My Golden Core is a Star, do you call this cultivating?

Chapter 36: Yu Linglong

"My Golden Core... is in the sky!"

Qi Yuan shouted, wielding his great sword with a fierce downward slash! Elder Whirlwind felt a tremendous threat and dared not face the sword head-on. His heart was even more shocked.

"You're not a Golden Core cultivator!"

Finally, he realized something. The shock in his heart was even more intense. Not a Golden Core, yet overpowering a Golden Core! Is there really such a monstrous Foundation Establishment cultivator in the world?

"No, I am a Golden Core cultivator. I have a Golden Core!" Qi Yuan quickly argued.

It had to be said, the three-way battle looked rather comical, reminiscent of a schoolyard brawl. The magical duel did not attract the attention of the Black Mountain Sect disciples, but the content of the argument did. Qi Yuan wielded his great sword, thrashing the two opponents.

In less than ten breaths, he completely gained the upper hand. Suddenly, Elder Whirlwind cast a spell, seemingly realizing something, his eyes widening. He shouted, "Run! This isn't a human!"

"Yes, I'm not Foundation Establishment. I'm Golden Core!"

Qi Yuan naturally wouldn’t give the Golden Core elders a chance to escape. With a downward slash, he split the two Golden Core elders into pieces, without even leaving them a chance to be whole.

Everything happened too quickly. The two Golden Core elders had barely fought Qi Yuan for ten breaths before being slain. The Black Mountain Sect had seven Golden Core cultivators, including the sect leader. With the Bai Ji Old Ancestor dead and now two more slain, only four Golden Core elders remained.

The loss to the Black Mountain Sect was nearly half. At this moment, other strong members of the Black Mountain Sect, no longer merely spectators or having emerged from seclusion, arrived at the mountain gate. Leading them was the Black Mountain Sect's leader, Black Wind Daoist. He wore a grey robe, had a youthful appearance with white hair, looking quite old despite his age.

Yu Linglong stood beside Black Wind Daoist, curiously gazing at Qi Yuan, occasionally casting flirtatious glances. The other two Golden Core elders looked solemn, staring intently at Qi Yuan.

Black Wind Daoist looked at the ruins and remained unmoved. "Attacking our mountain gate is going too far. Though we are a small sect, Bai Ji Old Ancestor is my adoptive father. If you leave now, we will let this matter rest. In the past, our Black Mountain Sect exterminated your family. Now, you’ve killed three of our Golden Core elders. We can call it even."

Black Wind Daoist could be flexible, showing weakness to Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan, however, did not move, assessing the Black Mountain Sect members, contemplating how to quickly eliminate them. Seeing Qi Yuan's silence, Black Wind Daoist continued, "If you persist, our Black Mountain Sect isn't a pushover. The outcome is uncertain! And do you know that Bai Ji Old Ancestor is my adoptive father?"

Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. "You killed my entire family and now threaten me? Do you think I'm just a pushover?"

Black Wind Daoist was stunned. Beside him, Yu Linglong laughed charmingly. "Little brother, you're quite interesting. If you're willing to spare the Black Mountain Sect, I... would be willing to spend a night of passion with you."

Black Wind Daoist frowned but said nothing. Qi Yuan shouted, "Using a honey trap, how despicable. Today, I will wipe you all out!"

Qi Yuan had no interest in arguing further, directly attacking. Arguing was boring and he wasn’t good at it. In arguments, he never won.

Black Wind Daoist’s expression turned cold. "You seek death!"

Black Wind Daoist did not hesitate. He took out a formation flag, throwing it into the air. "Form the array!" Instantly, he activated the sect's grand formation. All the Qi Condensation disciples turned pale, and the Foundation Establishment enforcers also looked pale. In contrast, the four Golden Core elders appeared more robust, their auras growing stronger. The grand formation of the Black Mountain Sect drained the cultivation of all disciples and enforcers, channeling it to the Golden Core elders, instantly boosting their power.

Qi Yuan saw this, and with a forceful swing of his great sword, Black Wind Daoist remained calm. Now feeling as if he had reached the late Golden Core stage, he let out a round, shiny Golden Core. "Take this strike!"

Black Wind Daoist attacked with his strongest Golden Core strike. The Golden Core was the most precious item for a Golden Core cultivator, the essence of their Taoist arts. Using this technique, Black Wind Daoist seemed invincible. "My Golden Core is of the middle third grade, a heavy iron Golden Core. It is the most sturdy. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot easily shatter it. Your techniques are exquisite, your lethal moves abundant, and your combat experience surpasses ours. If we fight in a prolonged battle, we will surely be picked off one by one. So, I use my Golden Core to overpower you!"

Black Wind Daoist's greatest advantage was his higher cultivation realm. So, he used the most reliable move to suppress Qi Yuan with the heavy iron Golden Core. It was a nearly unbeatable tactic against lower realm cultivators.

However, seeing the Golden Core, Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. "It’s not even as big as a football, and you think you can suppress me!"

Had Black Wind Daoist fought Qi Yuan fairly, the battle might have dragged on. But presenting the Golden Core was a fatal mistake. Qi Yuan’s blade specialized in slicing through Golden Cores! Qi Yuan performed the Heavenly Slash Sword Technique again. With the essence of the sun and moon converging in him, the enormous great sword shattered, revealing a butcher knife. Black Wind Daoist was dumbfounded. A butcher knife?

He didn’t have much time to process it, as a dire premonition surged within him. He instinctively tried to retract the Golden Core, but it was too late. The knife sliced through the Golden Core like a hot knife through butter, as if it were cutting through an egg. Black Wind Daoist, his aura collapsing, was on the brink of death.

"Impossible..."

Black Wind Daoist couldn't believe it. His heavy iron Golden Core, equivalent to a mountain in weight, was cut apart. Qi Yuan coldly remarked, "It's not that I'm too strong; it's that your Golden Core is too small."

Reflecting, Qi Yuan thought, in the future, if he forged a Golden Core, it must be large, not like Black Wind Daoist’s egg-sized core, easily split in one cut. With that, Qi Yuan, holding the butcher knife, no longer concealed his power. "Kill!"

He charged at the remaining three Golden Core elders. The intense battle saw no regard for the lives of the disciples, who were swiftly slaughtered. Within ten breaths, Qi Yuan beheaded another Golden Core elder with the Heavenly Slash Sword Technique. One remaining elder, heavily injured, was betrayed by Yu Linglong, who absorbed his Golden Core to restore her cultivation.

Now, only Yu Linglong remained among the Golden Core elders. Covered in blood, her attire in tatters, exposing her smooth skin, she pleaded with Qi Yuan, "Spare my life, please."

"Humph!" Qi Yuan ignored her, slashing relentlessly.

Yu Linglong, in desperation, confessed, "I possess the Purple Bamboo body. I’ve remained pure, keeping my virginity. Bai Ji Old Ancestor coveted my purity, investing resources in me to cultivate me to the Nascent Soul stage, to then dual cultivate with me, reaching the legendary Purple Mansion realm. If you spare me, I’ll serve you and help you achieve the Purple Mansion destiny!"

Qi Yuan paused. "Purple Mansion?"

Seeing hope, Yu Linglong continued, "If you engage with me now, you can reach the Nascent Soul stage today. If you wait until I reach the Nascent Soul stage, you could enter the Purple Mansion realm by spending a night with me!"

Qi Yuan, contemplating, realized, "So, you're the reserve of Bai Ji Old Ancestor? I can't let you live! A Nascent Soul stage Bai Ji Old Ancestor is already terrifying enough, let alone one in the Purple Mansion stage!"

With that, he swiftly decapitated Yu Linglong, shattering her Golden Core. Yu Linglong was dead beyond recovery. Qi Yuan, relieved, said, "Lucky she mentioned her Purple Bamboo body. Otherwise, if I had left, Bai Ji Old Ancestor might have revived her body, using it to step into the Purple Mansion realm."

Pouring special corpse-dissolving liquid on her body, Qi Yuan turned her into a puddle, then burned it dry, collecting the residue into his storage bag. "This way, Bai Ji Old Ancestor can't obtain her purity."

Unsettled, he decided, "Not safe enough!" Burning the remnants again, he ensured complete destruction, then turned to the Black Mountain Sect, eyes full of killing intent. "Some disciples still live. I must finish them off and loot their library before fleeing!"

With the sect formation draining the disciples' and enforcers' cultivation, most turned into dry corpses, but a few survived. Qi Yuan would leave no one behind.