Yun Tianfan Begins Core Formation!

Purple Firmament Peak has returned to tranquility.

Shi Jian closed his eyes, but his mind was preoccupied with something.

Without the Heaven and Earth Qi and earth, forcibly Core Formation.

Yun Tianfan... he won't survive.

Although he hadn't seen many losers, this law was indeed true; despite the fact that several Golden Core True Person had emerged in various parts of the Clear Azure Kingdom in recent years.

But those who attempted to break through were far more than just a few or a dozen.

Those were the few who succeeded among the hundreds of Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators from various forces, after a process of natural selection.

Of Foundation Establishment cultivators who attempt to advance to the Golden Core without the support of the Heaven and Earth Qi, nine and a half out of ten will die. The remaining half...

There is an extremely small chance that they might barely survive and become False Core Realm cultivator, but they will never be able to break through to the next level in their lifetime...

But he didn't say.

Yun Du knew it better than anyone else.

But there are some things in this world that, even knowing it will lead to death, you still have to do.

Like moths drawn to a flame, never turning back until they hit a brick wall, this is the saying that describes someone who, even knowing it's a dead end, still goes through it to discover their true self.

Besides, he's two hundred years old.

Not charging means certain death; charging offers a one in ten thousand chance of survival, and if one is lucky enough to live, that's five hundred years of life.

That's five hundred years! Who wouldn't want to risk it all to live a few hundred more years?

Sigh~

"Life and death are predestined, and the Great Dao is merciless. If even the Human Race is like this, I wonder how many of my various tribes will be able to achieve success in the future?"

"It's all about timing and fate."

"In an instant, all is vanity; the road ahead is long and arduous."

Shi Jian sighed, his thunderous eyes reflecting the outlines of distant mountains.

On the path of cultivation, how many people can actually reach the end?

Six months later.

White Cloud Temple in the Southern Mountain Range, on the east side of White Peak Cloud Gorge.

A large group of people gathered on a high mountain.

All three thousand disciples of White Cloud Temple, whether they were Foundation Establishment elders and deacons or Qi Refining disciples, were present today.

The sword cultivators of Return to Origin Sword Tomb stood on the east side, their sword boxes on their backs, their faces solemn.

The elders of the four halls of formation, alchemy, talisman, and weapon crafting, as well as the elders of the External Affairs Hall, were seated on the west side, each with a different expression.

Sun Mao stood at the front of the crowd, his hands behind his back.

My gaze drifted into the distance, to the tightly closed stone gate of a cave abode nestled among the distant mountain peaks.

Zhao Yanshan stood beside him and whispered, "It's come to this..."

"I hope the Grand Elder can get through this smoothly."

Sun Mao didn't respond.

He knew perfectly well that Core Formation without the Heaven and Earth Qi and earth was, to put it nicely, a desperate gamble, but to put it bluntly, suicide.

But no one would say that in public.

White Cloud Temple needs to take this gamble.

Yun Tianfan needs to take this gamble.

Even if the hope is slim, one must still fight. That's how cultivation is: if you don't advance, you retreat; if you advance, the world opens up before you; if you retreat, Death Dao and your cultivation vanishes...

"They've arrived."

Sun Mao looked up.

Two streaks of light flew in from the north.

The white figure in front is True Person Yun Du, and the purple-gold figure behind him, a dark cloud of demonic Yao Qi carrying the power of thunder, is Shi Jian.

Shi Jian did not reveal his true form today, but was shrouded in a purple-gold thundercloud, with only a pair of huge thunder eyes showing through the dark cloud.

The pressure from Golden Core Middle Stage was like Mount Tai pressing down on you.

All the Foundation Establishment cultivators present turned pale and instinctively lowered their heads.

"The Ancestor has arrived!"

A disciple whispered.

Shi Jian did not land, but hovered a hundred feet above the cave abode, silently watching down.

Yun Du landed in front of the cave abode entrance, facing the disciples.

Today, Elder Yun Tianfan is attempting to break through to the Golden Core.

His voice reached the ears of everyone present, neither too loud nor too soft, yet every word was clear.

"I, along with Fellow Shi Jian, will protect the Dharma. You all must retreat to a distance of ten miles and are not allowed to approach without authorization. If any unusual celestial phenomena occur, the hall stewards shall obey orders and protect the lower-ranking disciples during their retreat."

"Yes!"

More than three thousand disciples responded in unison and then withdrew in an orderly manner.

A moment later, within a ten-mile radius of the cave abode, only Yun Du, Shi Jian, and Yun Tianfan in the distant cave abode remained.

The stone gate to the cave abode slowly opened.

A white-haired cultivator emerged. Yun Tianfan's appearance had aged considerably, and he looked as if he were nearing the end of his life...

Two hundred years old has left too many marks on him.

His hair was as white as snow, his face was thin and frail, and there were deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

But his aura remained as steady as Boulder.

He was at the peak of Foundation Establishment Perfection, with extremely abundant spiritual power, and his body was faintly surrounded by clouds.

"Cousin."

Yun Tianfan looked at Yun Du and smiled; that smile contained everything.

A sense of relief, composure, and a touch of deep-seated reluctance.

"Tianfan." Yun Du's throat moved slightly, but he couldn't utter a second sentence.

"Brother Lao, and Senior Shi Jian, please take care of me." Yun Tianfan bowed to the cloud of lightning in mid-air, as if bidding farewell.

Shi Jian blinked his thunderous eyes in response.

Yun Tianfan turned around, facing the depths of the cave abode.

He took out several Jade Slip from his sleeve and handed them to Yun Du.

"These are the notes on various hall matters left by me over the years, as well as the draft plan for the sect over the next thirty years."

"If I cannot get through... then my cousin, please proceed accordingly."

"That will save you a lot of trouble, cousin."

Yun Du took the Jade Slip, his fingers trembling slightly, and a sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.

"It's passable."

Yun Tianfan smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

"Also, among those younger disciples, I have high hopes for three."

"Sun Chengzu's Sword Dao talent goes without saying, Lu Xun has Lightning Spirit Root; he's destined for great things..."

"Another female disciple named Lin Ruoshui is also a potential Dual Spirit Roots talent, with an exceptionally strong Water Spirit Root. If she can obtain the Water Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, she also has the aptitude to Core Formation."

"It's good that my cousin remembers."

After saying all this, Yun Tianfan took one last deep look at the sky outside.

Blue sky and white clouds, verdant mountains.

Good weather.

Suitable for death, and suitable for rebirth.

"He's gone."

He turned and walked into the cave abode.

The stone gate closed.

Thus, the inside and outside were separated.