Chapter 133: Eight Golden Cores of Heavenly Might

“Master?!”
“Rest assured, it has been thoroughly refined and eradicated.”
“That’s good. I never imagined that the young master, hiding at the bottom of the Thunder Pool, would endure such peril…”
“By the way, Master, what kind of creature was that? Was it targeting you? Poor boy, caught in an undeserved calamity.”

Old Qin, exhausted and gasping, heard Gu Xiaopang’s words and immediately stiffened. Without hesitation, he gave Gu Xiaopang a couple of solid knocks on the head, causing him to grit his teeth and cry out in pain.

“You brat, what do you make of this creature?”
“This kind of monster? It’s suffused with a malevolent aura—clearly no good. Such beings ought to be wiped out wherever they appear, whole nests of them destroyed without mercy…”

As Gu Xiaopang exchanged views with Old Qin, it became clear that even someone as formidable and legendary as Old Qin did not recognize this creature or know where it came from. The faint notion that had appeared in Old Qin’s mind also surprised Gu Xiaopang greatly.

“By the way, Master, months ago when you refined that soul entity, you gained a substantial amount of pure soul energy.”
“Why was there none this time? That creature, though somewhat repulsive, was certainly powerful.”
“Well… I don’t know why either.”
“From start to finish, the refining process produced a considerable amount of pure energy, yet mysteriously, it vanished.”
“I also thoroughly examined your awareness realm and found no abnormalities.”

While the master and disciple were deep in conversation and contemplation, suddenly, from the boundless heights above, two beams of extraordinarily pure light shot directly toward the thunderclouds—more precisely, toward the master and disciple within the Thunder Pool itself.

Before either could react, one thick and one slender beam of sacred light pierced into their bodies and vanished without a trace.

“Senior Nangong, did you see that? Two beams of light…”
“I did see them, but I have no idea what they signify. I can only sense that these beams are extraordinary, yet their purpose remains a mystery.”
“The beams went into the thunderclouds. If I’m not mistaken, they were conjured by the young master.”

Far away, three figures exchanged guesses and speculations.

Back inside the thundercloud and thunder liquid pool, even Old Qin, who could barely evade the beams, was a bit flustered. But when the thick beam entered his soul body, he relaxed completely and began to accept it calmly.

Gu Xiaopang, without even having time to think of dodging, was immediately penetrated by the slender beam.

Then, both master and disciple fell into a profound silence, undergoing immense and transformative changes.

———

At the junction of the Southern and Central Regions, two powerful factions on the battlefield continued their fierce, desperate struggle.

You take off one of my shoulders; I stab through your abdomen.
You dare to explode yourself in a last-ditch effort? I’ll die with you.
You destroy one of my puppets; I’ll take your life in return.
You wail miserably; I suffer pains that pierce my soul…

On the Puppet Sect’s side, nearly half the combatants and puppets had fallen;
On the Asura Mansion’s side, a third of the warriors had perished.

Blood flowed like rivers, severed arms and legs lay scattered, stones and sand flew in all directions, and a blood-red sunset slanted across the sky.

The sounds of slaughter and screams, the crushing of flesh and cracking of bones, never ceased. Cold winds howled fiercely, as if mourning or awakening countless departed souls.

Though not as numerous as the original 300,000 warriors who had marched to Chang’an, the battlefields were each as fearsome and terrifying as if the domain of Asura itself had been torn open.

At this point, both sides had lost no fewer than forty thousand lives—genuine practitioners at the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages, including combatants and puppets.

The faction lords and sect leaders on both sides bled inwardly, fists clenched tightly with unyielding resolve.

For every general’s triumph, countless bones are shed, yet neither side dared utter even a single word about pausing, ceasing hostilities, or declaring a truce.

Countless onlookers watched—some overwhelmed with grief, others moved with sympathy, and many filled with lingering dread.

Such is the cultivation world: brutal contests of pride and power.

The lords of Asura Mansion and Puppet Sect did not wish to retreat; rather, they could not and dared not.

Over ten thousand years, countless great battles had erupted between mighty factions.

The lessons were bloody and harsh.

Many faction heads who, out of momentary pity, retreated even half a step were thereafter regarded as waning forces. This drew the covetous eyes of other factions, leading to their eventual downfall and dismemberment by the rising powers.

Others fought to the death, unwilling to yield an inch, forging a legacy of honor and martial spirit, even at the cost of grievous injuries and mutual destruction. Few dared provoke these battered yet indomitable forces for fear of fierce retaliation.

Of course, if an even stronger faction stepped in to mediate, that would be another matter.

“Master, shall we reinforce our troops?”
“Reinforce!”
“Sect leader, our reinforcements should arrive soon. I’ll urge them again.”
“Good!”

Two figures promptly took out several jade slips each, sending orders to redeploy and reinforce troops once more.

Spectators and scouts from various factions began reporting the imminent escalation of the battle.

Most factions maintained a calm facade upon receiving the news, but some of the smaller allied factions of the two great powers were grim-faced and trembling with fear as they reluctantly led their subordinates to the battlefield’s bloody fate.

———

“Master, you’re awake?”
“Hmph, just a moment before you.”
“How do you feel?”
“Very well. If I felt somewhat out of place with this world beforeI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.