188: Unexpected

At that very moment, the Shadow Scale Snake lunged at the Gray-Robed Cultivator, biting down on his right wrist as he held the sword.

"Argh!" A bone-piercing pain and a wave of numbness surged from his wrist. Caught off guard, the Gray-Robed Cultivator subconsciously loosened his grip.

Having already calculated the timing, Lin Feng, under the cover of the Mirror Flower Snow Moon, swept his right hand out and snatched the autumn water sword, which was shimmering with spiritual light.

As soon as the sword was in his hand, a cool spiritual presence mixed with a faint sense of resistance washed over him, but he had no time to investigate further; he suppressed it immediately and stored it in his black jade bracelet.

From snatching the boundary-containing pearl to the Shadow Scale Snake's ambush to steal the sword, the entire process was as smooth as flowing water, happening in the blink of an eye.

It was only after the autumn water sword was taken that the Gray-Robed Cultivator finally reacted. Watching helplessly as he lost two precious treasures, while suffering from the agony of his severed left arm and the numbness from the snake venom in his right wrist, he could not help but let out a roar of shock and rage: "My Magic Treasure!!"

Lin Feng did not stop for a second; he turned around and pushed his movement technique to the limit, fleeing rapidly into the distance. The Shadow Scale Snake had already released its bite, transforming into a dark shadow that vanished into his spirit beast pouch.

The Gray-Robed Cultivator stumbled in mid-air. His left arm was severed, and two small snake-bite puncture wounds on his right wrist oozed black blood, sending waves of numbness through him. His face was pale as paper, and as he stared in the direction where Lin Feng had disappeared, his eyes were filled with fury and resentment.

The boundary-containing pearl, his Lifebound Treasure! The autumn water sword, the divine weapon he relied on to make his name! In just a few short breaths, they had both been snatched away by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"Pfft!" Overcome by rage, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swaying unsteadily.

"Impossible... this is absolutely impossible!" he muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief.

Those old fogies in the Sect were always hesitant, talking about how the Canglan Continent still had a deep foundation and required careful consideration, claiming they needed to prepare for at least several more decades before planning an invasion.

He had long grown tired of hearing that; what was there to fear about a declining land that had not produced a new Nascent Soul Cultivator in three hundred years?

It was precisely because of this disdain that he had secretly infiltrated the Canglan Continent. He had intended to sweep through a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators or even Core Formation Cultivators, bring back some spoils, and slap those old stubborn fools in the face, proving that the Canglan Continent was nothing special and there was no need to wait another few decades.

By then, he would surely become the greatest hero in the Sect's expansion.

But now... this seemingly ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator not only possessed exquisite Cultivation Techniques and unpredictable elemental changes, but also had a strange Spirit Beast that was completely unaffected by gravity, and that final lightning-fast strike was ruthless and precise.

How could this possibly be the standard for the Foundation Establishment Stage?

"Those old things... could they be right?" A terrifying thought rose in his heart, making him shudder. If any random Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Canglan Continent had such strength, would not the invasion plan the Sect had been preparing for decades be walking straight into a trap?

The agonizing pain from his severed arm made cold sweat stream down his face, but what frightened him even more was the retrospective fear. If the Sect had really launched an invasion rashly as he had previously imagined...

"Must go back... must go back immediately!" He gritted his teeth against the pain, his eyes filled with terror. "This matter requires careful consideration; the waters of this Canglan Continent are much deeper than imagined!"

He took one last look in the direction where Lin Feng had disappeared; his gaze held resentment and fear, but more than anything, it was the panic of a plan gone awry.

He dared not linger any longer and transformed into a staggering Escaping Light, fleeing in a panic in the direction he had come from. His only thought now was to hurry back to the Sect as quickly as possible and stop those fellow disciples who might be looking down on the Canglan Continent just as he had.

As for Lin Feng, the instigator of all this, he was already tens of miles away by now, completely unaware that his counterattack for self-preservation had, by a twist of fate, delayed a disaster that could have swept across the entire continent.

Two days later, Lin Feng finally succeeded in returning to Baoyue Peak of the Tianxuan Sect.

Core Formation. These two words weighed heavily on his heart. He knew his accumulation was sufficient, and successfully refining a condensation pill would be a rare Opportunity.

But precisely because of that, there could not be the slightest mistake. How many brilliant and talented individuals had fallen at this final hurdle, either due to the backlash of a Heart Demon or the loss of control over his spiritual power, ultimately resulting in the destruction of his pill and his own demise.

He walked to the jade table on the side of the stone chamber and carefully took out the jade box containing the golden infant fruit and the dozen or so other auxiliary Spirit Medicines one by one, arranging them neatly.

As his fingertips brushed over the surface of the cold jade box, he could feel the vast and gentle Spiritual Qi contained within the golden infant fruit. The golden infant fruit could not be consumed directly; it needed to be refined into a condensation pill to maximize its efficacy, neutralize its sharp energy, and safely guide the condensation of the Golden Core.

His own Immortal Cave's Alchemy room was clearly insufficient; he needed the most stable and pure Earth Fire, and could not tolerate the slightest interference. He recalled the Ziyang Alchemy Room within the Sect, which was reserved for Core Formation Elders.

The next day, Lin Feng stood before the heavy stone door of the Ziyang Alchemy Room, holding the access token he had applied for. As the stone door opened, a wave of pure and gentle heat hit his face. The Earth Fire, tamed by complex Formations, burned quietly beneath the Pill Furnace, emitting a pure purple glow. The runes on the surrounding walls flickered, constantly gathering Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

He walked slowly around the heavy, massive purple-bronze Pill Furnace. When he tapped his knuckles against it, the furnace wall emitted a deep, resonant sound like a bell. This Alchemy session concerned his Dao path, so not a single mistake could be tolerated; any hidden damage to the furnace body or issues with the fire-mouth Formation had to be absolutely flawless.

Afterward, he sat cross-legged in front of the Pill Furnace, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breath. This sitting lasted for three days.

During those three days, he rehearsed every step of the Alchemy process over and over again: when to add the main ingredients, when to add the auxiliary ones, how to make subtle adjustments to the heat, how to guide the explosion of the golden infant fruit's sharp metal Qi, and how to resolve the repulsion caused by the Fusion of different medicinal properties... Every possible scenario was simulated in his mind countless times until he knew it by heart, forming an instinct.

On the morning of the fourth day, Lin Feng opened his eyes, his gaze calm. He flicked a wisp of true fire from his fingertip, precisely igniting the furnace fire. The Earth Fire and the true fire merged, and the temperature rose steadily.

Following the sequence he had rehearsed countless times, he added the medicinal materials one by one. His Divine Sense, like the most precise thread, wrapped around every change in the medicinal power within the furnace, while his hands changed incantations, regulating the heat.

For forty-nine days and nights, he did not sleep or rest, his focus highly concentrated. When a clear humming sound came from the Pill Furnace, the lid was blown open, and a round, golden Golden Core leapt out, a faint trace of exhaustion flickered in the depths of Lin Feng's eyes, but it was filled more with relief.

He pinched the Medicinal Pill, confirming that the golden patterns were even, the medicinal power was contained within, and it was flawless, before he let out a long sigh of relief and stored it in a jade bottle.

Returning to his own Immortal Cave, he simply went about his daily breathing exercises and nourished his Divine Sense, allowing his body and mind to fully recover from the extreme exhaustion of Alchemy.

Half a month later, he felt that his state had finally returned to its Peak, and was even a bit more well-rounded than before; only then did he take out the jade bottle containing the condensation pill and place it in front of him. It was time.