Immortal Path Space

As Shui Ruo'er clung to Wang Hong, tears streaming down her face, Wang Hong's two arms lifted, unsure where to place them.

Could he take advantage of this vulnerable moment to hold her and seize an opportunity?

Could he admit that he hadn't actually come to rescue her, that he hadn't actively searched for her?

"When we returned to the Third Defense Line after its collapse," he began, "we were too late. We had no choice but to hide together. Six months ago, this Demonic Beast captured all of us here, and every few days, it would choose a few of us to devour. If you hadn't come, I would have been next..."

As Shui Ruo'er spoke, her voice trembled, and her body, pressed against Wang Hong, grew tense. It was evident that witnessing her fellow disciples being picked off one by one had placed an immense mental burden on her, one that wouldn't be easily shaken off.

Wang Hong gently lowered his arms and soothed her back, helping her relax. "It's all right now! You should rest for a while."

Hearing Wang Hong's words, Shui Ruo'er turned her head to look around and realized she was being watched by a group of onlookers. Their expressions ranged from relief to envy to mockery.

Suddenly, Shui Ruo'er felt her face burning with embarrassment. She pushed Wang Hong away and hurriedly entered an open room to hide.

Wang Hong instructed Liu Changsheng to temporarily accommodate these people in the cave mansion, then entered the secret chamber previously used by Qing Fox to prepare for the Golden Core Formation.

Inside the chamber, Wang Hong reviewed several Golden Core Formation manuals, making sure he hadn't overlooked any details. Once he was confident he knew everything he needed to, he set up a Transmutation Array in the room and placed all his Spirit Stones in front of him to ensure an adequate supply of Spiritual Qi during the process.

He then took out the Golden Core Pill, Five-Color Spirit Jujube, and Golden Dewspirit Fruit, arranging them for easy access.

At this moment, he also retrieved several ripe Green Spirit Peaches and began consuming them. While Green Spirit Peaches were not directly related to Golden Core Formation, they could transform into a substantial amount of Spiritual Power, which could boost his cultivation level during Qi Cultivation and Foundation Building stages. This feature made them invaluable, and Wang Hong wanted to see if they had any supportive effects on Golden Core Formation.

After consuming three Green Spirit Peaches in succession, his dantian was already filled with an abundance of Spiritual Power. Despite the dantian being full, the Spiritual Power produced by the Green Spirit Peaches continued to flow into it.

Although his dantian was now slightly turbulent, it was still too vast for the effect of three Green Spirit Peaches to be fully realized. So, he took out ten more Green Spirit Peaches, crushing them and leaving only ten pits behind.

With these additional ten Green Spirit Peaches, Wang Hong's dantian surged like boiling water. It was clear that they were helping. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the bottle containing the Golden Core Pill, popped one into his mouth, and swallowed it.

As the Golden Core Pill entered his stomach, it seemed to unleash a mysterious force, intensifying the rolling of the Spiritual Power in his dantian and directing it toward the center. While the convergence was not swift, Wang Hong grabbed a Five-Color Spirit Jujube and devoured it, causing the Spiritual Power to gather even faster.

Meanwhile, the room's Spirit Qi began to flow into his body.

Half a day later, the Spirit Qi from the peak where Wang Hong was located began to converge into the secret chamber, gradually forming a swirling vortex of Spirit Qi.

This Spirit Qi vortex grew larger and extended its influence to the surrounding area, reaching over ten miles in no time.

Demonic Beasts living nearby sensed the change and started heading in that direction.

Little Peng had already received instructions from Wang Hong and was stationed on the mountaintop to welcome the approaching Demon Clan.

"I am Little Peng of Zixu Mountain, Wuyou Cave, and Rock Sand Carver. Greetings to all Fellow Daoists," he politely addressed the five third-tier Demonic Beasts who arrived.

One of the Demonic Beasts with a single horn on its head asked, "So, you're Little Peng Fellow Daoist. I wonder where our host, Qing Fox Fellow Daoist, is at the moment? This peak belongs to Qing Fox, and the nearby Demonic Beasts are aware of that."

"Qing Fox Fellow Daoist recently acquired a Human Clan slave, and today happens to be the day of Golden Core Formation for that slave. Qing Fox Fellow Daoist is currently tending to the process in the cave mansion. He asked me to welcome you all. Please follow me, and Qing Fox Fellow Daoist has prepared a feast for your enjoyment."

Little Peng led the five third-tier Demonic Beasts to a flat area on the mountaintop.

On this flat ground, various fine wines, spirit fruits, and other delicacies were already set up.

"I haven't had such fine wine in ages. We Demonic Clan members don't brew much. I remember the last time I raided a Sect's warehouse and got hold of a few barrels of Spirit Wine, but they were gone long ago," one of the Demonic Beasts said after taking a sip of Spirit Wine.

"Brother speaks the truth. Although the Human Clan may be ugly in appearance, they do create some fine things," another Demonic Beast chimed in.

"I wanted to capture a few Human Clan members to brew Spirit Wine for me, but one of them dared to ask me for Spirit Rice and spirit fruits in exchange. What use do I have for those? So, I killed him," another one said, seemingly still holding some lingering anger. He took another big gulp of Spirit Wine, feeling much better.

Meanwhile, Wang Hong's Golden Core Formation process was entering its final stage. The massive Spirit Qi vortex in the sky had all poured into Wang Hong's body.

Wang Hong was observing the golden core inside his body using Divine Sense. It was perfectly round, glistening with a radiant golden light, and surrounded by a hazy aura.

What surprised him the most was the size of his golden core, which had reached the size of a goose egg. Typically, a golden core for most cultivators was the size of a pigeon egg. The size of the golden core directly correlated with one's combat strength and future potential.

According to some ancient records, exceptionally talented cultivators could have golden cores as large as chicken eggs, and most of them eventually advanced to become Nascent Soul cultivators.

Considering this, did he not have the potential for Soul Transformation?

Of course, rewards were proportionate to the efforts made. Wang Hong had expended a considerable amount of Foundation Pills to expand his dantian, something he had never heard of anyone else achieving. To fill the expanded dantian, he had consumed a substantial number of Green Spirit Peaches.

If it weren't for the assistance of Green Spirit Peaches, even with an expanded dantian, a Foundation Building cultivator with a lifespan of just over two hundred years would struggle to fill it throughout their lifetime.

Due to the vast foundation he had built, his successful promotion to the Golden Core stage had consumed an enormous amount of Spiritual Qi, far more than what was visible in the outer Spirit Qi vortex.

Looking at the pile of white powder on the ground, the accumulation of years of Spirit Stones, he had used up everything.

He then spent two hours in meditation to recuperate before slowly standing up. As for consolidating his Realm further, that was a matter to be considered after leaving this place.

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