Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 492 Golden Core Success, Refining a Spiritual Treasure [Thanks to reader kyo1027 for the patronage]

The Five Elements Spiritual Fruit melted into spiritual liquid upon entering Zhou Chun's mouth, flowing down his throat and into his abdomen, directly into his dantian. Moreover, it had almost no taste and no seed.

This substance is formed from the pure essence of heaven and earth, and is itself a natural elixir.

Moreover, this item possesses the profound mystery of the Five Elements, capable of harmonizing Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, with endless wondrous uses.

At this moment, the materialized spiritual liquid transformed from the spiritual fruit surged into Zhou Chun's dantian and was immediately absorbed by the "virtual core" within his dantian.

After absorbing the spiritual liquid transformed from the Five Elements Spiritual Fruit, the massive "illusory core" within Zhou Chun's body suddenly shone with golden light, and then the entire "illusory core" began to slowly rotate under the stimulation of Zhou Chun's magic technique.

With each rotation, the volume of the "virtual core" shrinks slightly, making it appear more solid.

At the same time, during the rotation of the "virtual core", a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth will be attracted and flow into his body, transforming into resources for core formation.

During this process of transforming the illusory into the real, all sorts of illusory inner demons and distracting thoughts also arose in his Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness, attempting to hinder him from achieving the Golden Core Dao.

Because he directly absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth containing "turbid evil energy", these illusory inner demons and distracting thoughts are much stronger than those of a normal Core Formation cultivator.

However, Zhou Chun's soul was solid and his consciousness was powerful. He had also cultivated the "Heart Lotus Orthodox Method" to the second level of mastery. These inner demons, illusions, and evil desires could not truly shake his soul and will.

He also drinks the spiritual water from the purification jar placed in front of him every day to purify the "turbid and evil energy" in his body.

The process of forming the core proceeded smoothly and without any interruption.

According to the experience of predecessors, the process of transforming from the ethereal to the real takes about 100 days to a year, depending on the spiritual objects prepared for the formation of the core and the individual's own circumstances.

But generally speaking, the faster you complete this step, the better.

On this day, Zhou Chun's gaze suddenly shifted and appeared in a modern office.

In front of him was a computer screen filled with code, and the sound of keyboards being typed constantly came from opposite and behind him, interspersed with low curses and sighs of unknown meaning.

"Zhou Chun, what are you doing? Who gave you permission to rest? What right do you have to rest during work hours?"

A gloomy and sarcastic voice suddenly rang out from behind. Zhou Chun turned around and saw a man in a suit wearing glasses staring at him with a gloomy face and anger brewing in his eyes.

The man in the suit is named Qian Tao, and he is their department team leader.

"And then what? Are you planning to fire me? Do you even have the right?"

Zhou Chun looked down at the plaid shirt she was wearing and suddenly asked a question that made Qian Tao's expression change drastically.

Qian Tao stared at him in astonishment, then said with a cold laugh, "You're quite honest. Now, obediently finish your work and stay for five hours tonight, and I might give you a chance to stay, as long as you don't tell the manager what just happened! Otherwise..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Chun suddenly smiled.

"You dare laugh! Hello..."

Seeing Zhou Chun suddenly acting out of the ordinary, Qian Tao was suddenly filled with anger and couldn't help but point at him and shout angrily.

Zhou Chun didn't listen to what he was saying or see how his expression changed. Instead, she looked at the colleagues who had stopped working and stood up because of their argument.

Wang Hong, Liu Xue, Zhao Qianjin, Yu Xiangyang...

These faces, both strange and familiar, are truly ones I haven't seen in a long time.

"Zhou Chun, what exactly do you want? Can't you hear me talking to you?!"

Team leader Qian Tao was furious. He pointed at Zhou Chun with a face full of anger and shouted, almost spitting on his face.

But Zhou Chun didn't care at all, only sighing with a wistful expression, "It's so realistic! They say that inner demons can awaken the deepest memories in a person's heart, starting with the most unforgettable and profound memories and obsessions, creating a beautiful fantasy that can make up for regrets or change the ending, thus making people addicted to it and go astray. Now it seems that it's really true!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Have you gone crazy from the stress lately? Or are you just pretending to be insane?"

Team leader Qian Tao looked at Zhou Chun with a gloomy expression and shouted in a deep voice, reaching out to push him.

But his push felt like it was from two different worlds; he couldn't touch Zhou Chun's body at all.

This caused a look of panic to appear on his and Zhou Chun's colleagues' faces.

"Zhou Chun, you..."

Liu Xue, Zhou Chun's female colleague across from him, couldn't help but look at him and open her mouth to speak, as if she wanted to say something to him.

Zhou Chun simply smiled and shook his head, and all the people and things around him shattered instantly like a dream.

"So this is all the Core Formation Demon I've ever faced!"

In the garden on the secret island, Zhou Chun regained his consciousness and couldn't help but shake his head gently.

The cultivation world has long conducted extensive research on the mental illusions that arise when breaking through various major realms.

Generally speaking, the inner demons and illusions before the Nascent Soul stage are only superficial and not difficult to deal with.

Unless someone has a particularly weak will or temperament, these inner demons and illusions are no obstacle for cultivators who are breaking through.

Only when a cultivator forms their Nascent Soul, and the "Inner Demon Tribulation," formed from the negative emotions and evil thoughts accumulated throughout their life, truly possesses a terrifying power that makes people tremble at the mere mention of it.

It is said that among those cultivators who fail to take the step of Nascent Soul formation, six or seven out of ten are due to the "Heart Demon Tribulation," which causes them to go into demonic possession or suffer severe damage to their vital energy, ultimately leaving them unable to overcome the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation!

That's right, when cultivators form their Nascent Soul, they also face heavenly tribulations and lightning punishments.

However, compared to the "Heavenly Tribulation" that fourth-order demonic beasts must undergo to break through to the fifth order, the Heavenly Tribulation that cultivators face when forming their Nascent Soul is much less powerful.

Generally speaking, cultivators who can successfully overcome the "Inner Demon Tribulation" are basically able to overcome the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation.

This is also what demonic beasts envy most about human cultivators!

Compared to them, who seem to be unfavored by the Heavenly Dao, human cultivators seem to be favored by the Heavenly Dao, as their cultivation speed and difficulty are both much lower than theirs.

However, although Zhou Chun easily saw through the illusion of the inner demon and escaped the illusion, he did not truly let his guard down.

Because he knew that before he could complete the process of transforming the illusion into reality, the inner demons and illusions could reappear at any time, and he had to be vigilant at all times.

The same is true.

Zhou Chun transmigrated to this world and has been serving as the head of the Zhou family ever since, so he can't possibly say that he hasn't done anything wrong.

The number of secrets he harbors is beyond that of ordinary people.

Now, under the influence of his inner demons, many things he had worried about and dared not face were revealed one by one.

The second time was when Zhou Mingde discovered that he was not the original Zhou Chun. Lin Hongyu then imprisoned his magical powers, and he was subjected to trial and questioning by the Zhou family's higher-ups.

Zhou Chun had already seen through the illusion of inner demons, so he did not avoid answering. Instead, he followed his heart and engaged in a passionate debate with Zhou Mingde and others about the pros and cons.

Because of the interference of his inner demons, he naturally could not persuade Zhou Mingde and the others, but it made him feel much more satisfied, relieved him of a worry, and then easily broke free from the illusion.

The third time was when Zhou Chun's purification stone jar was discovered. He was ambushed and imprisoned by Zhou Daoyi, who took the jar from him.

This item was one of Zhou Chun's biggest secrets. He was somewhat obsessed with it at the time and even had the delusion of killing Zhou Daoyi to take back the treasure.

Fortunately, he quickly realized that given Zhou Daoyi's feelings for him, even if he had discovered the secret of the purification jar, he would not have taken it so forcefully.

After all, this item cannot improve one's cultivation or help one achieve enlightenment.

Having seen through his delusions, he easily broke free from the illusion.

The fourth time, the Zhou family's stronghold in the wilderness was discovered by the Hualong Sect, as was their underground river. The Hualong Sect then used the underground river to invade the heart of Jingguo, directly splitting their forces into two groups to destroy the Zhou family...

The fifth time, in order to reclaim the Thunder Dragon Bai Bai, the Flood Dragon Clan suddenly sent a fifth-tier Flood Dragon, which directly annihilated the Zhou family...

The sixth time, the Moon Wheel Sect discovered the true identity of the Golden Armored Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone and forced Zhou Chun to break the contract and offer it up...

The seventh time...

In this way, the things that Zhou Chun was most worried about and did not want to face were revealed one by one by his inner demons, making him feel terrified.

He himself seemed not to have realized that he had so many worries weighing on his mind.

Many of these thoughts are unspeakable and can only be suppressed and buried deep in the heart.

Now that his inner demons have resurfaced, although it has been quite frightening, it has also brought him some relief, and his thoughts have become much clearer.

This will greatly benefit his future spiritual practice.

And just like that, a hundred days passed in the blink of an eye.

After a hundred days of refining and transformation, the "virtual core" in Zhou Chun's body had completely transformed into a round, golden, solid golden core.

This golden pill looks only the size of a pigeon egg, but the power it contains is terrifying.

Zhou Chun's dantian seemed to be unable to contain it, and a feeling of fullness arose from inside his dantian.

The Dao Cauldron he condensed using the "Golden Cauldron Mystic Art" was under immense pressure, showing signs of collapsing.

Although the Golden Core has been achieved at this point, it is still a "dead core," possessing power but lacking spirituality, and therefore unable to contain its own power.

The next step, and the most important one, is "merging the elixir".

The soul and the golden core merge into one, forming a primordial spirit golden core!

This step is the most difficult, and the one with the most failures.

Failure at this stage often results in the shattering of one's elixir and death.

Even with the protection and timely assistance of their teachers, they would still suffer severe damage to their vital energy, leaving them with a lifelong, incurable ailment that would make it difficult for them to form their inner core again.

So once you get to this stage, there's no room for failure; you can only succeed!

Zhou Chun paused for a moment, then took out the [Yin Yang Fu Ling Dan] and swallowed it.

This pill is a spiritual pill specially developed for the "alchemy" process. After taking it, two distinct spiritual energies immediately emerge. One surges up to the forehead and directly enters the Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness, where it is absorbed by the soul.

Another stream sank down to the dantian and merged into the round golden elixir.

Then Zhou Chun recited the incantation for combining the pills, using his divine sense to guide the round golden pill upwards into his Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness.

Rumble!

When the golden elixir, the size of a broad bean, entered the Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness, its vast and boundless power was as dazzling as the sun, radiating countless golden rays that illuminated the Sea of ​​Consciousness.

The Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness seemed unable to withstand this immense power, shaking violently and teetering on the verge of collapse.

Zhou Chun's divine soul, which was originally stationed in the Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness, flew towards the golden sun like Chang'e flying to the moon.

Even though the golden sun was actually formed from his own golden core, Zhou Chun's soul felt quite uncomfortable when it got close, as if his soul was about to be scattered at any moment.

He dared not delay and immediately activated the method of combining pills, his soul instantly rushing towards the golden sun like a moth to a flame.

Then a dizzy feeling washed over Zhou Chun. He felt as if he had been buried alive, unable to breathe or move, feeling extremely oppressed and suffocated.

He knew that his soul had not yet fully merged with the golden core, and was being rejected and squeezed by the power of the golden core.

Then he cleared his mind of all distractions, focused his attention on the method of combining the two to eliminate the repulsion between them, and imprinted his soul into the golden elixir.

At this moment, it seemed that the [Yin Yang Fu Ling Dan] he had taken earlier was taking effect, and Zhou Chun clearly felt a power close to his soul approaching him.

He himself seized the opportunity and merged with that power.

Then he instantly felt better, like someone had inserted a breathing tube into him after he was buried alive.

Time passed slowly, and after an unknown amount of time, Zhou Chun suddenly felt a sense of relief and refreshment.

All the oppression and suffocation dissipated, and a feeling of great freedom and ease welled up in my heart.

It's finally done!

Finally, I've successfully formed my core!

Zhou Chun breathed a sigh of relief, but was also overjoyed and extremely happy.

He immediately focused his mind on his dantian, and the golden core that was originally located in his purple mansion sea of ​​consciousness instantly returned to his dantian.

At this moment, because of the formation of his golden core, under the interaction of heaven and man, dark clouds and lightning phenomena have gathered above his head.

However, as the golden core returned to the dantian and its power was completely contained within without being released outwards, the strange phenomena of dark clouds and lightning eventually dissipated.

Once I swallow this golden pill, my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven!

Feeling the abundant power within his body, Zhou Chun couldn't help but let out a long roar of joy, his voice filled with delight.

Upon hearing the howl, several spirit pets that had retreated outside the garden rushed over to congratulate him.

In fact, these spirit pets have benefited greatly from his influence over the past few years.

The Golden Armor Mountain-Carrying Turtle Stone successfully broke through to the middle level of the third rank, catching up with the Thunder Flood Dragon Bai Bai.

The Wood Spirit, Mu Sang, absorbed too much Wood Spirit power and even suffered from indigestion, requiring a period of slumber to digest it.

Now, a large amount of wood elemental power has accumulated in his body. After fully digesting it, advancing to the upper-level third rank should not be a problem. He can be said to have gained the most.

In comparison, Lei Jiao Bai Bai and Jin Chi Hu had only made modest gains, increasing their cultivation by a few years.

Just as Zhou Chun was preparing to celebrate his successful Core Formation with his spirit pets and then plunder the secret island, an unexpected incident occurred.

Suddenly, a ball of silver light descended from the sky, landing beside Zhou Chun and instantly transforming into a silver rune array that enveloped him.

"This is……"

Zhou Chun's expression changed, and he hurriedly tried to activate the power of his golden core to destroy the magic array.

But before he could actually put it into action, flowers appeared before his eyes, and his figure instantly disappeared from the sight of the spirit pets.

When Zhou Chun's vision returned to normal, he was already in a quiet room.

The quiet room was not very large, and there was only an altar table in it.

On the altar were a jade slip and a specially made jade talisman.

A white, luminous shield protected the altar, and Zhou Chun recognized it as a special protective spell for valuable items.

Generally, items protected by this kind of forbidden magic will be nourished by abundant spiritual energy as long as the spiritual veins do not dry up, and will not lose their effectiveness over time.

He tentatively reached out to touch the shield, but his hand was blocked outside.

However, as he used his own Golden Core stage cultivator's magic power, the spiritual light shield was easily shattered, and he took the two items inside.

Zhou Chun naturally picked up the jade slip and began to read the information inside.

The jade slip was specially left by the owner of this place, and this quiet room was also specially built.

However, the owner of this place had foreseen that in the future, there might be cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage who would risk forming their cores in the secret island, and then use their Golden Core stage cultivation to plunder the spiritual treasures within the secret island.

Therefore, he made special arrangements to prevent such a thing from happening.

According to the owner of this place, once someone successfully forms their core on the secret island, it will trigger his backup plan, and they will be teleported to this quiet room.

Then he would give the person who had reached the Core Formation stage two choices. One choice was to attempt a trial he had arranged. If they could successfully pass it, even if they could not inherit his mantle, they could still gain control of the secret island.

But according to him, the difficulty of the trial level is not something that a newly formed Core Formation cultivator can pass, unless someone has the strength comparable to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator right after successfully forming their Core!

The second option is to take another jade talisman, which allows you to take all the medicinal herbs in a certain herb garden and then go to the treasure pavilion to choose a treasure.

If Zhou Chun chooses the second option, he will no longer be able to fight against others on the secret island.

Otherwise, once the formation senses the fighting fluctuations of a Golden Core stage cultivator, it will automatically teleport him away from the island!

"This is clearly telling me to choose the second option!"

Zhou Chun withdrew his consciousness, shook his head, and could only sigh.

Although he made some preparations, it seems that none of them are needed now.

So what if he refines the two magical treasures he brought in now?

Even with two magical treasures in hand, his strength is at most considered good at the early stage of Golden Core, and there is no way he can pass that trial!

If he fails the trial, the inheritance of the island's master and those truly precious treasures will naturally have nothing to do with him.

"Fortunately, although I couldn't obtain this inheritance, at least I know how to obtain it!"

A glint flashed in Zhou Chun's eyes, but he quickly calmed down.

Since the owner of this place wants to find a successor, he naturally won't rely entirely on chance or luck to choose.

The jade slip in Zhou Chun's hand also revealed the criteria the cave owner used to find a successor.

First, one must possess top-grade spiritual root aptitude, specifically wind attribute, and secondly, one must have late-stage Purple Mansion cultivation.

Once these conditions are met, you can go to the path leading to the main hall for verification. After passing the verification of spiritual root aptitude and cultivation level, you will be teleported into the main hall to undergo some tests that are not particularly difficult.

Once you pass those trials, you can successfully form your core in a special place within the main hall, and then take the opportunity to refine the main array flag of the [Heaven and Earth Reversal Array], thus gaining complete control of this secret island!

Therefore, although Zhou Chun could not obtain the inheritance of this secret island, if he could find a cultivator who met the requirements and reach a relevant agreement with him, he would still have the opportunity to obtain the various treasures left behind by the owner of this place.

Luo Qingni is likely unaware of these circumstances, otherwise she might not have sought cooperation with Zhou Chun!

After figuring out what he should do, Zhou Chun crushed the jade slip, took the jade talisman in his hand, walked to a small teleportation array in the corner of the quiet room, and activated the jade talisman to release a faint spiritual light that enveloped him.

After a brief moment of distraction, Zhou Chun appeared on the bluestone plaza where she had just entered the secret island.

Not long after, he returned to the garden and reunited with his spirit pets.

Next, Zhou Chun did not rush to the herb garden to collect herbs and treasures. Instead, he sat down cross-legged in the garden again and took out two magic treasures to refine.

Originally, cultivators who had just successfully formed their core needed to go into seclusion for several years to consolidate their cultivation and refine the Golden Core stage techniques.

However, Zhou Chun successfully formed his core after consuming the Five Elements Spirit Fruit, giving him an incredibly solid foundation and eliminating the need for the step of stabilizing his cultivation.

At the same time, because he is currently unable to break the cauldron and reforge it, he is also unable to cultivate the Golden Core stage technique of the Golden Cauldron Profound Art.

So all he can do now is refine magical artifacts.

Zhou Chun first refined the [Earth Vajra Shield], which is a magic weapon with the attributes of earth and metal. It was barely compatible with him and was not difficult to refine. It only took half a month to refine it.

As a low-grade defensive magic weapon, this treasure possesses extraordinary defensive capabilities, easily withstanding attacks from early-stage Golden Core cultivators once activated.

The dark blue banner was called the "Azure Wood Divine Fiend Banner." It was originally the natal magic weapon of Han Yuan, a Golden Core stage insect cultivator, which he refined to the level of a mid-grade magic weapon.

However, with Han Yuan's passing, his natal magic weapon has been neglected for a long time and has now fallen to a low-grade magic weapon. Furthermore, because its attributes do not match Zhou Chun's, he can only unleash about 60% of its power, which is barely better than nothing.

After refining the two magical treasures, Zhou Chun turned his attention to the Moon Toad Pearl in his dantian.

He had possessed this magical treasure for over a hundred years, but due to his low cultivation level in the past, he was simply unable to refine and activate it.

Now that he has successfully formed his core, his magical power, in both quantity and quality, is far superior to that of cultivators in the Purple Mansion stage. His divine sense can even extend forty or fifty miles away, so he can be considered to have initially qualified to refine this item.

I'm so happy today! This book has finally gained its first Alliance Master! Reader kyo1027 has generously donated 120000 coins – thank you so much! I just arrived in the new city today and still need to find a place to live. Once I've settled in, I'll definitely work hard on my writing and add extra chapters to thank the Alliance Master!

(End of this chapter)