Inside the crystal barrier, Shen Yi let out a long breath and awoke from deep cultivation. Within his body, the ninth Golden Core had finally condensed. Unlike the previous eight, which had been either gold or black, this one was half gold and half black. It now lay quietly at the very center of the Taiji Diagram, echoing the other eight Golden Cores around it.
By then, two months had already passed outside. Fengdu City was bustling with activity, with merchants coming and going in an endless stream every day. Yet the most relished topic of conversation after tea and meals was still the Corpse Herding Sect's shop being torn down. As a result, theories about that mysterious youth's identity ran rampant for a time.
Some said he was a righteous man in disguise, acting when he saw injustice. Some said he was a hidden prodigy, using this incident to become famous overnight. Others claimed that the Sky Burialist had awakened and was specifically avenging those spirit herbs.
Shen Yi merely smiled at such claims. At that moment, he walked through Fengdu City's bustling streets with Hong Ling at his side, yet no one recognized them. It was nothing short of a miracle.
"Little Black is home alone. Are you sure nothing will happen?" Hong Ling wrapped her arm around Shen Yi's, leaning against him like a little bird against its mate.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen." Shen Yi gave her a reassuring look. It was not the first time Little Black had fallen into slumber. What surprised him was that, while he had been fighting that Corpse Herding Sect disciple, Little Black had secretly swallowed the blue-blood spirit herb. The dose was apparently too great, and it needed sleep to completely refine that energy.
"I didn't expect the Corpse