Chapter 104: Perfect Golden Core Stage!

Words : 1169 Updated : Sep 30th, 2025

Chapter 104: Perfect Golden Core Stage! Blood Ice Rose Trap Formation. It’s a heretical technique that Xu Tao learned not by choice, but by necessity. It’s a trap formation that encloses the target(s) within an ice area, before being layered by petals to increase the cube’s toughness. As soon as the rosebud is formed, the real threat of the formation begins. From all the living entities within it, the Blood Ice Rose will absorb their life force slowly. This energy would then further enhance the walls by slowly painting them a deep red—like blood seeping through ice. When the entire ice rose has turned blood red, that means the entities trapped inside have already lost their lives... But it wouldn’t be heretical if it ended with just that. The formation wouldn’t just rob the target’s life—but also their souls. All of it would then become available as energy, as Qi, for the caster to absorb. It’s a technique that’s just as bad as Demonic Cultivation, which requires live sacrifices! As for how Xu Tao learned it? Well, of course, it’s because once, he fought the creator of this technique and got hit with it. He literally almost died from it until he completely deciphered its weakness and escaped. The technique’s creator was injured gravely from their exchange but managed to escape death—eluding Xu Tao’s pursuit until the present time. ’The digestion of the monsters inside it should take at least half an hour,’ Xu Tao thought as he continued with his standing meditation. ’I have to finish absorbing this pill first!’ Although it’s a heretical technique, it should be fine to use it now against monsters. A moral gray area regarding the technique’s target and usage... But Xu Tao can’t be picky. If it can help him increase his cultivation, then he wouldn’t hold back. ’As for the south side, I can leave it to Jehanne for now.’ He trusted that Jehanne wouldn’t miss the monsters or let them approach the walls. After all, it’s still a rather "weak" wave. Xu Tao closed his eyes, increasing his focus on his Qi circulation. With the barrier made by the Celestial Fan, even the Qi that he let slip was kept nearby, allowing for reabsorption. "Phew..." And just as the ice rose had turned half-red from bottom up, he finally finished absorbing 100% of the Condensed Qi Pill! Xu Tao took a deep breath before feeling his cultivation... and to his surprise, he’d already reached Qi Gathering 4th Stage—his cultivation increasing by a solid 2,500 points! "So one Condensed Qi Pill can provide 2,500 points max..." His lips curled up as he felt that his almost desperate hard work had paid off. Before, when he took it without much preparation, it only added about a thousand points. But now, the pill’s effect more than doubled! "And now that I’m getting used to the process, I should be able to absorb one more before the rose blooms!" He declared, before taking another pill and throwing it into his mouth without delay or hesitation. Almost by reflex, he reactivated the shield formation around himself to track leaking Qi as he meditated. His meridians, widened further by the practically millions of circulations he did for one pill, could already take on the burden without a shake. Of course, the pain was still there—like forcing a jagged stone through his meridians. But Xu Tao didn’t even wince. He just kept on circulating the new Qi nonstop at breakneck speed. Not even ten minutes later, and as he declared, he absorbed all of the Qi from the Condensed Qi Pill! When he opened his eyes, he also realized he was just in time. The ice rose was now completely red from bottom up, showing that it was now ready for "harvest." While praying that nothing bad happens, he proceeded to activate the next step of the Blood Ice Rose Trap Formation. He twisted the fan, and the petals slowly opened. The cube in the middle began compressing into a pocket-sized cube before flying toward Xu Tao’s poised hand. Now losing their energy source, the "petals" began to melt away, vanishing as red drops over the ground—but Xu Tao didn’t care about the petals. What he needed was the blood-red cube in his hands, containing the essence of 1,024 monsters—along with their souls. "..." Xu Tao stared at the cube, silently praying it held no lingering malice as he tightened his grip without breaking it. Despite its crimson hue, the cube radiated an eerie cold—which should be obvious, since it’s made out of ice. But that’s not the point. ’The Qi feels pure... but if there’s even a sliver of soul consciousness left in here, it could corrupt me.’ He worried before he sat down cross-legged, activating all the trap formations he’d layered beforehand. He layered them in a way that they would get activated by approaching monsters one after the other per wave—with each trap capable of wiping an entire wave easily. Of course, there’s one trap that’s set far from the rest, at the southern side, which should capture one monster at least. It’s a measure to allow the intentional delaying of the next wave. Jehanne should know not to kill the one caught in the trap, so there’s no need to worry about it. Instead, he focused all his concentration on the cube in his hands. The Blood Ice Rose Trap Formation is a heretical technique, but compared to normal cultivation, it’s way faster. The energy caught in the cube is attuned to the caster’s Qi, allowing for a quick "gulp" of everything. Right, there’s no need to circulate it almost endlessly, as the Qi was already his! As he sat down and closed his eyes, Xu Tao began extracting the energy within the cube. He could feel the Qi within all three Dantians rise rapidly, pushing him toward a higher stage. Fifth stage, sixth... eighth... tenth...! At that moment, Xu Tao concentrated even harder. He’d just reached the throttle point—the part where he needed to mold all his Qi into a single golden core. But with his experience, the entire process didn’t even take a minute. It was easy and straightforward compared to when one goes from Golden Core to Nascent Soul Stage! The moment his golden core was made successfully, a bright pillar of light shot toward the heavens—a heavenly phenomenon that’s not observed normally when one reaches the said stage. But who was this person again? Xu Tao, the greatest cultivator alive! "A perfect golden core...!" "I thought that’s a thing of legends... To think it truly existed!" "As Expected of the Great Elder! A feat nobody could replicate!" And as expected, the outer disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect quickly realized what that heavenly phenomenon represented! "The old man has reached the Perfect Golden Core Stage!" Unfortunately, only five people on this entire battlefield understood the significance of what had just occurred.

Chapter 104: Perfect Golden Core Stage!

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