Chapter 601 - 412: Stepping into the 5th Level of Golden Core

The Ghost Cultivator retorted, "How many Cultivators in this world are truly self-disciplined?"

"Tch!"

Although Xu Qingxuan felt there was some truth to his words, he refused to back down. After making his contempt clear, he challenged, "So I suppose you’ve never done a single unconscionable thing?"

The Ghost Cultivator shook his head. "Of course I have, but only when I was forced to. For example, a few decades ago at Fire Ant Mountain, I was ambushed. I had no choice but to kill them all. In any case, if they wanted to kill me, they had to be prepared to be slaughtered by me in return..."

Back then, the various fiends hiding deep within White Mountain all called Beiding Mountain "Fire Ant Mountain," because it was home to a massive number of Tier One Fire Ants.

During the war of expansion, Beiding Mountain was the very flashpoint where the Ghost Cultivator had appeared. In that battle, he was ultimately no match for the forces sent by the Great Zhou Academy. He fled in a panic and was eventually trapped in this very place.

At the mention of this, the Ghost Cultivator’s mood soured. He finished preparing the Bone Altar before him and said to Xu Qingxuan, "It’s ready. Sit inside."

Gazing at the bizarre Bone Altar, a wave of fear washed over Xu Qingxuan. But he was completely at the other’s mercy, with no room to resist.

Once Xu Qingxuan obediently moved his body and sat inside the Magic Altar, the Ghost Cultivator solemnly took out a black bowl. Even though his vital points were sealed and his Magical Power was locked away, Xu Qingxuan could feel the souls trapped within the bowl being slowly ground down. A wave of heavy, negative emotions—venomous resentment, bitter hatred—spread out from it, enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

In complete contrast to Xu Qingxuan’s discomfort, the Ghost Cultivator had the opposite reaction. He lovingly brought the soul bowl to his cheek, caressing it a few times. Only then did he reluctantly reach inside. He pulled out a soul—one that had been tortured until it had forgotten its own nature and knew only a craving for fresh souls—and held it pinched between his fingers.

’The soul of a Golden Core Cultivator?’

"Heh heh heh... Sharp eyes. This is the soul of a Golden Core Cultivator. Among those who ambushed me back then, he was a decent one. I’ve treasured this for many years. If I weren’t trying to escape today, I wouldn’t bear to part with it. You’d better seize this opportunity."

After speaking, the Ghost Cultivator stuffed the Golden Core Cultivator’s soul into the Bone Array before him. Instantly, black flames ignited on Xu Qingxuan’s body.

"Your innate ability is the Golden Lotus Planted in Fire. But with your current cultivation, you wouldn’t be able to activate it even if you reached the late-stage Golden Core realm. I am using the soul of a Golden Core Cultivator as fuel to help you manifest it. All you need to do is, when the Golden Lotus appears, show us the key to our escape."

Black flames erupted from the Bone Altar. Xu Qingxuan’s face contorted in agony as he roared:

"Golden Lotus Planted in Fire! My fate is my own to decide, not the heavens’!"

"Heh heh heh... Enjoy it to the fullest!"

......

Time passes quickly when one is focused, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by. Outside the Black Land, Fang Qingyuan sat cross-legged to one side. The expanse of Black Land next to him was now a gaping chasm. In this place, untouched by humans for thousands of years, Fang Qingyuan silently absorbed the black soil, adding to the foundation of his Immortal Mansion.

Now, after half a year, Fang Qingyuan had transported tens of thousands of tons of black soil into his Immortal Mansion. The land inside the mansion, having absorbed such a massive quantity, had taken on an even deeper, pitch-black hue.

And just then, at that very moment half a year later, Fang Qingyuan slowly opened his eyes. He could feel that during this process, his cultivation had unexpectedly broken through the threshold of the Fourth-Layer Golden Core and entered the realm of the Fifth-Layer Golden Core.