230: Chapter 230 Zhou Tianle Begins Core Formation!

...

Qing Prefecture is a direct jurisdiction of the Shangqing Sect.

This place has no regional protectors; it is fully governed by the Shangqing Sect, and even the various clan forces rooted here have, to some extent, deep ties with the Shangqing Sect.

As for those that left the territory of Qing Prefecture, such as Sects or families like the Golden Chrysanthemum Sect, they are most likely losers of factional struggles, ultimately driven out of this land of Qing Prefecture.

The entire mountain gate of the Shangqing Sect occupies an extremely vast area.

The Yuxiao Mountain Range is one of the many mountain ranges within its grounds, which can be considered a top-tier treasure land, and it even has a fourth-tier Spiritual Vein located here.

Here, Peaks are layered upon one another, shrouded in clouds and mist, and the density of Spiritual Qi is incomparable to any other place in the Qingcang Kingdom...

A Sect with eleven Nascent Soul True Monarchs guarding it possesses such profound heritage that, looking across the entire continent, it is a top-tier existence.

After the fall of the Jin State, the prestige of the Shangqing Sect reached an unprecedented Peak, and when Disciples from within the Sect went out, their backs were straightened three points more than before.

However, no matter how strong a Sect is, there are times when people grow old and their lamps run dry.

On the western foothills of the Yuxiao Mountain Range lies Hanyue Peak.

In Master Luanshan's Immortal Cave, the Pill Furnace had long since extinguished.

The bottles and jars on the medicine shelves were covered in dust, and the various Magic Treasures hanging on the walls had also lost their luster...

A withered, thin old man half-leaned on a rattan chair, his chest rising and falling extremely lightly and slowly.

Master Luanshan, the pillar of the Zhou Clan, was now at the Late Stage of Golden Core and had lived for six hundred and seventeen years.

He had no great achievements in his life, had never fought any earth-shattering battles, and had not cultivated any shocking Divine Abilities.

To be able to reach the Late Stage of Golden Core under a giant like the Shangqing Sect...

…relied entirely on the word "stability"!

He did not seek the spotlight, did not make major mistakes, and dutifully handled tasks for the Sect. He paid every bit of the tribute required and fulfilled every obligation without fail.

He spent five or six hundred years diligently working this way, bringing the Zhou Clan from an ordinary Foundation Establishment Family to the threshold of becoming a Golden Core Family.

But a threshold is just a threshold, and he had never been able to truly step over it.

The Zhou Clan had over three hundred members and twenty-six Foundation Establishment Cultivator; their foundation was not thin, but they could not overcome the fact that the entire clan only had him, Master Luanshan, as a Golden Core Cultivator. And his Lifespan had reached its end.

The maximum Lifespan of a Golden Core Cultivator is only five or six hundred years.

Master Luanshan being able to live to over six hundred years old was already a rare longevity among Golden Core Cultivators, and at most, he only had these last few years left.

His only hope was his grandson, Zhou Tianle.

Zhou Tianle possessed a Dual Spiritual Root, specifically wood and water attributes, and his innate talent was excellent.

He reached Foundation Establishment at twenty-one, reached Foundation Establishment Perfection at eighty, and now, at one hundred and three, he was in seclusion to attempt Core Formation.

Reaching Foundation Establishment Perfection at this age, among all the Disciples of the Shangqing Sect, could be considered above-average talent.

What was even more rare was that Master Luanshan still held a wisp of ice-attribute heaven and earth qi, which he had obtained decades ago while following the Sect to fight in the Jin State, surviving near-death experiences on the battlefield to seize it.

He had kept it until now, just for this day.

"If Tianle can succeed in Core Formation, the Zhou Clan will have a successor."

"If he cannot..."

The old man did not finish his sentence.

"Old Ancestor."

A middle-aged Cultivator pushed the door open and entered; he was the current Clan Chief of the Zhou Clan, Zhou Yan. He glanced at the Old Ancestor's complexion, his nose stinging, but he forcibly held back.

"How are preparations going on Tianle's side?"

"Reporting to the Old Ancestor, Tianle has been in seclusion for seven days; he should be finishing the spiritual power barrier soon."

Master Luanshan nodded, his cloudy old eyes looking out the window. The snow on Hanyue Peak never melted, a vast expanse of white; he had watched it for six hundred years and was long since tired of it.

"Give this to him."

The old man pulled an ancient, simple ice-jade box from his sleeve, covered in layers of spirit-sealing talismans, with at least seven or eight of them pasted on it.

The chill from inside the box seeped through the talismans, freezing Zhou Yan's fingers until they turned pale.

"This wisp of ice-attribute heaven and earth qi, along with this High Grade Magic Treasure, the Ice Soul Sword, give them both to him. With these two items, the future will surely be peaceful."

Zhou Yan received them with both hands and knelt on the ground.

"Old Ancestor..."

"Go, do not make this old man wait too long."

...

Three days later.

Master Luanshan passed away peacefully in his Immortal Cave on Hanyue Peak; he left very quietly.

There was no wailing or crying, no descent of legacy; the passing of a Late Stage Golden Core Cultivator was not considered a major event within the Shangqing Sect.

The Sect issued a notice, and various Peaks and veins sent people to pay their respects.

They went through the motions and then dispersed.

None of the eleven Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Shangqing Sect appeared.

After all, the passing of a Golden Core Cultivator occurred once or twice every few decades in the Shangqing Sect; no one needed to make a big fuss over it.

But for the entire Zhou Clan, the sky had half-collapsed.

Their protective umbrella was gone, and the only hope for the clan now rested on Zhou Tianle.

Zhou Yan did not tell Zhou Tianle the news of the Old Ancestor's passing.

Someone in seclusion attempting Core Formation must avoid any agitation of the mind; this matter had to wait until after he broke through, to avoid ruining such an important event.

...

Beneath the Main Peak of Hanyue Peak.

In a secret chamber embedded deep within the mountain's belly, Zhou Tianle sat cross-legged.

His face was clear and bright, his sword-like eyebrows reaching his temples. His entire body radiated an ice-blue spiritual light, and the spiritual power in his Dantian surged like the sea, wave after wave, constantly pounding against that invisible barrier.

The first barrier of Core Formation: the spiritual power barrier.

This barrier tests the Cultivator's own spiritual power reserves and the capacity of their Dantian. If the spiritual power is not thick enough and the Dantian cannot withstand the pressure, the Meridians will collapse on the spot, and they will explode and die.

But for Zhou Tianle, this barrier was actually the simplest.

The advantage of a Dual Spiritual Root was fully demonstrated at this moment; the wood and water attribute spiritual powers supported each other in the Dantian, one cold and one soft, just right to form an extremely stable cycle.

Spiritual power compressed, refined, and compressed again.

Half an incense stick later.

The space between Zhou Tianle's eyebrows brightened slightly, and the sea of spiritual power in his Dantian suddenly contracted inward, condensing into a walnut-sized vortex of spiritual power, spinning ceaselessly.

The spiritual power barrier, passed!

The second barrier: absorbing heaven and earth qi.

Zhou Tianle opened his eyes and took out that ice-jade box.

The moment his fingertips touched the spirit-sealing talisman, his hand trembled imperceptibly.

It wasn't from nervousness, but because it was too cold.

The ice-attribute heaven and earth qi sealed inside the ice-jade box had a chill that penetrated the spirit-sealing talisman, freezing the box into a solid block of ice crystals, and even the surrounding air condensed into frost flowers.

Zhou Tianle did not hesitate; he peeled off the spirit-sealing talismans one by one.

The moment the last spirit-sealing talisman was torn off, a majestic chill gushed out from the box, sweeping across everything!

The temperature of the entire secret chamber plummeted to the extreme in an instant.

A layer of ice an inch thick condensed on the stone walls, and the water vapor in the air turned into tiny ice crystals, dancing everywhere, with frost and snow howling!

A wisp of nearly transparent energy, the size of a fingernail, floated above the opening of the box, slowly rotating; it was indeed that ice-attribute heaven and earth qi!

Zhou Tianle guided the heaven and earth qi into his body.

The moment the heaven and earth qi entered his body, he let out a muffled groan.

That chill did not invade from the outside but spread outward from within the Dantian; every meridian, every inch of flesh and blood, was repeatedly washed by this extreme chill.

It hurt.

It was the kind of pain that seeped out from the crevices of his bones.

But this pain just happened to indicate that the heaven and earth qi was being absorbed and assimilated. The ice-attribute heaven and earth qi was inherently compatible with his ice-attribute Spiritual Root; although this process was painful, it was unexpectedly smooth!

Outside the secret chamber, the astronomical phenomenon above Hanyue Peak began to change.

Thick lead-gray clouds spread out in all directions with Hanyue Peak as the center, and snowflakes faintly drifted down from the clouds.

Each snowflake was the size of a palm, gleaming with a lustrous blue light.

"Golden Core Formation Phenomenon!"

"Over at Hanyue Peak, someone is undergoing Core Formation!"

At this moment, within the Shangqing Sect, countless Disciples looked up at the sky, discussing it in hushed tones.

"Is it Zhou Tianle of the Zhou Clan?"

"I heard Master Luanshan left him a wisp of heaven and earth qi before he passed away."

"Master Luanshan has only been gone for a few days, and he has already gone into seclusion to attempt it; he is certainly in a hurry..."

"He has to be in a hurry; the Old Ancestor is gone, so shouldn't the Zhou Clan stand up quickly? If they wait any longer, the industries and Spiritual Veins within the clan might not be preserved."

The phenomenon became increasingly intense.

The ice crystals filling the sky gathered into a curtain of snow, obscuring the sky for dozens of miles around Hanyue Peak.

The temperature plummeted, and even the streams on the nearby Peaks froze into ice pillars.

There were countless onlookers, but no one dared to step forward and disturb him.

Zhou Yan stood halfway up Hanyue Peak, looking up at the ice and snow phenomenon, his fists clenched tightly.

"Tianle, you must succeed..."

"The lives of over three hundred people in the Zhou Clan all depend on you!"