This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 173 When the Three Flowers Gather at the Top, Breaking Through to the Golden Core

It didn't take long to get back to Maoshan; it only took a few hours. The group returned to Maoshan after dawn.

Holding the silver-armored corpse king in his hand, Zhong Bai did not choose to go directly to the Law Enforcement Hall. Instead, he followed the Immortal Changsheng to the Corpse Driving Hall to place this gift for Si Mu.

When Zhong Bai and Changsheng Zhenren arrived at the Corpse Driving Hall, the entire hall was unusually quiet, as the other two elders of the Corpse Driving Hall were not present.

"Daozi, this silver-armored zombie seems to have high intelligence, and its potential should be quite good."

Looking at the silver-armored zombie in Zhong Bai's hand, Changsheng Zhenren flicked his whisk and continued, "However, it will take that brat Simu a few more years to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. It would be a waste to leave him alive."

While saying this, the Immortal of Longevity was not slow at all. He took out a small and exquisite bronze coffin from his sleeve and threw it into the void. In an instant, it turned into a coffin several meters in size.

Zhong Bai recognized this sacred coffin; it was the very treasure he had pulled from the blood pit in Beiman Mountain years ago.

However, as Zhong Bai's breakthroughs became faster and faster, and he no longer had the idea of ​​raising corpses, he simply stopped asking the Immortal of Longevity for it.

Zhong Bai smiled faintly.

“Uncle Changsheng, you may not know this, but I have already promised Senior Brother Simu that I will capture a Silver Armored Corpse King for him. It can be done a few years later. Zhong Bai cannot pretend that the promise was not made.”

As he spoke, Zhong Bai casually waved his hand, and the lid of the bronze coffin was lifted. Then, Zhong Bai threw the silver-armored zombie king directly into it, and with another wave, the lid closed. The whole process was incredibly smooth. This silver-armored zombie was also very intelligent. Even without using any corpse-suppressing talismans or other means to suppress it, it did not put up the slightest resistance.

Just kidding, it's the last silver-armored zombie to survive in Tengteng Town, not one of those reckless brutes who charge around without understanding the situation.

“Uncle-Master Changsheng, please keep this silver-armored zombie safe. Zhong Bai will come and retrieve it after Senior Brother Simu breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage.”

"Haha, Daozi, there's no need to be so polite. In the end, Simu is still my disciple, and as his master, I will definitely keep him in mind."

"Indeed, Uncle-Master Changsheng, then Zhong Bai will take his leave now..."

Master Changsheng nodded. Although he really wanted to keep Zhong Bai in the Corpse Driving Hall for a chat, he suppressed the thought. Zhong Bai's current identity was that of a Maoshan Daoist. Some of their plans from back then had long since failed, such as the Three Halls' training program being just for show. Now, Zhong Bai was the Daoist being trained by the entire Maoshan community, and everyone was hoping that he could break through to the Golden Core True Monarch realm as soon as possible!

......................................................

Upon returning to the Hall of Law Enforcement, Zhong Bai announced that he would be going into seclusion.

Almost all the elders were speculating whether Zhong Bai intended to break through to the Golden Core realm during this seclusion.

And the result... was indeed so!
The small courtyard that Zhong Bai rebuilt was now sealed off by Maoshan. Only Zhong Bai could move freely; no other elders were allowed to pass through. Furthermore, Ming Wanqian from the Scripture Pavilion was keeping a close watch on the area.

Zhong Bai sat quietly cross-legged on the futon.

Condensing the Golden Core can be easy or difficult, depending on how you look at it. The key is that the spiritual energy of this world is insufficient to support a cultivator's breakthrough in one go. Therefore, stopping halfway means missing the opportunity to seize the chance for a breakthrough.

"To condense the Golden Elixir, one must first condense the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit. Only after the three flowers gather at the top can they be used as nourishment to condense the flawless Golden Elixir."

Muttering to himself, Zhong Bai had his own considerations regarding the condensation of the Three Flowers. If a cultivator attempts to condense the Golden Core without first condensing the Three Flowers, the result will be a Golden Core riddled with cracks. Not only will there be no possibility of further breakthroughs in his lifetime, but he will also be unable to unleash the true power of a Golden Core True Monarch in combat.

This is still considered a good situation. Without the support of the Three Flowers, and with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth so thin, it would be impossible to condense a Golden Core, even if it were covered with cracks.

Therefore, if Zhong Bai wants to break through to the Golden Core True Monarch level, he must first condense the Three Flowers.

"Among the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit, essence is the source of life, and it is not easy to condense it into a flower."

"Qi refers to blood and qi, which is no challenge for me. As for spirit... condensing my divine soul into a divine flower is equally easy now. Phew, let's begin!"

After making up his mind, Zhong Bai began to adjust his energy and spirit. As he mobilized his energy and spirit, it gradually gathered at the top of his head and on both shoulders. Slowly, the blood and qi on his right shoulder quickly condensed together, and as the blood and qi continuously flowed out of Zhong Bai's body, the abundance of blood and qi was terrifying.

As time passed, an illusory flower suddenly took shape on his left shoulder. Although Zhong Bai's eyes were slightly closed, his divine sense saw it very clearly.

As expected, it was not difficult for Zhong Bai to condense his Qi and blood into one of the three flowers.

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Bai remained calm. He needed to be extremely focused if he wanted to condense the essence and spirit flowers.

Inside the main hall of the sect leader.

At this moment, the sect leader Xuanmingzi and a group of elders were discussing the matter.

“In the near future, all of you junior brothers should stay at Maoshan. Nephew Zhong Bai is about to break through to the Golden Core True Monarch stage. Even though Uncle Ming is secretly preventing others from disturbing him, it is impossible for him to be there every moment. If you have nothing to do, you should sit in the Law Enforcement Hall and guard the place. No matter what happens, you must not let anyone disturb Nephew Zhong Bai, not even any of you junior brothers!”

Xuan Mingzi's last sentence was rather harsh. Although such a possibility was practically nonexistent, precautions still needed to be taken. After all, the process of breaking through was Zhong Bai's most vulnerable time. Even if Zhong Bai were to descend the mountain now, Xuan Mingzi wouldn't feel he was in danger, but during a breakthrough...

It was precisely because they understood the seriousness of the matter that Xuanmingzi and the elders took it so seriously.

"Master, please rest assured. We all understand the importance of Junior Nephew Zhong Bai's breakthrough to the Golden Core stage. Not to mention us, we wouldn't even allow a fly to step into Junior Nephew Zhong Bai's courtyard within 500 meters."

Lin Junmen's words drew nods of agreement from the other elders. Qian Yuan Zhenren, Zhong Bai's master, then added, "Zhong Bai is my disciple. I thank all of you fellow disciples on Zhong Bai's behalf for your help!"

As he spoke, Master Qian Yuan bowed deeply to his fellow disciples.

Zhong Bai was unaware of the situation inside the main hall. From the moment he began condensing the Qi Flower until now, Zhong Bai had spent a full seven days. In those seven days, his Divine Flower had begun to take shape. All that remained was to continuously nourish it with his divine soul until the Divine Flower was completely condensed. As for the Essence Flower... Zhong Bai had not yet seen any trace of its initial form.

Gathering the three flowers is not something that can be done overnight, so Zhong Bai was very patient.

On the futon, another half month later, Zhong Bai's divine flower had been completely formed. On both shoulders, there was a divine flower and a qi flower. Above his head, a ball of life essence was constantly merging together. Zhong Bai's heart was very calm. Little by little, he poured the life essence into it. When this ball of life essence began to gather into an illusory flower, Zhong Bai was extremely excited. The essence flower was almost successfully condensed!
Time continued to pass, and Zhong Bai's face had become somewhat pale. Condensing the essence flower was also incredibly taxing for Zhong Bai. Unlike the divine flower and the qi flower, the essence flower was the extraction of one's own life essence. To put it simply, the three flowers were about condensing the essence, qi, and spirit within the body in advance to replenish the deficiencies, thus increasing the margin for error and the probability of success when breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

Seven days later, when the essence of the flower was fully condensed, the three flowers began to merge and bloom on the top of the head.

In an instant, the continuous flow of energy from the Three Flowers gave Zhong Bai a jolt. The powerful energy replenishment from the Three Flowers gathering at the top of his head made Zhong Bai overjoyed. All he needed to do next was adjust his state so he could use the Demon Extermination Points to accelerate the formation of his core!
Almost a month later, Zhong Bai finally left his small courtyard. As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, several figures from the Enforcement Hall arrived in a flash.

Among them was Zhong Bai's master, the True Man Qian Yuan.

"Disciple greets Master and fellow martial uncles!"

Zhong Bai bowed deeply, while Master Qian Yuan and the other elders were all beaming with joy.

"Haha, disciple, no need for formalities. Your current state suggests that the condensation of your essence, qi, and spirit is progressing very smoothly, which is quite normal. The strength of your blood and spirit is unmatched even by some Golden Core True Monarchs. Perhaps the life essence is a bit more difficult to obtain. However, your Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique has made your physical body strong, and your life essence far surpasses that of other Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivators."

"Senior Brother Qian Yuan is still very knowledgeable. It seems that as long as Dao Zi replenishes his essence, energy and spirit and goes into seclusion again, he can truly break through to the Golden Core True Monarch!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, a Golden Core True Monarch under fifty years old, truly terrifying. For such a degenerate age to have a peerless genius like Daozi is not only a blessing for Maoshan, but for the entire world."

Just then, a figure flashed across the distant void, like a gentle breeze, and landed in front of Zhong Bai and the others.

"Zhong Bai greets Senior Uncle Liuguang!"

The visitor was none other than the Flowing Light Immortal from the Pill Hall.

With a slight smile, the reason why Master Liuguang came was quite simple.

"You're too kind, Daoist. I've come to deliver some pills to you. These are pills to replenish your essence, energy, and spirit. My senior brother, the sect leader, asked me to bring them to you. Please, Daoist..."

As he spoke, Master Liuguang handed the three jade bottles in his hand to Zhong Bai.

Slightly taken aback, Zhong Bai quickly recovered and took the jade bottle.

"Zhong Bai thanks his senior master!"

"You're welcome. Speaking of which, you really make us old guys feel ashamed. When you became a disciple of Maoshan, we were only at the Foundation Establishment stage."

You're almost at the Golden Core stage while we're still only at the Foundation Establishment stage. We're destined to have no hope in this lifetime. Cultivation is truly a profound subject..."

Shaking his head, Master Liuguang felt a tightness in his chest. If the Ghost Emperor's Divine Flower of the Ghost Cave Clan hadn't transformed into a demon and he had obtained it, perhaps Master Liuguang could have had the opportunity to condense the Three Flowers and attempt to break through to the Golden Core True Monarch realm. Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in the world, and regret is useless.

The other elders, who were originally happy for Zhong Bai, also felt a sense of loss when they heard what Master Liuguang said.

Indeed, they are watching Zhong Bai surpass them step by step, but they will never have another chance in their lives...

"Haha, fellow disciples, there's no need to be so sentimental. I'm just saying that everyone has their own destiny, and sometimes you can't force things. Besides, with great power comes great responsibility. There's nothing wrong with us old guys staying at the Foundation Establishment stage."

Everyone nodded slowly at the explanation given by the Flowing Light Immortal, but what they really thought was anyone's guess.

The time he spent in seclusion was only a little over ten days. After Zhong Bai's energy and spirit recovered, he chose to go into seclusion again. This time, however, he really intended to break through to the Golden Core True Monarch realm!
For a time, Maoshan was on high alert.

In the courtyard, Zhong Bai sat cross-legged, looking at his demon-slaying panel. The 252 million demon-slaying points gave Zhong Bai great confidence to break through.

It's one thing that the Three Flowers Condensation can't be accelerated using Demon Extermination Points, but now is the time for Zhong Bai to truly demonstrate what a cheater is!
[Consume 52 Demon Extermination Points to exchange for 52 days of Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique cultivation]

In an instant, the world changed color!
(End of this chapter)