Hum!
As the power of the Dao Seed surged forth, the great dan in Hong Yuan's palm trembled gently. Threads of law spread from it, stirring the void and giving rise to all manner of wondrous visions.
Hong Yuan's gaze sharpened and fixed on the great dan. In an instant, layer upon layer of obscuring mist peeled away before his eyes.
The great dan was like a sweet, juicy fruit. Its skin was stripped away, its flesh torn apart, revealing the pit hidden deep within.
"There's a problem with it, after all!"
Hong Yuan's divine sense flowed, and he saw that pit!
Dense power of law surrounded the great dan, seeming to have formed naturally into its skin and flesh.
Even with the strength of Hong Yuan's divine sense, he had only vaguely sensed that something was wrong, unable to discern the flaw itself. But once he borrowed that sliver of Dao Seed power, he found it immediately.
The great dan's true essence was its "pit."
And that pit was a Miasma Calamity.
This was a "False Dan." More precisely, it was a Calamity Abomination disguised as a great dan of heaven and earth!
But its disguise was far too perfect. The power of law upon it was genuine; any cultivator who refined it really could leap straight into the Origin Core Realm.
Yet even if ninety-nine percent of it was real, the False Dan's core was a Miasma Calamity. Hong Yuan did not believe refining it would come without consequences.
Once Hong Yuan stripped away its outer covering and saw its true nature, the False Dan reacted. It struggled violently, trying to fly from his hand.
Hong Yuan closed his hand. His five fingers formed a cage that held it fast.
A Calamity Abomination had disguised itself as a