Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 745 Ancestor Linghu!

Yesterday he reached the peak of Qi Refining, today he has formed his Core?!

This goes beyond mere innate talent; it completely overturned their entire understanding of the word "cultivation"!
Fear instantly overwhelmed the doubt, and a thought began to grow wildly in everyone's mind—to conceal one's cultivation level!
This person must have concealed their cultivation level and infiltrated Yellow Maple Valley! Their scheme must be earth-shattering!
Cold sweat beaded on Li Huayuan's forehead. Gone was any trace of his elder's authority. He practically roared at his disciples, "Quick! Sound the alarm! Quick!!"

The disciples awoke as if from a dream, transforming into streaks of light and scattering in panic. The piercing alarm bell instantly shattered the tranquility of the morning in Yellow Maple Valley.

“Woo-hum-hum!!!”

Before the bell had even finished ringing, streaks of dazzling light of various colors lit up the sky!
The elders of Huangfeng Valley who were in seclusion, refining pills, or meditating, whether in the late Foundation Establishment stage or the Core Formation stage, were all horrified upon hearing this "urgent" alarm bell that represented the survival of the sect. They broke out of their seclusion at the fastest speed and transformed into streaks of light, shooting towards that secluded courtyard!
In the blink of an eye, the spiritual pressure above the dilapidated courtyard surged like a tide, and the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost tangible!

A dozen elders stood in mid-air, their bodies radiating spiritual light and exuding an overwhelming aura, completely locking onto the simple courtyard below, as well as the bald sow in the corner that was grunting and squealing!

"Senior brother! What happened?"

Li Huayuan quickly explained, "This boy practiced Qi yesterday and formed his core today!"

"What! What!"

A barrage of surprised, scrutinizing, wary, and even murderous gazes, like tangible swords, focused on Fang Yu, the only one still sitting on the stone stool, toying with an empty bowl in his hand.

The situation is tense!

The air was so thick it was almost dripping with water!

All the elders' divine senses were firmly locked onto Fang Yu, and the light of their magical treasures flickered, ready to strike with lightning speed at a single command!

In their view, an existence that could "refine qi" to the core formation stage overnight and disguise itself so well was far more threatening than any external enemy!

In this tense and suffocating atmosphere, Fang Yu, who was surrounded, finally made a move.

He slowly placed the rough earthenware bowl on the stone stool beside his feet, then picked up his chopsticks and gently tapped the rim of the bowl with a "ding".

The crisp sound stood out starkly in the dead silence of the spiritual pressure storm.

Then, he raised his head, his face still bearing that same arrogant, roguish grin. His gaze swept over the elders in the air, who looked as if facing a formidable enemy, finally settling on Li Huayuan, whose face was ashen. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears:

"Oh? Fellow senior uncles and elders... Oh, it seems we should address each other as equals now?" He tilted his head, his tone undisguisedly mocking. "What's with this show? My genius disciple just formed his core using the Foundation Establishment Pill from your Yellow Maple Valley. What? The millstone hasn't even been used yet, and you're already thinking of killing the donkey? Isn't your sect's speed in discarding the donkey after using it a bit too fast?"

"Foundation Pill?!"

Li Huayuan was so enraged by Fang Yu's distorted and evasive arguments that he nearly fainted. It was as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world. He couldn't help but laugh in fury, "Hahaha! Fang Yu! No, Fellow Daoist Fang! Stop spouting your nonsense! How can someone at the peak of Qi Refining jump to the Core Formation stage overnight with just a few Foundation Establishment Pills?! Do you think all the elders here are three-year-old children?! You concealed your cultivation and infiltrated my Yellow Maple Valley—what exactly are you trying to do?!" His question was like thunder, filled with the anger of being fooled and the utter shock of incomprehension.

Faced with Li Huayuan's almost roaring questioning and his fierce gaze, Fang Yu showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he stood up, dusted himself off, and his smile became even more playful, even carrying a hint of pity for all living beings: "What do you intend to do? Heh."

He spread his hands and looked around. "Brother Li," he deliberately dragged out the syllable, "According to you, before the first cultivator appeared in the world, before anyone could fly or escape into the earth, did people back then think, like you do now, that it was absolutely impossible for humans to fly, that it was a monstrous and evil magic? Did they also think that the first person to try to fly must be a hidden monster?"

He paused, his gaze sharp as lightning, his voice suddenly rising in pitch, carrying an undeniable air of authority:

"Why is it that if I can't do what others couldn't, it must be fake, or that I'm hiding my true abilities? Why can't I be the genius who shatters your perceptions?!"

"Furthermore—" Fang Yu's tone shifted, filled with sarcasm as he pointed at the heavily guarded elders, "If I truly harbored ulterior motives as you all suspect, why would I bother exposing my Core Formation cultivation in front of you? Wouldn't it have been better if I continued to play the role of a Qi Refining cultivator? I could have lived a peaceful life as a guest cultivator, quietly making my fortune, playing dumb to outmaneuver others, and waiting for the right moment to strike. Wouldn't that have been wonderful? Why would I sit here like a fool, drinking porridge and licking my bowl clean early in the morning, waiting to be surrounded by you all as if I were a monster?"

"Put your hands on your hearts and ask yourselves, do I, Fang Yu, look like the kind of person who would do something as humiliating as pretending to be weak to take advantage of others?!"

The final rhetorical question, delivered with resounding force, carried an arrogant and disdainful air that swept everything away, leaving the elders speechless for a moment, and causing the heavy killing intent that filled the sky to waver for a fleeting instant.

Yes, if they really had ulterior motives, why would they expose themselves?

"Then you!" Li Huayuan was still questioning when a long, drawn-out voice suddenly came from the air, instantly silencing all the commotion:
"Stop it all!"

The elders looked up in shock, only to see a gray-robed phantom slowly condensing in mid-air. Its hair and beard were all white, its face was withered, but its eyes were like lightning—it was none other than Linghu, the Supreme Elder of Huangfeng Valley, who was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage!

He did not descend in his true form, but manifested only as a divine thought. However, the vast and abyss-like pressure made all the Core Formation elders present gasp for breath, and even Li Huayuan subconsciously bowed.

Linghu Patriarch's gaze swept over the messy courtyard and finally landed on Fang Yu, a subtle glint of something unusual flashing in his turbid eyes.

His voice was deep, yet every word struck like a hammer blow to everyone's heart:
"This matter cannot be concluded so easily. Refining Qi to the Core Formation stage in one night? Unheard of, but it may not necessarily be a disaster. In my opinion—" He paused, his withered finger pointing at Fang Yu, "this boy may have opportunities or secrets that we cannot fathom. To kill him rashly might miss the will of Heaven, and to falsely accuse him would only make Huangfeng Valley appear narrow-minded. It would be better to observe him for a while first."

Upon hearing this, Li Huayuan and Elder Mankong were completely stunned!

Li Huayuan stepped forward hastily, his beard bristling, his voice trembling with disbelief: "Supreme Elder, this...how can this be?! If he harbors malicious intentions and is lurking in the valley, wouldn't that be like raising a tiger to cause future trouble? We..."

Several elders nearby echoed, their faces turning deathly pale: "Indeed, Ancestor! This boy's origins are unknown, and his cultivation is so unpredictable, how can this be?"

"Enough." The divine avatar of Ancestor Linghu swayed slightly, his voice suddenly turning cold, exuding an unquestionable majesty, as if ice had sealed away all doubts. "I said I would observe first. Do you all think that my eyes cannot see through the true nature of a junior?"

The phantom's gaze swept over the crowd as if it were real, and the elders immediately fell silent. Li Huayuan, in particular, blushed deeply but dared not utter another word.

The illusory figure faded, leaving only a faint echo in the air: "Let's leave it at that for now."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yu casually cupped his hands in the direction of the dissipating phantom, his voice so loud it seemed as if he wanted everyone to hear him: "Hey! The Ancestor is truly reasonable! His insight is astute and clear as day, he truly deserves to be the pillar of our Yellow Maple Valley!"

(End of this chapter)