147: Chapter 106 Gold-related Clues, Heading to Collect Them

Five Golden Attributes; obtaining one allows for a Golden Core.

He was close.

Truly close.

Two lifetimes of searching, three lifetimes of Reincarnation, and he had finally seen the threshold of the Golden Core.

Not a False Core, not a pseudo-core, but a true Golden Core.

It is a Blessed Land Golden Core based on Golden Attributes.

It is the ancient Golden Core Dao.

The flying ship pierced through the clouds, leaving the Ancient Battlefield far behind.

Chen Xuan stood at the ship's railing, hand on his sword hilt, looking at the southern horizon.

The silhouette of Wanyao Immortal City appeared on the horizon.

The city walls were towering, and the protective array's spiritual light shimmered with a golden luster under the setting sun.

People came and went on the streets within the city, and lanterns of shops lit up one by one.

Everything seemed normal.

But Chen Xuan knew that nothing was normal.

The two City Wall Earth imagery in his Storage Pouch would attract the covetous eyes of more people.

The Nine-Tailed Fox would come again.

Zhou He would come again.

Yao Shuang would not let this go either.

He needed to digest these two imagery as quickly as possible to push his accumulation of City Wall Earth from three to four.

Then, search for the final one.

Fishing for Golden Attributes requires six imagery as bait.

He was still missing two Heavenly Fire and two City Wall Earth.

If everything went smoothly, he could collect them all within ten years.

Ten years.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes.

Ten years later, he would be able to attempt to fish for Golden Attributes.

If he succeeded, he would only be missing the Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

Only one step away from the Golden Core.

If he failed, everything would start over.

But he would not fail.

Through three lifetimes of Reincarnation, the most important thing he had learned was to find a path to survival in desperate situations.

The flying ship landed at the airport.

Chen Xuan jumped off the railing and walked along the Central Avenue toward the Inner City.

Liu Lili followed by his side, while Senior Sister Wen Yao walked behind.

When they reached the gate of the Inner City, a Cultivator wearing a grey Daoist robe stopped him.

He was at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, with an ordinary face and gloomy eyes.

A token with the character "Heaven" hung from his waist.

A Cultivator from the Central Plains Buddhist Sect.

"Fellow Daoist Yun Qi, Immortal Master Kumu asked me to deliver a message."

His voice was very soft, but every word was clear.

"The Immortal Master says that the Southern Region is too small to contain so much ambition. When it is time to let go of some things, one should let go."

Chen Xuan looked at him with a calm expression.

"I have noted it."

The grey-robed Cultivator nodded and turned to leave.

His footsteps were very light, as if treading on cotton.

Liu Lili watched his back, her brows furrowed tightly.

"Junior Brother, is this a threat?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"It is not a threat. It is a probe."

He walked into the Inner City and headed east along the bluestone path.

"Immortal Master Kumu is testing my bottom line. If I retreat, he will push for more. If I do not yield an inch, he will think of another way."

Liu Lili bit her lip.

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"Do not retreat."

Chen Xuan's tone was very light.

"Not a single step."

He stopped at the entrance of his courtyard and turned to look at Liu Lili.

"Senior Sister, I need to go into seclusion. It might take half a month to digest these two imagery."

Liu Lili nodded.

"I will act as your Protector."

Chen Xuan looked at her for a long time.

"Senior Sister, thank you."

Liu Lili reached out and flicked his forehead.

"What are you thanking me for? I am your Dao Companion; doing this is only right."

Chen Xuan smiled and pushed open the door to enter the courtyard.

Soul-calming incense was still burning in the quiet room, with white smoke curling and slowly spiraling under the candlelight.

He sat down on the meditation cushion and took out the two City Wall Earth imagery from his Storage Pouch.

A dim yellow light danced in his palm, warm and heavy.

The City Wall Earth imagery in his Dantian emitted a joyful hum.

That miniature ancient city wall in his Purple Mansion trembled slightly, as if welcoming new companions.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes and slowly incorporated the two imagery into his Dantian.

As the imagery entered his body, it turned into two rays of dim yellow light, flowing toward the Purple Mansion.

The ancient city wall in the Purple Mansion shone brightly, drawing the two newly arrived imagery toward it.

The imagery merged with the city wall, and the bricks and stones on the wall became more solid.

The city wall, which was originally only the size of a palm, grew taller and expanded in size.

Vague patterns appeared on the city wall, resembling runes, yet also looking like decorative patterns.

Four imagery.

Only two more away from fishing for Golden Attributes.

Chen Xuan introspected into his Purple Mansion, feeling the changes in the City Wall Earth imagery.

That feeling of heaviness, stability, and indestructibility became even stronger.

He circulated the Haohai Sword Art, guiding his mana to nourish the new imagery.

Mana rushed through his Meridians, and the five-colored light in the Purple Mansion flowed unceasingly.

The dim yellow light of the City Wall Earth intertwined with the light of the Five Elements, illuminating the entire Purple Mansion.

Chen Xuan's aura was slowly climbing.

Foundation Establishment, Fifth Layer, Late Stage; Foundation Establishment, Fifth Layer, Peak of Late Stage.

Only a hair's breadth away from the Sixth Layer.

The barrier of cultivation appeared once again.

It was not a lack of foundation, but a lack of an opportunity.

An opportunity to let him break through the existing Bottleneck.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes and took a Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch.

It was the diary left behind by Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji.

He read it again.

"Five Golden Attributes; obtaining one allows for the verification of the Golden Core. I exhausted my whole life and only obtained one City Wall Earth; such a great regret."

Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji was at the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, having cultivated for one thousand three hundred years, and in his whole life, he only obtained one City Wall Earth Golden Attribute.

And he, Chen Xuan, was only at the Fifth Layer of Foundation Establishment, yet he already possessed four City Wall Earth imagery.

It was not that he was stronger than Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji.

It was that he was born in a better era.

In Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's era, Golden Cores were everywhere, and Nascent Souls were as common as dogs.

Although there were many Golden Attributes, there were also many people fighting for them.

In his era, the Golden Core was already the Peak of the Southern Region, and no one cared about Golden Attributes.

It was not that the Golden Attributes had become fewer; it was that the people who knew the value of Golden Attributes had become fewer.

The ancient Golden Core Dao had been lost; nowadays, Cultivators in the Southern Region only knew of False Cores and pseudo-cores.

The true Golden Core had already become a legend.

Chen Xuan put the Jade Slip away, closed his eyes, and continued his cultivation.

Half a month later, he opened his eyes.

The four City Wall Earth imagery were completely stabilized; the ancient city wall in the Purple Mansion was three feet taller and two feet wider.

The patterns on the city wall were clearly visible, resembling ancient runes.

He stood up and walked out of the quiet room.

Liu Lili was sitting by the stone table in the courtyard, holding a bowl of soup in her hands.

The soup was still steaming, and the fragrance of medicine permeated the air.

Seeing Chen Xuan come out, she smiled.

"Junior Brother, have you finished your seclusion?"

"Mm."

"Has your cultivation broken through?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"Still one step away."

Liu Lili placed the soup bowl on the stone table, walked over, and reached out to punch him on the chest.

"Do not rush; take your time."

Chen Xuan picked up the soup bowl and took a sip.

The soup was very hot, but it tasted very good.

"Senior Sister, has anything happened outside in these past few days?"

Liu Lili sat down beside him and leaned on his shoulder.

"Three things."

"First, Immortal Master Kumu is holding a lecture in Fusheng Immortal City, and the audience is gathered in crowds. Elders of Foundation Establishment from the Fusheng Sect and Qingcang Sect have gone to listen, and even the Southern Sky Zhang Clan has sent people."

"Second, the Nine-Tailed Fox sent someone to deliver a letter, saying she wants to talk to you."

"Third, Yao Shuang has gone missing. The accounts of the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce do not match, and President Liu Yishou is investigating."

Chen Xuan's hand holding the soup bowl paused for a moment.

Yao Shuang missing.

Not an accident.

He ran away.

He put down the soup bowl and stood up.

"Senior Sister, I need to go see Revered Master."

Liu Lili nodded.

"I will go with you."

The two of them walked out of the courtyard and headed toward Master Liu Yun's Immortal Cave along the bluestone path.

The moonlight spread over the stone steps like a layer of thin frost.

Chen Xuan walked in front, his footsteps steady.

He was calculating in his heart.

Yao Shuang ran away; the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce must be purged.

The Nine-Tailed Fox wants to talk; they can talk, but he cannot yield.

Immortal Master Kumu is holding a lecture to win over people's hearts.

People from the Central Plains Buddhist Sect want to take root in the Southern Region.

But the Southern Region is not their Southern Region.

This is the place where his descendants, his sect, and his Dao Companion live.

He will not give it to anyone.