Reversal of Cost! My Own Golden Core Dao!

In the Hall of Morality, a square opening had been cut into Maitreya Buddha's statue. Golden Core Celestial Venerable reclined within it, his face solemn.

"Gather the light, focus the ears, regulate the breath through the nose; close the tongue and mouth, guard the central yellow.

This is no ordinary Kun Dao; within the divine acupoint, Kan lies concealed.

Eyes that do not see harm the liver; ears that do not hear refine the kidneys.

..."

As usual, he held that red-covered scripture and chanted away at the words he recognized and those he did not.

As the chanting rose, Core Branches sprouted from the bodies of the Golden Core Immortal Sect's disciples one after another, leaving them as stiff as trees.

Gu Qingfeng had long noticed that without the chanting, their bodies would not become so rigid. During morning lessons, their Core Branches were likewise extended, yet they could still move freely.

Only when facing Golden Core Celestial Venerable did they become so passive, so terrified.

For a moment, they were like field mice, born to fear the venomous python coiled before them.

The chanting ended. Golden Core Celestial Venerable descended with that divinely handsome face, his salvation-bringing gaze sweeping one by one over the Golden Cores within his disciples.

This time, as he walked, he could not help praising them. "Excellent, excellent! It seems you have worked hard lately. You are becoming sensible too. Your master is greatly pleased."

"Your second senior brother died because he was not sensible. His position is reserved for you. The future of the Golden Core Immortal Sect will rest on your shoulders."

"Yes, Master!"

"Yes, Master!"

"Thank you for thinking highly of us, Master!"

Knowing his temperament, the disciples hurried to answer over one another, afraid that if they responded a moment too slowly, they would be killed.

It was clear that their master, Golden Core Celestial Venerable, was in quite a good mood today. His gaze upon them brimmed with satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. Dismissed for today. Remember to keep working hard. Next time, your master will test you even more harshly."

Watching his departing back, Gu Qingfeng said in trembling alarm, "There will be a next time?"

Just now, in Golden Core Celestial Venerable's eyes, he had seen not only satisfaction, but desire.

The desire of someone outside a pen, staring hungrily at the pigs inside as they grew big and fat.

His instincts told him that his chance to escape should be before the next examination.

He had a powerful premonition that the next examination would be when this demonic master conducted a great harvest.

Ten days?

But if he rashly fled, he would surely meet the same end as Second Senior Brother and the other four.

More importantly, Second Senior Brother had been an inner disciple and surely knew the escape routes. Yet even so, he had fallen into the trap and been caught in one sweep. Even if Gu Qingfeng was stronger than him through Reversal of Cost, it would not be enough.

At the very least, at the very least, he needed to find a companion who knew the way.

Who could he find?

Other than his little junior brother, the only person he somewhat trusted was that peach-blossom-eyed junior sister.

But Little Junior Brother most likely did not know the way. He was too naive, believing that once he mastered the cultivation method, Master would let him descend the mountain and return home. The peach-blossom-eyed junior sister, however, might know. She was even more cautious than Gu Qingfeng, so perhaps she had paid attention to such matters.

Master Golden Core Celestial Venerable had already left, yet his presence still hung over Gu Qingfeng's head like a death warrant.

That night, Gu Qingfeng sat cross-legged in his room.

Looking at the four words "Cost Can Be Reversed" within his sea of consciousness, he finally stopped hesitating and silently recited, "Reversal of Cost!"

Almost at the same instant, a scorching aura spread throughout his entire body.

Gu Qingfeng felt as if another sun had appeared inside him, rumbling with thunderous force.

The sun was located in his dantian, where he normally cultivated his Golden Core.

As the "sun" was born, golden radiance spread from his entire body.

This light resembled the light that had burst from Golden Core Celestial Venerable when he devoured a disciple's "Golden Core" and consumed immortal mist that day. No, it was even sharper!

At that time, waves of golden light had radiated from Golden Core Celestial Venerable's body, along with billowing immortal mist. But now, only pure golden light emerged from Gu Qingfeng's body.

Unlike the dim, uneven golden light from before, this golden radiance was like needles and threads, glaringly bright.

If anyone saw it, they would surely be unable to resist closing their eyes, perhaps even shedding tears.

At this moment, the Geng-Metal Power transformed from Yi-Wood revealed its innate razor-sharp edge. It felt no less dangerous than real blades and swords.

Watching golden light pour from his body, Gu Qingfeng could clearly sense the sharp edge contained within its warmth. It felt wonderful.

He could even imagine how sacred he looked right now.

Can I become an immortal too?

He felt that he was now a sword.

A treasured sword drawn from its sheath, the kind that could poke someone full of holes like a honeycomb.

The next moment, Golden Core energy circulated through Gu Qingfeng's body, and he thrust out two fingers.

With a crack, the wooden bed beneath him was directly pierced through, the edges of the hole incomparably smooth.

"So sharp?" Gu Qingfeng said in surprise.

He had only used his fingers, after all. He had not even used his Core Branch.

"Is this what it feels like to possess power?"

Gu Qingfeng felt as if he could stab someone to death at any moment.

Stab them to death with his body.

As the Geng-Metal force flowed within him, he discovered that Geng-Metal Power could shoot forth from many parts of his body—his fingers, his toes, even there.

Of course, his fingers remained the most efficient. He had previously cultivated Golden Core Swordsmanship, which included sword fingers, so he was most practiced with them.

Very soon, Gu Qingfeng's gaze sharpened, and the golden light radiating from his body swiftly drew inward, condensing around his dantian.

Within the dim room, even through his skin, the dantian area still shone with dazzling golden light, as if a small sun truly stood there.

Gradually, the golden light grew dimmer and dimmer, until it could no longer be seen through skin and flesh.

Gu Qingfeng had compressed the Geng-Metal Power, concealing its sharp edge.

At the very least, he would not let his golden light be so conspicuous.

He had not dared to reverse the cost immediately before because he feared precisely this sort of situation—suddenly blazing with golden light all over, as eye-catching as a small sun in the darkness.

Fortunately, the Geng-Metal Power produced by the reversal obeyed his commands. He could still circulate it properly.

Afterward, Gu Qingfeng struck while the iron was hot and continued silently reciting the Yi-Wood Golden Core Immortal Formula.

This time, he directly summoned his Core Branch, causing it to emerge.

The Golden Core upon the emerging Core Branch radiated an intensely dazzling golden light, while the entire branch looked like metal, utterly different from before.

Gu Qingfeng continued focusing his mind and reining in the Geng-Metal Power until the golden light gradually drew back into the Core Branch and Golden Core, no longer conspicuous.

This degree of concealment would most likely not fool Golden Core Celestial Venerable during an in-person examination, but ordinarily, no one should notice anything unusual.

After that, Gu Qingfeng remained seated cross-legged. His Core Branch moved in and out of his body, gradually becoming more nimble.

That was a sign that his mastery of the Geng-Metal Power and the Yi-Wood Golden Core Immortal Formula was growing ever more proficient.

Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng pulled the Core Branch from his abdomen straight out, gripped it in his hand like a sword, and the hole in his abdomen swiftly healed.

He had already fused perfectly with the Geng-Metal Power.

He could not resist swinging the Core Branch in his hand once, and even he found it miraculous.

This meant he even had a weapon now.

The Yi-Wood Golden Core Feeding Formula had originally come from the Yi-Wood Golden Core Immortal Formula. According to Gu Qingfeng's guess, the Yi-Wood Golden Core Immortal Formula had always contained the mystery of cultivating inner and outer cores together. It was merely that Golden Core Celestial Venerable had altered the immortal formula into a feeding formula, then given them only the latter half to cultivate, which caused their Core Branches to become connected to their flesh and blood. Once a Core Branch was pulled out, it was equivalent to uprooting their foundation.

Yet through Reversal of Cost, he had unexpectedly gained the ability to use it both internally and externally.

Now, even if his Core Branch was pulled out, it would not damage his foundation or flesh. He could even leave the "Golden Core" inside his body alone and only bring forth the Core Branch as a sword.

It could be said that he had completely shed the "food" nature that left him at Golden Core Celestial Venerable's mercy, walking a Golden Core Dao that belonged to him alone!

This truly was all thanks to him secretly "working hard" for himself.

Since he had already come this far, all that remained was to see when he could break out through slaughter and escape.

At that thought, Gu Qingfeng's eyes filled with razor-sharp edge.