As the Beiming Immeasurable Fortune Purple Pole Golden Elixir manifested, boundless auspicious signs appeared above the sea where Ding Yun was in seclusion. Violet qi pervaded thirty thousand li, and radiant light illuminated nine thousand lands. Simultaneously, the area within a thousand li around her was imbued with immeasurable fortune spiritual water.
In an instant, countless sea creatures gained sentience, and even more rare treasures from the seabed were enhanced. The celestial phenomenon of violet qi and radiant light was a natural occurrence that accompanied cultivators in this world after condensing a Purple Pole Golden Elixir, a form of celestial congratulation.
As for the subsequent fortune spiritual water, it was purely due to the special nature of Ding Yun's golden elixir. The fortune power within her fused with her true essence. As the golden elixir condensed, it opened nine apertures and inhaled spiritual energy nine times. It not only absorbed endless spiritual qi but also released a boundless fusion of fortune power and water-attributed magical power, thus generating so much fortune spiritual water and benefiting all living beings.
This was not the end. Because Ding Yun had not just gambled once, she had directly elevated her cultivation from the peak of Foundation Establishment to the peak of Golden Core. Therefore, endless spiritual qi continued to pour into her body, replenishing her dantian.
This energy continued to condense the Beiming Immeasurable Magical Power Sea, supplying the Fortune Green Lotus for absorption and nourishing the Purple Pole Golden Elixir at the center of the Fortune Green Lotus. Only when the Purple Pole Golden Elixir at the heart of the Fortune Green Lotus expanded to the size of a giant egg, and a human form could be vaguely seen through its purple-gold exterior, and its heartbeat could even be heard, did Ding Yun's breakthrough conclude.
[Host: Liu Yan (Ding Yun)
Lifespan: 10498 (17/10498)
Realm: Purple Pole Golden Core Perfection
Cultivation Techniques: "Beiming Immeasurable True Scripture" Golden Core Perfection (+), "Fortune Yuan Hui Technique" Sixth Layer Perfection (+)
Skills: Spring Rain Technique Minor Accomplishment (+), Water Condensing Technique Twelfth Layer (+)...]
The lifespan consumed by this breakthrough was even more terrifying, directly costing her a thousand years of life. The additional three hundred and eighty years gained from advancing from Foundation Establishment Perfection to Golden Core Perfection was not even enough to cover the cost. It was truly fortunate that she possessed the "Fortune Yuan Hui Technique" and had prioritized its advancement. Otherwise, her original five hundred-plus years of lifespan, even with the additional three hundred and eighty years from breaking through to Golden Core, would not have been enough to reach a thousand years. If she had chosen to break through the "Beiming Immeasurable True Scripture" first, she might not only have failed to advance it to Golden Core Perfection but also not even gathered the two hundred years of lifespan required for the "Fortune Yuan Hui Technique," which would have been a true disaster. This outcome further solidified Ding Yun's conviction to always prioritize advancing the "Fortune Yuan Hui Technique," as her golden finger, which required her to gamble with her lifespan for cultivation, was fundamentally dependent on having sufficient lifespan. Without it, nothing else mattered.
With the completion of her breakthrough, Ding Yun clearly felt that the foundation of this sea area was insufficient to support her further advancement. Moreover, in this world, a Golden Core True Monarch was already considered a pillar of the cultivation world, and her magical power was so vast that she could challenge cultivators of higher realms. Ordinary Nascent Soul Venerables were no match for her. She had not encountered any Soul Transformation Ancestors and was unsure of her capabilities against them, but Ding Yun believed she could put up a fight. As long as she wasn't too arrogant and didn't offend any ancient demons, she shouldn't have to fear anything. Therefore, she did not choose to search for other sea areas to continue her breakthrough. Instead, she used her water遁 technique, which was hundreds of times faster than her Foundation Establishment Perfection realm, to quickly leave the sea area and return home.
Not long after she departed, countless sea creatures that had sensed the diminishing commotion in the area were the first to arrive. They began to investigate what had happened, scrambling for the fortune spiritual water that had been permeated by Ding Yun's magical power, and inquiring from nearby sea monsters. Subsequently, not only did other sea creatures join them, but some human cultivators also arrived. The scene became chaotic and erupted into a fight. Only after all the fortune spiritual water had been completely plundered, and even the area where Ding Yun had been in seclusion was thoroughly searched with no further gains, did these individuals reluctantly disperse. The sea area was left in a state of disarray, slowly recovering.
As they left, news spread that an ancient sea demon was suspected of having broken through to the Soul Transformation realm. It was also said that this ancient demon might lean towards the healing, water-attribute direction, and was absolutely not to be underestimated. Indeed, even though some monsters and humans had witnessed the phenomenon of violet qi pervading thirty thousand li during the condensation of the Purple Pole Golden Elixir, they did not believe it was someone breaking through to Golden Core. How could breaking through to the Golden Core realm cause such a massive disturbance? Even condensing a Purple Pole Golden Elixir would not have such a profound effect. According to historical records, the greatest phenomenon caused by the condensation of a Purple Pole Golden Elixir was violet qi pervading three thousand li, which was incomparable to the current event. Furthermore, the fortune spiritual water they had obtained was comparable to healing spiritual pills and Imperial Dew. Therefore, they concluded that the entity must be at least at the Soul Transformation realm, or perhaps even further along in its cultivation. Otherwise, such a massive disturbance would not have occurred.
For a time, the conflicts between human cultivators and sea monsters slightly subsided. Humans were wary of the suspected emergence of a Soul Transformation realm ancient demon among the sea creatures, fearing its intervention would disrupt the balance. The sea creatures, on the other hand, were searching for this suspected Soul Transformation realm ancestor, hoping for its assistance to gain more confidence in dealing with human cultivators. In the short term, the impact created by Ding Yun had a positive effect, as it led to fewer deaths among humans and demons, making a negligible contribution to world peace.
Ding Yun did not spend much time on her return journey. The time spent was primarily on setting up formations and subsequently on cultivation and breakthroughs. Therefore, when Ding Yun returned to the Liu family, it was already more than three months later. The Liu family had not changed much since her departure. The people remained the same. The biggest change, if any, was that her mother had more attendants, her living conditions had improved, and various resources beneficial for martial arts cultivation were supplied without limitation. In addition, the three Foundation Establishment elders had all switched to cultivating the "Great Five Elements True Scripture."
However, while the Liu family appeared to be in order, the city itself was much more crowded than before. Not only were there many refugees, but also numerous outsiders and villagers from outside the city. Thus, after confirming that her mother was fine and even practicing martial arts quite well, Ding Yun did not rush to see her. Instead, she first entered the main courtyard of the Liu family. Using her spiritual sense, she summoned the three Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Liu family.
Despite their higher seniority, cultivation worlds still prioritize cultivation for status. Therefore, the three of them quickly put down what they were doing and returned to the main courtyard of the Liu family to meet with Ding Yun. The seating arrangement remained the same, with each person sitting on a cushion, without regard for rank.
"I see many more people in the city. Has something happened recently? I feel a sense of unease!" Ding Yun, with the intention of obtaining answers directly instead of investigating herself, had summoned them all to inquire.
"Uh, it's not a major issue. It's mainly that some nearby areas have suffered disasters, and many refugees have fled to our side. We initially didn't want to let them into the city, but recently, zombies have reappeared outside the city, and many village ancestors have come back to life, biting many people. Those with relatives in the city are rushing in. The city lord fears that if these zombies bite too many refugees, they will become a widespread menace. Therefore, he has specifically allowed them to enter the city. This morning, the city lord also called us, the eight great families, for a meeting to discuss pooling our efforts to investigate the source of these zombies and eradicate them. With more people and the chaos of zombies, the city naturally appears a bit disordered, and some people are uneasy. However, it's not a major problem. The most powerful zombies currently are only Iron Corpses, which can be dealt with by cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining. The only issue is that the number of zombies is slightly large, and they are quite scattered, making them troublesome to find!" The Liu family patriarch explained the situation to Ding Yun with considerable ease, as there was no real danger. This was something that did not require their direct intervention; they could simply send out some family elders to team up with other families to clear them out.
"Has anything similar happened before?" Ding Yun, not having learned about such situations from the original host's memories, asked with curiosity. If such incidents occurred frequently in the past, then there would be no need to worry.
"Well, probably not. At least not in the last three to five hundred years. Five or six hundred years ago, our family was just an ordinary household, so we don't know if anything like this happened. According to the city lord's conjecture, it's highly likely that some evil cultivator has been refining corpses nearby. Whether it was an accident or intentional, it has led to the current situation. But it's likely at most a Foundation Establishment realm evil cultivator, which we can handle. I haven't fought since I finished cultivating the Fire Element True Scripture, so this is a good opportunity to test my skills and, incidentally, deter the other great families."
As the Liu family patriarch finished speaking, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky and landed beside him. A phantom image of a middle-aged man then appeared, looking anxious. "Brother Liu, something has happened! Hurry to the City Lord's Mansion. The Governor's office just sent word that the severe drought in the nearby prefectures was not naturally caused. Instead, a Drought Demon has appeared. The Corpse Puppet Sect, through some unknown means, has successfully refined a Drought Demon. Earlier, they refrained from actively driving the Drought Demon to verify whether it would cause a thousand li of desolation without being provoked. But now that they have obtained their results, they have driven the Drought Demon and tens of thousands of various corpse puppets and have begun to attack the Rising Sun Sect. There are rumors that if they obtain the Rising Sun Sect's treasured artifact, the Rising Sun Golden Pearl, the Drought Demon might either further advance or another Drought Demon might be cultivated. Never mind, my avatar cannot sustain itself. You should hurry. We will discuss the details later."
After saying the last sentence, the City Lord's phantom image collapsed with a rumble. The faces of the Liu family patriarch and others became even more grim. Drought Demons were beings comparable to Soul Transformation Ancestors. Even if this incident had not yet directly affected them, even a small ripple could cause them heavy losses. Moreover, given the current situation, it was difficult not to associate the zombies appearing in their area with the Corpse Puppet Sect. This undoubtedly made the situation more precarious. An ordinary evil cultivator and a disciple of a major evil cultivation sect were two entirely different concepts, let alone a major evil cultivation sect that was currently expanding its power. Who knew if the sect would deliberately send a weak disciple to sacrifice themselves, only to use that disciple's death as an excuse to send troops to conquer their territory. In short, it was very troublesome and tricky!