214: You old bastard, just you wait!

Lu Ming furrowed his brow deeply.

This Ji Imperial Family is too sinister. How could they casually give away a Cultivation Technique like this?

If the Chu Family hadn't been targeted by him, given enough time to slowly develop, it was truly possible for a newly advanced Golden Core to appear.

Doesn't the Ji Imperial Family fear raising a tiger that will cause trouble, only to prepare a wedding dress for someone else?

Lu Ming shook his head. If he could figure this out, there was no reason the Golden Core Ancestor of the Ji Family couldn't.

Since that's the case, there must be a catch to this Cultivation Technique!

If one reverses the logic of this matter, a conclusion can be drawn.

A Golden Core Ancestor would never do something useless!

Since they handed out this Cultivation Technique, they definitely kept a trump card, and their goal must be to improve their Realm!

If they are already Golden Core, what else can they improve?

The answer is self-evident!

That is... Nascent Soul!

Exactly! Lu Ming couldn't think of any other possibility besides Nascent Soul that would make a Golden Core Ancestor go to such lengths!

Thinking of this, Lu Ming couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

“From the looks of it, the person from the Ji Family who gave out the Cultivation Technique has the intention of forced ripening.”

The Southern Wilderness Region only has four Golden Cores in total, and since the balance of power hasn't changed for so many years, it can only mean that the person from the Ji Family has absolutely no way to deal with the other three Immortal Masters.

But what should they do if Cultivation requires enough Golden Cores?

Naturally, they can only Cultivate new ones!

And to avoid causing trouble for themselves, the Golden Cores they Cultivate absolutely cannot escape the control of the Ji Family member.

Therefore, this Cultivation Technique must contain a hidden trick. It is likely that as long as someone Cultivates it, even if they advance to Golden Core, they will not be able to escape his grasp!

But couldn't the Old Ancestor of the Chu Family see such an obvious goal?

Lu Ming thought it was impossible; the Ji Imperial Family didn't deliberately try to hide this objective at all.

Yet, the Old Ancestor of the Chu Family still resolutely chose to Cultivate it.

There was no choice. With the temptation of a Golden Core Breakthrough right in front of him, not everyone could maintain a firm Dao Heart.

“Perhaps the Old Ancestor of the Chu Family harbored a delusion that once he successfully Broke through to Golden Core, he would be a Fellow Daoist of the same rank, and might be able to escape control, or even counterattack!”

Lu Ming shook his head. This was an open scheme.

Either he didn't Cultivate and would never Break through, dying of old age when his Lifespan ran out.

Or he Cultivated and perhaps had a sliver of hope. This wasn't a difficult choice.

Lu Ming, who had carefully studied the Asura Dharma Body, understood this deeply.

This was a fast-track method!

As long as one was ruthless enough, the Golden Core was practically within reach. Who would bother with arduous Cultivation then?

But this was a trap!

And... “Damn it! I Cultivated it too!”

Lu Ming was going crazy. Didn't the Clone read the whole thing before Cultivating it?!

“Useless trash! I'll melt you down later!”

Lu Ming glared fiercely at the Puppet Clone standing motionless beside him, cursing under his breath.

Complaining aside, Lu Ming actually wasn't too worried.

At worst, he could discard his Cultivation and start over. As long as he didn't touch that Cultivation Technique, what could that Golden Core geezer do to him?

But he also knew that was impossible.

He knew his own personality very well.

To put it nicely, it was ambition; to put it harshly, it was greed.

Asking him to give up this Tier 3 Cultivation Technique that he had obtained with such difficulty was absolutely impossible!

Since that was the case, Cultivation was inevitable.

As for what to do about the hidden mechanism inside, it was simple.

If he couldn't solve the problem, he would solve the person causing the problem. Wouldn't killing the Ji Family Old Ancestor suffice?

Once he seized this Cultivation Technique, he would transform from a fattened pig ready for slaughter into the mastermind behind the farming of all sentient beings.

Hmm, even though that sounded ridiculous.

After all, a Golden Core was the heaven of the Southern Wilderness Region. An ant attempting to devour the heavens sounded ignorant and arrogant no matter how you looked at it.

But Lu Ming had the golden book!

I'll use your Cultivation Technique to Cultivate, and we'll see if you are drained to death by me first, or if I Break through and chop you to death!

Moreover, he wouldn't just Cultivate it—he would Cultivate it fiercely, practicing every secret technique and Spell listed in the Asura Dharma Body.

Old Bastard, just you wait!

“Heh heh heh...” Lu Ming laughed sinisterly.

Having figured this out, he was completely free of psychological burden.

Withdrawing his Divine Soul, Lu Ming began selecting the secret techniques he favored.

“There's no need to mention the 'Myriad Spirits Congealing Elixir Secret Record.' The blood god child Incarnation is also mandatory.”

As for the Blood-Drawing Foundation-Seizing Method?

“Hmm... I don't need it for now. I'll make plans after Breaking through to Golden Core. At least right now, I can stack up my Realm using resources and don't rely too much on Spiritual Root talent.”

The Burning Soul Lamp Lighting Method—this means burning one's spiritual nature and igniting the soul, a Cultivation Technique used to temporarily boost strength.

“Hmm, this one is good!”

The Mysterious Yin Soul Slaying Slash—this move does not harm the Physical Body, only the Divine Soul.

“I'll learn it!”

The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Method—it draws upon the power of the Heavenly Demon by sacrificing one's life essence.

“Emmm, isn't this just a human bomb? It's quite a bit stronger than self-detonation.”

Seeing this, Lu Ming hesitated. Could he still transfer out after self-detonating?

After all, this wasn't just an injury; this was utter annihilation of body and soul.

However, he should prioritize learning it, just in case.

If he ever encountered a truly fatal crisis, he could at least drag his opponent down with him.

Lu Ming continued to pick and choose, gathering techniques for temporary strength enhancement, offense, and evasion.

Most of these Cultivation Techniques were Tier 2, but that didn't prevent them from still being suitable for Golden Cores.

Just like that, time quietly flowed by.

Lu Ming did not venture out to cause trouble again, quietly Cultivating in his Immortal Cave, while his Clone held the fort at the Talisman Store. Life passed by uneventfully.

Unconsciously, three years passed just like that.

—

The endlessly stretching Cloud Mist Mountain Range lay across the vast land.

A streak of cyan light suddenly swept across the sky, tearing a shallow trace through the clouds before being immediately shredded by the turbulent flow.

It tirelessly traversed for an unknown duration, crossing gloomy valleys filled with poisonous miasma and bypassing forbidden lands occupied by Great Yao Beasts.

Finally, this streak of light rushed out of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, revealing its form.

This was clearly a cyan Flying Boat, though its hull was now covered in scars and dents.

The protective Formation on the port side was flickering erratically, each flash accompanied by a harsh cracking sound.

Clearly, the journey had been fraught with danger!

“Phew~ We finally escaped!”

“Yes, we finally got out...”

On the deck, two Cultivators looked over the railings toward the distance, their eyes filled with poorly concealed excitement and exhaustion.

To evade that damned enemy, they had no choice but to flee into the boundless Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

However, this mountain range seemed to form its own world; not only was the magnetic field chaotic, making direction difficult to discern, but it was also riddled with natural dangers and powerful Yao Beasts. Several accidental entries almost pushed them to desperation.

Although they managed to escape by chance, they paid a heavy price. Otherwise, why would two Golden Core Cultivators be reduced to sharing this mere Tier 2 Flying Boat!

The two exchanged glances, both seeing the sorrow and bitterness in the other's eyes.

Half a lifetime of accumulation, gone in a single morning! They could absolutely be called the poorest Golden Core True Persons right now!

But fortunately, they were alive and out. As long as they were out, there were infinite possibilities!

However, the unfamiliar region before them did not correspond to any location they remembered.