Chapter 504 - 473: The Secret of the Spirit Star Race and the Golden Core Dao

In the mine shaft, tears suddenly welled up in the silver-haired old woman’s eyes.

Song Ciwan saw her eyes redden. Then, filled with a sudden mix of hatred and fury, the woman grabbed a small pickaxe and slammed it against the nearby cave wall.

BANG!

But the blow left the wall completely unscathed.

Not only was it undamaged, but an incredibly powerful rebound force erupted from the wall, sending the small pickaxe flying back!

The sharp, silver tip of the pickaxe shot toward the old woman’s face. If she hadn’t dodged with a quick tilt of her head, it might have smashed right through her skull.

The old woman let out a breath. The loving smile on her face vanished, and her tone shifted in an instant, becoming sinister and cold.

She said, "Even this Five Elements Crystal Pearl Ore plays favorites. When I try to mine it, I can’t even break the wall. But if a member of the Spirit Star Race were here, they could easily collect any Five Elements Crystal Pearl they wanted."

The old woman chuckled humorlessly. "I am a dignified Earth Immortal, a master of the Nascent Soul Stage, yet I can’t break a mere cave wall. How absurd! How laughable!"

She laughed as she spoke, her words seeming to be for herself, yet also deliberately aimed at Master Chen.

Or perhaps she was just full of pent-up resentment with nowhere to vent it.

Since Master Chen was here, she spoke to him. Had it been anyone else, she likely would have said the same things to them.

She was completely unconcerned about who might overhear her.

One look at her loving face, where even the wrinkles seemed to be deposits of gentleness, and you would never guess her true temperament: utterly explosive and frighteningly unstable.

Master Chen, still on his knees, sped up his crawling after hearing the old woman’s tirade.

He carefully moved around the Spirit Star Race girl on the ground and crawled to the old woman’s feet. Bracing himself with his hands, he looked up with a tone of sincere reverence and said, "Grandmother, you are not only a Human Race Earth Immortal, but you have also reached the Nascent Soul Stage. Your Lifespan has increased immensely, and eternal life is within your grasp.

So what if the Spirit Star Race has a superior foundation? Before you, Grandmother, they are helpless. It was Heaven’s blessing upon our Zhang Family that guided us to discover their existence.

The people of this race are all simple-minded. They may have talent, but they are like children holding treasure! You have no reason to feel slighted, Grandmother. The Celestial Dao favors our Zhang Family—it favors you!"

Master Chen’s words were both sincere and passionate—a masterclass in flattery.

Who doesn’t like to hear pleasant things?

The old woman tossed the pickaxe aside and began to smile kindly again.

As if snapping out of a daze, she asked Master Chen, "You just said the sects of the Nine Provinces have gone too far. What exactly happened? Tell me everything."

Master Chen quickly gathered himself and recounted all the news he had received from Wu the Ninth.

As he spoke, he didn’t embellish the facts, instead relaying what Wu the Ninth had told him as objectively as possible.

The old woman’s expression remained serene as she listened. When he finished, she suddenly let out a sneer. "The people of the Nine Provinces are so hypocritical," she mocked with a dry laugh. "Since Qionghua Pavilion has suddenly gone mad, we might as well lie low for a while.

If we don’t, these great families and sects of the Nine Provinces, who love to brand us as outsiders, might suddenly decide to unite against a common enemy. If that happens, our Zhang Family will have done them a favor by helping them achieve unity!"

As she spoke, Master Chen, kneeling at her feet, nodded repeatedly.

He then offered another round of compliments, things like, "Your insight is profound, Grandmother," "You are so farsighted," "Your judgment is unerring," and "You have a grand strategy in mind..." He lavished all kinds of praise on her freely.

He praised her until she was visibly pleased. The earlier moment of madness seemed to have never happened. Her expression grew even more loving, and she even reached out a smooth, white hand to gently pat Master Chen’s head, as if stroking an adorable junior.

Though Master Chen’s appearance had nothing whatsoever to do with the word "adorable."

Yet Master Chen tilted his head and obediently nuzzled her palm.

Song Ciwan: ...

The hidden Song Ciwan had to use every ounce of her willpower not to immediately look away.

She felt like her eyes had been seared. They even hurt a little.

’It’s like they say, the world is a vast and strange place. There are just too many weird people and weird things out there. If you don’t let it bother you, it loses its power. Stay calm, stay calm.’

Song Ciwan then noticed the old woman’s hand. Her face was ancient and covered in wrinkles, but her hand looked remarkably young. Its skin was fair and full, almost like a young maiden’s.

Song Ciwan immediately started pondering Master Chen’s earlier words.

’Master Chen said the old woman is both a Refining Spirit Earth Immortal and a Nascent Soul Stage Immortal Seeker.’

’The Nascent Soul Stage!’

This was the first time Song Ciwan had ever seen a living Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

’Master Chen also said: *achieve Nascent Soul, and your Lifespan will increase immensely, with eternal life within reach!*’

’Could it be that the Cultivation of an Immortal Seeker can even reverse aging?’

Song Ciwan received an answer to this question almost immediately.

The old woman continued to stroke Master Chen’s head, her tone growing even gentler. "You are a good child, so now Grandmother will teach you something more. You must understand, this Nine Provinces, this Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty... it is not a monolithic bloc."

A small smile played on the old woman’s lips, and her wrinkled eyes narrowed slightly. She said slowly, "There’s no need to panic when things happen. A calm mind is what finds the opportunity for victory."

This instructive tone made Master Chen even more docile.

Master Chen lifted his head, even pressing his cheek against the old woman’s palm. "Grandmother’s teachings are a revelation to me. I beg you to teach me more."

The old woman stroked his cheek as one would a child’s and said gently, "You must understand, people have a contentious nature. If there’s an external enemy, they might just unite to fight it.

But as soon as that external enemy is gone, heheh, they can’t find anyone else to fight, so they can only turn on each other.

Chen, my child, on one hand, we must lie low and avoid a direct confrontation with Qionghua Pavilion. On the other hand, we must accumulate as many Five Elements Crystal Pearls as possible and send them out to be sold to the scions of the great families and the geniuses of the sects in the Mortal World who are Refining Golden Cores."

Master Chen was shocked. "Sell the Five Elements Crystal Pearls? But Grandmother, we don’t even have enough for our own family! With another Five Elements Crystal Pearl Ore mine like this one, you might even be able to break through the Nascent Soul Stage and enter the Soul Emergence Stage.

Th-this... How can we possibly sell the Five Elements Crystal Pearls?"

Hearing this, Song Ciwan understood something else. The Five Elements Crystal Pearls could directly help Cultivators of the Golden Core Dao advance rapidly!

This was astonishing. The value of the Five Elements Crystal Pearls would have to be completely re-evaluated!

But the old woman said, "Silly child. We *want* them to advance quickly, to get a taste of the benefits and sweetness of Refining Golden Core. Success in Foundation Establishment grants three hundred years of Lifespan. Success in Golden Core grants three thousand. And success in Nascent Soul grants ten thousand!

Even a True Immortal might not have a Lifespan of ten thousand years! If one can cultivate to the Soul Emergence Stage, even reversing one’s age is not a problem. Who could possibly resist such a temptation?"