Chapter 687: The Wonders of the Golden Core

True Monarch Dong Ming let out a muffled grunt. She had intended to resist, but then she felt Xu Yunfan’s Yang Power alternating with her own Nine Nether Profound Evil.

As the Thunder Fire Qi came into contact with her Nine Nether Profound Evil Magical Power, it began to cycle. To her surprise, this quelled the restlessness of both her Nine Nether Profound Evil and her Eternal Night Dao Fruit, and her Cultivation even subtly improved. This was truly a case of True Dharma Mutual Aid.

“You even used a Cause and Effect Secret Technique?!”

A smile appeared on Xu Yunfan’s face.

“You can’t feel it?”

True Monarch Dong Ming didn’t reply. She simply seized the opportunity to refine the Thunder Fire Qi within her body; for her, it was an immense tonic.

After all, Xu Yunfan had allowed her Daoist Cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.

The Nine Nether Evil Mist and the Purple Gold Thunderbolt intertwined and surged, completely submerging the two figures—

—————-

「Three days later」

At the Primordial Sect’s Divine Sky Mountain.

Xu Yunfan sat high atop the nine-tiered throne in the Divine Sky Palace on Divine Sky Mountain. The aura around him was harmonious and surging, far more profound than when he had left the Aitira Realm.

That session of Cultivation with True Monarch Dong Ming—a veritable meeting of celestial thunder and terrestrial fire—had not only allowed him to begin refining the Pure Yang Fire Power of his Red Sun Dao Fruit, but he had also used her Nine Nether Profound Evil to quell the backlash from his newly acquired authority.

A Communication Jade Talisman at his fingertip turned to ash as his calm voice echoed throughout the grand hall.

“Relay my orders!”

Standing solemnly below, Xuezhen’s spirits lifted, and he bowed in acknowledgment.

“Your command, True Monarch!”

“In my name, immediately issue a Conquest Boundary Decree. All peaks under the Primordial Sect’s jurisdiction, all vassal families, and all loose cultivator alliances have ten days to dispatch their Elders at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment or above, and disciples at the Mid-Stage of Qi Cultivation or above, to assemble at the Breaking Realm Platform. Any who dally or disobey will have their resource allotments revoked, be expelled from the Sect, and shall be hunted down and utterly annihilated.”

“Open Sect Treasury vaults Jia-Three and Jia-Seven. Allocate thirty Void Crossing Boats, five hundred Profound Yin Boundary Talismans, and one hundred Ten Thousand Souls Suppressing Evil Banners. Furthermore, withdraw one hundred thousand upper-grade Spirit Stones and one million middle-grade Spirit Stones to serve as provisions for the expedition.”

“Order the Celestial Craft Hall to have the translocation Grand Array’s disc and banners fully inspected and prepared within three days, ready to move out with the army.”

Although the Primordial Sect was a Demon Sect, every command issued meant that a massive amount of Contribution Points were up for grabs. As long as you were a disciple of the Primordial Sect, no one would refuse. Ninety-nine percent of them would come running at the mere scent of opportunity; there was rarely any need for coercion.

In the territories governed by the Primordial Sect, the law of the jungle was on full display. If you didn’t go, but your rival did and returned with their power greatly enhanced, you would be the one to suffer.

As for Xu Yunfan, now the Divine Sky True Monarch, a true core disciple of the Primordial Sect endorsed by the Daoist Lord himself, these Contribution Points were nothing more than numbers.

The Primordial Sect controlled more than a dozen Great Realms and possessed boundless resources. The portion Xu Yunfan was requisitioning was merely a drop in the bucket.

The commands descended one after another like lightning strikes. Apart from the Dharma Lineages sworn to other True Monarchs, all the Foundation Establishment Peaks under the Primordial Sect’s command immediately sprang into action.

Xuezhen rapidly recorded everything on a Jade Scroll, beads of sweat faintly visible on his forehead.

He knew full well that this was the Sect’s greatest military campaign in a century, one that would determine the very foundation of the Divine Sky True Monarch’s prestige within the Sect.

This was Xu Yunfan’s first battle since attaining his Dao Attainment Fruit Position and becoming a True Monarch; it was imperative that he make a name for himself.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over the crowd below before finally settling on an old man in black robes whose aura was as still and profound as an abyss.

“Lu Chuan.”

Daoist Master Lu Chuan had originally been a subordinate of True Monarch Qing Yuan and was at Foundation Establishment Perfection. However, he had pledged his allegiance to Xu Yunfan without hesitation the moment he became a True Monarch. Xu Yunfan, of course, welcomed all who came, as high-level combatants were exactly what he lacked.

Lu Chuan stepped forward from the ranks, his expression reverent.

“Your orders, True Monarch.”

“You will temporarily lead the vanguard. Command the first batch of three thousand disciples and thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators. Take the Void Crossing Boats, enter the Aitira Realm ahead of the main force, and establish a forward bulwark in the Western Wilderness.”

Xu Yunfan flicked a Purple Gold Light Talisman from his fingertip, and it sank into the space between Lu Chuan’s brows.

“This contains the Western Wilderness Map and a token to contact Zhang Ziyang. Once you arrive, you are to follow his command in all matters. Cooperate with him to construct the Guiding Array and pave the way for the main army’s arrival.”

“I shall obey the True Monarch’s Decree!”

Lu Chuan solemnly accepted the command, a keen light flashing in his eyes.

‘This is a golden opportunity to earn merit and establish myself. If I do this well and earn Xu Yunfan’s true recognition and trust, I might even have a chance to become a True Monarch in the future.’

The truth was, Xu Yunfan’s ascension to True Monarch had been simply too outrageous. He had been targeted by the True Monarchs of the Three Sects, who had even intervened personally. Under that pressure, he had forced his own avatar to achieve Dao-hood just to split their focus, and at the most critical moment, he had self-destructed the avatar to complete his own path to the Great Dao.

The process had been grueling and extraordinary. The difficulty of his Human Tribulation could only be described as monstrous, so much so that people had selectively forgotten about the terrifying Celestial Tribulation that had accompanied it.

‘Or perhaps, from my perspective,’ Xu Yunfan thought, ‘with the aid of the Attribute Panel, attaining the Golden Core was a natural progression.’

‘But the Human Tribulation was unavoidable. That being the case, I might as well go with the flow and face the trial for my Fruit Position head-on.’

Everyone in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm could see it clearly: without a powerful backer, it was nearly impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to reach the Golden Core stage.

After settling all the arrangements, Xu Yunfan dismissed the assembly and sat alone in the grand hall.

He sank his Divine Thought into his Dantian. His Purple Gold Golden Core rotated slowly. At its core was a single point of crimson firelight—the manifested Red Sun Dao Fruit. It was now entwined with the Purple Gold Thunderbolt, emitting an even more explosive aura of Destruction.

Now that he had returned to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, the Light Leaving Flame Burning Red Sun Dao Fruit had reconnected with the Celestial Dao. Since he was forcefully suppressing it, it was naturally a bit restless.

It was still within his control, but refining it and pulling it into his Grotto Heaven would take some effort.

On his Attribute Panel, the Daoist Cultivation stat had quietly jumped to 1258 (Peak Early-Stage Golden Core).

‘A Daoist Cultivation over one thousand makes you a Golden Core True Monarch, so what’s the threshold for the Mid-Stage Golden Core?’

‘Although my Daoist Cultivation of 1258 on the Attribute Panel already touches the Golden Core Peak, that’s without having refined the Red Sun Dao Fruit. I wonder how much it’ll increase once I finish.’

“Grotto Heaven Lifting, suspended high, never falling…”

he muttered to himself as the scene described by True Monarch Dong Ming appeared in his mind’s eye.

To separate the embryo of his Divine Sky Grotto Heaven from his Dantian, suspend it high above the Taixu, where it would become self-sustaining—immortal and unfailing.

This was the key step to truly transcending the shackles of this world’s Celestial Dao and achieving a different kind of Longevity.

And the Origin of the Aitira Realm, along with the impending war between the two sects, was the perfect hunting ground for him to seize the resources needed to charge into the Middle Stage.

The Aitila Great Realm’s Origin was of a high enough caliber, and the world Origin extracted from it would be perfect for him.

「Half a month later.」

At the Primordial Sect’s Breaking Realm Platform.

Xu Yunfan stood at the center of the hundred-zhang-tall Profound Jade High Platform, his Purple Gold Daoist Robe fluttering without a breeze.

He glanced down at the densely packed ranks of Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators, all standing in formation and ready for battle. Then, sinking his Divine Thought into his Dantian, the Vast Magical Power of his peak Early-Stage Golden Core erupted.

Ninety-nine Purple Gold Thunder Dragons erupted from the crown of his head, their roars shattering the clouds for a thousand miles.

This was a Golden Core True Technique, one he had derived from the Thunder Dragon Shattering the Void technique found in the “Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture”.

The dragons’ scales and claws were wreathed in the power of the Red Sun True Flame. Wherever they passed, the Chaos Profound Light of the Boundary Sea melted away like ice and snow. The Destruction True Intent they contained had become almost tangible.

“Open.”

Xu Yunfan formed a sword-hand, the Profound Light of the Linn Character Technique wrapping around his fingertips as he guided the attack with precision.

The thunder dragons slammed into the void. The Destruction Thunderbolt erupting from their bodies forcibly carved a stable channel straight through the Boundary Sea.

At the far end of the channel, the Aitila Boundary Wall trembled violently, revealing the phantom image of a scorched land and ruined divine halls.

This was none other than the Western Wilderness, a land where the Celestial Dao had been grievously wounded following the fall of the Three Great Main Gods.