Qian Wenchao sent a domineering fist seal towards the illusory figure.
However, the anticipated scene of the figure being sent flying did not occur. The fist seal, as it entered the densest part of the spiritual energy, was actually absorbed.
It simply vanished, inexplicably.
Qian Wenchao was dumbfounded. What kind of technique was this? Was this the effect of his peak early Golden Core stage attack?
He refused to believe it and once again hurled a palm strike at the illusory figure.
This attack was more ferocious and violent than the last, but the result was the same. Like a stone sinking into the ocean, the palm strike seemed to be swallowed whole.
"Hmph!" Qian Wenchao snorted coldly. "Zhang Ergou, I know it's you! Come out and face your death!"
A gust of wind blew past, but no one answered his call.
Qian Wenchao attacked the phantom in the center of the dense fog again. Just like the previous two times, his spiritual energy attacks were like drops of water falling into the sea, causing no ripple whatsoever.
...
Inside Zhang Ergou's dantian, the sea of energy spun like a top, and the five-colored sphere formed at its center gradually grew larger.
In circles, the five-colored dust within Zhang Ergou's dantian converged towards the center, gradually forming a five-colored sphere about the size of a fist.
Zhang Ergou's eyes were tightly shut as he observed the state of his dantian and felt the changes in his body. The joy on his face grew more pronounced.
At this moment, he somewhat understood why Chi Yu had told him to wait until now to use spiritual energy and magic skills.
When suppressed to a certain extent, the energy spontaneously released by the dantian was powerful. If not for the deliberate suppression, Zhang Ergou would not have been able to break through to the next realm so quickly.
As the five-colored inner core was about to form within him, the realm he was about to break through to was not the peak Foundation Establishment, but the early Golden Core stage!
This was a realm that countless cultivators dreamed of. Some remained at the Foundation Establishment stage for ten, thirty, fifty years, or even their entire lives without breaking through, thus fading into the river of time.
Upon reaching the Golden Core stage, a cultivator's lifespan could extend to five hundred years, an achievement that was difficult for many to attain.
The greatest benefit of increased lifespan was having more time to break through to the next realm.
The cultivation of a cultivator, fighting against people, against the land, and against the heavens, was ultimately a struggle for cultivation resources. Time, however, was the most precious resource for a cultivator.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou recalled the old man who had lived for over five thousand years, beneath the cliff deep within the outer sect's spiritual herb garden.
Even with cultivation reaching such a high level, the ultimate outcome was to turn into a wisp of dust. The energy of this world was far beyond human imagination.
Suddenly, Zhang Ergou shivered. Just now, he had almost fallen prey to the Heavenly Dao's petty tricks; for a moment, his Dao heart had nearly collapsed. Su Dan Novel Network.
How dangerous!
Zhang Ergou breathed a sigh of relief, his mind unwilling to relax, becoming even more cautious.
Perhaps earlier he had thought that breaking through to the Golden Core stage was merely the transformation of spiritual liquid into an inner core. But the moment his mind nearly faltered, it made him even more vigilant.
Fighting against people and against heaven and earth, the most dangerous foe was actually this Heavenly Dao.
Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Ergou had almost been influenced by the Heavenly Dao. If he could not guard his true heart, who knew what the consequences would be.
Looking inward at his dantian, the five-colored inner core was gradually taking shape, and its rotational speed had slowed down. As the critical moment approached, Zhang Ergou dared not let his guard down.
The scene from earlier was still vivid in his mind. The Heavenly Dao did not influence him with unfamiliar and terrifying things.
Instead, it used things that had left the deepest impression on him from his experiences to slowly erode him.
The Tai Xu old man beneath the cliff had left the deepest impression on Zhang Ergou in his short cultivation journey of less than two years, and was the person who had influenced him the most.
When he first met Ye Wushuang, Zhang Ergou had just begun cultivating and did not have a profound understanding of such transcendent matters.
Therefore, although he had obtained the spiritual fire from Ye Wushuang and had verbally promised to one day find that Chi Chen fellow to seek justice for the old man.
But at that time, when he was still ignorant of cultivation, he naturally wouldn't have had many strong feelings.
It was when he met the Tai Xu old man at the bottom of the cliff in the spiritual herb garden that Zhang Ergou, already at the Foundation Establishment cultivation level, was no longer a novice in cultivation.
The Tai Xu old man's words had deeply shaken him, leaving an indelible impression in his heart.
The Heavenly Dao was naturally the most cunning. It knew which moment or which person had the greatest influence on a cultivator, and that moment or person would be used as a weapon to influence the cultivator's breakthrough.
The scene of the Tai Xu old man's death naturally became the Heavenly Dao's weapon to influence Zhang Ergou's state of mind.
If the Heavenly Dao could speak, it would certainly be infuriated by Zhang Ergou's astuteness. It had barely begun to exert its influence and was already discovered by this brat.
It would be even more difficult to influence Zhang Ergou now...
Although this was Zhang Ergou's first encounter with such a situation, his astuteness had saved him from disaster.
The five-colored inner core in his dantian was gradually taking shape, and Zhang Ergou's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally began to relax...
Pop!
Faint popping sounds were heard, as if something had been unblocked. Suddenly, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth began to move again.
A massive vortex quickly formed, and the five-colored inner core within Zhang Ergou greedily absorbed the spiritual energy refined by the spiritual fire.
As his cultivation broke through, Zhang Ergou's divine sense also began to extend, an inch, two inches...
Gradually, with his eyes closed, Zhang Ergou could sense the changes around him.
Ten feet, twenty feet... Zhang Ergou saw an unfamiliar figure crazily attacking him, but his attacks seemed to have no effect, all being absorbed by the vortex of spiritual energy.
Continuing to extend outward, Zhang Ergou saw a person lying on the ground. How familiar!
Wasn't this Lin Yichen? Why was he lying there, looking as if he was at death's door? If he wasn't treated soon, he might perish!
Zhang Ergou's anger flared up instantly. He continued to probe outward, and his divine sense had already extended more than thirty feet. He saw Wang Teng and Xiao Qingyu lying there unconscious.
He also saw Lin Yueru and Lu Xiaoyu, crying and incapacitated.
Zhang Ergou was furious!
He no longer had the mood to appreciate the changes in his divine sense. With a single thought, his divine sense focused on the person who was constantly attacking him.
"I will kill you!" A low whisper escaped Zhang Ergou's lips. This person before him was likely the culprit who had injured Lin Yichen and the others.
Zhang Ergou could no longer afford to consider the five-colored inner core in his dantian absorbing spiritual energy. He unleashed a ferocious Fire Spirit Fist towards the person.
Ah!
Bang!
Puff!
Three distinct sounds rang out in succession. Qian Wenchao was caught off guard by the sudden Fire Spirit Fist. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
He smashed heavily onto the ground...