Chapter 688 - 403: Rebirth from a Desperate Situation

Wolf poison was treacherous, while Dragon Poison was tyrannical.

And the clam poison possessed an extremely potent allure.

It was a fatal attraction, one you knew was poison yet desperately longed to draw near.

Just like those "Great Medicines" under Yu Qing, they had long been so bewitched that they would willingly offer up everything they had.

They felt no resistance toward the possibility of being used for Refinement by Yu Qing at any moment; instead, they considered it an honor.

That was why the clam poison could be called the perfect poison for creating simps.

As Zou Feng focused on its Refinement, this characteristic of the clam poison was rapidly integrated into his Poison Dao.

Although he couldn’t completely finish the Refinement of such a large amount of clam poison at the moment, once his Poison Dao integrated its characteristics, Zou Feng’s entire aura underwent a distinct change.

The Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect was filled with handsome men and beautiful women. And while Zou Feng was certainly devilishly charming and unrestrained, his looks alone were of limited value.

Now, however, after the Refinement of the clam poison, his aura gained an indescribable, ineffable charm. It was highly likely that anyone of a lower Realm than him would fall for it unconsciously.

Unless he actively suppressed this quality, even wearing a mask would send people’s imaginations running wild.

But the changes brought by the clam poison’s Refinement were not limited to this.

Zou Feng’s Heart Spirit had already automatically immersed itself within the Celestial Gate in his sea of consciousness.

The last time he was here, the Primordial Chaos Qi had just begun to take on a spherical shape.

Now, this "sphere" was growing ever more condensed, looking as if it could solidify at any moment.

Seeing this, Zou Feng couldn’t help but be astonished.

’I originally thought that to reach this state, I would have to completely finish the Refinement of the several Golden Core-level demon poisons I recently obtained.’

’I might even have needed Shangguan Rongrong’s help collecting the other Five Poison Creatures to advance my Primary Cultivation Skill, the Five Poison Holy Lotus Skill, and start the process of Building the Golden Core.’

’I never expected that it’s already about to be a Formed Pill!?’

’That’s right. I can’t say I’ll break through to the Golden Core Realm immediately, but I definitely won’t need another year or so of accumulation as I’d originally estimated.’

’It’ll probably happen in the next few days. The Golden Core could form at any moment.’

’To be honest, this speed feels too fast. It could easily lead to an unstable foundation, maybe even leave behind some serious hidden dangers...’

’But then again, it’s not like I’ll be the one dealing with any hidden dangers. There’s no need to worry about that at all.’

With that thought, Zou Feng calmly accepted the fact that he was about to become a Golden Core Realm Great Cultivator.

Once he reached the Golden Core Realm, he could be called a "Great Cultivator" without issue. In any land or Outer Realm where Cultivation was paramount, he would absolutely be a major figure.

In some poor, backward Outer Realms, a Golden Core Realm Cultivator was an Immortal in the eyes of ordinary people, worthy of their incense and worship.

The reason the Golden Core Realm was such a huge step up from the Dao Foundation Realm was primarily due to the qualitative transformation of one’s Divine Sense.

Zou Feng was still in the Dao Foundation Realm. Although he had been able to use his Divine Sense from an early stage, its effects were extremely limited.

To put it bluntly, his use of Divine Sense only enhanced his Perception and its range.

But for a Golden Core Realm Cultivator, using Divine Sense was a completely different concept. A single sweep of their thoughts could expose every movement within at least a ten-li radius.

That is, unless the one being scanned possessed special Concealment techniques like Zou Feng.

And it wasn’t just an enhanced "scanning ability." The Divine Thought of a Golden Core Realm Cultivator contained an extremely potent power of the "Dao," which could also be called Rule Power.

While a Dao Skill follows the course of nature, "nature" itself cannot avoid operating according to rules.

The simplest application of this Rule Power is that a Golden Core Realm Cultivator need only send a thought, and an ordinary person can only act according to that thought’s will.

They would be unable to resist, even if that thought commanded them to drop dead on the spot.

Therefore, it was only natural that Golden Core Realm Cultivators were called gods in some poor, backward Outer Realms.

The only reason Zou Feng had been able to fight—and even defeat—those in the Golden Core Realm while still at the Dao Foundation Realm was because he had stacked all sorts of enhancing effects.

Moreover, the Great Universal Hand he practiced had reached the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, granting him an unbelievably strong mental resistance. This allowed him to largely withstand the ceaseless Divine Thought attacks emanating from Golden Core Realm Cultivators.

Furthermore, Zou Feng had fused with many different types of Exotic Poisons. He had even performed a partial Refinement of a Golden Core Realm demon poison back when he fought the Wolf Demon.

His Poison Dao drew from the strengths of many sources. This meant that while the quality of his Rule Power was far from that of the Golden Core Realm, he had enough quantity that he wouldn’t be at a significant disadvantage in a direct confrontation.

But all of this would soon be in the past. Once Zou Feng stepped into the Golden Core Realm, he would be able to immediately suppress at least ordinary Golden Core Realm Cultivators in a contest of Divine Sense.

"This is bad! Senior Sister Jiang can’t hold on much longer..."

Su Qingyu’s voice instantly pulled Zou Feng’s Heart Spirit from his sea of consciousness.

He looked up into the distance. Jiang Wanzhao truly was at her limit.

She could no longer even maintain the Thousand-Handed Asura Dharma Aspect she had just summoned.

And the Judge relentlessly pursuing her, while not as imposing as the "Great Bridal Sedan" they had previously encountered, was clearly no ordinary Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivator.

He wore a black robe with dark gold patterns and a white mask on his face. Wielding two iron tridents, he was pressing Jiang Wanzhao so hard she could barely catch her breath.