558: Chapter 558 Stubbornness

"Chirp chirp!"

An extremely sharp and excited cry exploded within the stone room.

Ying suddenly lunged from the stone pillar in the corner, turning into a bolt of black lightning and landing precisely on Su Ming's shoulder.

It hopped back and forth excitedly on Su Ming's shoulder, repeatedly rubbing its hard beak against his cheek.

Due to the deep connection of the blood contract, a portion of the massive feedback from heaven and earth when Su Ming underwent Core Formation was also fed back to Ying through the contract.

Its pitch-black feathers became even more sleek and glossy, with a metallic luster that was almost dazzling.

What caught Su Ming's attention even more was that in its arrogant golden eyes, the previously faint second pupillary ring had now completely solidified, clearly encircling the pupil and emitting a heart-palpitating ancient aura.

A deep blue glow lit up in the air without warning.

Lin Yu's soul body drifted out from the xuantian ring and hovered in mid-air.

His figure was more stable than ever before; the deep blue glow barely flickered, and his outline was so clear that even every fold in his Daoist robe could be seen.

Lin Yu stopped in place.

He first looked at Su Ming's eyes, which were as calm as water, then glanced at the hidden yet majestic Spiritual Pressure within Su Ming's body.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to ask something—perhaps if there were any dangers during the Core Formation, or why Su Ming's Divine Sense fluctuations had fallen into a state of complete silence for a brief moment earlier.

But in the end, he asked nothing. He simply placed his hands slowly behind his back and looked his apprentice up and down.

A brief silence fell within the Immortal Cave.

After a moment.

"The Golden Core is formed."

Lin Yu's tone was extremely calm, devoid of any ripples.

He paused, and then, in a rare and incredibly formal tone, he slowly uttered two words.

"Congratulations."

Su Ming was stunned for a moment.

He looked at the familiar old man in mid-air.

Since their meeting in the ruined temple of the Daxing Kingdom, whether it was when he made his first talisman, broke through to Foundation Establishment, or achieved success in the Repair Hall.

This Master's evaluation had always been a casual "not bad" or a sarcastic remark.

This was the first time he had heard the word "congratulations" from Lin Yu's mouth.

Su Ming did not explain what kind of illusions he had seen during the Heart Demon Tribulation, nor did he mention the cold and greedy "fake Lin Yu," or how he had found the blade to cut through the delusions amidst his fear.

Some things need not be spoken aloud.

Su Ming lowered his head slightly and reached out to gently soothe Ying, who was still jumping excitedly on his shoulder.

Then, he looked up again, meeting Lin Yu's gaze.

On that face which usually showed no emotion, the corners of his mouth turned up very slowly, forming a gentle arc.

"Thank you, Master," Su Ming said softly.

The glow of Lin Yu's soul body brightened subtly, then he snorted coldly and turned away.

...

In the dim stone room, the flame of the ever-burning lamp flickered slightly.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the Cold Jade Bed with his eyes slightly closed. His breathing was long and steady; with every breath, he seemed to subtly sync with the pulse of the rocks surrounding the Immortal Cave.

This was his first day after Core Formation.

His Divine Sense sank into his Dantian, where the round Golden Core, entirely golden and engraved with fine Array Patterns, was slowly rotating in a mysterious rhythm. It was no longer the surging liquid spiritual energy of the Foundation Establishment Stage; the spiritual energy emitted by the Golden Core was as heavy as mercury, yet clear as day.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes and raised his right hand.

Extending his index finger slightly, he traced a line in the Void Realm. Without using any talisman paper or grinding cinnabar, pure deep blue Golden Core spiritual energy flowed from his fingertip, leaving a solid trail of light in the air.

His wrist turned, and his fingertip continued to sketch.

Within a single breath, a structurally rigorous basic "Stabilize" character took shape in the Void Realm.

In the past, during the Foundation Establishment Stage, if he tried to draw talismans in the air, the spiritual energy would often be assimilated and dissipated by the wandering Laws of heaven and earth the moment it formed, barely lasting two or three breaths at most.

But now, that deep blue "Stabilize" character floated quietly in mid-air, its light as steady as could be. It wasn't until a full ten breaths later that it dissipated into specks of spiritual light with a tiny pop.

"As easy as moving my own arm," Su Ming retracted his right hand and looked at the empty Void Realm, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Not far away in mid-air, the deep blue glow distorted slightly.

Lin Yu's soul body hovered there, hands tucked into his wide sleeves. He watched Su Ming's fluid movements; while his surface remained as calm as a deep well, the glow deep within his soul body was flickering at a high frequency.

He wasn't marveling at Su Ming's control over spiritual energy, but was instead constantly replaying the scene where Su Ming had cut through the delusions during the Heart Demon Tribulation.

The fear of Possession by a remnant soul is an instinct carved into the bones of every low-level Cultivator. That sense of helplessness when facing an unknown old monster is enough to crush most Geniuses who claim to have a firm Dao Heart.

But this young man before him had actually used the purest logic and a nearly stubborn trust to crush that seemingly invincible Heart Demon into powder amidst his deepest fear.

"This kid's Heart-Nature..." Lin Yu muttered to himself, "is as tough as a smelly, hard rock in a latrine. He doesn't seem like a Mortal under thirty at all."

Lin Yu did not say these words aloud; his soul body simply sank slightly, and he let out a very short, cold snort.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the straw nest in the corner of the stone room.

"Chirp—!"

A clear, energetic cry broke the silence of the Immortal Cave.

Ying suddenly burst out of the straw nest. Its pitch-black feathers reflected a cold metallic luster under the light. Although its size hadn't changed, a careful search with Divine Sense would reveal that within its slender flesh and bones, surges of majestic Power of Stars were flowing.

Its pupils, with their double golden rings, darted around, seemingly incredibly excited by the power that had appeared out of thin air within its body.

The next moment, Ying suddenly flapped its wings.

"Buzz!"

Not even an afterimage of its wings appeared in the air before the Law of the "Sharpness" character technique began to flow through it. It turned into a pitch-black arrow, heading straight for the sound-isolating formation at the outermost edge of the Immortal Cave, clearly wanting to see if it could pierce through this invisible barrier.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed within the stone room.

The light shield of the sound-isolating formation flickered violently, sending out ripples like water.

And that pitch-black "arrow" flew back even faster than it had charged, flipping a dozen times in mid-air before landing flat on its back with a "thud" on the bluestone floor in front of Su Ming.

Its two claws twitched in the air, and the double golden rings in its eyes turned into whirlpool-like spirals as it made a very faint "gurgle" sound in its throat.

"Pfft—"

Lin Yu's soul body shook violently in mid-air; he finally couldn't hold it in and let out a very loud sneer.

"This brainless feathered beast." Lin Yu looked at the disoriented Ying on the ground, his voice full of unconcealed mockery. "Did it really think that with a bit of the Power of Stars, it could ram into your composite sound-isolating formation that's been improved seven times? Even a third-rank Iron-armored Rhino would break two horns hitting that. Who did it inherit this hard-headed problem from?"

Su Ming, stuck between laughter and tears, reached out and picked Ying up by the scruff of its neck with two fingers.

A trace of extremely gentle water-attribute spiritual energy flowed from his fingers into its body, confirming that its bones were not damaged and it was just knocked unconscious by the counter-shock. He then gently placed it back into the straw nest.

"It just doesn't know how to restrain its strength." Su Ming shook his head. "Once it wakes up, I'll have to send it to the back mountain of the Formation Peak to catch rock rats for a few months to temper its temperament."