Chapter 703 - 410: Forming the Golden Core

But before it vanished, Zou Feng clearly heard the light laughter of a woman.

He looked at the List of Gods again and saw a new name, one so bright it was impossible to look at directly.

Indeed, the most ridiculously bright name on the List of Gods before—one that seemed bright enough to blind you—had been Gongyang Marquis.

This new name, however, was so bright it was literally impossible to make out. It was utterly absurd.

But even without being able to see it, the identity of the person was obvious.

The Queen Mother of the Ninefold Celestial Court had happily made her way onto the list, all because of her fondness for delicious food.

It also gave Zou Feng an immense headache.

Normally, Zou Feng would have been thrilled to have such powerful figures on the list. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

But when it came to unfathomable beings like Gongyang Marquis and the Queen Mother, it was best they stayed off the list—at least until Zou Feng himself reached their level.

Especially since Gongyang Marquis saw him as the King of Human Gu, and the Queen Mother considered him a top-tier delicacy...

’Whatever, it’s useless to overthink it. Fortunately, with my Cultivation speed that ignores side effects, after Core Formation, Nascent Soul won’t be far off.’

Not long after the Queen Mother’s prying gaze vanished, the sphere’s rotation gradually slowed to a stop. A Golden Core, blazing like a star within the Celestial Gate, had formed.

The next moment, Zou Feng’s Divine Thought drifted forward of its own accord and touched the "star."

BOOM—

The instant he touched it, everything around him exploded, and even the Celestial Gate dissipated.

Zou Feng’s Divine Thought completely fused into the "star."

Simultaneously, the external tornado formed from Primordial Chaos Qi also dissipated with startling speed.

The abandoned village clearly appeared, and Zou Feng’s figure, sitting cross-legged in the open space, also became visible.

A moment later, Zou Feng slowly opened his eyes. What radiated from his body was no longer the Spiritual Qi of the Dao Foundation Realm, but the aura of Rule Power.

Bizarre and unpredictable Laws of potent poison flowed around Zou Feng’s body. It felt as if getting poisoned just by approaching him was a foregone conclusion.

He had reached the Golden Core Realm!

"Now’s the time!"

"Kill him!"

Kong Yue, who had long been waiting for this opportunity, roared and was the first to strike.

From his sleeve, a large swarm of black poisonous insects flew out.

Each of these poisonous insects had mandibles that glinted with a cold light, a sight that would make anyone’s skin crawl.

The Yama Underworld had a form of torture called the Insect-Devouring Poison Prison, and Kong Yue was an expert in this art.

But although he roared, his voice was clearly trembling, revealing an unconcealable fear.

Yes, upon seeing Zou Feng’s figure clearly and sensing the aura around him, Kong Yue, also a Poison Cultivator, instantly felt a fear that stemmed from his very instincts.

It was like an ordinary venomous snake encountering a king cobra several times its size.

This completely shattered Kong Yue’s perception.

After all, Zou Feng had just broken through to the Golden Core Realm and should have been exhausted and extremely weak.

’Why does he seem so unfathomable, so terrifying?’

Shocked and bewildered, Kong Yue grew ruthless. ’No matter what, this brat must not be left alive!’

He released all the high-level poisonous insects he had raised without reservation, even casting a vicious Skill that would make them all self-destruct when necessary.

After Kong Yue made his move, the three subordinates behind him naturally didn’t just stand there foolishly.

But just as the three, who had intended to coordinate their attack, began to channel their Skills, two of them started vomiting blood uncontrollably.

The last one didn’t vomit blood, but he felt the world spin and could no longer stand, collapsing to the ground.

Evidently, Kong Yue’s three Dao Foundation Realm subordinates had been poisoned long ago.

For Dao Foundation Realm cultivators to observe Zou Feng’s Core Formation was a suicidal act in itself. The slightest overflow of Poison Dao Power was more than they could handle.

Only Kong Yue, a Judge and fellow Poison Cultivator, could temporarily remain largely unaffected.

Seeing his three subordinates taken out before they could even act, Kong Yue was stunned. ’Useless trash,’ he cursed inwardly, then grit his teeth and increased his power output.

And the situation that followed proved that Kong Yue’s judgment was, for the most part, correct.

Having just completed his Core Formation, the process had consumed a massive amount of energy. Zou Feng was indeed somewhat weak now. This left him unable to react in time to dodge, and he could only watch as the incredibly fast poisonous insects swarmed onto his body.

Seeing this, Kong Yue was overjoyed and let out a huge sigh of relief.

’Bitten by so many of my Black Death Cockroaches,’ he thought, ’no matter how great your Divine Skills are, you’ll be brought to your knees and suffer the agony of ten thousand insects devouring your body.’

However, the smile had barely formed on Kong Yue’s face before it froze.

Because he could clearly feel that his Black Death Cockroaches had indeed bitten Zou Feng, but... they couldn’t bite through. They couldn’t break his defense at all.

This was a situation Kong Yue had never encountered. He knew that even powerful experts at the Golden Core Realm Late Stage would dodge his Black Death Cockroaches frantically or use Skills or Magical Treasures to defend themselves.

’Who would dare let these things actually bite them!?’

Kong Yue couldn’t understand because he didn’t know that during Zou Feng’s Core Formation, his physical body had been reforged and restructured. An explosion had occurred within his sea of consciousness. All these ordeals had perfectly aligned with the Cultivation method of the Tribulation-Indestructible Body.

This allowed the Cultivation Skill to finally break through its final shackles and achieve a breakthrough.

"Tribulation-Indestructible Body (Unity of Heaven and Man), Progress: 2%"

So, although Zou Feng couldn’t dodge the incoming Black Death Cockroaches for the moment, he wasn’t the least bit panicked.

’Let them bite all they want,’ he thought. ’It’s just like an itch.’

Not only that, but as someone with extensive experience raising poisonous insects, the more Zou Feng looked at these ferocious-looking Black Death Cockroaches, the cuter he found them.

It was the same as always: as long as it was poisonous and didn’t defy the fundamental rules of existence, to Zou Feng, it was a supplement.

’Right now, I’m extremely weak from Core Formation and need to recover properly.’

’I never thought someone would immediately deliver so many supplements to me.’

It almost made Zou Feng want to shout his thanks to the Judge who had released the poisonous insects.

Without a doubt, all Zou Feng needed to do next was give a "Tiger Body Shakes." His weakened body wouldn’t need to expend any extra strength, Spiritual Qi, or anything else. With a simple ripple of his muscles, he could shake the Black Death Cockroaches that were futilely tearing at him until they were completely dazed and disoriented.

While the Black Death Cockroaches were nearly stunned, Zou Feng seized the opportunity to circulate his Poison Skill, extracting the toxins from the insects and instantly refining them.

Although the first batch of stunned Black Death Cockroaches numbered only a thousand, the amount of toxin Zou Feng refined wasn’t actually much.

But to him in his weakened state, this small amount of toxin was like a large gulp of fresh water after being thirsty for a long time.

He was instantly reinvigorated!

Next, he shot to his feet and grabbed at the empty air!

The tens of thousands of Black Death Cockroaches still swarming toward him were immediately sucked in as if by a black hole, compressed into a "ball of insects" in the blink of an eye.

Then, the hand Zou Feng had clenched tightened its grip once more.

With a sharp POP, the "insect ball" burst. The refined essence of the toxins glowed as it merged into Zou Feng’s arm.

Sacrificing tens of thousands of Black Death Cockroaches, quantity brought about a qualitative change. Zou Feng instantly wore the expression of someone who had eaten and drunk their fill. The weakness from his recent Core Formation was completely swept away.

And Kong Yue, who watched this scene unfold, was once again dumbfounded.

He had considered that his Black Death Cockroaches might not be able to harm Zou Feng, but he never imagined that his opponent could wipe them out so effortlessly.

’It even looks like my Black Death Cockroaches were refined by Zou Feng and turned into his supplements!?’

GULP...

Swallowing hard, Kong Yue had no other thoughts. He decisively turned around, preparing to flee as far as he possibly could.

However, just as Kong Yue was about to bolt, Zou Feng’s gaze locked firmly onto him.

"Since you’ve already come all this way, you plan on leaving without so much as a greeting?!"

As he spoke, Zou Feng’s aura surged. The Qi Force emanating from his body was like an expanding "black curtain," spreading to envelop Kong Yue, blotting out the sky and sun.

Seeing this, Kong Yue’s expression changed drastically. He hastily unleashed all his Spiritual Qi and fled for his life.

Risking everything and using all his strength, he truly burst forth with unprecedented speed.

Even Kong Yue himself was quite surprised that he could be so fast.

’At this rate, I should be able to... escape... right!?’

The thought had just formed in his mind when Kong Yue discovered to his horror that he should have already fled for dozens of miles!

So why was the black curtain Zou Feng had just released still spreading towards him from the side!?