The Ruin Tide
[A grueling 81-day alchemy experience has given you a completely new understanding of the Trait "Workaholic" and "Quality Sleep."]
[You recall the Great Sage from a past life's mythology.]
[I remember reading that the Great Sage was imprisoned in the Eight Trigrams Furnace for forty-nine days.]
[You thought it was an adjective used to describe something that takes a long time.]
[Now that you've personally worked tirelessly in front of the Pill Furnace for eighty-one days, you've finally realized that "Tom" is a verb.]
[Capitalists would weep upon hearing this, and even cattle and horses would kneel down.]
[You push open the Stone Gate of the cave abode.]
Two people were standing guard outside the door.
[It was Wang Zhenli and Li Yuanzhi, the two Third-Grade Alchemists from the Alchemy Chamber.]
Upon seeing you come out, the two of them immediately knelt down with a thud.
"Master Lu, you've finally come out! If you had gone into seclusion any longer, those Sword Cultivators would have torn our Alchemy Chamber down!"
[You paused for a moment, then helped the two up and asked them to explain what had happened.]
[During your first month of seclusion, the Alchemy Chamber was able to operate normally thanks to the supplies you had previously left behind.]
[By the second month, the ease with which he could navigate the Alchemy Chamber had vanished.]
[The inventory is depleted.]
[Although these two Third-Grade Alchemists have received your guidance and their pill-making rate has improved, how could they possibly match your insane production speed?]
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
[When the supply of Pills changed from being available immediately, to waiting one day, then three days, and finally seven days.]
The Sword Cultivators of Black Moon Gorge, accustomed to "delivery speed," were mentally devastated.
[Wounded soldiers retreating from the front lines lined up in a long queue outside the Alchemy Chamber, clutching their wounds that were emitting black smoke.]
[He was so hot-tempered that he even started drawing his sword and hacking at the doorposts.]
[Fortunately, you have extremely high prestige in the camp, and Lei Hanxiao has given a strict order that no one dares to force their way into your cave abode while you are in seclusion.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: Reassure everyone, start the oven immediately, and clear out the backlog of orders.]
[B: Take this opportunity to demand more authority and resources from Lei Hanxiao, and completely transform the Alchemy Chamber into his own independent kingdom.]
[C: Produces the "Lu's Pill Scarcity Marketing Plan," "What's the panic? Tell everyone outside that starting today, Pills will be allocated in limited quantities through a lottery system, with VIP customers given priority!"]
Could it be that Little B thinks this is a good opportunity?
However, Black Moon Gorge is the front line.
The worst thing is for factions to rise up and for generals to become disaffected.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[Help the two Third-Grade Alchemists up.]
"You two have suffered. Put up a sign to inform the entire camp that the Alchemy Chamber has resumed normal supplies."
[Wang and Li felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and almost knelt down again.]
[You have once again activated the Alchemy Chamber Steward mode.]
[You made up for a month's worth of backlog in just three days.]
[When the Sword Cultivators of Black Moon Gorge received the still-warm Pills, they almost kowtowed in the direction of your cave abode.]
[You've returned to the routine life of Black Moon Gorge Commandant.]
[Cultivate, refine pills, and then exchange military Sha Soul Crystals in the treasury.]
Time passed day by day.
[On this day, you were meditating in your cave abode.]
[The Spiritual Power within your body surges like a tidal wave under the influence of the massive medicinal power.]
[The Azure Origin Dao Canon operated at its maximum capacity, and the Dao patterns on the surface of the Golden Core grew brighter and brighter, as if it were about to come to life at any moment.]
[You sensed that solid bottleneck.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: To be on the safe side, stop cultivation, prepare for a few more days, and set up a protective Formation Technique before attempting the breakthrough.]
[B: Just go for it! Fortune favors the bold!]
[C: Takes out Communication Jade Slip and sends a message to Lei Hanxiao: "Boss, I need to request leave for personal growth. The estimated leave time is half a day. Please approve."]
Lu Ping looked at Little B.
Sure enough, when it really matters, we still have to rely on you.
Lu Ping chose B.
[You chose B.]
[Your mind stirred, and you no longer suppressed it.]
[You guided the Spiritual Power within your body, launching an assault on the barrier of the Golden Core Middle Stage realm!]
[Click.]
A barely perceptible soft sound exploded deep within your soul, like an eggshell shattering.
[You felt a sudden jolt, an indescribable sense of exhilaration coursing through your body.]
[His meridians were widened by more than double, and the Golden Core in his Dantian suddenly swelled to a whole size, its rotation speed increased, and the Spiritual Power it emitted became several times stronger!]
[Golden Core Middle Stage, achieved.]
[It's about the time you expected.]
[In less than three years, you have progressed from the Golden Core Early Stage to the Golden Core Middle Stage.]
[Age 20, Golden Core Middle Stage.]
[This speed, even among the top Aristocratic Clan of the Azure Dragon Upper Domain, would be considered the speed of a peerless genius.]
[You think that the Trait "Workaholic" would definitely be Grade A- level if it weren't for the "sudden death" debuff.]
[You focus your inner energy on your Dantian.]
[The Fire Crow Seed floats above the Golden Core.]
Its aura is even more terrifying than yours.
[Middle Condensation Core Stage.]
[This is equivalent to the Golden Core Perfection being perfected for Human Race cultivator.]
[After refining the Nine Netherworld Fire, the Red-Feather Fire Crow naturally advanced to the Middle Condensation Core Stage.]
[You, a twenty-year-old Golden Core True Person, a top-tier prodigy, have a cultivation level lower than even the bird you raised.]
[Activating the Breath-Concealing Technique.]
[Your aura quickly subsided, settling steadily at the Golden Core Early Stage realm.]
Life continues smoothly.
[Until one day a month later.]
The sky turned dark red, and even the wind carried a biting chill.
The concentration of Sha Qi outside the canyon surged.
Before nightfall, the piercing alarm blared throughout the entire camp.
A thought struck you.
[I've been in Black Moon Gorge for several months now.]
[Finally, are we going to witness the so-called "Ruin Tide"?]
[You step out of the cave abode and stand halfway up the mountain, looking down.]
The Formation Technique barrier at the canyon entrance has been pushed to its limit.
[Outside the barrier, the gray fog was as thick as ink, and countless Wandering Sha and Military Sha tumbled and rolled within it, impacting the Formation Technique.]
[Lei Hanxiao, clad in heavy silver armor, stood on the platform in front, a greatsword in his hand.]
The Formation Technique barrier at the canyon entrance was fluctuating violently, with bursts of black ripples constantly erupting on the grayish-white light screen.
[That's the Wandering Sha crashing into the Formation Technique like moths to a flame.]
["Array--"]
[He Zhantao's voice came through.]
Those veterans who usually seemed carefree and full of crude jokes were now as disciplined as emotionless machines.
[Draws sword, steps forward, forms a battle formation.]
[The Hundred-Person Sha Formation was instantly formed.]
[One hundred pure Sword Intents merged into a pale golden light curtain, pulverizing the black mist that tried to squeeze in through the cracks in the Formation Technique.]
[From the depths of the gray fog came the heavy sound of horses' hooves.]
[Dozens of "Military Sha," clad in tattered armor and wielding broken weapons, rode skeletal horses formed from Sha Qi, charging out of the mist.]
[They had no facial features, only two eerie green flames beneath their helmets.]
["Bang!"]
[The Military Sha clashed with the sword formation.]
[A Sword Cultivator in the front row groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't retreat; instead, he held firmly against the hilt of his sword.]
[The Sword Cultivator the gap, their Sword Light flashing with Sword Intent, piercing through the opening and shredding the Military Sha and his horse into a cloud of black sand.]
[This is the White Tiger Hall's "Way of Righteous Killing".]
[There were no fancy fighting techniques, only chilling Killing Intent and Sword Intent.]
Suddenly, a sharp screech echoed from the depths of the gray fog.