66: Four Golden Core

[You looked at her, feeling somewhat puzzled: "I only have a Foundation Establishment cultivation. You're asking me to go with you to kill a Yao King?"]

["Could it be that Fellow Daoist came to Heavenly Ruins Immortal City just for sightseeing?" She smiled.]

["How could that be?" You denied it directly.]

["Fifty percent of the people who come here are for Yao cores, and thirty percent want to catch Spirit Pets. Could it be you came to..." She stared at you with wide eyes.]

["To do what?" you asked curiously.]

["You came to kill people and seize their treasures?" She looked shocked.]

[You smiled helplessly; it seemed some people really did do that.]

["It's fine. I can see from your face that you don't look like a bad person. I believe you," she continued.]

["Are 'good person' and 'bad person' written on one's face?" You found it amusing. "If that's the case, I think you look like a bad person instead. Let's forget it."]

[After saying that, you turned and left.]

[Regarding women who approach proactively, especially beautiful ones, eighty percent of the time they are fishing—you had suffered from this before.]

[The woman watched you leave, merely smiling and shaking her head. Once you were far away, her expression instantly turned cold: "I didn't expect his guard to be so high."]

[After leaving, you inquired around the city and eventually selected a relatively safe place—Star Continent.]

[Although Star Continent was currently undergoing a war between Immortals and Yao, it was actually safer and easier to pick up leftovers.]

[The prerequisite was—don't get involved in the great war.]

[As for those Star Continents that had already become ruins, although there were many opportunities, they were actually more dangerous—because Loose Cultivators often formed teams to kill and seize treasures.]

[After deciding to go to Star Continent, you immediately rushed to the Spirit Ferry Pier.]

[Dozens of giant spirit boats were floating in the sea of clouds. Among them, the "Void Breaker," with a bronze dragon head carved on its bow, was taking on passengers.]

[You paid one thousand Spirit Stones to board. A crew member handed you a jade talisman engraved with protective array patterns—in case you encountered Void Realm turbulence, this talisman could keep your Physical Body from shattering.]

[Entering the cabin, it felt as if you had walked into a mobile palace—]

[Thousands of Loose Cultivators crowded the lower deck, the fragrance of tea drifted from the middle-level private rooms, and the top-level pavilions even had transparent crystal wings extending out...]

[When the runes on the hull lit up, the entire spirit boat turned into a streak of light and charged into the sea of clouds.]

[The moment the spirit boat started, the cabin walls suddenly became transparent!]

[You saw the hull tear through the clouds, and the immortal city below quickly shrank into a grain of sand.]

[Suddenly, there was a violent vibration—]

[It turned out the spirit boat was passing through the Nine Heavens Astral Wind Layer. Outside the window, red thunderstorms lunged like giant pythons, only to be crushed into fragments by the boat's green light shield.]

[The most shocking part was passing through the Star Sea of Two Realms—on the left, the sun shone brightly, while on the right was a brilliant river of stars!]

[The captain shouted for everyone to hold onto the handrails. The spirit boat suddenly stood upright, piercing through the space-time barrier like a water curtain, causing continuous screams in the cabin.]

[Ten days later, the bell tolled nine times.]

[You walked out of the cabin and saw an emerald-like continent floating in the star sea in the distance. The bronze dragon head at the bow let out a long cry, shaking away the last cloud of Void Realm darkness.]

[The spirit boat landed on a deserted plain. Thousands of people disembarked; some took to the air, others rose on swords, turning into streaks of light and flying off in all directions.]

[Just then—]

[Four people walked toward you. One of them was the female Cultivator who had approached you before, along with two men and another woman.]

[The female Cultivator looked around you and approached to greet you: "Fellow Daoist, did you come to Star Continent alone?"]

[Your heart tightened, feeling as if you were being targeted. You laughed it off with a casual response, immediately circulated your true essence, and turned into a streak of light to fly away into the distance.]

[You looked back as you flew and saw that the four people weren't pursuing, only then breathing a sigh of relief.]

[After flying for seven consecutive days, you arrived at a primeval jungle.]

[You knew Yao Beasts liked such places, so you decisively went deep inside.]

[Along the way, you encountered some scattered minor Yao Beasts, but they were all at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment strength and were easily dealt with by you.]

[However, Yao cores are only found in Golden Core Yao Beasts; these low-level Yao Beasts were of no use to you.]

[Three days later, you finally came to a long river deep in the jungle. The river surface was several kilometers wide, and the water was crystal clear.]

[Suddenly, you were startled—you clearly saw a pair of eyes glowing with blue light at the bottom of the river, staring intently at you.]

[Looking at its head and hundred-meter-long body, you immediately judged it to be a Yao King-level python.]

[You were overjoyed and acted decisively, circulating the Formless Divine Art. Your true essence condensed into a spear, which shot into the water like a streak of light with a 'swoosh'!]

[That python was actually as fast as lightning in the water, quickly fleeing upstream along the river!]

[Your spear pierced the riverbed, kicking up huge waves and instantly making the bottom of the river murky.]

[You pursued relentlessly, chasing all the way upstream.]

[The python's speed in the water was extremely fast. Even with all your effort, you could only barely keep up.]

[From its aura and speed, it seemed to have only recently been promoted to a Yao King.]

[It wasn't until ten days later that the python's speed gradually slowed down. It suddenly poked its head out of the water and actually spoke to you: "Fellow Daoist, why do you keep chasing me?"]

["Humans and Yao cannot coexist. Should I not chase you? Do you think this is a three-year-old playing house?" you blurted out.]

["I am only three years old!" the python roared.]

[You were slightly stunned. Such a massive Yao Beast was only three years old?]

[You changed your tone and said: "Yao Beasts eat humans, and humans kill Yao Beasts. What is wrong with me chasing you?"]

[Its answer left you momentarily speechless: "I am an Emperor Python, not a Yao python! I don't eat humans, I only eat meat!"]

["Is human flesh not meat?" you replied, speechless.]

["I am also a human, how could I eat the flesh of my own kin?" it said seriously.]

[You laughed; a snake was actually saying it was a human: "Look at yourself. Do you look like a human?"]

["Once I advance again, I'll be able to take human form. How does that not count as human?" it argued solemnly.]

[Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from the distance—]

["Hahaha..."]

["Fellow Daoist Qin, the conversation between you and this Emperor Python really made it impossible for us to hold back."]

[You turned to look, and four streaks of light arrived in an instant, surrounding you and the Emperor Python.]

[You stared at the woman who had "encountered" you several times and asked, "How did you find me?"]

[The next scene left you greatly shocked—]

[That woman smiled slightly and revealed her true appearance—she was actually Fairy Zhiyun.]

[The man beside her also transformed into an imposing Cultivator; it was precisely her Dao Companion, Vast Emptiness Master.]

[The other woman had a serious expression, but her eyes were somewhat evasive as she also revealed her original appearance—it was actually Zhong Linger.]

[The fourth person was a burly man, none other than the Sect Leader of the Money Gang, Jade Dragon Immortal Master.]

[Fairy Zhiyun smilingly took out a bronze compass: "This is the 'Hidden Thread Compass.' As long as we have a single strand of your hair, we can find you even at the ends of the earth."]

[Your heart sank as you looked at one Early Golden Core Stage and three Golden Core Perfection Cultivators surrounding you.]