225: Chapter 224 The Heart is Obtained

This Pressure was incredibly powerful; any ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have been paralyzed with fear long ago.

But Qin Changsheng did not panic in the slightest.

Qin Changsheng immediately activated his Golden Trait: Teleportation.

There was no dazzling light, no violent fluctuations of spiritual power, only a faint, almost imperceptible ripple in space that gently flickered.

Qin Changsheng's figure vanished from the pavilion instantly, moving with such extreme speed that not a single trace of his aura remained.

In just a brief moment, Qin Changsheng had returned to his remote Outer Sect courtyard located on the edge of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

This small courtyard was situated in the most secluded corner of the Outer Sect, far from the core area and separated from Lin Wu's pavilion by several mountain forests and numerous Disciple residences; its location was hidden to the extreme.

Although Lin Zhentian was a Golden Core Elder skilled in Divine Sense detection and aura tracking, Qin Changsheng's Teleportation left no trail to follow. Combined with the courtyard's remote location and the vast distance, it was impossible for him to detect Qin Changsheng's movements, let alone link the murder in the pavilion to this unremarkable, ordinary Outer Sect courtyard.

Qin Changsheng walked slowly to the prayer mat in the courtyard and sat down, beginning to meticulously review the entire operation. Every step flashed through his mind as he confirmed there were no oversights.

After sorting through everything, Qin Changsheng concluded that the operation was perfect. He hadn't left a single clue that could be traced, and he had maintained precise control from start to finish.

From being extorted for his stipend by the Thin-Faced Cultivator and others in front of the General Affairs Hall during the day—where he had conveniently left a hidden Divine Sense mark—to precisely locating Lin Wu's pavilion at night, and then striking publicly to instantly kill the wicked servants and Lin Wu, the entire process was clean and efficient. He left no spiritual traces, clothing fragments, or unique aura behind.

Even a Golden Core Elder like Lin Zhentian, using the full power of the Sect to investigate, would find no evidence pointing toward him.

The escape phase, in particular, was extremely decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

The moment Lin Wu died and Lin Zhentian's Pressure descended, he didn't panic at all. He immediately activated his Golden Trait: Teleportation, using the power of space to instantly move back to this remote courtyard.

During this operation, Qin Changsheng had appeared openly before Lin Wu because he had never intended to leave Lin Wu alive.

Lin Wu held the core formation insights and had allowed his subordinates to oppress fellow Disciples and disregard human life; he was a man who deserved to die.

By seizing the core formation insights from Lin Wu's hands, he was merely removing a scourge for the Outer Sect.

After reviewing the entire operation and confirming he was under no threat, Qin Changsheng flipped his wrist, and two ordinary-looking Storage Pouches appeared in his palm out of thin air.

These two Storage Pouches had been obtained from Lin Wu.

One contained the loot the Thin-Faced Cultivator had handed over, while the other was Lin Wu's personal Storage Pouch.

He first picked up the slightly worn Storage Pouch and poured all its contents onto the stone table in front of him. A pile of fine Spirit Sand scattered with a clatter; the grains were small and their spiritual light was dim. These were the most common low-grade Spirit Sand found in Outer Sect Disciple stipends, and even a large accumulation would be hard-pressed to trade for a few decent Spirit Stones.

Qin Changsheng scanned them briefly and did a rough count; there were over twenty thousand grains of Spirit Sand. Converted according to the Sect's exchange rate, they were worth only about two hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. It was a meager amount, yet every single grain was stained with the grievances of fellow Disciples, all ill-gotten gains from Lin Wu allowing his subordinates to bully ordinary Outer Sect Disciples.

Looking at the Spirit Sand, there wasn't a ripple of emotion in the depths of Qin Changsheng's eyes. He didn't care for these minor resources and simply gathered them together to save for miscellaneous future expenses.

Next, Qin Changsheng put down the pouch containing the Spirit Sand and picked up the other Storage Pouch, which was made of finer material and had a richer spiritual glow. This was the Storage Pouch Lin Wu carried on his person, and its contents were naturally far more abundant than the plundered goods.

He used his spiritual power to open the Storage Pouch and poured out all the items. The stone table was instantly filled with a dazzling array of objects: there were seven or eight low-grade Magical Artifacts of decent quality, their spiritual light flowing; though not top-tier, they were rare equipment for Outer Sect Disciples.

There were over a dozen bottles of basic Body Tempering and Qi Gathering Medicinal Pills, suitable for the daily cultivation of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.

There was also a pile of neatly stacked Spirit Stones; counting them up, there were over three hundred High Grade Spirit Stones, which was a significant fortune.

Amidst these miscellaneous items, a Jade Slip that was entirely green with faint patterns engraved on its surface lay quietly. Its spiritual light was gentle and warm, completely different from the surrounding objects and exceptionally eye-catching.

Qin Changsheng noticed this Jade Slip immediately. He reached out to pick it up and then slowly injected his Divine Sense into it.

In an instant, passages of obscure and profound text along with spiritual power circulation diagrams flooded into his Sea of Consciousness via his Divine Sense. The content was all about the key secrets for breaking through from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, methods for guiding spiritual power, ways to resolve Bottlenecks, as well as the personal insights and pitfalls to avoid from a great expert during Core Formation. Every word and sentence pointed directly toward the Great Dao of Core Formation.

A look of joy appeared in Qin Changsheng's eyes. This green Jade Slip was precisely the core formation insights he had been looking for.

Qin Changsheng adjusted his breathing, bringing his internal spiritual power to its most stable state. Then, he once again slowly injected his Divine Sense into the green Jade Slip, casting aside all distracting thoughts to study it intently, word by word.

This set of insights, written by a Golden Core expert, was extremely detailed, far surpassing the shallow records found in the common texts of the Heavenly Sword Sect. It covered everything from early preparation to Late Stage stabilization. Every passage was filled with combat-tested insights, each word a gem, providing Qin Changsheng with immense benefits.

The opening of the Jade Slip clearly listed the core Materials and Medicinal Pills essential for Core Formation, organized logically without any omissions.

First and foremost were the Core Formation Medicinal Pills; these pills needed to be refined from rare Spirit Medicines such as golden yellow grass, golden marrow ganoderma, and qingling fruit.

There was also the high-grade fire spirit fruit to assist in Core Formation, and the qingling pill to aid in strengthening the foundation and nurturing the essence.

Next were the auxiliary items: a Core Formation platform crafted from millennium warm jade was required to isolate external interference and gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, supplemented by a protective jade talisman of the third rank or higher to resist the spiritual power backlash during Core Formation.

In addition, a sufficient amount of Spirit Stones was needed to set up a Spirit Gathering Array, ensuring a continuous flow of Spiritual Qi during the Core Formation process so that it wouldn't fail due to a lack of spiritual power.

Most of these Materials were rare and precious, difficult for an ordinary Cultivator to gather in a lifetime. Qin Changsheng silently memorized them, already planning his subsequent route for collecting these resources.

Beyond the essential Materials, the Jade Slip used long passages to explain the core preparations before Core Formation in detail.

One needed to enter seclusion a month in advance to purify their spiritual power and remove Impurities, making the spiritual power throughout the body pure and condensed.

One also had to adjust their state of mind, discarding distracting thoughts like greed, anger, obsession, and resentment to maintain a clear mind, without even a hint of impulsiveness.

Furthermore, one had to practice the spiritual power circulation routes in advance and become familiar with the spiritual power cycles during Core Formation to avoid mistakes during the actual event. Every step had clear time limits and standards, being extremely rigorous.

The most dangerous hurdle during the Core Formation process was the emergence of Heart Demons. The Jade Slip highlighted this with emphatic notes, repeatedly stressing its danger.

When a Cultivator undergoes Core Formation, their Divine Sense connects with the world. Past obsessions, regrets, and fears will transform into Heart Demon illusions—either appearing as loved ones to lead them astray or as enemies to provoke them. A slight lapse in concentration could lead to a loss of mental control, resulting in anything from the scattering of spiritual power and the loss of cultivation to Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, ending one's life on the path to Core Formation.

The insights specifically recorded methods for suppressing Heart Demons: one must hold fast to their original heart and use their Divine Sense as a blade to cut through the illusions, refusing to be swayed by emotions. This made Qin Changsheng secretly wary, deeply understanding the importance of mind-state cultivation. After overcoming the Heart Demon hurdle, one would face the Heavenly Dao Lightning Tribulation, which was the second great chasm of Core Formation.

The Jade Slip explicitly stated that forming a Golden Core would inevitably trigger a Lightning Tribulation. The power of the tribulation varied from person to person; the more solid one's cultivation and the more outstanding one's Aptitude, the stronger the Lightning Tribulation would be. One must not rely on luck.

One should not try to withstand the Lightning Tribulation through brute force. It was necessary to set up lightning-protection formations in advance, coupled with protective Magical Artifacts, focusing on diverting the force. Simultaneously, one should circulate spiritual power to protect the heart's meridians, and once the Lightning Tribulation dissipated, stabilize the embryonic form of the Golden Core.

Even if one was lucky enough to survive the Lightning Tribulation, they could not let their guard down. After Core Formation, a Cultivator would fall into a state of extreme physical weakness, with their spiritual power depleted and their Divine Sense exhausted, making even raising a hand extremely difficult. This period was the most dangerous time; one must find an absolutely safe Secret Realm for seclusion where they would not be disturbed by anyone, while taking Medicinal Pills that heavily supplement spiritual power to slowly nourish the Golden Core until the spiritual power was completely stabilized.

If one was even slightly careless, they might even enter the False Core Realm.

Once one entered the False Core Realm, they would be unable to reach the Golden Core Realm for the rest of their life.

Qin Changsheng slowly withdrew his Divine Sense and closed his eyes to digest all the content from the Jade Slip, having gained a clear understanding of the path to Core Formation.

Previously, he only had a vague concept of Core Formation. Now, these insights laid out all the details, dangers, and precautions, completely clearing the mist from the path ahead.

He knew well that the path to Core Formation was fraught with danger and could not be achieved overnight. In the future, he would need to collect rare Materials, polish his state of mind, and temper his spiritual power, making full preparations before he could charge toward the Great Dao of the Golden Core.

Qin Changsheng took a deep breath and silently wrote down the medicinal ingredients required for refining the golden core pill.