161: Successfully formed the Golden Core

Core Formation!

Lin Feng looked silently at the piece of dark red blood marrow in his hand, which had just been obtained and was still warm, then looked at Xiao Qinghan, whose complexion remained pale.

For this blood marrow, they had fallen into this desperate situation with no hope of survival.

People outside, I fear, have all concluded that not even their bones remain.

After a brief deathly silence, a trace of nearly insane determination ignited in Lin Feng's eyes.

He recalled the Slug into his spirit beast pouch to recuperate, walked to the center of the grotto, sat cross-legged, and placed the houtu blood marrow before him.

"Senior Sister, you are right." His voice was calm, yet carried the determination to cut off all paths of retreat, "If I cannot leave at Foundation Establishment, then... Core Formation it is."

Without Core Formation, one becomes ash.

He closed his eyes, and the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art began to circulate slowly. This desperate situation might also be the only Opportunity for him to assault the Golden Core.

In the underground grotto, there was no way to know the passage of days and months. Only the flickering of the dark red runes on the rock walls marked the passage of time.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

Lin Feng sat cross-legged in the center of the grotto; the houtu blood marrow before him had long since been completely refined.

His aura was more settled than it had been three years ago, his understanding of the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art had deepened by another layer, and his spiritual power surged throughout his body, having already reached the Peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage; he seemed only a step away from the realm of Core Formation.

But this step was like a chasm.

Core Formation required not only the accumulation of spiritual power, but also an understanding of one's own Dao, and a trace of an elusive, mysterious Opportunity.

In this cage devoid of spiritual energy, filled only with filthy Qi and deathly silence, he lacked the Opportunity to resonate with the outside world. No matter how he attempted to break through, that solid barrier remained completely unmoved.

What made him even more anxious was Xiao Qinghan's condition.

Over these three years, despite his constant infusion of spiritual power to help heal her, the extremely Yang and extremely filthy environment of this place was eroding her at every moment.

The "Yang Sha" Qi within her body had not only not been suppressed, but instead, like a furnace fire constantly being fed with firewood, it burned ever brighter.

In the past half year, the frequency of her flushed complexion had increased, and the duration had grown longer. The scorching aura radiating from her body made even Lin Feng, when he approached, feel alarmed.

She often fell into a semi-conscious state, with an unshakable pain gathered between her brows, her aura in complete disarray; the signs of the Yang Sha spiraling out of control were becoming increasingly obvious.

"Lin... Junior Brother Lin..." On this day, Xiao Qinghan struggled awake once again from a bout of intense scorching heat. Sweat had soaked her hair. She grabbed Lin Feng's hand, her fingertips scalding hot, her voice weak and desperate, "It's no use... The Yang Sha from the backlash of the Myriad Spirits Heart-Sync Art... is too deeply entangled with my heart meridian... The environment here... is only adding fuel to the fire... I fear... I cannot wait for you to reach Core Formation..."

Lin Feng grasped her scalding hand in return, watching her once-cool eyes now occupied by pain and a trace of defeat, feeling as if a massive boulder were blocking his heart.

Three years of sitting in isolation, no hope of Core Formation, Senior Sister in imminent danger—an unprecedented sense of powerlessness and agitation almost swallowed him whole. For the first time, he felt shaken regarding this long imprisonment and the dim hope of escape.

"Senior Sister, there must be a way!" His voice was hoarse, carrying an urgency he hadn't even realized himself.

Xiao Qinghan gave a desolate smile, her eyes unfocused as she looked at the stalactites on the roof of the grotto, as if recalling something: "Back then, when my talent first manifested, my compatibility with the Myriad Spirits Heart-Sync Art was extremely high, and my progress was rapid, but I did not know this technique had a fatal flaw... When cultivated to a deep level, it would trigger a stream of Innate, extremely Yang Sha-fire within the body. This fire burns the meridians and erodes the vessels; it requires the guidance of Origin spiritual power that is extremely Yin, extremely soft, and shares a mutual heart-connection, to perform... the method of Yin and Yang mutual assistance, only then can it be channeled and resolved... Otherwise, one will eventually be consumed by the backlash of the Sha-fire and die from a burned heart..."

She gasped for breath, her gaze refocusing on Lin Feng's face, carrying a sense of resignation that cast everything aside, along with deep-seated attachment: "Junior Brother Lin... I have observed you for many years; your Heart-Nature is resilient, your Foundation is solid, and the Cultivation Technique you practice is upright and balanced, containing the marvelous essence of Yin and Yang harmonization... What is even more rare is... you and I... met when we were insignificant, and have accompanied each other through perilous situations... If you are willing... to help me... perhaps... not only can my chronic ailment be cured, but by borrowing this power of Yin and Yang Fusion... my cultivation, which has been trapped at a Bottleneck for years... might be broken through in one fell swoop..."

Her words were intermittent, but Lin Feng understood the deeper meaning behind Xiao Qinghan's years of attention and her many previous expressions of affection.

He understood, of course, that this was not simple healing, but the deepest level of Fusion and entrustment of spirit and flesh.

Looking at the last trace of hope in Xiao Qinghan's eyes amidst her near-despair, as well as the unmistakable affection hidden deep within, all of Lin Feng's hesitation and agitation instantly calmed.

He reached out and gently brushed aside the strands of hair stuck to her forehead by sweat, his gaze calm and determined.

"Senior Sister, I will help you."

There were no grand vows, only five simple words, yet they were as heavy as Mount Tai.

Xiao Qinghan closed her eyes, and a single tear slid from the corner of her eye.

Lin Feng gently helped her up, and the two sat cross-legged facing each other.

He circulated his Cultivation Technique, and pure spiritual power slowly transferred out; it was no longer simple healing, but an attempt to guide the violent Yang Sha within her body.

However, the power of the Yang Sha far exceeded his imagination. As soon as the two spiritual powers made contact, they clashed violently. Xiao Qinghan let out a muffled groan of pain, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Lin Feng gritted his teeth, a moment of inspiration struck, and the heaven-stealing vine deep within his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly.

With a thought, the vine's spiritual tendrils slowly extended from within his body, gently wrapping around the two of them.

Just as the heaven-stealing vine wrapped around them, Lin Feng made his decision.

He leaned down and kissed Xiao Qinghan's scalding lips.

The moment their lips met, it was as if some mysterious switch had been triggered.

After their clothes were shed, the spiritual power around both of them boiled and merged uncontrollably.

The light of the heaven-stealing vine flared brilliantly, forming a cocoon of light that completely enveloped them.

Inside the light cocoon, time lost all meaning.

Lin Feng guided his own Origin spiritual power, using the heaven-stealing vine as a medium, engaging in the most dangerous yet intimate clash and Fusion with the violent Yang Sha power inside Xiao Qinghan's body.

In his blurred consciousness, he seemed to see the scene of stars being born and all things growing, gaining an unprecedented realization of the supreme truth of "Yin and Yang Transformation and Birth" in the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art.

As for Xiao Qinghan, under the nourishment of Lin Feng's upright and balanced spiritual power and the harmonization of the heaven-stealing vine's strange power, the Yang Sha power that had tortured her for years was, for the first time, gently smoothed and guided, turning into pure energy that nourished her in return.

Her long-stagnant cultivation Bottleneck began to loosen...

This process lasted for an entire month.

When the light cocoon slowly dissipated, the heaven-stealing vine retracted into Lin Feng's body.

Xiao Qinghan was the first to open her eyes; a brilliant divine light shone in them, her aura was complete and majestic, and a pressure far superior to before naturally radiated from her.

Core Formation Stage!

She had actually succeeded, using this Opportunity to reach the Core Formation Stage in one go!

However, Lin Feng, beside her, was pale as paper, his aura withered to the extreme.

To help Xiao Qinghan channel the Yang Sha and assault the Core Formation Stage, he had exhausted almost half of his Origin spiritual power, and his cultivation had actually plummeted from the Peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage all the way back to the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage!