All Mine

Passing through the gate of light, the scene before him suddenly opened up.

This was a natural cave, its ceiling dozens of feet high, inlaid with countless luminous crystals, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.

In the center of the cave, a pool of clear blue water rippled quietly, its surface shrouded in milky white spiritual energy mist. A deep breath made him feel utterly refreshed.

This was the Heavenly Pool.

Ten people stepped into the pool, each finding a spot to sit cross-legged.

The pool water was not deep, only reaching their waists, but the moment they entered, they could feel pure spiritual energy pouring into their bodies through their pores. This was the most direct nourishment from the essence of heaven and earth, gentler and more effective than any pill.

Qin Yuan chose a spot in the center of the pool—the spiritual energy was most concentrated here.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, but did not immediately begin cultivating. Instead, he silently recited in his mind:

"Extract all stored cultivation."

BOOM--!!!

Sixty years of cultivation, accumulated over three days, erupted at this moment!

Like a volcano that had been dormant for ten thousand years suddenly awakening, a torrent of violent spiritual energy surged from the depths of his dantian, instantly breaking through the barrier of peak Foundation Establishment and crashing fiercely towards the chasm of the Golden Core stage!

But this was not enough.

Qin Yuan simultaneously took out the bottle of Condensing Golden Core Pills, poured out three, and swallowed them in one gulp!

The pills dissolved upon entering his stomach, transforming into three warm currents that merged with the torrent, making the already violent spiritual energy even more surging!

At this very moment, a sudden change occurred.

The spiritual energy essence in the Heavenly Pool, as if pulled by some force, began to surge towards Qin Yuan madly!

The previously calm surface of the pool churned, and the milky white spiritual energy mist turned into a vortex, spinning wildly around Qin Yuan! The essence in the pool water was forcibly extracted, condensing into visible white ribbons of light that poured into Qin Yuan's body!

"What... what is happening?!"

The other nine people opened their eyes in shock.

They felt the spiritual energy essence around them rapidly draining away! The abundant nourishment they had been receiving had become incredibly thin, like a pot of thick soup whose essence had been suddenly drained, leaving only watery broth!

Ye Qingchen's expression changed. He tried to accelerate his absorption speed but found he couldn't compete with Qin Yuan—that terrifying suction was like a bottomless black hole, devouring all the essence in the Heavenly Pool!

Su Xue was equally horrified. She even activated her Sword Heart Clarity, attempting to lock onto the flow of spiritual energy, but found that the essence was completely out of control, all surging towards Qin Yuan!

"He's breaking through to Golden Core!" the young man surnamed Li exclaimed, "But even breaking through to Golden Core shouldn't be this fast! This... this is simply plunder!"

Plunder.

This word accurately described the scene.

Qin Yuan was like a greedy Gluttonous Beast, madly devouring the essence of the Heavenly Pool. The impact of sixty years of cultivation, the medicinal power of the Condensing Golden Core Pills, and the nourishment from the Heavenly Pool's essence—the convergence of these three forces created a terrifying chain reaction.

His body became the eye of the storm for the entire Heavenly Pool's spiritual energy.

"Stop! Hurry and stop!" a disciple shouted anxiously, "What are we supposed to do if you keep absorbing like this?!"

But Qin Yuan had entered a state of deep cultivation, completely deafening himself to the outside world.

On the cave ceiling, the Heavenly Pool Spirit's figure reappeared.

It looked at the scene in the pool, its clear eyes showing shock for the first time.

"What... what is this absorption speed?! Even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator couldn't possibly devour essence this violently!"

It tried to intervene, mobilizing the Heavenly Pool's formations to limit Qin Yuan's absorption, but found it useless—Qin Yuan's method of absorbing essence was not through formations, but by directly using his own body as a medium, forcibly plundering it!

"Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root... how is this possible..." the Heavenly Pool Spirit murmured, its eyes filled with disbelief.

It had misjudged.

This "trickster," whom it believed could only absorb a fraction of the essence, was now, single-handedly, consuming over ninety percent of the Heavenly Pool's essence!

In the pool, Qin Yuan's breakthrough reached its most critical moment.

The liquid spiritual energy of the Foundation Establishment stage, under the repeated compression and tempering of sixty years of cultivation and the Heavenly Pool's essence, began to condense into a solid state. The sea of qi in his dantian contracted violently, all liquid spiritual energy converging towards a single point, compressing, and solidifying...

A rudimentary, pale golden pill began to slowly appear.

But this was not the end.

The Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art automatically circulated within Qin Yuan's body, and the newly formed Golden Core began to rotate slowly. With each rotation, it solidified further, its color deepening.

One rotation, two rotations, three rotations...

When it reached the ninth rotation, nine profound patterns appeared on the surface of the Golden Core, intertwining to form a perfect cycle.

Nine Revolutions Golden Core!

The highest realm of Golden Core quality in legend, one in ten thousand! Cultivators with a Nine Revolutions Golden Core not only possessed far more spiritual energy than their peers, but their Golden Core quality was also indestructible. The success rate of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage in the future would increase by more than fifty percent!

"BOOM--!!!"

The moment the Golden Core completely formed, a terrifying aura erupted from Qin Yuan!

The pool water exploded, sending splashes flying. Waves of majestic spiritual energy spread out from him as the center, causing the entire cave to hum. The other nine people were forced to retreat repeatedly by this aura, some with weaker cultivation even bleeding from their mouths.

Early Golden Core stage!

And not just any early Golden Core stage—it was the peak of early Nine Revolutions Golden Core!

Qin Yuan opened his eyes, a flash of golden light disappearing within them. He felt the immense power within his body, a qualitative change. If the spiritual energy of the Foundation Establishment Stage was a stream, then the spiritual energy of the Golden Core stage was a river, and his Nine Revolutions Golden Core was a vast ocean!

His Spiritual Sense had also surged again, expanding from a thousand zhang to three thousand zhang, becoming even more solidified. It could even subtly interfere with reality—like telekinetically moving objects or transmitting messages through Spiritual Sense.

He looked around.

Ninety-nine percent of the essence in the pool water had been absorbed, leaving only a pitifully thin residue. The other nine people stared at him blankly, their faces filled with shock, anger, helplessness, and a hint of despair.

Their three days of cultivation in the Heavenly Pool had just begun and had already ended.

Qin Yuan alone had consumed the entire Heavenly Pool.

"My apologies." He cupped his fists towards the crowd, his tone calm. "I didn't quite control myself."

Didn't quite control himself...

These words made the corners of everyone's mouths twitch.

The young man surnamed Li wanted to say something, but seeing the Golden Core pressure that Qin Yuan hadn't fully retracted, he ultimately shut his mouth.

Ye Qingchen smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Junior Brother Qin... you truly are... speechless."

Su Xue gave Qin Yuan a deep look, sheathed her sword, and sat down in silence—even if there was little essence left, any bit absorbed was better than nothing.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit hovered in the air, looking at Qin Yuan, silent for a long time.

Finally, it sighed. "Alas, perhaps this is fate. You... take care of yourself."

Its form faded and it disappeared.

The remaining time was torture for the other nine people.

Watching a fortuitous encounter that should have lasted three days end in less than an hour after it began was a drop in expectations that was enough to destabilize one's Dao heart.

But Qin Yuan paid them no mind.

He consolidated his newly broken-through realm, familiarizing himself with the various changes brought about by the Nine Revolutions Golden Core, and experiencing the new abilities after his Spiritual Sense had surged.