Chapter 426: 426: Suspected Golden Core_1

Chapter 426: Chapter 426: Suspected Golden Core_1

Li Fuqiang was no longer restraining himself and controlled his strength to be fully at 50%, entangling with Xu Fan once again in battle.

“Bang bang bang...”

For a moment, the scene on the river was astonishing, with waves reaching more than a dozen meters high soaring into the sky.

With swift movements and quick exchanges, the three onlookers, Xiao Bai and his comrades, could only see the blurry actions of the two combatants.

Qian Zongsheng had to focus all his spirit just to barely make out the fight.

Then, he felt a severe self-doubt consuming him, thinking he was weak as a chicken made of earth and tiles, like a lump of rotten mud.

But this was not entirely a bad thing, at least, he saw a martial arts doorway that was incredibly broad and tall.

The path ahead was endless, waiting for him to explore and pursue with all his might.

Qian Zongsheng started to get excited, realizing his understanding of ancient martial arts was superficial, the room for improvement was that much greater.

This meant that there was a lot of room for his strength to grow.

When over a hundred moves had passed.

The two separated and stood opposite each other in the air.

Xu Fan disbanded his Spiritual Energy, withdrew the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, and returned to his original state, completely unscathed except for a few drops of sweat rolling down, which he did on purpose.

There was no helping it, Li Fuqiang was sweating, and if he himself came out of a great battle without so much as flushed cheeks or heavy breathing, what would that indicate?

His performance was already astonishing enough to instill fear in others, but being too extraordinary would only cause people to regard him as a non-human monster, inevitably leading major players to study him.

Raising his hand to wipe the sweat off, Xu Fan gasped for breath and pretended to recover for half a minute before saying to Li Fuqiang, “Uncle Li, let’s stop here for today, my True Qi is exhausted.”

Li Fuqiang nodded, smiling broadly, “Alright, as you say. My nephew, I didn’t expect your performance to be so eye-catching.” His palms were actually all sweaty.

“Uncle Li, let’s keep a low profile, otherwise I might get carried away,” Xu Fan joked.

“You rascal, with such ability and still concealing your skill! Well, I’ll keep this combat a secret as much as I can.”

The two soared through the void and landed inside the Heart of Heaven Pavilion.

“All four Great Elders are at the Heavenly Venerable Realm, but even joined together, they were still defeated by the boss. Therefore, I suspect that the boss’s realm may have already surpassed the Heavenly Venerable Realm.”

“That really is powerful!” Xu Fan exclaimed in admiration.

If it was as Li Fuqiang said, then the Dragon Group’s boss might have already condensed the legendary Inner True Pellet, which is equivalent to the Golden Core cultivators in the cultivation system.

Within the cultivation system, both the acquired and innate stages are considered mundane. Only when one officially starts Qi refining does one step into the threshold of cultivation.

After Qi refining comes Foundation Establishment, strengthening and cementing the foundation for cultivation, akin to laying the foundation for a house.

After establishing the Foundation, one forms the Golden Core. Upon entering this realm, cultivators undergo a tremendous transformation, with both strength and lifespan changing drastically.

Following that comes the Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, and ultimately, Tribulation Transcendence.

Tribulation Transcendence is the most terrifying. It consists of nine instances, also known as the Ninefold Thunder Tribulation. With each tribulation crossed, the power of the next tribulation multiplies, meaning the cultivator’s strength must also increase accordingly.

After surmounting the ninefold tribulations, the final Celestial Tribulation awaits, also known as the Ascension Tribulation, Feathering Tribulation, or Immortal Ascension Tribulation.

Successfully enduring the tribulation leads to ascension and entry into The Immortal Realm.

If one fails, they can only become a Loose Immortal—forever unable to ascend and, every hundred years, subjected to the punishment of the Thunder Tribulation, with its power continuously increasing. In the end, escape from death and the dissipation of one’s Dao is inevitable.

However, compared to those who perish in the tribulation, disintegrating into smoke and ash, both body and soul extinguished, Loose Immortals are considered fortunate—they at least get to live a few more centuries and reenter the cycle of reincarnation.

As for those like Xu Fan who, after failing the tribulation, accidentally transmigrated to another world, they can only be considered one-in-a-billion exceptions with no possibility of replication.

...

That said,

If the Dragon Group’s boss truly possesses Golden Core strength, it indeed exceeds Xu Fan’s expectations.

With his current strength, if he were to be targeted by a Golden Core powerhouse, he would have no choice but to flee, striving to escape with his whole body intact.

As for fighting? That would be no different from seeking death!

Fighting across two major realms is unheard of—such disparity in raw power cannot simply be bridged with cultivation experience and combat techniques.

In fact, escaping unscathed is already the best possible outcome.

If it were anyone else, even a Foundation Establishment powerhouse trying to escape from a Golden Core powerhouse,

Describing it as a fantastical tale would not be an overstatement.