78: Is the value entered incorrectly? Players can only eat soup from the periphery?

The Mage wore a simple Cultivation uniform, which he had obtained from the nearby Qinghe Town.

In fact, many players' initial resources were plundered from Qinghe Town; the once peaceful town was thoroughly ransacked by a group of Qi Refining players. The suppression Cultivators had over Mortals was simply too great, leaving them no means to resist.

But now, the Mage was desperately fleeing in a panic, not even daring to turn his head to look back, fearing that if he slowed down for a moment, he would be incinerated by the towering flames.

'How can it be this powerful? Is it a bug? The stats can't be right?'

As he ran wildly, a question that all players were pondering popped into the Mage's mind.

The game had a bug!

Even though he had a very high expectation for the power of a Golden Core, and had even considered that the Tomb would be full of traps, and that mere Qi Refining players would just be cannon fodder...

The Mage never imagined that merely at the very beginning of the Tomb's opening, with just the Golden Core's last breath of Clarity Qi before its death...

It would actually suppress and kill all the players present!

If he hadn't left beforehand, he probably would have been annihilated near Broken Wood Cliff as well.

'Huan Meng hasn't made an announcement yet. Could this not be a bug, but a normal setting? Is a Golden Core really that amazing? But Golden Core isn't the limit, so what about the Realms above that?'

The Mage felt his head buzzing. He suddenly realized that all his previous conjectures about the Xuanhuan World were completely wrong.

Originally, he thought that although Cultivators in the Xuanhuan World were powerful, they were merely a 'plus' version of Wuxia, at most having greater strength, faster speed, longer Lifespan, and more Divine Abilities. Ultimately, it was still understandable.

But with the emergence of the Golden Core Tomb, the Mage was completely bewildered; he truly couldn't comprehend it anymore.

The power of a Golden Core was no longer just about physical prowess, nor merely a change in stats.

They seemed capable of manipulating Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence, giving rise to various phenomena. They could make Spiritual Veins gush out from deep underground, divert rivers, and even cause a rich Spiritual Vein to dry up.

It was too incredible.

'Not just Golden Core, there was news on the forum before that Immortal Foundation also has phenomena, and to achieve Immortal Foundation, one even needs to gather Qi. These things are all very Xuanhuan, completely unexplainable or understandable using old methods...'

As the Mage was pondering, he suddenly felt a chill run through his body, sensing a great terror appearing behind him. All the hairs on his body stood on end, the fiery clouds before his eyes seemed to be mixed with a golden light, and his nose caught a whiff of blood, as if the decaying bones of all the victims in the Efeng Mountain Range were fermenting.

From afar, he heard Buddhist chants drifting over, seemingly for salvation, or perhaps for guidance. Such profound mysteries were difficult to comprehend.

'It's that Senior Monk!'

The Mage felt his head was about to explode.

Last time he soul-traveled, he didn't have a deep understanding of Golden Core. He didn't think much of the 'Vajra' who could rival or even surpass ordinary Golden Core Cultivators.

But now that the Golden Core Tomb had opened, and that Ninth-Grade Shattered Core's last breath of Clarity Qi caused Spiritual Essence to change for thousands of miles, leading to the demise of countless players, the Mage finally understood its power.

The Mage finally realized that a Golden Core was such a grand figure, not needing to exert full strength, or even use their hands; a casual breath could turn these small Cultivators into dust.

And that Senior Monk was a living Vajra, which, in the Mage's eyes, was no different from a living Golden Core!

At that moment, the Mage's scalp was truly tingling, and he only prayed that the Monk had other intentions and would not come after him.

After running wildly for an unknown distance, he finally slowed down and stopped under a crimson glow. He collapsed onto a rock, only to jump up abruptly, as the rock was already scorching hot.

"Damn it, playing a game to this extent is truly pathetic!"

The Mage didn't know whether his desperate escape counted as a gaming experience or something else, a wry smile on his face.

He looked around and found that there was no one here. Although the fiery clouds were still present and Spiritual Veins were indeed gushing out, there was no more dangerous fire rain, which finally put his mind at ease.

'Wait, the Spiritual Qi here is abundant now, and it's quite compatible with my Spiritual Root. If I invest Lifespan into Cultivation...'

The Mage's eyes lit up. He quickly found the most abundant Spiritual Qi spot, and despite the scorching heat, sat cross-legged on the rock, investing his Lifespan into Cultivation.

He poured in all ten years of his Lifespan, which actually allowed him to advance from Qi Refining First Level all the way to Qi Refining Sixth Level in one go.

The Mage trembled with excitement, looking at the crimson sky, and finally smiled:

"So that's how it is. The Opportunities in the Golden Core Tomb are not for small fry like us to take. We small characters just need to snatch some scraps from the outside, and that's enough to gorge ourselves to death!"

He looked around again. Centered on him, the surrounding red clouds had actually dimmed a bit, the rocks had cooled from scorching to normal temperature, and the gushing Spiritual Veins had stopped.

The Mage pondered, realizing that investing Lifespan did not only affect the player themselves, but also calculated the impact of the player's Cultivation over those ten years on the surrounding environment. If the Cultivation resources were insufficient, the efficiency might even significantly decrease in the latter half.

After understanding this, the Mage also knew that the Cultivation efficiency in this place had greatly decreased, and if he wanted to use tomorrow's Lifespan for Cultivation, he would have to move to a different spot.

He thought to himself:

'The best location is naturally near Broken Wood Cliff, where the Spiritual Essence is astonishingly dense. After just ten miles, the Spiritual Essence significantly drops, not at all on the same level. If I could Cultivate there, perhaps I could directly reach Qi Refining Ninth Level, then find a Qi Gathering Method, and then I could achieve Foundation Establishment. But...'

As soon as he thought of the dangers of Broken Wood Cliff, the Mage shook his head; he dared not touch it at all.

His thoughts shifted, and the Mage looked towards the Spiritual Veins gushing out nearby.

Golden Core Immortals varied in strength and each possessed their own Divine Abilities. Their last breath of Clarity Qi before death almost encapsulated their entire understanding of seeking Immortality and the Dao. Once exhaled, it could manipulate Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence, manifesting various phenomena.

These phenomena were related to the Golden Core itself.

Some players who soul-traveled into the bodies of Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the three sects, following Immortal Foundation Outstanding Talents, had heard some news and speculated that this Ninth-Grade Shattered Core should have been a fire Cultivator specializing in Artifact Refining and Alchemy, and the changes caused by the Clarity Qi were also related to this.

The Mage dared not hope for the good fortune of Alchemy, and instead headed straight for the Spiritual Veins, hoping to find some Spiritual Ore.

But just then, the fiery clouds in the sky brightened, Buddhist chants echoed, and a small figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing right in front of the Mage.

The Mage froze for a moment. Upon closer inspection, he saw a small, delicate Bai Chan (White Cicada) with a hard shell and pure white wings, faintly enveloped by Buddhist light and a reddish hue. But it immediately retracted its radiance, leaving only its pure white color, as if all the brilliance had converged into one.

The Bai Chan (White Cicada) folded its wings, prostrate on the ground, motionless.

The Mage's heart pounded incessantly. He knew at a glance that this Bai Chan (White Cicada) was a Spiritual Item nurtured by Clarity Qi, absolutely extraordinary.

Coincidentally, his starting Golden Finger had given him a Cicada Rearing Method!