Yun Che continued sitting in meditation, regulating his breath. From time to time he opened his eyes and looked toward the outside of the cave, a cold glint flickering within them.

  Gradually, a medicinal fragrance drifted out from the pill room.

  Yun Che inhaled deeply a few times. After calming himself, he opened his storage bag and began organizing the items inside one by one.

  When he took out the flood dragon tendon, his eyes narrowed.

  This magical treasure was not particularly powerful. Although it could split into countless branches and, with a single thought, bind anything it touched, it had a fatal flaw.

  If it encountered a sharp flying sword, it could still be cut apart.

  Even certain powerful fire-based restriction spells could burn it away.

  Yun Che ran his fingers over the tendon, the cold light in his eyes growing stronger. A faint sneer appeared on his face.

  In his mind, he was already calculating—

  Once he successfully formed his Golden Core, this dragon tendon would finally have a true purpose.

  Outside, the crashing sounds grew louder, almost as if the attackers were right in front of him.

  Yun Che looked toward the pill room where Su Wanqing was refining the pill. His heart sank slightly and he let out a soft sigh.

  Inside the pill room—

  Su Wanqing bit her lips.

  Blood slowly flowed from the corner of her mouth.

  Tears trembled in her eyes.

  The Heaven-Separation Pill, which had nearly reached completion… had failed at the final moment.

  As an alchemist, failure was not unfamiliar to her. But she had never felt such pain before.

  This was a pill that had to succeed.

  Yet the will of heaven was unpredictable. Success and failure were often decided in a single instant.

  She glanced sideways toward Yun Che, who was meditating outside.

  Tears finally rolled down her cheeks.

  At this moment, she looked unusually fragile.

  After a moment, she clenched her teeth and took out the Demon Blood Vine from her storage bag, throwing it into the furnace.

  Since the first Heaven-Separation Pill had failed, she would immediately refine another using the Demon Blood Vine.

  Time slowly passed.

  The cave dwelling had already begun collapsing.

  Small stones continuously fell from the ceiling.

  Outside, the mist formation had grown thinner and thinner. It could be broken at any moment.

  Even Yun Che’s calm expression began to change slightly, revealing a trace of anxiety.

  At that moment—

  Su Wanqing suddenly rushed out of the pill room.

  Her hair was disheveled. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with exhaustion.

  She tossed a dark-red pill toward Yun Che.

  A powerful wave of spiritual energy emanated from the pill, instantly refreshing anyone who smelled it.

  “This Heaven-Separation Pill… was refined with Demon Blood Vine. The effect… is slightly inferior.”

  Yun Che said nothing.

  With two fingers he caught the pill and glanced at Su Wanqing.

  Without hesitation, he threw it into his mouth.

  The pill melted instantly.

  A scorching heat surged up from his abdomen.

  Yun Che slapped his storage bag and pulled out several bottles of spiritual liquid, drinking them in large gulps.

  After filling his body with spiritual energy, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  He began breaking through to the Core Formation stage.

  The cave shook violently.

  More stones crashed down.

  Outside, the mist formation was now reduced to a mere thread.

  Su Wanqing stared blankly for a moment.

  Then she clenched her teeth again, drew her flying sword, and stood at the cave entrance.

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  She guarded Yun Che while shattering the falling rocks so they would not strike him.

  Outside the formation—

  Qian Kun continued smashing the mountain formation with the giant peak.

  He glanced sideways.

  The other cultivators all wore excited expressions as they controlled their magic treasures to attack the formation.

  His lips curled slightly as he said sinisterly,

  “Big-head dwarf… that little woman can be yours. But after the formation breaks, we brothers will have our fun first. Do you agree?”

  The big-headed cultivator froze for a moment before forcing a bitter smile.

  “Since the Great Elder has spoken… how could I dare refuse?”

  Qian Kun sneered and slammed the giant peak down again.

  “That brat is only at the False Core stage, yet he possesses such abilities and even killed a Core Formation cultivator. Not simple.”

  “But today… he is dead for certain.”

  His eyes flickered.

  Especially that blue flame—it was definitely a treasure.

  The big-headed cultivator felt extremely depressed.

  He had only glanced at the woman briefly earlier, but her beauty had already stirred his desire.

  He had thought no one would compete with him for her.

  Yet unexpectedly, the usually indifferent Great Elder had suddenly spoken up.

  In frustration, he poured his anger into his attacks on the formation.

  The mist of the formation continued thinning.

  The ten hundred-zhang flood dragons created by the formation had been reduced to only one, now barely thirty zhang long.

  Qian Kun tossed the giant peak.

  It shrank back into a stone seal and returned to its original owner, Kun Sang.

  Afterward, Qian Kun leaped forward.

  He appeared beside the flood dragon.

  His hands spread apart, creating a net of lightning, which he threw over the dragon’s head.

  With a ferocious roar he shouted,

  “Break!”

  The mist dragon let out a mournful cry.

  Its body instantly dissipated.

  Along with it disappeared the last trace of mist from the Nine-Li Bone Formation.

  Although the formation was powerful, under the relentless assault of ten Core Formation cultivators, it had finally been destroyed after three days of resistance.

  If Su Wanqing had personally controlled the formation instead of refining pills, it would never have fallen so quickly.

  With the formation broken, the damaged mountainside cave was revealed.

  The Douxie Sect cultivators rushed forward.

  But the moment they approached within twenty zhang of the cave entrance—

  Lightning bolts suddenly rained down from the sky.

  Although the lightning was not very powerful, its sheer number created a spectacular scene.

  These were the hundreds of small basic formations Yun Che had arranged earlier.

  However, their power was limited.

  Under the furious attacks of the Core Formation cultivators, they were quickly destroyed one after another.

  Qian Kun watched coldly from the back.

  He did not make a move.

  His target was that False Core brat.

  A lightning net formed in his palm.

  At this distance, the moment Yun Che appeared, he could immediately trap him.

  When the last basic formation was destroyed—

  The entire cave was completely exposed.

  A graceful figure suddenly appeared at the entrance.

  Her clothes fluttered elegantly, her beauty refined and pure.

  Her red lips parted slightly, revealing white teeth. Her emerald hair framed delicate brows.

  Anyone who saw her would feel their heart stir.

  Even Qian Kun’s eyes narrowed slightly.

  But soon his gaze moved past her and into the cave.

  Inside was pitch black.

  Nothing could be seen.

  Su Wanqing looked at the demonic cultivators before her.

  She raised her jade hand.

  The Hundred Beasts Pill Furnace appeared in her palm.

  Her voice was cold.

  “Is this what you want?”

  Qian Kun glanced at it and smiled faintly.

  Kun Sang, who had been chasing Yun Che from the start, stared greedily at the furnace.

  “So that little bastard really does have a pill furnace… and it's the Hundred Beasts Spirit Furnace from the Artifact Pavilion, worth one hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones.”

  “That's right. Pulin and I chased him for this furnace.”

  “Girl—hand it over!”

  With a wave of his hand, the furnace flew out of Su Wanqing’s grasp and landed in his palm.

  Everyone present knew the furnace’s value.

  Kun Sang deliberately spoke openly about it.

  “Great Elder, this furnace belongs to the two of us. In the future we will surely repay you generously. What do you think?”

  Qian Kun glanced at the furnace and nodded silently.

  At that moment—

  The big-headed cultivator rushed forward.

  His eyes burned with lust as he reached toward Su Wanqing.

  “Little beauty… after today, once you finish serving my fellow disciples… you’ll become my cultivation furnace.”

  Su Wanqing’s face turned pale.

  A trace of sorrow appeared in her eyes.

  Just as his hand reached her—

  She prepared to sever her own heart meridian and die.

  But suddenly—

  The big-headed cultivator screamed.

  His scream was incomparably miserable.

  Blood burst from his mouth and nose.

  Blood poured from all seven orifices.

  His body was violently thrown backward as if struck by an invisible force.

  Before he even hit the ground—

  Another unseen force dragged him back.

  BOOM!

  His head exploded into a cloud of blood.

  Only a headless corpse remained.

  His divine sense shattered.

  His Golden Core flew out, passing beside Su Wanqing and landing inside the cave.

  A voice colder than ice echoed from within the cave.

  “From this moment on…”

  “Under the Nascent Soul stage, Yun shall be the first.”

  “If none of you are Nascent Soul cultivators hiding your true cultivation…”

  “Then you may…”

  “…die.”

  A tall figure slowly emerged from the darkness of the cave.

  Black hair.

  Cold expression.

  Eyes devoid of emotion.

  Like eternal ice that would never melt.

  He stood there as if the world itself revolved around him.

  A terrifying pressure descended upon every demonic cultivator present.

  It felt as if they had encountered their natural predator.

  A fear from the depths of their souls surged like a raging ocean.

  At that moment, the man before them seemed like a primordial beast.

  Waves of spiritual pressure crashed into their sea of consciousness, raising violent storms.

  Some even felt their consciousness beginning to fracture.

  It was as if countless thunderclaps were exploding within their bodies and ears simultaneously.

  Pulin, already injured, had barely suppressed the earlier shock to his divine sense.

  Now his sea of consciousness shattered completely.

  Blood sprayed from his mouth and nose.

  He staggered backward and collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

  Each convulsion forced more blood from his seven orifices.

  Qian Kun’s expression changed drastically.

  His mind shook violently.

  The lightning net in his hand shattered with several cracks.

  His face filled with terror.

  Without hesitation—

  He turned into a streak of light and fled instantly.

  The thought of obtaining the blue flame vanished completely.

  He no longer dared entertain even the slightest idea of it.

  He was afraid.

  Since forming his Golden Core, Qian Kun had never known fear.

  Even when facing late-stage Core Formation cultivators or emissaries from the Inner Sea, he had never felt such terror.

  But now—

  For the first time in his life, he was afraid.

  And so he fled immediately.

  If he didn’t escape right now—

  He felt certain that death would be his only fate.

  The other Core Formation cultivators saw this scene.

  Their expressions changed drastically.

  Especially after witnessing Pulin’s sudden death and Qian Kun’s immediate escape.

  Without hesitation—

  They burned their spiritual power to the limit and fled in all directions as streaks of light.

  Each of them was terrified of being even one second slower.