110: Retire after success

"Hoo..." Li Dong exhaled a mouthful of stale Qi tinged with faint golden light, feeling the slightly rotating, incomparably solid Golden Core within his Dantian, and the surging, endless spiritual power rushing through his limbs and bones. Golden Core Stage

Success! This feeling of complete transformation gave him the urge to let out a long howl toward the sky.

"Golden Core, this is the Golden Core..." he muttered to himself, clenching his fist. The air let out a faint sonic boom. This power

it was more than ten times stronger than the Late Foundation Establishment Stage!

"Qiankun Zi, that old dog, and the Shadow Council

your good days are over."

However, now was not the time for complacency. After the earth-shattering explosion at the Jubao Firm, plus him destroying one of Qiankun Zi's Clones, those old monsters had probably already turned the entire capital upside down.

"System, how effective are the Shape-Shifting Mask and the Aura Concealing Jade Pendant?"

[System: The Shape-Shifting Mask can perfectly mimic any appearance or aura below the Golden Core Stage. The Aura Concealing Jade Pendant can suppress the Host's cultivation fluctuations to the level of a normal person, or mimic any Realm below the Golden Core Stage. Under this dual enhancement, even a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator would find it difficult to see through.]

"Very good." Li Dong took out the two Magic Treasures from his storage ring. After donning the mask, a wave of coolness passed over him, and his appearance shifted into a sallow-faced, slightly dull-eyed middle-aged man

the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd. Once the Aura Concealing Jade Pendant was hung around his neck, the powerful aura of the Golden Core Early Stage instantly receded, making him look like an unremarkable Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator.

"In this disguise, even He Tianzheng probably wouldn't recognize me if he stood right in front of me." Li Dong grinned while looking at his reflection in the pool, but the smile paired with that face looked somewhat sleazy.

He did not linger, confirmed his direction, and continued deeper along the abandoned secret passage he had accidentally discovered. Since he was already underground, he decided to hide beneath the surface for a while.

Several days later, on the outskirts of the capital, near an inconspicuous market.

"Fellow Daoist, are you satisfied with this Immortal Cave? Although it's a bit remote and the Spiritual Qi is sparse, it has the advantage of being quiet and the rent is cheap." A sharp-featured, monkey-faced broker Cultivator was bowing and scraping toward a "Loose Cultivator" wearing a simple Daoist robe and whose cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage - Early Phase.

This "Loose Cultivator" was naturally Li Dong in disguise. His current identity was "Zhang San," a Golden Core Loose Cultivator who had come from a distant Prefecture to make a living in the capital, but his visible cultivation was suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage - Early Phase using the Aura Concealing Jade Pendant, so as not to be too conspicuous or too destitute.

"Hmm, it's acceptable. This will do." Li Dong said in a hoarse voice, tossing over a bag of Spirit Stones.

This Immortal Cave was indeed nothing special, just a simply excavated cave with only a meditation cushion and a stone bed. But for Li Dong, safety and concealment were the priorities.

After sending the broker Cultivator away, Li Dong set up a few simple warning Formations and finally relaxed. He sat cross-legged on the cushion and began to sort through his gains from this trip.

"System, pull up the data acquired from the Jubao Firm, and also the 'Brood Mother Cultivation Log'."

[System: Data integration in progress...]

A light screen unfolded before his eyes, displaying a large amount of information regarding the internal structure of the "Shadow Council," details on some members, distribution of strongholds, and the methods for extracting "spiritual essence."

"These old fogeys, they hide things so deeply." Li Dong clicked his tongue inwardly as he read. This was just the tip of the iceberg; the true core secrets were likely only known to those few old monsters in the Golden Core Late Stage.

"What is the situation in the capital now?"

[System: Due to the Jubao Firm explosion and subsequent underground tremors, the capital has entered a state of high alert. Wei Zheng, the head of the Demon Suppression Headquarters, personally ordered a thorough investigation, and multiple areas within the city have been sealed off.]

"Wei Zheng?" Li Dong raised an eyebrow. This impartial leader of the Demon Suppression Division certainly had some reputation.

[System: He Tianzheng, a member of the Shadow Council, is using his authority to create internal resistance within the Demon Suppression Headquarters and spread rumors, attempting to steer the investigation toward 'Demonic Path evildoers at work'.]

"A leopard never changes its spots." Li Dong scoffed. "What about the Imperial Family?"

[System: The Seventh Princess, using evidence related to the 'Soul-Devouring Demon Flower' and the 'Forbidden Experiment', engaged in a fierce debate in the imperial court against the factions of the Eldest Prince and the Third Prince, accusing certain forces of secretly endangering the Empire's Dragon Vein. The Emperor was enraged and has ordered the Imperial Guards to cooperate with the Demon Suppression Headquarters to expand the scope of the investigation.]

"Oh? That Seventh Princess actually has some guts." Li Dong was slightly surprised. It seemed the intelligence he had anonymously sent out previously had played a role. "However, the old Emperor probably can't be relied upon either."

The Great Yan Emperor was obsessed with cultivating the Dao and achieving longevity, often neglecting court affairs. The various princes were locked in a deadly struggle for the position of Crown Prince, and the waters of the Shadow Council ran very deep.

[System: Warning! Abnormal frequency of activity detected from two other Golden Core Elders of the Shadow Council. There are signs that the 'Vortex Trap Zone' project is accelerating.]

"They can't sit still this quickly?" Li Dong's eyes narrowed. "Are they resorting to desperate measures, trying to quickly activate that 'Vortex Trap Zone'?"

As he pondered this, an encrypted message talisman suddenly penetrated the simple Restriction outside the Immortal Cave and flew toward him.

It bore Zhou Boqian's unique mark.

Li Dong reached out to take it, and his Divine Sense probed inside, causing his expression to sink slightly.

"Lord Zhou sent a message saying that Zhang Wu in Qingzhou Prefecture was attacked by an unknown force while tracing clues regarding the remnants of the Lin family. He is severely injured, his whereabouts are currently unknown, and his situation is precarious."

"Zhang Wu..." Li Dong clenched his fist. Zhang Wu was a pawn he had supported back in Qingzhou Prefecture; he was upright and capable. Li Dong hadn't expected him to meet such a fate so quickly.

"The Shadow Council bastards sure have long reach! Is this a warning, or simple retaliation?"

Regardless of which it was, it showed that the opposition had begun to fight back. The capital was the eye of the storm, but the cleanup on the periphery had already started.

"I can't wait any longer." Li Dong stood up and paced inside the Immortal Cave.

He had originally planned to stabilize his cultivation first and proceed slowly. But Zhang Wu's incident disrupted his plan. He must quickly find the exact location of the "Vortex Trap Zone" and stop the Shadow Council's conspiracy, otherwise, not only would the Great Yan Dynasty suffer, but the people he cared about would also be implicated one by one.

"The Golden Core Stage Spiritual Domain, and the greatly enhanced Spiritual Resonance..." A sharp glint flashed in Li Dong's eyes. "It's the perfect time to test if I can use these to find the lair of those old dogs."

He closed his eyes, and the powerful Divine Sense of his newly achieved Golden Core Stage surged out like a tide. The Spiritual Domain quietly unfolded. This time, it was no longer limited to a ten-meter radius but spread deep into the capital's underground according to his will.

Unlike the vague Dragon Vein aura he had sensed in the Spiritual Spring before, the scene beneath the capital now became clear from his perspective of Spirituality.

A massive Dragon Vein, which should have been radiantly glorious, was now wrapped and corroded by countless fine black threads, emitting a sickening aura of decay and resentment. Those black threads were the physical manifestation of the Soul-Devouring Demon Flower's power.

"Has the contamination reached this extent?" Li Dong could feel the Dragon Vein's mournful cries and struggles.

His Divine Sense traced the source of the black threads, passing through layers of underground structures and avoiding various hidden Formation nodes.

"Found it... an area of highly concentrated energy, filled with mixed and evil 'spiritual essence', and also... the fluctuations of a Formation. It's incredibly vast and complex."

Li Dong "saw" that deep beneath the capital, a massive cluster of Restrictions, resembling an inverted spinning top, was slowly operating. Countless contaminated Spiritual Qi and soul power were sucked into it, transforming into a more sinister form of energy.

"Is this the core of the 'Vortex Trap Zone'?"

Even with only Divine Sense probing, Li Dong could feel the terrifying pressure emanating from that core area, along with subtle traces of ancient forbidden aura that made his heart tremble.

"What exactly do these old bastards want? To awaken an ancient evil god and rule the world? Are they out of their minds?"

Although he had found the approximate location, the strictness of the defenses and the terrifying energy levels far exceeded his expectations.

"Golden Core Early Stage is still not enough..." Li Dong withdrew his Divine Sense, a look of solemnity appearing on his face.

The real battle had only just begun.