golden Core. Unfortunately, historical records regarding the Primordial Golden Core are scarce, and this old man dares not make an absolute judgment. The younger generation is truly to be feared."

Old Mr. Kang felt that even if the old scholars from the Imperial City Academy were brought here to line up and watch, they might not necessarily be able to make sense of it.

On the arena, under the combined onslaught of Lanting and Bai Ming, Lu Yang was retreating step by step, caught in a bitter struggle.

"Lu Yang, stop faking. I know you possess a clone technique." Seeing Lu Yang display signs of fatigue, Bai Ming dared not lower his guard. Lu Yang's strength was definitely not limited to what he was showing now.

The one who had defeated him back then was not Lu Yang's true body, but rather one of his clones!

"So the deception failed." Lu Yang felt a bit put out. He had intended to lure Bai Ming over, then suddenly utilize the Tree Planting Spell to manifest two entities and catch Bai Ming off guard.

"A clone technique?" Lanting's eyes fixed curiously upon Lu Yang. Senior Brother Lu Yang had actually mastered such a spell; he truly was the most naturally gifted person in magic spells she had ever encountered.

Lu Yang produced the Twin Twin-Lotus seeds and executed the "Tree Planting Spell." The lotus flowers bloomed resplendently, and Lu Yang along with his lotus clone stood upon the lotus leaves.

"Even if you have a clone, so what? Can your divine sense allow you to control two people simultaneously?"

Bai Ming was well aware of the flaws inherent in clone techniques. During their last exchange, Lu Yang's true body had been seated on the main stage, allowing him to focus entirely on controlling the wooden clone. This time was different; he needed to control two entities at once, which demanded an exceptionally high level of divine sense.

"You'll know once we try," Lu Yang said with a smile. It would have been impossible before, but after forming his core, his divine sense had surged exponentially. Within the same realm, absolutely no one could compare to him.

Lu Yang looked at the Azure Peak Sword in his hand, gave it some thought, and tossed it to the lotus clone, directing it to engage Lanting.

"I ought to forge another sword. Forget it, I'll deal with that later." Lu Yang prepared to face Bai Ming bare-handed.

"The warm-up is over. Time to use the Invincible Core... how to defeat these two?"

The Invincible Core quickly provided a response.

"Execute the Arhat Fist against Bai Ming." Lu Yang let out a smile.