Golden Core

The boundless fields flashed away from me like lightning, and a vast lake appeared before my eyes. Facing it all, my speed remained just as fast, without the slightest deceleration. Without hesitation, I charged toward that tranquil lake.

Why? Why? Was it worth making the people of the Zhang Family suffer one another for the heavy burden of the Lineage's interests, merely to preserve the foundation of an Aristocratic Clan? I did not know. I only knew that if one could not live happily, what was the use of that illusory family glory? Was everyone else drunk while I alone was sober, or was I simply too naive? I did not know. I only knew that I would not be like Father. I would not hurt my own family for the sake of hollow family glory. I believed that I would surely live happily with my family, and I would never abandon my own son over such things, never drive him out of the Household, drive him out of the Household...

In my dazed state, the ground suddenly vanished beneath my feet. Before my mind could recover from Father's declaration that he would force me out of the Household, endless lake water came crashing down upon me. A protective membrane naturally formed around my body, and my breathing shifted into Innate Fetal Breath. None of this passed through my mind at all. It was the instinct of an ultimate expert.

I clearly felt that as my body sank, the pressure of the lake water upon it grew ever greater...

My body suddenly stopped, and my feet touched the soft mud at the bottom of the lake. I knew that everything around me had no effect on me whatsoever, yet I remained immersed in Father's past care for me. A trace of happiness naturally rose in my heart. But whenever I recalled what had happened today, I immediately forced myself to recall the past again. Was I running away from all this?

Time passed swiftly...

At this time, the Zhang Family was steeped in oppressive chaos. It had been nearly thirty years since the last time a young master of the Lineage had been driven from the Household. That pitiful fellow, once a young master of the Zhang Family, had only been thirteen when he left home. At eighteen, after the goods he had bought during a business venture were robbed, he lost everything and ended his own life because of it. After his death, there was not even anyone to handle his funeral. In the end, it was his elder brother, the current head of the Zhang Family, Zhang Tiande, who secretly sent people to arrange it. That young master had been driven out because he had actually intended to send men to assassinate the then eldest young master, Zhang Tiande. Among all the young masters driven from the Household, nearly all had failed in their attempts to seize the position of family head. There was only one exception: a fellow who had raped a young lady from the Li Family, the foremost Aristocratic Clan in the world. For the sake of the Lineage's interests, he had been driven out, and afterward suffered the Li Family's secret suppression, living out his life in poverty and destitution.

Yet this Third Young Master was only six years old. He had merely injured the Ouyang Family's only son by accidentally releasing his aura. At just six, he had already reached the Innate Realm. Everyone believed that this Third Young Master would certainly become the greatest expert under heaven in the future. However, the Ouyang Family and the Zhang Family cooperated in countless areas. If the Ouyang Family turned against them, the Zhang Family would need at least twenty years to restore its business network. For the Lineage's interests, abandoning this six-year-old Third Young Master was still a wise choice.

The rear hall of the Zhang residence was silent. One man sat in a grandmaster's chair, while another stood beside him. Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Master, the Third Young Master still has not returned. Should this Court Session still be held? Without the Third Young Master present, it will be difficult to hold this Court Session!" Steward Zhang stood beside Zhang Tiande, who sat in the grandmaster's chair, and spoke cautiously. He knew that the family head was not in his usual state; his mood was exceedingly poor. From yesterday until now, Zhang Tiande had not eaten a single bite and had remained seated in that chair. Steward Zhang had watched Zhang Tiande grow up and knew everything about him. This family head loved Third Madam most and doted on the Third Young Master most deeply. From childhood, the Third Young Master had displayed extraordinary talent and had been utterly obsessed with martial arts. Only yesterday had they learned that the Third Young Master had already reached the Innate Realm. According to the two Second-Rank Experts of the Zhang residence, the Third Young Master's lightness skill was even superior to theirs. Though this was shocking, it also meant they could no longer find the Third Young Master. If they could not find him, how could this Court Session be held?...

"Wait a little longer. Do not be anxious. Be quiet. There is still one shichen before the Court Session." Zhang Tiande's deep voice sounded in the rear hall. The entire hall returned to its former silence...

Slowly, slowly, more and more people arrived. The five walking at the front were the Elder Council, the most powerful figures in the Zhang Family. The Elder Council only intervened in matters of utmost importance. The one on the left was the previous generation's family head. The three on the right were Zhang Tiande's second uncle, third uncle, and fourth uncle, followed by Zhang Tiande's third younger brother. In truth, the final elder seat should have belonged to Zhang Tiande's second younger brother. Unfortunately, his second brother had been driven from the Household, allowing the third brother to become an elder by good fortune.

Walking behind them were Zhang Tiande's wives, with only Third Madam absent. Behind the madams were the Third Young Master's brothers. There were four young masters of the Zhang residence. The youngest was only two years old and could only be led by the eldest young master's hand. At such an important Court Session, among the servants, only the household steward could attend. No other servants were permitted to enter, and everyone's seat was fixed as well. Thus, the people entering the main hall formed three groups.

"Today, the Zhang Family will hold a Court Session to discuss and decide the matter of the Lineage's Third Young Master, Zhang Xingfeng. Yet since the Third Young Master left home yesterday, he has not appeared even now, and no one in the residence has found any trace of him. How do you all believe this should be handled?" Zhang Tiande sat upright in the grandmaster's chair, his back ramrod straight. An air of majesty naturally spread through the entire hall.

Second Madam said, "Must all of us keep waiting for that child? If he never returns, must we wait forever and refuse to hold this Court Session? I think that whether he comes or not, we merely need to make our decision and then announce it to the world!" After saying this, she looked around. It seemed only First Madam somewhat agreed with her; no one else showed the slightest support. Bored, she sat back down.

Zhang Tiande's third younger brother, Fifth Elder, stood and said, "The ancestral rules cannot be violated. According to family law, we should wait until Zhang Xingfeng returns before deciding everything. If he does not return, then wait one week. If he still has not returned after that, we will decide directly and announce it to the world." An elder was an elder, after all. Once he had spoken, no one objected. Once family law was brought out, how many would dare speak against it?

"Then it is decided. We will wait one week. If he has still not returned after one week, we will directly hold the Court Session and announce it to the world." Zhang Tiande stood and voiced the decision.

"Tiande, must you force Little Third out of the Household? Must you be so heartless? Can't you, for the sake of our years as husband and wife, refrain from driving Little Third out? Please? He is only six this year, Tiande!" Third Madam, who had only just awakened from unconsciousness, ran to the entrance of the hall and cried out.

"Alas..." Zhang Tiande walked out without even turning his head.

"Tiande..." Third Madam watched her husband pass before her and finally fell into despair. Slowly, she sank to the ground, murmuring, "Little Third..."

Fifth Elder looked at the haggard Third Madam, shook his head, and left with the other elders.

First Madam and Second Madam looked at Third Madam, revealing faint sinister smiles as they proudly walked out of the main doors...

I did not know how much time had passed, but now I could clearly feel that I was about to cross the first major hurdle of cultivation—the formation of the Golden Core.

I cast aside all stray thoughts, and my mind became utterly clear. I clearly observed everything within my body.

The liquid Innate True Qi began circulating at a speed never seen before, tirelessly. Spiritual energy from outside my body rapidly entered me, but most important was the liquid Innate True Qi I had accumulated over a long time. "Use the Dantian as the furnace, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as the fire, Innate True Qi as the material; refine and compress without end, temper without cease, and attain heaven and earth..." The incantation of the Heart Sutra immediately surfaced in my mind. I began the most crucial stage of Golden Core cultivation. Once I entered the Golden Core Stage, I would become a true cultivator. All my focus poured into cultivating the Golden Core...

Suddenly, my entire body trembled. A Golden Core the size of a soybean floated within my Dantian. A power that surged from every cell in my body seemed ready to burst through the heavens.

"Ahhh..." I roared to my heart's content. A streak of violet light, draped in rosy clouds and blazing fire, shot upward like a meteor and pierced straight into the heavens. In an instant, wind and thunder erupted, black clouds churned like flood dragons, and Lake Tai before me immediately rose with wind and waves, its billows surging to the sky...

I knew that I had finally entered the Golden Core Stage. I was a true cultivator. I had escaped the cycle of six reincarnations and gained eternal life, never to die. Yet I had also stepped onto a cultivation path fraught with peril, where a single misstep could scatter my soul to the winds. But I, Zhang Xingfeng, would fight heaven and earth. Rather than drift through a mediocre life, I would rather live earth-shatteringly. I would let the world know that even after leaving the Zhang Family, I, Zhang Xingfeng, could still achieve greatness.

My body moved, and I was already on the shore. Looking at Lake Tai, which had just been enraged and was now gradually calming, I watched a thread of moonlight pierce through the dark clouds and spill across the vast fields. My heart slowly calmed as well.

I still had to go back. Though I knew the Court Session concerning me should already have ended, in my previous life, I had passed through the Golden Core trial. Back then, it had taken me an entire month. Though my life essence was exceptionally strong in this life, it should still have taken several days. For the sake of Brother Lang Feng and his mother, who were still in Star Peak Pavilion—how could they manage without me there? And there was my heartbroken mother. When I left home, I had not considered her at all. During this time, I did not know how she was doing now.

I could now ride a sword through the air, but I did not yet possess my own Flying Sword. I could only settle for using lightness skill to hurry back to the Zhang residence.

At the Golden Core Stage, one could begin riding a sword through the air and could also begin producing Samadhi True Fire. With Samadhi True Fire, one could do many things, such as refining Flying Swords and Spirit Battle Armor, along with all kinds of weapons belonging to cultivators. It could also be used to refine all kinds of spiritual pills. Upon reaching the Golden Core Stage, one could also wield True Primordial Energy and alter one's appearance and physique. Of course, the changes could not be too great. At the Golden Core Stage, one could only increase one's height to twice its original size. Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, one could grow much taller still. The higher the realm, the more formidable the transformations. If one became an immortal, one could perform the Seventy-Two Transformations.