569: Chapter 569 Third Stage of Golden Core

Su Ming solemnly placed the Jade Slip containing the technique for the Three Revolutions of the Golden Core into the deepest part of his Storage Pouch, while also repeatedly reviewing the information regarding the "marrow-cleansing profound ice" and "tonglin wood" in his mind.

Standing on the obsidian platform of the Star Pivot Hall with his hands folded, he bowed deeply to Master Xuan Heng, who was resting with his eyes closed in the main seat.

"This Disciple shall take his leave."

Receiving no verbal response, Su Ming did not mind. He turned around and walked toward the heavy, star-patterned stone door of the main hall with steady, unhurried steps.

As he approached, the heavy stone door, engraved with the will of the past Peak Masters, slid open silently to both sides.

The moment Su Ming stepped out of the hall, the night breeze, carrying the scent of pine resin, brushed against his face. Compared to the solemn and even somewhat oppressive atmosphere inside the Star Pivot Hall, the air outside felt exceptionally crisp and real.

The stone door slowly closed behind him, shutting out the faint light emitted by the ancient Array Patterns inside the hall.

Standing on the steps, Su Ming gazed at the rolling peaks of the Cloud Hidden Sect in the distance and the sea of clouds shrouded in the night, letting out a long, soft breath of turbid air.

"The Peak Master's successor."

Lin Yu's voice echoed faintly in Su Ming's Sea of Consciousness. This time, he did not use his usual sarcastic tone, but instead spoke with a rare solemnity. "Kid, do you know what this means?"

Su Ming walked slowly along the bluestone path toward his Star Gazing Cliff Immortal Cave. The night wind rustled his purple true disciple daoist robe, making a soft fluttering sound.

He replied calmly in his heart, "It means I won't be able to hide anymore. Even if I do nothing, countless eyes in the Sect will be watching my every move at all times."

Not only would they watch, but there might also be testing, scheming, and in extreme cases, it could even escalate into a direct assassination plot targeting him, the "future Peak Master."

Lin Yu fell silent for a breath inside the xuantian ring.

The faint blue soul body stopped drifting in the space and hovered quietly.

Lin Yu's voice exploded in Su Ming's mind, filled with decisiveness. "Being a Peak Master is a high-risk profession. In the future, you'll be a babysitter for hundreds of people, and those hidden arrows and open spears will be impossible to guard against. But you must remember, the highest Realm of The Way of Cautious Survival has never been to hide in the gutters forever like a rat that cannot see the light."

Su Ming's footsteps paused slightly.

Lin Yu sneered, his tone carrying a hint of condescending pride. "You are now Master Xuan Heng's chosen successor. What you need to do is stand in the brightest place, letting the entire Cloud Hidden Sect, and even everyone in the entire Northern Region, know that touching a single hair of yours, Su Ming, is touching the reverse scale of the entire Formation Peak! It would force that protective old man Xuan Heng to personally risk his life to fight them!"

A deep, profound light flashed in the depths of Su Ming's eyes.

Lin Yu was right. In the past, he was just a Menial Worker with no Foundation, only able to survive by playing dead and hiding. But now, he was already a Golden Core Stage Cultivator and the future of the Formation Peak.

If he continued to act submissively, it would instead make others think he was weak and easy to bully, inviting even more trouble.

He needed a new way of survival.

"I understand, Master," Su Ming replied in his heart. "I will let them know that this shield of mine is not only unbreakable, but also covered in thorns sharp enough to crush them to pieces."

Lin Yu gave a satisfied "hmph," the glow on his soul body brightening slightly, clearly pleased with Su Ming's comprehension. But his mouth remained unforgiving. "Alright, stop standing here blowing in the cold wind. Hurry back and study that Cultivation Technique for the Three Revolutions of the Golden Core. Also, don't forget to look for that old man surnamed Qingquan tomorrow. Even if you have to cheat and deceive him, you must get that piece of tonglin wood out of his hands."

The corner of Su Ming's mouth twitched slightly.

By the time he returned to the Star Gazing Cliff Immortal Cave, the night was already deep.

Su Ming skillfully activated the five-fold defensive Formations outside the Immortal Cave, and only after confirming that the "Lesser Heavenly Cycle Water Rhyme Formation" was running flawlessly did he step into the stone chamber.

In the corner, the Mystic Shadow Crow "Ying," whose body had already grown a size larger, was dozing off in its nest of Spiritual Plants. Hearing the sound of Su Ming's return, it raised its head alertly, its pupils with double golden rings flashing with a sharp, cold light in the darkness.

Seeing that it was Su Ming, Ying let out a low rumble from its throat and lay back down, though its pitch-black feathers remained slightly ruffled.

Su Ming did not disturb Ying's rest and walked straight to the cold jade bed to sit cross-legged.

He took out the Jade Slip recording the method of the Three Revolutions of the Golden Core from his Storage Pouch, pressed it to his forehead, and gently extended his Divine Sense into it.

In an instant, the vast and profound cultivation method flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a tide.

"The First Revolution is to slowly rotate the Golden Core, driving the spiritual energy to wash over the dao foundation like tides over a beach, filling in the tiny, invisible cracks one by one, and tempering the Golden Core..." Su Ming quickly analyzed the first step of the Cultivation Technique in his mind.

"Tempering the Golden Core..." He opened his eyes, a glint of comprehension flashing through them.

The Second Revolution required the Golden Core to fling all the impure Impurities, accumulated in the spiritual energy lake from swallowing Medicinal Pills and absorbing chaotic external Spiritual Qi over the years, completely out of the body.

As for the Third Revolution, the description on the Jade Slip consisted of only a few words, yet it carried a majestic aura akin to the creation of heaven and earth—to open up a Golden Core reflection space within the Sea of Consciousness.

Su Ming removed the Jade Slip from his forehead and slowly placed it in the deepest part of his Storage Pouch.

"Phew..."

Su Ming exhaled a long breath.

"Your dao foundation was forcibly reshaped using the heaven-mending pill." Lin Yu's soul body had floated out of the xuantian ring at some point, hovering in mid-air, its faint blue glow appearing exceptionally solemn in the dim stone chamber. "Its sensitivity to external stimuli far exceeds that of naturally formed dao foundations. During the First Revolution, the washing of spiritual energy is highly likely to awaken the remnants of the heaven-mending Law deep within the dao foundation."

Lin Yu's voice carried a hint of warning. "The feeling of that Law being activated won't be any more pleasant than when you first swallowed the heaven-mending pill."

Su Ming nodded slightly.

"This Disciple understands."

He closed his eyes, his hands forming a stable hand seal on his knees.

Deep within his Dantian.

The Golden Core, radiating a rich, faint blue glow, began to rotate extremely slowly under the forced nudge of Su Ming's Divine Sense.

At first, this rotation was as gentle as an ancient millstone grinding grain.

With every rotation of the Golden Core, the spiritual energy lake within his Dantian, thick as mercury, would stir up a gentle tide. The faint blue waves of spiritual energy softly lapped against the translucent dao foundation, which resembled top-grade green jade, producing a low rumble that only Su Ming himself could hear through internal visualization.

The first rotation, the second rotation, the third rotation...

The washing of spiritual energy brought an extremely subtle warmth, as if an invisible hand were gently smoothing away all the fatigue in his body.

However, when the accumulated rotations of the Golden Core reached the forty-ninth turn...

A sudden change occurred.