Slifer let the demon leader's limp body slump to the floor, the prisoner's ram's horns scraping against the stone tiles. The Supreme Elder sighed in frustration and stepped back, shaking his head.
The Soul Searching technique had been a dead end. Slifer had plunged into the minds of all the demons, seeking some insight into Vowron's mysterious goals. But even prying into their deepest secrets had revealed little of use.
Only vague glimpses and passing references to something hidden within the Sealed Realm that Vowron wanted. Unfortunately, the demons were merely grunts acting on orders. The specifics of the demonic sect master's plans remained obscured.
Slifer stroked his beard, mentally sorting through the usual treasures and legacies often coveted in Xianxia tales, searching for one that fit the hazy clues he extracted.
Could it be heavenly materials to craft rare pills or elixirs? Those had obvious value and power. Though merely stealing ingredients seemed too minor a goal for Vowron to partner up with an Immortal. There had to be more to it.
Perhaps an ancient manual inscribed with long lost powerful cultivation techniques and skills? That would align with Vowron's ambitions. But the tattered memories suggested something other than just some written knowledge.
A powerful artifact then? Some super weapon like a god slaying sword or doomsday cauldron? Entirely possible given artifacts could level mountains and boil oceans when unleashed at full power. Yet the demons did not seem interested in pure destructive potential based on the faint remnants Slifer sensed.
What else could it be? Some demon ancestor who had been sealed away and was summoning its descendants to free it?
Slifer sighed again, frustrated. None of those guesses felt exactly right. The clues were simply too vague and fragmented. It was impossible to know for sure. And with the treasures and secrets hidden in places like the Sealed Realm being near infinite, anything was possible.
I need more information.
As Slifer turned to leave the prison chamber, a System notification popped up.
Ding!
New task: Eliminate the demon prisoners
Reward: 100 Karmic Credits per prisoner
Slifer paused and looked back at the prisoners. They were useless to him now. He could either let Morvran torture them to death, or just end them quickly himself. Death would be a mercy compared to what Morvran had in plan for them, not to mention, one could never have too many Karmic Credits…
"Like I told you before, I can't allow any of you to leave this place," Slifer stated calmly. He loosened his sword in its scabbard.
The demon leader, who seemed to have recovered having its soul plundered, bared his teeth, snarling. "We won't beg for our lives, human scum! Finish it and see where it gets you." The other demons growled in agreement.
Slifer's expression remained neutral. In a blur, he drew his blade and unleashed a perfectly executed Sunrise Slash strike. The prisoners had just a brief moment of shock before their heads slid from their shoulders and thumped wetly to the floor. Their headless bodies spasmed, gushing blood across the tiles before slumping over.
Slifer flicked the blood from his sword and re-sheathed it in a smooth motion. He waited patiently as ten notification chimes rang out.
Ding!
Task complete!
Eliminated Demon Prisoners
900 Karmic Credits gained
Ding!
You have gained 50 Karmic Credits for killing a demonic Core Formation cultivator
Stepping around the pool of blood, Slifer exited the dungeon. The way forward was clear now in his mind. The Black Death Sect still had one prisoner remaining. It was time to have a chat with Vowron himself.
But before Slifer peeked inside the cauldron, he needed to prepare. Vowron was no fool, and as a Half-Immortal, he certainly had contingencies in place. An opponent like that required careful planning.
----------------------------------------
The icy wind howled as Zack stepped out of the portal and into the snowy wastes of the Northern Region. He winced as the gate snapped shut behind him, sealing him alone inside the Sealed Realm.
Glancing around, he saw nothing but an endless ocean of snow sitting beneath slate-grey skies. No sign of the other participants who had entered with him. Finding them anytime soon would be impossible in this place.
"I’m guessing this is the Northern Region. Not a bad starting point…if it wasn’t freezing."
His Peak Foundation Establishment cultivation protected him from the worst of the cold. Still, the frigid temperature was an annoyance he would have to deal with.
Reaching into his storage ring, Zack retrieved a map given to him by the Main Body. He assumed the other sect disciples had similar maps from their elders. The maps were updated every century as new areas of the Sealed Realm were explored and recorded by survivors.
Checking his location, Zack muttered, “Yep, it really is the Northern Region…”
Typically in xianxia stories, the Central Region held the greatest treasures, and risks. The Northern Region would be good enough for now. His priority was making a breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm. Only then would he feel confident enough to wander around.
Zack suppressed his qi as he cautiously scanned the landscape. He needed to find a suitable secluded spot before attempting his breakthrough. The fluctuations in his cultivation base would act like a beacon otherwise.
I can’t afford to attract any attention, better to avoid flying for now.
The Northern Region was probably the safest region according to Slifer's briefings. Primarily icy tundra, glaciers, and some mountain ranges. Treacherous terrain, but scarce population. Most of the realm's more vicious inhabitants and enviable treasures could be found in the Central or Southern Regions.
Still, isolated threats lived even here. Ambitious loose cultivators making pilgrimages between more promising areas. Packs of Yeti or Ice Spiders hunting prey. Ancient beasts slumbering in cave lairs. Zack remained alert.
But despite all of that, his biggest concern was running into the region’s inhabitants. It was well known that they didn’t tend to get along well with the ‘Outside’ people…
Hopefully, I don’t have to worry about them for now.
After some time trudging through the snow, Zack discovered a hidden cave tucked away in a snowy hillside. Perfect. He slipped inside and began laying down formations and talismans he received from the Main Body to conceal his presence during the breakthrough.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The Soul Suppression Talisman prevented detection from spiritual senses. The Sound Insulation Talisman would mask any noises. And the Qi Confusion Formation obscured his energy fluctuations.
Settling down cross-legged on the chilly stone floor, Zack reflected on the events leading up to now. Before departing for the Sealed Realm, Leontius – the Legacy disciple representing the Black Rose Sect – had tried to rope Zack and the other Black Rose disciples into some scheme.
Apparently Leontius wanted them to help distract and entrap the other Legacy disciples once inside the Realm. But Zack was no fool, unlike some of the young geniuses who seemed far more naive than you’d expect for twenty year old men. He had no intention of becoming cannon fodder for someone else’s petty plots and power plays. Not when he had his own goals to achieve.
Breaking through to the Core Formation stage was essential not just for power, but for survival. Here in the Sealed Realm, there would be no deadly Heavenly Tribulations to face. But that also meant no chance to gain enlightenment or abilities from enduring those stormy trials.
Zack shook his head. "Without the Main Body’s support, I’d rather play it safe anyway.”
Facing the Grade 4 tribulation intended for someone of Zack's talent would be incredibly dangerous without outside help. Attempting it alone could easily prove fatal.
“At least I don’t have to worry about getting struck by lightning here,” Zack muttered. "Though it is too bad that I can't upgrade my body cultivation at the same time.”
To advance his Body cultivation further would require a powerful external energy source to temper and transform his body. Unfortunately, that was not an option available in this strange place. He couldn’t afford to delay his breakthrough, he would have to make do with a sole Spiritual breakthrough for now.
But he was certain his Main Body would breakthrough in both realms simultaneously by enduring Heavenly Tribulation.
“Lucky him.”
Zack thoughts turned to the different core types in the Core Formation Realm. The weakest were Mixed Cores, amalgamations of various elements and impurities. Then there were mid-grade cores defined by their colour - green, purple, red, etc - based on one's primary cultivation method.
With my lightning cultivation method, if I were to somehow mess up and form a mid-grade core, then it would be a blue core. But being average in a world like this isn’t good enough.
For those who cultivated an impeccable base and practiced a Heaven-Grade method, they could form the legendary Golden Core, representing ‘limitless’ potential. In xianxia stories, only the gifted and fortuitous accomplished this.
The purer a core's colour and the more robust its structure, the greater the cultivator's qi capacity and the higher quality qi they could generate. Everything else being equal, a Golden Core practitioner would always overwhelm the same level opponent with a weaker variant core.
Unfortunately for most cultivators, the quality of one's Core depended largely on either innate talent or cultivation resources.
Luckily for me, I have both in spades.
The Original Slifer had formed a Gold Core, therefore, both the Main Body and Zack expected no less for themselves.
Rumours spoke of even more exotic cores like Frozen Cores, Crimson Cores, and Cores of Chaos. But Zack's orders from the Main Body were clear - focus only on forming a standard Gold Core for now.
Reaching too high would be reckless without the Main Body's support. Zack could ask for pills or treasures to be deposited into his ring, but they might not arrive in time if he was in a precarious situation.
I might not even get a chance to ask for help before I cripple myself.
"Right, let's stick to a basic Golden Core for my first go," Zack muttered.
Nodding with satisfaction, Zack pulled out a Qi Cleansing Pill, it was designed to cleanse impurities from the cultivator's cultivation base. The Main Body’s advancement so far had been unassisted by pills, so he expected little corruption in his foundation.
Zack swallowed the medicinal pill and began circulating his internal energy.
Moments later, he spat out a glob of black mucus the size of a coin. As expected, his foundation was already relatively pure.
It’s time…
Closing his eyes, Zack sunk his spiritual sense into his dantian. There floated nine shimmering pillars of qi - the Foundation the Main Body had built.
Taking a deep breath, Zack extended his hands and made a pulling motion. The Nine Pillars fractured into glittering motes of qi which flowed together in the centre of his dantian, coalescing into a mass of swirling colours.
Brow furrowed in concentration, Zack began compacting the qi, cycling his energy through it again and again. He had to be cautious - forcing the process too quickly could damage his foundation and set him back years. But neither could he afford to delay here indefinitely.
As time passed, the ball shrank, becoming denser as its colours blended into a molten gold hue. Signs were promising so far.
Droplets of sweat beaded Zack's face from the exertion as he continued compressing the qi mass. Tighter...tighter... He was nearing the critical point. Just a final burst of qi to trigger the metamorphosis...
Zack’s eyes snapped open, a fierce grin on his face. There, within his dantian, floated a dazzling golden orb the size of a fist – a Golden Core!
“Core Formation, I did it!” Zack exclaimed.
He had actually formed a real Golden Core on his first try! And it felt incredibly solid and stable. The number of cultivators who could claim that (not counting his disciples) couldn't be high, even the Original Slifer took three tries!
After basking in his accomplishment for a moment, Zack rose to his feet and stretched, feeling the Qi circulating through his body, far purer and stronger than before. Already he could tell his spiritual sense had expanded, and his qi regeneration increased. The breakthrough had been taxing, but unfathomably rewarding.
A thunderous roar suddenly shook the cavern, dislodging chunks of ice from the ceiling. Zack's body tensed as an oppressive aura slammed down on him.
Someone or something extremely powerful was right outside!
Before he could react, the cave wall exploded inwards and a scaly blue claw the size of a carriage smashed through grasping for him.
Shit!