They're All Mine

Passing through the light gate, the view before them suddenly opened up.

This was a natural cavern, its vaulted ceiling dozens of zhang high and embedded with countless glowing crystals that illuminated the entire space as brightly as day.

At the center of the cavern, a pool of azure water gently rippled. Milky-white Spiritual Energy mist drifted above its surface, and a deep breath left one feeling refreshed from head to toe.

This was the Heavenly Pool.

The ten of them stepped into the pool, each finding a spot and sitting down cross-legged.

The water was not deep, reaching only their waists, but the moment they entered it, they could feel pure spiritual power surging madly into their bodies through every pore. It was the most direct nourishment from the essence of heaven and earth, gentler and more effective than any medicinal pill.

Qin Yuan chose a spot in the very center of the pool—where the spiritual power was most concentrated.

He closed his eyes and focused, but did not begin cultivating at once. Instead, he silently recited in his heart:

"Extract all stored cultivation."

Boom—!!!

The sixty years of cultivation he had accumulated over three days erupted in that instant!

It was as if a volcano dormant for ten thousand years had suddenly awakened. A violent torrent of spiritual power burst forth from the depths of his dantian, instantly smashing through the barrier at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm and crashing fiercely toward the vast chasm of the Golden Core Realm!

But it was still not enough.

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

The pills melted the moment they entered his stomach, turning into three warm currents that joined the torrent and made the already violent spiritual power even more surging!

At that very moment, a sudden change occurred.

The essence of spiritual power within the Heavenly Pool seemed to be drawn by something, beginning to rush frantically toward Qin Yuan!

The previously tranquil pool surface churned with waves. The milky-white Spiritual Energy mist formed a vortex, spinning madly around Qin Yuan as its center! The essence within the water was forcibly drawn out, condensing into visible streams of white light that poured into Qin Yuan's body!

"Th-this... what is happening?!"

The other nine opened their eyes in shock.

They could feel the spiritual essence around them rapidly draining away! The abundant nourishment from before had become pitifully thin, like a pot of rich soup suddenly stripped of all its flavor, leaving behind only watery broth!

Ye Qingchen's expression changed. He tried to speed up his absorption, only to discover that he simply could not compete with Qin Yuan—the terrifying suction was like a bottomless black hole, devouring all the essence in the Heavenly Pool!

Su Xue was equally horrified. She even circulated her Clear Sword Heart, trying to lock onto the flow of spiritual power, only to find that the essence was completely beyond control, all of it rushing toward Qin Yuan!

"He's breaking through to the Golden Core Realm!" the young man surnamed Li cried out. "But even someone breaking through to the Golden Core Realm couldn't possibly absorb it this quickly! This... this is outright plunder!"

Plunder.

That word perfectly described the scene before them.

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

His body became the eye of the entire Heavenly Pool's spiritual-power storm.

"Stop! Stop now!" a disciple shouted urgently. "If you keep absorbing it like this, what are we supposed to do?!"

But Qin Yuan had already entered a deep state of cultivation, deaf to the sounds of the outside world.

Above the cavern's dome, the Heavenly Pool Spirit's figure appeared once more.

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

"Th-this absorption speed?! Even a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could not devour essence so violently!"

It tried to interfere, mobilizing the Heavenly Pool's formation to restrict Qin Yuan's absorption, but it was completely useless—Qin Yuan was not absorbing the essence through the formation. He was using his own body as a medium to forcibly plunder it!

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

It had misjudged him.

This "opportunist" it had believed could absorb only half a percent of the essence was, by himself, devouring over ninety percent of the entire Heavenly Pool's essence!

Within the pool, Qin Yuan's breakthrough reached its most crucial moment.

The liquid spiritual power of the Foundation Establishment Realm, repeatedly compressed and tempered by sixty years of cultivation and the Heavenly Pool's essence, began to condense toward a solid state. The sea of qi within his dantian shrank violently, all liquid spiritual power gathering toward a single point, compressing, solidifying...

The faint outline of a pale golden pellet slowly emerged.

But it was not over yet.

The Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art began circulating automatically within Qin Yuan's body. The Golden Core that had just taken shape started to rotate slowly. With every revolution, it became more solid, and its color deepened.

One revolution, two revolutions, three revolutions...

When it reached the ninth revolution, nine profound patterns appeared on the Golden Core's surface, intertwining with one another to form a perfect cycle.

Nine Revolutions Golden Core!

The legendary highest realm of Golden Core quality, one found only once in ten thousand! Cultivators with a Nine Revolutions Golden Core not only possessed vastly greater spiritual-power reserves than others at the same level, but their Golden Cores were also indestructible. When they broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm in the future, their chance of success would increase by more than fifty percent!

Boom—!!!

The moment the Golden Core fully formed, a terrifying aura erupted from Qin Yuan's body!

The pool water exploded, sending spray flying in every direction. Vast spiritual-power fluctuations spread out from him, making the entire cavern hum and tremble. The other nine were forced back again and again by that aura, and some with weaker cultivation even had blood spill from the corners of their mouths.

Initial Golden Core Realm!

And not an ordinary Initial Golden Core Realm—it was the peak of the initial stage with a Nine Revolutions Golden Core!

Qin Yuan opened his eyes, and a flash of golden light vanished from them. He felt the vast power within his body, a transformation in quality. If spiritual power in the Foundation Establishment Realm was a stream, then spiritual power in the Golden Core Realm was a river—and his Nine Revolutions Golden Core was a boundless ocean!

His Spiritual Sense had also surged once more, expanding from one thousand zhang to three thousand zhang. It was also more solid than before, even faintly capable of affecting reality—for instance, retrieving objects from afar or transmitting voices through Spiritual Sense.

He looked around.

Ninety-nine percent of the essence in the pool had already been absorbed, and what remained was pitifully thin. The other nine stared blankly at him, their faces filled with shock, fury, helplessness, and a trace of despair.

Their three days of cultivation in the Heavenly Pool had ended just as they began.

Qin Yuan alone had eaten the entire Heavenly Pool dry.

"My apologies." He cupped his hands toward them, his tone calm. "I lost control for a moment."

Lost control for a moment...

The words made everyone's lips twitch.

The young man surnamed Li wanted to say something, but seeing the Golden Core pressure still not fully withdrawn from Qin Yuan's body, he ultimately kept his mouth shut.

Ye Qingchen shook his head with a bitter smile. "Junior Brother Qin... you truly... leave one speechless."

Su Xue gave Qin Yuan a long look, sheathed her sword, and silently sat back down—though little essence remained, a little was still better than none.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit hovered in the air, staring at Qin Yuan in silence for a long while.

At last, it sighed. "So be it. Perhaps this is the will of heaven. You... take care of yourself."

Its figure faded away, never to appear again.

For the remaining time, the other nine suffered torment.

Watching an opportunity that should have lasted three days come to an end in less than an hour after it began—the sense of loss was enough to make one's Dao heart falter.

But Qin Yuan paid them no mind.

He stabilized the realm he had just broken through to, familiarized himself with the many changes brought by the Nine Revolutions Golden Core, and explored the new abilities gained from his vastly expanded Spiritual Sense.