296: Devouring Master

After completing all this, he then carefully opened the jade box.

Inside, a Medicinal Pill the size of a dragon's eye, wrapped in golden patterns and glowing with a misty, precious light, lay quietly. A rich medicinal fragrance, accompanied by pure and majestic Spiritual Qi, instantly filled the room.

This was the supreme treasure capable of helping a Golden Core Cultivator break through their Bottleneck—the Golden Core Pill!

Murong Jingyang's breathing quickened slightly, the longing in his eyes growing more intense.

However, he still suppressed the urge to swallow it immediately. He used his Divine Sense to scan the inside and outside of the Medicinal Pill repeatedly, probed it with his magical power, and even took out several rare Magical Artifacts for detecting poison and breaking illusions.

After testing it repeatedly and confirming there were no hidden dangers, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Everything is going smoothly; it seems even the heavens wish for me to attain the Golden Core!"

Murong Jingyang muttered to himself, then hesitated no longer. He carefully picked up the Golden Core Pill and placed it into his mouth.

His cultivation had long been polished to Perfection; it could be said that he was only lacking this "Golden Core Pill."

Moreover, the current situation did not allow him to hesitate; making a decisive choice to attempt the Breakthrough was the optimal solution.

"I hope it's not too late!"

As this final thought flashed through his mind, the Medicinal Pill dissolved upon entering his stomach, instantly turning into a torrent of scorching heat that erupted and dispersed within his body.

Murong Jingyang immediately centered his focus, fully operating his Cultivation Technique, and began to guide that majestic medicinal power to rush towards the Golden Core barrier.

...

Several days after Murong Jingyang went into seclusion and the Formation was operating at full power.

The unusual atmosphere within the Murong Family Territory eventually attracted the attention of some sensitive individuals.

In the west wing of the Guest Elder courtyard, a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator named Zhao Hu saw his expression gradually turn ugly after several failed attempts to send messages to the outside world.

He tested a few more times and discovered that not only were his communication Talismans ineffective, but even secret contact methods like certain contract secret arts were all blocked by an invisible force.

"Isolating the inside from the outside—what is the Murong Family trying to do?"

Zhao Hu felt uneasy. Recalling the recent anomaly of the Family guards suddenly increasing their patrols, he felt even more ominous.

Not daring to wait any longer, Zhao Hu decided to take a risk. He had to find a way to slip out of the Family Territory and report what was happening here to the power behind him.

However, just as he made a move, a cold voice drifted up from behind him.

"Guest Elder Zhao, where are you planning to go at this hour?"

Three Cultivators wearing the black robes of Murong Family deacons, their expressions indifferent, surrounded him in a triangular Formation; all of their auras were at the Foundation Establishment level.

In the hand of one of them, a Shadow-Peering Crystal was flickering with a faint light; clearly, every move Zhao Hu made had long been under surveillance.

Zhao Hu felt a chill run through his entire body, knowing that the matter had been exposed. Gritting his teeth, he was about to ignite a blood-colored escape Talisman hidden in his sleeve.

"Suppress!"

The leading deacon shouted sternly. The light of a pre-prepared Formation instantly rose from the ground, transforming into chains that tightly bound him, and the escape Talisman was easily interrupted.

Zhao Hu's face revealed despair. He was immediately sealed by a Restriction that locked his entire cultivation, and he was dragged toward the Family's prison.

Similar scenes played out one after another in different corners of the Murong Family.

Three other Guest Elders who had also sensed the anomaly and attempted to send messages outside or escape, along with two collateral Family members suspected of having overly close ties with the outside world, were all suppressed and captured with thunderous speed.

At dawn the next day, the plaza in front of the Murong Family's penal hall was filled with the scent of blood.

Five heads were hung high for all to see, the crime being "Spying on Family secrets, colluding with foreign enemies!"

As for their dozens of servants and associates, they all had their cultivation crippled or were sent to the mines to be slaves forever.

A cruel purge ended swiftly, silently concluding within the Murong Family during the critical period when Murong Jingyang was in seclusion attempting to break through his Bottleneck.

Within the Family Territory, everyone felt endangered and kept silent like cicadas in winter; no one dared to have any superfluous curiosity or make any extra moves.

Only the increasingly strong Spiritual Qi fluctuations outside the core quiet room revealed some omens.

The core of the storm was about to take shape!

Half a month later.

On this day, clouds surged and winds rose suddenly above the Murong Family Territory. A massive vortex of Spiritual Qi appeared out of thin air, and vast Spiritual Pressure poured down like a tidal wave, enveloping the entire Family Territory.

Following this, this majestic anomaly crashed through the isolation of the Murong Family's Tier 2 protective Family Formation, sweeping outward and affecting an area of several dozen miles!

Such a commotion immediately aroused the vigilance of the many powers in the Black Sha Marsh, especially the three Golden Core families that dominated the area.

Deep within the Liu Family Territory, a pair of eyes that had been closed for a long time suddenly opened. A trace of shock and doubt first flashed across them, and then his Divine Sense spread out like a great net, probing toward the source of the commotion.

The next moment, the shock and doubt in his eyes turned into monstrous rage!

"How bold!"

A roar carrying the pressure of a Golden Core shook the palace.

The next moment, this figure had transformed into a stream of light and rushed out of the Family Territory, carrying a whistling sound as it tore through the air, speeding toward the Poison Marsh Ridge.

Almost at the same time, from another direction in the Black Sha Marsh, another stream of light tore through the sky and shot over rapidly.

The two arrived above the Poison Marsh Ridge almost one after the other, then looked down with gazes like lightning.

They saw that in the center of the Murong Family Territory, a dazzling pillar of Spiritual Qi shot into the sky. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a ten-mile radius was being frantically drawn in, forming a huge vortex.

In the center of the vortex, rosy clouds vaguely swirled and the sound of the Dao softly chimed—this was clearly the Heaven and Earth anomaly of a Golden Core about to be formed!

"To think they started Core Formation without a sound; truly, they have great courage!" Teng Family Old Ancestor Teng Qianjue spoke first. Although his brows were deeply furrowed, there was even a hint of approval in his hoarse voice.

Although this person's Core Formation caught him off guard, he was not the one who should be most worried at this moment.

Thinking of this, the Teng Family Old Ancestor turned his head to look at Liu Wusheng, whose face was as dark as water beside him, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, the dog you raised is trying to bite its master; aren't you going to do something about it?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Wusheng's face turned livid. Killing intent surged in his eyes, and he had long since sentenced the Murong Family to death in his heart.

He said coldly: "Just a clown, thinking that finding a shred of Opportunity means they can turn the tables. After he finishes Undergoing Tribulation, I will personally let him understand what a world of difference there is between Golden Cores."

However, despite saying this, Liu Wusheng did not actually make a move.

It was not that he did not want to, but that the Opportunity had been lost.

If he had struck at the very first moment the Heaven and Earth anomaly appeared, he might have been able to rely on his cultivation to forcibly interrupt the Core Formation process.

But now the anomaly had completely taken shape, and thunderclouds were gradually gathering above the firmament.

Clearly, the Golden Core Lightning Tribulation was brewing!

If he were to rashly interfere at this time, not only would it be difficult to kill Murong Jingyang, but it might instead trigger a backlash from the Heavenly Tribulation. If he were locked onto by the Lightning Tribulation as someone also Undergoing Tribulation, that would be seeking his own death.

"Hmm?" At this moment, Teng Qianjue suddenly frowned and scanned his surroundings. "Why is that old ghost from the Hu Family completely silent?"

He gazed far toward the direction of the Hu Family Territory, only to see that there was no movement there, nor were there any traces of Cultivators coming to investigate.

"Strange... is Old Ghost Hu really just going to sit by and ignore this?"

Doubts sprouted in Teng Qianjue's heart. "Could this old ghost be plotting something in secret? Or is it possible he has already colluded with the Murong Family?"

But this did not seem to make sense.

The structure of the Black Sha Marsh had been set for many years; the appearance of an additional Golden Core True Person would mean an extra person to share the spoils. How could the Hu Family Old Ancestor be willing to hand over his benefits to others?

The two stood in the air, their thoughts racing for a moment, but both remained silent, locking their gazes firmly on the Poison Marsh Ridge below, where Spiritual Qi was churning.