Chapter 111: An Unexpected Formation of the Core

Zeng Quan was truly speechless after hearing that.

When had he failed to notice that this guy’s skin was so thick? It had reached the point of utter shamelessness; even a city wall would likely blush in his presence. There was simply no rival for such thick skin.

"You are blatantly lying with your eyes wide open," Zeng Quan thought. "Was that bandit just now a dummy?"

"Big Brother, just how large is your storage ring? It looks endless to me," Zeng Quan finally couldn't help but ask after a while.

"Uh, it’s not that big, just around eight hundred to a thousand cubic meters," Lin Yanghao said, intentionally downplaying the capacity of his Chaos Ring by several times.

If he told Zeng Quan that his storage ring held tens of thousands of cubic meters, the poor guy might be scared senseless. It was simply too shocking. The largest storage ring in the entire Spirit Realm probably only held a few hundred cubic meters. Claiming a thousand was already an exaggeration. Therefore, it was better to keep a low profile. As the saying goes, silent fortune-building is the hallmark of a king!

"What is that look you’re giving me?" Lin Yanghao noticed Zeng Quan staring at him with stars in his eyes.

"Nothing, nothing! Big Brother, who exactly are you?" Zeng Quan was consumed by curiosity; Lin Yanghao was like an enigma to him.

"Me? Who do you think I am? I’m obviously a good person," Lin Yanghao replied, dodging the question. He couldn't tell him he was from the Southern Territory, nor could he mention that he was cultivating the heaven-defying "Chaos Deity Art," or that he possessed the formidable Chaos Ring.

Seeing Lin Yanghao unwilling to speak, Zeng Quan stopped asking. Since continuing his own cultivation might trigger a Core Formation—and doing so here would be a death sentence—Zeng Quan didn't dare to practice. Bored, he asked, "Big Brother, where do you plan to go after we escape the Heavenly Martial Sect?"

When asked, Lin Yanghao thought of Ling'er, who was still unconscious, and said firmly, "We are going to the Thousand Saint Swamp."

"Ah? What?"

"What’s wrong with the Thousand Saint Swamp?" Lin Yanghao asked, puzzled by Zeng Quan’s expression.

"There’s nothing wrong with it, but have you forgotten? I just came back from there not long ago," Zeng Quan said helplessly.

"We’ll go again! Who knows, maybe we’ll have better luck this time? Trust Brother Hao, and you’ll gain eternal life! Follow Brother Hao, and we’ll feast like kings!" Lin Yanghao recalled their first meeting, which had indeed taken place there.

***

"I’m going to cultivate. Don’t bother me if there’s nothing important; you can play on your own for now," Lin Yanghao said before heading to a small corner of the Treasure Pavilion.

"Hahaha, these medicinal pills are enough to last me through the Core Formation stage," Lin Yanghao thought excitedly as he looked at the rows of bottles. Besides the standard Peiyuan Pills, Biluo Pills, and Lingpo Pills, there were others he hadn't seen before, labeled Luo'e Pills and Xuanyu Pills. He didn't know their specific uses, but anything kept in the treasure vault couldn't be bad.

Peiyuan Pills increased cultivation speed; Biluo Pills were for tempering the physical body, perfect for his Divine Strike Technique; and Lingpo Pills were for strengthening divine sense. With these, his progress would surely accelerate significantly.

"Since I can't practice internal energy, I’ll cultivate my divine sense. Let’s see how effective these Lingpo Pills are." Not satisfied with his current reach of several hundred meters, he took two pills and swallowed them.

If anyone else knew his thoughts, they would have berated him: "You're complaining about several hundred meters? What does that make us with our dozens of meters?"

As the pills hit his stomach, a wave of intense heat surged through him, making him feel quite uncomfortable.

...

"Wait! Why am I being so stupid?" Le Hao suddenly stopped in mid-air, cursing himself before turning back toward the Heavenly Martial Sect. He had searched everywhere outside the sect; he should have found them even if they were as small as a fly. If Lin Yanghao were really outside, he couldn't have escaped his pursuit. Therefore, he must still be hiding within the sect.

Meanwhile, unaware that his plan had been seen through, Lin Yanghao continued to cultivate his divine sense. Breaking the thousand-meter barrier was not easy. The process caused a tearing sensation in his soul, nearly knocking him unconscious several times.

***

"This pill is truly potent; I can barely hold on," Lin Yanghao thought, realizing he had been too reckless to take two at once. Usually, one was more than enough for anyone. He had to consume the medicinal power quickly, or his soul would be torn apart.

"Oh no! This is bad! What do I do? Whatever, sink or swim!" During the refinement process, his Dantian had begun to form a core of its own accord. This panicked him—if he formed his core here, the resulting heavenly tribulation would attract everyone from the sect, leading to his certain doom.

"Forget it! If I don't form the core now, I'll choke to death anyway!" He popped a Core Formation Pill into his mouth.

"What is happening? Why is Big Brother forming a core? Won't that attract Le Hao immediately?" Sensing the spiritual energy rushing toward Lin Yanghao, even Zeng Quan, who was right beside him, could not help but be alarmed.

Le Hao, having just returned to the sect, sensed the disturbance at the Treasure Pavilion and rushed over. He arrived to find the building in ruins. He stood frozen, his mouth twitching as he nearly fainted. The vault was a total wreck and completely empty. All the treasures had long since been tucked away into Lin Yanghao's Chaos Ring.

"Who did this?!" Le Hao roared in fury.

Inside the pavilion, Lin Yanghao knew Le Hao was outside, but he was too deep into the process to stop. A golden core model had already formed in his Dantian; he only needed to survive the tribulation to reach the Core Formation stage. He ignored the man outside, focusing every second on his breakthrough.